Master of Religion: 2006

Friday, December 1, 2006

Master of Religion

Masters of Religion Essay

Defamation of the character of god.

By Ronnie Myers

I believe that the true Deity is the eternal source of unrestricted love for all that are created. The true Deity is without enemy, is of impeccable character and must maintain such high standard, in order to be perfect. However, the Majority of the so-called religious luminaries are spreading all sorts of misinformation that have generated fear and confusion regarding God's character. All of those fallacies are centered around the following issues:

1. Who or what created us.

2. Who or What created our creator.

3. Why are we here?

4. Where do we go from here?

5. When and how consciousness was first experienced.

It is my opinion that the intelligence of the masses is hopelessly lacking with regards to our quest for immortality. Most of our religious leaders are primarily salespersons that resort to drama and all sorts of erroneous arguments to mislead the gullible. In their efforts to explain some of the concerns listed above, they have created a Bible that is rife in fable and contradictions. These religious leaders have sworn that the writings in the Bible are the infallible words of God. They try to intimidate us by suggesting that it is blasphemy to question the validity of its contents. The net result is their success in the spreading of a type of doctrine that clearly shows that they are worshiping not the true God, but rather an evil spirit.

First, they concocted a myth that out of a perfect Heaven, created and controlled by an omniscient, omnipotent, omnipresent and infinite God, a rebellion lead by his right hand servant, Lucifer, resulted in turmoil in heaven. They went on to intimate that Lucifer was created perfect! However, they cannot explain why Elohim's type of perfection does not equate to our human standard of perfection. They also argue that when all the new converts go to Heaven such revolt will never recur! How can this be guaranteed?. It happened before even when Godly perfection was Heaven's ensign! Apparently, Yahweh did not learn any lesson from the first Heavenly mutiny, so he created Adam; out of dust mind you! Mysteriously, forming hair, intricate internal organs, blood, skin, bones, body cells, nails and so on out of dust. But, guess what? the same Lucifer created such havoc with Adam and Eve that the entire world is now under the sentence of death. This sentence of death was passed on us not that we did anything wrong but rather by the edict of a vengeful Elohim who in the first created an imperfect Adam and allowed him to be tempted by the master renegade Lucifer. Did Yahweh, the all-knowing God, not know beforehand that the Adam's venture was doomed to failure and would fuel such mayhem and carnage that would eventually conclude with millions receiving an imminent inhuman punishment, in an eternal lake of fire?

According to the Bible, God on a number of occasions threatened to wipe our ancestors off the face of the earth and had to be rebuked by Moses once and another of our forebears on the other occasions. The Bible states that years ago, Yahweh personally drowned, the entire world saves for Noah and his family. Yahweh, no doubt was stunned to see the descendants of Noah rising up later to create myriad of crimes that are even more heinous than those for which he drowned the earlier malefactors. Yahweh eventually selected a tribe “the Jews- and instructed them to murder; in his name, all men, women, children and animal of other tribes that Yahweh had also created. The regimental order was to destroy anything that moves, unless he, she or it was Jewish. After each tribe is slaughtered take their lands and jewelry, then rejoice with a loud noise. Do not forget my meal, which should be promptly send up to me in the form of very burnt offering-after each mass murder. The bible endorsed the murderous acts of Moses, Joshua- a renowned war criminal, Samuel, and David â€“to name a meager few. The Bible relates how one of God Prophet called down wolves and watched with pride and delight as the wolves devoured some kids who merely called him a baled-headed prophet. According to the Bible, Yahweh, found a way to save the world that would at the same time give Him some worldly pleasures. He personally came down from Heaven, impregnates one of his daughters, Mary, and to get a son called Jesus. This Jesus is therefore his son and his Grandson. Now the major question is this. If God is the father of Jesus and Mary is the mother of Jesus, then, who is Mary to God?

Did the writer of the Bible made Yahweh into a rapist, who is also guilty of incest, fornication and intimidation seeing that it is written, 'The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you, etc.' When Joseph complained about the pending disgrace, Yahweh sent an angel to tell him to stop his whining. About thirty “Three years after Jesus' birth ordinary human killed this Son of God and He return to Heaven to sit on the right hand of an infinite God. How do you find the right side of infinity? Why, did Jesus rush back to Heaven? Can you imagine how may converts would abound had Jesus been amongst us today? He is gone to prepare a place for us. What! God the all-mighty has no residence for us in Heaven? Yet?

The best-kept secret of the religious fundamentalists “never will they preach this in church- is that the Bible is in fact a composition of the early beliefs of ordinary men who were primitive in most matters of science, and geography. In view of this, the Bible's teachings are contrary with modern knowledge. No intelligent person can in this modern age accepts the Bible as the infallible word of god. Modern technology debunk the story that Joshua in his zest to murder more men, women and children could not of caused the length of that day to increase by commanding the sun to stand still. Any kindergarten kid can explain why the sun standing still has no effect on the length of a day. Ask most clergy persons to explain this major error in the Bible and they tell will give some irrational argument, which only prove further that had God inspired those writers they would not have written such rubbish and attributed to an all-knowing Deity. The chief writers of hr Bible were Eastern Semitic and Palestinian Jews. Their writings are about their concept of the nature of their God, Yahweh and Yahweh's relation to a â€œChosen People, the Jews. This preferential treatment meted out to the Jews is a prime demonstration of racial prejudice in their so-called Holy Bible. The Bible does not present a God of unconditional love and justice. The substance of the writings portrays an evil spirit that is jealous, prejudice, unfair, cruel, incites to riot, war and plunder, encourages deceit and sanctions a litany of unbecoming practices. As for me, I prefer to believe that such literature was the work of man rather than a loving God. Recently, an eight-year-old kid said that God committed all those atrocities before God was saved. Well spoken my young friend.

In view of these myths being promoted by the various denominations we now should strive to protect the holy image of the true Deity. There are charlatans all over the world that are defaming the character of our God of unconditional Love? Can the true Deity have enemies? promote racial prejudice? Wage wars? Be egotistical, jealous, vindictive, and fickle? God forbid.

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Wednesday, November 29, 2006

Christian Religion

The study of Master of Religion was done in connection with Comparative Religion I to enhance my knowledge of the subjects. I found the first section of the course to be extremely enlightening. The listing of titles was an interruption that could have come later in the course to not break the tone of the instruction but was a good addition to the course. I did learn from all of the lessons. Many of the chapters gave a brief taste of information that made you want to find out more which is good and forces one to continue study while building on each lesson. I hope there will be further courses with more in-depth study of some of the topics covered. I used each chapter to branched out and do research to add to my knowledge of the subjects.

I did wonder about a paragraph in Lesson 19 'Denominations' that states 'Many people seem to believe that they have received God's order to become Priest and to start their own church. Many of them probably have not sufficient qualifications to do so, other than being able to quote Bible parts quite fluently.' Is that not why many of the seminary students are taking this and other courses? Some have had this 'feeling' of being called from what I have read in the forum. Or did I misinterpret the statement and the author was stating they do so with no background or training whatsoever?

Lessons 14 on Counseling was very good. It gave good information and background. The paragraph on the importance of Christian Counseling was excellent. I agree a good church and strong community will create a better society. We need to reinforce that as much as possible. Granted church members are only human but as a group with proper shepherd guidance they can make a difference. I do believe that major educational background is required to go into the field but knowledge of your fellow man and a Bible connection is an excellent start.

The chapters on history were very enlightening and enjoyable. Mr. Schwab's perspective was a good interlude while studying this section of the lessons.

The Master of Religion Course was an excellent start of my studies. It was well put together and covered the important and basic lessons needed to move forward. I am gaining knowledge that will assist me in leading discussion groups and services. I hope to be able to continue to learn as I study more of the offered courses and put them together to work with and for others.

Rev. Sharon J. Mayer

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Monday, August 28, 2006

Four Gospels

I was disappointed in this course. It was nice to have a different perspective of the gospels, however, I was hoping for a little more. It took me back to the days of Sunday school class and seemed to have just grazed the surface of the whole Christian faith.

I think this course would be great for someone that doesn’t know that much about Christianity, and would give them a great place to start learning about Jesus and his teachings.

I was hoping this course would have gotten deeper into

the background of the Christian Religion than it did.

I was hoping to get a better understanding of the

history & culture of back then. I believe this is

necessary, to understand what Jesus was really all

about. Why was it important for Jesus to be a son, than a daughter? Why was it that women were seen as property, instead of people? And why did/do women need to depend on a man to take care of them as some denominations still believe today? There is a lot more “why’s” for me not answered.

I’ll give an example of why I would like to have known more of the background than what was provided. Back in the 60’s and 70’s people would sometime say, “Wow he’s a real lady killer”. A hundred years from now some people are going to wonder what that means. Without knowing anymore about the sentence than just that sentence, someone might take the words literally which changes the whole meaning of the sentence. Now that man is believed to be a person that kills women. When you look deeper at the sentence, and get a better understanding of the different sayings that were said during that time period, you can now apply the true meaning of the phrase “lady killer” to understand its meant to mean he was just a really good looking guy.

Unfortunately many Christians take parts of the bible literally. Some denominations go as far as telling

their congregations how to dress or how to wear their hair just because the bible says so. If they would

take the time to understand the reasons those rules were important back in biblical times, they might be

able to see how those reasons / rules do not apply to today. Personally, I really don’t think God cares to

such minuet details as long as our hearts are in the right place. As Jesus said in the bible, it is not what goes into your mouth that defiles you, it is what comes out of our mouths. I think this same principle apples. Jesus is not talking about vomiting, or what you eat. He’s talking about the condition of our spirit and where our heart is at. If your heart, mind, body and soul is in the right place, then you will speak loving and kind words out of your mouth. You’re tongue is like a two bladed sword, beware what you say. Words are a huge influence on people. So many Christians today seem to focus more on their own agenda, as the Pharisees did in Jesus’ time, than the one Jesus had. Jesus wanted to turn people towards God, not away. People get set in their ways and have trouble hearing the truth. Jesus says that people like the darkness better than the light. Better the evil that you know than the possible evil that you don’t. Change is scary and people avoid change.

Then there is the whole debate actually about Jesus. I personally believe Jesus is the son of God. However,

in what perspective? Are we not all considered sons and daughters of God? Was Jesus the only man that has

ever came close enough to truly living how God intended us to live? Jesus is an excellent example of

how all Christians should live. After all he is the reason or the founding father of Christianity.

However, all of us fall short. Even the holiest of holiest here on earth have some fault and have failed

at one point in time. Should we just give up? No, because Jesus provides us all with hope. In one sense

would that not make Jesus the true son of God, merely the finest example of how we should live our lives?

Everything we do everyday, should be to glorify God, not Jesus, but God. As Jesus did.

And if this is true, then Jesus was Jewish, should we not all be Jewish? After all is that not why he came

to earth to save the Jewish people? Now don’t get mad at me, it’s just a thought.

Or is it more the second sense, Jesus was actually God on earth merely in the form of man. Keeping to the

trinity, Father, Son and the Holy Spirit. Separate, but the same.

If Jesus came to save us from our sins, and to be the door between God and a person, then why is it the Catholic faith still believes you must go through their priests to seek forgiveness? Just another question. Not intended to be offensive. These are just a few questions that have come up since reading the book provided for this course.

Then there is the whole debate of religious symbols. The cross being one of those examples. I could be wrong, but the whole reason for the Cross being so important is because Jesus was crucified on a cross. The Cross back then was a form of Capitol Punishment.

However, taken in today's scenario, Capitol Punishment is either lethal injections, or the electric chair. If Jesus were here with us today instead of being with the disciples and was set to be crucified using today’s Capitol Punishment, would the electric chair or the syringes used become a religious symbol, thus people wearing a miniature syringes or a miniature electric chair around their neck? This is not intended to be disrespectful of the cross and how many Christian’s feel about the Cross. Just a question if they would apply that same feeling towards the objects used for Capitol Punishment today if Jesus was crucified by one of those means.

Thank you for the opportunity to take this course. It has been an enjoyable experience.

Rev. Dawn Egler

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Friday, July 14, 2006

Four Gospels

The Four Gospels

Rev. Ken Ayotte

I found "The Four Gospels" to be both educational and fascinating. The story of Jesus, the man, has always been one of profoundness, but I think that the stories or parables that Jesus told are of much more value.

This is not to say that Jesus himself was and is not an important figure. He has been one of, if not the, most important influences that ever existed. However, it is my belief that Jesus was not nearly as important as His messages. He spoke, through parables, of many truths, which have existed throughout history.

Some of these are obvious and some a bit more vague. The more obvious ones are the ones which we live by every day. They would include most of the Ten Commandments (yes, of course Jesus taught these) as well as most values cherished by the western world. His messages are those of tolerance, and love and understanding each other and why we think and believe the way we do.

The Book of John, although my least favorite of the Gospels, certainly demands a certain amount of attention. I think that maybe this book became popular because it is so controversial. It is quite dramatic and even contradictory at times. What I really do not like about it though is the fact that most "Christians" tend to consider this the book to pay attention to and design their entire lives after.

Of course it would be much easier to do it with this book than with the others because of its simplistic messages. I find this both ironic and disturbing.

Ironic because it was not only written long after Jesus had supposedly died, but also because it was obviously not written by a single person.

Disturbing because of its interpretation that the Jews were responsible for Jesus' death. I cannot believe that a book that is supposed to teach about the life, the messages, and the death of a man such as Jesus would teach such vile hatred and bigotry. Jesus was a Jew and taught mainly Jews. His teachings never included such messages as hate.

Also, it was God's will that Jesus be put to death, not the will of the entire Jewish population of 2000 years ago. Knowing this, should the people who hate the Jews for supposedly doing this also hate God? I doubt if they would wish to, but that is, in essence, exactly what they are doing. Jesus' entire life and death was supposed to be preordained by God. Not by man--Jewish or otherwise.

If the Jews are to be condemned for the death of Jesus, then they must also be given credit for all that happened prior to His death. This would be wrong also. The whole basis of Christianity is that Jesus rose from the dead to save all of mankind. Well, if he was never put to death, and died a natural death at a ripe old age, would His existence have had the same impact? I doubt it.

We should be thanking all of those who were part of the journey of Jesus, not condemning a single person, let alone an entire race or races. Otherwise, the entire journey was wasted. Jesus taught that we need to learn to love each other, not hate each other. The easy road is seldom the best road to take and yet we tend to always take the easy road. What have we learned? We cannot even agree within our own families, our own communities, let alone agree in the global community. That would be too hard a road to take for most of us, especially and obviously much too hard for our world leaders.

The Book of John. It is as though several very young scholars got together and attempted to rewrite the sacred words so that they would appeal to their peers. Put into a language and context of their time, it probably worked. Jesus would never want us to hate.

Reverend Kenneth Ayotte

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Wednesday, May 24, 2006

The Gospel of Matthew

The Gospel of Matthew

Writer: Matthew

Place Written: Palestine

Writing Completed: c. 41 C.E.

Time Covered: 2 B.C.E.“33 C.E

Introducing Jesus and news of "the kingdom of the heavens" (1:4:25). Logically, Matthew begins with Jesus' genealogy, proving Jesus' legal right as heir of Abraham and David. Thus, the attention of the Jewish reader is arrested. Then we read the account of Jesus' miraculous conception, his birth in Bethlehem, the visit of the astrologers, Herod's angry slaying of all the boys in Bethlehem under two years old, Joseph and Mary's flight into Egypt with the young child, and their subsequent return to dwell in Nazareth. Matthew is careful to draw attention to the fulfillments of prophecy to establish Jesus as the foretold Messiah.”Matt. 1:23”Isa. 7:14; Matt. 2:1-6”Mic. 5:2; Matt. 2:13-18”Hos. 11:1 and Jer. 31:15; Matt. 2:23”Isa. 11:1, footnote.

Matthew's account now skips down through nearly 30 years. John the Baptizer is preaching in the wilderness of Judea: "Repent, for the kingdom of the heavens has drawn near." (Matt. 3:2) He is baptizing the repentant Jews in the river Jordan and warning the Pharisees and Sadducees of wrath to come. Jesus comes from Galilee and is baptized. Immediately God's spirit descends on him, and a voice from the heavens says: "This is my Son, the beloved, whom I have approved." (3:17) Jesus is then led into the wilderness, where, after fasting 40 days, he is tempted by Satan the Devil. Three times he turns Satan back by quotations from God's Word, saying finally: "Go away, Satan! For it is written, 'It is the LORD your God you must worship, and it is to him alone you must render sacred service.'"”4:10.

"Repent, you people, for the kingdom of the heavens has drawn near." These electrifying words are now proclaimed in Galilee by the anointed Jesus. He calls four fishermen from their nets to follow him and become "fishers of men," and he travels with them "throughout the whole of Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and preaching the good news of the kingdom and curing every sort of disease and every sort of infirmity among the people."”4:17, 19, 23.

The Sermon on the Mount (5:1“7:29). As crowds begin to follow him, Jesus goes up into the mountain, sits down, and begins teaching his disciples. He opens this thrilling discourse with nine 'happinesses': Happy are those who are conscious of their spiritual need, those who mourn, the mild-tempered, those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, the merciful, the pure in heart, the peaceable, those persecuted for righteousness' sake, and those reproached and lyingly spoken against. "Rejoice and leap for joy, since your reward is great in the heavens." He calls his disciples "the salt of the earth" and "the light of the world" and explains the righteousness, so different from the formalism of the scribes and Pharisees, that is required for entering the Kingdom of the heavens. "You must accordingly be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect."”5:12-14, 48.

Jesus warns against hypocritical gifts and prayers. He teaches his disciples to pray for the sanctification of the Father's name, for His Kingdom to come, and for their daily sustenance. Throughout the sermon Jesus holds the Kingdom to the fore. He cautions those who follow him not to worry about or work merely for material riches, for the Father knows their actual needs. "Keep on, then," he says, "seeking first the kingdom and his righteousness, and all these other things will be added to you."”6:33.

The Master counsels on relations with others, saying: "All things, therefore, that you want men to do to you, you also must likewise do to them." The few that find the road to life will be those who are doing the will of his Father. The workers of lawlessness will be known by their fruits and will be rejected. Jesus likens the one who obeys his sayings to the "discreet man, who built his house upon the rock-mass." What effect does this discourse have on the crowds who are listening? They are "astounded at his way of teaching," for he teaches "as a person having authority, and not as their scribes."7:12, 24-29.

Kingdom preaching expanded (8:1“11:30). Jesus performs many miraclesâ€”healing lepers, paralytics, and the demon-possessed. He even demonstrates authority over the wind and waves by calming a storm, and he raises a girl from the dead. What compassion Jesus feels for the crowds as he sees how skinned and thrown about they are, "like sheep without a shepherd"! As he says to his disciples, "the harvest is great, but the workers are few. Therefore, beg the Master of the harvest to send out workers into his harvest."”9:36-38.

Jesus selects and commissions the 12 apostles. He gives them definite instructions on how to do their work and emphasizes the central doctrine of their teaching: "As you go, preach, saying, 'The kingdom of the heavens has drawn near.'" He gives them wise and loving admonition: "You received free, give free." "Prove yourselves cautious as serpents and yet innocent as doves." They will be hated and persecuted, even by close relatives, but Jesus reminds them: "He that finds his soul will lose it, and he that loses his soul for my sake will find it." (10:7, 8, 16, 39) On their way they go, to teach and preach in their assigned cities! Jesus identifies John the Baptizer as the messenger sent forth before him, the promised "Elijah," but "this generation" accept neither John nor him, the Son of man. (11:14, 16) So woe to this generation and the cities that have not repented at seeing his powerful works! But those who become his disciples will find refreshment for their souls.

Pharisees refuted and denounced (12:1-50). The Pharisees try to find fault with Jesus on the Sabbath issue, but he refutes their charges and launches into a scathing condemnation of their hypocrisy. He tells them: "Offspring of vipers, how can you speak good things, when you are wicked? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks." (12:34) No sign will be given them except that of Jonah the prophet: The Son of man will be three days and nights in the heart of the earth.

Seven Kingdom illustrations (13:1-58). Why does Jesus speak in illustrations? To his disciples he explains: "To you it is granted to understand the sacred secrets of the kingdom of the heavens, but to those people it is not granted." He pronounces his disciples happy because they see and hear. What refreshing instruction he now provides for them! After he explains the illustration of the sower, Jesus gives the illustrations of the weeds in the field, the mustard grain, the leaven, the hidden treasure, the pearl of high value, and the dragnetâ€”all portraying something in connection with "the kingdom of the heavens." However, the people stumble at him, and Jesus tells them: "A prophet is not unhonored except in his home territory and in his own house."â€”13:11, 57.

Further ministry and miracles of "the Christ" (14:1â€“17:27). Jesus is deeply affected by the report of the beheading of John the Baptizer at the order of spineless Herod Antipas. He miraculously feeds a crowd of 5,000 and more; walks on the sea; turns back further criticism from the Pharisees, who, he says, are 'overstepping the commandment of God because of their tradition'; heals the demon-possessed, the "lame, maimed, blind, dumb, and many otherwise"; and again feeds more than 4,000, from seven loaves and a few little fishes. (15:3, 30) Responding to a question by Jesus, Peter identifies him, saying: "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." Jesus commends Peter and declares: "On this rock-mass I will build my congregation." (16:16, 18) Jesus now begins to speak of his approaching death and of his resurrection on the third day. But he also promises that some of his disciples "will not taste death at all until first they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom." (16:28) Six days later, Jesus takes Peter, James, and John up into a lofty mountain to see him transfigured in glory. In a vision, they behold Moses and Elijah conversing with him, and they hear a voice from heaven saying: "This is my Son, the beloved, whom I have approved; listen to him." After coming down from the mountain, Jesus tells them that the promised "Elijah" has already come, and they perceive that he is speaking about John the Baptizer.â€”17:5, 12.

Jesus counsels his disciples (18:1-35). While at Capernaum Jesus talks to the disciples about humility, the great joy of recovering a stray sheep, and settling offenses between brothers. Peter asks: 'How many times must I forgive my brother?' and Jesus answers: "I say to you, not, Up to seven times, but, Up to seventy-seven times." To add force to this, Jesus gives the illustration of the slave whose master forgave him a debt of 60 million denarii. This slave later had a fellow slave imprisoned because of a debt of only 100 denarii, and as a result, the merciless slave was likewise handed over to the jailers. Jesus makes the point: "In like manner my heavenly Father will also deal with you if you do not forgive each one his brother from your hearts."”18:21, 22, 35.

Closing days of Jesus' ministry (19:1“22:46). The tempo of events quickens and tension mounts as the scribes and Pharisees become more incensed at Jesus' ministry. They come to trip him up on a matter of divorce but fail; Jesus shows that the only Scriptural ground for divorce is fornication. A rich young man comes to Jesus, asking the way to everlasting life, but goes away grieved when he finds he must sell all he has and be a follower of Jesus. After giving the illustration of the workers and the denarius, Jesus speaks again of his death and resurrection, and he says: "The Son of man came, not to be ministered to, but to minister and to give his soul a ransom in exchange for many."”20:28.

Jesus now enters the last week of his human life. He makes his triumphal entry into Jerusalem as 'King, mounted upon the colt of an ass.' (21:4, 5) He cleanses the temple of the money changers and other profiteers, and the hatred of his foes mounts as he tells them: "The tax collectors and the harlots are going ahead of you into the kingdom of God." (21:31) His pointed illustrations of the vineyard and of the marriage feast hit home. He skillfully answers the Pharisees' tax question by telling them to pay back "Caesar's things to Caesar, but God's things to God." (22:21) Likewise he turns back a catch question by the Sadducees and upholds the resurrection hope. Again the Pharisees come to him with a question on the Law, and Jesus tells them that the greatest commandment is to love God completely, and the second is to love one's neighbor as oneself. Jesus then asks them, 'How can the Christ be both David's son and his Lord?' Nobody can answer, and thereafter no one dares to question him.â€”22:45, 46.

'Woe to you, hypocrites' (23:1“24:2). Speaking to the crowds at the temple, Jesus delivers another scathing denunciation of the scribes and Pharisees. Not only have they disqualified themselves from entering into the Kingdom but they exert all their wiles to prevent others from entering. Just like whitewashed graves, they appear beautiful on the outside, but inside they are full of corruption and decay. Jesus concludes with this judgment against Jerusalem: "Your house is abandoned to you." (23:38) As he leaves the temple, Jesus prophesies its destruction.

Jesus gives 'sign of his presence' (24:3“25:46). On the Mount of Olives, his disciples question him about 'the sign of his presence and the conclusion of the system of things.' In answer Jesus points forward to a time of wars, 'nation against nation and kingdom against kingdom,' food shortages, earthquakes, an increasing of lawlessness, the earth-wide preaching of "this good news of the kingdom," the appointment of "the faithful and discreet slave . . . over all his belongings," and many other features of the composite sign that is to mark 'the arrival of the Son of man in his glory to sit down on his glorious throne.' (24:3, 7, 14, 45-47 25:31) Jesus concludes this important prophecy with the illustrations of the ten virgins and of the talents, which hold forth joyful rewards to the alert and faithful, and the illustration of the sheep and the goats, which shows goatish people departing "into everlasting cutting-off, but the righteous ones into everlasting life."”25:46.

Events of Jesus' final day (26:1“27:66). After celebrating the Passover, Jesus institutes something new with his faithful apostles, inviting them to partake of unleavened bread and wine as symbols of his body and his blood. Then they go to Gethsemane, where Jesus prays. There Judas comes with an armed crowd and betrays Jesus with a hypocritical kiss. Jesus is taken to the high priest, and the chief priests and the entire Sanhedrin look for false witnesses against Jesus. True to Jesus' prophecy, Peter disowns him when put to the test. Judas, feeling remorse, throws his betrayal money into the temple and goes off and hangs himself. In the morning Jesus is led before the Roman governor Pilate, who hands him over to be impaled under pressure from the priest-incited mob who cry: "His blood come upon us and upon our children." The governor's soldiers make fun of his kingship and then lead him out to Golgotha, where he is staked between two robbers, with a sign over his head reading, "This is Jesus the King of the Jews." (27:25, 37) After hours of torture, Jesus finally dies at about three in the afternoon and is then laid in the new memorial tomb belonging to Joseph of Arimathea. It has been the most eventful day in all history!

Jesus' resurrection and final instructions (28:1-20). Matthew now climaxes his account with the very best of news. The dead Jesus is resurrected -- he lives again! Early on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and "the other Mary" come to the tomb and hear the angel's announcement of this joyful fact. (28:1) To confirm it, Jesus himself appears to them. The enemies even try to fight the fact of his resurrection, bribing the soldiers who had been on guard at the tomb to say, "His disciples came in the night and stole him while we were sleeping." Later, in Galilee, Jesus has another meeting with his disciples. What is his departing instruction for them? This: "Go . . . make disciples of people of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the holy spirit." Would they have guidance in this preaching work? The last utterance of Jesus that Matthew records gives this assurance: "Look! I am with you all the days until the conclusion of the system of things."â€”28:13, 19, 20.

Why Beneficial

The book of Matthew, first of the four Gospels, truly provides an excellent bridge from the Hebrew Scriptures into the Christian Greek Scriptures. Unmistakably, it identifies the Messiah and King of The LORD's promised Kingdom, makes known the requirements for becoming his followers, and sets out the work that lies ahead for these on earth. First John the Baptizer, then Jesus, and finally his disciples went preaching, "The kingdom of the heavens has drawn near." Moreover, Jesus' command reaches right down to the conclusion of the system of things: "And this good news of the kingdom will be preached in all the inhabited earth for a witness to all the nations; and then the end will come." Truly it was, and still is, a grand and wonderful privilege to share in this Kingdom work, including 'making disciples of people of all the nations,' working after the pattern of the Master.”3:2; 4:17; 10:7; 24:14; 28:19.

Matthew's Gospel is indeed "good news." Its inspired message was "good news" to those who heeded it in the first century of the Common Era, and The LORD God has seen to it that it has been preserved as "good news" until this day. Even non-Christians have been compelled to acknowledge the power of this Gospel, as, for example, the Hindu leader Mohandas (Mahatma) Gandhi, who is reported to have said to Lord Irwin, a former viceroy of India: "When your country and mine shall get together on the teachings laid down by Christ in this Sermon on the Mount, we shall have solved the problems not only of our countries but those of the whole world." On another occasion Gandhi said: "By all means drink deep of the fountains that are given to you in the Sermon on the Mount . . . For the teaching of the Sermon was meant for each and every one of us."

However, the whole world, including that part claiming to be Christian, continues with its problems. It has been left to a small minority of true Christians to treasure, study, and apply the Sermon on the Mount and all the other sound counsel of the good news according to Matthew and thereby derive inestimable benefits. It is profitable to study again and again Jesus' fine admonitions on finding the real happiness, as well as on morals and marriage, the power of love, acceptable prayer, spiritual versus material values, seeking the Kingdom first, having respect for holy things, and being watchful and obedient. Matthew chapter 10 gives Jesus' service instructions to those who take up preaching the good news of "the kingdom of the heavens." The many parables of Jesus carry vital lessons for all who 'have ears to hear.' Moreover, Jesus' prophecies, such as his detailed foretelling of 'the sign of his presence,' build strong hope and confidence in the future.”5:1“7:29; 10:5-42; 13:1-58; 18:1“20:16; 21:28“22:40; 24:3“25:46.

Matthew's Gospel abounds with fulfilled prophecies. Many of his quotations from the inspired Hebrew Scriptures were for the purpose of showing these fulfillments. They provide indisputable evidence that Jesus is the Messiah, for it would have been utterly impossible to prearrange all these details. Compare, for example, Matthew 13:14, 15 with Isaiah 6:9, 10; Matthew 21:42 with Psalm 118:22, 23; and Matthew 26:31, 56 with Zechariah 13:7. Such fulfillments give us strong assurance, too, that all the prophetic forecasts of Jesus himself, recorded by Matthew, would in due course come true while God's glorious purposes with regard to "the kingdom of the heavens" reach fruition.

How exact God was in foretelling the life of the King of the Kingdom, even to minute details! How exact was the inspired Matthew in faithfully recording the fulfillment of these prophecies! As they reflect on all the prophetic fulfillments and promises recorded in the book of Matthew, lovers of righteousness can indeed exult in the knowledge and hope of "the kingdom of the heavens" as God's instrument for sanctifying his name. It is this Kingdom by Jesus Christ that brings untold blessings of life and happiness to the mild-tempered and spiritually hungry ones "in the re-creation, when the Son of man sits down upon his glorious throne." (Matt. 19:28) All of this is contained in the stimulating Gospel "according to Matthew."

Sincerely yours,

Judge Edward Singleton, D.D., CNSA

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Friday, May 19, 2006

Four Gospels

Four Gospels Course Paper

Rev. Hal Coffen

In the synoptic gospels and the Gnostic gospel of Thomas the Pharisees and John’s disciples question the fact that Jesus’ disciples are not fasting. He replies with a question: “How can the friends of the bridegroom fast when he is with them for but a short time, there will be time for fasting when he is gone.” This point leads us on a brief journey into tradition and resistance to change.

On the surface this appears to be the observation of a teacher who is all too aware of his mortality. I feel that it is another point where Christ draws our attention to his deity. Jewish tradition, as outlined in the poetic and prophetic books of the Jewish bible, describe God as the bridegroom to the Jewish people.

In accepting this mantle, he not only declares Himself to those who “have ears to hear” He also creates a new corporate entity. Just as He is the perfect melding of God/man, by becoming the Bridegroom he opens a door for us to join with him. Much as a man and a woman leave their parents to create a new entity, so must we join with Christ to create a new entity. This is not the corporate “body of the church” that the temporal powers would have us believe, but rather individually as we follow our path to God.

The warnings that follow are too frequently glossed over. To superficially add the teachings of the Bridegroom to the old covenant is to rend the new and leave it incomplete. Further even if this repair didn’t shrink and further damage the old, it would just draw attention to its difference and mask the substance of its message.

The wine skin analogies are perhaps the most telling and discouraging. If we try to force this new relationship with God into the old patterns they will burst, leaving the relationship to spill away and be ultimately lost. If as Thomas warns in his gospel we accept the new relationship but fill it with the details of the old it will spoil the new dispensation as well as the old, and leave us further behind then when we started this journey. Perhaps the most disturbing portion of this parable is in the writing of Luke. The warning that: who, having tasted the old will not prefer it to the new. If it is hard to change old physical and mental habits, how much harder will it be to change our spiritual habits? How much easier is it to follow the old ways especially given the laws to guide our way? The priests and shamen are there at the ready to correct our errors, to guide us along the way they have discerned and perhaps most telling interpret for us the meaning of the Bridegroom’s teachings.

The true path, for those of us who follow the Christ, is the one he presented. It is through him, not some hierarchy of a temporal church. Just as we should not place priests between us and our temporal spouses, (even if they seem to think they have that right today) how can it be wise to place them between our self and our Holy Bridegroom.

What then is our role as pastors? Beyond finding our own way along this difficult path, we must stand as signpost for our fellow travelers. As they explore the way to spirituality and peace we must support them in their path, not matter how different from our own. While we discover our own way we may share our discoveries with fellow travelers. But we must let our example be our guide, we must teach by that example, and the good our chosen path will present it self. How much easier it would be to present a “proven” dogma, to present that old familiar wine to searchers, rather then to lead them to the path of their own. If we our true to our own spirituality, our light will lead them to a path less prone to the human errors we call sin.

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Thursday, May 18, 2006

Four Gospels Course

The Four Gospels Course By Mark Carey

Luke Chapter 18 v1-9

I have always found this first story one of the most interesting yet least understood. To me it is about faith. Not just in God, but in the fact that he knows what is best for you and when you should receive things or challenges. It deals with how people pray for help or things. (For themselves for the most part) But when they do not receive the things or the problem for which they prayed is not solved they pray or ask less offend feeling that God is not listening to them. But the faith you should have is that of a child to a parent. Because God loves and protects you as a parent does. We do not always understand why thing happen ( story one ) or why God gives us challenges (story two ). But if you like Matthew chapter 7 v 7-8 Says “ Ask and it will be given you; seek, and Ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. For everyone that askteth, Receiveth; and he that seeketh, findeth; and to him that knocketh, it shall be opened” says to and do not quit, talked as you would to a parent who loves their child. It does not mean that we should stop asking or praying just because we got what we wanted or not. But this story is about the fact we should never give up praying to God and ask for his help for others or ourselves. But keep asking, knocking, seeking for God he will help and answer you, but in his time not ours and sometimes when least expect it he gives you want you were asking for even if it something we should have not ask for or it a small thing that we did not really need.

Story One

This has happen to me and I think you will like this little story. It was about two years ago. The day was in late June and it was in the 90’s and so was the humidity. I had to run because I was training for a road race. So after about a half mile or so, I said out loud God please let it cloud up I’m so hot. Well I know you can see this going, it did get cloudy and to my surprise a misty rain I said Thank you God and keep on going. Well after a few more miles I was still very hot. I thanked God for the misty rain again and said, please I’m so hot let it rain harder. Well with in five minutes it rained so hard and the wind got so strong that cars were pulling off the road. We got four inches of rain in a half hour. From that day on I still get a little smile whenever I think of it.

Story Two

It been eight years and I still do not understand why this challenge was given. I still pray for God to give me some light to understand why. I was sick with the flu and had a bad chest cold. After two or three weeks I went to the doctor for help. He gave me some medicine, well after about twenty minutes I started feeling very bad. So I turned around and went back to the doctor’s office. When I got there, I told them that something was wrong and fell to the floor. I remember hear thing like he gone, there’s no pulse, and that my blood pressure was zero. After a few minutes they had me back. The medicine they gave me earlier was one that I was allergic to. I went for able to do running and bike races, to barely able to walk. It has been a hard road back, but I am able to run again.

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Monday, May 15, 2006

The Unvarnished Gospels

The Essay of the Gospel Class ULC Seminary

The fact I recognize I knew more than this was most evident in my writings and of course the Lord smiled as I made a complete fool of myself. The chances of this factual knowledge of God being in one old broken down cavalry trooper was remote. Once I reread the vitally important section of the Sermon on the Mount (all references for this diatribe are those from the Unvarnished Gospels) presents a problem which is not easy to resolve - the question whether it is to be linked with what has gone before or be taken as introduction to the ensuing section about false prophets and false religion. In favor of the former it can be urged that the definite article: “the strait gate”, often has a demonstrative sense in New Testament Greek: “this strait gate”. In which case reference would appear to be to the comprehensive but difficult precept which Jesus had just laid upon his disciples: “All things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them.”

Yet this is not free from difficulty. The picture presented to the mind is of a narrow gate giving access to a narrow way, with eternal life as its end. Such a mental picture does not seem appropriate to this principle of Christian graciousness. And, further, to apply it in this way would surely imply justification by one’s own good works. If indeed a man is to keep himself in the narrow way to life by observing the Golden Rule, then it must be admitted that a vast proportion of the Lord’s people, with the best will in the world, are frequently astray from it. Again, the commentary: “few there be that find it” is hardly appropriate to the Golden Rule, which is easy enough to “find” but terribly difficult to maintain as a constant guiding influence in one’s life.

The words of Jesus here strongly suggest a faith which has to be sought out, and a personal decision and choice which have to be made. A man does not drift into the service of Christ. He becomes a disciple by making up his mind that this is the only loyalty he can accept, the only way of life for him to follow. This is the spirit of the appeal made to Israel by Moses, an appeal now reiterated by Jesus in even more challenging fashion: “I call heaven and earth to witness this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live” (Dt. 30:19).

It was a far-reaching claim that if a man would have eternal life he will find it in no other way than through the service of Christ himself: “I am the true and living way: no man cometh unto the Father but by me” (John 14:6). “I am the door: by me if any man enter in he shall be saved” (John 10:9). A man must give his own personal assent to these truths, and make his own personal decision in the light of them. The only alternative is the wide gate and broad way by which the many follow the road to destruction. The teaching of Jesus here could hardly be more explicit. There are not many or even several ways a man may follow. The Unvarnished Gospels therefore show there are only two, and every individual is in one or the other.

This “either - or” theme gets plenty of emphasis in the Bible-and needs it. Two ways (Jer. 21:8; Pr. 4:10-19); two trees (Ps. 1:6, 7; Jer. 17:5-8); two houses (Mt. 7:24-28). The Greek word for “narrow” is rather frightening. It means “squeezed up”; not “narrow”, but “made narrower”. This narrow way in Christ has to be sought for: “Few there be that find.” And since, only a short while before, Jesus had declared so unequivocally: “Seek, and ye shall find” (7:7), it follows logically that there are only few who seek! Experience underlines the truth of this. The vast majority, if not actually content with life as they find it, are so devoid of higher spiritual aspirations that they never seek anything different from what they naturally know. They do not have to “find” the way that leads to destruction. They are already in it, and are well content to make fast or slow progress there.

The teaching of Jesus here is eclecticism in its most rigorous form. In plain unvarnished fashion he made it perfectly clear that he expected no sweeping success in his preaching. The nation’s ultimate response to his appeal would be small. And in the wider field of Gentile evangelism also the same would be true.

It has become fashionable in the past several hundred years to attack the Christian faith in a unique and allegedly scholarly manner. Prominent universities, critics, skeptics, and scholars try to deny what the New Testament record reveals about Jesus Christ. Generally, most people will accept Jesus as a moral teacher whose followers developed His teachings into a religion, but what they will not accept is the testimony of Christ and Holy Writ.

The Unvarnished Gospels give us his baptism, the proclamation especially in parables of the present and future kingdom of God, a ministry of exorcism, his gathering of disciples across socio-economic boundaries, his sharing a common meal that celebrated their new relationship to God, his challenge to the Jewish teachers of His day, the arousal of opposition that led to his arrest, his trials by the Jewish authorities on charges of blasphemy and by the Romans for sedition, and his crucifixion.

The Jesus Seminar with liberal theologians, such as Burton Mack and John Dominic Crossan, differ significantly in their conclusions than the scholarship of the Historical Quest or that of the Unvarnished Gospels. The Jesus Seminar tries to claim intellectual scholarship with the Historical Quest, but fails miserably in such desperate attempts. For example, the Historical Quest and the Unvarnished Gospels believes that there are considerable sections of the Gospels that are historical. In contrast, the Seminar believes that only a minute section of the Gospels are historically reliable.

The disquieting trend in surveying the scholarship for the historical Jesus is the level of demand that is placed upon the Christian church to adjust its theologies and doctrines in light of the progression of “historical reconstructionism” of modern scholarship. However, these demands assume that the modern discoveries concerning the historical Jesus are the definitive interpretation of Jesus in contrast to the testimony of the Unvarnished Gospel writers. The question that needs answering is whether or not the historical Jesus of this research is the true counterpart of Jesus in His fullness as the New Testament documents reveal Him.

The answer to the question is without equivocation a resounding “no.” The breach between the historical Jesus of the various researches and the real Jesus of history and faith requires two things. First, scholars who are relying on history alone as the most important tool to understand Jesus Christ must understand and recognize the limits and restrictions of history. Without equivocation, the Christian faith is historical but understanding the whole of Christianity has never been based solely on historical studies. The interpreter of Scripture needs to be able to properly evaluate and reevaluate the role of history in studies of Jesus. Second, scholars must be able to correctly consign the real and historical Jesus within the life and theology of Christianity as a whole. The modern reconstructions of the historical Jesus quests need not put centuries of Christian thought and practice out of place. Certainly, the quests are profitable if the proper method and perspective are employed in such studies of the Person and work of Jesus Christ.

It is my most humble opinion that the Unvarnished Gospels and the studies we have done in this class point to the factual truth of God’s Infinite Word. Faith, Tradition, and Honor are the basis of our path to the One True God of the Multi-Cosmos (Traditionalism’s Tenets of Faith). I am a Traditionalist and I seek the Lord via that open and strict view of the Word. We must all see the truth and know that the heart gives us the power to know. It is up to us to hear the quiet call.

God loves you.

Louis Charles Hook SSG (CA)

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Tuesday, April 25, 2006

Jesus and Yehoshua

‘Jesus and Yehoshua’

By Carter Matherly

The man known today as Jesus was not always as popular as he is today. We will take a brief look into the life of this man, his teachings, and uncover some misconceptions that Paul has propagated. Jesus only held his ministries for two years and the miracles attributed to him were valid, however not entirely word for word as the bible depicts.

The first thing that we should investigate is the name of Jesus. Most people today are convinced that this was his actual name as one might be called Bob or Sherry. This is a simple misconception. Jesus is actually a Jewish title. The person who carries this title is a savior or king of the Jews. Here there is no divine implication as the Jewish religion teaches that their savior will be mortal and nowhere is it stated that the savior will be an embodiment of God. The name of the man we know as Jesus is Yehoshua ben Joseph. This was the name given to him by his parents. He obtained the title of Jesus through his followers as he was a king of Jews, just as the hundreds of other Jesus’ through history have been.

There are other misconceptions that modern believers suffer from. Through the use of titles to represent persons we understand that Jesus is really Yehoshua. We should take the time to analyze the man that was spared instead of Yehoshua. This man was known as Barabus. Barabus was the murderous robber that the Jews supposedly chose to live and let Jesus die. The misconceptions that run through this fable are deep and unfortunately strong. We will take our time in dissecting this scenario as it will lead to a greater understanding of this whole affair.

Firstly, the men: Jesus and Barabus. We have already established Jesus’ name as Yehoshua. The commonly accepted name Jesus is nothing more than a title like president or professor, so why not Barabus? After working with this name we find it is actually two words tied together, Bar and Abus. Translating these names gives us ‘Son of’ ‘The Father’. Father is capitalized because Abus refers to the heavenly father, God.

Why would a murder be named ‘Son of The Father’? It’s true that our Barabus was a murder. However this is in the same sense that a general is a murderer. Now we know that Barabus was no regular murder. His name was James, James the Just to be exact. This was Yehoshua’s brother.

To understand how both brothers came to such a predicament we need to research their roles in the Cannite Qumran community. This Jewish community was founded by Moses when he led the Jews out of Egypt. It was founded on three basic principals. The king, the priest, and God. This was represented by twin pillars connected by an archway representing heaven; the key stone in the archway was named ‘shalom’ meaning God. Yehoshua was always the leader and thus he occupied the Kingly role while his brother was the priestly one. James only assumed this role after the decapitation of John the Baptist.

Yehoshua did not recognize his brother as the priestly pillar of this community and thus claimed that he was all of them after John the Baptist’s death. This is the origin of the greatest misconception of Yehoshua’s earthly state. When he claimed to be all of them he only intended the kingly and priestly. However, as we will learn later, Paul got this statement all backwards in his teachings. Yehoshua never clamed to be shalom or God.

Parts of Yehoshua’s teachings were a return to the basic Ten Commandments that Moses brought to his people. Yehoshua said that the other some 450 holy laws were an invention of man and a mockery of God’s intent. This proclamation, along with his ongoing insisting that he was not only the king but the priest of the community led to eventual unrest among the people and the roman leadership who oversaw the community.

On the holiest night of the year Yehoshua stormed into the Holiest of Holies to make his devotion. Only the high priest was allowed to enter here and this privilege was offered only once a year. It was this act that eventually led to Yehoshua’s arrest.

Interestingly enough, charges were brought against James for leading a raid through another city in God’s name. The Romans now had the two leaders of the Qumran community in their hands for execution. Pontius Pilot knew that executing both of them would create civil war. So he did something that had never been done and would never be done again. He offered the crowd to save one of the men. This was a tough decision, save the priest of the king. The crowd chose their priest, James. Of course, Yehoshua was crucified as this was their form of the gas chamber or electric chair. A King or any military leader is a very useful tool in death, the martyr dying for the cause.

Yehoshua died on the cross only two years after being baptized by John the Baptist. His brother James lived for another twenty years before his death. The Christian movement didn’t occur for fifty years after Yehoshua’s death. A man by the name of Paul, obtained a scroll of Qumran that spoke of the workings of the Jesus Yehoshua. It can be easily seen how the name Jesus became a staple when reading the scrolls. It looked like this was his actual name rather than a title, much like Barabus!

Paul is an interesting character. The Romans referred to him as ‘Paul, the spouter of lies’. Christianity’s nickname Paul-theism also comes from this infamous namesake. Paul preached what was written in the scrolls he found. Sadly what was written was in dialect and slang familiar to the Qumran community. The effect was like taking a news paper from England and reading it in California. Things would be mistaken in their meanings. In England a cigarette is referred to as a ‘:censor:’ I think this analogy accurately illustrates my point.

A prime example of this is the act of turning water to wine. This was a slang term for turning nothing into something. In actuality, Yehoshua baptized everyone at that wedding party. The un-baptized were water and after they were baptized they had become wine. This is only one example of the many false teachings of Paul.

The man we know today as Jesus was actually named Yehoshua and had a brother named James or as the bible referred to him, Barabus. Yehoshua did many things that were considered great enough to be written down in a time when printing presses and computers did not exist. These scrolls were later obtained and mistranslated by Paul. A man so revered by the Romans that they called him ‘Paul the spouter of lies’. Through his work Paul laid the foundations for Paul-theism or commonly referred to as Christianity.

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