America’s Religion: OIKOS (Economy)
By Jim Quinn / The Burning Platform
Let me forewarn you. Writing about economics is not my forte. This is my first attempt, and almost certainly my last. But, it’s Sunday (and religion is a forte), and the Bible certainly does have something to say about economics. So, I decided to combine the two …. in part, just to see if I can, as one who enjoys writing.
That being said, here are eight things we can comfortably say are generally true about RELIGION:
1)… it gives humanity doctrines; a set of rules, regulations, and/or codes how things ought to be.
2)… it makes many promises. For example, to name but a few; not going hungry, suffering is curtailed, tears are wiped away, prosperity and happiness cometh, and salvation.
3)… it has ideologues so committed to the cause that their faithful will move heaven and earth to remake entire societies conform to their way of thinking.
4)… it has High Priests, prophets, reformists, moralists, and other elites in their close knit small hierarchy who call all the shots.
5)… it can be highly divisive. Naturally, differing religions will strongly oppose each other. But, it’s even worse within a religion; whereby someone holding a different opinion is quickly branded the worst possible name … a Heretic.
6)… if you choose the right one, it will set you free. The prosperity of heaven is your destination.
7)… if you choose the wrong one, it will imprison you. The misery of hell awaits you.
8)… is mostly based on faith. “Just trust us, we know!” say the High Priests.
In summary, religion will give its followers a grand narrative about the ultimate meaning of human history; why things went wrong, and how to put them right.
Now, go back to the eight points and replace “religion” with “ECONOMICS”. Is it not somewhat eerie that the statements are still true? If so, why are they still true?
Nietzsche, usually credited with the philosophy of nihilism, actually wasn’t a nihilist himself. Rather, he was concerned about the effects of nihilism on culture. To greatly over-simplify his beliefs; he noticed that the old values and old morality simply didn’t have the same power that they once did. All around him he saw that God, — the traditional source of ultimate and transcendental value — in his modern (at the time) culture simply no longer mattered. Hence, his proclamation that in effect,God was dead (to us). So, what follows, then?
First, a quick look at a great philosopher. Aristotle observed that nature requires every space to be filled with something, even if that something is colorless, odorless air. His postulate, horror vacui (see pic above), would go on to dominate scientific thinking for the next millennium-and-a-half, and is said to be responsible for the discovery of things such as; atomic theory, gas laws, and even the science of thermodynamics. So, what follows, then?
The economist priests, the highly educated, the Ivy League professors, the scientists, the mathematicians, and ilk – those elite who control all the levers (including the sheep who are led by them) became troubled and concerned by a great fundamental hole left by nihilism; that there is no afterlife.
Man is programmed with eternity in their hearts, but nihilism wipes it from our memories. As such, people are inevitably left with a subconscious nagging thought that life just no longer makes any sense. No matter how hard they tried to ignore this logical progression resulting from their philosophy, it was impossible to accept a finite mortal existence. What might be a logical progression of thought following such a moral dilemma?
Well, one might be familiar with the quote from ‘The Brothers Karamazov’ (by Fyodor Dostoyevsky) when Ivan Karamazov argues that – “if God does not exist, then everything is permitted”.
Everything was permitted! So, God was relegated to exile in church and church alone. And, even there, only as long as He remained mostly silent. Today even the faithful explode in condemnation if ministers or priests speak about economics, politics or social issues. “Shut your mouth! Preach the gospel only!!”.
Even the American Constitution banishes God’s followers from having any impact on the State. The separation between the two is sacrosanct, never mind opening prayers in Congress, “In God We Trust” on our coinage, ministers in the military asking God to bless our wars, and other religious trappings. We like our gods silent. A silent God is easier to obey, and replace, if necessary. So, what follows, then?
Well, we fashioned a new and more likeable
God in our image; Behold, Oikos!
.We get our word economy from the Greek ‘Oeconomicus’ (oikos = house, and nomos = law/rule). It is believed that Western economic thought originated with Aristotle. He examined ideas such as acquiring wealth, and questioned whether property is best left in private or public hands. Nevertheless, when Aristotle mentioned economics, he meant so only in terms of the practical wisdom of household management.
So it stayed – a philosophy, not a science — for the most part in the Western world for the next couple thousand years. Then came the Industrial Revolution; economics went from the philosophy of “household management” to the science of “Wealth of Nations”. As never before in human history, economic growth would accelerate at warp speed, and also unchecked (as the world still experiences ever upward growth). What a remarkable coincidence that Adam Smith’s book was first published in the very same year America declared its independence!
Economy is now the giver of life. All good things come from it. We believe in it with all our hearts. Like God, no one discusses its existence much. The fearful ‘I Am that I Am’ becomes a more practical ‘It is what it Is’. No one believes Economy is a bad thing, even when It behaves badly. It must be our fault, not Oikos, if only we try harder. Economy’s beloved son, Money, allows us to do anything we want, buy and consume to our hearts delight, for like the cattle on a thousand hills, the bounty is endless. Economy demands little from us other than keeping the Prime Directive; stay busy.
In fact, do we not give our lives meaning by what we do, and not what we are? We hurry and scurry about our everyday activities which range from profane to profound. The busier the better. Keep doing! Keep working! Keep moving! Movement is Life!! On Sundays there are some who still give the old God some of their time. Perhaps an hour, perhaps two. Oikos gets the other 166 hours.
In the Carboniferous Epoch we were promised abundance for all,
By robbing selected Peter to pay for collective Paul;
But, though we had plenty of money, there was nothing our money could buy,
And the Gods of the Copybook Headings said: “If you don’t work you die.”
Yet, in the back of our minds, we fear this Oikos fellow also. We know he’s lying about wealth because it is simply impossible to create prosperity for all. We intuitively know that it’s not possible for America to have 300 million millionaires. We know wealth belongs only to a few, that it is a relative term, that I can be rich only if you become poorer, that there has to be poverty somewhere in order to have wealth. (I’m sure that last sentence will illicit some serious criticism from the reader!)
There’s also one other Big Thing that scares us about Oikos. To give us the good things in life, this Economy religion destroys everything in its path; oceans, mountains, forests, fishes, and all kinds of living things, even ourselves. Oikus’ survival depends on Growth. Growth is movement, movement is life, without growth there is death. The Believers in Oikos simply will not accept that even at 2.5% GDP worldwide growth, in less than 100 years the world will literally run out of oil, coal, and other elements that sustain life for humans … preferring instead the myth of Pretend and Extend. The Economy-god has an infinite appetite, and they believe Earth has infinite resources to feed him!! Really. And even if we do run out of a certain resource, SCIENCE, the other Son of Oikos will save us! Deep down, we know that’s a lie also.
We ponder all these things in our hearts, we just won’t say them out loud with our lips, .. and we’ll crucify those who do. It seems to me that the proper response to Oikos would be “F**k Off!!”. However the religion is exceedingly powerful and like all religions has mechanisms to ward off heresies .. such as the heinous idea ‘Hey, let’s get rid of this bastard Oikos god, and try something new!”. Speaking of which …..
IS THERE SOMETHING NEW TO TRY …
OR ARE WE STUCK IN THE SAME OLD CRAP
FOREVER??
I hear of the coming YUGE market crash, the 4th Turning, the end of things as we know it, etc. I agree with all of it. But, what comes after? The same old crap. Right? You might say, “Democracy failed because it wasn’t implemented correctly … next time we’ll get it right!” Another might say, “Capitalism failed because it wasn’t implemented correctly … next time we’ll get it right!”
Isn’t doing the same thing over and over while expecting different results the very definition of insanity? Also, when was the last time humanity as a whole learned from their previous mistakes?
Don’t get me wrong, the capitalism/democracy combo has some pretty good points. For one thing, it has lifted more people out of poverty than any other “ism” to date. And we all get to own .. STUFF!!! I do not hate capitalism!
But, here’s the thing. If all we do to start the new era is basically the same stuff we did in the previous era (except under new and improved leadership, supposedly)… then the cool new era will result in a really POS era, just like the last time! I understand that’s the whole point of saeculums and cycles. Hamsters on a treadmill, stuck in an Endless Loop of existence. Surely, there must be a way to break this cycle. There just MUST be … something never tried before.
What is that something? Surely … someone, somewhere, out there, knows.
Or, is mankind doomed forever to the same fate as Sisyphus … forever carrying old Oikos to the top of the mountain, only to have it all crashing down again once the top is rereached. I want to believe we are better than that. No, to preserve my own sanity, I NEED to believe we are better than that.
Here’s something new.
Why haven’t we tried this? God’s way …
Really. We’ve never truly given it our best shot. Just to be clear; I am NOT talking about a Theocracy! I am talking about only implementing economic truths as spelled out in the world’s Holy Books. (Meaning, I am not limiting options to what the Christian bible has to offer.) Truth is truth, wherever it is found. Allow me to briefly present three possibilities, just to get the ball rolling.
God’s Way #1: — “I will let you dwell in this place, in the land that I gave to your fathers forever and ever.” The foundational bedrock of God’s Way is property ownership. Ownership includes things such as; the right to exclude (access is granted on YOUR terms), legal immunity from other people’s theft or destruction of your property, legal sovereignty (you can do with it as you wish), continued use in perpetuity (you can pass the land to your heirs with penalty), and other freedoms we either don’t have today, or are severely curtailed. Strong property rights in favor of the individual, not the government, is key to everything that follows. What God has given, let no man cast asunder.
God’s Way #2: — “Thou shalt not steal.” The Ten Commandments tell us one thing in general; everyone is liable. “Everyone” includes people in government, therefore, it includes the whole of government. “Government shalt not steal” will be in the new Constitution. Applied more broadly, it means an economy where government theft, also known as taxation, is prohibited.
Concerning the command against theft, one author writes; — “This is really all you need to understand when it comes to understanding economics.”. Theft involves badges and guns. It’s about ethics and state coercion. The author continues on; — “Is the official who wears a badge and a gun truly acting in the name of the entire society, or is he acting on behalf of a special interest group?” Key to the New Way is to limit the authority of people with badges and guns for, ultimately, it is JUSTICE that produces prosperity. Not, Oikos.
God’s Way #3: — “For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: if a man will not work, he shall not eat.”. One always voluntarily OUGHT (not, must) provide for the poor, the widow, and the fatherless. This is Scriptural. However, if you do not work, go hungry! This, too, is Scriptural. So, there! In one fell swoop, God’s Way #3 just eliminated 90% of this nation’s Welfare Society of Endless Free Stuff. That’s how you make a country great again. For King Solomon said; — “Work brings profit, but mere talk leads to poverty.”
The first two points above come from Gary North’s Book, Christian Economics In One Lesson
Please, do not become bogged down by my three possibilities. if you don’t like them, discard them. Keep your eye on The Goal — finding a New Way. Now it’s YOUR turn. What do you have?
——————————- –
Three articles you might enjoy:
HOW ECONOMICS BECAME A RELIGION
THE FALSE GOD OF ECONOMIC GROWTH
https://www.theburningplatform.com/2017/12/10/americas-religion-oikos-economy/#more-162307
Read more articles here: https://www.theburningplatform.com
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Whistler Blowers, Insiders
The same old crap as you put it is, the so called chruch is no more than a RCC universalist make over. In the 1960′s there was a movement to destroy the chruch from within and it was the 65 civil rights act. The laws that came from that act , handcuffed every white person in America and lowered the so called church to no more than a civil social event. The Body of Christ has never been made up from believers of every nation (ie) race. The true chruch of Jesus Christ are His people and they also are His elect.
Many commentators often construe Paul’s statements at Galatians 3:15-16 to mean that there is only a single heir of the covenant of Yahweh God, which is Yahshua Jesus Christ Himself. If this is a true interpretation, then Paul conflicts with many of his own statements, where we see several times that Paul tells us elsewhere that there is a plurality of heirs to the covenant. For instance, concerning the New Covenant Paul says at Titus 3:7: “That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.” Then again concerning the New Covenant Paul says at Hebrews 6:17: “Wherein God, willing more abundantly to shew unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath”. In Hebrews chapter 6, while discussing Yahshua Jesus Christ and the New Covenant, Paul illustrates that the heirs of that covenant were selected before the confirmation of the covenant by the Sacrifice made by Yahshua Jesus Christ. For this reason he also told the Romans at 15:8: “Now I say that Jesus Christ was a minister of the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made unto the fathers”.
The making of a “New” Testament by Yahweh God with the children of Israel was a matter of Old Testament prophecy. This is found at Jeremiah chapter 31, and here verses 31 through 36
“31 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah:
32 Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; read the rest for yourself.
The bottom line is the old crap as you call it, will not preach the covenant peoples message, but rather they preach a message to all people and by doing so they elevate non-covenant people to a position that do not belong to them. They are not the chruch that Jesus died for..
123’s of true Christianity v popular & damnable heresies
#1 “ANOTHER JESUS”:
-“ONE” not triune: Mark 12:28…Which is the first commandment of all? 29. …Hear, O Israel; THE LORD OUR GOD IS ONE LORD: 30. And ………..this is the first commandment….. 31. And the second is….. IF YOU CAN’T GET THIS “FIRST OF ALL COMMANDMENTS” RIGHT, ALL THE REST OF YOUR “FAITH” AND PREACHING ON LOVE & SIN IS MOOT….. (NOTE: And yes, the specific Greek and Hebrew words used also and only define one person contrary to the ridiculous obfuscation attempts of some!?!)
PART 4 & 5 HOW MANY GODS ARE THERE FOR THE ONE GOD TO TALK TO?? Who was Jesus praying to??!?…. The real question should be … How does having multiple different persons keep this one God/being/entity from praying to himself?! (The trinitarian “schizophrenic” “god-head”) The Trinitarians want to have their cake and eat it too as the saying goes. On the one hand they need to say they only worship one indivisible God being/ entity but on the other hand they feel the need for some reason to keep Jesus or God from praying and talking to himself by dividing him up into different persons!?! It never occurs to them that that since there is only one indivisible God to pray too and Jesus is that indivisible God come in the flesh that he would need to talk to himself as to show us how to live, suffer, pray and die for our/ flesh) benefit not his!?!….. So while Trinitarians are quick to complain that God was not talking to himself at Christ baptism or in Gen “let us” they ignore the logical demands of their own theology! If Jesus is the ONE GOD in flesh and the Father is the SAME ONE GOD in heaven then Trinitarianism demands THE ONE GOD is talking to HIMSELF! Claiming that God is multiple different persons as the reason for why God is not talking to himself (because God is three different “selfs”) only demonstrates that what they really worship is in fact not a ONE GOD who talks to himself but three different god “selfs”/ and they all talk to each other! When they speak about who God was talking and praying to, they are quick to say “the other person, NOT HIMSELF!” But if you ask them how many gods do they pray to then they will say “ONLY ONE”!?! They expect you to believe that those three different persons are THE ONE GOD-BEING” which is like calling three different cars “THE ONE VEHICLE” (text book examples of prov 26:12)
-PART 5 Echad, Echad, my God, God is Echad!….:The Greek word pros in Jn 1:1 does not demand nor demonstrate multiple different persons because:
1. The definitions (without forced conclusions stuffed in) are just as equally valid as reference to parts of the same person (modalisim) Your head and your right arm have close relationship to each other; can be facing, towards, relating to, moving to, in the direction of, to, unto, looking to; even at home with, a living union, in the presence of, a common ground, closeness They are still both distinct and different from each other and yet they are of both the same person. Ironically the scriptures use the very same terms to describe father and son.
2. Ironically and most hypocritically, the trinitarians are trying to appeal to the anthropomorphisms (they claim this passage implies) to demonstrate different persons while at the same time denying the very anthropomorphisms that God himself specifically in scriptures uses to define the son and the son’s relationship to the father. Apparently only the literal anthropomorphisms that trintiarins “see’ exist while the one’s that God himself uses should not be taken too literal or too anthropomorphic or seriously. Is the face anthropomorphic and or literal face or just some metaphor? Either way the problem for trinitarians still exist and simply does not cease with linguistic distractions. There are many different types of faces; face of a clock; face of a mirror; face of one’s palm. Further, the face of one’s palm would be totally consistent with the anthropomorphism that God uses when discussing his own right arm as the son! So either way, a literal and or anthropomorphic face or a metaphorical face in close relationship only leaves the trinitarinas peddling an empty argument hoping no one notices the fact that this argument is nothing more then delusional smoke and mirrors for “the faithful” and for everyone else, well, just “never mind that man behind the curtain”.
3. You cant appeal to your own desired and or preconceived conclusions as evidence that your methodology in arriving at your conclusions are valid. [ie the use of Jn 1:18 et al as proof that Jn1:1 supports different persons in Jn1:18 et al or visa versa ] How difficult can they make these simple things? The God in heaven is a he but cannot be known except by the he who is the same God in flesh! So why can’t they be the same he again? It should not be difficult to understand since:
A. The same God who is in heaven is on earth and the difference need only be of circumstance which at least we know that much to be factually true [spirit only v spirit in human flesh] There is no further need or demand for different individual persons since all the different he’s are in fact the same HE!. Trying to claim that God is multiple different “He(s)” who make up the one being either leaves your God to be a “it” that consist of different he(s) or a“God being” who is a he while simultaneously consisting of different individual he(s) [Father-he; Son=he; Holy Spirit=he].
B. If you find no difficulty in accepting that God is a he that consist of father son and holy spirit also referred to each as a different he and yet all the same he then what is the point to claiming different persons again? How is the multitude of hes who are all the same he show or demand different persons rather than different circumstances of the same person who is in fact “HE”?
In any case, the trinitarian inconsistency and or incoherence will never be resolved by simply chalking it all up to “how great thou art” unless you willingly and blindly “drink the cool aid” calling it “faith”. True faith is in the words of God (including the specific anthropomorphism God himself uses) not in wild created imaginations of three different persons with different minds, locations and instructions for each other that is somehow not a pantheon of three gods who are only “one in terms of purpose not one god!….To deny the father is to deny the son because they are one and the same person that came in the flesh! Trinitarians confess & preach literally …”ANOTHER JESUS” 2 Cor 11:4
-JOHN 14: 8-20 ….[Note Isaiah 9:6. For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: …: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counseller, … the everlasting Father] ….The son, father/Holy Spirit are all the same person, NOT like two different persons working together even as “one flesh” ….The “oneness” between Christ and the father is not comparable to a man & his wife, for only a fool would say “When you have seen me you have seen my wife, how sayest thou then, Shew us your wife?” Notice they asked to see THE FATHER and the response was Jn 14:9 ..“HAVE I BEEN SO LONG time with you, and yet hast THOU NOT KNOW ME, Philip…..Now image some fool trying to claim that statement if you asked to see his wife!?!!? You want to see the FATHER but have I been with you but you don’t know me!?!?!
Jn 14 continued….…………..17. Even THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH; (Jn 14:6 I AM the way, THE TRUTH,) whom the world cannot receive, .. for HE DEWLLETH WITH YOU, (present tense/standing next to them in the flesh) and SHALL BE IN YOU… (future tense “In them”) 18. I will not leave you comfortless: I WILL COME TO YOU (future tense “In them”) Jesus himself here makes the point that the same person who was the HOLY SPIRIT that would come was standing next to them but lets them know “I will come to you again to be Inside of you”
-The whole point to Gal 3:20.a mediator is NOT A MEDIATOR OF ONE, (HEIS) but GOD IS ONE. (HEIS) again, point blank, identifies the number of persons of God! The “but” points out the contrast between multiple persons in a mediation party v the “one” of God. God is not like a mediation party with multiple different persons. …..”the express image of his person” ( the person of God; singular not plural) Any attempt to lay claim otherwise is willful ignorance and delusional nonsense
-Like a thief in your house caught stealing your things insisting he was not there stealing “I CONFESS I am NOT stealing”. You just do not “properly understand” what he is doing/saying. Further, since you never had a “proper understanding” of what he is doing/saying you have no business accusing him since you do not even know what you are talking about in the first place. It is with and in your own ignorance that you base your “false accusations” & “ad homonym attacks” against him…… Ridiculous of course it is ……2Thess 2:11; Titus 1:16; 2Tim 3:5; TRINITARIANS CONFESS JESUS /THEY ARE NOT POLYTHEIST BUT ARE MONOTHEIST LIKE A LIAR & THIEF WHO “CONFESS” THEY DO NOT LIE OR STEAL The simple fact is that just because you confess or deny that you are in an adulterous relationship and denounce all forms of adultery has nothing to do with whether or not it is in fact adulterous! .. …A rose by any other name is still just a rose AND calling it a water lily does not change the definition of what a water Lilly or a rose is either!…
-This should have given you a hint, harking back to Satan in The garden…God said you will die…Satan comes along and states no you will be more WISE……Today .God said He is one; but Satan’s children come along and say no three is more WISE and humble in the face of God’s grandeur only “a mystery” that can be understood “in faith”. God uses head and right arm to explain the distinctions between father and son.. However, the Trinitarian heretics say to the effect: “NO, that is just a figure of speech, or that is not what God really means. What God is really saying is that God is three different persons”. Fools, hypocrites and blind guides, God said he was One and by your traditions have taken the words of God and made them of no effect, refashioning God into the image of your vain imaginations!
You can download the complete FREE book from
https://www.scribd.com/doc/305367608/The-Trinity-Heresy
OR
https://www.academia.edu/23463667/THE_TRINITY_HERESY
OR
http://www.globethics.net/gtl/10920799
#2 “ANOTHER GOSPEL”:
-If you ask most people what the Good news or Gospel is they will probably tell you about the virgin birth or Christ death burial and resurrection. This would be rather humorous if it was not so sad considering that for the three and half years of Christ ministry he does not mention hardly ever. However, Christ does spend a lot of time preaching out of the OT scriptures. Now imagine given a report or manual to read and understand, that makes reference to and even quotes other source material and then ignoring that source material when it comes to defining the context and meanings of words in the report or manual you are trying to make sense of. If that seems dysfunctional that is because it is. This is, however, what most people are doing when it comes to understanding sound NT doctrine and or even what the Gospel message of Jesus was. The mystery of the gospel was not the death, burial and resurrection although it is part of it. In fact, death, burial and resurrection was the sign, the only sign, that Jesus gave to validate that the gospel message he was preaching all that time was true……and yet most deny it!?!?!
-The “2nd coming”… “I come quickly” so “Hold fast till i come”… NOT …“in another 2000 years I might be coming soon any time now, so hold fast”!?! …those that deny the second coming of Christ in the war of AD70 (in their lifetime) are practicing a damnable heresy in denying the Lord that bought them ( 2Peter 2:1-2 ;2Tim 4:8/ you cant love an appearing you deny& the context is the 2nd coming not the first)… Mat 7:23..”I NEVER KNEW YOU” …..Mat 10:33. But whosoever shall deny me before men……..sound familiar?…. If I said I am coming to your house in this generation when these things happen but no one knows the day or hour what fool would think I might be coming in 2000 years latter!?!? ..2 Tim 4: 4. And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be TURNED UNTO FABLES. The “idea”/ doctrine that Jesus has not yet returned but “soon any day now soon” does not just make God out a liar; it is not just ridiculous but makes Christianity a mockery, A pathetic “ship of fools”!?!
-The following example excerpt from Bertrand Russell: sometimes quoted by atheist et al and from his published work “Why I Am Not A Christian”
Defects in Christ’s Teaching
Having granted the excellence of these maxims, I come to certain points in which I do not believe that one can grant either the superlative wisdom or the superlative goodness of Christ as depicted in the Gospels; …. I am concerned with Christ as He appears in the Gospels, taking the Gospel narrative as it stands, and there one does find some things that do not seem to be very wise. For one thing, he certainly thought that His second coming would occur in clouds of glory before the death of all the people who were living at that time. There are a great many texts that prove that. He says, for instance, “Ye shall not have gone over the cities of Israel till the Son of Man be come.” Then he says, “There are some standing here which shall not taste death till the Son of Man comes into His kingdom”; and there are a lot of places where it is quite clear that He believed that His second coming would happen during the lifetime of many then living. That was the belief of His earlier followers, and it was the basis of a good deal of His moral teaching. When He said, “Take no thought for the morrow,” and things of that sort, it was very largely because He thought that the second coming was going to be very soon, and that all ordinary mundane affairs did not count. I have, as a matter of fact, known some Christians who did believe that the second coming was imminent. I knew a parson who frightened his congregation terribly by telling them that the second coming was very imminent indeed, but they were much consoled when they found that he was planting trees in his garden. The early Christians did really believe it, and they did abstain from such things as planting trees in their gardens, because they did accept from Christ the belief that the second coming was imminent. In that respect, clearly He was not so wise as some other people have been, and He was certainly not superlatively wise.
https://www.scribd.com/doc/305366745/Revelation-the-First-Gospel-of-the-Kingdom
OR
http://www.globethics.net/gtl/5455069
OR
https://www.academia.edu/23464127/REVELATION_THE_FIRST_GOSPEL_OF_THE_KINGDOM
Amazon/Barns & Nobel et al
978-1-4907-0590-3 (SC ISBN)
#3 GOD LOVES EVERYONE; Jesus Died for “you”…… Just “come as you are”
Does God love you?….”Probably” NOT!….and NO Jesus did not die for everyone!?!……There is a sharp contrast between THREE groups : A. The predestined damned B. the “many” called C. The “Few” Chosen
Predestination….its true.. its all true… God does NOT love everyone:
Prov 8: 17. I LOVE THEM THAT LOVE ME …………
1John 5:3. For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments:
(1) “PREDESTINED DAMNED” who were NEVER written in the book of life ………..Rev 17: 8 WHOSE NAMES WERE NOT WRITTEN IN THE BOOK OF LIFE FROM THE FOUNDATION OF THE WORLD, …as contrasted …EPH 1: 4. According as he hath CHOSEN US in him BEFORE THE FOUNDATION OF THE WORLD
(2) “MANY CALLED”= ONLY and ALL SAINTS (those who come to Christ) are written in the book of life … Philippians 4:3… ……Rev 21:27; (Only saints are Called and elect; Rom 1:6-7 et al) This is THE CHRUCH and ONLY these can have their names blotted out of the book of life ….….Heb 12:23 to the general assembly and CHURCH of the firstborn … WHICH ………are WRITTEN in heaven,
(3) THE FEW CHOSEN: Those saints who were alive in group #2 who are now physically dead. They died “faithful” these are the FEW that were chosen faithful…….Rev 3:5. ……; and I
will not BLOT OUT HIS NAME OUT OF THE BOOK OF LIFE, (Ps 69:28) …. These are the FEW that are CHOSEN and now that they have died and are saved then “once saved THEY CAN NEVER BE LOST”
PS: “The world” that God so loved was not the Roman world nor the world of the Maya nor the world you imagined in your head that God specifically told them NOT TO LOVE!?!
https://www.scribd.com/doc/306868420/Most-True-Christians-Go-to-Hell
OR
http://www.globethics.net/gtl/10920800
OR
https://www.academia.edu/25217564/Most_True_Christains_Go_to_Hell
THE THIEF-BAPTISM-GRACE& THE NAME-LORD & LT
“whosoever shall call on THE NAME OF THE LORD shall be saved”
………So WHAT “NAME” did you “CALL UPON”?……
Rev 19:13. .. and HIS NAME IS called THE WORD OF GOD
Ps 138:2. praise THY NAME … for thou hast magnified THY WORD ABOVE ALL THY NAME -
NOTE: God placed His “THE WORD” ABOVE all of God’s various NAMEs – and Jesus NAME IS called “THE WORD” no other name saves. The MOST important name we should KNOW and CALL UPON is “THE WORD”; Not letters that spell “word” but the sayings/ doctrine/commands. It does NOT say “thy word is given a name above other names because here THY WORD is identified as the name that is placed above all other names.
Isaiah 52:1. . 6. Therefore MY PEOPLE SHALL KNOW MY NAME: ..What NAME do you “KNOW”.?
1Jn 2:3. And HEREBY WE DO KNOW that we KNOW HIM, if we KEEP HIS COMMANDMENTS./ Titus 1: 16. They profess that THEY KNOW God; but IN WORKS THEY DENY him…
“AT the name OF JESUS”…..Jesus has a name that belongs to Jesus…just like the name OF GOD means a name that belongs to GOD but it is ridiculous to suggest that the letters G-O-D is that name…likewise the name OF JESUS is NOT the letters J-E-S-U-S. Why would anyone think that you could pronounce THE HIGHEST NAME OF GOD letter by letter…. (ie Judges 13:18; 2Cor 12:4 but God’s name is not as great and or “unspeakable )
Rev 3:8 kept MY WORD, and hast not DENIED MY NAME; …
.Jn 17:6. I have MANIFESTED THY NAME And they have KEPT THY WORD.;
THE WORD is THE NAME above every name that saves us 1Pt 3:21 The ONE baptism(Eph 4:5) is into THE WORD ( which is also baptism in the Holy spirit Jn 6:63the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit ) ..ALL the sayings doctrines and commands….what did THE WORD that became flesh command? (Mat 28:19)…..what did THE WORD exemplify? (Mat 3:15/ Jn 4:1)………among other things…..YES .water baptism is just as essential and necessary for much a part of salvation (1Pt 3:21) as is keeping one self away from works of the flesh (Gal 5:21)….In fact obedience to the command of water baptism is specifically identified as the act of calling on the name of the Lord (Col 2:12 “……though the operation[work] of God” CAN ANY MAN BE SAVED WITHOUT GOD WORKING ON HIM?) …..THE WORD OF GOD is the name of God that men call upon OR…OR ..they DENY with their disobedience
The scriptures tell us almost nothing about the thief’s life. However, the scriptures tell us a great deal about Christ life……Jesus had been around for 3.5 years before the cross and was Baptizing (Jn 4:1-2 in fact He instructed his disciples to do so and did many more then John the Baptist ever did) …..Those who try to appeal to the thief on the cross assume the thief had never heard of Jesus preaching and had never ever been baptized….The burden of Proof is on those who say baptism is not essential! ………..You can’t claim a logically valid “non-essentiality” doctrinal argument on ANYTHING based on what the scriptures do not say and in spite of the things it clearly does state to the opposite effect!…That is like looking at the constitutional law and then basing a argument against a constitutional principle in law based on the fact that history did not record for us what some unknown cattle thief did or did not do a 150 years ago?!?! What??..Who cares?? We know what the constitution did say 150 years ago. I don’t know of any Law school that bases its teaching on constitutional law based on what history does not tell us about unknown cattle thieves!?! ..Jesus command, preached & practiced Baptism so did the apostles ….To build one’s theology on the fact that the scriptures do not tell us ANY detail(s) of the thief’s life before the cross (we know almost absolutely nothing about the thief!!) it is quite foolish and willfully ignorant of what the scriptures do say about baptism…….so those who try to use the thief are in effect building their house on the sand of what scriptures do not say about a thief in spite of what the scriptures do specifically tell us about baptism!?!… “Their damnation is just” comes to mind…
https://www.scribd.com/document/326686356/Thief-Cross-3D OR https://www.academia.edu/23846490/Thief_and_Cross_3D
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Exodus 21 provides laws for having slaves. It did wonders for the economy back then and for the Confederate state.
We should apply that part of the bible for our economic troubles
The law was for those who were to immature to understand faith.
Gal 3:23 But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed.
Gal 3:24 Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.
Gal 3:25 But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.
Gal 3:26 For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.
Are you still a child bound to the schoolmaster? Now that we understand faith the law no longer applies – we are ALL free.
just me
free to do what?? fornicate, steal, lie,lust, use God’s authority in a vain worthless way?
What is faith? give us a pure exact definition.
just me
there is a study in the spirit section titled: “Is belief all that is required for salvation”, you may want to read it
Christ made the clear statement:
Matthew 18:17 And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? [there is] none good but one, [that is], God: —- but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.
Does that sound like the Law is abolished?