IN THE WORDS OF JESUS–Part 1537

ON LOVE; PART MCLXXVI

ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ

GoodWill IS Love in Action

ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ

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).

ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ

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

ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ

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).

In the last essay we discussed again the doctrinal insistence in bringing to the people their literal view of the bible as regards the creation of the world and its people. The doctrinal view takes those few words at the beginning of the Book of Genesis and makes these words to be the True beginning of humanity, the Earth and the Universe; ALL under the idea that “God said” (Genesis 1:3). We discussed how that these words and the idea that “God said” were intended for the consumption of men of 3500 years ago when Moses put into writing a more cogent view of that which was before told as stories.

And this IS the problem with religion: their staunch desire to make the words of their scriptures be True. As science progresses beyond religion, those who have taken religious authority rebel against that science and this regardless of the likelihood that their theories and postulates ARE True. The religious problem IS tied to the vanity of Life, the illusion and the glamour if you will, and here the idea of glamour IS the most restrictive as so many have convinced themselves that their own doctrinal theories and postulates ARE the Truth.

And there IS a second problem with religion that needs repeating here and that IS that the religious, while arguing for a literal interpretation of scripture, DO NOT agree among themselves and many have taken to using the word religion in a negative way against others that DO NOT agree with their brand of it. Moreover there IS a seeming refusal by most ALL to ignore those thoughts and ideas from the Master and His apostles that ARE intended to be taken literally while they teach and preach their doctrinal views of Truth to the masses. The deeper Truths of scripture, both the Old and the New Testaments, ARE taught as proverbs and NOT as direct Truths thereby eliminating the force that they could have upon the hearts and minds of the people who ARE NOT yet ready. 

Without much evidence we can say here that many young people DO NOT see the church as their parents did and this because they ARE more intelligent and aware of the social matters that effect the world. They see NO safe harbor in religion as this IS taught by the centuries old doctrines that they ARE asked to believe and many ARE seeking a more cogent approach to God in their own lives. An internet search on ‘young people in the church today’ will bring up scores of articles with most ALL bemoaning the fact that young people ARE leaving the church or, better, that they ARE NOT interested.

In spite of what they see as an alarming state of affairs, doctrinal thinkers DO yet insist that their approach to God IS right and instead of seeking greater Truths with which to attract the young and the millions of older folk who have lost interest, they seek ONLY better ways to attract people to their tired and worn statements of faith. There IS a practical approach to God that DOES NOT involve looking past the Master, it DOES however involve the newfound ideas of Love that ARE permeating the psyche of the younger generation and many of the older who have felt this effect which began decades ago.

Love, Peace, harmony ARE the watchwords of the New Age that IS upon us and no matter how the church decries this as an evil, it IS NOT. It IS the inner sense of that Love, Peace and harmony that must be exploited for lack of a better word as in so DOING the more negative aspects of living in this day and age will diminish. There IS an unmistakable sense of brotherhood in the world today which IS being drowned out by an aggressive resurgence of the more contrary ideas from the past….doctrinal ideas. Change IS and has always been difficult, especially in religion,  and there ARE many sayings to this effect that can be quoted. But change we must.

The Apostle Paul tells us that ALL ARE “made subject to vanity” and in this vanity IS everyman’s “bondage of corruption” (Romans 8:20, 21); we should understand here that this vanity IS NOT stagnant. Men’s vanity, their illusion and their glamour, differ from age to age and regardless of how we count the years, mankind has gone through several. There IS NO relationship between the man in Adam’s day and the man today save for his physical appearance and here, while we say this, we should understand that we DO NOT KNOW what the physical appearance of Adam was. Where among the races that we count today DOES Adam fall? IS he a caucasian as most caucasians would believe? Or IS he a negro, or a capoid, or a mongoloid or perhaps a australoid?

The whole idea of race and subrace IS rather fluid and it really DOES NOT matter where Adam IS placed; similarly we DO NOT KNOW the racial identity of Abraham nor or the other patriarchs who were certainly NOT Jewish in racial terms. Our point here IS that we DO NOT KNOW the physical relationship between men in biblical Adam’s day and men of today save that he was similar to one or more of the current count of racial types. We DO KNOW however about his psyche. In Moses day, which in biblical terms IS about 2500 years after Adam, we can see mankind as Alexander Maclaren DOES….as a people ignorant of natural science, and prone to fall back into surrounding idolatry ¹².

This idea IS of course is taken from the biblical text where barbarism and superstitions reigned large in the psyches of men and one can only imagine the psyche of Adam and the men of his day. That Adam IS ignorant in worldly terms should be evident and if he IS ‘pure’ before his encounter with Eve and the serpent as doctrines say, this purity IS NOT in worldly terms but in spiritual. Our point here IS that there IS a great disparity in the mental abilities of men 6000 years ago from those 3500 years ago when Moses IS believed to have written the Pentateuch and we should remember that the history of the former IS, from a doctrinal perspective, crammed into thirty thousand or so words of the Book of Genesis.

And we should understand here that the mental abilities of men IS the dictating factor in the sophistication, for lack of a better word, of one’s entire personality as mental acuity ever suppresses emotional response. This IS and has been the trend generation after generation and age after age but, as we can see as we look across the world yet today, there ARE exceptions to this; there remain groups of people whose way eschews mental acuity in favor of their emotional response. We should note here that the exposure of these peoples to the rest of the world has moved them closer to what IS the world norm and that our view of these peoples before such exposure can be reminiscent of a Truer picture of men in that time from Adam to Moses where we ONLY read of the select few and NOT of the population at large.

ALL of this IS of course supposition which goes to the point that we ARE trying to develop here….that as times move on, generation after generation and age after age, we have altered states of vanity. The thoughts and the emotions of men today ARE far different than those in Moses day and even very different than those of one hundred and two hundred years ago. Men’s sense of vanity has changed and with this so has their bondage. In the seemingly uncomplicated times of two hundred years ago the thinking man’s motivation was much different than it IS today as was his mental acuity which we should try to understand as increasing ever more swiftly as time advances.

And here IS our greater point: as time marches on and as the thinking ability of men advances with it, doctrines and the doctrinal view of God have remained the same. And NOT this ONLY; in the admixture of the Old Testament and the New Testament teachings, men’s doctrines and their doctrinal view of God reach back into the barbarous and superstitious times of the prophets, the kings, of Moses and before. If fewer men ARE accepting the multiplicity of church views of God and their doctrines, perhaps the time IS come to show a greater measure of Truth, a Truth that IS NOT hidden but which has been covered over by the seemingly authoritative teachings of these churches.

The Master warns against this but these warnings ARE NOT seen as they should be; the church uses these warnings as tools against others without ever realizing that they too fit into what Jesus and His apostles ARE cautioning against. This IS True in Jesus’ words regarding the teaching of doctrines as He says “Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men” (Mark 7:7); this IS True in Paul’s teaching on “another gospel” (Galatians 1:6) and this IS True in John’s teaching on antichristos (1 John 2:18).

While church authorities believe that Jesus’ words here ARE directed to the Pharisee and the scribe, the reality IS that this IS addressed to ALL who teach. This was True in Isaiah’s time, whose words Jesus IS repeating, this IS True also in Jesus’ time; and this IS True so long as there ARE those who DO such teaching. We should note that the Pharisee DOES NOT exist in Isaiah’s time yet the very idea of “teaching for doctrines the commandments of men” IS still True. While Isaiah’s words ARE NOT the same–he speaks of things “taught by the precept of men” (Isaiah 29:13)– Jesus’ words ARE what He believe that they mean.

Our point here IS simply that these words apply to ALL who teach that which IS NOT the Truth based in the teachings of the Master and this includes both His view of the Old Testament words which ARE NOT followed by the Jews as well as His own words as written in the gospels. And this same idea should be taken in regard to “another gospel” which should be understood as ALL that IS NOT in accord with these same Truths that ARE covered over by “the commandments of men“. Similarly, the reality of antichristos should be understood in this context as well; while “another gospel” IS that which IS taught, antichristos IS the teacher.

Again, while these seem harsh words they ARE ONLY so when the idea of antichristos IS seen in doctrinal terms; the reality of antichristos IS but men caught up in the vanity, the illusion and the glamour, to which ALL are subjected in the course of being men in this world. In Jesus rather constant railing against the ways of the Jewish leaders, the Pharisees, the scribes and the priests, we should be able to see the perils that He warns us of in regard to adopting doctrines that ARE NOT in accord with the Truth of God’s word and this same sense should have been applied by those who took authority for the early church.

In Jesus list of woes against the Pharisee and the scribe we should note the singular idea of self in most every one and try to understand that while these men were supposed to be intermediaries between the people and the Lord, they were instead interested in their own well being, the promotion of their office and in the protection of their religious beliefs. This IS NOT unlike the situation in the Christian world; from the very beginning these same ideas plagued the church with the early problems culminating in the Reformation Wars of the of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries in which many millions died. While the fighting ended around 1650, the problems DID NOT; they were merely morphed into similar problems within each surviving Christian denomination and sect.

We should try to see here that while the barbarism continued throughout this period, and in the name of God according to one’s sectarian beliefs, the sense of superstition IS largely replaced by ardent glamour….much of which still exists today. Superstition IS however NOT gone in this period as it still afflicts those who ARE NOT yet upon the upward curve away from emotional response and toward mental acuity as well as those groups which ARE yet more primitive. While it should be easy to see how that the same ideas from Jesus list of woes against the Pharisees and scribes also afflicted the early church, this IS NOT the case; nor IS this reality seen in today’s church where glamour yet reigns and pits denominations and sects against each other.

It IS glamour also that keeps the doctrines of men as they were and it IS this same glamour that IS keeping many from a church that DOES NOT see that these same doctrines ARE NOT only largely contrary to Jesus’ words, but ARE also contrary to today’s mental orientation; an orientation which DOES NOT see the ideas of faith and believing in the same way as those who yet lean toward the emotional. And the literal view of Genesis, of the creation of men and worlds, IS a part of this glamour which refuses to accept any ideas that ARE contrary to the doctrinal view. We must remember here that this glamour IS in relation to doctrine and NOT in relation to the Truths that lie beneath the words.

While doctrinal thinkers continually bemoan the way that evolution, or anthropogenesis, and cosmogenesis ARE taught today based in the scientific theories, it IS these ideas that ARE suited to the mental orientation of most of today’s youth and, indeed, to most ALL thinkers. There IS a constant and continual push to show that evolution IS NOT a factor in nature and that the creation of the whole of the universe occurred in the six day span found in the Book of Genesis; these ideas DO NOT appeal to today’s youth nor to the thinking masses.

Our greater point here however IS that regardless of the Truth of anthropogenesis and cosmogenesis, regardless of whether these ARE according to the literal view of the bible or NOT, DOES NOT matter; what matters IS the Truth of Jesus’ words and the amplifying and clarifying Truths of His apostles. In the reality of one’s focus upon the Truth and the things of God ALL of these other doctrinal ideas become but a distraction. Too much of today’s doctrinal teaching however remains focused upon the distractions rather that the Truth and in this IS a large part of the reasons why the young and the millions of older folk who have lost interest remain outside of the church.

How IS this trend reversed? How can young and the millions of older folk who have lost interest be brought back into the church? In our view it IS by grasping the reality that IS the Truth of Jesus’ message….a message of Love, Peace and harmony which ARE the watchwords of this New Age. In this sense of brotherhood the Truth of Jesus’ words can be taught and realized and this despite the fact that for 2000 years the doctrinal church has been teaching that His are ‘impossible’ ideals and goals. Millions upon millions of people in the world today DO have a glimpse of the Master’s message of Love, Peace, harmony and the brotherhood of man, a glimpse that DOES NOT require one to be a ‘Christian’.

It IS these millions upon millions that ARE closer to the Truth of Jesus’ message than those who follow their doctrinal ideas of heaven and hell and salvation and which tend to ignore the Master’s words. Much of doctrine would likely dispute the idea that Jesus’ message IS simply Love and the Peace, harmony and brotherhood that agape brings. Many still today say that Jesus message IS the Kingdom of God and while this IS True, it IS NOT from the perspective of most Christian doctrine; this IS True however from the perspective that His words show us the Way to that Kingdom and NONE ARE more direct than the words of our trifecta which we repeat here again 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 the words of our trifecta DO NOT point specifically to Love, they DO point to the idea that men should keep His words and here we should try to see and understand that Love IS paramount in His words. Love IS at the center of every one of Jesus sayings that speaks about the interrelationships of men; from “Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself” to the ideas from the Sermon on the Mount, some aspect of agape IS involved. And it IS the Truth of agape rather than the common ideas of the meaning of Love that ARE important and which ARE become the watchwords of the New Age which IS upon us.

We close today with our selection from Paul’s Epistle to the Romans where this same idea of agape IS equated with keeping His words. The more important idea here today however IS the apostle’s closing statement which IS ever more pungent and applicable to the world today….”it is high time to awake out of sleep“. Here we should see that the ideas of men that DO NOT embrace agape and the doctrines of men that fail to DO SO ARE symptoms of men being asleep and this sleep IS men’s vanity, it IS men’s illusion and glamour. From these we must awake.

“Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law. 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. Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law. And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed”  (Romans 13:8-11).

We will continue with our thoughts in the next post.

Aspect of  God	Potency	Aspect of Man	In Relation to the Great Invocation	In relation to the Christ
GOD, The Father	Will or Power	Spirit or Life	Center where the Will of God IS KNOWN	Life
Son, The Christ	Love and Wisdom	Soul or Christ Within	Heart of God	Truth
Holy Spirit	Light or Activity	Life Within	Mind of God	Way

Note on the Quote of the Day

This daily blog also has a Quote of the Day which may not be in any way related to the essay. Many of these will be from the Bible and some just prayers or meditations that may have an influence on you and are in line with the subject matter of this blog. As the quote will change daily and will not store with the post, it is repeated in this section with the book reference and comment.

We change our Quote of the Day today to the words from Solomon on Wisdom along with our thoughts on them from the original postings of them in In the Words of Jesus parts 46 and 556.  These words ARE a testament to those things that we should be asking of the Lord and which are representative of the Holy Ghost. Wisdom, understanding and knowledge which will lead us  to understanding the fear (reverence and respect and awe) of the Lord and the knowledge of God so that in this world we can understand righteousness and judgement and equity and be preserved by discretion and understanding. Thus are we in a position to treat everyone as we would want to be treated ourselves.

Since we are centered on the ideas of Wisdom today we offer the following from Proverbs as our Quote of the Day. Solomon, who is KNOWN for his Wisdom, which we read in the story of his Life was His gift from God, a gift that he receives because he does not want for the things of the world. But Solomon gains as well the things of the world in plenty and as his Life story proceeds we can see clearly that it is his Life in the world that is to his detriment. The wisdom however produces for us the writings of the Book of Proverbs and it is this that he is remembered for. His Life is interesting reading and is well documented in the Books of Kings and Chronicles.

….incline thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thine heart to understanding; Yea, if thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding; If thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures; Then shalt thou understand the fear of the LORD, and find the knowledge of God. For the LORD giveth wisdom: out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding. He layeth up sound wisdom for the righteous: he is a buckler to them that walk uprightly. He keepeth the paths of judgment, and preserveth the way of his saints. Then shalt thou understand righteousness, and judgment, and equity; yea, every good path. When wisdom entereth into thine heart, and knowledge is pleasant unto thy soul; Discretion shall preserve thee, understanding shall keep thee (Proverbs 2:2-11).

Let the peace of God rule in your hearts

• ¹² Expositions of Holy Scripture–Project Gutenberg’s and Baker Book House’ Expositions of Holy Scripture, by Alexander Maclaren–(1826-1910)