Forest Music Since 1973,
Simple Bamboo Meditation Flutes
and Peaceful Relaxing Music CD
by John Niemi, Osaka, Japan
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O eternal Life and Light,
O infinite Wisdom,
O radiant Mercy,
as clear and unlimited as air.
You give sight to the blind
and show mercy to all.
O light imparting Light,
bountiful and generous,
your peace encompasses us
like the sea, and immerses us in infinity.
- Shinran Shonin (1175-1265 )
Japanese Buddhist Reformer
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Writings by John Niemi, Osaka, Japan
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Jesus didn't speak greek... so the idea of "Word study" is not nearly as appropriate as prayer, meditation, and loving service to others, forgeting our selfish desires and allowing God's living presence to guide us. This is the true nature of Christianity. Many people have devoted their lives to studying the bible, writing volumous commentaries, in the belief that this was somehow leading them to a deeper relationship with God. Personally I think the opposite is often the case, such focus of biblical analysis and commentary detracts from the actual teachings of Jesus Christ and the sort of life he proposes. Is it possible that bibleanity has arisen primarily as a means of making money for many religious professionals ? And in the process naive people may be misdirected ? Is this intentional, or a result of man's delusions ? Jesus said we are not to judge others, but he also opposed the false religious institutions of his time. If someone is walking around in the dark and about to fall down the stairs I think we should turn on the light so they can see where they are going. The OT was written in Hebrew, a language which is very susceptible to misinterpretation given the fact that it consists mainly of consonants and verbs need to be inserted by the reader. Furthermore, people have changed many of the terms to conform with their beliefs. The word "Elohim" acutally means gods, plural, and this is the word that is used for the gods other peoples as well as the people of Israel and Judah. This word, which is found almost 900 times in the OT, has been translated as 'God' in the Holy Bible. Modern doctrine tells us this usage of the plural form by pagans describes their many gods but when the same word is used by non-pagans it is to describe the many atributes of the one true God. This is totally illogical and makes no sense. Why not simply say 'the one true God' ? I think its obvious that monotheism was a later development, probably inherited from the Babylonians. It is very important to realize that there was interaction and exchange between many cultures: Mesopotamian, Sumerian, Egyptian, Greek, Roman, in fact with every culture which comes in contact with God's teachings... More importantly we must remember that each and every human being and creature on the earth, and in the universe, is intimately related and has a common origin. Buddhism makes this clear, whereas the biblical religions seem to instill erroneous divisions and animosity. Modern science has proven this conclusively - we share common elements within our DNA with all living things. The building blocks of life were brought to earth by comets from the outer solar system... However our religious institutions have their heads stuck in the sand and are locked into an obsolete mindset, but their power structure depends upon maintaning this delusion. How can the church of God admit its been wrong, when they purport to be God's representatives ?That is what they have been selling for millenia. On the other hand, science by its very nature, can easily admit errors, mistakes, fraudulent claims, whatever, and move on towards a new and truer understanding. This is more in keeping with the teachings of Jesus, as well as the bible. Any book, any ancient record, must be analyzed from an impartial POV, by many different people, from differnt perspectives. This is the fire of purification of which the bible speaks. If read with intelligence rather than imbued ignorance, these writings may at times communicate timeless wisdom and insight that is capable of adjusting itself to modern situations. Wisdom remains constant, but our understanding changes. Hopefully it will grow. But criticism is an essential safeguard. In the past the church simply murdered its critics, whereas some modern advocates of bibleanity may resort to slander and instilling fear in people. I think its important to stand up and expose this errant direction Christianity has taken. Unless the church comes clean and admits its errors and repents there can be no healing, and any true relationship with God is hindered. Bibleanity is a stumbling block on the road to salvation. The bible does not bring salvation - that can only come through God's living presence among us. This is not words printed on the pages of a book. The true Word of God is written on the fleshy tables of our hearts, throughout the infinite expanse of the universe. It cannot be contained by human doctrines, it cannot be controlled and sold for a profit.
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Cosmological wake up call -
While various groups continue in their age old paths of animosity and violence mankind approaches a test which it seems likely to fail. We should have been a space faring multi-planet species by now, if, instead of devoting most of our time and resources to wars and destruction, we had been investing them in creative enterprises. And while governments and religious groups continue blithly along in their unwitting courses other astronomical bodies pursue their age old courses... In particular an asteroid appropriately namend Apophis after the Egyptian God of death ("big enough to fill the rosebowl like an egg in an eggcup"- see Death by Black Hole by Neil deGrasse Tyson)) which stands a good chance of paying us a visit in 26 years. In 2029 it will pass by the earth at a distance below that of our communications satellites, and if the earth's gravity influences it then it will return 7 years later, splashing down in the Pacific ocean and wiping out the west coast, Hawaii, and all the coastal plains of all Pacific rim countries. Imagine detonating 50,000 A bombs in the ocean off California... Surfs up dude ! Further effects such as earthquakes and fires are unknown. Right now the world's nations should be working on a crash program to develope systems to divert such asteroids, yet we continue to waste ever increasing astronomically large amounts of resources supporting failed businesses, wars, governments which exist to serve themselves, etc... "This is nature's way of telling us"... that our clock is about to be cleaned, that the shit may be going to hit the fan like it never has before in the history of our species. 26 years, 2010 minus 26 equals 1984... what were you doing in 1984 ? What are you doing now ? What will your kids be doing in 2026 ? What we should be doing, and when I say "we" I mean humankind, Islamic, Christian, Jewish, Buddhist, Atheist, whatever... we should be pooling our resources and developing systems to deflect earth crossing asteroids. The USSR made some humongous hydrogen bombs during the cold era. These devices were much too big to be carried by a rocket or plane, but such a device could be delivered in sections and assembled on an asteroid. Or nuclear engines could be attached to alter its speed, only a very small change in speed would be sufficient, so as it loops around the solar system for the next 7 years it would slowly gain speed and thereby alter its orbit. Will humankind amend its ways and pass this test ? We shall see... This is how nature works, purely survival of the fittest. We have been blessed with intelligence, the knowledge, and technological means to pass this test, but will our predeliction to bickering and violence be our downfall ? It may be, in which case our species may be erased from the blotter of existence. Maybe this is why SETI has not heard any other signals from ET civilizations... maybe most of them fail this test. Its a sad and sobering thought, but will it make any difference at all ? Will it even serve to give us pause ? Greenpeace - think of all the whales and dolphins this will wipe out...
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In 1969, the first human set foot on the moon. It only took 7 years to accomplish this. Imagine what we could do now if we were to utilize our current technology. But this is not the case at all. Our future has been waylaid... stolen by a political system which has prostituted itself to coorporate interests. Our elected officials primary concerns seem to be their own careers and enrichment. The trillions of dollars that have been wasted on counterproductive welfare programs, wars that make things much worse, and the support of rich coorporate executives in the form of bailouts...
We should be a multiplanet species by now, but instead we a spiraling out-of-control into oblivion. Far from being the solution to our problems, gigantic multilayered ineffecient bureaucracies are the actual cause. Yet everything is controlled by these same institutions. Government should be re-organized, simplified, streamlined, and moderned at all levels. Complexity in government equals ineffeciency, waste, and counterproductivity. Government's primary function should be serving the people, not lobbiests and corporate interests. One person, one vote with direct access to all informaiton. No secrets, no hidden agenda... And why not create a system of internet voting to allow people direct access and participation in their government ?
The simplest, most effective way to fix the US economic system would be to end all forms of insurance, return to a cash only system, no credit, scrap the current tax system and have a simple across the board flat tax, with no tax shelters, etc. There should be no lobbying - the current US government is not democratic. If everyone had to pay cash for medical care prices would come way down, the main cause of high prices is insurance. We need to return to a simple, basic system. All the government interference in the economy, attempts at regulation, all the bail outs of bad businesses, etc. has only served to worsen the problem while wasting astronomical amounts of money that should be put to useful, real purposes, such as infrastructure and education. The current welfare system has served to perpetuate poverty more than eleviate it. Perhaps a work program like the WPA which focuses on rebuilding and maintaining infrastructure would be a better investment. Turn the government over to the people, let them vote on issues via the internet. And of course the USA should become energy independent, which means building energy effecient and ecologically sound buildings and communities.
The current "wars" into which the US government is pouring trillions of dollars of future generations of tax payers are misguided and serve the cause of the terrorist organizations by inflicting economic harm. This trend started with the Vietnam war and led to the early demise of our manned space program. Since Apollo no one has traveled more than a few hundred miles into space, at tremendous cost, in lives as well as capital. The international space station serves little to advance the cause of interplanetary exploration, instead it diverts funds. In addition it is a ill-conceived patchwork of a zero-gravity structure which is not conducive to long term habitation. It should be a rotating sphere or ring structure, everyone knows this, except the people in the government agencies which control the space program. Money that should be used productively is poured into military actions that even if successful will require long term occupations which we cannot afford. The future has been lost, squandered, wasted, by politicians whose only skill seem to be instilling a state of fear in the populace which enables them to be easily controlled and misled. Iraq did not attack the USA on 9-11-2001. In fact it was an enemy of the people who did. Iraq was the arch enemy of Iran. Iran could not defeat Iraq so the USA was tricked into doing it for them... The USA is being played like a fiddle by the terrorist regimes. Every time the media airs one of their messages they give them millions of dollars worth of free publicity, which is exactly what the terrorist crave. Afganistan is their spider web and the US soldiers are the flies. It cost a huge amount for the US to keep a soldier in the field, whereas the terrorists can put a soldier in the field for almost nothing, and they have an endless supply of people who believe its good to die for their cause. Furthermore they have a long term agenda. I think the most effective way would be economic sanctions. However the US government has chosen a course which hurts itself much more than the "enemy" who is illusive, can disappear and blend into the populace and resurface at a later date. Since the first gas shortage in the 70s the US has, once again, been pursuing a course that is jus the opposite of what it should be doing. Instead of pouring trillions into the coffers of OPEC nations we should have invested in energy independence. But instead we have become much more dependent upon their oil. They are very intelligent people, much more so than the US officials with all their grandstanding and hyped speaches. Our government is a facade, a vast conglomerations of spin artists for whom government means to manipulate public opinion.
What running the government on a defecit actually means is selling out future generations who will have to pay for our mess. To bail out incompetent corporations and increase the national debt to even more astronomical amounts. At the end of the Bush administration a famous Nobel Prize winning economist said it ould take 50 years to recoup the money that had been spent on the war in Iraq - a war based on false information, against international law, a war from which corporations such as Haliburton - of whom the vice president was a former CEO - profited greatly... And that was long before the Obama debt escalations. This is more than fiscal irresponsibility, it is a violation of the rights of future generations. Nobody has the right to force the people of the future to pay for their wanton excess. But for decades now this is the only "solution" our government has been able to institute - spiraling debt, hocking the futures of future generations, spending trillions of interest on the national debt instead of using the money for good, real purposes. Scientific advancement and planetary colonization hae been gutted while obsolete and counterproductive agencies continue to divert needed resources in order to perpetuate themselves.
In 1969 Americans walked on the moon... think what we could do if our government hadn't sold out our future... There could be, there should be, colonies on the Moon and Mars by now... but instead we have nothing, just a big mess, and a minority of rich corporate executives with swiss bank acounts who seem to have no conscience or sense of right and wrong. Our futures, and those of how many future generations have been hocked, that an inept, ineffecient, obsolete government institutions might be perpetuated for a few more years. Its just like a drug addict who will do anything for another fix.
For an excellent illustration of the path America needs to follow, watch the film "Doc Hollywood" staring Michael J. Fox. America needs to return to its small town roots, move away from an economy centralized in sprawling urban centers, away from impersonal mall fast food corporate culture, back to a country of people, neighbors and dignity.
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My ideas on how to fix the government -
Instead of pouring huge amounts of money we don't have into old obsolete super wasteful ineffecient institutions, scrap them make new ones, if needed. This re-design of US government agencies would be done by various universities, i.e. assign one agency to Harvard, another to MIT, another to Caltech, etc... And whatever they come up with will be instituted. The problem is the old institutions. And the obsene practice of defecit spending, which is actually stealing money from future generations and pouring huge amounts of the GNP into non-productive interest on the debt, money which enriches a banking system which is a big part of the problem. These entrenched, antiquated, ineffectual institutions need to be scrapped and replaced with new ones that are much smaller and more effecient.
The current administration's practice of pouring huge amounts of future people's resources into these old decrepit institutions is not a solution, but a temporary shoring up of a system which has failed. If we were to simply eliminate many of these agencies it would have a much more positive effect. For example, the reason why health care costs are so high is they are covered by insurance. A simple visit to the doctor's office costs hundreds of dollars. This is not realistic or justified, it is a direct result of our insurance system which pays these high prices. But the current administration's healthcare proposal does not aim at any effective reduction is costs. Once again their 'solution' is to pour huge amounts of money into the same old wasteful system, money nobody has, money stolen from future generations. This is absurd, it is not a solution, it is a stopgap measure perhaps, but it is also another giant handout to the corporations that control the 'health care industry'. Simply eliminating all medical insurance and returning to a cash system would be much more effective. And the savings in time and money wasted on paperwork, and the processing thereof, would be astronomical. If there is no insurance there will be no insurance fraud, no regulatory agencies, etc. The problem is that things are way too complex and entrenched. Actual solutions may be very simple in nature. If our economy was decentralized and organized around smaller community centers, instead of giant cities, issues of transporation, fuel costs, etc. would resolve simply because they wouldno longer be needed. If people worked in their communities instead of commuting, they could simply ride bicycles. Homes could be smaller and more energy effecient, passive solar systems could become commonplace instead of heating oil, etc... The new homes would be within mounds of earth, which would keep them warm in winter and cool in summer, covered by foliage which would also contribute to cooling, etc. Such designs are simple and easy to build, but they run against the established housing industry's way of doing things. It is not a problem caused by lack of ideas or technology, these are all problems caused by institutions which control the government and economic practices of the country. These are problems which could be easily solved if we could start fresh.
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On wasting the Earth's resources and man's predilection to violence -
If civilization survives, people of the future will look back upon our time in disbelief, "how could they have been so wasteful?". For we are throwing their future down the drain in our unbridled consumption of the Earth's limited resources. Oil is much more valuable as a source for plastics than a fuel, and in the future people will bemoan our burning of oil which will have deprived them of the main source of plastics. Uranium - the current fission reactors are extremely wasteful, and the world' supply of uranium willbe gone in 46 years at the current level of use (info from "The Space Elevator" by Edwards and Westling), but if we used the much more effecient breeder reactors , it would last 9,400 years at current usage, or 2,300 years if used to replace all hydrocarbons... The Earth has this energy supply, enough for several thousand years, certainly long enough until we develope fussion or something even better. But, it is being wasted, and very rapidly. Why are we using old style reactors when we have the technology now, have had for years, to make reactors that are 47 times more effecient. The answer is, such reactors produce plutonium, which can be used for weapons, so the old style wasteful reactors are politically correct. The problem is not fuel supply - we have it on hand and we have the technology, the problem is man's inability to live peacably, man's constant predeliction to war... So really the real solution is for people to learn to live in peace and harmony. It is not a matter of developing new technologies as much as it is solving the age old sickness that pervades our species. We have been givien this perfect planet, with everything we need to prosper and evolve, but we are mismanaging it and jeapordizing the very future of humankind in our stupid, cyclical, wasteful wars... If men could stop fighting, we could move ahead by leaps and bounds, quality of life would improve, we would head out to our neighboring planets... But, that may not ever happen, given the downward course mankind has been traveling throughout its history. We could produce clean, cheap power, if we did not have to worry about people using the fuel for weapons. We could also design more energy effecient homes, towns, and lifestyles. And if we did not waste most of our time making weapons and war, we could use it to do some really productive things. So, the Earth's uranium supply, which could replace fossil fuels for at least a thousand years even if we were to use twice as much energy as we currently do if we switched over to breeder reactors, this supply is being rapidly depleted in old fashioned extremely ineffecient fission reactors because men cannot live peacable with each other. This supply of Uranium should be an intermediate power source utilized while we develope fusion or some other form of energy production, and oil should have been saved as a source of plastics for future generations. But men seem to lack any long term feeling of stewardship, chosing instead to enrich themselves as much as possible and the heck with future generations.
However nuclear power generation via breeder reactors presents the problem of disposing of nuclear waste in a safe manner so it will not effect future people. For example, the USSR used to just dump old reactor cores in the ocean... If this is not possible to do, then we should not use it until we can solve the waste disposal problem. We cannot pass such a dangerous problem and health risk onto furture generations. The way things are currently going, people in the future may look back and view us as monsters who ruined the planet. My point is, the most important thing we need to learn to do is to live in peace and harmony.
Some scientists say we need to develope space colonies in case we destroy the earth. I think that is premature. It will be a long time before we have the ability to survive elsewhere in the solar system, and we never will unless we change our violent ways. If we were not such a violent and irresponsible species, there would be no energy shortage - we have been blessed with all the resources we need for thousands of years, if they were utilized properly. Its like a ship is wrecked on a desert island and the people on board have abundant supplies for more than 10 years. They figure they will be rescued long before their supplies run out, so they make no effort to conserve them or use them wisely, but their rescue ship takes longer than expected to arrive, and by the time it does they have all died... We could replace fossil fuels with nuclear power right now and have enough fuel for several thousand years if we used the much more effecient breeder reactors... By then we would be an interplanetary civilization with access to the asteroid belt and its vast resources... The next step, the next supply cache that has been positioned for our use is the Oort cloud, which contains the materials needed for interstellar expansion... Its all laid out waiting for us, if we can learn to behave ourselves, stop killing each other, and start creating instead of destroying.
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On medical insurance, costs of medical care, etc. -
No one seems to be mentioning the obvious, if people are healthy they do not need any medical care. But perhaps the powers that be do not want too many healthy people, since the health care/pharmaceuticals industry is the most profitable in the USA and hence wields alot of political clout... At any rate, if people simply ate properly, it would have an immense impact upon this problem. Eliminating junk foods, overeating, overdrinking and other forms of glutony would have a much greater effect on the overall health of Americans than any program for taking care of sick people. Americans eat way too much food - look at the average Japanese person, most people in Japan weigh about 40% less than their American counterparts. Eat a good healthy breakfast of real food. Eliminate sugary foods and refined flours, eat more vegetables and less meat, eat more fish and chicken and less red meat, if you are hungry eat a healthy, small snack, do not stuff yourself, allow your stomach to shrink back to its natural size. Its ok, even good, to feel hungry sometimes. The idea of being satiated all the time is totally unnatural. Stop eating before you feel full. And - this is very important, chew your food well, as this aids in digestion which means your food requires less energy to process while releasing more energy. Processing excessive amounts of food into fat requires alot of energy (hence people feel sleepy after overeating). So you can actually have more energy and be much healthier by eating less. The idea of excersizing to loose weight is misguided. We should excersize to keep our body and mind in good working order, healthy, and we should eat less junk food and sugary foods - and drinks - drinks are very fattening, and salad dressings which actually are high calorie, etc... i.e. eat simple real foods, fruit, whole grain breads, and do not eat at night. This is a key point. EAt a good healthy substantial breakfast, healthy snacks, a good lunch, and a smaller lighter supper. After supper do not eat anything. Do not drink anything other than water after supper. So when you go to bed your stomach is not full of food. Its good to feel hungry. Usually I feel hungry for about an hour around 9-10PM then it goes away. After awhile you get used o it and don't even notice. We must have discipline and self-control. Eating should not be an obsessive disorder. As far as medical care goes, if we simply returned to the system we had "in the old days" it would be much better. Better to have no insurance for anyone, just a straight cash system... Then the costs would naturally come down. There would be no cheating, no time wasted on paperwork, etc. etc. Watch the movie "Doc Hollywood", thats how America should be.
When you think about it, insurance has the effect of making things more expensive, and to perpetuate problems, such as people building houses in places prone to hurricanes and forest fires... If there was no homeowners insurance people would have to build in safer locations, build better, stronger, smaller homes, etc... Could it be that we'd be better off without insurance altogether ?
Sugary foods and drinks are one of the main causes of obesity.
In Japan most drinks do not contain sugar, and cakes, etc. are not nearly as sweet as those in the USA. Even fruit juice contains alot of sugar - its much better to eat fruit than drink juice. Sweets are an aquired taste which often is addicting, requiring higher levels of sugar. But sugary "foods" cause a sugar high followed by a low, so people eat more to regain the sugar high... and they are very fattening, they are not balanced and should be eliminated from the diet as much as possible. The bad habit of munching potato chips and sweets and junk food while watching TV, at sporting events, etc. should be eliminated as well. If you are hungry, eat healthy food.
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Regarding unemployment, poverty, gun deaths, etc.
I think we must adopt an attitude that we are all responsible for our actions and state-of-being, rather than placing blame on others. The way to overcome poverty is to live according to God's way of life, rather than getting a gun and pursuing a lifestyle of crime and violence. Men must feel responsible for their actions, which includes loving and caring for the children they father. One can live in poverty with dignity. There are times we need to just do our best and step-by-step move ahead. Trying to get rich quick with a gun and selling drugs can never have any good result, but only cause more suffering and even worse conditions.
On the other hand, a society which promotes guns and makes them easily available is immoral. Many guns are made to kill people, not for hunting. People who live in the country should be allowed to own rifles and shotguns, but many of the guns that are sold should be banned. Guns have no place in our cities. Gun dealers traffic in death. There are even Christian ministers who advocate gun ownership. Our society glorifies guns and violence as a means of dealing with problems. Look at how many movies and TV shows portray shooting and violence. We are often exposed to these violent fantasies if we go to the movies or watch TV. Its gotten so bad that some movies even portray getting shot as funny, or even a sort of male bonding ritual between friends. This is very sick and perverted. Video games teach children that shooting others is fun and earns points, etc. All this is done to line the pockets of greedy people in the "entertainment industry" who will do anything for money. Gun violence has become a major facet of life in the USA.
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On the future of the space program -
how about a TV network, The Mars Channel, which would enable live broadcasts with viewer participation, between audience and astronauts ? Subscriptions would help fund the mission, as well as advertising... As Robert Zubrin points out in his excellent series of books, the is not much point in going back to the moon right now, its a dead rock with no atmosphere to block deadly radiation and even out extreme temperature changes lacking in the materials needed to support human colonization. Mars, however is a Planet, with a hot core which means geo-thermal energy, most of the basic minerals and chemicals needed to manufacture fuels, metals, plastics, ceramics, gases, possibly abundant supplies of subsurface water ice, with a protective atmosphere capable of terraforming, and a habital land area equal to the Earth's since there are no oceans (yet)... And, it takes less energy to go to Mars than to the moon, the only drawback is it takes much longer to get there...
but we could design spacecraft with rotating habitat rings to provide artificial gravity, or - one that is launched in two stages then once on the way to Mars, separates and is rejoined, tethered together, side-by-side with an interconnecting flex-tunnel-passageway, then the two units are set to revolve around their common center-of-mass and, viola, simple artificial gravity, then upon arrival at Mars they are separated and land individually... Plus there could be a large inflatable "recreation balloon" , which would enable the astronauts to "stretch their legs" during the trip, extending out from each craft which would be jettisoned before landing.
Think of what we could have done if the money that has been wasted on economically debilitating wars would have been invested in establishing a Martian colony. The billions and trillions of dollars that are wasted on corporate bail-outs, over priced health care, a welfare system which actually perpetuates the very conditions it purports to alieviate... If we could turn the arms industry into a space exploration industry, develope interplanetary technology instead of weapons...
On colonizing the solar system and beyond -
if one observes the universe with an open mind, the mind being a direct reflection of God, then our natural curiosity and drive to learn and improve our lot is likewise an expression of divine nature. If we look at the layout of the solar system, we can see it as a perfect, step-by-step evolutionary process leading to the stars. There are evolutionary safeguards, in order for a civilization to reach interplanetary status they will first have to learn to live properly, in peace and harmony, on their home planet. Currently humanity is failing this test, devoting most of its resources to such things as wars and the greedy pursuits of power hungry, exploitive people. We now have the means (via the internet) to free ourselves, to throw off the yoke that has enslaved humankind and establish truely democratic forms of government. However, unless we pass the first stage, we will not have the resources or long term focus of activities neccesary to enable interplanetary colonization. (Mars could be terraformed in a thousand years, possibly several hundred if there was a concerted effort on behalf of the Earth's peoples) But, lets say by some wonderous good fortune, the leaders of Islam were to condemn terrorism and the leaders of the USA were to end their corporate prostitution and turn the government over to the people, etc... If some things like this were to occur, we might find ourselves moving forward... Anyway, it turns out that Mars would be a much better interplanetary hub (see the excellent series of books by Robert Zubrin) than earth, and hence a likely candidate for a future "capital of the solar system" due to its proximity to the asteroid belt, an enormous storehouse of resources which will enable us to move on to the outer planets, as well as provide numerous mini-worlds for future colonization... It is interesting that the asteroid belt is positioned perfectly in this sequnce... between the inner and outer planets... the capital of the outer solar system will likely be Saturn's moon Titan, since the Jupiter system is enshrouded by super deadly radiation for the most part and will require future technological advances before we can access its massive abundance of resources... Then, interestingly, there is the Oort cloud, trillions of bodies containing all kinds of materials including frozen fuels, an almost infinite supply of resources... lying between the solar system and the stars... the fuel for humankind's next step outward. But such civilizations will have to be peaceful, altruistic, and benevolent in order to achieve these future stages in our evolution. As we reach each new stage, an increasingly higher degree of "enlightenment" will be required in order to reach the next... Some party poopers can say its just as random accident, a coincedence, but I think such thinking is a form of bias, a sort of anti-mental block mental block, an anti-religious religion... The names and labels are superfluous, but there is a very obvious organization and evolutionary path laid out - if we can pass the various tests along the way. Unfortunately, we are failing miserably so far. Will humankind be able to throw off its "institutions of delusion" and learn to live in peace and harmony, or will we destroy ourselves and piss on the bright future that has been laid out for us ? Will we learn humility, compassion, and responsibility and move forward ? We are entering a new era in which we will have the ability to create new forms of life. We can make plants and high protein fungi that will thrive on Mars (plants will love the high CO2 content of the Martian atmosphere) as well as lifeforms to terraform Mars. We can create microscopic anti-cancer organizms which will simply be injected into the blood stream, destroying tumors without surgery, pain, or medication... We are entering an era in which our knowledge could grow exponentially, but will this growth be hindered by devious people exploiting our fears rather than our potential ? Or will new technologies be used unchecked, without wisdom, and cause irrepairable harm to the environment ? Will our future be destroyed so some people can live lives of wanton excess ? Will we continue plodding along this same miserable downward course to oblivion ? Now, more than ever we need spiritual guidance.
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From "Astronomy Picture of the Day website : D. rad Bacteria: Candidate Astronauts. These bacteria could survive on another planet. In an Earth lab, Deinococcus radiodurans (D. rad) survive extreme levels of radiation, extreme temperatures, dehydration, and exposure to genotoxic chemicals. Amazingly, they even have the ability to repair their own DNA, usually with 48 hours. Known as an extremophile, bacteria such as D. rad are of interest to NASA partly because they might be adaptable to help human astronauts survive on other worlds. A recent map of D. rad's DNA might allow biologists to augment their survival skills with the ability to produce medicine, clean water, and oxygen. Already they have been genetically engineered to help clean up spills of toxic mercury. Likely one of the oldest surviving life forms, D. rad was discovered by accident in the 1950s when scientists investigating food preservation techniques could not easily kill it."
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On the mindset of modern science -
In some respects contemporary science is becoming a cult, separate from the real world, existing in a world of peer review, publication and marketing of (flashy) ideas, increasingly polarized and inbred in its thinking. To me it seems a sterile world and a dangerous one in which people seem to have no qualms about selling their skills to weapons manufacturers or corporations whose sole regard is for profit. There appears to be a growing immorality and lack of ethics. This also holds true for our religious institutions. It is interesting how many of the writings in the bible hold up and offer relevant advice and insight into the dilemma of the modern mind, which, for all its increased database seems to be suffering from a correspondingly increased sense of isolation and futility. The scientist who rules out the world of spirit and mystery and the religionist who rules out the wonders and tools of science may suffer similar fates... Life, be it pursued from a scientific, religious, or mundane path must have a spiritual basis if it is to thrive and grow. The intellect is a powerful tool, yet when separated from its spiritual foundation it may become a tool for destruction rather than creation. The same holds true for religion, or any lifestyle.
Modern science needs to... instead of doing endless computer simulations, do some real work, quit the endless peer group conferences and paper writing and do something real, make some really impressive stuff, like go to Mars. Mars is real. The future of the universe will take care of itself. Science needs to set it sights on something real and do it. There are real adventures, and real experiences, and real, useful knowledge to be gained. Instead of looking for ever minute subastomic particles we could be building settlements on Mars, for example, which is much more relevant to the future of mankind than creating theories about the fate of the universe, etc. If men could go top the moon in 1969, imagine what we could do today with our current technology. If we had not wasted all our resources on wars, which cause great suffering, and supporting the rich corporate elite even though they do a horrible job at their business, instead of hocking the future of humanity so a small minority can live their brief existence in wanton luxury... we could be a multi-planet species right now. We can do it with our current technology. And we will learn by doing, rather than postulating theories. Our technology will naturally grow if we put it to use. But growth requires challenge and risk. Our current governments have sold out, abandoned the future...
Science has become a domain of the intellect. Newton, Darwin, Einstein were all very religious people, for them science and religion were aspects of the same quest. Now such has become unfashionable. modern scientists seem content to religate themselves to an unhealthy purely intellectual polarity.
This except from "Saving Us from Darwin" by Frederick C. Crews illustrates this sad state of affairs:
"... the human soul, insofar as it can be said to exist, may be a mortal and broadly comprehensible product of material forces...
AND THAT OUR UNIVERSE MAY LACK ANY DISCERNABLE PURPOSE, MORAL CHARACTER, OR SPECIAL RELAION TO OURSELVES..."
Yet, we are here, parents love their children, most people care about their neighbors and try to do their best, we are stuggling to rise above our ignorance and making progress - this is not a random accident, things are as they are... it is not a dream or an illusion. Randomness is a flawed concept, shallow thinking, however things come to be, the fact is, they do. How can anyone who looks at a blade of grass not be amazed by the workings of nature, enthralled with life.
This detached, polarized attitude is a product of the modern scientific mindset... What this man does not see is his argument proves the very immanence of an underlying "spirit" within all matter, space, time, energy, that organizes into systems and evolved into us. Science has no name for it, but if matter, energy, space, and time are all versions of the same stuff, or whatever, the term "spirit" seems to be fitting. And it is very interesting that certain writings in the bible bear an uncanny resemblance to the most recent discoveries in the areas of cosmology... Just because scientists may not relate with the universe in the same way as religious people do, and vica versa (although I think there is a great deal in common) does not mean their way is the only way, combating religious "fundamentalism" with anti-religious bigotry accomplishes nothing. One cannot deny the universe's existence, all we can do is try to understand it, rather than fight over whose labels and descriptions are best. Whether you use religious terminology or not is not the point. People need to see the common ground, not create new delusions... Truth is universal...
Such scientists seem ignorant of the wonder and mystery that surrounds them, lost in a false universe of ideas and abstractions. The revelations of modern science, such as the unity of matter, space, energy, and time... which mysteriously burst forth and evolved into such mindboggling diversity of systems, our own infinitely miraculous mind and body (which Christ says is God's temple, not manmade church buildings)... how can anyone say there is no purpose or order or direction ? The universe is Life, and whatever name you choose to call it, it is undeniably diverse and well ordered.
Such anti-life attitudes among scientists is sad and shocking... and dangerous. Modern technology without moral/ethical basis could bring an end to the delicate balance of Life that has taken billions of years to evolve. Surely science should be a pursuit of wonder, with humility and respect for that which is being studied, but modern scientists often spends their time staring at data scrawled across computer screens - perhaps their science is an expression of their life...
Do they, in their disections, loose track of beauty and mystery ? Has science become another big business, a career dependent on selling ones ideas, like soda pop ? What is it they wish to say ? Life is without meaning and purpose because they have lost sight of it ? They spout the latest rhetoric but beneath there seems to be little actual thought or understanding or appreciation. What is the purpose of such science then ? To publish papers and get tenure and acquire status among ones peers ? It seems a sad life... Where is the joy and thankfulness ?
These scientists are doing the same thing as the religious fundementalists - they label everyone, lump all Christians into one group, then dispose of them using arguments derived from their own contrived systems. For me, the most important thing in Life is its spirituality, its mystery, the inner link with all creation, etc.... To me these people seem to be lost in an artificial self-perpetuating world of ideas and conceptualizations. I think such a polarized purely intellectual lifestyle is unhealthy and unproductive as to actually coming up with some original, meaningful, useful discoveries. Much of this science seems to be people making work for themselves, ideas become institutions which must then be defended and perpetuated because the academic standing and careers may depend on it.
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On man's preference for ignorance -
From the MacAthur Student Bible page 1 -
"Scientific theories, by their very definition, are subject to change and adjustment. Scripture remains as God's unchanging declaration of truth. The Bible was not written as a challenge to any particular scientific theory, but scientific theories have often been designed to challenge or undermine biblical statements. They either agree with scripture or are mistaken."
How can any educated person pronounce such totally false ideas as being true ? This is the same basic mindset which Jesus had to confront among religious authorities 2,000 years ago. Truth is of God, not ignorance.
"Scientific theories, by their very definition, are subject to change and adjustment. "
And if one studies the bible free of bias, one cannot help but notice that God does exactly the same thing. God is creative, always hopeful, always trying to make adjustments for the deluded actions of men, always hoping they will excersize some intelligence and use the mind they have been blessed with. The scientific method is in keeping with the theme of evolution and progress that runs throughout the bible. This process is a reflection of the divine nature.
"Scripture remains as God's unchanging declaration of truth."
This is false, Jesus Christ is the only unchanging declaration of truth in Christianity. God's Law is written in our hearts.
"scientific theories have often been designed to challenge or undermine biblical statements."
This is false, and misrepresents the scientific method and the nature of science. In fact, just the opposite is true, the church has often sought to undermine scientific discoveries because they exposed the falicy of errant doctrines. God is truth, the bible says everything will be exposed in the Light of God. The sole purpose of science is the revelation of truth... However, I think modern science is often lacking in wisdom, and an interaction between religion and science is beneficial for both. Jesus taught us to use discerment in reading the bible as well as in our daily lives. Hopefully science would also have a basis in wisdom, be more discernimg and oriented towards the benefit of all people, the earth and all its creatures, instead of doing anything for the sake of one's career. For example, proficiency in mathmatics or computers may evidence specific sorts of intelligence, but often such experts seem to be lost in an artificial world of abstractions. This is not a healthy state. There is a need for wisdom, which leads to true intelligence, a balanced life, compassion, and proper use of our intelligence.
"They either agree with scripture or are mistaken."
Here we see how the advocates of bibleanity reject any discoveries which, according to them, do not agree with the bible. There can be no progress or discovery unless it agrees with their interpretation of the bible. This attitude results in contorted statements such as the one found on page 4 of the MacArthur Student Bible@-
"The first day - God completed creation in 7 days... each day in Genesis refers to a 24 hour period. The cycle of light and darkness means the earth was rotating on its axis, receiving light from a source on one side of the earth, even though the sun was not yet created."
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On population control - much is said about global warming and the destruction of the environment and the quest for new ways to "feed the world"... I just read an article where a scientist postulates new bioengineered crops and trees with black silicon leaves that are 10x more effecient than plants with green leaves which would enable us to sustain the world's booming population... Every time people talk about feeding the world, what they do not seem to realize is that every time our ability to produce food improves the population naturally grows to match the new supply... more food always means more people... The real solution is not creating new bioengineered crops, but new forms of birth control that are easy and safe to use... However, economies are based upon population growth, as are the ever growing tax demands of governments, and the world's major religions reject birth control... So, we have people living in dire poverty, living in dumps, starving, having large numbers of children. Natures response to such adverse conditions is to produce more offspring to insure the survival of the community/species. Its purely a matter of numbers from the natural point of view... Famine, disease, war - all are natural forms of population control. The only solution is to apply our knowledge and plan suitable population sizes, but this is unpopular on just about every front. So, we continue the cycles which lead to ever increasing disasters. If we do not manage the world with wisdom and knowledge then we are subject to natural forms of population control, which are always unpleasant, without heart, without any concern for individuals... While it is customary to glorify nature we should also be aware that nature will kill us without batting an eye if we get into a bad situation, like being caught in an undertow... Nature can be totally heartless and brutal, as can humans when they are driven to it. So we need intelligent management of populations, there cannot be unlimited growth, we are past the level the earth can sustain, the result will be an earth devoid of other creatures, forests, and masses of humans living in poverty. We must develope governments and economies based upon sustainable populations rather than endlessly increasing masses. And we need to launch a worldwide program of negative population growth to return to levels of about 30 years ago... We must concentrate on quality of life rather than numbers. Small healthy educated families rather than big, sick, uneducated groups in which men run around procreating irresponsibly, passing on diseases and bringing children into the world who they are unable to provide for, and who they may ignore, not accepting the responsiblity of fatherhood. This is especially true in our modern societies with their rampant sexual promiscuity.
Whether there are 1 billion people in the world or 10 billion, eventually we are going to have to draw the line, so really it might as well be at a much lower level, which would enable people to provide better lives for smaller numbers of children. Instead of destroying the Earth by over-population and subjecting humankind to ever greater disasters, epidemics, and deterioration of quality of life, it would be much better to plan our societies.
However the horrible practice of abortion should never be considered as a means of population control. What we need are safe, easy effective means, such as a pill or simple surgery. I wonder how many of the fundamentalists who tell people to abstain from sex did so themselves. The sex drive is one of the most powerful biological forces and to deny people effective birth control can only result in millions of unwanted births each year as well as millions of abortions. The unrealistic position of religious fundamentalists is a big part of the problem. The fact is billions of people are having sex and producing billions of babies. Many of these people do not want to be parents or cannot take care of another child. Many of them live in dire poverty. The only realistic solution is effective, safe birth control. But our religious institutions teach them its wrong so perpetuate and compound the problem. The end result is millions of children are innocent victims.
"Be fruitful and multiply" does not mean ravage and despoil the Earth. An orchard needs to be carefully tended in order to bear fruit. If left to the forces of nature it will become weed infested and its trees will produce less and less. Fruit trees need to be pruned, nurtured, and cared for, with knowledge, wisdom, and science.
Also, building cities in low lying coastal areas, in dry desert areas prone to yearly fires, etc. is a mistake. Such areas should not be major popoulation centers, as is currently the case. This is totally irresponsible and can only result in repeated disasters...
It is essential to understand the solution to the world's food problems, i.e. poverty and hunger, is not the production of more food. Increases in food supply are always accompanied by increases in population, more food begets more people. The only solution, short of migrating to another planet, is birth control and family planning. However since governments are operating on the principle of deficit spending they require ever increasing populations of taxpayers. All of this is heading towards ever greater disasters, epidemics - coupled with the prevailance and ease of air travel which distributes new viruses almost immediately around the world, and poor sanitary conditions due to ever increasing overpopulation... And, as the numbers of humans spiral upwards the number of extinct species also spirals upwards... This may have a huge impact on the balance of nature in the future. One organism, such as the lowly dung beatle, even a species of bacteria... all of these things are part of a delicate balance that has evolved over billions of years. Insects pollinate crops, animals maintain the balance of the insect population, microscopic organisms in the oceans produce a large part of our global oxygen supply, eliminate one link in the chain and it can have very far reaching consequences. Add to this the involvement of corporations in the hybridization of seeds, for example. Whereas a hundred years ago there was a vast panopoly of food crops being grown worldwide, that number is decreasing drastically, where there were once hundreds, or even thousands, of different varieties of plants being grown for food in a region, now there may ten or twenty... The new seeds are patented, hybridized and untested over long periods of time. A single blight could wipe out a large portion of a region's food supply. This coupled with spiraling overpopulation will have dire consequences. The solution is not producing hybridized supercrops that increase yields by factors of 2, 3, or 4, but planned population size. More food always equals more people. It will just keep snowballing... Our economic system, corporate capitalism, perpetuates the problems it claims it is solving. Responsible procreation is the only solution, otherwise nature will impose its own solutions in the forms of epidemics, disasters, wars, etc. If we do not manage our affairs, nature will, and nature has no compassion in these matters.
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On medical care - a huge amount of disease could be eliminated for free, at no cost what-so-ever... But to do so would deprive one of the most powerful industries of much of its profit, and in our corporate controlled world, that is taboo... However, if people would simply eat modest amounts of real food and cut out all junk food and sweets there would be a huge increase in health and well-being. Its very simple, eat less fatty meat and more vegetables. Eat a good healthy balanced breakfast of fruit, yogurt, tea without sugar, one egg and a piece of whole grain toast, a similar good healthy lunch, a smaller size supper, and after supper do not eat anything. Cut out all the junk foods and sugary desserts. Eat healthy snacks - a piece of fruit or cream cheese on whole grain crackers... Excersize one hour a day. You can excersize while watching TV too, by doing simple calesthenics with light weights, the plastic water filled variety work nicely. Walk and ride a bicycle instead of driving. Live closer to your place of employment to avoid wasting time, energy, and money on stressful commuting which also pollutes the air.
Another reason medical care is so expensive is the practice of trying to prolong life as long as is physically possible, even if it means forcing elderly people near the end of their lives to undergo surgeries and painful proceedures with a small chance of success in the hopes of prolonging ones life for a sort period. I think it is important to realize we are all going to die and see this as an important part of our life. Death should be a conscious passing. I see no moral reason for forcing people to endure horrible suffering and degradation. If I was suffering from some horrible, debilitating disease, I could choose to "leave this mortal coil" with my mental faculties intact... I am sure the fact that many people fear such an ending results in numerous suicides. People should be allowed to live, and die, in freedom, with dignity, among caring and compassionate people. To be forced to vegetate for years while the mind slowly deteriorates is, I believe, cruel and inhuman. This suffering is prolonged by our health care industry when patients are forced to undergo very expensive surgeries, proceedures and tests even when it may only add a short time to this existence, often draining thier families resources.
I am not advocating suicide, but rather ending the practice of keeping people alive by any means possible. Death is the natural ending we all face and to try to avoid it when it is inevitable is also wrong and causes suffering. Prolonging life should not be equated with quality of life. There must be a balance, For example, people should be given the freedom to decide if they want to undergo surgeries, etc. It should not be forced upon them. If a person does not have the mental abiblity to make such a decision, then their previous wishes should be honored. Lack of mental awareness might be considered as grounds for allowing a person to die peacefully rather than forcing them to undergo surgeries, etc. to prolong the existence of their physical body while their mind deteriorates. I think this is very wrong and unnatural.
On government - The USA is not a democracy nor is it a capitalistic country. Rich executives and corporations receive huge rewards for doing horrible jobs. Honest competition is being prevented and the natural forces of the marketplace are subverted. Good companies like Honda are prevented from realizing their fair share of the market because corporate dinosaurs like GM are given massive "bailouts" which will only prolong their demise. For the cost of one such "bail out" of one of these massive corporate failures we could have a manned base on Mars. This is money that should be invested in the future, in new ideas, new companies, new more effecient forms of government, such as direct voting via the internet. We could dispense with much of our government and replace it with true democracy via the internet. Why should lobbiests and career politicians control the future of humanity ? We need a national referendum on changing the way our government is run, and putting it into the hands of the people. There is no good reason why the people should not be allow to vote directly on many issues. Get rid of the special interests which have taken the reigns of government from the people. Its itme to move ahead and realize the vision of our founding fathers, one person, one vote, freedom, liberty, and equality for all. If we are going to institute a true democracy each person's vote must be equal, and with the advent of the internet we can dispense with "politicain-middlemen" and a host of bureaucracies that drain our economy of its life blood. Actual government can be locally based, the Federal Government would be scaled down, its main role being to insure basic rights and fair play. The people should be allowed to decide on the course their future should take and how their taxes should be used. As it is now, one party argues with the other, blocks legislation, year after year, the same old ineffectual power struggles, huge amounts of money are wasted, it takes way too long to pass legislation, while problems and debt are continually passed on to future generations. We could just vote via a government website and bypass the whole mess. Have an actual democracy.
These huge, extremely ineffecient institutions are diverting the future of humankind. If we can rid ourselves of them and use the technology at hand we will be free to move ahead and act decisively and democratically. Create a congressional website and allow the people to create legislation and vote, without the interfence from lobbiests and politicians. The difficult part will be getting rid of the old, entrenched institutions.
And of course there should be a simple flat tax system and the old income tax system should be totally scrapped. In such a system there would be no need to waste money sending out refunds.
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message to NASA :
The Space Shuttle is a bad design and NASA's persistence in using it is an example a government agency that is more concerned with its own image and PR than crew safety. The original shuttle design was to be much smaller and positioned atop a booster - had this more sensible design been adhered to none of these disasters would have occured. Imagine, an multi-billion dollar craft that is damaged by pieces of foam insulation falling off a booster... Why did NASA choose to pursue such a gigantic, heavy, costly, and dangerous design - a spacecraft the size of a DC 7 ? A smaller shuttle positioned atop a booster would not be damaged by hot gases from faulty O-rings or pieces of foam insulation. This is so obvious, yet NASA persists in using this dangerous dinosaur of a spacecraft. It was a bad concept - who would make a spacecraft in which the crew could not escape in an emergency? Clearly, politics and economics took precedence over crew safety and practicality. NASA should end the current shuttle program now and return to safe, responsible spacecraft design. Crew safety should never be compramized due to economic or political concerns.
The shuttle's function should be to ferry personel into space and back, not carrying payloads. (The current shuttle is like a giant spacegoing cargo container). Payloads should be launched separately. Residential orbital habitats would enable crews to remain in space for exended periods. Sending people into space and returning them after a few days or weeks is wasteful and at present, dangerous. A shuttle designed for this purpose can be compact. Or if a simpler re-entry vehicle, such as a capsule, were used, spare heat shields could be stored in the orbital habitats in case one sustained damage. Such a vehicle should be of simple, modular, utilitarian design, capable of being repaired in orbit. Ideally it would be standardized internationally, so craft from various countries could be used interchangably, as well as repaired using the same orbiting spare parts inventory. It would be easy for our engineers to design such a system.
more on the space shuttle design problems... some ideas for solutions... design an insulating material for the fuel tank that doesn't fall off... mount a smaller sized shuttle atop the booster rockets instead of alongside... OR... mount the shuttle with the heat shield facing out, rather than towards the booster, with shock absorbing foam on the top of the shuttle facing the booster... design smaller modular spacecraft with spare parts supply depots in orbit so they could be repaired if need be... orbiting habitats (the old sci-fi revolving wheel kind so no zero gravity health problems) which astronauts could live in for extended periods so launches would be reduced and in case of a damaged craft its crew could live aboard the habitat until they could be picked up by another craft... a symetrically designed shuttle with heat shields on top and bottom which could flip over and re-enter using the top secondary heat shield if the primary bottom heat shield was damaged... rather than sticking with bad designs for political reasons we need a new approach which is more flexible and capable of moving ahead into better designs as they become available. and we need to stop wasting our resources on misguided wars and bailing out failed corporations. we reward mediocrity and force our best and most talented people to work within an ineffecient and flawed system... worse than that is we put them in danger, forcing them to risk their lives flying unsafe craft when we could do much better... astronauts should be part of the design process... no spacecraft should ever be built that does not have basic safety features... look at the number of people who have died flying the space shuttle... each time it launches we just cross our fingers and hope there is no serious damage to the heat shields... this is wrong, morally, ethically, and scientifically.... so why are we doing it ? is it possible that this is an example of the Ford Pinto design mentality applied to spacecraft ? our government has hocked our future to pay for misguided wars and corporate bailouts... congress will forkout trillions in free gifts to corporations that have failed but cuts funding for the space program... what is the greatest accomplishment of humankind ? possibly the Apollo program, yet even it was cut short by short-sighted politicians...
or, orbiting robotic lifeboat/re-entry vehicles built to international standards that could be used by any country's astronauts... which could respond to an emergency, locate and transport a crew to a habitat or back to earth...
how about a rotating "geodesic sphere" structure, with habitats constructed along the equator so people can live in a gravity environment... while at each of the poles there could be zero gravity observatories which would rotate in such a manner as to maintain a stationary relationship with the earth or stars, for astronomical and terrestrial observation. most of structure between the equator and the poles would be an open framework, with connecting tunnels to the poles from a central axis in the hub. of course there would be large solar arrays for power which would also function as sunshades...
also, we are going to have to start programs to eliminate orbiting space junk, or else by the time we have the technology that will enable spacetravel we will not be able to use it because the Earth will be surrounded by vast clouds of shrapnel that will instantly shred anything that attempts to penetrate them. The longer we put off doing this the more costly and difficult it will become in the future. Nuclear powered laser satellites could zap and vaporize orbiting debris, however since these could also function as an offensive weapons to destroy satellites, it is doubtful they could be deployed during the current state of international affairs, but such a satellite could track thousands of pieces of junk and destroy them easily and rapidly from a distance... or robotic collectors which would fill themselves then burn up in the atmosphere, but these would take much longer and be more costly... All satellites should be designed to eliminate space junk by re-entry after their period of service has ended, or by launching themselves into the sun along prescribed disposal trajectories... governments and corporations who clutter the sky with deadly debris should have to pay for its removal... once again corporations and governments are irresponsibly creating problems for future generations who will have to foot the bill for cleaning up their mess.
The international space stationis another bad design ... after spending extended periods in zero gravity people suffer physical deterioration... so how would lenghty spaceflights be possible ? remember those old big wheel space stations from sci-fi books in the 50s and 60s ? we should build such a revolving spacestation so there would be no damage to people from long duration zero gravity missions, and - the "spacestation" should actually be a spaceship... think about it... whats the point of building a low earth orbit space station ? we could just as well build a movable habitat ! isn't that obvious ? also, we should send modular habitats, equipment, and supplies to Mars, then send people, not send everything at once. an orbiting spaceship that never lands or needs to take off from earth would be capable of supporting Martian and Lunar excursions, a suitable long term habitat with artificial gravity would allow people to live in space for extended periods, years at a time, Robotic supply ships would bring needed materials and personel.
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Jesus' teachings 0n love (this should be the heart of Christianity) -
Luke 6:27 But I say unto you which hear, Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you, 28Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you. 29And unto him that smiteth thee on the one cheek offer also the other; and him that taketh away thy cloak forbid not to take thy coat also. 30Give to every man that asketh of thee; and of him that taketh away thy goods ask them not again. 31And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise. 32For if ye love them which love you, what thank have ye? ...35But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil. 36Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful. 37Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven: 38Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.
So, how was this, the true Way of God as presented to us in the very person of Christ, changed into a religion of war and terror by the church and numerous despotic rulers throughout Europe beginning with Constantine into the middle ages ? How is it possible the doctrine of Holy War is still being preached by many of Christian authorities today ?
Here is a quote from The MacArthur Study Bible, millions of copies in print, including student textbooks, one of the most popular study bibles, and there are other study bibles espousing the same doctrine, re. Numbers 31 -
"This battle with the Midianites modeled God's requirements for Holy War when Israel took vengence on His enemies... All the Midianites, except the virgin women, were to be put to death... The execution of all male children and women of child bearing age insured the extermination of the Midianites. "
The MacArthur Study Bible, re. Isaiah 11,4 -
" 'Breath of His lips' - this is another figure for the Messiah's means of inflicting physical harm."
The NCV Everyday Study Bible, printed in 1996:
"In light of the repeated commands against murder in the bible, it is difficult to make sense of the OT stories where God commands people to annihilate their enemies... in the conquest of Jericho and Ai where all people - women youth, and elderly - are slaughtered... it is confusing to read that God himself demands the killing of non-combatants... from the perspective of God's people, this was an execution of corporate punishment, a group death penalty for an evil people who acted against the God of Israel... every member of the family was involved in pagan worship... but more significantly, God wanted to remove every source of future corruption to his people..."
"The bible is full of the sights, sounds, and smells of warfare... Study of the Bible reveals that there is a theology of warfare that runs from Genesis to Revelation... The plunder includes material goods that are given to the treasury of the sanctuary...@and also prisoners of war who are usually executed... This is the picture of Holy War in the OT. At the center stands God, the divine warrior."
"In the OT God graciously accepted the life of the sacrificial animal instead of taking the life of the person offering the sacrifice as punishment for sin... Jesus' life was the perfect sacrifice because it did away with the need for any more animal sacrifices... One day, Jesus will return to earth as a kingly warrior and subdue all those who oppose him. " - NCV Everyday Study Bible.
The NCV ESB, p.1141 - "...a Christian is one who has God as father. But cannot this be said of every person, Christian or not ? No ! The idea that all are children of God is not found in the Bible anywhere."
(Duh, the very first chapter of the bible says God created ALL PEOPLE IN HIS IMAGE. MAN AND WOMAN... These people are seriously screwed up.)
These are just a few examples of the type of comments found in many study bibles on the market. This is an afront to God, Christ and the Holy Spirit - the antithesis of the teachings, life and example of Jesus Christ.
How can people who purport to be followers of Jesus say this sort of thing ? The Christian Church has a history of this sort of deluded behavior which has, in the past, led to horrible atrocities and monstrous deeds committed in the name of Christ. Clearly this is not based in the example and teachings of Jesus, so why is it espoused and marketed under the guise of Christianity ? This has nothing to do with Christ, it is the opposite of what he taught.
There are many very violent, dark, wrathful passages in the bible that have nothing to do with God. It is the most violent book I have read. The doctrine of a divine and perfect bible serves to perpetuate wars and violence and has had a horrendous impact upon our history. Such sritings are not the world of God, but rather the beliefs of ignorant men. Christ incarnated to set things straight and reveal God's true nature.
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Jesus went into the mountains alone at night to pray, to commune with God spiritually... That which brings true peace, understanding, wellbeing, love and compassion is of God, the rest is not. Hence it is essential to interpret the bible from a basis in Christ rather than twisting Jesus' teachings to conform with the false doctrine of a perfect and divine bible. The men who wrote the many diverse writings in the bible did so from a basis in a different worldview. The incarnation of Christ and his subsequent work among us changed all that. But the advocates of bibleanity seek to re-instate the same old obsolete worldview. Whenever the bible talks abut the wrath of God, etc. it should be understood that this is how ancient men viewed God, not how God actually is. Such accounts might better be seen as what happens to people when they live selfish, hedonistic, unspiritual lives, i.e. the results of their actions. A morally corrupt society will naturally fall apart. Life requires harmony and fitness. Evolution is one of the main themes of the bible. Rather than a natural universe controlled by God, it is more like a machine that once set in motion follows certain (totally cold-hearted) laws. God's realm is spiritual. However if we live in accordance with God's law of love, compassion, respect for all life, we will become masters of the physical world to a certain extent, but never completely. The physical universe will never be perfect and without risk. Such is life. It is interesting that this is what the bible actually says, if it is read with an open mind, free of religious bias. We are presented with the universe and expected to become its caretakers, to manage utilize its resources wisely, not as gluttons but as good stewards. We have an obligation to think of future generations and how our actions will affect their lives. This is not being done. This is very wrong. We should leave the earth in better condition then when we inheritied it. We are doing just the opposite and at a rate that may be causing irreparable harm to the earth, its creatures, and future generations.
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What is bibleanity ?
Several centuries after Jesus' incarnation the Christian Church compiled what is now entitled the Holy Bible and declared it to be the Word of God, perfect and infallable, divinely dictated, even though in many places it contradicts the teachings of Jesus. Advocates of the divine bible have used this doctrine to justify the repression of Jesus' original teachings of unconditional love and non-violence. Advocates of bibleanity continue to teach that Jesus is a warrior who will return to destroy the earth and anyone who doesn't believe in him, they also teach that Jesus Christ is the author of the bible in its entirety, and the architect of numerous wars and conquests depicted in the Old Testament. They say everything that happens is an act of God, epidemics, disasters, disease... that such things are punishments from God. For modern people to perpetuate such ancient superstitions is mindboggling, and to mislead children in this manner is an offensive against God, Christ, and the Holy Spirit... Bibleanity represents a re-establishment of the very sorts of false manmade religious institutions which Jesus opposed even in the face of the cruelist torture and death.
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Did you know that there are bible colleges that actually are teaching people that dinosaurs are still alive in Africa, and have actually sent expeditions there to prove their "creationist" theories ? They totally discount evolution and the actual age of the earth, proclaiming authoritatively that the earth and all living organisms were created within a period of a few thousand years. And many people actually believe this... So there are many professors and Ph.Ds teaching totally false psuedo-science all on the "authority" of the bible. The bible says God made Adam and Eve therefore evolution is false... Such is the delusive nature of bibleanity, the belief in a divine bible. And it is becoming increasingly popular. People are actually seeking out and embracing ignorant beliefs... Perhaps it gives people a sense of security, but its a false sense of security because its based on a fiction. Which leads to more insecurity, so its a vicious circle. The solution is spiritual communion with God, Christ, and the Holy Spirit instead of Bibleanity. Science is a reflection fo the divine nature. God is creative. God gives life, diversity, hope and wellbeing. Choosing to embrace superstitions and false doctrines does not bring us closer to the truth.
The bible says science is an essential aspect of God's divine plan -
On the very first page of the bible we read, Genesis 1,11 - " And God said, let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit after their kind with seed in them. " This is something we take for granted, but how did ancient people, thousands of years ago, know this ? Through Science, through careful observation, study, accumulation of data, experimentation, and successful implementation of this new knowledge. And people used this knowledge to change the world, exactly as it says we should do in Genesis... This displays a very important understanding (these people seem to be more knowledgable in this area than many modern day people) - that Seeds contain the "masterplan" for each variety of plant and animal, something all living things have in-common... They also knew semen contained the seed for animal life and human life, thus all life having this in-common, and offspring, children, were called "seed"... And that gave birth to the idea that ideas were also seeds which gave birth to new ideas... Although for some strange reason many modern people who study the bible decry evolution, it is in fact, one of the main themes that runs throughout the bible. So, the basic fundamental biological process in which each lifeform produces its own unique seed containing the blueprint for all its unique charateristics as well as its basic structure, which we now know is infinitely complex and miraculous, was well known to these people in ancient times. This knowledge allowed people to change the world and move from hunter-gatherers to become farmers and herdsmen. People regarded knowledge as something Holy, something spoken to them by God, not a cold academic pursuit, but an interaction with the Creator of the universe in the most intimate manner. An interaction which brought forth new life.
But how did people in biblical times initially learn these things ? The answer is - Science. Science is an aspect of our very nature, Science is human in its deepest sense, and as the bible clearly states, is a reflection of the divine nature... God is a creator, an explorer, an optimist, a benevolent friend ... Yet, men have often rejected God's creative Way of Life and chosen instead the ways of destruction ad death. This verse attests to scientific studies, experiments, and successful applications of scientifically derived knowledge among "primitive peoples"... But, I have a feeling they were very much like you and me, perhaps even more intelligent, resourceful, and creative... We just inherited their "intellectual property". Can we recapture this sort of drive and motivation, to pursue knowledge as a Way to Life, rather than blindly doing anything to make money, regardless of the consequences ?
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message to NASA :
The Space Shuttle is a bad design and NASA's persistence in using it is an example a government agency that is more concerned with its own image and PR than crew safety. The original shuttle design was to be much smaller and positioned atop a booster - had this more sensible design been adhered to none of these disasters would have occured. Imagine, an multi-billion dollar craft that is damaged by pieces of foam insulation falling off a booster... Why did NASA choose to pursue such a gigantic, heavy, costly, and dangerous design - a spacecraft the size of a DC 7 ? A smaller shuttle positioned atop a booster would not be damaged by hot gases from faulty O-rings or pieces of foam insulation. This is so obvious, yet NASA persists in using this dangerous dinosaur of a spacecraft. It was a bad concept - who would make a spacecraft in which the crew could not escape in an emergency? Clearly, politics and economics took precedence over crew safety and practicality. NASA should end the current shuttle program now and return to safe, responsible spacecraft design. Crew safety should never be compramized due to economic or political concerns.
The shuttle's function should be to ferry personel into space and back, not carrying payloads. (The current shuttle is like a giant spacegoing cargo container). Payloads should be launched separately. Residential orbital habitats would enable crews to remain in space for exended periods. Sending people into space and returning them after a few days or weeks is wasteful and at present, dangerous. A shuttle designed for this purpose can be compact. Or if a simpler re-entry vehicle, such as a capsule, were used, spare heat shields could be stored in the orbital habitats in case one sustained damage. Such a vehicle should be of simple, modular, utilitarian design, capable of being repaired in orbit. Ideally it would be standardized internationally, so craft from various countries could be used interchangably, as well as repaired using the same orbiting spare parts inventory. It would be easy for our engineers to design such a system.
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more on the space shuttle design problems... some ideas for solutions... design an insulating material for the fuel tank that doesn't fall off... mount a smaller sized shuttle atop the booster rockets instead of alongside... OR... mount the shuttle with the heat shield facing out, rather than towards the booster, with shock absorbing foam on the top of the shuttle facing the booster... design smaller modular spacecraft with spare parts supply depots in orbit so they could be repaired if need be... orbiting habitats (the old sci-fi revolving wheel kind so no zero gravity health problems) which astronauts could live in for extended periods so launches would be reduced and in case of a damaged craft its crew could live aboard the habitat until they could be picked up by another craft... a symetrically designed shuttle with heat shields on top and bottom which could flip over and re-enter using the top secondary heat shield if the primary bottom heat shield was damaged... rather than sticking with bad designs for political reasons we need a new approach which is more flexible and capable of moving ahead into better designs as they become available. and we need to stop wasting our resources on misguided wars and bailing out failed corporations. we reward mediocrity and force our best and most talented people to work within an ineffecient and flawed system... worse than that is we put them in danger, forcing them to risk their lives flying unsafe craft when we could do much better... astronauts should be part of the design process... no spacecraft should ever be built that does not have basic safety features... look at the number of people who have died flying the space shuttle... each time it launches we just cross our fingers and hope there is no serious damage to the heat shields... this is wrong, morally, ethically, and scientifically.... so why are we doing it ? is it possible that this is an example of the Ford Pinto design mentality applied to spacecraft ? our government has hocked our future to pay for misguided wars and corporate bailouts... congress will forkout trillions in free gifts to corporations that have failed but cuts funding for the space program... what is the greatest accomplishment of humankind ? possibly the Apollo program, yet even it was cut short by short-sighted politicians...
or, orbiting robotic lifeboat/re-entry vehicles built to international standards that could be used by any country's astronauts... which could respond to an emergency, locate and transport a crew to a habitat or back to earth...
how about a rotating "geodesic sphere" structure, with habitats constructed along the equator so people can live in a gravity environment... while at each of the poles there could be zero gravity observatories which would rotate in such a manner as to maintain a stationary relationship with the earth or stars, for astronomical and terrestrial observation. most of structure between the equator and the poles would be an open framework, with connecting tunnels to the poles from a central axis in the hub. of course there would be large solar arrays for power which would also function as sunshades...
also, we are going to have to start programs to eliminate orbiting space junk, or else by the time we have the technology that will enable spacetravel we will not be able to use it because the Earth will be surrounded by vast clouds of shrapnel that will instantly shred anything that attempts to penetrate them. The longer we put off doing this the more costly and difficult it will become in the future. Nuclear powered laser satellites could zap and vaporize orbiting debris, however since these could also function as an offensive weapons to destroy satellites, it is doubtful they could be deployed during the current state of international affairs, but such a satellite could track thousands of pieces of junk and destroy them easily and rapidly from a distance... or robotic collectors which would fill themselves then burn up in the atmosphere, but these would take much longer and be more costly... All satellites should be designed to eliminate space junk by re-entry after their period of service has ended, or by launching themselves into the sun along prescribed disposal trajectories... governments and corporations who clutter the sky with deadly debris should have to pay for its removal... once again corporations and governments are irresponsibly creating problems for future generations who will have to foot the bill for cleaning up their mess.
The international space stationis another bad design ... after spending extended periods in zero gravity people suffer physical deterioration... so how would lenghty spaceflights be possible ? remember those old big wheel space stations from sci-fi books in the 50s and 60s ? we should build such a revolving spacestation so there would be no damage to people from long duration zero gravity missions, and - the "spacestation" should actually be a spaceship... think about it... whats the point of building a low earth orbit space station ? we could just as well build a movable habitat ! isn't that obvious ? also, we should send modular habitats, equipment, and supplies to Mars, then send people, not send everything at once. an orbiting spaceship that never lands or needs to take off from earth would be capable of supporting Martian and Lunar excursions, a suitable long term habitat with artificial gravity would allow people to live in space for extended periods, years at a time, Robotic supply ships would bring needed materials and personel.
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On the mindset of modern science - by John Niemi, 2009
On the other hand, science has become totally a domain of the intellect. Newton, Darwin, Einstein were all very religious people, for them science and religion were aspects of the same quest. Now such has become unfashionable. modern scientists seem content to religate themselves to an unhealthy purely intellectual polarity.
This except from "Saving Us from Darwin" by Frederick C. Crews illustrates this sad state of affairs - "... the human soul, insofar as it can be said to exist, may be a mortal and broadly comprehensible product of material forces... AND THAT OUR UNIVERSE MAY LACK ANY DISCERNABLE PURPOSE, MORAL CHARACTER, OR SPECIAL RELAION TO OURSELVES..."
Yet, we are here, parents love their children, most people care about their neighbors and try to do their best, we are stuggling to rise above our ignorance and making progress - this is not a random accident, things are as they are... it is not a dream or an illusion. Randomness is a flawed concept, shallow thinking, however things come to be, the fact is, they do. How can anyone who looks at a blade of grass not be amazed by the workings of nature, enthralled with life.
This detached, polarized attitude is a product of the modern scientific mindset... What this man does not see is his argument proves the very immanence of an underlying "spirit" within all matter, space, time, energy, that organizes into systems and evolved into us. Science has no name for it, but if matter, energy, space, and time are all versions of the same stuff, or whatever, the term "spirit" seems to be fitting. And it is very interesting that certain writings in the bible bear an uncanny resemblance to the most recent discoveries in the areas of cosmology... Just because scientists may not relate with the universe in the same way as religious people do, and vica versa (although I think there is a great deal in common) does not mean their way is the only way, combating religious "fundamentalism" with anti-religious bigotry accomplishes nothing. One cannot deny the universe's existence, all we can do is try to understand it, rather than fight over whose labels and descriptions are best. Whether you use religious terminology or not is not the point. People need to see the common ground, not create new delusions... Truth is universal...
Such "scientists" seem ignorant of the wonder and mystery that surrounds them, lost in a false universe of ideas and abstractions. The revelations of modern science, such as the unity of matter, space, energy, and time... the new paradigm of a cosmos which burst forth from nothingness and evolved into such mindboggling diversity of systems, our own infinitely miraculous mind and body... how can anyone say there is no purpose or order or direction ? The universe is Life, and whatever name you choose to call it, it is undeniably diverse and well ordered. Such anti-life attitudes among scientists is sad and shocking... and dangerous. Modern technology without moral/ethical basis could bring an end to the delicate balance of Life that has taken billions of years to evolve. Surely science should be a pursuit of wonder, with humility and respect for that which is being studied, but modern scientisst often spends their time staring at data scrawled accross computer sceens - their science is an expression of their life...
I wonder to what extent their "insights" are a product of their mental games. Do they, in their disections, loose track of beauty and mystery ? Has science become another big business, a career dependent on selling ones ideas, like soda pop ? What is it they wish to say ? Life is without meaning and purpose because they have lost sight of it ? They spout the latest rhetoric but beneath there seems to be little actual thought or understanding or appreciation. What is the purpose of such science then ? To publish papers and get tenure and acquire status among ones peers ? It seems a sad life... Where is the joy and thankfulness ?
These "scientists" are doing the same thing as the religious fundementalists - they label everyone, lump all "Christians" into one group, then dispose of them using arguments derived from their own contrived systems. If I had to choose associating with a group of such "totally intellectual" academics or a group of fundamentalist Christians, I would definiley choose the fundamentalist Christians. For me, the most important thing in Life is its spirituality, its mystery, the inner link with all creation, etc.... To me these very educated masters of verbage and abstraction seem lost in an artificial self-perpetuating "world" of ideas and conceptualizations. I think such a polarized intellectual lifestyle is unhealthy and unproductive as to actually coming up with some original, meaningful, useful discoveries. Much of this "science" is people making work for themselves, ideas become institutions which must then be defended and perpetuated because the academic standing and careers of many such people depend on it.
Even though some religious people who may be blinded by "bibleanity" they may also be loving, caring, spiritually based people, vibrant and alive, joyful and appreciative... and in the final analysis I think that is the most important criteria when judging the validity and health of any lifestyle. As Jesus said, we should judge a tree by its fruit.
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What is bibleanity ?
Several centuries after Jesus' incarnation the Christian Church compiled what is now entitled the Holy Bible and declared it to be the Word of God, perfect and infallable, divinely dictated, even though in many places it contradicts the teachings of Jesus. Advocates of the divine bible have used this doctrine to justify the repression of Jesus' original teachings of unconditional love and non-violence. Advocates of bibleanity continue to teach that Jesus is a warrior who will return to destroy the earth and anyone who doesn't believe in him, they also teach that Jesus Christ is the author of the bible in its entirety, and the architect of numerous wars and conquests depicted in the Old Testament. They say everything that happens is an act of God, epidemics, disasters, disease... that such things are punishments from God. For modern people to perpetuate such ancient superstitions is mindboggling, and to mislead children in this manner is an offensive against God, Christ, and the Holy Spirit... Bibleanity represents a re-establishment of the very sorts of false manmade religious institutions which Jesus opposed even in the face of the cruelist torture and death. Today we even see ministers instructing congregations to wear handguns to church ! This is the epitome of delusion.
One of the most respected bible commentators, Matthew Henry, tells us (re.Luke 19, 27) -
" Whoever will not be ruled by the grace of Christ will inevitably be ruined by the wrath of Christ."
Here we see the flipflopping which results from bibleanity. This is totally contrary to the actual teachings and example of Jesus Christ. A few verses earlier Jesus says (Luke 19,10) " For the Son of Man is come to seek and save that which was lost." Jesus never says he is going to destroy anyone, yet many Christians insist on twisting his teachings in order to conform them to bibleanity. Such remarks are the result of spiritual ignorance. Bible study should not be equated with spiritual communion. This is why it is essential to base our religious practice upon prayer and meditation rather than the false doctrine of a divine and perfect bible. Anyone can open themselves to God and enter into spiritual communion. The Holy Spirit will guide us and teach us. Due to this spiritual ignorance resulting from the practice of bibleanity, it may be more beneficial to investigate other traditions such as Yoga and Buddhism and apply their methods to Christian spiritual practice.
The Gospels were written by authors who drew from writings representing the materials circulating amongst the early churches. They are stories about Jesus, not literal histories. At times Jesus is quoted as saying things he may never have said. Here is an example from Luke, whose author at times combined various stories, changed sequences, etc. The idea behind these writings was to communicate what they believed about Jesus, not to create a history. Luke chapter 19,11-27 tells a parable concerning servants given money to invest and ends with this verse, 19:26 "For I say unto you, That unto every one which hath shall be given; and from him that hath not, even that he hath shall be taken away from him. " This is the acutal ending of this parable, but then the author of Luke" tacks another verse onto the end of the original story, it was not part of the original story, 19,27 which according to the NAB this is actually taken from a historical account that refers to Archelaus' appointment by Rome as administrator over Judea and Samaria... as to why the author of Luke chose to add this verse to the end of one of Jesus' parables is a mystery... but this points out a very important fact about these writings, they are composits and should never be taken literally, and they may be difficult to understand, even for the foremost experts, but this verse, Luke 19,27 is very inflamatory and contradicts the teachings, life and example of Jesus... "But those mine enemies, which would not that I should reign over them, bring hither, and slay them before me." Now clearly this is taken out of its original context , This was said by Archelaus, not Jesus ! As to why someone would tack this verse onto the end of this parable is a mystery... But, the point us, this verse and others like it have been used by numerous despots, such as Henry the 8th and the real Vlad Dracula, to justify the most horrible and evil acts, supposedly done according to God's will. Religion can be dangerous when used as political propaganda, and the church has a responsibility to prevent that sort of thing from happening.
Because this ancient author tacked this ending onto this story people have come to believe that for some unknown reason Jesus uttered these words, "But those mine enemies, which would not that I should reign over them, bring hither, and slay them before me." Matthew Henry gives this commentary on this verse, " Whoever will not be ruled by the grace of Christ will inevitably be ruined by the wrath of Christ." This is the result of bibleanity. This not at all in accordance with the revelation of God we find in the person of Christ. Hence the need for more prayer, meditation, and service to others and less bible study. We need more humble people actually living as Christ demonstrated and fewer bible doctors spouting rhetoric. Such interpretations of the bible twist the teachings of Jesus to further the delusions of men.
Many "study bibles" have comments on Luke 19,27 similar to this one from the NLT Living Faith Bible, "I believe those who hate the Lord face certain judgement if they do not repent." Such a response is not in keeping with the heart of Christ and illustrates how the teachings of bibleanity are often based on questionable interpretations of dubious bible passages, perverting the teachings and example of Jesus in the process. Actually Jesus never said this. This was tacked onto the end of the parable by the author of Luke (NAB) yet since bibleanity says the bible is perfect, they choose to accept this alteration as "gospel" rather than defend the actual teachings of Christ.
Did you know that there are bible colleges that actually are teaching people that dinosaurs are still alive in Africa, and have actually sent expeditions there to prove their "creationist" theories ? They totally discount evolution and the actual age of the earth, proclaiming authoritatively that the earth and all living organisms were created within a period of a few thousand years. And many people actually believe this... So there are many professors and Ph.Ds teaching totally false psuedo-science all on the "authority" of the bible. The bible says God made Adam and Eve therefore evolution is false... Such is the delusive nature of bibleanity, the belief in a divine bible. And it is becoming increasingly popular. People are actually seeking out and embracing ignorant beliefs... Perhaps it gives people a sense of security, but its a false sense of security because its based on a fiction. Which leads to more insecurity, so its a vicious circle. The solution is spiritual communion with God, Christ, and the Holy Spirit instead of Bibleanity. Science is a reflection fo the divine nature. God is creative. God gives life, diversity, hope and wellbeing. Choosing to embrace superstitions and false doctrines does not bring us closer to the truth.
Bibleanity substitutes the bible for God, from the Open Bible, page 13 -
"The Bible discovers sin and convicts us.
The Bible helps cleanse us.
The Bible imparts strength.
The Bible instructs us in what we are to do.
The Bible provides us with a sword for victory over sin.
The Bible makes our lives fruitful.
The Bible gives us power to pray."
All of the above are false. The bible is a manmade book. It is far from perfect and even farther from being divine and infallible. It is not God and a great deal of its content is the product of the deluded minds of men. God is love and never harms anyone. The pretense of bibleanity is false, God does not control history, nor cause wars, plagues, send armies to exterminate entire populations... To say such things are God's Word perverts the teachings of Christ, misrepresents the true nature of God, and perpetuates the violent ways of men. Much of the bible's content is antithetical to the teachings, example, and life of Jesus Christ. The kingdom of God is within us. Book based religions subvert our relationship with God and manipulate people. However, God responds to the sincere heart, so even though someone may be deluded by bibleanity, if their heart is pure, God will help them as much as possible, but bibleanity misdirects and interferes with this process. All spiritual power, the only worthwhile power, comes from God, it is God who makes our lives fruitful. Bibleanity has in fact contributed to, if not actually caused, wars, immense suffering, persecutions, tortures, murders, and abuse... The advocates of bibleanity are continuing this tradition of violence. Such is the nature of false book based religions, the very sort of thing Jesus opposes. Jesus brought us the Holy Spirit. Jesus never said to study the bible, rather his instructions as to the nature of true religion are very simple, love God, love our fellow inhabitants of this planet as does God, treat everyone and everything the same way we want them to treat us. to be honest, unselfish, non-violent, and non-materialistic. His teachings of unconditional love and non-violence obviously were not suitable for maintaning empires and the status quo so the church compiled the bible, said it was the Word of God, and set about perpetuating the same old deluded, evil ways... in the name of Christ. This is not of God. Jesus defeated the forces of evil 2,000 years ago... He said on the cross, "Its finished." Just because people say they represent God, just because they have degrees in theology and posture as experts, does not mean it is true. The advocates of bibleanity would have you believe that your spiritual power is derived from the bible. This is not true. All spiritual power comes from God and the bible is not God. God is love, infinite, beyond the grasp of the human intellect, but we can know God's love within our hearts and lives.
Bibleanity distorts the teachings of Jesus Christ,
Originally Christianity was about the direct spiritual experience of God though Jesus and the Holy Spirit. Perhaps the best example of true Christianity is Saul's encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus. He was the arch enemy of Christ, a hunter and killer of Jesus' followers, but the moment he experienced Christ in the Spirit, he was instantly and totally transformed into "Paul"... He was blinded by the Light. He did not argue, he did not discuss theology... Having immediately recognized the Risen Christ as the Lord, he simply asked what he should do. "What do you want me to do ?" His old life vanished in an instant, it was not an intellectual decision, and he became one of the foremost advocates of Christ. But several centuries later the church had become a worldly power and its concerns were the concerns of men, and the same old deluded ways of being were grafted into church doctrines and actions. The Holy Bible was compiled, designated the Word of God, and the OT view of a wrathful destructor God was reinstated. Revelation, an anonymous apocalypse falsly attritbuted to Apostle John, was tacked on to the end of the new Holy Bible to counteract the view of Jesus presented in the Gospel of John. Revelation says Jesus is a divine warrior who will come in a future Day of the Lord and destroy the earth and all who oppose him.
( Saul/Paul's experience is very similar to the Zen experience of Satori.
Hence Christ based Zen practice may be beneficial for Christians... )
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To designate the bible as being the Word of God is misleading -
What is the true Word (Logos) of God ? If we look at the actual meanings of the term Logos (from Thayers Lexicon) we come across these definitions,
" a word, yet not in the gramatical sense... a word which, uttered by the living voice, embodies a conception of idea... discourse, the act of speaking, speech... what is communicated by instruction ... the attainment through Christ of salvation in the Kingdom of God... the personal wisdom and power in union with god, his minister in the creation and government of the universe, the cause of all the world's life both physical and ethical, which for the procurement of man's salvation put on human nature in the person of Jesus the Messiah and shone forth conspicuously from his words and deeds... "
This does not mean the bible. When the church began teaching people the bible, instead of Jesus Christ, was the Word of God, it deviated from its original, true course, in the pursuit of "worldly" and deluded ends, the very things which Jesus seeks to counteract and correct are being perpetuated by the false doctrine of bibleanity.
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The Apocalypse (Revelation) was written by an unknown author but was later added to the bible canon under the pretense of being written by the Apostle John.. So now Jesus is depicted in the last book of the bible as a divine warrior, as these verses from Revelation illustrate :
Rev. 6,16 "And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: 17 For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?"
"The wrath of the Lamb" ? Our loving Lord and Savior, the Prince of Peace, was turned into a wrathful destructor... by the Christian Church !
Rev. 19, 15 "... he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God."
Jesus Christ, who taught us to love each other unconditionally, is going to rule the nations with a rod of iron ? Who rebuked his disciples when they wanted to call down fire on an unreceptive city ? Who told us always to repay evil with good ? How could anyone who read the gospels say such things ?
The Apocalypse of Jesus Christ (Revelation) expresses the views of an unknown author, or more likely authors, writing in the literary form of apocalypse. This book is not unique, there were many apocalypses dedicated/attributed to various biblical personages. The words "spoken" by Jesus in Revelation do not bear the same weight or veracity as those spoken in the Gospels. Although some bibles place them in red print to place them on equal footing with those in the Gospels, such is the mindset of bibleanity. In an apocalypse the author uses the main character to express his ideas, which may or may not be inspired. The author of Revelation chose to use the character of Jesus to express his views, then the church claimed it was written by the author of the fourth Gospel, which is prehaps the most spiritually inspired of all the Gospels. Why? Could it be Jesus' radical teachings of unconditional love, non-materialism, and non-violence were not suited to their agenda, nor that of the Roman Emporer Constantine ? Clearly much of this book runs counter to the teachings of Jesus Christ. Did the church abandon the true teachings of Jesus Christ when it compiled the Holy Bible under the auspices of Constantine and designated it "the Word of God" ?
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In Matthew 4,4 Jesus says, " It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God."
Not all words "proceed from the mouth of God, but those that do give us life, and sustain us. Those words in the bible which "proceed from the Mouth of God"- those which are in accord with the teachings, spirit, and revelation of God's true nature in the person of Jesus Christ - are spiritual food with the power to give us Life.
The Love Compass - its simple, that which inspires love, truth, peace, compassion - all the characteristics demonstrated by Christ during His time on earth - such things are of God. Things which inspire hatred, violence, suffering, and ignorance are not of God. Clearly a great deal of the writngs in the bible are not of God, such as the manmade religion of war and conquest, but we can learn from them as well, just as a scientist learns from all data. That which is false often clarifies that which is true.
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Jesus taught us to use discernment when studying the bible and listening to teachers. He tells us the most important thing is to love others and follow his example, "go and do ye likewise." The basis of Christianity is a spiritual relationship with God, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, walking with Christ in our daily lives. Jesus said we are to love, help, and care for our fellow beings as God cares for us - this is true religion according to Jesus. An atheist with love in their heart is closer to God than someone who uses religion as a facade to further their own selfish interests, hatred and bigotry. The bible is not perfect, but rather a very complex collection of various kinds of writings that must be interpreted from a basis in Christ, not visa versa. The bible is a book made by men, Jesus Christ is the true Word of God. Men often formulate false religious doctrines to further their aims and subvert the actual teachings of Jesus.
(Jesus teaches us the true nature of God's love.)
GOD IS LOVE AND INFINITE COMPASSION.
GOD HARMS NO ONE.
THE BASIS OF CHRISTIANITY IS SPIRITUAL COMMUNION WITH GOD,
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On reading the bible with discernment
Jesus spoke in parables and demonstrated the need for discernment in reading the bible. Jesus often spent the night in spiritual communion with God, and while he mastered scriptural studies at a young age and often drew from scripture in his sermons, he did not conform to the image of a wrathful God presented therein. Rather he demonstrated God's true nature through his life, his relationships with other people, and his total faith in God. His life was based in his spiritual relationship with God. Jesus spent many hours in prayer and silent communion with God, often retreating to isolated places for this purpose, shouldn't this be a major part of Christian religious practice ? Yet little is said of this form of prayer life. Jesus' instructions on prayer are short and to the point...
Some people say the bible is divine, perfect, and infallible and interpret the life and teachings of Jesus according to this belief and in the process distort Jesus' radical teachings of unconditional love, non-materialism and non-violence. Jesus always worked with people, the healing and salvation of souls.
The fact that this collection of writings has been claimed to be the "Word of God" for millennia has had a huge impact upon our histroy. Its repetitive litanies of wrath, punishment, doom and gloom, wrought by a "God of History" who causes such events, is the product of an archaic mindset. An attempt by religious institutions to explain why bad things happen, to attribute wars, epidemics, earthquakes, etc. as punishments from God. There are even "holy wars" (ban) in which God supposedly orders the extermination of entire populations ! While such writings are important from an anthropological point of view, it is unconscienable to say such acts were of God. This belief has led to a acceptance of war and violence among people who believe in a literal interpretation of the Bible. When read from a basis in Christ the writings in the Bible take on a new light - rather than punishment from God, these things can be seen as consequences of man's deluded and arrogant behavior. God punishes no one - God is infinite love and compassion. We punish ourselves when we do things that separate us from God, the source of life, truth, wellbeing and happiness..
If we accept Jesus as the revelation of God's true nature it is impossible to accept much of the bible as "the Word of God." Jesus shatters the image of the wrathful God found in the bible. Jesus said we are to love God and to love each other, he never said to love the bible, indeed on many occasions he corrected mistaken views found the OT. Jesus said the Holy Spirit would teach us and guide us. God is Spirit, the bible is a manmade book. We are told we should obey the bible - how can one obey the bible? What part of it? The bible says we should stone people who collect firewood on the sabbath day. Jesus says "let him who is without sin cast the first stone", Jesus refuted such cold hearted and brutal aspects of Mosaic law..
Original Christianity is essentially mystical, the revelation of God within us, working in our lives, transforming us, realizing our true potential, a spiritual, evolutionary process, intimate and direct. Through the Way of Life as presented to us by Jesus, God is revealed in our hearts and in our daily lives. Jesus always dealt directly with people and held the corrupt political and religious institutions of his time in disdain.
When people regard all the writings in the Bible as being literally true the results can be misleading, even devastating. For example, the antisemitic tone of certain parts of the NT has fueled persecutions of Jewish people for almost two millenia. During the middle ages thousands of people were tortured and burned alive by "Christians" who believed in the wrathful image of God as presented in the bible. If people believe God destroys whole cities with fire and brimstone they are more prone to commit such acts as bombing of civilian populations, massacres, ethnic cleansing, and other atrocities. Recently the war in Iraq has been hailed by many fundamentalist Christians as being a fulfillment of biblical prophecy. It is essential to see the difference between false manmade religion, such as Jesus opposed, and the Way of Life which Jesus taught. When christian publishing companies print study bibles espousing such things as "Holy War" and say Jesus is a "Divine Warrior" they are propagandizing against the true teachings and spirit of Jesus Christ. When people received God into their hearts and then someone hands them a bible and tells them its the Word of God, they are being misled and their original conversion experience is being co-opted, for profit, by some group, which then starts pumping them for money and time. "We love you so long as you believe and do what we say." God gave us a brain and expects us to use it. Blind acceptance of religious doctrines is not in keeping with Jesus' example and teachings.
Jesus told the story of the good Samaritan and upon meeting a Samaritan woman at a well blessed her and spent several days teaching the people of her village - this is how the Lord brings about change, not through acts of war. God is infinite love and never inflicts harm or causes suffering. The images of a wrathful God found in many places in the bible are a product of human ignorance.
Violence begets violence. Jesus teaches us to break the cycle of violence. When Jesus was being taken prisoner in the garden of Gethsemane and one of his disciples cut off a man's ear in an attempt to defend him. Jesus rebuked his disciple and healed the man's ear. God does not punish people, God is by nature totally compassionate, and always hopeful. We punish ourselves when we fail to live accoridng to the Way of Life and separate ourselves from God, the source of life, happiness, and truth.
The fact that people have used the OT accounts of wars to justify continued warfare for almost two thousand years after Jesus' incarnation is proof of the persistence of man's delusions, which are seemingly born anew with each generation.
In ancient times it was a common belief that all events were controlled by gods, or God. Natural disasters such as volcanos, tsunamis, tornados as well as epidemics and wars were all considered to be acts of God. The priestly class claimed these events were sent as punishment from a god which they alone spoke for, thus instilling fear and obedience. This ploy has been utilized by priestly classes in many cultures throughout history.
Jesus had total faith in God and total compassion for humankind, even the men who tortured and killed him, "Forgive them father, for they know not what they do," then he said , "it is finished."
Jesus Christ brings spiritual salvation to all humble people who seek to live in peace and harmony as he instructed. Jesus heals people, wherever he went people would flock to him. If someone simply touched his garment in faith healing energy would stream forth. This is the true nature of our Lord. God's truth does not change. The many violent acts depicted in the OT are symtomatic of a disease that has plagued humankind since its inception. The cure for this disease is the love of Christ.
If we are indeed, each man, woman and child, created in God's image then one can view our innate sense of wonder, our desire to learn about the universe and to improve our lives as reflections of the divine nature. Yet religious institutions have, throughout history and even to this day, opposed scientific inquirey and advancment. Children are being taught the Bible is literally true and the scientific view of the universe is false. There are millions of people who deny the reality of evolution. This belittles life. A universe that was created by God in six days is easier to dispose of than one in which life has taken billions of years to evolve. People who are taught to look forward to the destruction of the earth in the "day of the lord" have little incentive to live harmoniously or to be good stewards of God's creation. The universe is a creative process. As we become more aware of the extremely precise parameters required for the advent of life at the moment of the universe's inception it is clear that this is not a random/chaotic event but one of perfect balance and order. We are called upon to take care of our home planet and our fellow beings. Life is sacred and holy, we are put here as stewards, not gluttons, despoilers and exploiters.
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Jesus' teachings of unconditional love and non-violence are clear and unmistakable. They were so radical that he was crucified in an attempt to squelch them. Jesus knowingly took the path of the cross. Through his non-violent demonstration of faith and his total love, compassion and forgivness he thereby conquered the forces of evil and death which had enslaved humanity. He even had compassion for those people who were torturing him, and prayed, "forgive them father for they know not what they do," after which he said, "it is finished", and released his spirit to God. He did it. It was this final act of forgivness and total compassion which defeated the forces of evil in the world.
The truth is plainly visible if the bible is read with an open mind and heart... if we are not blinded by status quo religious doctrines but rooted in the teachings and example of Jesus Christ. People who claim to be authorities may in fact be wrong. God gave us a brain and a conscience for a purpose. Christianity is not about conforming to the group, its about conforming to Christ.
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The practice of prayer and meditation is conducive to quieting our mind and being, enabling us to be more open to God's spirit and "voice". This world is God's church, and everyday is holy. God is infintie love, compassion and caring. Meditiation may be very effective when approached from a Christian point of view. We can learn to quiet our minds, open ourselves to God and be filled with the Spirit of Life which Jesus brought us. This heals us, and we can participate in the process of Life which started when the universe was born. Jesus Christ is the incarnation of the logos, pre-existant, eternal, within and without time. He says it is important not to judge others, rather we should concentrate on removing the beam from our eye, while respecting our fellow students in this school of life.
Jesus often went off alone into the wilderness and spent the entire night in prayer with God. Shouldn't this type of spiritual communion/meditation be a major aspect of christian practice ? More emphasis should be placed on developing this ability and less on sermonizing and bible study.
The most important thing is Heart - if someone spends years in meditation and has a cold heart, their effort is wasted, even counterproductive. This may be especially true of certain "Zen" groups. Whereas a "fundamentalist Christian" who knows nothing of Zen and has zero capacity for clever verbal reparte', yet is simply caring person with love in their heart is much closer to God, as well as the original essence of Buddhism... So various meditative techniques may be beneficial for our health, wellbeing, and religious practice, but of course they must be rooted in Christ., or the compassionate heart of the Buddha... As far as I can tell, the heart of Christ and Buddha are complementary, if not identical, but the various institutions people have created and the manners in which they have augmented the original teachings differ considerably... I have seen some zen teachers who have a sort of smug arrogance which their followers adopt, in which case they were often much better off before they started their arduous meditative practice... Also, publishing books does not qualify one to be a spiritual teacher. Do not confuse the ability to pen books with spiritual presence. Many of these experts and authorities are selling water by the river. Such people excell in making things seem much more complex and difficult than the really are.
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Its interesting that the basic teachings of the Buddha, the Dhammapada, are almost identical to those of Jesus. Buddhism is much closer in practice to the teachings of Jesus than numerous institutions that profess to be Christian. I have found Buddhism to be a much better vehicle when adapted to Christian practice than "churchianity"and "bibleanity." This body is God's temple, each day is holy, our life is a wonderful educational experience, and everyone we encounter is the body of Christ.
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From "Moon in a Dewdrop, the Writings of the Zen Master Dogen" -
Kind Speech means that when you see sentient beings you arouse the mind of compassion and offer words of loving care. It is contrary to cruel or violent speech... Praise those with virtue, pity those without it. If kind speech is offered little by little virtue will grow. Thus even kind speech which is not ordinarily known or seen comes into being. You should be will to practice it for the entire present life, do not give up. Kind speech is the basis for reconciling rulers and subduing enemies. Those who hear kind speech from you have a delighted expression and a joyful mind. Those whou hear your kind speech will be deeply touched - they will never forget it... Thus you should benefit friend and enemy equally. You should benefit self and others alike... in the human world the Tathagata took the form of a human being. From this we know that he did the same in other realms... With a gentle expression practice identity-action for all people...
Buddhism teaches us to speak with kindness and compassion, never to use harsh words, never to do anything that harms another. Harsh words cause harm and suffering. Kind speech with a gentle expression brings virtue, realization of the true Mind of Being, healing and salvation. There is a great deal of "violent speech" in the bible. Christ incarnated to correct this deluded manmade view of God.
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The fact is, men have changed Christianity into a religion of war on numerous occasions, using the doctrines of bibleanity to justify massacres and conquests. Buddhism however has never been compramized and remains true to the teachings of Jesus for the most part, much more so than the various so-called Christian churches. So if we want to experience the truth of God's presence and Living Spirit, In some respects, Buddhism is a much better vehicle than the various worldy religious institutions operating under the auspices of Christianity, but in fact practicing and perpetuating many things which are against the teachings of Jesus. (I am not refering to the sort of Buddhism that has become fashionable in the west, which distorts the teachings of the Buddha.) The teachings of Buddha and Christ are complementary.
The Lord does indeed work in mysterious ways, but God is also always with us, intimately, ready to guide us, help us, heal us, and fill us with "the peace which passes all understanding."
Anyone can ask God to come into their lives, its very simple and direct. All that is required is a sincere heart. Simply being a nice person, trying to care for and respect others is the most important thing. Theology is pretty much meaningless, a diversion... a contrived profession that employs many people but mainly serves to "muddy the waters". Such intellectual knowledge, conjecture and argument should not be construed as spiritual knowledge. There are many experts spouting their pet brands of christianity, growing rich of the the proceeds of their numerous authoritative publications... Religion is a huge lucrative business that employs thousands... Such people are selling water by the river, making things seem much more complex than they truely are. Anyone can have an intimate relationship with God here and now without the contrived trappings of such religious experts and professionals.
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Jesus told us to love others, follow his example, "go and do ye likewise." The basis of Christianity is a spiritual relationship with God, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, walking with Christ in our daily lives. Jesus said we are to love, help, and care for our fellow beings as God cares for us - this is true religion according to Jesus.
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Did woman really come from man as the Bible says ?
The Bible says: (from Genesis 2) "And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man. And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man"
Everyone has always known that all people are born of woman. Clearly this is patriarchal religious propaganda aimed at subjugating and exploiting women. This is from the second creation story, the first just says God created man and woman in God's image - God is equally man and woman. Modern science has proven that the brains of all humans are initially female, then then after several weeks in the womb sexual differentiation in the brain begins. So we all start out with a female brain ! Female is the foundation of humankind. This is a fact. Yet the above story has been claimed to be "the Word of God" for thousands of years by male religious institutions for the express purpose of empowering men and subjugating women. However the idea of a God that is equally male and female is not suitable for a warrior religion.
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There are many violent passages contained in the "Holy Bible" that cannot be reconciled with the teachings of Jesus Christ, here are a few examples:
From Jeremiah 25 (NIV) -This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, said to me: "Take from my hand this cup filled with the wine of my wrath and make all the nations to whom I send you drink it. When they drink it, they will stagger and go mad because of the sword I will send among them." So I took the cup from the LORD's hand and made all the nations to whom he sent me drink it:.... all the kingdoms on the face of the earth. "Then tell them, 'This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Drink, get drunk and vomit, and fall to rise no more because of the sword I will send among you.' ...for I am calling down a sword upon all who live on the earth, declares the LORD Almighty.'
( God does not make wars nor condone them. War is an abomination resulting from the failure to live according to God's true way of life. This is an ignorant view of God resulting from an archaic mindset. That people still espouse such views testifies to the enduring nature of the delusions of men. God cannot be known by intellectual study, but only through actual experience of God's Spirit, one moment of which instantly exposes the falicy of such writings. God is love, infinite and inconceivable, incapable of any acts of cruelty. The abominable doctrine of "Holy War" has been perpetuated for thousands of years... Even at this moment there are "study bibles" being churned out proclaiming this doctrine. How can anyone who purports to follow Christ accept this as "the Word of God". When the Messiah came he was not what anyone expected. Jesus Christ is the Word of God, not the bible. This is why direct spiritual communion with God through prayer and mediation should take precedence over bible study. A moment of God's spiritual presence instantaneously reveals more than a lifetime of intellectual studies ever could. The acts described in the bible are inconceivable from God's point of view. God never punishes anyone - we punish ourselves when we do things that separate us from God, the source of life, happiness, and wellbeing. It is a simple mater to correct the errant OT perspctive. Whenever some prophet speaks of the Lord's wrath, or of a punishment from God, it should be understood as being a consequence of man's deluded actions. Contrary to the Ot view in which all events are controlled by God, this is not the case. Life would have no meanig if that were so. The universe has certain natural laws which once set in motion will bring about certain chains of events. Most importantly, all people are originally created in the image of God. All people, men, women, children... And his means we have free will. We can chose to reject God's way. God never imposes upon anyone. When the church said the bible was the Word of God instead of Jesus, they re-instated the OT view of a violent and wrathful God which is more suitable for controlling people and maintaining empires. Religion has often been used as a form of propaganda to control people and trick them into doing things no sane person ever would - i.e. commit atrocities, acts of aggression, genocide, etc. A way of blinding them to their innate goodness with which we are each originally blessed. A way of creating an illusion of separateness, of one group being superior to another, or rulers being given their power by God, etc. Jesus totally blew away that image of God, yet it did not take long before men began to twist his teachings and fabricate new authoritative doctrines, thereby sidestepping his radical teaching of unconditional love and non-violence. Even today there are many "study bibles" being churned out which tell us God is a divine warrior and Jesus is going to return and destroy the earth and anyone who opposes him. This is sick and dangerous. Jesus Christ is the Word of God. God's word is living spirit written within our hearts. The bible is a manmade book. It is definitely important to study, but it should not be worshipped as being perfect and divine. There are numerous points of view represented in its writings, all of which are educational. We can learn about what is true from that which is not.. )
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From Judges 4 (KJV)-
"And the LORD discomfited Sisera, and all his chariots, and all his host, with the edge of the sword before Barak; so that Sisera lighted down off his chariot, and fled away on his feet... to the tent of Jael the wife of Heber the Kenite... And Jael went out to meet Sisera, and said unto him, Turn in, my lord, turn in to me; fear not. And when he had turned in unto her into the tent, she covered him with a mantle. And he said unto her, Give me, I pray thee, a little water to drink; for I am thirsty. And she opened a bottle of milk, and gave him drink, and covered him... Then Jael Heber's wife took a nail of the tent, and took an hammer in her hand, and went softly unto him, and smote the nail into his temples, and fastened it into the ground: for he was fast asleep and weary. So he died... So God subdued on that day Jabin the king of Canaan before the children of Israel." (KJV)
One of the most famous bible commentators, Matthew Henry, wrote in 1710 regarding this passage, "It is probable that Jael really intended kindness to Sisera; but by a divine impulse she was afterwards led to consider him as the determined enemy of the Lord and of his people, and to destroy him."
This is an example of how the dogma of a divine bible perverts the teachings of Jesus. What is particularly disturbing is the authors claim that Jael probably intended kindness toward Sisera, even though he was an enemy of Israel, but the Lord inspired her to drive a tent stake through his head while he slept. Such is an image that might be found in some grotesque horror movie, certainly not in the "scriptures" of the world's largest relgions. How can anyone who professes to follow Jesus accept such violence, let alone claim such acts are in accord with God's will ? This is bibleanity, the belief in a perfect and infallible bible. The doctrine of a divine and perfect bible has resulted in a very schizoid view of God. Surely in all the world's religious writings the bible is unique in this sort of extremely violent content. This is exactly the sort of thing Jesus sought to correct, yet the church that bears his name reinstitutes the same old delusions when they claim such writings to be the Word of God.
All people are prone to error at times. "Forgive us our tresspasses..." Matthew Henry makes some big errors, as shown in the above speculation, yet much of his commentary is inspired and insightful, especially his NT commentary, once he is free of the doctrines of bibleanity and based in Christ.
compare these excerpts from Matthew Henry's commentary on Luke 10, 25-37 : ... "We must wish well to all and ill to none, must do all the good we can in the world and no hurt... a certain Samaritan, of that nation which of all others the Jews most despised and detested and would have no dealings with... the priest had his heart hardened to one of his own people, but the Samaritan had his opened towards one of another people... when he saw him he had compassion on him, and never took into consideration what country he was of... his was not idle compassion... he went to the poor man, whom the priest and the Levite kept at a distance from... he did all he could to ease the pain, and prevent the peril, of his wounds, as one whose heart bled with him... now this parable does excellently set forth the kindness and love of God our Savior towards sinful man... the Law of Moses, like the priest and the Levite, the ministers of the Law, looks upon us but has no compassion on us, gives us no relief, passes by on the other side, as having neither pity nor power to help us; but then comes the blessed Jesus... he has compassion on us, he binds up our bleeding wounds... he takes care of us... 'and therefore go thou and do as the Samaritan did...' whenever the occasion offers: show mercy to those that need thy help, do it freely and with concern and compasion, though they be not of thy own nation and thine own profession, or of thine own opinion and communion in religion. " excerpts from Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary on the Bible.
However, further on he makes the following comment on Luke 19, 27 - " Whoever will not be ruled by the grace of Christ will inevitably be ruined by the wrath of Christ." So here we see the flipflopping which results from bibleanity. This is totally contrary to the actual teachings and example of Jesus Christ. A few verses earlier Jesus says (Luke 19,10) " For the Son of Man is come to seek and save that which was lost." Jesus never says he is going to destroy anyone, yet many Christians insist on twisting his teachings in order to conform them to bibleanity. Such remarks are the result of spiritual ignorance. Bible study should not be equated with spiritual communion. This is why it is essential to base our religious practice upon prayer and meditation rather than the false doctrine of a divine and perfect bible. Anyone can open themselves to God and enter into spiritual communion. The Holy Spirit will guide us and teach us. Due to this spiritual ignorance resulting from the practice of bibleanity, it may be more beneficial to investigate other traditions such as Yoga and Buddhism and apply their methods to Christian spiritual practice.
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Numbers 15,32 Now while the children of Israel were in the wilderness, they found a man gathering sticks on the Sabbath day. 33 And those who found him gathering sticks brought him to Moses and Aaron, and to all the congregation. 34 They put him under guard, because it had not been explained what should be done to him. 35 Then the LORD said to Moses, gThe man must surely be put to death; all the congregation shall stone him with stones outside the camp.h 36 So, as the LORD commanded Moses, all the congregation brought him outside the camp and stoned him with stones, and he died.
(The barbaric practice of stoning was not instituted by God, but by deluded priests who falsly claimed to represent God's will. Stoning was obviously widespread, as it is referred to many times in the NT. Whenever Jesus angered people by violating their "law" they immediately picked up stones. This murderous practice turned common people into a murderous mob which executed anyone who did not obey the dictates of the priestly class. Jesus said the sabbath was made for man, not man for the sabbath. He exposed the fallicy of this aspect of "the law"in his teachings. 2,000 years later people are still being stoned in some Islamic countries for violations of religious "laws". The delusions of men are very deeply entrenched. Jesus was killed for his opposition to such attitudes.)
In John 1,17 we read, "For the law was given by Moses, by grace and truth came by Jesus Christ."
This is an excerpt from Matthew Henry's commentary on this verse. "That which was given by Moses was purely terrifying and threatening, and bound with penalties, a law which could not give life... ; but that which is given by Jesus Christ is of another nature... for it is grace... The endearments of love are the genius of the gospel...."
(God is love. Jesus Christ embodies God's true nature, not the manmade OT view of a wrathful warrior God. God never imposes his will on anyone. All men are responsible for their actions. God respects the sanctity of all life.)
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Numbers 31,7 And they warred against the Midianites, as the LORD commanded Moses; andthey slew all the males. And the children of Israel took all the women of Midian captives, and their little ones, and took the spoil of all their cattle, and all their flocks, and all their goods. 10 And they burnt all their cities wherein they dwelt, and all their goodly castles, with fire. 11 And they took all the spoil, and all the prey, both of men and of beasts. 12 And they brought the captives, and the prey, and the spoil, unto Moses, and Eleazar the priest, and unto the congregation of the children of Israel, unto the camp at the plains of Moab, which are by Jordan near Jericho. 13 And Moses, and Eleazar the priest, and all the princes of the congregation, went forth to meet them without the camp. 14 And Moses was wroth with the officers of the host... 15 And Moses said unto them, Have ye saved all the women alive? ..... 17 Now therefore kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman that hath known man by lying with him. 18 But all the women children, that have not known a man by lying with him, keep alive for yourselves..... 31 And Moses and Eleazar the priest did as the LORD commanded Moses. 32 And the booty, being the rest of the prey which the men of war had caught, 35 And thirty and two thousand persons in all, of women that had not known man by lying with him.
(Such passages depict the brutal realities of life in OT times, but that does not mean these acts were of God, rather, they illustrate the horrible things men may do when they do not live according to the Way of Life. God is infinite love and compassion. God never has and never will cause such things to happen nor condone such acts. Such acts are inconceivable from God's point of view.)
The Midianintes were the same people from whom Moses sought asylum and lived for many years, he was graceously accepted into their community married a Midianite woman and she bore his first children.. Moses dwelt among them for many years and was always treated well by them and he availed himself of their hospitality...
The Encounters with God Daily Bible, a study bible which chops up the text of the bible and rearranges it with the authors notes interspersed throughout the text, contains the following notes regarding the atrocities depicted in Numbers 31,
"The Israelites did not require their full fighting force for their battle against the Midianites. Selecting one thousand men from each tribe allowed each tribe to participate in God's activity."
The authors of this study bible are teaching people such atrocities were "God's activities."
The authors of this study bible are Doctors of Divinty and Christian ministers, yet they teach that "God's activity" includes the slaughter of unarmed men, women and children of all ages, that God sent an army of 12,000 men to slaughter an entire populace, put all them to the sword, babies, boys, old men, grandmothers, pregnant women, everyone except the virgin women who they were to "keep for themselves." ... such religious doctrines perpetuate the very things Jesus said we should not do.
These learned men, authors, Christian ministers, say massacres and extermination of unarmed populations are "God's activity." This is an affront to God, Christ, the Holy Spirit, and any sane half way normal human being... Why does the so-called Christian church refuse to stand up and denounce such horrendous statements ? Why do millions of Christians sit back and blindly absorb such teachings which in fact blatantly violate the teachings of Jesus Christ ?
Bibleanity is big business, and once these authorities espouse a doctrine they are committed to it, even if its mistaken. Any normal person can admit their mistakes, religious institutions rarely do.
Statements such as these made by religious leaders throughout history have led to numerous wars, massacres, atrocities, murders, tortures, and acts of evil committed in the name of God. This is a betrayal of Jesus Christ and all he lived and died for. He said we are to love one another, to love our neighbors as God loves us, to turn the other cheek, never to repay evil for evil, but rather to repay good for evil, etc. the bible is not God. God is Love, eternal, unchanging, God never harms anyone, we do that to ourselves. Ignorant people try to attribute the acts of deluded men to God, as being part of God's plan. Such people are in essence saying all wars, disasters, diseases, etc. are part of God's plan. This is totally false. We are responsible for our actions and destiny. We were given free will. We are held accountable for what we say. If we make a mistake and admit it and repent we will be forgiven and learn from our mistakes, any normal person does this...
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Numbers 31 (NLT Bible) - 7 They attacked Midian as the Lord had commanded Moses, and they killed all the men... 9 Then the Israelite army captured the Midianite women and children and seized their cattle and flocks and all their wealth as plunder. 10 They burned all the towns and villages where the Midianites had lived...
31:14" But Moses was furious... "
We find this mind boggling response to this verse in the NLT Faith Bible note: 31:14 -
"I become angry when the leaders of God's people flagrantly disobey."
In other words, the authors of this study bible are saying Moses acted correctly and we should follow his example, which should be impossible for anyone who professes to follow Jesus Christ.
31:15 gWhy have you let all the women live?h he demanded.
The NLT Faith Bible's response in this note on verse 31:15 -
"I obey the LORD completely."
Do these authors really think God, as represented in the person of Jesus Christ could ever order such a thing ? This is the insideous nature of bibleanity - it countermands the life, teachings and example of Jesus Christ.
Numbers 31:16 g...They are the ones who caused the plague to strike the Lordfs people. 17 So kill all the boys and all the women who have had intercourse with a man. 18 Only the young girls who are virgins may live; you may keep them for yourselves."
It is incomprehensible that anyone who professes to follow Christ could say this is "God's Word". Clearly the bible is a manmade book and there is a great deal in it that is not inspired of God. Hence it must be read with discernment, and we should not allow ourselves to be misled. Following Jesus does not mean blindly accepting whatever the church, theologians, or experts dictate. And it means we should speak out agaisnt such doctrines.
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Proverbs 23, 13-14 "Withhold not correction from the child: for if thou beatest him with the rod, he shall not die. Thou shalt beat him with the rod, and shalt deliver his soul from hell."
Is there anything more offensive in the eyes of God than the abuse of an innocent child by a mean and ignorant adult ? And when the abuse comes from a parent it is all the worse, for parents are entrusted by God for the well-being of the children with whom they have been blessed. I shudder at the thought of how many children have been abused by parents who believed God writings such as this are "the Word of God". Clearly Jesus taught the need for discretion. Clearly he opposed and corrected such mistaken views. When his disciples rebuked the children he told them, "let the children come unto me, for the kindom of heaven is such as these.". The church's failure to address such issues, and the failure to place notations in bibles denouncing such passages is inexcusable. People who claim this is the "Word of God" are perpetuating child abuse. God is infinite love and kindness but has no tolerance for such behavior.
The rod is an instument of guidance, carried by the good shepherd, used to guide his flock. The shepherd never beats his sheep ! The shepherd's rod and staff are used to guide sheep along the way and keep them from wandering of the path. If a lamb should go astray and fall into a crevice the shepherd's staff has a special crook at the top which he uses to life the lamb to safety. "Thy rod and thy staff comfort me..." Like the good shepherd, parents are to give their children guidance - never to beat them and abuse them ! Parents should set an example for children to follow. This is a prime example of how God's true word, as exemplified in the person of Jesus Christ, has been perverted by men.
When some bible doctor, or church group, attempts to act as a councelor, the results can be dangerous. For example, this quote from the NIBC, Matthew, page 50, "Jesus extends the definition of neighbor to include enemies and those who persecute you" - this is false, Jesus says to pray for these people, and to forgive them (I think they have to repent and ask for our forgivness) but this does not mean they are the same as "neighbors", a neighbor is someone you can trust, a good person. Jesus is not telling us to naively open ourselves to dangerous people. This doctor of theology goes on to state, "Within the realm of everyday relationships there is no category that can be labeled as "enemy" - this is very bad advice, especially for children. This author goes on to proclaim, "Everyone we meet, even the one who would abuse us, is a friend and therefore one whom we are to love. " This is perhaps the worse "advice" I have ever heard, and I can only imagine how many abuse victims have been further victimized by such "bible councelors" giving horrible advice such as this. If you are a victim of abuse, know this - it is not your fault people do bad things. And, by all means, find a good, licensed counselor who has experience in this area. There are real councelors who can help you a great deal. This is not something to be entrusted to someone with a bible college education or church group. Also some church groups have a history of supporting abusers and blaming their victims, and can actually make things much worse...
"And the Lord struck the child that Uriah's wife bore unto David, and it was very sick." (KJV, " 2 Samuel 12:15)
God never struck a child. God never punished a child for their parents sins. God never made a child sick... God never sent a plague to kill babies... This is the OT mindset of a wrathful God who punishes sinners and enemies. The child born out of David's adultery with the wife of Uriah, his loyal and honorable soldier whom David subsequently arranged to have killed, this poor child got sick and died... Thats it. The child was innocent. But in OT times sickness was often attributed as being punishment for sin, so in OT parlance God "struck the child" to punish the parents. Thankfully Jesus corrected this ignorant view of God's nature.
From the Barber commentary on 2 Samuel 12:13-14, page 192 -
"Most modern exponents of this passage believe that since David himself was not to die, the sin was transfered tot he child who, though innocent of all wrongdoing, was made o bear the sin of his parents. The fine evangelical biblical scholar, Dr. William Blaikie, explained it this way: "the Lord, in the excersize of his clemency, had been pleased to remit (David's sins). But a palpable proof of his displeasure was to be given in another way - the child of Bathsheba was to die. It was to become, as it were, the scapegoat for its father."
If we read the bible from a spiritual basis in Christ rather than the deluded doctrine of a divine and infallible bible, it is clear that God could never do such a thing.
Here is another take on this passage: perhaps David and Bathsheba's child was sick from natural causes and died. Period. But some people attach this a religious significance to the poor babies death. Or, from a religious POV, perhaps God called the child's spirit home, as being innocent of all wrongdoing, it should be spared the hardships it would have suffered if it had been born. From God's POV, this was an act of compassion for the child, not a "transfer of David's sin" to a poor innocent baby. What kind of God would do such a thing ? That is sick. David's sins affected the rest of his life, and attracted future negative events as well. How can anyone worship a god who would transfer a parent's sins to an innocent baby and kill the child so the father would not have to die for his crimes ? This is theology based in bibleanity, a double dose of delusion.
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A deadly mistranslation -
the subheading for 2 Samuel 12 in the KJV bible reads, "26 David taketh Rabbath and tortureth the people thereof."
The passage reads: "31 And he brought forth the people that were therein, and put them under saws, and under harrows of iron, and under axes of iron, and made them pass through the brick-kiln: and thus did he unto all the cities of the children of Ammon. So David and all the people returned unto Jerusalem."
The NASB agrees with the KJV: " 31 He also brought out the people who were in it, and set them under saws, sharp iron instruments, and iron axes, and made them pass through the brickkiln. And thus he did to all the cities of the sons of Ammon. Then David and all the people returned to Jerusalem."
However the NKJV and other modern translations give us the correct version, this agrees with the JPS, NIV, NRSV, HCSB, YLT etc also :
"31 And he brought out the people who were in it, and put them to work with saws and iron picks and iron axes, and made them cross over to the brick works. So he did to all the cities of the people of Ammon. Then David and all the people returned to Jerusalem."
In the 1 chronicles 20 version of this event,
NASB: "3 He brought out the people who were in it, and cut them with saws and with sharp instruments and with axes. And thus David did to all the cities of the sons of Ammon. Then David and all the people returned to Jerusalem."
kjv-"3 And he brought out the people that were in it, and cut them with saws, and with harrows of iron, and with axes. Even so dealt David with all the cities of the children of Ammon. And David and all the people returned to Jerusalem."
Again, the NKJV shows the correct (?) rendition, which agrees with other modern translations: "3 And he brought out the people who were in it, and put them to work with saws, with iron picks, and with axes. So David did to all the cities of the people of Ammon. Then David and all the people returned to Jerusalem."
ylt-"3 and the people who [are] in it he hath brought out, and setteth to the saw, and to cutting instruments of iron, and to axes; and thus doth David to all cities of the sons of Ammon, and David turneth back, and all the people, to Jerusalem. "
But JPS 1 Chronicles 20 says, "He hacked them with saws..." Why would the JPS have this different translation of the same account in 2 Samuel and 1 Chronicles ? Which translation is actually correct ? The NASB is supposed to be the most literal, but the YLT differs... Has this passage been changed to conform with modern sensibilities, or are the KJV and NASB wrong ?
Whatever the case, this sort of bible verse has led "Christian" tyrannts to commit acts of mass murders on numerous occasions during the middle ages.
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I am not saying God does not speak to people through the writings of the bible. My point is the bible is not perfect or of divine origin. It is a manmade book. Jesus never wrote anything. He deals with people, directly. The human mind is not capable of comprehending the mind of God, but we can experience God's presence and living spirit. If read with discernment from a basis in Christ, guided by the Holy Spirit, some of the writings in the bible may prove educational and helpful. Certainly millions of Christians have read the bible for the last 500 years and before that its writings were taught in churches for another 1500 years. However the doctrine of bibleanity undermines the teachings of Jesus Christ. If the bible is perfect and divine and God really does control history and sends armies to exterminate entire cities, etc. then Jesus' teachings of unconditional love and non-violence have to go... Some try to explain this dilemma by fabricating more doctrines, such as dispensationalism, which tells us that in the past God did these horrible things to bring about certain conditions in the world. This doctrine is an attempt to justify the horrible violent acts contained in much of the bible's writings with the later teachings of Jesus. But this is not biblical ! Jesus Christ, the logos, has been with God since before time began. God does not change. God is not at one moment a wrathful destructor and at another a kind father. God is incapable of such acts of brutality as were conceived by the writers of the bible. Yet the church seems unable to admit its mistakes and has backed itself into a corner, built itself upon the sands of bibleanity. So many people opt to stick their heads in this sand and to be blind to scientific truths as well as the heritage of biblical violence.
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Isaiah 13,5 They come from a far country, from the end of heaven, even the LORD, and the weapons of his indignation, to destroy the whole land. 6 Howl ye; for the day of the LORD is at hand; it shall come as a destruction from the Almighty. 7 Therefore shall all hands be faint, and every man's heart shall melt... 8 And they shall be afraid: pangs and sorrows shall take hold of them; they shall be in pain as a woman that travaileth: they shall be amazed one at another; their faces shall be as flames. 9 Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate: and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it..... 15 Every one that is found shall be thrust through; and every one that is joined unto them shall fall by the sword. 16Their children also shall be dashed to pieces before their eyes; their houses shall be spoiled, and their wives ravished.
( How many atrocities have been inspired by such language? To say ths is the Word of God is unconscienable and ouright dangerous because such a belief leads people to think such acts are in accordance with God's will. This is an abomination. This has definitely contributed to the exceedingly violent nature of much of our history. Violence begets violence. Jesus teaches us to break the cycle of violence with unconditional love. Jesus said those who take up the sword shall die by the sword. The sword of Christ is his word, which brings healing, salvation, and life, never destruction and death. . Jesus said those words which come from the mouth of God give us life, he did not say all of the bible's content was "from the mouth of God," rather he opposed and corrected erroneous aspects of the law, even thogh he also said it would be fulfilled in him. This is another mistaken doctrine, to fulfill something means to bring it to its conclusion, totally, not that it is perfect or even correct. The writings of the NT did not exist until one or two generations after Jesus' earthly incarnation.. But bibleanity and bible publishing are extremely luctrative enterprises, employing thousands ot relgious professionals. )
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From Deut 13, "If thy brother, the son of thy mother, or thy son, or thy daughter, or the wife of thy bosom, or thy friend, which is as thine own soul, entice thee secretly, saying, Let us go and serve other gods, which thou hast not known, thou, nor thy fathers; Namely, of the gods of the people which are round about you, nigh unto thee, or far off from thee, from the one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth; Thou shalt not consent unto him, nor hearken unto him; neither shall thine eye pity him, neither shalt thou spare, neither shalt thou conceal him: But thou shalt surely kill him; thine hand shall be first upon him to put him to death, and afterwards the hand of all the people. And thou shalt stone him with stones, that he die; because he hath sought to thrust thee away from the LORD thy God..."
(In OT times stoning was a widespread practice. Anyone who disagree with the relgious establishment was murdered by a mob. Jesus' teaching on the practice of stoning is clear, "let him who is without sin cast the first stone.")
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Ezekiel 9,5 And to the others he said in mine hearing, Go ye after him through the city, and smite: let not your eye spare, neither have ye pity: 6 Slay utterly old and young, both maids, and little children, and women...
( God does not change, God is eternal and omnipresent. Jesus heals people, wherever he went people would flock to him. If someone simply touched his garment God's healing energy would stream forth. This is the true nature of our Lord and Savior. God's truth does not change. He is not at one time a slayer of women and children and at another a loving father. God's love is constant . The image of the wrathful warrior god of the OT was contrived by men. God's true nature is revealed in the person, life, and teachings of Jesus. )
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God is love, unlimited compassion... Jesus Christ, our loving Lord and Savior, taught forgivness, compassion and non-violence. Jesus Christ is the Word of God. He said to love God and to love each other as He loves us. He opposed the biblical experts, priests and scribes of his time. He told us the Holy Spirit would be our guide. The bible must be read with discernment with the guidance of the Holy Spirit. A literal interpretation is impossible since there are many conflicting passages and contradictions. This has the affect of requiring anyone who reads it to take a position, it challenges our beliefs. God sees into the hearts and minds of all people. He cares nothing for our religious dogma or rhetoric. A person with love in their heart and no understanding of the bible is much closer to God than a biblical expert who is lost in a world of argument and intellectual posturing.
If we are to enter the "Kingdom of God"
we must learn humility and become pure in heart,
"as one of these little children."
Jesus taught us to pray
"... forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us..."
He did not say to kill anyone who disagrees with our religion.
I sometimes see "christian" websites showing a sword laying across the bible. The sword is an instrument of death, brutality, and suffering. Jesus is life, humility, and salvation. Jesus Christ is the Word of God, eternal, beyond the scope of human understanding, within and without time, the alpha and he omega. Yet we can know God spiritually, intimately. We often try to limit God by our preconceived notions and ignorant beliefs rather than opening ourselves to the continual revelation of God's spirit within our day to day lives.
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On right sexuality and relationships
As fas as I am concerned, the most important thing we need to develope is nonselfish love. This does not mean the selfish sexual exploitation of others, as in "make love", which is actually based in our biological drive to reproduce and usually has nothing to do with love in the spiritual sense. Promiscuity is unhealthy, destroying the natural bonds people need in their relationships, turning what should be an act of intimacy and caring into one of exploitation. Hence such "casual sex" relationships leave people drained of their spiritual energies, and set them on a downward path... Sexual relations that are not based in a true loving bonded relationship are actually harmful and demeaning. The old fashioned ideal of boy meets girl, falls in love, they get married and raise a family, sticking together through the good times as well as the bad times is the proper relationship in God's Way of Life. The modern self centered approach of delaying marraige until middle age in order to play the field has the effect of destroying people's natural abiblity to form deep bonds, and the idea that we can find true happiness through sensual, yet spiritually shallow, relationships has led to the high rates of divorce, singlemother families, and irresponsible men who father children only as the accidental outcome of their sexaul promiscuity - such people should not be parents... Women often choose to abort unwanted children... this is a horrible form of birth control... what we need are better methods of birth control, yet the church opposes this and thereby contributes to the problem. Clearly it would be much better for people who do not want to be parents to have a safe means of birth control. The current situation makes the children victims, they are caught in the middle, either they are aborted or they are born into a family situation that may not be nurturing nor healthy. Children should be any sane society's number one treasure and concern, but in our modern capitalistic world which revolves around greedy self-indulgent adults children are pushed to the rear of the bus, and exploited as well. They will inherit astronomical debts and a severly damaged environment from the current crop of adults... In the future people will look back upon these times and regard its people as the ones who ruined the earth, people ruled by greed, selfishness, and lack of discipline in their excessive lifestyles.
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From "The 100" by Michael Hart - "Buddhism, far more than Christianity or Islam, has a strong pacifist element. The orientation towards non-violence has played a significant role in the political history of Buddhist countries. It has often been said that if Christ were to return to earth he would be shocked at many of the things which have been done in his name, and horrified at the bloody fights between different sects of persons who call themselves his followers... But while there are many sects of Buddhism, and large differences between those sects, there is nothing in Buddhist history that remotely compares with the bloody religious wars that took place in Christian Europe. In this respect, at least, Buddha's teachings seem to have had far greater influence on his followers than Christ's had on his."
It may be helpful to read some other books, such as the Dhammapada (the translation by Eknath Easwaren is very good), which contains the basic teachings of the Buddha, in order to gain some perspective in understanding the teachings of Jesus, and the nature of daily spiritual practice. The Dhammapada is much closer in spirit to the teachings of Jesus than church dogma or much of the OT. Jesus often retired to a quiet secluded place and spent the night in prayer/meditation. If Jesus regularly spent hours in meditative communion with God why hasn't this become part of Christian Church practice? Are our religious institutions actually diversions to avoid the sacrifice and discipline true spiritual practice requires ? The church and bible provide little if any instruction in this area. Meditation is the cornerstone of Buddha's teaching, self-control, mental discipline, compassion and unselfishness as essential qualities we need to learn and develope. The idea that Truth is only found in the bible and the church is false. The teachings of Buddha and Jesus are complementary and based in actual spiritual experince rather than an intellectual approach which can never succeed.
If the Dharmapada, the basic teachings of Buddha from 500 years prior to Jesus' time and much closer to the teachings of Jesus than alot of church dogma and much of the bible, was the most published book in the world instead of the bible I believe the world would be a very different place and our history would not be nearly as violent and warlike.
Buddhhism is "eternally optismistic". Buddhism and Christianity are complementary, the living spiritual presence of God in the person of Jesus Christ, the guidance of the Holy Spirit in combination with the meditative practices and ethics of Buddhism would be much closer to Jesus' teachings and example than the practices and doctrines of the various religious institutions which bear his name. Look at history and judge the tree by its fruit. Men have once again erected false religions which block the true gospel of Christ and continue the deluded practices of men which lead to ever greater levels of suffering. The fact is religions have often been used as instruments of war and churches have a moral obligation to admit this, to face the truth of their violent and unholy history, instead of arrogantly posturing, lost in meaningless games of argument and "theology"... Religion has always been big business, politically powerful... lucrative. The Kingdom of God is within us, not in fancy buildings, clothes, and rhetoric. A church should be people pursuing spiritual growth and realization of Jesus' life and teachings here and now. Not men pompusly glorying in themselves behind a facade of argument and rhetoric. Hence the direct method of meditation, compassion, ethics and spiritual focus of Buddhism are essential to any true spiritual practice.
1 John 2,29 -
"... every one that doeth righteousness is born of him."
Re. Buddhism - I find the Dhammapada, the Buddhist Gospel, to be excellent. But other teachings, such as The Heart Sutra, which has become perhaps the core teaching of Buddhism, much as bibleanity has perverted the course of Christianity, is very misleading and even dangerous. It is very nihilistic, basically step by step denying the existence of everything... What kind of "salvation" is this ? It seems a self-induced spiritual death to me... Buddhism is the so-called realization of a man, and assuch represents, perhaps the limits of what the mind is capable of on its own... which is to dissolve into emptiness. The Buddha resolved to sit under the Bodhi tree until he attained enlightenment, and this is what he came up with, everything is empty... Modern physics has proven this, yet, there is still life. The heart sutra says feelings and emotions are empty and unreal. I say "emptiness" is just an abstract concept that is unreal. So, meditation is important from a Christian point of view, but as far as Buddhism goes, there is no God, no Spirit, no Life, no nothing - all is emptiness. I think this is absurd and shallow. This is what happens when a man tries to force truth to reveal itself. God does not respond to such a mentality...
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This is from the first chapter of the bible,
the first page,
this is how it actually starts,
but for some reason this is pretty much ignored -
And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so.
( notice, the earth has an inate ability to bring forth life, "let the earth bring forth life" this agrees with scientific truth )...
And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness... So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. ..
( the Hebrew word for "man" used here is "Adama" which includes man and woman, hence "people" - this is very important, the very first chapter of the bible says men and women, all people, are created equally in God's image. )
And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth...
(replenish the earth - not exploit and destroy it)
... And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good.
GOD IS LOVE AND INFINITE COMPASSION.
GOD HARMS NO ONE.
THE BASIS OF CHRISTIANITY IS SPIRITUAL COMMUNION WITH GOD,
THROUGH JESUS CHRIST,
UNDER THE GUIDANCE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT.
God's true nature as revealed in the person of Jesus Christ.
It is essential to correct the false dogma of a divine and infallible Bible.
There are many layers of meaning in the bible.
Things which people chose to interpret literally
may in fact have originally been intended as allegory.
Jesus taught in parables,
his teachings often required spiritual interpretation,
and were not "literal".
Hence, a literal interpretation of the bible
is not in keeping with the example of Jesus
nor the literary and wisdom traditions
of the periods during which the writings of the bible were composed.
A literal interpretation is misleading
and may ignore deeper levels of
symbolism and allegory...
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The "Word of God" is living spirit,
life giving waters,
always growing and evolving
as are we...
Maybe you be blessed
with true insight,
happiness,
and well being.
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Holy War (Ban) in the Bible - by John Niemi
Here are a few excerpts from the articles in my NCV Everyday Study Bible, printed in 1996 -:
"In light of the repeated commands against murder in the bible, it is difficult to make sense of the OT stories where God commands people to annihilate their enemies... in the conquest of Jericho and Ai where all people - women youth, and elderly - are slaughtered... it is confusing to read that God himself demands the killing of non-combatants... from the perspective of God's people, this was an execution of corporate punishment, a group death penalty for an evil people who acted against the God of Israel... every member of the family was involved in pagan worship... but more significantly, God wanted to remove every source of future corruption to his people..."
"The bible is full of the sights, sounds, and smells of warfare... Study of the Bible reveals that there is a theology of warfare that runs from Genesis to Revelation... The plunder includes material goods that are given to the treasury of the sanctuary...@and also prisoners of war who are usually executed... This is the picture of Holy War in the OT. At the center stands God, the divine warrior."
"In the OT God graciously accepted the life of the sacrificial animal instead of taking the life of the person offering the sacrifice as punishment for sin... Jesus' life was the perfect sacrifice because it did away with the need for any more animal sacrifices... One day, Jesus will return to earth as a kingly warrior and subdue all those who oppose him. " - NCV Everyday Study Bible.
How can anyone who purports to follow the Way of Jesus Christ say such things? This is Bible-anity, interpreting the life and teachings of Jesus from their belief in a divine and infallible Holy Bible.This is totally against the teachings of Christ. He clearly set an example for us to follow and this just the opposite of what he taught. And there are numerous study bibles espousing such views. This sort of contrived religious dogma ignores the actual teachings and example of of Jesus. To these people his main purpose was to become a blood sacrifice to placate the wrath of the OT God. Writings such as this subvert the true message of the Gospels and perpetuate war, violence, and suffering.
Here is another quote from my NCV ESB, p.1141 -
"...a Christian is one who has God as father. But cannot this be said of every person, Christian or not ? No ! The idea that all are children of God is not found in the Bible anywhere."
This is totally mindboggling. What could these people possibly be thinking? How about the very first chapter in the bible? The very first chapter of the bible say God created ALL PEOPLE IN HIS IMAGE. MAN AND WOMAN. This is an example of "religious pride" - which is perhaps the worst kind, and the bible is very clear about how God feels about such pride. Jesus came to ALL PEOPLE.
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from Psalm 36 -
How precious is your steadfast love, oh God.
All people may find shelter in the shadow of your wings.
They feast on the abundance of your house;
you give them drink from the river of your delights.
For with you is the fountain of life;
in your light we see light
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on page 1141 in the NCV ESB there is a section which begins,
"If you want to judge how well a person understands Christianity..."
I thought Jesus taught us not to judge others, but ot concentrate on removing the beam from our own eye that we may better follow in his footsteps. Fortunately Jesus did not share our habit of making superficial judgements of others. Why not become a quiet agent of the Holy Spirit, a vehicle for God's love ?
and in the NCV ESB near the end, p 1141 -
"For God intends the lives of believers to be a reflection and reproduction of Jesus' own and fellowship with himself."
What if the person whose life best reflects "Jesus' own" life is NOT A CHRISTIAN ? What if a Buddhist or a Hindu reflects the life of Christ more perfectly than a Christian ? Words and labels are superfluous. God sees into the hearts and minds of all people. He cares nothing about theology...
Jesus is the Word of God, living spirit, not the bible.
He chose to incarnate in a human body
so that he might share our experiences,
heal us from our delusions,
establish a new relationship between humankind and God,
so that we might find the true
Way of Life..
It is essential to learn the way of meditation, prayer, respect for all beings,
and harmonious living.
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The relentless barrage of dark violent negative imagry contained on the bible can literally make people sick. Jesus is the Prince of Peace, God is love, so why did the church attach the gospels to this collection of tales of war, wrath and destruction ? Jesus is the Word of God, living spirit, not the bible. It is essential to learn the way of meditation, prayer, respect for all beings, and harmonious living.
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God cares nothing about theology, all that matters to God is the heart. .The Holy Spirit is very real and ever present to guide you. Do not be diverted by pretentious people. Do not try do explain yourself to people whose minds and hearts are rigid. If you can't find any truely spiritual friends its fine to go it alone. Your inner spiritual life should be kept secret. Jesus says we should judge a tree by its fruit... God always brings peace, happiness, and wellbeing. God never harms anyone. God never has and never will cause wars to happen or condone war as being inspired by God. War is an abomination. the result of man's failure to live according to God's true Way of Life as exemplified in the person of Jesus Christ. God created Eden and man turned it into battlefields, concentration camps, polluted waters and ravaged lands.
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We don't need prima dona preachers and theologians to impress us. The roll of a minister should be to guide people so they can enter into a relationship wth God and derive their own insights and understanding. One of the most basic rules on the spiritual path is we keep our relationship with God private, it is not something to parade around in front of others. Jesus said we should enter our room, close the door, and commune with God in privacy.
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There are many passages in the bible where even the foremost experts in the world are unable to ascertain their meaning. These writings were compiled over centuries from numerous sources from various periods and cultures, edited, adapted, altered and carefully arranged. The vast majority of these writings were not written by the "authors" to whom they are attributed, but rather attributed to some famous ancient person as a sign of respect and to give them credance and validity. Characters in the bible may be fictional, or augmented versions of historical characters. These writings often present various, even conflicting, points of view. They were never intended as literal histories in the modern sense, therfore interpreting them literally often results in errant or misleading views. Hence, from a Christian point of view, we need first and foremost to base our life in the actual spiritual presence of God, the experience of God's love and healing, rather than intellectualized arguments and doctrines. Theology is by its very nature presumptuous, a manmade profession which provides livelihoods for thousands of scholars, religious professionals, and book publishers.. Original Christianity is based upon the actual mystical experience of Christ, the Holy Spirit, and God... through prayer, meditation, and our relationships with others. Jesus often spent the entire night in prayer and mediation, not bible study (that is something he did as a young man), in the Garden of Gethsemane he asked his disciples to join him in prayer during his final night on earth, yet they were unable to grant his request, instead choosing to sleep and leave him alone. Has this situation changed much in the last 2,000 years ? How much time do Christians spend meditating in spiritual communion with God ? Its much easier to talk, and certainly much more lucrative to spout clever words and churn out numerous authoritative books for people addicted to such diversions, but the true realization of Christ must take place within the quietness of our hearts. Busy, noisey minds are incapable of this basic requirement, so like Jesus' disciples in the garden many Christians choose to sleep and believe that their intellectual distractions are "acceptable to God." But that is not what God wants, that is not what Jesus asked for, he came to us as a friend, seeking equality of love and friendship, but how many of us actually develope the ability to listen to the "still, quiet voice" of God within the temple of our lives and being ? Its so much easier to differ to experts, authorities, and professionals. So the very same conditions prevalent during Jesus' time are perpetuated by clever men in the name of Christ, which is perhaps even more painful to God. Jesus came, he did it, but then we persist in our same old deluded ways.
God does not make wars, send plagues, kill firstborn children, etc. The purpose of this record in the bible is to see the difference between false manmade religion and the true Way as manifest in the person of Jesus Christ, Yeshua the Messiah, Rabbi, Saviour, and friend. He is the Prince of Peace not a divine warrior. He fights ignorance and delusion with truth, light, healing, and love....
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Why hasn't the church denounced the numerous violent passages in the bible ? The bible attests to the tendency of men to create religious institutions that have nothing to do with the true nature of God. War stories are not "scripture." Jesus Christ incarnated to correct these false views of God, but the delusions of men are very persistent, so eventually they began contriving new doctrines to counter Jesus' true teachings and re-instate their unholy and violent ways. This same thing is happening now, as it did then.
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Not very long ago people with psycological problems or mental illness or epilepsy were accused of being possessed by demons or evil spirits. Several hundred years ago such people may even have been burned alive by "Christians" who used religion as a vehicle of fear and brutality. Fortunately in modern times we know the true causes of many of these conditions, often resulting from chemical or hormonal imbalances, physical defects within the brain, etc. Yet there are still study bibles and fundementalists perpetuating this ignorant archaic belief.
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Stoning -
This horrible practice, instituted in the time of Moses, had become prevalent and firmly entrenched by the time of Jesus, a span of many hundreds of years. This was a terroristic means of maintaining utter control over people which was especially monstrous in that it forced the members of a community to murder neighbors and family members who were accused of violating certain aspects of Mosaic law. In thisway anyone who dared to disagree with the utter domination and tyranny of the priestly class could be eliminated and fear effectively instilled in the community in a most cruel fashion. This "law" forced members of the community to commit murder, effectively turning them into a mob of murders and uniting them in this manner. There are few greater sins against God conceivable, yet the bible claims this "law" was given to Moses by the Lord.
This is impossible because God's true nature is infinite love and compassion. One moment of God's Spirit exposes the total falicy of the OT view of a wrathful destructior god. The OT contains a record of a sick manmade religious institution and the NT contains the revelation of God's true nature in the person of Yeshua the Messiah, later refered to as Jesus Christ. The Gosples and the Pauline letters are the most reliable sources of truely Christian scripture. Their purpose is to lead us into a living spiritual relationship with God through the salvation of Christ and the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
Followers of this false manmade religion of bibleanity perpetuate the very things Jesus ( as well as any sensible, normal person ) opposes. Only people who have been twisted by some manmade doctrine, be it religious, political (Maxism), scientific (Nazism-eugenics), or some combination thereof, are capable of commiting such atrocities. It requires us to ignore our Godgiven conscience and feelings of compassion. People have to be manipulated and brainwashed to do such things. Jesus was killed because he stood up to these tyrannts who use religion as a vehicle for evil. Yet, he asked God to forgive them, for they knew not what they were doing. He is not, never was, and never will be a "warrior" in the worldly sense. His means are non-violent and spiritual. He fights ignorance with truth, darkness with light, suffering with salvation. War is an abomination resulting from our failure to live according to God's true law as demonstrated in the person of Jesus Christ.
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2 Chronicles 7, 4 "Then the king and all the people offered sacrifices before the LORD. 5 And king Solomon offered a sacrifice of twenty and two thousand oxen, and an hundred and twenty thousand sheep: so the king and all the people dedicated the house of God."
Why would God want anyone to perform animal sacrifices ? Imagine what it was like to attend such a ceremony - the sounds and smells of thousands of animals being slaughtered, their blood being poured out and their bodies burned...
As it says in Isaiah 1,11 "To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto me? saith the LORD: I am full of the burnt offerings of rams, and the fat of fed beasts; and I delight not in the blood of bullocks, or of lambs, or of he goats. 12 When ye come to appear before me, who hath required this at your hand, to tread my courts? 13 Bring no more vain oblations; incense is an abomination unto me; the new moons and sabbaths, the calling of assemblies, I cannot away with; it is iniquity, even the solemn meeting. 14 Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hateth: they are a trouble unto me; I am weary to bear them. 15 And when ye spread forth your hands, I will hide mine eyes from you: yea, when ye make many prayers, I will not hear: your hands are full of blood. 16 Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil; 17 Learn to do well; seek judgment (justice), relieve the oppressed, judge (protect) the fatherless, plead for (help) the widow. 18 Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD..."
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From the "Open Bible" footnotes on p.991 -
"He is King. The position of king implies soveriegn authority and rule over all.... He is destined to rule as king and that every knee must ultimately bow and acknowledge his authority."
This illustrates another popular yet errant interpretation. Jesus is in not a worldly king. His realm is spiritual. Perhaps a more Christ based view of this passage is eventually all people will come to know Christ's salvation, and will be humbled in the positive sense, when we see clearly we regret our past mistakes and are truely grateful. Such a bow is a gesture of respect, love, appreciation and gratitude. Jesus is not a conquering warrior forcing people to their knees at the point of a sword. This passage has been turned into a power trip by some people. Nobody has the right to take credit for Jesus' works. "All knees will bow !" proclaims a "christian" bumper sticker... This is arrogant and presumptuous. Talk is cheap. But can we be quiet and serve God ? I think that is much more effective. If we focus on our spiritual practice God will start to reach out to others through us. This is beneficial to all involved. It becomes our spiritual practice, our means of growth, our way to happiness and fulfillment. It may not be a matter of preaching or handing out leaflets. We cannot judge how God is working in the lives of others and it is a mistake to try.
from p.1054 Open Bible -
"Of the many events of His earthly life the most significant without a doubt, are His death and resurrection. On these two pivotal, historical incidents rests the validity of the entire Christian faith." -
Why do people seem to glory in Jesus' torture, suffering and death. I think we should be very sorry this happened to him. But bibleanity says this was God's plan and Jesus becomes a cog in the machinations of their divine and holy bible. His life and example and teachings, everythng he said and did, take a backseat to his death. He is turned into an OT style blood sacrifice.
Furthermore, the statement,
"On these two pivotal, historical incidents rests the validity of the entire Christian faith,"
is not true. Spiritual relationship with God is the basis of the Christian faith.. What were Jesus' instructions ? To love others as He loves us and to help those in need. What matters most is the condition of our heart.
The footnotes then state,
"within this moment there occured the inexplicable mystery of the Father
punishing the Son for the sins of the world.".
God punishes no one. God is infinite love and compassion, the source of life and happiness. We punish ourselves when we do things that separate us from God. Jesus defeated the forces of evil in the world by his love and compassion, even towards those people who were torturing them. It was his love and compassion towards those who were doing these things which was the culmination of is work and brought about the subsequent salvation of all who chose to open their hearts to him.
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May all people learn to live in peace and harmony.
This Earth is a holy creation
a single blade of grass is a miracle of life
and this planet abounds with life
in the hostile environment of space.
The human race is at a crossroads -
either we learn to live in harmony
or we will not survive.
It has taken many billions of years to reach this point in our lives.
Many generations of stars have been born and died
just to create the elements of which all things are composed.
The building blocks of life were created in stars and nebulae and comets -
they form our bodies and we live among the stars.
What shall we do with this inheritance?
Shall we devote these billions of years of effort
toward selfish gain and momentary pleasures?
Or can we learn to use our time wisely
to create something of lasting meaning and worth,
a nurturing home for all children
and a bright future?
Will the "adults" of this world learn to live
with intelligence and humility,
or will they continue in their delusions,
ushering in armageddon
in the name of ignorance and folly?
We are each blessed with a ruely miraculous brain,
body, intelligence and conscience.
Jesus said to test all spirits
and judge a tree by its fruit.
Jesus is a healer and savior.
God never harms anyone.
The doctrine of the Divine Warrior
and the future firey destruction
Is the worst kind of blasphemy.
Its worse than ignorance because its intentional,
knowingly espoused by seemingly learned people.
God is love,
infinite,
beyond the scope of the human intellect,
God is eternal,
honest and faithful.
Yet God is humble
and does not desire praise or glory,
God is gentle,
the creator, savior, guide and friend.
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The book of Revelation was written one of two generations after Jesus' earthly sojourn. It was not written by the Apostle John. Its actual title is "Apocalypse". The title was changed to "The Revelation of St. John" after it was written. There were many other Apocalyses, none of which were believed to be literally true. Apocalyptic writing was a popular genre in which an author claimed to have "visions" which he attributed to some famous bible personage, as a tribute and to give his writings credance. It was a literary device, not intended as a literal, factual record. People of that time were familiar with this style of writing and understood it as such. The author is actually expressing his views through the person of Jesus. This is the nature of this genre of literature. It is not dictated by Jesus, nor are the words in it representative of Jesus and his teachings as in the Gospels. Jesus never spoke that way. And the fact that the author has Jesus say, in verse 2:23, "And I will kill her children with death and all the churches shall know that I am he..." clearly proves that it is impossible for Jesus to have spoken many of the things in this book. The author is reintroducing the OT view of a wrathful god which Jesus clearly and emphatically exposes as false.. This is a violation of the person, character, and spirit of our Lord. This book was definitely not dictated by the Risen Christ. It is the author's ideas and beliefs expressed in the form of apocalyptic writing. Also, there are various types of writings contained within it which points of multiple authors, some of it may be inspired and edifying, but much of it definitely is not. It contains some major distortions of Jesus' life and teachings. Advocates of bibleanity quote heavily from it, claiming Jesus is going to return in a future Day of the Lord as a Divine Warrior and destroy the earth and all non-christians in a firey judgement, and some modern bibles go so far as to put the words Jesus "spoke" in the author's "visions" in red print, placing them on equal footing with those spoken in the gospels. This is a distortion of the message of the gospels.
Advocates of bibleanity are always touting the virtues of the bible, saying it has the power to heal us, or it is the sole source of everything we know about Jesus, etc. However, the things that have taught me the most about Jesus are the experience of God's grace and love and protection in my life and encounters with other spiritually oriented people. The bible's place in Christianity has been overemphasized at the expense of Jesus' true teachings.
Meditation based in Christ is an excellent practice. Of course, the most important thing is our heart and spirit, whether or not we practice meditation or study the bible. It is a mistake to judge others. We should concentrate on our own relationship with God and trust God to do what is best in our lives and relationships. If we get judgemental we project our limitations and biases, thereby interfering with the working of the Holy Spirit in our lives. In order to experience God's presence in our lives we need to learn to quiet our noisy minds and see beyond our prejudices and biases. Meditation is the perfect vehicle to do this. Intellectual studies have their proper place, our mind needs to be stimulated and excersized, but intellectual pursuits should not be the center of spiritual practice. We need to learn to go beyong the limits of intellect and enter the realm of spirit, actually living in harmony, not just talking or arguing about it, in accord with the example of Jesus Christ, our loving, compassionate, eternally caring Lord and Savior...
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The moment anyone starts to speak as if they are some kind of expert, i.e. to tell you "how it is" I begin to question their motivation and veracity. Most of the time bible college doctors and preachers, clergy and theologians are parroting what they were taught, or what is commonly accepted among their peers. This does not mean its true but occasionally they say something worthwhile... However all too often people are willing to set aside their Godgiven intelligence and become zombified... It is understandable that people adopted such beliefs in ancient times, but for "modern" people to cling to these errant traditions is wrong. And they are misleading children. What is the child to think if they should read some of these horrendous stories? And what do their parents tell them ? "Yes dear, God had to kill all the Egyptian babies to punish their parents." What would this do to a child ? Children trust their parents and their parents teach them this false view of a violent wrathful god who kills people... Jesus said suffer the children to come unto me." What would Jesus tell these parents ?
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from Psalm 36 -
How precious is your steadfast love, oh God.
All people may find shelter in the shadow of your wings.
They feast on the abundance of your house;
you give them drink from the river of your delights.
For with you is the fountain of life;
in your light we see light
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What if the person whose life best reflects "Jesus' own" life is NOT A CHRISTIAN ? If a Buddhist reflects the life of Christ more perfectly than a Christian, what does that say about bible college religion ? What if a Hindu swami is more like Jesus than some Christians ? Words and labels are superfluous. God sees into the hearts and minds of all people. He cares nothing about theology...
--------------------------------
.
Why not become a living vessel for God's Spirit ? Its not an intellectual thing. We experience salvation through Christ. Living with the Holy Spirit as our guide in a most real and intimate way. This not a matter of "believing", its a matter of being. Not through argument and biblespeak. We can be followers of Christ, but we cannot "believe" we are followers of Christ. A Christian is a doer, not a "believer" Its actually very simple and direct
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Your opinion and beliefs are just as important as those of any theologian, minister, guru, master, whatever... Any person or group that will only admit you if you conform to their dogma should be avoided. The most fundemental law of the spiritual path is respect for others and humility. Your relationship is with God - Truth, there is no need to impress others with your faith or win anyone's approval. Let the Holy Spirit be your guide. Like the Buddha says, if you can't find true spiritual friends, better to go it alone. Sometimes we can find greater peace, well-being and happiness in solitude.
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May all people learn to live in peace and harmony.
This Earth is a holy creation
a single blade of grass is a miracle of life
and this planet abounds with life
in the hostile environment of space.
The human race is at a crossroads -
either we learn to live in harmony
or we will not survive.
--------------------
Jesus is a healer and savior.
God never harms anyone.
The doctrine of the Divine Warrior
and the future firey destruction
Is the worst kind of blasphemy.
Its worse than ignorance because its intentional,
knowingly espoused by seemingly learned people.
God is love,
infinite,
beyond the scope of the human intellect,
God is eternal,
honest and faithful.
Yet God is humble
and does not desire praise or glory,
God is gentle,
the creator, savior, guide and friend.
--------------------------------------------
Ezekiel 9,5 And to the others he said in mine hearing, Go ye after him through the city, and smite: let not your eye spare, neither have ye pity: 6 Slay utterly old and young, both maids, and little children, and women...
( God does not change, God is eternal and omnipresent. Jesus heals people, wherever he went people would flock to him. If someone simply touched his garment God's healing energy would stream forth. This is the true nature of our Lord and Savior. God's truth does not change. He is not at one time a slayer of women and children and at another a loving father. God's love is constant . The image of the wrathful warrior god of the OT was contrived by men. God's true nature is revealed in the person, life, and teachings of Jesus. )
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The authors of the bible borrowed extensively from the myths and literary forms of more ancient Mesopotamian cultures. The simple literal interpretation of the bible espoused by advocates of bibleanity obscures this complex history. The fact is, just about all the rituals and festivals have their roots in more ancient traditions. In the OT we see the rise of a religion of warrior-priests which adapted the religions and writings of more ancient cultures to fit their agenda. In this religion the priests role was to insured God's blessing and victory in war. This cannot be reconciled with the true nature of God as manifest in the person of Jesus Christ.
Thankfully modern archeaology tells us most of these accounts were not historic, but fabrications written by around the middle of the first millenium BC, well after these events purportedly occured. However for more than 2000 years this false history has been promulgated, discrediting the more ancient cultures Mesopotamian of Sumer, Babylonia, Assyria, the Hittites, etc. for the role they played in the formation of many of our religious, cultural, and economic institutions.
When the church compiled the "Holy Bible" and designated it "The Word of God" the teachings and life of Jesus were placed within its context, thereby perpetuating the very conditions of war and violence which Jesus seeks to change. Whereas Jesus taught peace and non-violence, such were not suitable guidelines for maintaining an empire, contolling people, and empowering the ruling classes. So the OT god of wrath and fear was re-introduced. Even today we have numerous religious groups claiming biblical writings justify wars, conquests, the exploitation and destruction of the environment, personal enrichment, etc... Such religion is dangerous.
Jesus always worked with people, the healing and salvation of souls. He rebeled against the false materialistic and politically based religious institutions of his time. When the church compiled the Holy Bible and proclaimed it to be the divine Word of God, did it actually abandon the true teachings and spirit of Jesus Christ ? In so doing did the church sidestep his actual instructions with clever "theologies" and dogma ? Are some elements within the Christian Church still perpetuating the delusions Jesus sought to abolish ?
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The human mind is not able to describe God's infinite nature,
yet we can experience God's presence.
Just to be an honest person is perhaps the greatest achievment,
just to live according to God's Way of Life,
setting aside the quest for fame and fortune,
rejecting the life of selfish hedonism,
and allowing truth to work within our being,
allowing God's tranformation to take place through God's grace...
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The first martyr for science, a brilliant, visionary man murdered by the church - Giordano Bruno - 400 years ago, he said - -
"In space there are countless constellations, suns and planets; we see only the suns because they give light, the planets remain invisible because they are small and dark. There are also numberless earths circling around their suns, no worse and no less than this globe of ours. For no reasonable mind can assume that heavenly bodies that may be far more magnificent than ours would not bear upon them creatures similar or even superior to those upon our human earth." - from "Just Six Numbers" by Martin Rees, page 22.
(From Wikipedia) "Giordano Bruno (1548, Nola, Italy - February 17, 1600, Rome) known for his mnemonic system based upon organized knowledge and as an early proponent of the idea of an infinite and homogeneous universe. Burnt at the stake as a heretic by the Roman Inquisition, Bruno is seen by some as the first 'martyr for science.'
Under this model, the Sun was simply one more star, and the stars all suns, each with its own planets. Bruno saw a solar system of a sun/star with planets as the fundamental unit of the universe. The Earth was just one more heavenly body, as was the Sun. God had no particular relation to one part of the infinite universe more than any other. God, according to Bruno, was as present on Earth as in the Heavens, an immanent God, the One subsuming in itself the multiplicity of existence, rather than a remote heavenly deity. Bruno also affirmed that the universe was homogeneous, made up everywhere of the four elements (water, earth, fire, and air), In particular Bruno held firm to his belief in the plurality of worlds, although he was admonished to abandon it.
His trial was overseen by the inquisitor Cardinal Bellarmine, who demanded a full recantation, which Bruno eventually refused. Instead he appealed in vain to Pope Clement VIII, hoping to save his life through a partial recantation. The Pope expressed himself in favor of a guilty verdict. Consequently, Bruno was declared a heretic, handed over to secular authorities on February 8, 1600. A month or so later he was brought to the Campo de' Fiori, a central Roman market square, his tongue in a gag, tied to a pole naked and burned at the stake, on February 17, 1600." (from Wikipedia)
Clearly, any institution that was truely based in Christ could not have committed this monstrous deed, as God is truth, and the purpose of science is to reveal the truths of the universe. How could any organization which bears the name of Christ commit such horribly violent and depraved acts ? Yet this sort of torture and execution was common practice among various "Christian" institutions for centuries.
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Archaeology and the bible -
Advocates of a perfect and divine bible claim archaelogy supports their beliefs. It is true that various archaeological expeditions were sent to Palestine during the early 20th century and their findings did indeed correspond with biblical accounts. However these expeditions were sent with the express purpose of confirming the accuracy of the bible. Thus only data which supported their preconcieved beliefs was acceptable and anything else rejected.. This was not science, but yet another attempt to prop up false dogma. More recent and reputable archaeology disproves most of the biblical accounts. The good news is the conquest of Palestine, the acts of genocide, the exodus, all of it were fabrications by the priestly class for political purposes. The bad part is, for 2000 years people have been brainwashed into believing these violent propagandistic accounts were true, and more horribly, "the Word of God." The truth as revealed by modern archaeology is the Jews were a native people which co-existed peacefully with neighboring peoples of other religions in ancient times. The priestly class wanted none of this, they needed power and control, and creating a state of fear was more suitable to accomplishing their agenda. It now appears that around 500BC the Jewish priestly class launched a campaign of propaganda with the intent of reinventing their people's history for thier own political purposes. Most of the content of the Pentatuch, or "Books of Moses" is myth. The problem is about half the people on the earth ascribe to these beliefs in some form.
Here is an example of the sort of pseudoscience that is being invented to legitimize the doctrines of Bibleanity, it is a quotation from a book entitled, The Stones Cry Out: What Archaeology Reveals About the Truth of the Bible, By: Randall Price:
"... here are just some of the amazing discoveries, with relevance to the Bible, that were made near the time of this writing in early 1997. -A hidden chamber was discovered in the King's Valley (Luxor, Egypt) next to the tomb of the famous King Tut. It may be the burial place of the firstborn sons of the Pharoah Rameses II. If, according to one theory, he was the pharaoh of the Exodus, then these sons were those kiled in the last of the miraculous plagues ordered by Moses."
The authors position is purely hypothetical, then he proceeds to use this hypothetical possibility to give "scientific" proof to a fictional biblical story. This is a tragic illustration of the mentality of the advocates of Bibleanity - its good news to them if a bible story of a god who supposedly murders babies were to be proven true. The fictional story is bad enough, but for adults to revel in such superstitions, seemingly unaware of their implications, and the obvious contradictions with the teachings and example of Jesus, is worse than irresponsible, its dangerous. They are teaching innocent children these stories are true, which means children are being taught God murders babies, etc. These people are dangerous and harming others through their fixations with Bibleanity rather than the truth of God's love and spirit as exemplified in the person of Jesus Christ.
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If we accept Jesus as the revelation of God's true nature it is impossible to accept much of the bible as "the Word of God." Jesus shatters the image of the wrathful God found in the bible. Jesus said we are to love God and to love each other, he never said to love the bible, indeed on many occasions he corrected mistaken views found the OT. Jesus said the Holy Spirit would teach us and guide us. God is Spirit, the bible is a manmade book. We are told we should obey the bible - how can one obey the bible? What part of it? The bible says we should stone people who collect firewood on the sabbath day. Jesus says "let him who is without sin cast the first stone", Jesus refuted such cold hearted and brutal aspects of Mosaic law..
The crucifiction of Jesus - he chose to allow himself to be used in this vile manner by ignorant violent men because he saw that it would lead to a greater good. The main meaning of his crucifiction is to demonstrate the true, non-violent nature of God's compassion and forgivness, not that God demands shedding of blood for forgivness of sins. God does not delight in the spilling of blood nor the aroma of burning flesh. Jesus was not a pagan blood sacrifice.. The religion of blood sacrifice is found in many ancient cultures and has nothing to do with God. Jesus Christ is our Savior, the embodiment of God's universal truth, he is not a high priest or a sacrifice to placate the wrathful god of the OT. He took the sins of mankind upon himself in order to establish a new relationship with God. God does not demand the shedding of blood for the forgiveness of sins.
Animal sacrifice was instituted in OT times as a lesser evil, to replace the abominable practice of sacrificing babies. This is the deeper meaning of the story of Abraham and Isaac, not that Abraham was such a good and devout man as would would sacrifice his own son. God would never tell a father to do such a heinous thing. Hence when Jesus "poured out his blood" to save us from our sins, it means he gave his life and spirit to save us from our delusions and sinful ways of living, not that God demanded the actual spilling of his blood in order to "wash away our sins".
There are many different kinds of writings in the bible, by many different authors, with opposing beliefs and practices, it is not a homogeneous work dictated by God. It must be read with discernment, since its contents are largely lengendary and esoteric. It is not a history and should not be seen as a literal depiction of events.
Original Christianity is essentially mystical, the revelation of God within us, working in our lives, transforming us, realizing our true potential, a spiritual, evolutionary process, intimate and direct. Through the Way of Life as presented to us by Jesus, God is revealed in our hearts and in our daily lives. Jesus always dealt directly with people and held the corrupt political and religious institutions of his time in disdain.
Bible study should be seen as a form of Christian spiritual practice, and as such, we should read with an open mind and heart from a basis in Christ, in the Spirit. Instead of reading commentaries and expert's opinions - there are many such people waitng to dictate their views is we let them - we should allow God to speak to us directly. The teachings of Jesus must be our compass, not the proclaimations of experts and theologians. The writings in the bible can aquire new meaning, they need not mean the same thing today as they did 2,000 years ago, all information is instructive, but it must be interpreted correctly. Someone may say something is of God when in fact it is not. This teaches us about human nature and its propensity, and even preference, for deluded ways.
If we listen to Christ under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, we shall return to our long lost home and realize our long awaited future potential in God's Kingdom, which is no other place but here and no other time but now. Always has been , always will be.
we can know God's truth intimately and directly...
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Jesus said he would bring us the Holy Spirit, who would teach us all things, he told us to love God and to love one another as God loves us, he told us to live a life of faith in God and to follow his example. He said he was bringing us the Holy Spirit, not the bible. The bible is what it is, and Jesus Christ is what he is, the two are not the same. Advocates of bibleanity often twist Jesus' teachings so they conform to their ideas and beliefs. Hence we need to follow Jesus' instructions and be guided by the Holy Spirit.
Conforming to the group is not a requirement for experiencing God's presence in our lives...
There is a life and vitality present in Christ and among those people who choose to follow Christ and to be guided in their lives by the Holy Spirit that is absent from other religious groups I have encountered. What good is learning to sit in silent meditation for days, weeks, and years on end if ones heart is cold ? I do not believe life is an illusion or a divine play. We are not capable of grasping the depth of life's meaning through our intellect - it is not a matter of "believing", but rather of experiencing... The human mind is not able to describe God, yet we can experience God's presence, and for me this is best exemplified in the person of Jesus Christ.. Just to be an honest person is perhaps the greatest achievment, just to live according to God's Way of Life, setting aside the quest for fame and fortune, rejecting the life of selfish hedonism, and allowing truth to work within our being, allowing God's tranformation to take place through God's grace...
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Humans, especially men, are violent creatures, surival of the fittest has unfortunatley meant the most violent and agressive... and they make religions to support their beliefs and actions. In the bible we can see the contrast between such manmade religions, which may function as propaganda to justify wars, conquests and the violent tendencies of certain men, versus the religion of peace and healing which was embodied in the person of Jesus Christ. We can find these opposing views interwoven throughout the bible. As such the bible is a record of how and why people make religions, some of its writings are inspired by universal truth and some are inspired by human ignorance and greed... Christianity is about living, about moving forward, about accepting life, appreciating this opportunity to grow and learn and become better people... We are challenged, do we quietly follow, reciting rote creeds and mouthing things we don't really believe, or do we speak out against the things Jesus spoke out against ? Christianity is not bibleanity. God is love. The various wars and violent acts depicted in the bible have nothing to do with God.
an unfortunate aspect of many religious groups is a predeliction to pigeonholing (labeling people), slandering, and ostrasizing anyone who does not agree with their doctrines. This may be a suitable yardstick for judging to what extent a group is a cult. A true religion respects others, cults have no tolerance for other views and beliefs. the church has chosen to build its house on the sand of bibleanity instead of the rock of Christ.
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On the widely accepted mistranslation of Luke 16 "The Unrighteous Steward" - by John Niemi
"And he said also unto his disciples, There was a certain rich man, which had a steward; and the same was accused unto him that he had wasted his goods." (the word "accused" is mistranslated rom the original Greek, it should read, " falsely accused" or "slandered"...Perhaps a more accurate interpretation would be the "unjust boss and the honorable accounts manager"... this is totally different from the traditional interpretation, but I think more in keeping with the teachings of Jesus and has more of a foundation in biblical teachings.) 2 And he called him, and said unto him, How is it that I hear this of thee? give an account of thy stewardship; for thou mayest be no longer steward. 3 Then the steward said within himself, What shall I do? for my lord taketh away from me the stewardship: I cannot dig; to beg I am ashamed. (when the steward was unjustly accused, what did he do ? Did he protest his innocence ? No, he "said within himself..." This can be seen as prefiguring Christ's passion... In which he was unjustly accused, yet remained silent, chosing instead to trust in God.) 4 I am resolved what to do, that, when I am put out of the stewardship, (they) may receive me into their houses. (It is important to realize that many words are added to the original text, such as the word "they", which takes on a different meaning in light of verse 9, "recieve you into eternal dwellings") 5 So he called every one of his lord's debtors unto him, and said unto the first, How much owest thou unto my lord? (According to the NAB notes, this must be considered in light of ancient practices of the time. The steward charged a comission, but now he was retabulating the accounts minus his commision... why would he do this ? When he heard he was being fired he could have retaliated angrily and charged a much higher commision to provide future economic security, however he did just the opposite ! He used this occasion as an opportunity to do good, to help people... rather than profiting from his work for this unjust employer he instead acts honorably, not wishing to defame himself with his unjust employers money, and chooses instead to do something very unusual... this sounds more like what Jesus may have taught...) 6 And he said, An hundred measures of oil. And he said unto him, Take thy bill, and sit down quickly, and write fifty. 7 Then said he to another, And how much owest thou? And he said, An hundred measures of wheat. And he said unto him, Take thy bill, and write fourscore. 8 And the lord commended the unjust steward, because he had done wisely: for the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light. (now here we have the word "lord", kyrious - not "a rich man", so there is a difference between "a certain rich man" verse 1 and the "lord" in verse 8... the lord-kyrios commended the unjustly accused steward - not the "unjust steward", this is the same translation error found in verse 1...) 9 And I say unto you, Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness; that, when ye fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitations. (this verse is severely mistranslated, garbled, unclear in most texts... why would Jesus say such a thing, it makes no sense at all and does not fit with anything else he has ever said, that being the case, its most likely a scribal mistake. Perhaps this is more in line with the truth, "familiarize yourselves with the ways of the world, the mammon of unrighteousness, so that when its fails - the word "ye" is inserted into the text and is not found in the Greek - i.e. when experiencing such worldly injustice and being slandered and fired unjustly we can still be creative and use that situation to do good, to help others, and thereby "store up treasure in heaven", i.e. we will be received into the eternal home. This is the point of resolution, being received into the eternal home... not the homes of other people but inot our heavenly home... this parable seems to be about our passing from this world and not depending on worldly things such as fame or even reputation, all are transitory... in a sense the poor "slandered steward" has suffered doubly by being miscast as an "unrighteous steward" when in fact he was a model person, suffering the injustices of the world, fired from his job unfairly, yet chosing to act honorable, not to defend himself, or be concerned with his worldly future, but instead using this last chance to do something good, something truely meaningful...and, this seems to be a direct reference by Jesus to his upcoming passion, so perhaps the "unjustly accused steward" is Christ himself... Jesus is teaching us about his life in the world... )
sources: KJV Hebrew Greek KeyWord Study Bible, Saint Joseph New American Bible, Thayer's Greek English Lexicon to the NT, ESV-Greek Interlinear NT
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Luke 14, 26 (KJV) - "If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple."
Actually, Jesus did not say this. This is an English translation from a Greek text written by the author of Luke, who in turn drew from writings circulating among the early church groups one or two generations after Jesus' death. The Gospels are records of what their authors wish to tell us about Jesus. They are not word for word quotations. Jesus spoke in Aramaic. What he actually said is unknown, but based upon his life and teachings we can infer a great deal. However it is essential to realize that in those times there were established traditions of public oratory. There was no radio, TV or mass communications, but people did flock to hear teachers and discussed religion and pholosophy among themselves. Public speakers employ various devices to communicate with an audience. These conventions may change with time ad cultural context. Did Jesus really tell people to hate their parents, for example ? No, this is an example of hyperbole, intentional exaggeration to emphasize a point. His audience understood this. Obviously Jesus loved his father, mother, and siblings... Perhaps the people of his time were more intelligent and perceptive than we, in our modern chauvenism, give them credit for. At any rate, Jesus often employs hyperbole in his teachings as a way to emphasize a point ( I repeat - as an oratorical device to emphasize a point - Jesus often said, "Let him who has ears hear." He expected people to discern the deeper meaning in his teachings ) and his audience would not have taken this literally, as we in later times may mistakenly do. Whatever he actually said in Aramaic was something similar to this, but we cannot be sure of its actual tone, inflection, nuance, possible word-play, etc. So, what does this verse mean, the commonly accepted interpretation is that we should love God above all things, that is, if we are caught up in worldly affairs, even those evolving family, it may divert us from our true purpose in life. But if we concentrate on God's Way of Life first and foremost, then those other areas of our life will also work out for the best. Families may be supportive and nurturing, but they can also be the opposite... In Jesus' time familial obligations were essentially the law. In fact in the OT it says anyone who does not obey their parents should be stoned... so in this setting, Jesus' teaching must have been much more shocking then than it is now... On certain occasions Jesus seems to test people's sincerity by making some intentionally shocking statement, but beneath the surface there is a deeper meaning.
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The Gospels were written by authors who drew from writings representing the materials circulating amongst the early churches. They are stories about Jesus, not literal histories. At times Jesus is quoted as saying things he may never have said. Here is an example from Luke, whose author at times combined various stories, changed sequences, etc. The idea behind these writings was to communicate what they believed about Jesus, not to create a history. Luke 19 tells a parable concerning servants given money to invest and ends with this verse, 19:26 "For I say unto you, That unto every one which hath shall be given; and from him that hath not, even that he hath shall be taken away from him. " This is the acutal end of this parable, but then the author of Luke" adds this verse, which was not part of the original story, 27 "But those mine enemies, which would not
that I should reign over them, bring hither, and slay them before me." Now clearly this is taken out of its original context, if indeed Jesus ever did say it at all. As to why someone
would tack this verse onto the end of this parable is a mystery to me... But, the point us, such writings have been used by numerous despots, such as Henry the 8th, to justify the
most horrible and evil acts, supposedly done according to God's will. Religion can be dangerous when used as political propaganda, and the church has a responsibility to prevent
that sort of thing from happening.
Because this ancient author tacked this ending onto this story people have come to believe that for some unknown reason Jesus uttered these words, "But those mine enemies,
which would not that I should reign over them, bring hither, and slay them before me." Matthew Henry gives this commentary on this verse, " Whoever will not be ruled by the
grace of Christ will inevitably be ruined by the wrath of Christ." This is the result of bibleanity. This view of God, who is graceful but will destroy anyone who does not accept his
rule... this is not at all the revelation of God we find in the person of Christ, nor in God's spiritual presence. Hence the need for more prayer, meditation, and service to others and
less bible study. We need more humble people actually living as Christ demonstrated and fewer bible doctors spouting rhetoric. Such interpretations of the bible twist the
teachings of Jesus to further the delusions of men.
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The Deceptions of Bibleanity - by John Niemi
From a Christian basis,
that is, based in the actual teachings, life, and example of Jesus Christ
the largely violent nature of many writings in the bible
cannot possibly be viewed as the works of God,
if Jesus is the incarnation of God...
Jesus' example of forgiveness,
his total condemnation of violence among his disciples
betray the false views of the wrathful god depicted in the OT.
However advocates of a Divine Bible must justify everything from that basis.
It is a religion based upon a false premise.
This is not to say that in spite of this there are not many good Christian people,
but the doctrine of bibleanity detracts from the teachings of Christ
and perpetuates ignorance, war, and bigotry.
The so-called "Christian" church,
with its horrible violent history
has been perpetuating this falsehood for 2,000 years.
Jesus' teachings of unconditional love, non-violence and non-materialism
were subverted by the church
and the old deluded ways of men were given precedence.
Today bibleanity is a huge extremely lucrative enterprise,
employing thousands of religious professionals,
but a great deal of it is all based upon falsehood.
True, the teachings of Jesus may still inspire some,
but there are also many who are diverted from Jesus' true teachings and way of life
by the advocates of bibleanity.
There is no getting around it.
The longer it continues the worse will be the consequences.
Unless the church comes clean and stands up against this onslaught of ignorance
it serves the causes which Jesus gave his life trying to correct.
Many Christians seem to glory in the torture and suffering of Jesus,
they say horrible things like, "we are washed in his blood."
Nobody has the right to say such a thing.
Jesus was not a human blood sacrifice.
God abhores such ideas. People should be ashamed -
God came to us in human form,
God dwelt among us and taught us and gave his life to show us the true way
and in response he was tortured and brutally murdered.
This should inspire deep sadness,
not arrogant proclamations of superiority over others.
God sent his son to teach us, knowing that he would suffer this horrible fate.
This was done out of his unfathomable love and compassion,
not because he demands that blood be shed in order to forgive sins.
Such ideas are the epitome of human delusion.
Many modern Christians are arrogant and lack humility.
They spout false doctrines and live in luxury, slandering anyone who threatens their way of life.
The teachings of Jesus are clear and straight forward.
The Holy Spirit is the real and ever present guide to all good people.
Of course, anyone can say they are inspired by the Holy Spirit.
That is the basic tactic, to procalim oneself as being a loyal Christian,
a representative of the Body of Christ and recognized authority,
then proceed to spout ignorant, deluded doctrines and slander anyone who disagrees.
This is why Jesus warned us to test all spirits
and to judge a tree by its fruit.
People can say anything,
so we have to live in faith but not be too naive...
In spite of this, there are millions of good hearted Christians,
but it is time to come clean and throw off the false religion of bibleanity
and restore the teachings of Christ in their true form.
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Moses and the Midianites - by John Niemi
Moses in Egypt -
From the KJV bible, Exodus 2:9 - And Pharaoh's daughter said unto her, Take this child away, and nurse it for me, and I will give thee thy wages. And the women took the child, and nursed it. 10And the child grew, and she brought him unto Pharaoh's daughter, and he became her son. And she called his name Moses: and she said, Because I drew him out of the water. 11And it came to pass in those days, when Moses was grown, that he went out unto his brethren, and looked on their burdens: and he spied an Egyptian smiting an Hebrew, one of his brethren. 12And he looked this way and that way, and when he saw that there was no man, he slew the Egyptian, and hid him in the sand. 13And when he went out the second day, behold, two men of the Hebrews strove together: and he said to him that did the wrong, Wherefore smitest thou thy fellow? 14And he said, Who made thee a prince and a judge over us? intendest thou to kill me, as thou killedst the Egyptian? And Moses feared, and said, Surely this thing is known. 15Now when Pharaoh heard this thing, he sought to slay Moses.
Moses seeks asylum among the Midianites and is welcomed into their midst -
But Moses fled from the face of Pharaoh, and dwelt in the land of Midian: and he sat down by a well. 16Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters: and they came and drew water, and filled the troughs to water their father's flock. 17And the shepherds came and drove them away: but Moses stood up and helped them, and watered their flock. 18And when they came to Reuel their father, he said, How is it that ye are come so soon to day? 19And they said, An Egyptian delivered us out of the hand of the shepherds, and also drew water enough for us, and watered the flock. 20And he said unto his daughters, And where is he? why is it that ye have left the man? call him, that he may eat bread.
Moses thrives in Midian, the priest of Midian is most hospitable to Moses, gives Moses his daughter in marriage, she bears him a son, Moses dwells there many years -
21And Moses was content to dwell with the man: and he gave Moses Zipporah his daughter. 22And she bare him a son, and he called his name Gershom: for he said, I have been a stranger in a strange land.
(Yet in the Book of Numbers we see a very different Moses. Perhaps the character of Moses was adapted to fit in with the militant stance of the priestly class in those days, so was a new legend of the warrior Moses contrived by later priestly authors ?)
Numbers 25: 1And Israel abode in Shittim, and the people began to commit whoredom (meaning they attended their wives relgious services at their temple, which was a direct threat to the power base of the Israeli priestly class, here we have two rival religious institutions, and the most brutal wins out) with the daughters of Moab. i.e. Israeli men were intermarrying.) 2And they called the people unto the sacrifices of their gods: and the people did eat, and bowed down to their gods. 3And Israel joined himself unto Baalpeor: and the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel. (actually the priests whose power and livelihoods were threatened were "kindled") 4And the LORD said unto Moses, Take all the heads of the people, and hang them up before the LORD against the sun,
(God never said this... Such passages have inspired real life massacres by despots such as Henry 8th, Richard the Lionheart, Vlad Dracula, who believed they were acting in accord with God's word. The acts of genocide committed against Native Americans and the institution of slavery were also based upon biblical authority. As was the later abolition of slavery. And more recently acts of "ethnic cleansing.")
that the fierce anger of the LORD may be turned away from Israel. 5And Moses said unto the judges of Israel, Slay ye every one his men that were joined unto Baalpeor. 6And, behold, one of the children of Israel came and brought unto his brethren a Midianitish woman in the sight of Moses, and in the sight of all the congregation of the children of Israel, who were weeping before the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.
7And when Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, saw it, he rose up from among the congregation, and took a javelin in his hand; 8And he went after the man of Israel into the tent, and thrust both of them through, the man of Israel, and the woman through her belly.
(later Phinehas will be made a hero and rewarded richly for doing this. The couple he murdered were both children of the heads of families - the woman was a reputable "upper class" woman from a good family, she was not a whore or harlot. The crime was intermarriage with non-Isaelite women.)
BUT MOSES HAD A MIDIANITE WIFE AND FATHER-IN-LAW, HE WAS THE ADOPTED SON OF A MIDIANITE PRIEST, AND HE DWELT HAPPILY AMONG THEM FOR 40 YEARS. I BELIEVE THIS IS THE ORIGINAL MOSES STORY. AND REFLECTS THE TRUE STATE OF AFFAIRS, ISRAELITES INTERMARRIED AND DWELT PEACEFULLY AMONG NEIGHBORING PEOPLES. THE LATER ACCOUNTS OF WARS, ETC. WERE FICTION ADDED LATER BY SCRIBES OF THE PRIESTLY CLASS WHO WERE AGAINST THIS SORT OF THING.
So the plague was stayed from the children of Israel.
(also priests used epidemics to instill fear in people and secure their power by saying they were sent as punishment from God, which is another falsehood that is perpetuated by bibleanity.)
9And those that died in the plague were twenty and four thousand. 10And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
(I submit that whenever we read, "and the Lord said to Moses" what this actually means is that this mythical Moses supposedly told the people this - God never said these things.)
11Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, hath turned my wrath away from the children of Israel, while he was zealous for my sake among them, that I consumed not the children of Israel in my jealousy. 12Wherefore say, Behold, I give unto him my covenant of peace: 13And he shall have it, and his seed after him, even the covenant of an everlasting priesthood; because he was zealous for his God, and made an atonement for the children of Israel.
(so, Phinehas is welcomed into the priestly fold and rewarded greatly for his brutal murder of the innocent couple, and he is held as a model for all future high priests.)
14Now the name of the Israelite that was slain, even that was slain with the Midianitish woman, was Zimri, the son of Salu, a prince of a chief house among the Simeonites. 15And the name of the Midianitish woman that was slain was Cozbi, the daughter of Zur; he was head over a people, and of a chief house in Midian.
( what we have here is the murder of a couple representing the union of two prominant houses, something that was a threat to the power base of the priests. they were murdered for purely political reasons. the bible is the word of God in that it records these deeds for all to see. but it has been grossly misinterpreted, also for political reasons.)
16And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 17Vex the Midianites, and smite them: 18For they vex you with their wiles, wherewith they have beguiled you in the matter of Peor, and in the matter of Cozbi, the daughter of a prince of Midian, their sister, which was slain in the day of the plague for Peor's sake.
(And then later in Chapter 27 there is the account of the massacre of all the people of Midian, men, women, children, babies, preganant women, elderly grandmothers - all put to the sword, except the virgin girls who were saved for the soldiers. Among the world's relgious literature there is nothing so violent , depraved, and contrary to God's true nature than these stories, yet they are upheld even today by Christians as being theWord of God. This is immoral.)
The MacArthur Study Bible gives this inspired commentary on the atrocities described in Numbers 31, The Extermination of the Midianites,
"This battle with the Midianites modeled God's requirements for Holy War
when Israel took vengence on His enemies...
All the Midianites, except the virgin women, were to be put to death...
The execution of all male children and women of child bearing age
insured the extermination of the Midianites. "
This is from one of the most popular study bibles, by a renown expert, teacher and author.
This is the mindset of Bibleanity.
Jesus told us to use our own discerment and be guided by the Holy Spirit,
not theologians.
"MODELING GOD'S REQUIREMENTS FOR HOLY WAR -
The execution of all male children and women of child bearing age
insured the extermination of the Midianites".
How can any Christian say such things?
People can be professors with numerous degrees and author many top selling books and still be totally wrong at times.
This is abominable. Its also dangerous.
Its an affront to God, Christ, and humanity.
The author finishes with thanks to "our glorious God who gave us His precious Word..."
This is bibleanity.
Here is a charming account of the extermination of the Midianites from The Message Bible -
7-12 They attacked Midian, just as God had commanded Moses, and killed every last man... The People of Israel took the Midianite women and children captive and took all their animals and herds and goods as plunder. They burned to the ground all the towns in which Midianites lived and also their tent camps. They looted and plundered everything and everyone, stuff and people and animals. They took it all captives and booty and plunder back to Moses and Eleazar the priest and the company of Israel where they were camped on the Plains of Moab, at Jordan-Jericho.
13-18 Moses, Eleazar, and all the leaders of the congregation went to meet the returning army outside the camp. Moses was furious with the army officers the commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds as they came back from the battlefield: "What's this! You've let these women live! They're the ones who, under Balaam's direction, seduced the People of Israel away from God in that mess at Peor, causing the plague that hit God's people. Finish your job: kill all the boys. Kill every woman who has slept with a man. The younger women who are virgins you can keep alive for yourselves".
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Excerpted from Wikipedia - "Although there have been various attempts at placing Moses in a historical context... his historicity cannot be established. Archaeological surveys of ancient settlements in Sinai do not show a great influx of people around the time of the Exodus (given variously as between 1500-1200 BCE), as would be expected from the arrival of Joshua and the Israelites in Canaan. According to Prof. Ze'ev Herzog, Director of the Institute of Archaeology at Tel Aviv University "This is what archaeologists have learned from their excavations in the Land of Israel: the Israelites were never in Egypt, did not wander in the desert, did not conquer the land in a military campaign and did not pass it on to the 12 tribes of Israel.... The many Egyptian documents that we have make no mention of the Israelites' presence in Egypt and are also silent about the events of the exodus.."
The view of modern archaeologists (excepting those with vested interests in upholding biblical accounts) is that most of these events never occured, there was no exodus, and Israelities dwelt peacefully among people of other cultures, so actually the story of Moses living peacefully with the Midianites for 40 years most accurately portrays the actual situation. The subsequent accounts of the conquest of Palestine appear to be fiction fabricated by the priestly class at a later date.
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From Isaiah Chapter 2 -
KJV - 12For the day of the LORD of hosts shall be upon every one that is proud and lofty, and upon every one that is lifted up; and he shall be brought low: 13And upon all the cedars of Lebanon, that are high and lifted up, and upon all the oaks of Bashan, 14And upon all the high mountains, and upon all the hills that are lifted up, 15And upon every high tower, and upon every fenced wall, 16And upon all the ships of Tarshish..."
The OT has to be viewed from a new perspective in Christ. Not the old idea of a wrathful god who punishes people in horrible ways. I think what this passage actually means is that man's failure to live according to God's Way of Life leads to the destruction of the environment, including giant beautiful trees, they are God's holy creation... God loves trees and ships, and people, God is creative. Man is destructive. Man's failure to live in harmony, to follow the example of Jesus Christ, leads to disharmony, the delicate balance of the Earth is upset. This is not punishment from God - that is an ignorant archaic belief that is being perpetuated by the advocates of bibleanity. It is interesting that these very things are actually happening, there are more and more hurricanes which threaten shipping, most of the giant trees have been destroyed by greedy men.... This was not done by God. These things are the consequences of the actions of greedy men who reject God's Way of Life as demonstrated by Jesus Christ. If we read the very first chapter in the Bible, the first creation account, we get an accurate picture of the way things should be. All people created equally in God's image living in peace and harmony, taking care of the Earth and its creatures.
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Apocalypse -
Men could not accept the true nature of Christ as revealed on the cross. Someone who accepts defeat and blesses those very people who tortured him... This was totally unacceptable to any normal man. The Messiah was supposed to be a mighty King who conquers all his enemies. Certainly leaders of nations could not have their people believing in such a non-violent pacifist Messiah, so... they decided to alter the teachings of Jesus and restore the status quo... thus Apocalypse was tacked on to the end of the new Christian bible. The humility of Christ, his defeat of the forces of evil, all of his work, was subverted... the very things he died trying to change were re-empowered... by the Christian Church ! The bible was designated the Word of God, the sole unfallible divine authority... Apocalypse purports to be a message from Jesus Christ. It says he is coming in power and glory as a King to destroy everything that does not bow down before him. This is not Christ speaking. It is a fiction, the product of the same old deluded mindset, seeking to reassert the old ways of violence, war, the god of armies ... Men wanted a warrior king Messiah, and when Jesus did not fit their expectations they contrived one that did, and Apocalypse is the result. God never has and never will send a plague, cause a war, or harm anything. To say Jesus Christ is going to return to the earth and visit it with plagues and wars and unquencable fire is an abomination. Apocalypse may contain some inspired writngs, but a great deal of it is wrong. As Jesus tells us, we must be discerning, and not believe everyone who says they speak for him. He told us he Holy Spirit would teach us and warned us about this kind of thing.
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A house built upon sand -
In the introduction to a popular study bible asks "Does the bible claim to be God's Word? Yes ! Over 2,000 times in the OT alone... from the beginning (Genesis 1:3) to the end (Malachi 4:3)..." Reading Genisis 1,3 "And God said, Let there be light: and there was light." and Malachi 4,3 "And ye shall tread down the wicked; for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I shall do this, saith the LORD of hosts. " How can anyone possibly construe these as verses saying the bible is the Word of God ? It is interesting that the Jewish Study Bible, which is one of the most intelligent and honest, says the bible makes no such claim. It is much easier to study the bible than to actually live as Jesus demonstrated. . The bible is an imperfect manmade book, it is not infallible, it must be studied from a basis in Christ, not visa versa. Jesus Christ is the Word of God and Christianity is supposed to be about spiritual growth and transformation, not worshipping a book.
In Paul's second letter to Timothy we read (KJV) " 14 But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them; 15 And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. 16 All scripture (which) is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: 17 That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.
2 Timothy 3:16 " All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: " is one of the foundation stones of the doctrine of bibleanity. However, this illustrates several very important points. The first being, many words are inserted into the text by translators, and even the addition of a single word or punctuation mark can change the meaning. This verse is an excellent example, because the word "is" is not in the actual text, by inserting this tiny word twice into this verse the authors have arbitrarily assigned a meaning to it. But if we read what the bible actually says (and it is interesting that people who claim to believe the bible was dictated by God see fit to add to it whenever they deem it neccesary to uphold their doctrines) what it actually says is this, " All scripture (is) given by inspiration of God, (and is) profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:", i.e. "All scripture given by inspiration of God, profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:" Now, if we view the teachings and example of Jesus as the revelation of God's true nature, then the numerous accounts of massacres, murders, the unending litanies of doom and gloom we find repeated ad nauseum throughout the OT and again in Revelation, clearly do not mesh with the person of Jesus Christ. Jesus corrected many false views in the bible and opposed the advocates of bibleanity. His teachings of unconditional love, non-violence, and non-materialism can in no way be construed as being in agreement with the violent wrathful image of God found in the OT. Now, this verse is taken from a letter written by Paul, it was not part of the bible, the Christian bible did not exist a that time, it was not attached to the bible as it is now. So from a view based in Christ, does this verse actually mean the entire contents of the bible is inspired by God ? That is impossible, as God is love and never harms anyone. The image of the wrathful destructor god of armies in the OT is a fabrication of deluded, ignorant men. I believe this verse means exactly what it says, " All scripture given by inspiration of God, profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:" That is, those writings which are inspired by God are beneficial. That is the only logical interpretation from a Christian point of view, but bibleanity demands the bible take precedence, even if it means changing the teachings of Jesus so they conform with the doctrine of the divine, perfect, infallable bible. Jesus never told anyone to study the bible, he did not write anything we know of, his was a teaching of faith in God, healing, love for others, and the denial of selfish interests... Even though Jesus said we are to love our enemies and turn the other cheek, the advocates of bibleanity ignore this and teach that Jesus is in fact the OT god of armies and he is going to return and "judge" the earth. What all these doctors and authorities seem to be missing is that the word " to judge" in Hebrew means to bring justice - not punishment and destruction. Christ will bring justice to the earth. That is what the bible really says. Jesus said we are to test all spirits. Christianity means faith in God, Christ, and the Holy Spirit. The bible is not the "Word of God" - Jesus is. Why ? Because God is spirit and can only be revealed spiritually, through the heart, through our interactions and way of life. God's living word must be carefully discerned. That which brings peace, truth, healing, and fulfillment is of God, things which bring the opposite are not. God is infinite love and compassion. God never harms anyone, God has never brought enemies to put people to the sword or plagues or desired blood sacrifices or burnt sacrifices, all of these things are the ideas of men. Jesus incarnated to show us the true nature of God...
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Not to throw the baby out with the bath -
My aim is to redeem this collection of ancient writings
from those who misrepresent its depth
and to expose the falicies of bibleanity
which distort truer perceptions and understanding...
From Proverbs 1 (KJV) -
To know wisdom and instruction;
to perceive the words of understanding;
To receive the instruction of wisdom, justice, and judgment,
(we need to develope good judgement, discerment)
and equity; To give subtilty to the simple
(in kjv english this means "simple-minded" or those who lack insight.
NIV note: the Hebrew word rendered " simple" in Proverbs
denotes one without moral direction and inclined to evil ),
to the young man knowledge and discretion.
A wise man will hear, and will increase learning;
and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels:
To understand a proverb, and the interpretation; the words of the wise, and their dark
(deeper meanings, mystery) sayings.
The fear (in KJV english "fear" means reverence, awe, respect)
of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge:
but fools despise wisdom and instruction.
(some are blinded by false doctrines, we need to view them from a basis in Christ)...
My son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not.
My son, walk not thou in the way with them; refrain thy foot from their path:
For their feet run to evil, and make haste to shed blood.
Surely in vain the net is spread in the sight of any bird.
And they lay wait for their own blood; they lurk privily for their own lives.
So are the ways of every one that is greedy of gain;
which taketh away the life of the owners thereof.
Wisdom crieth without; she uttereth her voice in the streets:
She crieth in the chief place of concourse, in the openings of the gates:
in the city she uttereth her words, saying...
I will pour out my spirit unto you, I will make known my words unto you.
Because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded;
But ye have set at nought all my counsel, and would none of my reproof...
For that they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear (way of reverence of) of the LORD:
They would none of my counsel: they despised all my reproof.
Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices.
For the turning away of the simple (those who lack discretion) shall slay them,
and the prosperity of fools shall destroy them.
But whoso hearkeneth unto me shall dwell safely,
and shall be quiet from fear of evil.
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How numerous translators are altering the content of the bible, the most flagrant being "The Message" paraphrase version -
Its becoming common for bible translators change the meaning of the bible to fit their own relgious beliefs. The worse examples are translations done by one person from a specific doctrinal POV. Many study bibles insert notes into the text propagandizing various docrines. In order to obtain a copyright on the bible text translators claim to have retranslated the entire bible text from its original Hebrew and Greek sources, yet their translations often differ in order to conform the bible to their personal beliefs.
from The Gospel of Mark 2, 1-5
kjv - And again he entered into Capernaum... and he preached the word unto them. And they... let down the bed wherein the sick of the palsy lay. When Jesus saw their faith, he said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, thy sins be forgiven thee.
the message - After a few days, Jesus returned to Capernaum... He was teaching the Word. They ... removed part of the roof and lowered the paraplegic on his stretcher. Impressed by their bold belief, Jesus said to the paraplegic, "Son, I forgive your sins."
"He was teaching the Word" - fundememtalists call the bible the Word of God, when in fact Jesus Christ is the Word of God, the Logos, God's Spirit incarnate. This translator turns Jesus into a bible teacher, someone who was teaching "the Word"... But the actual term used in the bible is Logos, which means spoken communication, between persons, alive, from God to humankind, incarnate in the person of Jesus, not printed words in a book. Jesus often refered to the Hebrew bible, but he also told many stories and gave many teachings that were his original revelations. "Preaching the word"means preaching the gospel, Christ's spoken word was from God, he was not giving a bible study class as this author suggests. This seemingly minor alteration totally changes the meaning - now Jesus is teaching the Word, with a capital "W", which in fundememtalist parlance means the bible. The bible becomes "the Message", not the person of Jesus Christ.
The "translator/author" goes on to actually change the gospel text and quotes Jesus as saying, "Son, I forgive your sins." This author is changing what Jesus says in the gospels ! Its ironic that such "fundementalists" are actually the most liberal in their interpretation of the bible, and they make alot of money to boot. Jesus never took credit for the healings and miracles that came through him. He always said, "your faith has made you whole," etc. This is an essential point, he placed the emphasis on one's faith as being the crucial ingredient. This author changes his teaching. Jesus always gave credit to God the Father, and regarded himself as God's humble servant. Here we have, in just one paragraph two major erroneous intentional changes in the Gospel of Mark. Imagine how many such alterations have been made throughout the entire text. This is bibleanity at its worst, undermining and distorting the original text to propagandize a false manmade religious institution. Jesus Christ is the Word of God - not the bible.
Here is another example:
KJV, Psalm 50,4-5 "He shall call to the heavens from above, and to the earth, that he may judge his people. Gather my saints together unto me; those that have made a covenant with me by sacrifice.
The Message, Psalm 50,4-5 "He summons heaven and earth as a jury, he's taking his people to court: Round up my saints who swore on the Bible their loyalty to me."
This clearly illustrate how advocates of bibleanity are changing the text of the bible to fit their beliefs. "swore on the Bible their loyalty to me" is very different from "made a covenant with me by sacrifice" . This is a significant alteration, it is not a paraphrase. And there are many such alterations. The KJV has a much broader meaning, and implications in light of the teachings of Jesus Christ, and other places in the bible, such as where "right sacrifice is described as "a contrite and repentent heart"... Whereas in The Message bible these important references have been abolished and replaced by the dogma of the divine bible.
"The Message" is not a "bible in contemporary language" as its box, package, cover and product descriptions state, it deviates many many times from the actual text, often substituting images and language consistent with the author's beliefs This is misleading and an example of the ends to which advocates of bibleanity will go. Perhaps it should be entitled a "manipultion in contemporary language" rather than a translation.
or, compare these two verses -
Isaiah 2 (KJV) ... "and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. "
Isaiah 2 (The Message) ... "They'll turn their swords into shovels, their spears into hoes. No more will nation fight nation; they won't play war anymore. "
War is not a game that people "play", and a sword could not be made into a shovel, whereas it would make an excellent plowshare, .the image of tilling the soil rather than cutting people...is this too diffiuclt for modern readers to fathom ? and the image of the pruning hook is consistent with numerous stories in the bible which compare God's Kingdom to an orchard, and God's instruction as a sort of spiritual pruning, but hey, what the hell, we'll just toss it out the window, we'll just throw these ancient biblical associations out the window... and replace them with something more... more what is hard to say, lest I should wax profane... what could be the point of this ? This is like reading the bible filtered through another person's brain, why publish this book at all ? its like drinking beer through a donut...
these two versions of Psalm 4 clearly illustrate this -
Psalm 4 (King James Version) Hear me when I call, O God of my righteousness: thou hast enlarged me when I was in distress; have mercy upon me, and hear my prayer. O ye sons of men, how long will ye turn my glory into shame? how long will ye love vanity, and seek after leasing? Selah. But know that the LORD hath set apart him that is godly for himself: the LORD will hear when I call unto him. Stand in awe, and sin not: commune with your own heart upon your bed, and be still. Selah. Offer the sacrifices of righteousness, and put your trust in the LORD. There be many that say, Who will shew us any good? LORD, lift thou up the light of thy countenance upon us. Thou hast put gladness in my heart, more than in the time that their corn and their wine increased. I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for thou, LORD, only makest me dwell in safety.
Psalm 4 (The Message) When I call, give me answers. God, take my side! Once, in a tight place, you gave me room; Now I'm in trouble again: grace me! hear me! You rabble? how long do I put up with your scorn? How long will you lust after lies? How long will you live crazed by illusion? Look at this: look Who got picked by God! He listens the split second I call to him. Complain if you must, but don't lash out. Keep your mouth shut, and let your heart do the talking. Build your case before God and wait for his verdict. Why is everyone hungry for more? "More, more," they say. "More, more." I have God's more-than-enough, More joy in one ordinary day Than they get in all their shopping sprees. At day's end I'm ready for sound sleep, For you, God, have put my life back together.
This clearly illustrates the nature of this book. The author willy nilly injects slang, of-the-wall expressions, and trivial images which do not exist in the text. This is not a translation or paraphrase. This book is being marketed under false pretense. This is one man's version of the bible. The author has removed the grace and depth of better, truer translations, such as the KJV, and replaced them with crude dialog and trite expressions that will soon be obsolete. There is no justifiable need for this book other than to make money. It severly contorts the original text and there are already other modern language versions of the bible that are much, much better.
The Message for me is that some people will do anything for money.. Live and Learn. What this book does to the Psalms and Gospels is mindboggling. This is not a bible and should not be marketed as such. Printing it on bible paper with beautiful a leather cover is pretentious.
Could it be that in order to get a copyright on the bible, a new "translation" has to be sufficiently different from other translations, hence the numerous, diversions in this book. Could this actually be an attempt to make a "translation" different enough to get a copyright ? And as more people seek to aquire new copyrights they will have to make more and more intentionally diverse "translations"?
for example -
2 Samuel 6,1-2 (King James Version) Again, David gathered together all the chosen men of Israel, thirty thousand. And David arose, and went with all the people that were with him from Baale of Judah, to bring up from thence the ark of God, whose name is called by the name of the LORD of hosts that dwelleth between the cherubims.
2 Samuel 6, 1-2 (The Message) David mustered the pick of the troops of Israel, thirty divisions of them. Together with his soldiers, David headed for Baalah to recover the Chest of God, which was called by the Name God-of-the-Angel-Armies, who was enthroned over the pair of angels on the Chest.
What could possibly be the point in changing "the ark of God" to "the Chest of God" ? This is profane. Perhaps this is an attempt to produce a different "translation" so the "author" can get a copyright on the bible... "ark" has much deeper spiritual implications, as a repository for divine knowledge, for example, and there is the connection with Noah's ark, which was a repository for all the various lifeforms which inhabit the Earth... "Chest" is like a piece of furniture in the bedroom. In addition, "Chest of God" has another literal meaning which doesn't fit at all. There is absolutely no good reason for making such sweeping changes, which is why all bible translations should be approved by Church panels.
"David mustered the pick of the troops of Israel" (the Message) is supposed to be clearer than, "David gathered together all the chosen men of Israel,"(KJV) ? This is ridiculous, the poetic cadence and deep spiritual quality of the KJV is much, much better. And, the "Old English" is clearer and will outlast such modern idioms. The English of the Message lacks grace, is crude, and confusing. This sort of thing happens throughout this book. Are we to believe that modern people can understand "David mustered the pick of the troops of Israel" easier than "David gathered together all the chosen men of Israel." ? On the contrary, the Mesage often displays English that is difficult to understand and just plain ugly. Alot of these changes seem to be derived from the NAS Hebrew Greek Key Word Study Bible, as if someone just looked up the literal meanings of noted Key Words in the Lexicon in the back of this book and inserted them into the text. Almost all of the changes I found detracted from the actual meaning. And in many places things are inserted which simply seem to be the products of the author's imagination, as when John the Baptist says he's just a stagehand, etc. - this is not a bible and should not be marketed as such.
Cherubim are very special types of heavenly beings, they are the very means by which God is transported from heaven to earth, to change "Cherubim" to "angels" is clearly wrong, as Angels were most often seen in human form, as men in radiant bright white clothing, as God's messengers. Angels and Cherubim are two distinct entities. This book is chock full of this sort of slight in which critical information is essentially erased. Psalm 18 (NIV) clearly illustrates the role of the Cherubim, " He parted the heavens and came down; dark clouds were under his feet. He mounted the cherubim and flew; he soared on the wings of the wind..." God did not mount Angels and fly on their backs. The roles of Cherubim and Angels are distinct, but "The Message" does away with such distinctions. And these changes are just a minute sampling...
Luke 41-44 (The Message) When the city came into view, he wept over it. "If you had only recognized this day, and everything that was good for you! But now it's too late. In the days ahead your enemies are going to bring up their heavy artillery and surround you, pressing in from every side. They'll smash you and your babies on the pavement. Not one stone will be left intact. All this because you didn't recognize and welcome God's personal visit."
Luke 41-44 (KJV) And when he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept over it, Saying, If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes. For the days shall come upon thee, that thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee round, and keep thee in on every side, And shall lay thee even with the ground, and thy children within thee; and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another; because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation.
Notice how the author changes this passage. "And shall lay thee even with the ground, and thy children within thee" this refers to the stones from which Jerusalem is constructed shall be leveled, laid even with the ground, and children refers to all the inhabitants of the city. "Thee" is Jerusalem. But the author says, "They'll smash you and your babies on the pavement. " That is not what this passage said, that is not what Jesus said in the Gospels, that is not the meaning of this passage. It is the authors imagination at work. This is not a bible, it is not a paraphrase, it is not a translation. The author then says, "All this because you didn't recognize and welcome God's personal visit." These things were not a punishment from a wrathful God because they did not recognize Jesus, but because they missed the opportunity to follow the true way of life and peace he embodied and taught, thus their subsequent actions led to the destruction of the city, they chose to follow a different course, it was the consequence of their actions, it was not done by God as a punishment, as the authors version implies. This is not informative or edifying, rather it is misleading and deviates from the actual content and meaning of the text. It amazes me that anyone could do this, but whats even more amazing is how this book has been embraced by people who regard the bible as being important.
In many places the author is not adverse to plugging his book whenever possible by inserting its title into the text -
kjv- Jer 29,8-9 For thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Let not your prophets and your diviners, that be in the midst of you, deceive you, neither hearken to your dreams which ye cause to be dreamed. For they prophesy falsely unto you in my name: I have not sent them, saith the LORD.
m - Jer 29:8-9 Yes. Believe it or not, this is (the Message ) from God-of-the-Angel-Armies, Israel's God: "Don't let all those so-called preachers and know-it-alls who are all over the place there take you in with their lies. Don't pay any attention to the fantasies they keep coming up with to please you. They're a bunch of liars preaching lies?and claiming I sent them! I never sent them, believe me." God's Decree!
kjv Mark 14-15 Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.
m -Mark 1:14 -15 After John was arrested, Jesus went to Galilee preaching the Message of God: "Time's up! God's kingdom is here. Change your life and believe the Message."
The author even sees fit to change what Jesus says in the Gospel to plug his book, as well as changing the teachings of Jesus, I guess the author is more knowledgable in these areas. He often changes or erases key points, as occurs many times in this passage, imagine how many times it occurs throughout the entire bible text...
"The time is fulfilled"(Christ has fulfilled time and the law) is changed to "Time's up!" which is not what this passage says at all. Its deeper spiritual meaning is erased.
"repent ye, and believe the gospel" is changed to "Change your life and believe the Message", here is one short sentence the author removes Jesus' key instruction that repentence must preceed belief in the Gospel and has him plug his book to boot, people can change their lives without being repentent ....
It is most interesting to see how this book has been embraced by publishing companies and how many versions of it are being marketed, I saw over 80 different books currently in print. It has chosen by the bible publishing industry and is being hyped with glowing praises and false advertising, as it is not a bible in contemporary language, its not even a paraphrase, its one man's contorted version. But its making alot of money.
It is also interesting to see how the author uses punctuation to change he tenor of these writings. Exclamation marks abound, I guess he thinks God needs to shout to be heard.
The result is brash and pretentious, lacking in grace and humility.
Psalm 4 (The Message) When I call, give me answers. God, take my side! Once, in a tight place, you gave me room; Now I'm in trouble again: grace me! hear me! You rabble? how long do I put up with your scorn? How long will you lust after lies? How long will you live crazed by illusion? Look at this: look Who got picked by God! He listens the split second I call to him.
This sounds arrogant and disrespectful, more like a spoiled, petulant child than an adult.
"When I call, give me answers. God, take my side! ... I'm in trouble again: grace me! hear me!... Look at this: look Who got picked by God! He listens the split second I call to him."
Yet this book is being widely marketed, I counted over 80 different titles currently being foisted upon the public by publishers.
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Jesus turned the water into wine
but numerous "authors" and publishers
turn the wine into syrupy goop,
everyone is copyrighting their own pet version of the bible
to make big bucks.
This is "The Message."
How anyone can get a copyright on the bible is beyond me.
Its like corporations that get patents on human genes,
they are stealing our most intimate essence,
laying legal claim to something that belongs to everyone...
Claiming it to be their "intellectual property."
In the advertising blurb on the box for the Message Bible, the publisher likens it to a "letter from God", and asks, "how would you feel if you received a letter from God ? Would your mind race..." Just to set matters straight - God's presence always brings a feeling of deep serenity, indescribable peace and love, beyond the ken of the human mind. The presence of God does not "make your mind race", that sort of frenetic energy is unhealty and it is not of God.
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from the God's Word Bible,, compare this verse from John 1:16 -
NIV - From the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another.
NAS - For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace.
ESV - And from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.
KJV - And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace.
God's Word Bible - "Each of us has received one gift after another because of all the Word is."
In the Gospel of John, the Logos, is the greek word which has been translated into "the Word" - however this should not be confused with the English term "word", in greek Logos has a much deeper meaning, according to Thayers, it does not mean a word in the gramatical sense, but "the personal wisdom and power in Union with God, his minister in the creation and government of the universe," etc. The term translated as "his fullness" is not Logos (the Word) but "pleromatos - that which fills or with which a thing is filled" clearly this should not also be tranlated as "the Word", there is no justufiable reason for doing this, other than to change the meaning of the text, and to imply the the Bible is the source of gifts, not the person of Jesus Christ... This is saying, incorrectly, that the bible and Christ are the same thing. This is not at all what the text says. Just looking at the ESV Greek interlinear and Thayers reveals this obvious fault. So how could it be that bible doctor experts could make such a mistake ? The answer is, it is not a mistake, but a deliberate act to alter the meaning of this verse. Such is the nature of bibleanity.
Wow - Jesus is taken out of the picture and replaced by the bible, which in biblanity parlance is called the "Word." Advocates of bibleanity speak of the bible's power to save us, or heal us, or tell us to love the bible... Unbelievable - "From the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another" is changed to "Each of us has received one gift after another because of all the Word is." Who needs this sort of thing ? The box cover states, "Today's most readable bible" and "Over 4 Million in Print !" wow, bibleanity is lucrative indeed. Every big name evangelist churns out his personalized "translation", and has hisname plastered on the box, is an easy way to make alot of money. So what if the actual text of the bible has to be changed so they can get their copyright...
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On new Message "Bible" - continued -
From Isaiah 2, The Message (with KJV for comparison) -Pretentious Egos Brought Down to Earth 10Head for the hills, hide in the caves From the terror of God, from his dazzling presence. 11-17People with a big head are headed for a fall, pretentious egos brought down a peg. It's God alone at front-and-center on the Day we're talking about, The Day that God-of-the-Angel-Armies is matched against all big-talking rivals, against all swaggering big names...
(talk about the pot calling the kettle black)
KJV - 10Enter into the rock, and hide thee in the dust, for fear of the LORD, and for the glory of his majesty. 11The lofty looks of man shall be humbled, and the haughtiness of men shall be bowed down, and the LORD alone shall be exalted in that day 12For the day of the LORD of hosts shall be upon every one that is proud and lofty, and upon every one that is lifted up; and he shall be brought low:
KJV-13And upon all the cedars of Lebanon, that are high and lifted up, and upon all the oaks of Bashan, 14And upon all the high mountains, and upon all the hills that are lifted up, 15And upon every high tower, and upon every fenced wall, 16And upon all the ships of Tarshish, and upon all pleasant pictures. 17And the loftiness of man shall be bowed down, and the haughtiness of men shall be made low: and the LORD alone shall be exalted in that day.
The Message - Against all giant sequoias hugely towering, and against the expansive chestnut;
(The author is saying the Lord is going to destroy the Sequioas - this is so wrong, the Sequoias are God's holy creation, as anyone who has ever walked among such ancient trees can attest. Such forests are among the most holy places on Earth, no manmade "temple" can compare. God loves trees, and ships, especially sailing ships, and people... This is worse than ignorant, its perverted, dangerous talk, and yet its widely published.)
Against Kilimanjaro and Annapurna, against the ranges of Alps and Andes;
(what, the mountain ranges which the bible says God created
are now deemed arrogant in their loftiness ? )
Against every soaring skyscraper,
(This is unbelievable - this verse, KJV, "Upon (not against) every high tower, and upon every fenced wall" relates to defensive fortifications constructed around cities - to translate this as "skyscrapers" is wrong, irresponsible, misleading, and dangerous. Is the author saying terrorist attacks are sent by God ? Thats what it sounds like to me. This is not translation. It is not paraphrase, it is one person's distorted version of the bible. How can this horrible contortion of the original text have gained such popularity? Perhaps the more degrees in theology one has, the longer they attend "divinity school," the more they loose touch with God's true nature, the more they are blinded by false doctrines, status quo delusions. This is an afront to God and Christ and the Holy Spirit. And it is a testimony against the publishing companies, authors, and institutions of bibleanity who are perpetuating these delusions and misleading people, all the while acting like they are God's true representatives. This most certainly should not be sold on the basis of having anything to do with Christ.
against all proud obelisks and statues;
(I guess the Statue of Liberty, Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial
don't meet with the author's approval either)
Against ocean-going luxury liners,
(oh, so now he's saying God sunk the Titanic)
against elegant three-masted schooners.
(God loves ships, especially sailing ships.
Judge a tree by its fruit.
Jesus warned us about just this sort of thing)
The swelled big heads will be punctured bladders, the pretentious egos brought down to earth,
(Jesus said we should remove the beam from our own eye)
Leaving God alone at front-and-center on the Day we're talking about.
(If God wanted to be alone she would not have created the universe and its inhabitants)
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Bibleanity substitutes the bible for God, from the Open Bible, page 13 -
"The Bible discovers sin and convicts us.
The Bible helps cleanse us.
The Bible imparts strength.
The Bible instructs us in what we are to do.
The Bible provides us with a sword for victory over sin.
The Bible makes our lives fruitful.
The Bible gives us power to pray."
All of the above are false. The bible is a manmade book. It is far from perfect and even farther from being divine and infallible. It is not God and a great deal of its content is the product of the deluded minds of men. God is love and never harms anyone. The pretense of bibleanity is false, God does not control history, nor cause wars, plagues, send armies to exterminate entire populations...
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The Renovare Spiritual Formation Bible puts a new, upbeat twist on bibleanity:
"Regarding the Bible, then, perhaps the most basic question is: Shall we try to control the Bible, that is, try to make it "come out right," or shall we simply seek to release its life into our lives and make our world ? Shall we try to "tilt" it this way of that, or shall we give it complete freedom to "tilt" us as it will ?"
These people are actually attributing the bible with life ! How could anyone say this of a book ? "Shall we give this book the freedom to make us and our world as it will ? Shall we seek to release its life into our lives." I think this is a very dangerous mindset. The numerous dark, violent passages that fill much of the bible have nothing to do with God's way of life. And I definitely do not want such dark and violent writings to "make our world"... I think that has been happening for thousands of years, as the violent history of the church and Christian countries attest.
On page 1084, The Renovare Spiritual Formation Bible, on Jeremiah 1:10, states:
"Though only a boy, Jeremiah is put in charge of the downfall and rise of kingdoms, the task of destroying and creating cultures. That is some power to place in the hands of a young preacher... The word that brings new life is also the word that destroys and overthrows. The intrusion of the word of God is not a placid or pleasant affair. Time and again, the community must relearn the potentially disruptive, disconcerting, and even destructive power of the word of the living God..."
This is bibleanity disquised behind a Chrsitian facade. It is the reintroduction of the same ignorant OT view of a wrathful destructor God which Jesus came to correct. God does not respond to trendy catch phrases and tricky rhetoric. God does not "destroy cultures", God's way is never "disconcerting," indeed, to experience the peace and love of Christ is exactly the opposite, it is reassuring and healing, compassionate and forgiving. Men are destroyed by the consequences of their actions, as are decadent cultures, nations, and religious institutions.
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On the back of the Inductive Study Bible it says,
"Inductive study of the bible is the best way to discover Scriptural Truth. Knowledge that is self discovered is stored in the deepest part of the mind... There is no jewel more precious than that which you have minded yourself ".
This sound very nice, but in fact this study bible is extremely opinionated and biased, and includes a great deal of misleading things in the form of lists of questions and lists of "things to think about," and in this manner attempts to manipulate one's "study". If you are making a study bible which aims to lead people to discover their own insights, why tell them what to think about ? Why not follow Jesus' instructions and allow the Holy Spirit to teach us ?
And there are many "Insights" written in the margins - why tell people what their "Insights" are supposed to be ? You can't dictate insights...
For example, in the list of questions on Genesis 1, it says, "Jesus took Genesis at face value." It never ceases to amaze me how some people presume to speak for Jesus whenever it serves their purpose. Jesus never took anything at face value. That is pure conjecture on the author's behalf, and untrue to boot...
The author goes on to say, "As you study you will see..." Could anyone be more blatantly manipulative ? Here is a study bible which purports to guide people to their own insights and it is telling people what they are supposed to think about as they study, and what they will see !
"Are you going to take God's Word at face value and believe as Jesus did..." Wow, the author is now telling us what Jesus believed. But the fact is, while Jesus refered to the bible and Moses, he perfected, i.e. fulfilled, the law and the prophets - just the opposite of accepting them at face value. Advocates of bibleanity presume to speak for God and Christ, and twist everything to fit their agenda. Naive people who are perhaps too lazy to use the brains God gave them seem content to swallow whatever goop these "experts" ladle out Jesus clearly did not accept the bible at face value, he corrected the monstrous practice of stoning, he taught non-violence and love, he corrected the law on divorce, etc... he clearly did not conform to the wrathful image of God as presented in the bible, nor the bible's expectation of a Messiah who was a worldly king.
The author goes on, "are you going to follow the philosophies of men" - science is not philosophy, evolution is scientific fact, as is the age of the earth, etc. Women were not created from men, Adam and Eve are mythic figures, etc. Bibleanity is an errant philosophy of men which equates the bible with God, when in fact the bible is a book made by men that contains a great deal that is not of God.
The author continues in this polemic, "are you going to follow men with finite minds who critique God and his Word ?" again the author's statement is actually the opposite of the true state of affairs. We are created in God's image. God expects us to ask (our own) questions and learn. Scientific inquirey is in keeping with what the bible actually says, i.e. God's Word is written in our hearts, God is evident throughout creation, Jesus constantly required people to use their powers of thought and discernment, etc.
The advocates of bibleanity often work in opposition to God's true nature while putting forth a facade of righteousness, and those who do not agree with them are often slandered. Whenever anyone says what is actually true, i.e. evolution is a fact, or the bible contains alot of mythic and legendary materials, etc., the advocates of bibleanity often revert to petty name calling and insisting their interpretation of the bible is the only correct view. The effect of this is to discredit Christianity in the eyes of many intelligent persons, and to misrepresent the true nature of God and Christ. Spreading doctrines of ignorance does nothing to further the Gospel. Jesus told us how we should spread the Gospel - through following his example. Ignorance and bigotry do not a righteous person make. On Romans 1 the author includes these questions in the preface, "are you ready to defend the Gospel ? Can you refute modern day Judaizers and/or antinomians ?" Comments such as these have no place in a bible and reflect the authors biased views, rather than Christ's teachings of unconditional love and compassion.
At times the advocates of bibleanity resort to the inflamatory rhetoric of bigotry, assuming anyone who does not agree with their views is not a Christian. Jesus said to tell a tree by its fruit. Ignorance and bigotry are not the fruits of the Gospel of Christ.
Bibleanity places the bible before the teachings and person of Jesus. The true basis of Christianity should be spiritual transformation and communion with God, Christ, and the Holy Spirit, which bibleanity attempts to replace with bible study. Bibleanity is much easier, and more lucrative, than following Jesus' example and instructions. The bible contains many horribly violent things which have nothing to do with God. Advocates of bibleanity worship the bible as being perfect and place it before Christ, twisting his life and teaching to conform with their beliefs. It is not the bible per se that is at fault, but rather its misinterpretation and the belief that the bible is divinely dictated and infallible, which makes no sense at all because the bible contains a great deal of conflicting materials, mistruths, false claims of authorship, and errant information.
Furthermore, its lengthy dark, violent passages can be very depressing and unhealty. Books communicate the spirit and consciousness of their author, and a great deal of the bible was not written by enlightened authors. War stories and legends are not "scripture". By the middle ages Christianity had become a religion of war, starting with Constantine, and numerous despotic tyrants across Europe, such as Henry the 8th and Ivan the Terrible, committed horrible atrocities in the name of God, believing the accounts of wrath and punishment in the bible to be the Word of God, and themselves to be God's ministers of wrath. There were exterminations of entire towns, entire populations were tortured in the most hideous manner, murder and intrigue often ran rampant within royal courts... This is the legacy of bibleanity; Christianity had been turned into a religion of war, conquest and fear. Many thousands of innocent people were brutally tortured and murdered in the name of Christ.
Jesus went into the mountains alone at night to pray, to commune with God spiritually, he did not go to study the bible... That which brings true peace, understanding, wellbeing, love and compassion is of God, the rest is not. Jesus Christ is theWord of God - not the bible.
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Woe unto you who are rich - by John Niemi
In Luke 6,24 we have Jesus saying, "But woe unto you who are rich..." This sounds rather like a condemnation, however it is essential that we remember who is saying this. And it is essential that we first and foreost come to experience the spiritual presence of Christ in meditation... because, once we experience the peace, love and compassion which is the reality of God's presence embodied in Jesus and at work in the Holy Spirit, our guide, councelor and advocate, it is obvious that the tenor of such language does not fit the person of Christ. Perhaps it would be more accurate to say, those who are rich should be very careful because riches entail responsiblity and often result in grief and calamity. Woe means grief and calamity. But passages such as this are often given a judgemental twist that was not implied by Jesus. Jesus is saying that in this young man's case, since he was attached to his materialistic possessions and this was blinding him to God's Way, it would be best for him to sell them all and donate the proceeds to the poor. There are also people who are blessed with wealth and utilize it to help others, so its not the riches but the naute of the attachment to them, that is the issue here. How many times have people who have won the lottery had their lives ruined by their sudden acquisition of immense wealth... Riches are a burden, and entail an obligation to use them according to God's Way of Life, not for selfish, gluttonous, hedonistic pursuits. So Jesus gave this young man his advice but due to his attachment he was unable to heed it. Such is the danger of wealth if we do not realize who is the actual owner of everything. We are stewards, not owners. All the money in the universe belongs to God. A billion dollars is a drop in the bucket, a grain of sand, but in human terms, even such a meager amount of God's goods require responsible care and use. And, true happiness is not a question of money, but purely related to our spiritual condition, hence some "poor" people may be much closer to God than some "rich" people, but that is not always the case. The are poor alcholics who neglect and abuse their families and the are rich people who live in humility and do their best to use their Godgiven talents properly... So its not a matter of social or economic class... So the rather hardnosed tenor with which Jesus is sometimes portrayed in the bible is inaccurate, the result of the authors projecting their views into their writitngs at times. So it is essential to base our spiritual practice in meditation, spiritual communion with God/Christ/Holy Spirit, and to read the bible (if we so choose) from that basis.
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Here is an interesting example of how the advocates of bibleanity alter the bible to fit their agenda, John 1:16-17 from the God's Word translation -
GWT-"Each of us has received one gift after another because of all that the Word is.
The Teachings were given through Moses,
but kindness and truth came into existence through Jesus Christ."
KJV -"And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace.
For the law was given by Moses,
but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ."
The only teacher in the NT is Jesus and the only teachings in the NT come through him.
Mosaic law is not "Teachings." Furthermore, the law could not lead people to salvation as does Christ, so why this change in the Gospel of John which seems to elevate Moses and demeen Christ ? "because of all the Word is." Unbelievable, fundamentalists call the bible the Word, and here it is replacing the person of Christ - this is pure bibleanity, a flagrant and errant alteration of the Gospel of John.
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Luke 22,29 KJV reads -
"And I bestow upon you a kingdom, just as My Father bestowed (one) upon Me,
so that you may eat and drink at My table in My kingdom..."
In the MacArthur study bible we find this comment on page 1560, re. Luke 22,29 -
"Christ confirmed the disciple's expectation of an earthly kingdom yet to come..."
Jesus always refered to the Kingdom of God, or the Kingdom of Heaven as a spiritual kingdom. He told many stories illustrating this point, such as the kingdom of heaven being like a small amount of yeast which leavens a large amount of dough, or a mustard seed which grows into a large plant, etc. Clealy he is teaching of a spiritual condition, the kingdom of heaven is within you. So to say he was confirming expectations of an earthly kingdom seems to be the opposite of what he taught. As Jesus clearly stated on numerous occasions, his is not an earthly kingdom and he was not to be an earthly king. It seems to me the author is more concerned with upholding the ideas of a future kingdom as set forth in Apocalypse, i.e. upholding the doctrine of the divine bible, rather than the teachings of Jesus. So, this verse is interpreted in such a manner as to be consistent with later writings such as Hebrews and Apocalypse (written many years after Jesus' earthly sojurn) which were then compiled to form the "Holy Bible", even if it means "re-writing" the teachings of Christ. This is the nature of bibleanity. This verse says, " And I bestow upon you a kingdom, just as My Father bestowed upon Me..." God did not bestow an earthly kingdom upon Jesus. From the start it was clear that his kingdom was "in heaven", of the spirit, within us. Jesus bestows the same spiritual "kingdom" (basilea) upon us as God bestows upon him, i.e. he bestows the exact same state of grace and blessedness as God has bestowed upon him.
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These quotes from The MacArthur Study Bible illustrate how the advocates of bibleanity alter the teachings and example of Jesus Christ. This is from page 972, re. Isaiah 11,4 : "Rod of His mouth - the Branch's (Messiah's) rule over the nations will be forceful. The NT uses equivalent terminology to describe the warrior-king at his triumphant return to earth (Rev. 19:15)".
Notice the equating of Revelation with the entirety of the NT, this is a common pratice of bibleanity, to counter the teachings of Jesus Christ with some verse from Revelation, etc. But the Gospels and Revelation are two very distinct entities. This is the opposite of what Jesus teaches... "rod" means shoot, sprout, grass... i.e. whereas men strike the earth with instruments of violence, Jesus "strikes" the earth with his healing word and spirit, the "shoot of his mouth" is life giving, healing word ! Jesus often used hyperbole, metaphor and symbolism but his disciples did not understand.
and also re. Isaiah 11,4 the author offers this expert commentary: "Breath of His lips - this is another figure for the Messiah's means of inflicting physical harm."
Here we have one of the foremost authorities on the bible, the author of numerous books and study bibles with millions of copies in print, proclaiming Jesus to be a warrior-king who will inflict physical harm with his breath. And this study bible contains many such comments. This is the anti-thesis of the teachings, life and Spirit of Jesus Christ.
As above, a spirit based meaning of this phrase, "Breath of His lips" refers to God's lifegiving breath, his healing word.
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How bible translators change it to fit their beliefs, here is an example, Hosea 13,14 -
JPS (Jewish Study Bible, Oxford - the best OT study bible I have seen) - "Revenge will be far from my thoughts."
KJV - Repentence shall be hid from my eyes.
NAS - Compassion will be hidden from my sight.
NCV - I will show them no mercy.
Other Protestent translations are similar to these...
Notice how the Protestant translations give this verse a meaning that is the opposite of the Jewish translation. Shall we believe the Jewish OT experts or the Protestent OT experts. Having compared the JSB to all other translations I believe its by far the best, most accurate, and truthful account of these writings. Also a real bargain. The paperback version is very nice, well made, with durable flexible cover which functins much better than the new plasctic-coated cardboard "hardcover" varieties... The best study bible with OT and NT, IMO is the Saint Joseph Edition of the New American Bible (full size, large print, green cloth hardcover student addition is a super bargain) and the HarperCollins NRSV Study Bible is good too (but NRSV is so-so) ...
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Regarding this passage from The Message Bible, Hosea 13, "Now Samaria has to face the charges because she has rebelled against her God: Her people will be killed, babies smashed on the rocks, pregnant women ripped open." Jesus chose to correct this errant view of God himself. He told the story of the Good Samaritan as an example of how someone who lives by God's Way behaives toward others, in contrast to the behavior of the Priest who ignored the suffering man. Jesus himself visited Samaria and stayed there several days teaching the people there who recognized him as the Messiah. When he met a woman at a well there and asked her for a drink of water, their interaction led to her immediate recognition of him as the Messiah - something people in his hometown failed to do.... So clearly Gods Way of relating to the Samarians is totally different than what the Prophet says in this passage in Hosea. Because the Prophet filtered his vision through his religious beliefs rather than his heart. This was before Christ came into the world. It was a different place. But in no way did God do the sorts of horrible things attributed to him in the OT. All of these things were purely the consequences of the actions of sick and deluded men. None of them were punishments from God. Bibleanity ignores the teachings of Jesus in this very important area and goes about reinstating the very things he worked so hard, and suffered so terribly, to correct. In this regard bibleanity is the antithesis of what Christian should be.
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In Apocalypse (Revelation) 2, 23 Jesus is quoted as saying, "And I will kill her children with death; and all the churches shall know that I am he which searcheth the reins and hearts: and I will give unto every one of you according to your works.... 25 But that which ye have already hold fast till I come. 26 And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations: 27 And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father. "
Clearly Jesus would never say, "And I will kill all her children." But because Apocalypse was tacked onto the end of the bible many Christians hold it to be true. Jesus offers us passage to God's heavenly kingdom, but the advocates of bibleanity want a kingdom here on earth, where their King will exact vengence upon their enemies, just like in the OT. In the genre of apocalypse authors employed famous characters to express their views. Ancient people were aware of this. Te author of Revelation is using Jesus as a literary character to express the author's views. It is not written by the author of the fourth Gospel.
2,26 "And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations: 27 And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father. "
Clearly this is the author's desire, which is in response to the destruction of Jerusalem and/or the persecution of Christians. It is not in keeping with Jesus' life and teachings.
The writings in the bible were authored and edited and adapted by many people over hundreds of years. It was customary to attritbute authorship to famous personages to lend the writing credance. The character of Moses presented in the bible is largely legendary. According to many modern experts the events of the exodus are fiction. There is absolutely no archeaological evidence of a large group of 600,000 people having lived in the wilderness for fourty years and there are no Egyptian records of such an event. Bibleanity often misrepresents the person of Christ and changes his teachings. God's love and infinite compassion cannot be fathomed by the human mind, but we can experience them. In no way does God endorse any of the wars and horrible acts of violence depicted in the bible. Just because many people insist its true does not mean it is. Jesus set the example. His teachings are clear and accessible to anyone with an honest and respectful heart.
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When Jesus says (in Mat. 5,17-18) "I did not come to abolish the law, but to fulfill it", he is of course speaking of God's true eternal law which he embodies, that is the only law he knows... The Greek word "pleroo" which has been translated as "fulfill" has a much deeper meaning, which is to perfect spiritually, to cause to abound with spiritual gifts... This verse has been grossly misinterpreted as meaning Jesus came to fulfill Mosaic Law, that Mosaic Law is God's true law, and Jesus came as a human blood sacrifice to fulfill the demands of Mosaic Law which required blood sacrifice for the forgiveness of sins in order to placate the OT God's supposed wrath. This is very wrong. Jesus came to perfect the errant Mosaic Law, as he demonstrated on numerous occasions. Jesus came to correct the numerous faults of manmade law and reinstate God's true eternal law. Another possible interpretation of this verse is, "to flood the soul with spiritual possesions", as when "Christians... are pervaded with the power and Gifts of the Holy Spirit" (Thayer). Pleroo can also mean to consummate, as in a marriage. And it also carries the meaning that a definite time has arrived for so doing. But the clearest, simplest, most accurate definition is, "to render perfect". Render means to work, like a blacksmith or and artist, or a doctor, to bring about the perfection of health, wellbeing, truth... Not to fulfill the institutional obligations of Mosaic Law, but to correct its shortcomings, to enlighten, to shed true light upon "every last letter and mark" within it. "It shall not pass away until I have fulfilled (rendered perfect) every last letter and mark." Notice the word "until," clearly this means that the old law does in fact pass away once it is perfected. Every single letter and mark will be exposed to the true light and spirit of God. This being accomplished by Christ the old law no longer exists, like a disease that has been cured. Then God's true law will shine forth, as Jesus is in God and God is in Him, only He is capable of this feat, of this transformation, of this healing miracle. The final stage involved his crucifiction - in order to know human life in its entirety he even allowed this, so that by actually experiencing death and suffering he could overcome them, and therefore so could all who take refuge in Him. "With man it is not possible, but with God all things are possible." Jesus was not a human blood sacrifice to placate a wrathful God of the OT, but the bringer of God's true eternal unchanging law of love and compassion for all beings. Through his crucifiction he was able to perform the ultimate act of forgiveness, this was the final nail in the coffin of the forces of evil in the world, the final victory. And then he said, "It is finished" and gave up his spirit to God... Another meaning of Pleroo is to bring to realization, to realize, and this is exactly what Christ does, now and then, eternally, within and without time, throughout the universe.
Jesus always spoke and acted with compassion. However the author of Apocalypse casts him in a different light. Clearly much of this book is the author's POV. Parts of it may be spiritually inspiring, and there is some very interesting symbolism pointing at possible "hidden" teachings... But there is a great deal that could not have come from the mouth of Jesus. Such as Rev. 2,22-23 : " Behold, I will cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation, except they repent of their deeds. And I will kill her children with death; and all the churches shall know that I am he which searcheth the reins and hearts: and I will give unto every one of you according to your works. " Now, from a basis in Christ this may be interpreted as, people who pursue lives of sexual pormiscuity will suffer spiritual death, they will reap the results of their sinful acts, unless they repent. So the basic content is correct, but the author's wording is biased by his own limited POV, which is rooted in an OT view of God. So he is recasting Jesus in the roll of the OT god of wrath and vengence, which is obviously totally wrong. Yet if read with the guidance of the Holy Spirit, rather than false beliefs in a divine perfect bible, we can ascertain a Christ based interpretation. So, it is not the writings of the bible that mislead people, but the advocates of bibleanity and a naive (and cowardly ?) church which sticks its head in the sand and caters to their deluded ramblings. The truth is not difficult to see, if our mind is clear and our heart is open to God's Living Spiritual Presence. Rather than projecting our extremely limited, linear view on the ways in which we permit God to act, we should learn to be quiet and listen, here and now. God does not operate according to our fixed linear time sense and spacial perameters. Yet how many experts presume to speak for God ? They say the most ignorant and screwed-up things at times with an air of assurance and are seemingly unaware, like someone passing wind in an elevator, then carefully savoring its aroma and proclaiming it to be the deepest truth... And there are even institutions of "higher education" that award degrees to the most proficient wind-passers. And this ability naturally extends into the world of book publishing, and it just keeps on snowballing, until the actual person of Jesus is lost in a smog of theological flatulence.
Whenever we see a passage which cites Jesus as being a fulfillment of OT prophecy it is likely that it was added due to the author's desire to "validate" Jesus' existence in accordance with the OT "law". This course was taken by the authors of the Gospels in an attempt to convince people that Jesus is the Messiah spoken of in the OT, and this launched Christianity on its course of argument and biblical "justification" of Jesus... This is a house built upon sand. The only true way to know who Jesus is is via the spirit... Actually Jesus never told anyone to study the bible, but he did tell people to love each other, serve others, follow the "golden rule", to pray and commune with God constantly. This is true religion.. bible study was never mentioned. He set an example to be lived, not argued about and pontificated over by legions of expert theologians. Much of what they profer is a diversion from actual spiritual realization. Such people may be very proficient in petty name calling and slander, which they engage in when they feel their power base/livlihood/status is threatened. Things have not changed that much... Anyone who does not agree with their thinking, beliefs, etc. is labeled, categorized, outcast... When Jesus says he did something "that prophecy might be fulfilled" we should keep in mind the actual meaning of the word "fulfilled" in the NT Greek text, which is "to render perfect." Bibleanity reverses this and says Jesus is a functionary of the divine bible, he is fulfilling the requirements of biblical prophecy, and Jesus becomes a cog in the machinations of the divine and Holy Bible... Advocates of bibleanity often twist his teachings in order conform with their deluded beliefs. Hence the Way of Meditation based in Christ should be an essential part of Christian practice. There has been way too much preaching, debate, argument, spouting off pet rhetoric and doctrines, printing tons of books and study bibles... we'd be better off without most of it. People need to learn to center their life in God, and this is not something to talk about, or write a book about... our spiritual lives should be kept private, or else they will loose their power. Usually we can say much more simply by being who we are, not talking about it, not trying to make a public display... Christians need to learn to be quiet and listen to God... We have an advocate, intimate guide and counselor, this is who we should be listening to. People need to discover their own relationship with God, but many "authorities" try to subvert them from so doing, and try to capitalize on their desire to know God. The loud mouth experts proclaiming to be God's mouthpiece, "Join our church and give us your time and money, do what we say and we will love you..." ("but otherwise we will slander you and cast you out...") Do not be naive. Anyone can have a living relationship with God, for free, without studying the bible or joining a church... God's true Word is written in our hearts - that is what the bible says, in the OT and NT ! The advocates of bibleanity often twist the writings of the bible to suit themselves... The bible is indeed the Word of God, but just exactly as Jesus was not the Messiah anyone expected, neither is the bible what people expect... In fact the bible is a record of man's propensity to embrace delusion and violence and harmfulness time and time again, and how God never gives up hope, never quits, even if it means undergoing the most horrendous treatment and torture... Christ could have remained in Heaven with God the Father, but he chose to incarnate in order to set things right... but then the Holy Bible was compiled by the church and designated "The Word of God" and the true living Word of God was relegated to be an OT style blood sacrifice to placate the OT style God of wrath... But, in spite of all this, millions of people have found Christ, and actually developed a spiritual life guided by the Holy Spirit, they just don't usually say much about it. They live the life, they walk the walk, and God's true spirit silently permeates the world around them, healing, comforting, changing, they are unnoticed perhaps, yet very effective... God always responds to the sincere heart... An atheist with love in their heart is much closer to God than some trumped up theologian preacher author with a plethora of degrees and books under their belt teaching people that Jesus is a "divine warrior who is going to destroy his enemies with wars, and plagues, and fire, etc."
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2 Timothy 3,16 - this is one of the main passages the advocates of bibleanity cite (words in parenthesis do not appear in actual bible text, but have been added) -
KJV - "16 All scripture (is) given by inspiration of God, and (is) profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: "
The addition of the word "is" changes the meaning of thispassage to conform with the doctrine of a divine bible, but at least the KJV translatiors were honest and put such additions to the text in italics, whereas modern translations incorporate thousands of added words which do not actually appear in the text. This illustrates how one small change can effect the meaning of a passage.
Youngs - 16 every Writing [is] God-breathed, and profitable for teaching, for conviction, for setting aright, for instruction that [is] in righteousness,
Darby - 16 Every scripture [is] divinely inspired, and profitable for teaching, for conviction, for correction, for instruction in righteousness;
Wycliffe - 16 For all scripture inspired of God is profitable to teach, to reprove, to chastise, [for] to learn in rightwiseness,
The RV has it best, "Every scripture inspired by God is also profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for instruction (which is) in righteousness."
The NAB has a footnote, "Another possible interpretation is, All Scripture inspired by God is useful..."
The NRSV has this marginal note, "Every scripture inspired by God is also useful..."
The most honest footnote is found in the HarperCollins Study Bible, " The reading given in the text note is equally possible."
This is extremely important, for this is but one example among hundredss in which bible verses have been interpreted to support the views of an author or institution.
Especially among the numerous "modern language versions" that are flooding the market, such as this:
CEV - "Everything in the Scriptures is God's Word. All of it is useful for teaching and helping people and for correcting them and showing them how to live." Which is clearly the result of interpreing the bible from a basis in bibleanity.
Hence we have numerous authors and preachers who profess to be followers of Jesus teaching people that God makes wars, plagues, disasters, sent armies to exterminate entire populations in "Holy Wars", that God told people to stone anyone who did not obey the Mosaic "law", etc., etc. Even though Jesus came in the flesh and showed us the Way of Life, people insist on perverting the truth of the Jesus' teachings of unconditional love, non-violence, and humility and reverting to the same old delusions and abominations.
We should follow the life and example of Jesus, who told us the Holy Spirit would teach us and guide us. God is love and infinite compassion. God never harms anyone. The advocates of bibleanity are spreading delusion and perpetuating the very things Jesus tells us not to do. Christianity should be about relating to people and living as Jesus did. The roll of the bible (with its highly violent content, mindnumbing litanies of wrath, doom and gloom) in Christianity needs to be downplayed, the doctrine of a perfect and infallible bible refuted, and the teachings of Jesus given precedence. Faith is about trusting in God, not merely "believing" in God, but actually living in faith, trusting God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit...
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Mark 4,24 And he (Jesus) said unto them, Take heed what ye hear: with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you: and unto you that hear shall more be given. 25 For he that hath, to him shall be given: and he that hath not, from him shall be taken even that which he hath. 26 And he said, So is the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed into the ground; 27 And should sleep, and rise night and day, and the seed should spring and grow up, he knoweth not how. 28 For the earth bringeth forth fruit of herself; first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear. 29 But when the fruit is brought forth, immediately he putteth in the sickle, because the harvest is come. 30 And he said, Whereunto shall we liken the kingdom of God? or with what comparison shall we compare it? 31 It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when it is sown in the earth, is less than all the seeds that be in the earth: 32 But when it is sown, it groweth up, and becometh greater than all herbs, and shooteth out great branches; so that the fowls of the air may lodge under the shadow of it. 33 And with many such parables spake he the word unto them, as they were able to hear it.
"And with many such parables spake he the word unto them, as they were able to hear it."
The advocates of bibleanity call the bible "The Word." But this is not what it means in the bible ! The Greek text uses "logon" which, according to Thayer's Lexicon means:
" a word, yet not in the grammatical sense, but language, uttered by the living voice... discourse, the act of speech, what is communicated by instruction, the attainment through Christ of salvation in the Kingdom of God, reason, the faculty of thinking, the personal wisdom and power in union with God, his minister in the creation and government of the universe, the cause of the world's life, both physical and ethical, which for the procurement of humankind's salvation assumed human form in the person of Jesus the Messiah, and shone forth conspicuously from hiswords and deeds."
This does not mean a written text or book, it means theact of discourse between people, in this case between God and humans. Jesus engaged in discourse with people, he was not conducting a bible study, he did not write anything that we know of, although at times he incorporated material from the bible in his discussions... teaching "the word" means, according to the bible, discourse, not written words, not the bible. The bible is not the Word of God - Jesus is. That is what the bible says. Bibleanity is a subversion of the life and teachings of Jesus. Bibleanity is big business, very lucrative, employing thousands, but its a false doctrine. And it interferes with Jesus' true teachings. And at times it actually perpetuates the very things Jesus opposses...
"For he that hath, to him shall be given: and he that hath not, from him shall be taken even that which he hath."
Has/has not - this refers to a spiritual basis in our life. People who do not have a spiritual basis spend their lives accumulate temporal experiences and possesions which have no permanent, lasting value. All material, sensual things are fleeting... But people who choose the spiriual life will grow and be continually blessed with spiritual fruits that endure and grow and give life. This passage clearly does not refer to material goods or possesions. Some rich "evangelists" who live in mansions and live lives of luxury may cite this verse as a justification for their lives of excess...
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Regarding meditation, yoga, spiritual practice, etc. They can be useful and beneficial or the opposite. Names and labels mean nothing. It is always a matter of the underlying spirit, the Heart of the matter, so to speak. Do not confuse sex with love - usually its the opposite, someone tryin to exploit you for their selfish indulgences. You can never "make things right" in a relationship with such a person. Such people have destroyed their ability to love and mask this with sexual promiscuity. Sexual promiscuity will make people incapable of forming a true bond with anyone, hence such people are incapable of having a true, loving relationship... unless they repent of their own accord and are healed spiritually. It is not your fault other people do bad things. No matter what are situation is, we can always choose to be good people and live by God's law. Even if we are surrounded by people who do not. Remember Jesus defeated the powers of evil 2,000 years ago. Meditation, etc. can be useful, but the idea that one needs to meditate to achieve enlightenment is false, a trap, a waste of time. As the Zen proverb goes, "the everyday mind is the enlightened mind". The ability to quiet the mind and sit in meditation may be spiritually beneficial. It is not a matter of trying to achieve some enlightened state, but of simply getting in touch with who and what we really are... And it may be possible to do this without meditating at all... its purely a question of that which brings us home to the center of truth and well-being. You are a child of God, created in God's image, you do not need to be anythng other than what you truely are... God is love, infinite compassion. We may imagine we are something else, some people may try to get us to think we are something else in order to mislead and exploit us. All the money in the universe is God's... It means nothing other than what good purpose we can use it for. Sensual pleasures are fleeting and have no lasting value. A life spent in the pursuit of sensual indulgence is a life that produces nothing of true value and worth. However, if we live in faith and trust God, even unpleasant situations can be used as learning experiences and enable us to grow in new ways and to become better people. Seeking purely pleasant conditions is not neccesarily the way to go. Of course we all want to live a safe comfortable life, but if we should find ourselves in a less than ideal situation, we need not despair - this may actually be an opportunity, as the Buddhist would say, to work out some past karma, or from a Christian POV, grow closer to God, to grow spiritually. Past experiences are just that. Attachment to experiences, painful or pleasant, can be a stumblingblock. Its important to let things end... to throw out the garbage and move on. "This is over." "I would never do that again", "thats not who I really am", etc. Experiences form mental patterns. We need to let God heal us and bless us with "a new mind in Christ". Those who accept Christ into their hearts and choose the spiritual path are guided by the Holy Spirit, advocate, guide, counselor, and companion. All beings are in truth created in God's image, all have the potential to be the people God wants us to be. We are blessed with free wll. Many people choose lives of indulgence and gluttony, that is their choice. We all reap what we sow. Live and Learn. Whenever anyone sincerely repents and asks to be forgiven they will enter onto the true way which leads home, which is no other place than here and no other time than now. Its fine to live a simple, peaceful life. Fame and fortune can be a burden and often interfere with our well-being. A simple life with meager yet adequate possesions seems to be the best way to go.
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Much of the bible should be regarded as myth, there is nothing "bad" about this, people have always created stroies to express their ideas, concerns, questions and answers regarding life's mysteries, etc. And these myths may be borrowed from other cultures and altered, adapted... This is a common process, and is in itself educational. But to say the writings of the bible are literally true is to embrace delusion. I believe it is essential to read the religious writings of other religions to get perspective and comparative understanding. For instance, these two examples from the Upanishads (translated by Eknath Easwaran), the ancient scriptures of India, which date back two thousand years before the birth of Christ... Thats 2,00BC... long before the age of Moses and the writings of the bible. What this shows is that there were other religious writings and traditions that were much more in-line with the teachings of Jesus, than the writings of the bible, and that by reading these ancient writings we can better understand who Jesus is. From page 38,
"As a lump of salt thrown in water dissolves and cannot be taken out again, though wherever we taste the water it is salty, even so, beloved, the separate self dissolves in the sea of pure consciousness, infinite and immortal. Separateness arises from identifying the Self with the body, which is made up of the elements; when this physical identification dissolves, there can be no more separate self. This is what I want to tell you, beloved."
How different is the tone and tenor of these writings than those found in the bible, with their dark repetitive litanies of doom, gloom, vengence, and fear. Here is a second example, from page 41,
"Without knowing the imperishable, whoever performs rites and ceremonies and undergoes austerities, even for many years, reaps little benefit, because rites, ceremonies, and austerities are all perishable. Whosoever dies without knowing the Imperishable, dies in a pitiable state; but those who know the Imperishable attain immortality when the body is shed at death."
Clearly there is much to learn from other sources such as the Upanishads and Dhammapada. Are we to be content with theological arguments and intellectual "belief" and bible study, or should we pursue a different course ? Should we try to actually know God personally instead of talking about who and what we think God is supposed to be according to our definitions, biases, and dictates ?
It is interesting that a very different picture than the one depicted in the bible is surfacing from recent non-biased archealogy, which says most of the stories of conquests never happened , rather the first story of Moses and the Midianites, wherein he sought sanctuary among them, was adopted by a Midianite priest, married his daughter, and bore a son - such reflects to actual state of affairs, that these various peoples lived in peace and harmony, and the later depiction of "Moses" as the leader of an army that conquered many cities throughout Palestine is fiction, as are many stories in the bible.
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The church has turned Jesus into a blood sacrifice to placate the wrathful, misconstrued OT conception of God. Bibleanity says Jesus died for our sins, but it was not his death which brings about salvation. It is not the fact that Jesus died, rather he faced death and even after horrible torture he was still compassionate and asked for his torturers to be forgiven, "Forgive them Father, they know not what they do." It is this last act of compassion and kindness, the final act in his earthly incarnation, which :
1-defeated the forces of evil in the world
2-led the way for all people to have a new relationship with God and to have forgiveness for their sins and inadequacies by taking refuge in him. This act of compassion was the fulfillement/perfection/beautification of the "law and the prophets" and much more...
3-this act also demonstrated the errant nature of the OT idea of a wrathful God... Bibleanity twists this around 180 degrees by making Jesus into blood sacrifice to placate the wrath of God, to allow Him to take man's due punishment from God upon himself. There is some truth in this, he incarnated and gave his life, to save mankind, to bring the light of truth, salvation, and even though it meant enduring a horrible death, he chose this course. In the OT blood is the source of life, and Jesus gave his life for all people, so grotesque phrases such as, "we are washed in his blood" which are bandied about but some Christians may have an underlying basis in truth. However I think it is wrong to say such things, we do not have the right... We should be sorry, not happy, Jesus had to do this.
4-this final act of his earthly incarnation sets an example for us, demonstating God's true way of life, being one of non-violence and compassion. Again bibleanity twists this, saying Jesus was an OT style sacrifice whereby God cleansed us of our sins, and goes on to subvert all he did by saying he is going to return as a divine warrior and destroy everyone who does not bow down to him. It is a really bad testimony against the Christian religion that so many people blindly swallow this false doctrine, seemingly oblivious to what Jesus actually said and did. Humans clearly seem to have a penchant for deluded ways, even when given the truth they turn their backs on it and run in some other direction.
It was not the fact that Jesus died, but that he lived, and the final act of his human incarnation was an act of compassion which defeated the forces of ignorance and cruelty. This was not something that could be argued, preached, or theologized, it was something he actually did, physically, himself, something which no one else could do. Something no one else could bear to do. But in so doing he changed the world, and gave people the same strength, abilities, compassion and love. We can choose to accept this gift, or to deny it. If we choose, we can repent of our sins and be forgiven, and God will enter our lives and begin transforming us spiritually. We can come to know the Holy Spirit and have an intimate relationship with God the father/mother, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit. This is the true basis of Christianity, not the doctrine of a divinely dictated, perfect and infallible bible.
In the OT world, blood was believed to be the "seat of the spirit." So when the NT says things like our sins are cleansed by the blood of Jesus Christ, it is not tlaking about somekind of pagan blood sacrifice to placate God's wrath, or that Jesus was punished by God for our sins. It means he gave his life for all people, and through the final act in his earthly body he defeated the forces of evil through his total compassion and forgivness. He did that which is impossible for us to do on our own, he took our sins upon him out of love, that is God's true nature. God does not punish. We punish ourselves when we do things that separate us from God/Life. God always works to restore health, wellbeing, relationship. Jesus gave us of hisliving spirit, his "blood" in the OT sense, which during those times held religious significance, but he transformed the OT practice of animal sacrifice into an act of compassion, love, obedience to God's true law, even though it meant great suffering on his behalf for our sakes, the "true sacrifice of righteousness" of which Isaiah speaks. God does not delight in the blood of animals or the smell of burning flesh. This was a mistaken idea dreamed up by deluded men. Jesus corrected their errors. When he said he came to fulfill the law, i.e. to prefect it, it does not mean the law was perfect, or even divine, rather it needed to be perfected, corrected, down to its very last letter and jot - exactly opposite to the interpretation given to this passage by the advocates of bibleanity. Rather than wrath and punishment Jesus demonstrated compassion and forgivness, for all people...
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Mark 4,33 "And with many such parables spake he the word unto them, as they were able to hear it. "
The advocates of bibleanity call the bible "The Word." But this is not what it means in the bible ! The Greek text uses "logon" which, according to Thayer's Lexicon means:
" a word, yet not in the grammatical sense, but language, uttered by the living voice... discourse, the act of speech, what is communicated by instruction, the attainment through Christ of salvation in the Kingdom of God, reason, the faculty of thinking, the personal wisdom and power in union with God, his minister in the creation and government of the universe, the cause of the world's life, both physical and ethical, which for the procurement of humankind's salvation assumed human form in the person of Jesus the Messiah, and shone forth conspicuously from hiswords and deeds."
This does not mean a written text or book, it means theact of discourse between people, in this case between God and humans. Jesus engaged in discourse with people, he was not conducting a bible study, he did not write anything that we know of, although at times he incorporated material from the bible in his discussions... teaching "the word" means, according to the bible, discourse, not written words, not the bible. The bible is not the Word of God - Jesus is. That is what the bible says. Bibleanity is a subversion of the life and teachings of Jesus. It interferes with Jesus' true teachings. And at times it actually perpetuates the very things Jesus opposses...
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"For he that hath, to him shall be given: and he that hath not, from him shall be taken even that which he hath."
Has/has not - this refers to a spiritual basis in our life. People who do not have a spiritual basis spend their lives accumulate temporal experiences and possesions which have no permanent, lasting value. All material, sensual things are fleeting... But people who choose the spiriual life will grow and be continually blessed with spiritual fruits that endure and grow and give life. This passage clearly does not refer to material goods or possesions. Some rich "evangelists" who live in mansions and live lives of luxury may cite this verse as a justification for their lives of excess...
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From 1 John 3 - "6 Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him... 8 He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning... 9 Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin... 10 In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother. 11 For this is the message that ye heard from the beginning, that we should love one another."
This passage shows a dangerous diversion from the teachings and example of Jesus. People make mistakes, that does not mean they are "children of the devil." If Jesus shared John's attitude in this passage, who would have been saved ? This sort of divisive judgemental talk is actually counter to what Jesus taught. He said we are to forgive someone, no matter how many times they sin... This idea that if someone sins they never knew God is totally wrong. If people intentionally sin and do not repent then they separate themselves from God, but that does not mean they never knew God, nor that they may someday return to God's Way of Life. Clearly, no one is perfect and sometimes we fail. People may be lonely, or influenced by others, or tempted of themselves... To "love one another" of course means to be compassionate and forgiving. Thus even the NT must be read from a basis in Christ.
This is from a letter written to an early Christian church regarding the problem of false teachiers who were perverting the Gospel of Christ. Such teachers taught people the Christians would not be held morally responsible for sins they committed since they had been "perfected" by Christ, and as such were free to engage in immoral activities, others claimed that intellectual knowledge of Christ was most important and to simply claim Jesus as their saviour garunteed thier salvation, etc... This was a letter, not a "book" in the bible. It was never intended as such, when it was included in the bible no information about its origin and purpose were included, it took on great significance, this letter became "the word of God", a "book" in the Holy Bible, and its inflamatory rhetoric misled future generations.
In Jude, the final NT letter, which preceeds Apocalypse, the last book in the NT, this problem of false teachers is also addressed, " 4 For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ. 5 I will therefore put you in remembrance, though ye once knew this, how that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed them that believed not..." Notice the distinction between "the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ", but in the next verse we read, "how that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed them that believed not." Here we find the reintroduction of the OT image of the wrathful warrior God, whom is now addressed as "Lord," the same name used for Jesus. Then comes Apocalypse which depicts Jesus (now speaking greek instead of Aramaic, "I am the Alpha and the Omega", why would Jesus use such language, he never spoke that way before ? Why would he address himself in such a manner to his "beloved disciple" if that was indeed the case ? Why would he address his disciple in greek and describe himself in purely Hellenistic terms ? Clearly this book is the work of an unknown author writing in the genre of apocalypse, not actual statements by Jesus Christ as the advocates of bibleanity and the church maintain ) as the returning warrior god of the OT who will destroy all his enemies. This is the opposite of the teachings, life and example of Jesus Christ. I believe the bible is a carefully constructed collection of writings assembled by men with a specific agenda that is not the same as that of Jesus Christ. It is essential it be read from a spiritual basis in Christ, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, and not viewed as some perfect, divinely dictated, "infallible" book. Quite the contrary, it contains many mistakes and deviations. However, in the Light of Christ such can be seen as educational examples of how men may persist in their deluded ways, chosing to remain ignorant even when presented with the truth.
I believe Apocalypse was written as metaphor of personal spiritual practice, not actual physical events, not a prediction of eternal historic events, but rather a depiction of the interior process which culminates in Christ's spiritual return, his second coming, within us. The kingdom of heaven is within us. Literally waiting for Jesus to physically return as some divine warrior king... Christianity took the wrong path, a worldly path, this literal waiting for the second coming. Jesus always spoke of a spiritual kingdom and a spiritual process. Apocalypse has been misinterpreted from a worldly POV by the church and theologians. It is not a depiction of future historic events, rather a symbolic representation of early Christian spiritual practice as well as encouragement to those Christians who were undergoing persecution couched in the symbolic language of apocalytic literature.
The idea of attaching the various writings of the NT, culminating in Apocalypse, to the Hebrew Bible was to give them legitimacy, just the OT idea of a "chosen people" and a "promised land" was to legitimize the conquests of neighboring peoples and the seizure of their lands. This is why Jesus made a point of telling stories about Samaritans, Gentiles and other people who were regarded as enemies... Hence Jesus' instruction to love our enemies - not kill them and steal their possesions and land.
The bible is a construct of men. The various NT letters, designated as books, were never intended as additions to the Hebrew bible - they were letters addressing certain problems within the early Christian church. The false doctrine of bibleanity has supplanted true Christianity, and much of what churches teach about the bible and its contents is false, as well as in conflict with the true teachings and person of Christ.
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Regarding meditation, yoga, spiritual practice, etc. They can be useful and beneficial or the opposite. Names and labels mean nothing. It is always a matter of the underlying spirit, the Heart of the matter, so to speak. Do not confuse sex with love - usually its the opposite, someone tryin to exploit you for their selfish indulgences. You can never "make things right" in a relationship with such a person. Such people have destroyed their ability to love and mask this with sexual promiscuity. Sexual promiscuity will make people incapable of forming a true bond with anyone, hence such people are incapable of having a true, loving relationship... unless they repent of their own accord and are healed spiritually. It is not your fault other people do bad things. No matter what are situation is, we can always choose to be good people and live by God's law. Even if we are surrounded by people who do not. Remember Jesus defeated the powers of evil 2,000 years ago. Meditation, etc. can be useful, but the idea that one needs to meditate to achieve enlightenment is false, a trap, a waste of time. As the Zen proverb goes, "the everyday mind is the enlightened mind". The ability to quiet the mind and sit in meditation may be spiritually beneficial. It is not a matter of trying to achieve some enlightened state, but of simply getting in touch with who and what we really are... And it may be possible to do this without meditating at all... its purely a question of that which brings us home to the center of truth and well-being. You are a child of God, created in God's image, you do not need to be anythng other than what you truely are... God is love, infinite compassion. We may imagine we are something else, some people may try to get us to think we are something else in order to mislead and exploit us. All the money in the universe is God's... It means nothing other than what good purpose we can use it for. Sensual pleasures are fleeting and have no lasting value. A life spent in the pursuit of sensual indulgence is a life that produces nothing of true value and worth. However, if we live in faith and trust God, even unpleasant situations can be used as learning experiences and enable us to grow in new ways and to become better people. Seeking purely pleasant conditions is not neccesarily the way to go. Of course we all want to live a safe comfortable life, but if we should find ourselves in a less than ideal situation, we need not despair - this may actually be an opportunity, as the Buddhist would say, to work out some past karma, or from a Christian POV, grow closer to God, to grow spiritually. Past experiences are just that. Attachment to experiences, painful or pleasant, can be a stumblingblock. Its important to let things end... to throw out the garbage and move on. "This is over." "I would never do that again", "thats not who I really am", etc. Experiences form mental patterns. We need to let God heal us and bless us with "a new mind in Christ". Those who accept Christ into their hearts and choose the spiritual path are guided by the Holy Spirit, advocate, guide, counselor, and companion. All beings are in truth created in God's image, all have the potential to be the people God wants us to be. We are blessed with free wll. Many people choose lives of indulgence and gluttony, that is their choice. We all reap what we sow. Live and Learn. Whenever anyone sincerely repents and asks to be forgiven they will enter onto the true way which leads home, which is no other place than here and no other time than now. Its fine to live a simple, peaceful life. Fame and fortune can be a burden and often interfere with our well-being. A simple life with meager yet adequate possesions seems to be the best way to go.
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When men are separated from God, when they choose to eat the fruits of evil rather than the fruits of good, they are driven by the consequences of their actions (karma) and as such cast themselves from Eden, paradise, their true and original relationship with God. Yet God never gives up hope, never stops trying to redeem his/her lost children, even when it required Christ to incarnate in person and bear the most horrible and cruel treatment at the hands of deluded and violent men. "Forgive them Father for they know not what they do." This is the mentality of God, not wrath and vengence...
Advocates of bibleanity say the bible is the only standard by which to judge things. This belief has led to a great deal of violent behavior and suffering. Whereas from a Christian POV the only true standard should be the life, teachings and example of Christ. There is a great deal in the bible that does not agree with this standard of unconditional love, non-violence, and supreme compassion... Consequently men sometimes seek to reintroduce the very same deluded institutions of violence and hatred which Jesus gave his life to heal us from. The greatest perversions of Christ's teachings have come under the guise of Christian authorities... therefore we must be careful not to conform to some group just because they claim to be a church or the body of Christ, we are supposed to test all spirits. The idea of a divine, infallible, divinely dictated bible is false Religions built upon such ideas may perpetuate ignorance rather than truth.
Are we to be content with theological arguments and intellectual "belief" and bible study, or should we pursue a different course ? Should we try to actually know God personally instead of talking about who and what we think God is supposed to be according to our definitions, biases, and dictates ?
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On the other hand and not to throw the baby out with the bath - When Jesus was confronted by the devil in the desert he quoted passages from the bible as a way of refuting the devil's attempts. Clearly, if interpreted from a basis in Christ, the writings of the bible can be a force of good, and God may speak to us, but we must be discerning. The bible can be a vehicle through which we are directed into a deeper relationship with God. "Every word which proceedeth from the mouth of God..." not every word, but only those which proceed from the mouth of God. Jesus said he would fulfill, complete, and beautify the old erreant manmade law down to its smallest jot... and as a result the old law would pass away, replaced by the new law of unconditional love and non-violence, the eternal Law, God's Way of Life as personified in Jesus Christ. This is a very important point that is often ignored. He did not say the old law was perfect or that it would last forever, he said he would change it, bring it to completion, even though it meant he must undergo great suffering, torture and the death of his earthly body. He said the old law would not pass away UNTIL this had occured. "Until" is extremely important. This healing of humanity could not occur until he had accomplished certain things of which he had foreknowledge. This statement has been totally misinterpreted to the point that its original meaning has been twisted 180 degrees. This is what bibleanity does, twists and manipulates nutil the old mindsets of violence and worldly power and selfishness have been reinstated, in the name of Christ. So we have received the cure at great price and personal suffering on behalf of Jesus, but have returned to the old ways of death, violence, destruction, selfish indulgence, hedonism, dishonesty, and suffering. We will always have free will, so we will always have the choice of accepting God's free gift of grace, or rejecting it. It brief look at our horrible history shows which course has usually been pursued.
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We should be aware that the NT, including the gospels, contain selections from stories about the life of Jesus that had been circulating for perhaps 20 to 50 years before they were assembled into the gospels. These writings are not perfect. They tell us about Jesus through the eyes of early Christians. Some of their views are incorporated into their writings. For example, Matthew 8,12 quotes Jesus as saying people "will be cast into the outer darkness." From the author's POV this sounds like people who do not believe the gospels or except Christ as thier savior will be rejected by God and as punishment cast into the outer darkness. From a spiritual basis in Christ this would better be understood as meaning people who do not live according to God's way of love and live will be impelled by the consequences of their actions away from God, into darkness. The language NT sometimes paints Jesus in a sort of harsh manner. I believe this is the beliefs of the authors coming through rather than the true nature of Jesus. This is why spiritual communion and living as Christ told us must take precedence to reading the bible. When we come to know God's nature in Christ, the infinite love and total compassion, God's everpresent willingness to forgive and heal us - it is clear God never casts anyone away... Look at what Jesus went through to bring us back to God's way of life and salvation.
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How he bible text is changed by interpreters to agree with their religious beliefs -
Psalm 58,9 kjv "Before your pots can feel the thorns, he shall take them away as with a whirlwind, both living, and in (his) wrath."
Notice the word 'his' has been added by translators, but according to the marginal annotation, the literal Hebrew is, "as living as wrath"
I submit that what this verse actually means is those people who are 'living in wrath', i.e. people consumed by hatred and violent intent, as described earlier in this psalm, will not endure the fire of purification and become 'pots', i.e. ceraic vessels - it is very interesting to note that when clay is fired (thorns were used for this because they generated a more intense heat) its actual elemental nature is changed at the atomic level, and it becomes an actual new material, ceramic... hence this very fitting analogy of God's process of bringing us into spiritual maturity... however those people who are 'living in wrath' will be carried away by their violent emotions as with a whirlwind - another perfectly fitting analogy. In this regard the writings in the bible often exhibit a surprisingly contemporary level of understanding. Ancient people were not inferior in their understanding of human nature and the foibles of men... Indeed they may have surpassed modern men in their understanding of such things.
So the actual, literal account of this verse, may refer to the emotional state of violent people, however the translators, influenced by their religious belief in a god of wrath that punishes such people, changed this verse, and many like it throughout the bible, to conform with their beliefs. They inserted 'his' before wrath, which totally changes the meaning. Which illustrates another very critical point: the insertion of a single word, or even a change in punctuation, can alter the meaning of a sentence. And hyndreds of such changes are made every single time another group, or individual, makes a 'new translation' of the bible. I have studied most of them, and IMO the KJV is by far the best. It may be a bit hard to fathom in places, but overall it far exceeds all other subsequent translations, in literal accuracy, depth of meaning, quality of language, etc. Also, it should be noted that the 'KJV' is in fact basically a pirated update of the 1560 Geneva Bible, and as such it should be entitled 'The 1611 update of the Geneva Bible, as it is more than 95% identical to the Geneva Bible text... it is not the product of King James, nor the committee he authorized, it is a very good updating of the original Geneva Bible. The onslaught of 'modern translations' that are flooding the market to enrich authors and publishers serve mainly to detract from these two superior translations. A simple comparison of the NASB, whose publishers bill as the most literal translation, reveals that the KJV text is much more literal as well as more intelligently written. Readers should not believe whatever advertising hype publishers promulgate.
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The Gospel of Mathew was written by an unknown author at an unknown date, the best estimates place it around 80 CE, about 10 years after Jerusalem was destroyed by the Roman army under Titus. It is important to understand that the gospels are not literal histories, but rather writings which express the teachings of the early church and the author's POV. Jesus may or may not have said the things attributed to him by the gospel authors. I doubt very much that he engaged in the sort of argumentative denunciatons found in many places in the NT. An enlightened being does not argue or condemn or punish... So if Jesus is indeed the incarnation of the Logos, then it would have been impossible for him to say many of the things the gospel authors claim he did. If we can experience God's living spirit through Jesus Christ, then what is the need for such inaccurate writings ? We need to read them with the same sort of discernment as we do the OT. God is love, totally compassionate, and does not argue - what would be the point ? God is going to engage in intellectual/doctrinal debates ? No, Jesus always works directly with people, healing them and guiding them into the true way. God does not engage in diatribes and name calling. This is the author's mentality. So we must look deeper to discern the underlying truths in such passages. One way isto see them as metaphor of personal spiritual practice. "Enemies" are those things within us which lead us away from God, truth, the way of life. But a great deal of religious doctrine does just that, obfuscates and obscures rather than revealing and clarifying. Hence the need for prayer and meditation. We need to know God personally, not through the intellectual filters of argument, debate, and theology. I doubt Jesus would have engaged in such pointless activities. An enlightened being is not angry, does not condemn others, etc. as the NT pictures Jesus doing, for example :
Matthew 23,23 "Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone. 24Ye blind guides, which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel. 25Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess. 26Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also. 27Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness. 28Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity. 29Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye build the tombs of the prophets, and garnish the sepulchres of the righteous, 30And say, If we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets. 31Wherefore ye be witnesses unto yourselves, that ye are the children of them which killed the prophets. 32Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers. 33Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell?"
This section of Matthew represents the state of affairs during the author's time, about 80CE, when there was alot of animosity between Orthodox Jews and the new Christian church. This was after the destruction of Jerusalem. Such conditions are the reason for the anti-jewish, argumentative tone of much of the NT... Such "prophecies" regarding Jerusalem's destruction were actually written afterwards - this is another trend which occurs throughout the bible. God does not lie. God is never dishonest. But it is common practice with bible authors to claim writings are prophecies when in fact they were written after the actual events occured, and writings are usually attributed to famous characters in order to lend them credance. So when the church says this book is the Word of God it demeans Christ's true nature and work. So how to discern that which is true ? How do we know God and Jesus ? By following Jesus' simple instructions. He did not tell anyone to study the bible, ever... He said we are to love God and love each other. We are to practice the golden rule, shun materialistic and hedonistic lives and live as he did. Thats it, period. Bibleanity has become a great diversion, to the extent that it is perpetuating the very things Jesus fought against and died for.
Furhtermore, God would never condemn entire cities enmass as is the practice in the bible. Yet we find Jesus uttering such condemnations in numerous places in the NT. Jesus would never have done this. This horrible idea that an entire city is guilty and will be destroyed by God has led to our horrible history of wars in which it entire cities are destroyed. This is a reassertion of deluded OT mentality by gospel authors. Hence it is essential to follow Jesus' instructions and test all spirits, including the writings of the NT, in order to discern that which is true. Jesus said the Holy Spirit would teach us. He always taught non-violence, healing, and salvation. This living spiritual relationship with God and each other should be the basis of Christianity... and our bible study if we should choose that practice as well, but the bible should not be seen as the core of Christianity.
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From Matthew 24, NIV, "50 The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he is not aware of. 51 He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."
The NIV trasnslates 24,51 as "He will cut him to pieces." The greek word used here means to cut in two pieces. The KJV says, "He will be cut asunder," and the NAB, "He will be severely punished, which is also in keeping with the original greek usage. The NIV and ESV "He will cut him into pieces" is not in keeping with the teachings of Jesus and illogical - how would he be 'placed among the hypocrits' if he were cut into pieces ? The KJV is once again the most likely and Christ based rendition. To be cut asunder means to be separated from God if read from a basis in Christ. We are all originally connected to God in spirit, it takes effort to cut ourselves off. Clearly Jesus, who healed Malchius' ear in Gethsemane after Peter cut it off, would not make such a violent statement. Jesus never said these words, he spoke in Aramaic... The thing is, these writings have a profoundly contemporary relevance if read from a basis in the teachings and example of Christ. If we chose to follow the 'ways of the world', i.e. dishonesty, selfishness, hedonism, violence, etc. We are cut asunder from God by our actions, and we are cut into two parts spiritually, and if we persist in the ways of worldliness we will harm ourselves spiritually, becoming divided within ourselves, and become lost in an inner hell of spiritual turmoil, in which case we may seek increasingly great diversions in an attempt to conceal our inner condition but of course this only makes things worse... it is a downward spiral. We become spiritual hypocrits, we 'place ourselves among the hypocrits', i.e. our inner nature becomes divided and untrue, at this point our lives have become largely devoted to perpetuating a facade rather than a true, healthy spirit. I submit that this is the underlying meaning of this passage. The NT authors interpreted Jesus from their POV, hence we must always start with God's true nature as expressed in the person of Jesus and from this basis interpret the bible. Bibleanity does the opposite. The bible is far from being perfect, but God's perfect communication may be discerned (in the various situations in our daily lives and relationships) if we use our intelligence and follow the guidance of the Holy Spirit, God's living presence within us.
The phrase, "there will be weeping and knashing of teeth," which is commonly used in Matthew is only found in one other place in the NT, in Luke. However this accurately describes what its like to be separate from God, and the resulting the personal hell we may instill within ourselves when we abandon God's way of life and pursue a life of sin. God casts no one out, we do it to ourselves, our bad actions drive us away from God's presence. Thus we may be cast into the outer darkness by the force of our sinful actions, not by God. The bible authors had an inaccurate view of God, they believed in a God of wrath and punishment, and even the NT authors carried this errant view over into their writings.
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From 'The Art of Happiness' , a truely good book by HH Dalai Lama and Howard C. Cutler, page 64:
" How people express their emotions has also changed. In the middle ages it was considered normal to publicily express a wide range of feelings with great intensity and directness - joy, rage, fear, piety, and even pleasure at torturing and killing enemies. Extremes of hysterical laughter, passionate weeping, and violent rage were expressed much more than would be accepted in our society. "
I believe such behavior was a direct outgrowth of bibleanity. People were taught the bible was the sole authority by which to judge everything. It was the main text studied in the first universities in Europe. Anyone who disagreed with church doctrine was brutally murdered in public - often after being tortured. I believe this especially impacted the way royalty viewed themselves and their subjects. If the God of wrath depicted in the bible was true, then Kings were His appointed ministers of wrath and Holy War. Indeed, war may have been viewed as being obligatory, as it was in the bible, a divine institution. Thus, the violent accounts depicted in the bible engendered subsequent wars, massacres, the wide spread practice of torture and brutality - all being committed in the name of Christ.
These four verses which have been inserted into psalm 139 (which is mostly a very good psalm, one of the best) by another writer (this is another pattern found throughout the bible, the 'good parts' are often intentionally offset by other authors with more violent views) illustrate this mindset which is prevalent in the bible:
ps139:19 "Surely thou wilt slay the wicked, O God: depart from me therefore, ye bloody men. 20 For they speak against thee wickedly, and thine enemies take thy name in vain. 21 Do not I hate them, O LORD, that hate thee? and am not I grieved with those that rise up against thee? 22 I hate them with perfect hatred: I count them mine enemies."
Clearly Jesus exposed the error of this minset and taught us the way of love, but bibleanity reverts back to the old, deluded, manmade ways of violence and hate. Our horrible history is the result.
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Christianity should be about spiritual transformation through the Living Spirit of God. The various doctrines such as bibleanity and rote religious "worship" may be either false or diversionary. Hence I feel it is essential to study other sources and practice meditation from a Christian perspective. Bible study is not essential, and its place in Christian religious practice has been blown out of proportion. We need to experience God's presence in our lives, not intellectualize and argue doctrinal delusions. Much of the basic pretense of Christianity is false, the idea of a God of History who inflicts punishment, etc. The Gospels were written one or two generations after Jesus' time on earth, by people with very specific beliefs and agenda, and are not perfect. Everything in the bible must be read from a spiritual basis in Christ. Men persist in reintroducing their deluded expectations in the forms of later writings. All the writings of the NT are suspect. We can find some accurate traces of Jesus' true nature and teachings but there is also so some degradation of his message, especially in the books of Hebrews and Revelation, which are often cited by the advocates of bibleanity.
God, Christ, the Holy Spirit, all are aspects of God. There is no wrath or hatred in God. Such are the delusions of men. The Dhammapada, the basic teachings of the Buddha, circa 2500BC, present a much better view of the teaching of Christ than do most of the writings of the Christian church. Truth is universal. Different aspects are complementary. Jesus told us to judge a tree by its fruit. We can experience this Body of Truth, it is not some intellectual achievement, it is not something to be accomplished, it is simply the realization of who and what we actually are. The methods of Zen meditation apllied from a Christian basis can be very effective, whereas Bible study can be counterproductive. Thoughts are real and have real effects on our being, lives, and the world around us. We must learn discipline and self-control. Western religion pretty much ignores this. Books communicate their writers being/consciousness, and the extremely violent content of much of the bible attests to the sick state of mind underlying such writings. Jesus shattered this deluded view of God, but men insist upon reinstating such ignorant beliefs. This is why we must actually develope a spiritual relationship with life, the universe, and all its creatures. Buddhism is a much better vehicle for doing this than the sort of rote churchianity and bibleanity that has been institutionalized under the auspices of Christianity. The heart of Christ and the heart of the Buddha are complementary, if not an essential pair. When we realize this common ground and actually experience the sanctity of life, as well as the true nature of love, we can set foot upon the Eightfold Path, and realize the Kingdom of Heaven of which Jesus spoke and the Way of Life he embodied.
God does not change. God is not limited to our linear time sense. God's time is always now, with God all moments are eternally present... Man's understanding of God may change, however this limited understanding should not be construed as God's true nature. Often men project their ignorance upon things they perceive, clouding their perceptions. We can see this tendency throughout the bible, in the OT as well as the NT, which is why Jesus always taught people to use the brains God gave them, to test all spirits, and judge a tree by its fruit. It is essential to realize the writings of the bible were written in languages that no longer exist, for people in ancient cultures that have long since passed away, so to interpret the bible from a literal POV may often be misleading. Jesus taught us the Holy Spirit was to be our guide, not theologians and professional commentators. We are expected to use and develope the intelligence with which we are blessed. Yet it seems that many people are more concerned with conforming to the expectations of some group than the actual teachings, person, and spirit of Christ. Such is eternally unchanging, constant, infinite love and compassion. There is no wrath in God. This is a false doctrine dreamed up by ignorant men. Wrath of God should be re-interpreted as consequences of our actions. To be separated from God is to suffer, and if we pursue a path that leads us away from Truth we will leave the Way of Light and embark upon the way of darkness... The outer darkness. This is man's doing, not God's. Much of the writings on the bible falsely attribute the consequences of man's deluded actions to an imaginary wrath of God. This is wrong. Our current understanding of God's nature is not the same as it was 2,000 years ago.
Thanks to the intervention of God and ithe incarnation of Christ in the person of Jesus... names are not critical, spirit is. God sees into the hearts of all people because God is at the heart of all people. We are united by this common thread. Some choose to honor this and other choose to reject this. We are each given free will, otherwise life would have no meaning. Jesus said we are friends, this is what God wants, not automatons or yes men. The view of God presented in the psalms is very different from our view today, yet there is an underlying truth that transcends our limited conceptualizations... if we can discern that which is timeless from that which is misguided. God does not change, hopefully we do, in a positive, evolutionary sense. But it is also possible to regress. Just because we have high tech devices and an exponentially expanding data base does not equate with an increase in understanding and wisdom. What have we done with all our knowledge ? History is mainly a record of warfare. This is what we have chosen to do with our manifold blessings - kill each other in increasingly greater numbers. Will we pass the test and survive as a species ? Right now it does not appear this will be the case. We have been given many opportunities, but we have failed to establish societies based up0n the teachings of Jesus, for example. Instead our societies are for the most part characterized by the pursuit of individual greed, hedonism, and gluttony. Will we learn to discern that which is timeless or succumb to that which is temporary and of no lasting value ? Time will tell.
- John Niemi 3-2010, Osaka.
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Opening the bible at random yesterday I came upon this passage:
2 Samuel 8 "In the course of time, David defeated the Philistines and subdued them, and he took Metheg Ammah from the control of the Philistines. David also defeated the Moabites. He made them lie down on the ground and measured them off with a length of cord. Every two lengths of them were put to death, and the third length was allowed to live. So the Moabites became subject to David and brought tribute... David captured a thousand of his chariots, seven thousand charioteers and twenty thousand foot soldiers. He hamstrung all but a hundred of the chariot horses...The LORD gave David victory wherever he went. "
There is nothing spiritual in such writings. This has nothing to do with God. These grotesque descriptions of violent acts which are so commonplace in the bible are not 'scripture'... Only a sick mind could consider them as such. Jesus always taught non-violence, healing, and compassion for all people. The bible is by far the most violent book I have ever read, and it is the most widely published book in the world. For publishing companies the bible is an easy way to make huge profits, hence the hundreds of versions now being marketed and purchased by millions of people taken in by the cult of bibleanity.
Hence it is essential to pursue a study of comparative religion to get some perspective and exposure to some truely spiritual, inspired writings. It is a sad commentary on contemporary societies when people are to lazy to think for themselves and prefer to blindly follow blind guides. Or perhaps they know exactly what they are doing... At any rate, the doctrine of bibleanity perpetuates much that is just the opposite of what Jesus exemplifies. While many organizations and companies and publications may bear the name of Christ, we have a moral responsibility to look beneath the surface and fathom the true nature and motivations of such institutions.
Jesus says he comes to save sinners, not the righteous. What could this mean ? Jesus made a point of ministering to Samaritans and Romans and women, the blind and lame... Why ? He never condoned any violent act, in fact he always spoke out against such. Bibleanity turns him into a blood sacrifice, downplays his life and teachings, and re-instates the deluded manmade doctrine of the god of war, wrath, and destruction.
Nonbiased modern archeaology and scholarship tell us that most of the bible's stories are fiction. Many of these wars never occured. Various groups of ancient peoples shared the land, intermarried, and co-existed peacefully much of the time. In the original Moses story, his father-in-law was a Midianite priest who gave Moses his daughter in marriage, they raised a family, and lived peacefully for 40 years. But in later times the priestly class saw such tales of peaceful intermarriage and co-existence as an erosion of their power. So they abolished intermarriage, even glorified the murder of intermarried couples, and pronounced that all people with different religious beliefs should be either enslaved or exterminated. Anyone who dared to speak against them was stoned by their neighbors. This was a religion of total subjugation and fear. This is the religion promulgated by much of the bible's content.
It is all plainly revealed in the bible. So why do people refuse to see what is so obvious ? Why do people accept such erroneous fabrications and false doctrines ?
Perhaps people are insecure and afraid, so they turn to the churches and are quickly diverted into the false religion of bibleanity. Perhaps its a case of peer preasure, 'we love you'... so long as you follow our dictates hook, line, and sinker. Maybe people are having a hard time and turn to a church for help. only to be exploited economically and added to the church labor pool, put to work promoting the very institution which is misleading them.
Hence it is essential to base our spiritual practice in Christ's living presence, through prayer and meditation, and not be too concerned with what others, especially people who call themselves Christians, may think of us.
Jesus incarnated to expose the falicy of such false religions as bibleanity. But men went right on back to the same old ways of brutality, war and violence. They even fabricated religious doctrines which said Jesus was a divine warrior, the author of the bible, and many other mistruths... This has continued into modern times. The delusions of men are deepely entrenched and seem to resurface with each new generation. Wherever Jesus went he healed people. He gave his life as an example on non-violence and forgiveness. Bibleanity discounts this and says he was a blood sacrifice to placate the wrath of god. Bibleanity is a continuence of the false religion which Jesus opposes. This addiction to violence has percolated down through the centuries. And our religious institutions may actually perpetuate it. This is why prayer and meditation should be the center of Christian practice instead of bible study.
And children should not be exposed to the many extremely violent, sick passages in the bible ! Bibleanity is the antithesis of the life and teachings of Jesus Christ.
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Jesus didn't speak greek... so the idea of "Word study" is not nearly as appropriate as prayer, meditation, and loving service to others, forgeting our selfish desires and allowing God's living presence to guide us. This is the true nature of Christianity. Many people have devoted their lives to studying the bible, writing volumous commentaries, in the belief that this was somehow leading them to a deeper relationship with God. Personally I think the opposite is often the case, such focus of biblical analysis and commentary detracts from the actual teachings of Jesus Christ and the sort of life he proposes. Is it possible that bibleanity has arisen primarily as a means of making money for many religious professionals ? And in the process naive people may be misdirected ? Is this intentional, or a result of man's delusions ? Jesus said we are not to judge others, but he also opposed the false religious institutions of his time. If someone is walking around in the dark and about to fall down the stairs I think we should turn on the light so they can see where they are going. The OT was written in Hebrew, a language which is very susceptible to misinterpretation given the fact that it consists mainly of consonants and verbs need to be inserted by the reader. Furthermore, people have changed many of the terms to conform with their beliefs. The word "Elohim" acutally means gods, plural, and this is the word that is used for the gods other peoples as well as the people of Israel and Judah. This word, which is found almost 900 times in the OT, has been translated as 'God' in the Holy Bible. Modern doctrine tells us this usage of the plural form by pagans describes their many gods but when the same word is used by non-pagans it is to describe the many atributes of the one true God. This is totally illogical and makes no sense. Why not simply say 'the one true God' ? I think its obvious that monotheism was a later development, probably inherited from the Babylonians. It is very important to realize that there was interaction and exchange between many cultures: Mesopotamian, Sumerian, Egyptian, Greek, Roman, in fact with every culture which comes in contact with God's teachings... More importantly we must remember that each and every human being and creature on the earth, and in the universe, is intimately related and has a common origin. Buddhism makes this clear, whereas the biblical religions seem to instill erroneous divisions and animosity. Modern science has proven this conclusively - we share common elements within our DNA with all living things. The building blocks of life were brought to earth by comets from the outer solar system... However our religious institutions have their heads stuck in the sand and are locked into an obsolete mindset, but their power structure depends upon maintaning this delusion. How can the church of God admit its been wrong, when they purport to be God's representatives ?That is what they have been selling for millenia. On the other hand, science by its very nature, can easily admit errors, mistakes, fraudulent claims, whatever, and move on towards a new and truer understanding. This is more in keeping with the teachings of Jesus, as well as the bible. Any book, any ancient record, must be analyzed from an impartial POV, by many different people, from differnt perspectives. This is the fire of purification of which the bible speaks. If read with intelligence rather than imbued ignorance, these writings may at times communicate timeless wisdom and insight that is capable of adjusting itself to modern situations. Wisdom remains constant, but our understanding changes. Hopefully it will grow. But criticism is an essential safeguard. In the past the church simply murdered its critics, whereas some modern advocates of bibleanity may resort to slander and instilling fear in people. I think its important to stand up and expose this errant direction Christianity has taken. Unless the church comes clean and admits its errors and repents there can be no healing, and any true relationship with God is hindered. Bibleanity is a stumbling block on the road to salvation. The bible does not bring salvation - that can only come through God's living presence among us. This is not words printed on the pages of a book. The true Word of God is written on the fleshy tables of our hearts, throughout the infinite expanse of the universe. It cannot be contained by human doctrines, it cannot be controlled and sold for a profit.
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MAY GOD BLESS YOU AND KEEP YOU
MAY ALL PEOPLE LEARN TO LIVE IN PEACE AND HARMONY
MAY WE LEARN TO SEE CLEARLY
MAY WE REALIZE OUR POTENTIAL
MAY WE ALL LEARN TO LIVE ACCORDING TO GOD'S ETERNAL
WAY OF LIFE