This is an addendum to my last blog.
What Christians must ask themselves is if when they see the truth spilled from Jesus's mouth do they accept it or read a theological inference into it while modifying it?If they can't hear his unadulterated voice without the noise of men then the truth is squelched.It was squelched for me for a long time because I had a belief system handed to me that I justified with empty sophistry as I gathered and misused a few texts here and there that I proceeded to use to modify the words of Jesus to fit that belief system.I justified this because I accepted the authority of men's supposed sound interpretations that I was scared to question because of what that might mean for my pride and popularity,my salvation even,as I was hounded with the lie that to believe differently from my peers would equal my loss of favor with God and ultimate destruction,my being labelled and considered dead.I really cannot find a whole heap of difference between my experience as a JW and the experience of those who dare question creeds and traditions of men within Christian churches.The truth can stand up to any scrutiny and that should be our quest.When challenged by logic and (biblical)reasoning and Jesus's own words without philosophical sophistry/imposition,do we feel threatened?Do we run everywhere we can to find justification for our belief when it seems to be refuted by plain texts from bible cover to cover?Do we use ambiguous texts or arguments replete with nothing beyond inference to establish a dear tradition?I think the trinity is every bit as stable as 1914 and the JW separation of Christians into 2 classes.It is a preconception garnered from a serious & egregious misuse of a literal few scriptures that leads to a fairy tale "hypostatic union."The misinterpretation of which is read back INTO and imposed upon Yahweh and Jesus's simple words all over scripture,essentially butchering their beautiful true intent.
I've noticed trinitarians feel especially threatened when they are told a body with no Jesus in it wasn't a good enough sacrifice.Jesus *himself* (the person of Christ)had to die,which God defines as a lack of breath and thoughts,as being asleep and silent in a grave.Wonder why that thought in particular might make them get hostile enough to name call,block people online,or boot them from message boards?Perhaps because God can't die(however they falsely define what death means,God still can't die regardless!Jesus STILL wasn't two people so no person actually ever died for them.This is SERIOUSLY unbiblical.)I can only imagine what might happen in an orthodox church if someone kept trying to assert this basic truth,this simple "milk of the word."Yes,Jesus the individual actually perished for 3 whole days.God forbid!Truth seeking voices are silenced with threats to their stance with God.With threats to their salvation.From people they love who seem like sheep,who have a lot of truth and love.But are there lies and hypocrisy in the mix is the question?
Just like JW's,Christians feel safe in their little community,love bombed so to speak,and certainly don't want to lose that.And if they start believing something integral and important that Jesus said that might contradict the cherished traditions of their peers,possibly even their own family,what would this mean for them?Even if they spoke up,left their church(accepting Jesus's unadulterated claims with no philosophical mysterious imposition,again) and were able to keep a few friends and their family despite,wouldn't the judgments,though perhaps more silent and less severe(in a way)than the WT's would be,be almost unbearable?After all,your peers and family have been bombarded with the propaganda and deception that anyone who thinks Jesus is a *made* Lord who has a God who's a separate being are cultist unsaved abominable heretics.We know what happened to those in the past!And that kind of indoctrination(that kind of manipulation of the mind) is powerful,treacherous,unjustified,and pathetic.In my opinion,equalling something similar to the WT's mind control because of how pervasive and insistent it is.Then when we add eternal conscious torment to the mix for not believing manmade dogmas,(which is yet ANOTHER twisting of scripture),we have serious injustice happening to those who dare question popular opinions or blind traditions,much like the WT,again.
My propagating truth and exposing injustice here is in no way a judgment of any individual's salvation.The REAL truth could attract the "cults" and others to a biblically restored true Christianity as opposed to a Hellenized one that perverts truth,that offers no attraction at all to many truth seekers because of its fairy tales,like the trinity,the wrong idea about hell,disembodied souls,and eternal heaven-dwelling.Every Christian needs to fellowship after all,and so those with unorthodox scripturally based beliefs sometimes get lost in cults for lack of fellowshipping options.These people can't in good conscience regularly attend a church where God died and grandma is burning in hell anymore than a Christian could be a JW knowing they can't be born again.Some of the most BASIC MILK OF THE WORD is being squelched in Hellenized Christianity,which causes some people to seek fellowship elsewhere,sometimes even in cults, that DO understand certain biblical basics that the mainstream doesn't.They are then prone to be deceived with lies that are mixed in with some basic truths because that is how Satan operates and entraps those who love God.Orthodoxy,so replete and saturated with a Hellenistic infiltration(ultimately equalling an unwarranted modification of basic biblical truths)has repulsed,even offended,those who ardently desire to keep some of the most basic bible truths,again,the milk of the word,intact.Some of what Hellenized Christianity doesn't propagate that *certain* "cults" might,hence people's attraction to them and being stumbled by Christendom:
1.*Biblical creeds* about God and Christ.
2.The righteous inheriting the earth and living forever upon it.
3.Souls don't live apart from bodies.We are glorified at the *last day* and not before.Death is sleep.Bodies with no people don't sleep.Souls can die.
4.Jesus slept for 3 days before he woke up.A nature is no savior.
5.The wicked perish eternally.Gehenna(hell) clearly consumes.
If a belief is *plainly* stated in scripture as something we must believe,then no councils or killing or threats or torture is needed to enforce it on sincere Christians.Keep this always in mind.I also believe that when Christians tell others who believe Jesus is Messiah and Lord that they will burn alive forever,judging their salvation and stance with God,that what they're doing is not only unwarranted,but also dangerous and boldly arrogant.Unless of course you can find something Jesus or Yahweh said clearly that would condemn people without your added stretch and inference.For goodness sake,educate yourself about gehenna as well.
Hellenized Christianity either repulses some(like JW's and Jews who want to preserve biblical monotheism) or keeps those that embrace it in the throes of a comfortable but insidious deception.Truth is important.And to fellowship TOO closely with those who deny some of Jesus's most basic truths could be dangerous,an entrapment.Remember the Jews in the OT who would cavort with those with false beliefs would oft be corrupted themselves,even as I'm sure they never intended to rebel against truth.The subtle influence of deception is serious.I completely believe that God knows the heart,is ultra merciful and loving and that love can cover a multitude of sin.In other words,I don't know who He will save and who is "saved."That will not stop my propagating of the basic milk of the word though.Nor my trying to wake people up to what constitutes a beautifully restored BIBLICAL Christianity.Love involves advancing truth(Jesus's words)and if I am rejected or labelled or thought of as "dead" because of doing so,then I cannot closely congregate with those so brazen no matter how much I love them.I do not wish to share with them in their deceit even AS I share Jesus's words with them and the danger of false belief systems.I expose Hellenized Christianity for the same reasons they(and I) expose the WT org.Because I love them and want to see them come to the truth.To question their traditions fearlessly and listen to the Lord they love.
Make sure your system of worship isn't a stumbling block as big as the WT's.Read about the history of your beliefs every bit as voraciously as you would like to see a JW read Ray Franz's books.Our goal should be the faith of Abraham,Isaac,Jacob,Jesus,and the apostles,not of *platonically philosophically schooled* Early Church Fathers and councils of men who were egregiously unable to take one single bible verse anywhere to call their creed.And this uninspired man-scripted bloodguilty dogma(the trinity) should not be what,much like the WT literature for the JW,you use to butcher &/or modify Jesus's plain words throughout the NT.Even as you admit Abraham,Isaac,Jacob and the like didn't share your faith in your dogma that you call the most essential to your salvation.Newsflash:Jesus was a Jew and neither did he.Fact is,there are many home churches and humble churches across the US and the world who share my faith who might be called cults by your pulpit propagandist preachers,but assertions are often meritless.Many ex- trinitarians,ex-Modalists and also ex JW's like myself can recognize your propaganda and lies as readily as you do the WT's!And it is my hope that you might come to as well,even as you fearlessly truth seek and heed your conscience qualms over the blind spots in your Pharisaic dogmas and traditions that stumble truth seekers every bit as readily as certain WT beliefs and practices...
Questions worthy of contemplation for those intent on exposing cults for THEIR Pharisaic dogmas:
If you had questions about certain orthodox "essential* doctrines that you found to be,well,questionable,and you let your pastor know,would his reaction(and the ultimate reaction of your "worldwide community of brothers and sisters") belittle your quest for truth in any way or make your stance with God feel threatened by labels and condemnation?Especially if you were to actually heed your "crisis of conscience" while embracing the whole of scripture as a truthful testimony of reality.As opposed to reading something man has written and called a creed *back into* everything you read.If so,how is that any different from what a JW goes through when they have questions about the "mysterious" Watchtower assertions?
Let's *pretend* my brothers and sisters who thought God was,oh,say,*5 people* due to a misunderstanding of scripture in the past proceeded to murder and torture anyone who held a different view of God.Either that,or silence them with banishment and threats and intimidation.Would you be suspicious at all of my belief?If not,why not?Would you at least QUESTION the spirit behind a doctrine that might inspire this kind of rage and insanity?If not,why not?If so,what would this mean if you were to heed your conscience ridden objections about *your* doctrine that inspired the same on a massive scale?How then would the manner in which you'd be treated for listening to your conscience be any less objectionable to how a JW would be treated for heeding theirs?
Next time you criticize the WT society for what it is that your religious system also practices,extract the rafter FIRST.Then perhaps the conscientious JW's might take your objections more seriously.3 individual persons called Yahweh,each 100% God,does not equal one Yahweh.It is WILLFUL self deceit and a denial of basic kindergarten math to say otherwise.It would be like,with a straight face and closed mind,asserting dogmatically and ardently that 1+1+1=1.Then condemning people to a hell that consciously torments ceaselessly unto eternity(Jesus rather preached Gehenna,a fire that CONSUMED so epic fail here for Christians) for not buying it.Ask a child about this.Listen to their honest answer.Then remember Jesus said the kingdom belongs to suchlike ones.Take this math to your pastor and see if he reacts any differently from how an elder would at a kingdom hall if a JW told them Jesus was their mediator,that it's basic bible language and logic that shouldn't be fought.Might be patient at first,but labelling,possibly even shunning,and definitely condemning to some fate much worse than that of the "apostates" from the WT fate awaits supposed "heretics" who know Jesus has a God and adopts John 17:3 and Deut. 6:4 as good enough creeds.Ahh,the irony!(and the hypocrisy.)
God bless everyone and thank you for taking the time to read.
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