ON LOVE; PART MCDXXVIII
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FIRST IS THE GREAT COMMANDMENTS: “The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these” (Mark 12:29-31).
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WHAT THEN IS LOVE? In a general sense love is benevolence, good will; that disposition of heart which inclines men to think favorably of their fellow men, and to do them good. In a theological sense, it includes supreme love to God, and universal good will to men. While this IS from an older definition of Charity, which IS rendered in the King James Bible from the same Greek word agape which IS generally rendered as Love, we should amend our own definition here to include the idea that in the reality of Love a man will accord to ALL men ALL things that he would accord to himself and to say that Love IS our thoughts and attitude of the equality of ALL men regardless of their outward nature or appearance…that ALL ARE equally children of Our One God.
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PLUS THE EVER IMPORTANT AND HIGH IDEAL TAUGHT TO US BY THE CHRIST: “Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them” (Matthew 7:12).
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While our overall topic has been the True Christian goal of become a True Son of God, we have been exploring the way that the Master’s final words in Matthew’s Gospel effects men’s ability to become Sons of God as the reality of His words has been lost over the last 2000 years. Jesus’ words ARE clear and while they have been translated and defined according to the doctrines of men instead of their True intent, the churches have failed to honor them by both accounts. Jesus tells His apostles and disciples, and through them us, to “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:19-20). The ideas at the beginning were the closing portion of our last essay where we discussed the ideas of teaching and nations. First the reality of the words should be understood as that the disciple should make disciples of ethnos which IS rendered as nations. Thayer’s shows us that the idea of matheteuo which IS rendered as teaching IS: to be the disciple of one; to follow his precepts and instruction9 and while there ARE lesser defining ideas attached to the Greek word, this IS the spiritually significant one offered by Jesus in His appeal for His gospel, His words, to be spread abroad. In the idea of nations we have the seed of the Christian missionary movements over the centuries as missions have been sent into other nations but the idea of ethnos here should have been better understood as the human family and in this the movement toward making disciples would have started at home. Ethnos IS a complex word from the perspective of English meaning and likely the meaning in other languages as well. The word IS rendered as gentile, nation, heathen and people in the King James Bible and ONLY one of these Truly represents the idea that in ethnos we have the entirety of the human family. The issue here IS the doctrinal ideas of the gentile as the non-Jew but we should try to see that the idea of people will work easily into most ALL uses of the word. That the idea IS sometimes used to specify other people, those others ARE yet people and the context of who IS being spoken about should be derived from that context and not the arbitrary words used. That there ARE several words that can be rendered as people should NOT affect the idea of ethnos which perhaps should be seen as people other than us as a group idea. In the end, the Master IS telling us to reach ALL people and, like His use of the idea of one’s neighbor, the reality IS everyman.
The next word then IS baptize. we ended the last essay with some thoughts on the way that those who ARE to be discipled, those that ARE to be taught to be the disciple of one; to follow his precepts and instruction9, ARE to be baptized. As we have often discussed, the reality of baptism IS NOT the rites and the rituals that ARE attached to this word idea; rites and rituals that vary greatly among Christianity’s denominations and sects. There IS too much doctrinal emphasis on the ideas of when baptism should be done and the way it should be conducted. Infant baptism IS a rather meaningless ritual but it IS NOT any less meaningful than an adult baptism that IS done merely to say one IS baptized. Similarly the idea of being “baptized with the Holy Ghost” (Acts 11:15) IS equally meaningless; this ‘rite’, which John the Baptist tells us will be DONE by the Master, IS accomplished in some doctrinal settings by the ‘laying on of hands’ by others who presume that they have ‘received’ that baptism. While the whole practice of baptism in Christianity comes from the work of the Baptist, we should try to see the symbolism involved. While John symbolically cleanses the participant with water, the real act of baptism IS performed by the participant himself who through the process eschews sin and accepts the reality of Repentance. Repentance IS the reality of changing one’s Life, his attitudes, thoughts and actions, to conform with the eternal Truths as put forth by the Master and by ALL spiritually oriented people before and after Him. Strong’s defines the Greek word baptizo saying it IS: to immerse, submerge; to make whelmed9a. Thayer’s tells us that: The word is used absolutely, to administer the rite of ablution, to baptize9 and we should understand ablution as a cleansing with water or other liquid, especially as a religious ritual* as today’s dictionary tells us. While the ideas here seem to revolve around cleansing, the reality of baptism IS far deeper and extremely personal. Because of this idea that baptism IS so personal an undertaking, infant baptisms and baptisms performed merely as a rite or ritual according to church doctrine are superfluous with the ONLY benefit being that one can say that he IS baptized. The reality of baptism has naught to DO with water nor the ‘laying on of hands’; the reality of baptism IS found in one single word from the defining ideas above: immersion. While the word baptizo IS also rendered in terms of washing, the reference in Mark’s Gospel IS to “the washing of cups, and pots, brasen vessels, and of tables” (Mark 7:4) and in Luke’s it IS to the washing of hands, these ARE isolated uses of the word which IS part of a family of words which includes bapto. For us the reality of the intent of baptizo IS NOT washing and it IS certainly NOT the doctrinal ideas that govern its use as a rite and a ritual. The lexicon offers us a simple look at the idea of baptizo versus bapto in a commentary that we have used several times; the lexicon tells us that baptizo IS:
Not to be confused with 911, bapto. The clearest example that shows the meaning of baptizo is a text from the Greek poet and physician Nicander, who lived about 200 B.C. It is a recipe for making pickles and is helpful because it uses both words. Nicander says that in order to make a pickle, the vegetable should first be ‘dipped'(bapto) into boiling water and then ‘baptised’ (baptizo) in the vinegar solution. Both verbs concern the immersing of vegetables in a solution. But the first is temporary. The second, the act of baptising the vegetable, produces a permanent change. When used in the New Testament, this word more often refers to our union and identification with Christ than to our water baptism. e.g.Mark 16:16. ‘He that believes and is baptised shall be saved’. Christ is saying that mere intellectual assent is not enough. There must be a union with him, a real change, like the vegetable to the pickle!2a.
The idea here of baptizo IS clearly immersion for the purpose of change and under this the rendering of the word in terms of washing IS at best a misuse or simply that we ARE NOT understanding the context in which the word IS used. Jesus’ use of this word idea in the Great Commission IS NOT that we should wash men; nor IS it that we should sprinkle them which IS the general idea behind bapto, an idea that IS used in parts of the church. And while bapto IS defined as: to whelm, i.e. cover wholly with a fluid9a, this form of immersion DOES NOT create that permanent change as we find in Nicander’s recipe for pickling. Using these ideas we should be able to see that most ALL baptisms ARE NOT baptizo but ARE rather bapto as the permanent change to Repentance, Transformation and Redemption IS lacking. Clearly the Master’s word regarding “baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost” IS well beyond dipping or temporary immersion. Clearly His intent IS that permanent change that had previously overcome the apostles and this without real evidence that they had been baptized. The point here IS that the action of baptism IS symbolic and NOT necessary for any who can come to Repentance without the aid of that symbol. Using the redefined terms that we have been discussing thus far, we can see the Master’s words as “Go ye therefore, and teach make disciples of all nations people, baptizing immersing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:19-20). The next word idea that we should address IS the phrase “in the name of” which IS much more that saying the words. First the idea of in IS from the Greek word eis which IS better understood as into or unto. For help in understanding the relevance of into when used in such a spiritual Way we must turn to Vincent as the bible definitions DO NOT elaborate on the force of the idea. We often discuss the word as part of Jesus’ words that ARE rendered as “He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also” (John 14:12) or the apostle’s use of the idea in saying “to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name” (John 1:12). Vincent tells us that the use of pisteuo eis, believe into, should be understood in such a way as: to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ is not merely to believe the facts of His historic life or of His saving energy as facts, but to accept Him as Savior, Teacher, Sympathizer, Judge; to rest the soul upon Him for present and future salvation, and to accept and adopt His precepts and example as binding upon the life4. The idea of in from Jesus’ words on the Great Commission IS the same into and here we are to be baptized, immersed, “into the name“. There IS a great similarity to the ideas of believing “on into his name” and being baptized “in into the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost“.
Our next word then IS name and here we should understand that this idea IS NOT what IS reflected by the church according to such sayings as “If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it” (John 14:14). This IS much greater than the doctrinal interpretation that results in men’s adding some words to the end of a prayer as ‘in Jesus name‘. Again we go to Vincent to understand the deeper spiritual reality but we begin with the lexicon which tells us that: the name is used for everything which the name covers, everything the thought or feeling of which is aroused in the mind by mentioning, hearing, remembering, the name2a. Briefly Vincent tells us that onoma, which IS rendered as name, should be understood as: Expressing the sum of the qualities which mark the nature or character of a person. To believe in the name of Jesus Christ the Son of God, is to accept as true the revelation contained in that title4. If we can see that this idea of name must reflect ALL that IS the person under the name, we can then perhaps understand the way that the idea IS used in the New Testament. To “ask any thing in my name“, to “call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord” (1 Corinthians 1:2), and to “ask of the Father in my name” (John 15:16) ARE ALL synonymous and represent calling or asking the one whose name IS used and NOT some arbitrary idea attached to the end of a prayer. Regarding Jesus’ words from the Great Commission Vincent tells us that Baptizing into the name has a twofold meaning4. First IS denoting object or purpose, as eijv metanoian, unto repentance and second IS denoting union or communion with, as Romans 6:3, “baptized into Christ Jesus; into his death4. Mr. Vincent continues saying that: Baptizing into the name of the Holy Trinity implies a spiritual and mystical union with him. Eijv, into, is the preposition commonly used with baptize4. We should be able to see here that the whole idea of DOING anything “in my name” or into the name of the Holy Trinity IS much more than merely attaching His name or the name of the Trinity to the end of a supplication or doctrinal activity. The reality IS that we ARE immersing ourselves into the Trinity, into the three Aspects of the Godhead, and in so DOING we ARE making a statement of Repentance through which we can actually live in those Aspects fulfilling, or striving to DO so, ALL of precepts and examples provided for us. In the end we should understand here that the Trinity IS but an easy way to look at the Aspects of the Godhead as they make themselves KNOWN to the disciple; we should remember however that each of the Trinity names represents also the fullness of the Godhead. These Aspects provide us with a view by which to see God.
It IS these same Aspects that ARE at play in the human family and while, as men, we look from the lowest level, awareness of the reality of our existence IS our goal. It IS in Repentance that we can begin to see and to understand the realities of Life; that we ARE Spirit as “God is a Spirit” (John 4:24); that we ARE the unrealized Christ as Jesus IS the realized Christ, the Son which IS our inner consciousness, our Souls. And, that we ARE the Holy Spirit, the activity of Soul in this world of form. From the perspective of the Godhead the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit ARE Universal while from the perspective of man these Aspects ARE our individual link to our own individual Truth and to the Greater Universal God. As a man Jesus has this realization, full realization if you will; He KNOWS the Father intimately, He IS the Transformed and Redeemed Son able to bring the Power of Spirit into this world of men, and He IS the Holy Spirit, the activity of Spirit in this world as the Power of Spirit radiates from His mortal being. This IS of course a simplistic way of looking at the Trinity but we should try to see that we, as men, CAN NOT but glimpse the Truths that will come to us as we break away from the vanity, from the “bondage of corruption” (Romans 8:20, 21) into which we ARE born. It IS in our escape which IS prompted by our Repentance and Transformation that we can realize the fullness of Truth and come to understand the dynamics of the Trinity; and this because “as he is, so are we in this world” (1 John 4:17). We should try to understand that while we ARE yet trapped in the vanity that IS Life in this world, our spiritual Inner Man, our Souls, DO ever try to prompt the mind to see the Truth and the Love that IS the Godhead in which we exist. This prompting however DOES NOT rise above the din of daily Life save for ‘moments’ of realization that generally fade back into obscurity. It IS in our Repentance that we can begin to better understand our own reality and through this the reality of God, the Christ and what we call the Holy Spirit. It IS in this realized understanding that we can see and change our vanity into “the glorious liberty of the children of God”, a change that brings us a measure of those “exceeding great and precious promises” that ARE put before us in the prompting of our own Souls. Paul explains this saying “the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope, Because expectation that the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God” (Romans 8:20-21) which shows us our plight and our own Redemption. We “shall be delivered” or, better, we “shall be made free” which IS the clearer definition of the Greek word eleutheroo that IS rendered by most in terms of this freedom. However, such rendering in terms of being freed as well as the idea of being delivered presume some action from outside our lives rather than show us that we must free ourselves.
The Apostle Peter clarifies this for us saying in full that “According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust” (2 Peter 1:3-4). Here the idea of being made free IS shown to us as our escape. While Paul seems to be showing us the ultimate end for ALL of the creation, that eventually ALL will find such freedom, he IS at the same time showing us that this IS the expectation of the Creator and that it IS us, as men, that must see our individual destinies through the words before and after this statement. Perhaps the greater clarity comes in Paul’s saying that “For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body” (Romans 8:22-23). Here he shows us our individual effort to use “the firstfruits of the Spirit” to gain our freedom from “the corruption that is in the world through lust“. We must try to understand that it IS human desire, the full gamut of men’s desires, that comprise this idea of lust and NOT ONLY those ideas attached to lust by common usage; especially the doctrinal usage that IS most often attached to ideas of a sexual nature. Jesus shows us the usage of this idea of being made free in the first part of our trifecta where we read that “the truth shall make you free” and our realization here should be that we can ONLY have this Truth by keeping His words or, as He tells us, “If ye continue in my word“. In these ideas we should be able to see that it IS in keeping His words that we can free ourselves and that it IS our keeping His words that provides our escape from “the corruption that is in the world through lust” and that frees us from our own “bondage of corruption“.
We should also try to see how that it IS in keeping His words that we ARE qualified to act in regard to the Great Commission; it IS disciples or, at a minimum, True aspirants to discipleship ONLY that can “make disciples of all nations people, baptizing immersing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost“. Can we see the inadequacy of the doctrinal ideas that flow through well meaning missionaries whose goal IS to bring people to their denomination or sect and to add to their Truly arbitrary count of those that ARE ‘saved‘ by their efforts. This inadequacy IS amplified by the Master’s closing statement of this admonition to disciples as well as by the force of what should be understood by the idea of “in the name of ” as it IS ONLY in keeping His words that we can be “immersing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost” which IS to say that it IS ONLY disciples, True disciples or committed aspirants, that can “make disciples“. It IS because baptizing into the name of the Holy Trinity implies a spiritual and mystical union with him that this IS True and to bring this back to Peter’s words, it IS those that have “escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust” that DO become “partakers of the divine nature“. It IS ONLY such people that DO KNOW their own spiritual and mystical union with him that can teach others, disciple them to be clear, the Way. We should try to see the Master’s words of the Great Commission according to our outline here which we state as “Go ye therefore, and teach make disciples of all nations people, baptizing immersing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost sum of the qualities which mark the nature or character of the Trinity: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:19-20).
Finally we come to the most important part of the Master’s words, the most important part of this admonition to disciples, and the most ignored part according to the doctrinal view of His Great Commission: “Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you“. Jesus’ exhortation to disciples and to those that will follow them IS clearly expressed and easily understood yet the doctrines of men have, from the beginning, chosen to substitute their various doctrinal assertions in place of His words. In the Master’s words we find the idea of teaching men, discipling them if you will, to keep His words which IS clearly phrased as “Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you“. But this IS NOT what most churches teach; while some teach ONLY their denominational view which includes the words of Jesus as sayings without force, others tell their followers that there IS NO need to keep His words. Still others have embarked on a doctrinal philosophy that actually puts the full gamut of men’s desires, desires that comprise the ideas of lust and of covetousness, as men’s rewards for following their doctrine’s precepts which include their manipulation of Jesus’ words saying “Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom” (Luke 6:38). While such ideas of reward ARE found across most ALL denominations and sects, this has become the prevalent idea in many churches that embrace the so called prosperity gospel. That such denominations seem to be the fastest growing, especially against the diminishing popularity of Christianity in general, IS a testament to the way that men lean on their desires, their lusts and their covetousness. And while the Master’s words eschew men’s following their desires, such ideas ARE ignored or misinterpreted; from the idea that men should “Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth” but should “lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven” to His words saying “Take no thought for your life“, Jesus’ words have little or NO effect on the teachings of the churches. And it IS NOT ONLY in terms of desires that the churches ARE silent save for their own sexual orientation regarding the idea of lust, but they seem to ignore following His words entirely as they have substituted “another gospel” (Galatians 1:6) in place of His words. While Jesus tells us to keep His words, the churches that bear His name as Christian churches follow their own path which they authoritatively tell us IS the right path. The Master contradicts this strongly in our trifecta which we repeat saying:
- “If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:31-32).
- “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 7:21).
- “He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him. Judas saith unto him, not Iscariot, Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world? Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him. He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father’s which sent me” (John 14:21-24).
While Jesus tells us that the True Way to salvation IS found in keeping His words, the attitude of the churches has been to seek what appears to be the easier way. Most promise ‘salvation‘ in that narrow idea of going to heaven after one dies but this as well as the opposing idea to ‘salvation‘, hell, ARE NOT Truly founded in scripture. Such ideas are cobbled together from out of context and misapplied sayings from Jesus and His apostles writings as well as the Old Testament. In the words of our trifecta we have the Truth of salvation and we should note that these three sayings ARE but our chosen examples out of many that show us these same ideas. In the first we have the freedom that comes with the Truth that becomes our realization as we follow His instruction that we “ye continue in my word“. This freedom IS here and now; it IS NOT in some future state of being after death, a state that NONE can testify to save for the various and rather meaningless dreamlike experiences of men in ‘visions’ or in some near-death experience. This freedom IS the same that we read of in the apostles’ writings cited above; Paul tells us that “the creature itself also shall be delivered made free from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God” as we properly define eleutheroo. It IS this same idea of freedom by which we can become “partakers of the divine nature” as Peter shows us and we should understand that included in the idea of keeping the Master’s words IS the need to escape “the corruption that is in the world through lust“.
The second part of our trifecta IS also clearly and plainly stated and while it cites the “the will of my Father which is in heaven” as the requirement for attaining heaven, this citation IS synonymous with keeping the words of the Master who tells us that “the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father’s which sent me“. The promise here IS NOT that we can enter heaven after the death of the body here in this world; the promise IS that we can enter here and now as part of our realization of “the truth” that “shall make you free“. Here we should remember Jesus misunderstood and much disputed and contradicted idea that “the kingdom of God is within you” (Luke 17:21). While these words ARE wrongly interpreted to say that “the Kingdom of God is among you” or that “the kingdom of God is in the midst of you” in most translations, even these ideas testify that the Kingdom IS here and now. We should of course try to see the Master’s words as they ARE presented, that the Kingdom IS within and the logic here IS that the Kingdom IS the ‘home’ of the Christ and the Father both of which make a realized Presence through the third part of our trifecta. This third part IS also clearly stated so that men can and should understand the dynamics of the relationship for the man who will Repent and begin his Transformation through the idea of keeping His words. Jesus frames His words in two directions; first it IS “He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them” that Truly Loves the Lord and here the implication IS that if one DOES NOT keep His words, that his sense of Love for the Lord IS NOT spiritually True but rather an emotional response of the flesh. The second direction of Jesus’ words here IS in regard to His Presence. This IS a Presence that IS claimed doctrinally for ALL who will confess and affirm the Master according to doctrine but this IS NOT Jesus’ perspective; nor can one have His Presence through rites and rituals such as the sacraments of other denominations or sects. Jesus tells us clearly that “If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him” thereby nullifying the doctrinal ideas of men.
This IS NOT however the perspective of the church which has chosen to nullify the Master’s words through their doctrinal ideas taken from out of context and misapplied sayings from Paul and, to a lesser extent, some of the other apostles. Yet it IS such doctrinal ideas that have propelled the many missionaries that have embarked on their doctrinal missions to teach, make disciples of as the Master’s words should be understood, and to proselytize those that are ofttimes considered as heathens but which have likely followed the doctrines of other religions which the Christian sees as inferior to their own doctrinal teachings. And this IS the important part of the missionary movements that claim to be focused on the Great Commission: that most ALL teach their own doctrinal ideas instead of the Truth of the Master’s words. This then nullifies the final ideas from Jesus’ words that ARE the Truth of the Great Commission; this renders moot the Master’s words saying that the missionary should be “Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you“. In place of DOING as the Master instructs which should be understood as disciples teaching others to be disciples, the churches have chosen to teach their own individual and various doctrinal approaches to the Lord and, to be sure, few if any meet the Masters injunction that they should be “Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you“. From the Sermon on the Mount to Jesus’ final words and actions before His Ascension, the churches have nullified the Truth through their doctrines and here we should see again Jesus’ words that repeat the words of Isaiah as He tells the Jews, and through His teaching us, that “This people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men” (Mark 7:6-7).
It IS this saying from Jesus that fuels our drive to try to change the dynamic of Christian thinking today. That the churches ARE “teaching for doctrines the commandments of men” should NOT be a disputed claim; this reality IS apparent to any who can see and hear. Unfortunately most of the church neither sees nor hears the Truth of the Master’s words; most ALL have accepted the “commandments of men” that have been the various Christian teachings over the centuries as their doctrine without dispute. And this IS the problem: the “commandments of men” ARE exactly that and we should try to understand that most of the commandments and doctrines that the churches teach ARE NOT in accord with the actual teachings of the Master and ARE the same types of commandments and doctrines that Jesus’ spoke disparagingly about 2000 years ago. That we ARE often critical of the churches IS the result of what we see and hear regarding ‘salvation‘ and the illogical ideas of some that in the mere acceptance and confession of the person of Jesus as one’s Lord and Savior results in that ‘salvation‘. NOT ALL of Christianity sees religion this way however as some rely on ever older church tenets and teachings regarding sacraments and the behavior of participants toward doctrinal ideas that ARE also quite illogical. And while the churches may decry the idea of logic in religion, they should understand that in todays modern and thinking world men DO require a sense of logic over the often phantasmagoric ideas painted by the church.
We close today with this thought: Jesus’ admonition to His apostles that IS called the Great Commission has been misappropriated to gain proselytes from the beginning. This has resulted in men “teaching for doctrines the commandments of men” rather than the reality of Jesus words saying that men should be “Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you“. There IS little or NO affinity between these two forms of teaching and despite the Master’s clarity here the church has from the beginning interpreted Jesus’ words into the “commandments of men” which vary by denomination and sect and serve ONLY to further obscure men’s vision of the Truth. That the churches have duplicated the behavior and thinking of the Jews against whom Jesus continually railed 2000 years ago goes unnoticed by the minions that rely ONLY upon the authority of their pastors, their priests and the leaders of the various forms of Christianity over the centuries.
We will continue with our thoughts in the next post.
- 2a New Testament Greek lexicon on biblestudytools.com
- 4 Word Studies in the New Testament; Marvin R Vincent D.D. 2nd edition
- 9 Thayer’s Greek Lexicon on blueletterbible.org
- 9a The New Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible on blueletterbible.org
- * Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020
Those who walk on the well-trodden path always throw stones at those who are showing a new road.
Voltaire, Writer and Philosopher
