Monthly Archives: June 2022

June 10, 2022 · 16:02

IN THE WORDS OF JESUS–Part 1797

ON LOVE; PART MCDXXXVI

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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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The main idea to be taken from the previous posts regarding the New Testament use of the Greek word kardia which IS rendered as heart IS that the interpretation of this word by the lexicon IS at best flawed. The heart IS NOT a spiritual organ but a carnal one that reflects the personality of everyman. As such the heart IS as changeable as the personality which IS in constant flux from the perspective of good and evil or, better, spiritual and carnal. The carnal pursuits of men ARE in regard to the self, what he may desire to be, to have and to be seen as and regardless that such pursuits ARE ‘religious’ or deemed spiritual, they ARE yet carnal in the absence of a man’s expression of Truth and agape Love. Spiritual pursuits ARE quite different and DO NOT include a man’s desire for his own salvation; nor DOES spiritual include the teachings of the doctrinal churches that ARE NOT aligned with the teaching of the Master. Jesus tells us this saying “Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:19). Here we must understand that the idea of commandments IS the guide and NOT the wrangling of men that have become doctrine; it IS this that the Jews DID through their mitzvah which Jesus railed against. And it IS this same view that was adopted by the Christian churches as they formulated doctrines without regard for the True commandments and here we must include those offered us and expanded for us by Jesus. In the end we must understand that the failure IS always in the carnal ideas of men who DO NOT see the reality of agape as the most central idea of commandments as they misinterpret and misapply scripture to suit their carnal sense rather than the spiritual promptings of their own Souls. On the idea of the commandments the Master IS quite clear as He tells the Jews of the Great Commandments saying that “On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets” (Matthew 22:40) and that “There is none other commandment greater than these” (Mark 12:31). Our point here IS one that we have made in many posts before and this IS that there IS a hierarchy of commandments starting with these Great Commandments and winding down to the actual behaviors of men. The Great Commandments ARE in regard to Love for the Lord and Love for our fellowman and, to be sure, both of these ARE rather completely ignored in most ALL of Christianity; and we should note here that the former IS accomplished in the latter. Jesus tells us that to Love the Lord, the Christ and the Father, requires our expression of agape to ALL as the prima facie idea behind ALL the commandments as Jesus tells us in our trifecta saying that “He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me” and “If a man love me, he will keep my words” John 14:21, 23).

To keep His words requires that we Love our fellowman as shown us in the Great Commandments of which Mark tells us the Master says “There is none other commandment greater than these“. While these words and those reported by Matthew should have been the churches’ guide to the hierarchy of commandments they have never been so despite such confirming ideas as “If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen? And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also” (1 John 4:20-21). It IS in such New Testament ideas that we find the value of our expression of agape and while this idea has been forsaken in favor of those commandments that address men’s behavior, these ARE nonetheless of greater importance in the practice of any form of religious pursuit. We should remember here that Paul helps us to understand these ideas as he tells us that to Love our fellowman IS the equivalent to, and for us the cause of, keeping ALL of the commandments. The apostle tells us “For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself” (Romans 13:9) and “For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself” (Galatians 5:14). While ALL these word ideas regarding Love ARE clearly stated, the church has NOT Truly understood the importance of them and most ALL of this shortcoming lays squarely at the feet of those who have promulgated doctrines over the centuries.

At the end of the last essay we posted the Master’ parabolic ideas on True salvation from His Parable of the Wise and Foolish builders. This parable DOES NOT speak of Truth nor Love but at the same time should show us the cause for these in the Life of those who will keep His words which IS the crux of this parable. Repeating Jesus’ words we read:

“Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it“.

(Matthew 7:24-27)

What IS the point of these words and why ARE these so totally ignored in Christian doctrines ARE the questions to be answered here as we try to grasp both the larger picture of Truth and the position of the churches’ doctrinal approach to the Lord. We start with a brief analysis of the Master’s words. He begins with the idea of hearing, addressing “whosoever heareth these sayings of mine“, and while this may show the idea that He IS speaking ONLY to those hearing Him directly, this IS a very wrong idea. In those days His voice was universally addressed to those that hear His words from any source as many of the people He taught afterwards DID NOT hear His Sermon yet DID hear His application of the words of the Sermon. When we add to this such ideas as Jesus’ words in prayer saying “Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word” (John 14:20) we should be able to glimpse the timelessness of His words as they apply to ALL those who hear. Much of the church however maintains a doctrinal view that Jesus’ words in the gospels ARE addressed ONLY to the Jews as they see their ‘new’ doctrine of ‘salvation‘ in Paul’s words rather than the Masters. Here many arbitrarily count Paul’s words as the source of their doctrines of ‘salvation‘ while discounting the Master’s words as unimportant against their dogma. We finish our view of His words which two simple words, Wise and foolish, which ARE the epitome of the parable; the differences here ARE easily distinguished without the storyline of building a house. ARE we Wise or foolish IS the question that must be asked as we look at the words that He references as well as ALL those that follow and the commandments that preceded Him which He DID NOT deride. We should note here that the Master DOES deride certain of the commandments of Moses and one of those that IS listed among the Ten Commandments, keeping the sabbath. For others of the Ten Jesus offers us enhancements intended to expand our understanding from the more simple ideas that Moses presented to His also simple ideas regarding adultery and killing as He also shows the Jews that the focus upon such things as sacrifice offers little save for personal comfort. It IS in keeping his enhanced ideas as part of keeping His words that offers men the True salvation and the comfort here IS that Peace of which the Master tells us “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you” (John 14:27). But men have ever sought their comfort in those things that DO NOT require them to become less of what they believe they should in their predominantly carnal views. Men have sought their comfort in such ideas as sacrifices which ‘erase’ ones sins, an idea that IS replaced in the Christian world with their emphasis on faith and believing. Jesus showed the Jews that their doctrinal religious practices were of NO value, that their mitzvah IS but carnal responses to spiritual issues and it IS with this in mind that we should see Jesus forward looking statements such as those intended in the Parable of the Wise and Foolish Builders.

The comfort that men seek through most every religion IS essentially carnal as it IS ONLY in our expressions of Truth and Love that we ARE Truly free and this according to Jesus words saying that “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). It IS the Wise man that IS made free from the fetters of focusing upon their carnal existence and free from the seemingly constant struggle to assure oneself of a Life eternal. Paul tries to show us this saying that “For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens” (2 Corinthians 5:1). This house, this “building of God“, IS our eternal Souls, our spiritual bodies that ARE part and parcel of the Lord. And while there should be comfort in these words there IS NOT because the ideas ARE NOT understood by men who see their lives as this Life in this world with the continuation of it in some form after death. It IS this that the Buddha taught us as well, that men’s focus upon the carnal, upon their worldly desires, IS the cause of our misery and we should try to see that these ideas ARE NOT much different than those of the Master. While the Buddhist religion IS derided in the West, especially in the Christian world, the reality here IS but a lack of understanding of both the Buddhist and the Christian faiths. We look only upon the doctrinal ideas presented by men, ideas which the Master tells us ARE linked to the fate of everyman who DOES NOT seek after the Truth. Jesus tells us of the vanity involved saying “Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men” (Mark 7:7, 8). ALL doctrinal religions suffer from this same vanity and its accompanying vain worship and it IS this doctrinal leaning that IS the cause of men’s inability to understand the Truth. Jesus teaches us about treasure and the choice between “good treasure” which IS spiritual, and “evil treasure” which IS carnal. It IS men’s failure to understand such ideas that has led to the religious malaise that encumbers the world of men and it IS such failures that cause the church to believe that the Buddhist religion has NO God. Buddha presented us with the Four Nobel Truths which will liberate men from suffering and we should note that in these IS found the same sense of forsaking that we find in the Master’s words on Truth and agape and the Way to these through True discipleship. Above we read that to be Jesus’ disciple we must keep His Words as a continuous endeavor and in Luke’s Gospel the idea becomes ever more clear as He tells us “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. And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple….So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:26-27, 33).

In discipleship we have the fullness of being His saint and of being Truly holy as this idea should be understood. True discipleship IS about choosing to forsake the carnal and to embrace the spiritual realities of Life. This we should easily see in Jesus words saying “Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also” along with His saying that “No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon” (Matthew 6:19-21, 24). The Buddha, teaching in a different time and to a different culture, gives us the Four Nobel Truths and the Eightfold Path which we will discuss briefly from a markedly Christian perspective. To begin we will list the traditional verbiage and then the more understandable English version from ‘Lion’s Head, Buddhist Wisdom for Our Time’.

  1. The First Nobel Truth:
    1. dukkha (suffering, incapable of satisfying, painful) is an innate characteristic of existence in the realm of samsara**.
    2. Life always involves suffering, in obvious and subtle forms. Even when things seem good, we always feel an undercurrent of anxiety and uncertainty inside.
  2. The Second Nobel Truth:
    1. samudaya (origin, arising, combination; ’cause’): together with dukkha arises taṇhā (“craving, desire or attachment, lit. “thirst”). While tanha is traditionally interpreted in western languages as the ’cause’ of dukkha, tanha can also be seen as the factor tying us to dukkha, or as a response to dukkha, trying to escape it**.
    2. The cause of suffering is craving and fundamental ignorance. We suffer because of our mistaken belief that we are a separate, independent, solid “I.” The painful and futile struggle to maintain this delusion of ego is known as samsara, or cyclic existence.
  3. The Third Nobel Truth:
    1. nirodha (cessation, ending, confinement): dukkha can be ended or contained by the renouncement or letting go of this taṇhā; the confinement of tanha releases the excessive bind of dukkha**.
    2. The good news is that our obscurations are temporary. They are like passing clouds that obscure the sun of our enlightened nature, which is always present. Therefore, suffering can end because our obscurations can be purified and awakened mind is always available to us.
  4. The Fourth Nobel Truth:
    1. magga (path, Noble Eightfold Path) is the path leading to the confinement of tanha and dukkha**.
    2. By living ethically, practicing meditation, and developing wisdom, we can take exactly the same journey to enlightenment and freedom from suffering that the buddhas do. We too can wake up.

The point here, as IS the point of the Master’s words above, IS that we have a choice between our Life of vanity which encompasses the fullness of tanha (“thirst, desire, longing, greed”, either physical or mental; It is typically translated as craving, and is of three types: kāma-taṇhā (craving for sensual pleasures), bhava-taṇhā (craving for existence), and vibhava-taṇhā (craving for non-existence))**. From our Christian perspective, lust would be the active idea. Our inherent vanity also encompasses the fullness of dukkha (“suffering”, “unhappiness”, “pain”, “unsatisfactoriness” or “stress”. It refers to the habitual experience of mundane life as fundamentally unsatisfactory and painful)**; from our Christian perspective we should see this in Vincent’s defining ideas for vanity. Mr. Vincent tells us that vanity IS a perishable and decaying condition, separate from God, and pursuing false ends4 and here, from a spiritual perspective, we should see that such a condition IS suffering. We should also try to understand here that most people, despite their individual and corporate suffering based in the ways of this world, DO NOT see themselves as suffering; this IS part of the overall complexity of our vanity. The Buddha tells us that to live Life fully from the spiritual perspective that IS hidden by our individual and corporate vanity we must choose to ‘renounce‘ our attachment to such things; He follows this by outlining the Eightfold Path which IS NO different than the Path the Master tells us of saying “Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it” (Matthew 7:13-14). We should understand as well that the entire idea of reaching our spiritual climax as men in this world IS shown to us in Jesus’ defining ideas of what a disciple must be and here the KEY idea that relates to our ‘renunciation‘, our letting go of this taṇhā if you will, IS the Master’s words saying “So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple“.

While the very idea of comparing the teachings of the Christ with the teachings of the Buddha IS considered as heretical and as ‘blasphemy’ according to much of the Christian world, the comparisons DO remain True. The Eightfold Path IS the equivalent message offered by Jesus’ revealing to us the need to keep His words which Paul shows us IS “your reasonable service” (Romans 12:1). The Master shows us His Truth throughout the New Testament in words that ARE essentially ignored by the Church proper and it IS this Truth that we try to capture in our trifecta which we repeat here; Jesus tells us:

  • “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).

The objective of both the Buddha’s words and those of Jesus the Christ IS the same in effect while being different in approach. The Buddhist approach DOES NOT require the idea of worship as the Christian understands it and while the idea that the Buddhist has NO God IS a prominent one in the Christian world, it IS NOT based in Truth; a Truth that IS revealed as the mysteries offered to those who Truly seek. These mysteries which Paul shows us in such sayings as that it IS to the True seeker that “Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints” IS revealed. We should remember here that such mysteries ARE the revelations of “his saints” which idea encompasses the reality of keeping His words; a reality that can be otherwise expressed in the Buddha’s Eightfold Path. In the end the goal of ALL True world religions IS the same: that men should look away from the mundane and the carnal and strive to approach the spiritual realities which ARE outlined for us in our trifecta above. Jesus tells us that we can have the Truth which IS the reality of our revelation of the mysteries “which hath been hid from ages and from generations“; He tells us that we can achieve the Kingdom of heaven which we should understand as the state of those who have the Truth while yet in this world; this according to His words saying that “the kingdom of God is within you” (Luke 17:21). Finally our trifecta gives us Jesus’ words regarding the Presence of God in our Lives, a Presence that should be understood as the revelations of the Christ Within to the heretofore carnal mind which Paul shows us saying “be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God“. ALL of this, the Truth, the Kingdom and the Presence of God ARE the ‘reward‘ for our keeping His words and while many may lay claim to these spiritual realities, few have them….few Truly keep His words. We should try to see here that to keep His Words IS a struggle against the vanity into which we ARE born and nurtured and indoctrinated; the Apostle John shows us this idea of struggle saying, “For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous” (1 John 5:3). We should note the difference between the defining ideas for grievous in common language and the definitions offered for the Greek word barys which IS rendered as grievous. Strong’s tells us that barys IS burdensome, grave while Thayer’s tells us that barys IS heavy in weight; severe, stern, imposing, impressive, weighty, i. e. of great moment and, in regard to John’s words it IS defined as burdensome. Meanwhile the common idea of grievous IS much more burdensome than the defining idea for the word; today’s dictionary tells us that grievous means primarily causing grief or great sorrow, as an adjective, and even when the idea of burdensome IS used it IS combined with the more severe idea of oppressive*. From our perspective the idea of burdensome should suffice to define barys as IS reflected in other translations that render it as “not a burden“, “not to hard“, burdensome and “not heavy“. These renderings show us the Truer nature of John’s words but this idea that keeping His words IS “not a burden“, “not to hard“, burdensome and “not heavy” IS missed by many who proclaim that it IS NOT possible to DO so.

To be sure, ALL of the ‘rewards‘ cited by the Master in our trifecta ARE based solely on keeping His words as IS the reality of being Wise as we read in the parable. In much of the church however the very idea of keeping His words IS NOT the teaching that IS offered as the idea of the impossibility of DOING so has taken over and men ARE told that faith and believing ARE the way despite the nebulous way that these ideas ARE applied in the lives of men. Over the simplicity of keeping His words the Buddha gave a clearer message that IS the Eightfold Path which IS the equivalent to keeping His words as offered in a different time and to a different culture. This Eightfold Path IS:

  1. Right understanding (Samma ditthi)
  2. Right thought (Samma sankappa)
  3. Right speech (Samma vaca)
  4. Right action (Samma kammanta)
  5. Right livelihood (Samma ajiva)
  6. Right effort (Samma vayama)
  7. Right mindfulness (Samma sati)
  8. Right concentration (Samma samadhi)

We need to understand here however that while these eight steps ARE defined through a ‘right understanding’ of the words of the Buddha, Buddhist doctrines approach the whole in quite a different way creating a ‘system’ of engagement that as failed in much the same way as Christianity. These eight components of the Path ARE the result of our attainment of Truth and then our expressions of Truth and Love; it IS the same reality of revelation and realization that we often discuss that governs the Buddhist reality and the source of Truth IS the same Soul as part and parcel of the Godhead. The final point here IS that should a man follow the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path, his experience would place him into that finite group of men that have accomplished what Paul asks us to DO saying “present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God” (Romans 12:1-2). Such ideas ARE NOT accomplished by the doctrinal thinker of either religion however as most ALL doctrinal approaches to the Lord are steeped in the desires of the personality and ARE in direct opposition to the tenets of the Path. The Buddhist philosophy in its purest form IS NO different than the points that the Apostle Paul offers the Christian world; the objectives ARE the same as what we see in our trifecta: to allow men to see the Truth behind the carnal world that poses for the Truth through our vanity. Paul tells us in words that ARE ignored by the doctrinal thinker that:

“the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God“.

(Romans 8:4-8)

While we DO NOT have the expertise to comment much on the way of the Buddhist monks, we should try to see from the resultant religion that they ARE much the same as the myriad pastors, rabbis and priests of the Judaeo-Christian world which continue “teaching for doctrines the commandments of men” (Mark 7:7). Returning to our starting point, we should try to better understand the Master’s words that tell us, albeit from a Jewish perspective, that “On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets” as He explains for us what can ultimately be seen as the Christian Way to enlightenment through the Great Commandments. And this has been our point: that to follow the Buddhist Path through the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path IS the same in effect as living according to the Great Commandments. Both focus a man on the things of God rather than the things of the self and this IS ever the True Way to spiritual enlightenment. While the Great Commandments ARE framed as such, it IS ever within the hearts of men to align themselves with the idea that there IS but One God and that one should focus upon Him with vigorous intent and here we again see the idea of choice. Men must choose to follow the Buddha because this IS their way to step out of the vanity that IS Life in this world; this stepping out of the vanity IS the Buddhist Way of Enlightenment. Similarly men must choose to follow the Christ’s words that ARE the Great Commandments and also step out of the vanity that IS Life in form, a vanity that IS Life separate from God, and pursuing false ends4. The Master tells us that in this choosing one IS choosing to be either the “wise man” or the “foolish man” and here we have a choice that much depends upon one’s perspectives on Life in this world. To ‘choose wisely’ one must have a basic idea of the purpose of that change and understand that the reasoned goal of ‘choosing wisely’ IS much the same as the reasoned goal of the Buddha’s Four Noble Truths. To be sure, ALL men who choose to continue in their carnal pursuits, generally with the belief that such pursuits ARE the True Way, ARE effectively ‘choosing poorly’ and this IS of course the message of the Master’s Parable of the Wise and Foolish Builders. In the end we must come to realize that the Great Commandments ARE first “not grievous” but, at the same time, following these creates a sea change in one’s Life as one’s expression becomes that of Truth and Love. Second we must come to see that this idea IS the basis for the whole of the New Testament and while the doctrinal approaches of the churches may claim certain words from Paul ARE their ‘salvation‘, the reality IS that the Great Commandments ARE.

The first Great Commandment states that ALL of a man’s attention must be focused upon the Lord and while Mark’s version of Jesus’ words IS the most expansive, ALL DO offer us the same reality. Mark tells us that “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” and here we should try to see how that in the idea of heart IS as we have been discussing, that kardia includes the entirety of the personality and therefore includes “all thy mind“, and “all thy strength“. Looking at the idea of commandments as ‘rules’ we should be able to see that a failure at this most important commandment IS sin but this IS NOT the view of the doctrinal church which picks and chooses what sin IS. Looking at this from our perspective we should try to see how that our failure here in this commandment IS a much a failure as any other view of keeping His words, a failure through which men remain in their vanity as they embrace their carnal natures. In this view the idea of sin IS the same as the idea of evil, it IS men’s carnal view of Life and their expression thereof. Similarly the second of the Great Commandments requires that “Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself” and while the church may bander about different ideas regarding the meaning of these words, they ARE adequately explained for us by Jesus and His apostles. The Apostle John tells us that “If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen? And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also” (1 John 4:20-21). Of course we must understand the idea of the Greek word miseo which IS rendered as hate; through its usage in the New Testament we should have the idea here that the intent IS more the absence of Love as this idea IS biblically applied to spiritual matters. In our attempts to understand such sayings as this and “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” we CAN NOT see this idea of miseo according to the common understanding of hate which IS always extremely negative and defined as intense dislike*. Webster’s 1828 dictionary includes the defining idea of hate that says that In Scripture, it signifies to love less1 but this idea IS little understood today. The KEY to John’s words IS ever in the idea that “he who loveth God love his brother also” which should put serious questions into the minds of ALL who proclaim their Love for the Lord in the absence of keeping this second of the Great Commandments.

We will continue with our thoughts in the next post.

  • 1 Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, 1828 and 1913 from https://1828.mshaffer.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
  • ** https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Four_Noble_Truths&oldid=1084720666

Those who walk on the well-trodden path always throw stones at those who are showing a new road.

Voltaire, Writer and Philosopher

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