As for me, I would prefer to err, if I am to err at all (and somebody reading this is saying - YOU HAVE ERRED - I Know), on the side of grace, as opposed to relying upon convoluted texts, mistranslations, malapropisms, misinterpretations, dogma, preachers and teachers ..., well-intended or not! Part 3
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Aristotle held that there were three basic activities of man: theoria, poiesis and praxis. There corresponded to these kinds of activity three types of knowledge: theoretical, to which the end goal was truth; poietical, to which the end goal was production; and practical, to which the end goal was action. Which one is being practiced or pursued in Christian traditions today?
continued..
And you shall know them by their love? Well, that disqualifies a whole lot of religious people that I know of, if love is the measure by which we shall know them. In fact, religious people from all faiths, denominations ..., are more religious than they are godly! That is, they pray, fast twice in the week, tithe ... but lack the fifth element or central ingredient, love!
Too many Christians, similar to the pastor's wife, are harbingers of the Jonah complex. Remember, God ordered Jonah to travel to Nineveh, the soon to be capital of the Assyrian Temple, to warn its inhabitants that Nineveh would be destroyed ...
Jonah was not happy, furthermore he was reluctant to go and preach to the at Nineveh to the Assyrian people (ironically, the same general areas where American Christian's fiercest enemies reside today). He, was so reluctant to go to minister to these people, that attempted to go in a completely reluctant direction.
After being spared himself, given his reluctance to obey God and failed escape, he still couldn't understand why God would want to fail the people that he hated. And being a prophet of the Lord, he sensed the mercy of God that would follow the message, and that the people just might repent.
And, if the people would repent, he knew that God would have mercy upon, and Jonah, like many of Christians today, have a similar attitude about middle-Eastern people.
would spare the city's inhabitants. How dare God, the reluctant Jonah felt, to have mercy on a nation of people that he and many of the Israelites hated. Burn baby burn, men, women and children!
Most of the time, it seems as if God's sole purpose in sending a message of doom, is to give people a opportunity to change direction. However, even among Christian, preachers, teachers and laypeople, there is hunger for judgment on other people whereas Christians desire mercy for themselves.
Just consider Evangelist Pat Robertson of, 'let's ignore the Roadmap to Peace proposal', that was being considered by President George H. Bush Jr. (good Christian brother that he is. A roadmap for peace in the Middle-East. People got his Bible to tell the President and anyone else who would listen that it is recorded in 'the word of God', that these nations were to be destroyed.
In fact, brother Pat-Jonah, wanted to see those Middle-Easterners, especially Muslims to get slaughtered by NATO Forces. According to bible eschatology, as Pat interpreted it, the Muslims (even babies) were to be destroyed and 'Aryan Christians', were to prevail. Er herm, and don't forget that he also he wanted President Hugo Chavez to get knocked off too..., and for him to burn, baby burn!
Jihad, death to the Great Satan, Kill them Muslims, Stop the Commies..., God and most Christians like Pat would say. And God forgave Pat for attempting to run for President of the United States again, after Pat said that God told him not to run. Man, God was even afraid of what might happen to millions of innocent people if Pastor Pat was to become President of the United States.Did you know what else, I got banned, just the other day from all events sponsored by the Black Chamber of Commerce on Parkmoor Avenue in San Jose California.
I must be the only black person in history, who was ever banned from a Black Chamber of Commerce. Well, blacks didn't care for Marcus Garvey, or (The National Baptist Convention) for Dr. MLK at first either, did either group. Man, I get banned from everything, for example the Mormon church years ago, a black church and now the Black Chamber. What is this spirit of banning, banishing and hoping that other people will burn, that is so common among western institutions, even black ones.
Now, I may just reconsider joining the White Chamber of Commerce or the Mormon Church, if they will have me and permit me to sing "Nobody Knows The Trouble I See". And like Jesus, he came to his own and they didn't receive him either. By the way, a few days after I was banned from the Black Chamber, thank God: I was then asked to consider joining the Board of Directors of a major white organization in the area. What does this all mean?
Perhaps we are making progress after all. And perhaps, now it is time for black organizations to follow the lead of the white Mormon Church and other white organizations who have stopped banning people of other races in many instances!
Okay, I've been sarcastic enough, and I have to go: I could cite more examples of this kind of idiocy, but as usual, I have too many things on my plate to attend to, and will have to get back to this article and make corrections later.
However, consider the following talking points in review.Anyone, who does not show mercy or compassion is obviously living in a delusional state, particularly, if they believe that religion triumphs grace. And again, Adam disobeyed God, and his punishment was to live an extended lifetime of 900-plus years.
This suggests to me that Adam's God was a God of Mercy, well, how about the Christian, JW ... God? God wouldn't take any pleasure in seeing any individuals burn for trillions of years or more, even though those who claim to be followers would be all for it, if other people were to burn forever - particularly the ones that, like Jonah, they don't particularly like!
Could that be the reason that the entity or whatever it is, that we refer to as God, wisely stays away from us? Humans put Jesus to death: I suspect that it would be just a matter of time before humans would attempt to destroy an anthropomorphic God-being, if there were one and they could get to him or her!
Human Christian misinterpretation of what we refer to as God and God's will, leaves something to be desired. And if religious conclusions and interpretations are based merely upon, outdated texts, I understand how everyone came to their conclusions, but it is time to update the message. So go and, ask God? If God won't talk back, then figure out what not?
Attempting to make human understanding to coincide with that of the God entity, or other, is on its face, problematic. Again, if God is eternal, then why not simply take out your Android phone, give IT a call, and get things cleared up!
If Ibrim lived today,,Abraham, he would likely me a Muslim today, and who knows a member of Islam that would be saved by grace through faith, well, as long as he didn't consult with a western Christian.
How come individuals in other regions of the world, who possess faith, are denied salvation despite their faith in the Almighty, no matter what? Does it simply have to do with human prejudice? I know Pat, there God is not the real God and yours isn't either, I suspect? In other words, like churches who withhold communion from some people, Christian churches tend to withhold grace, from non-westerners.
Remember that neither Abraham, Jeremiah, Stephen … or many other prominent biblical characters ever heard of Christianity, yet they experienced grace and had faith.
I have seen too many individuals who are high on their own religious beliefs, which encompasses being in love with their own minds and interpretations of things! Too many in the religious world, lack and oftentimes withhold grace from people who are no better and no worse than they are.
In closing, I am reminded of something that is recorded in the book of Jeremiah, "They said that I said, but I have never spoken to them" . That scripture continues to resonate, more and more, for too many religious groups. What if God was to speak ..., and say to Christians ... one day, "I NEVER SAID THAT ...", what you said that I said, how would you feel?
Or what if one day God said: I really did tell people like Solomon, that grace trumps theology, and to seek an answer in love, rather than the other. Then, what would you have to say?
I will also remind my critics, the ones who will often quote the Apostle Paul in his letter (not scripture) that, All scripture is God-breathed...",Please respond to the following questions:
What was scripture, and what scriptures was Paul referring to when he wrote this in his letters?
What part of the Canon existed when Paul wrote these words?
What texts was he referring to?
Did, the Apostle Paul consider 'his writings', as the Apostle Peter referred to them in his letter to be scriptures?
Wouldn't a sincere examination of not only the Christian faith, and many of its tenants, texts and principles be timely, given all of the confusion that exists in the religious world (given what religious people have concluded to be divine, I believe, has more to do with human ideals and misunderstandings, and less to do with anything that a God-creator figure said, I suspect)?
Why did the Apostle even admit, that some things that he wrote, were more by permission than a direct inspiration from God?
I suspect that if Christians, and not just Christians, could get away from their regional concepts of God, and consider all of the appellations... that have been used to refer to or explain this phenomenon that we call God, that they would have to admit that their intolerance of other people and their withholding of grace from other people who are not like them, neither comports nor reflects the personality or nature of the entity or thing that they are referring to as God!
Praxis: Having said that, I believe that the faith of someone who hasn't heard of the term “God”, Yvh, Adonai …, will be sufficient for them to arrive at the truth, just ask Hagar! Or ask, knock, see or 'smote on your chest, and see IT won't respond to you ..., I would tell anyone, anywhere and at anytime, AND THE TRUTH WILL COME AND FIND YOU!
Again, if I am to err or have erred at all, I would prefer to err, if at all, on the side of grace as opposed to theology and dogma. The letter kills right? And just as you sit before your computer, IPOD ..., ask God, what it is that you really need to know, and the real teacher will be sent, even the Spirit of Truth!
Rely less on theology or theological or religious constructs, and take responsibility for your own life - don't put the responsibility for your life in the hands of another human being! When you heard from or observed all of the religious groups, that often time leave you confused, simply ask, what we refer to as GOD for answer? Why? God didn't make religion, we did that! Focus more on love then, if you really believe that God is love, and less on religion, especially intolerant religion and intolerant religious teachers.
I am afraid that too many of our religious groups, even the well-intended ones, have done what Jesus accused the Pharisees of doing: He said, YOU HAVE SHUT HEAVEN UP (or off it you prefer), you are not going in, and you are keeping others from going in. Now that's something to think about! And if you are a religious person that is so confident, pious and unlike other women and men, perhaps you ought to rethink this whole thing, but at all cost, please never think, say or feel that someone else ought to 'burn baby burn! A Christian bible scripture reads like this: And you shall know them by their love (which includes grace)!
Love, Peace & Grace
Solomon
Addenda: Here is something that (what we call, unmistakably said to me (not an auditory hallucination), several years ago: IT was: Satan is going to try to cut you off..., shut you off ..., and to destroy you, but IN YOUR ARM IS THE SEAL OF ABRAHAM!
And that is the reason that you are reading a blog rightly named as: THE SEAL of ABRAHAM, and guess what, Satan tried, but I am still here!
See, I am not a heretic, apostate or misguided after all. And who tried to do what God said? Just as religious zealots did with Jesus in his time, modern-day Christians, have attempted to and done the same to me, and still I am still here to encourage everyone, to seek after what is real rather than get bogged down in religion or religious social constructs.
There is something greater, that exceeds religious dogma and superstition - 2000 years after the common era and we should have uncovered IT by now! Just as it was in Jesus' time, it was religious zealots who believed that they had a monopoly on truth. And Jesus told them, that they had heaven closed up, in spite of all of their proselyting. I suspect that the same holds true with modern day religious groups.
I will come back and fix this one day too ... but I have to go now! And why am I so outspoken? Listen, I have burned my bridges with religious groups already, ergo I am free to pursue the truth, and to follow the example of the controversial Jesus Christ who became an enemy to establish religion. And for me, Salvation is far more important than condemnation and condemnation theology happens to be.
After all, all of us have sinned, according to the Apostle, and come short of the glory. So, who am I to judge?
Love, peace, grace (and don't burn anybody Christians)
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