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Showing posts with label Catholicism. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Catholicism. Show all posts

Thursday, July 12, 2007

The Ann Coulter Philosophy- Taking God's Name in Vain

I am writing about a comment that Ann Coulter made and because I just recently read it for the first time, as it has been screenprinted on a T-Shirt that is available online to purchase.
I just recently looked up the article she wrote to verify the comment of hers. It is probably old news for the Conservatives and Liberals alike, Ann Coulter, writer for the National Review, an extremist conservative online news blog made a quote that I am compelled to write an editorial about. I read the short comment at the end of the article that clearly shows just how far and how off scripture people can get regarding hatred and war. I just wonder how many people Ann has won for Jesus with her awful off the wall comments that have nothing to do with Christianity of the Scripture but have everything to do with the Christianity of a pagan Church gone mad who spouts out a false gospel, which is no "good news" at all - Christian Nationalism. To quote her in the article this is what she said about the Muslims.
"We should invade their countries, kill their leaders and convert them to Christianity.
We weren't punctilious about locating and punishing only Hitler and his top officers. We carpet-bombed German cities; we killed civilians. That's war. And this is war."


She was right when she said that is war - death and destruction to whomever. General Patton put it this way, "War is hell". How right he was, but he forgot to mention that is also comes from hell".
How does she differ from any man who goes to church, thinking his thoughts and speech differ any from those of the fanatical Muslims who say to others the same stupid thing - "kill them all and let Allah sort them out".
It doesn't.
The problem with Ann is she appeases the flesh of our society when she makes statements like these but most of all she "takes the name of the Lord thy God in vain". Most people Christian and sometimes non-Christian grow angry when they hear someone use the word G_ _ D_ _ _ _ because tradition has taught them this is what it means to take God's name in vain.
First of all, His name isn't God, it is I AM - the GREAT I AM- Jehovah, and revealed to us in the flesh as the Man/God- Yeshua - tranliterated into English as Jesus. Referred to by most Christians as Jesus Christ.

Ann doesnt realize her very words are words that "take the name of God in vain". For you see regardless of all the traditions of men and all the theologians , theologizing, one has a real difficult time if they do scriptural interpretation properly -that is the New Testament interprets the Old - not the other way around,to come up with an Ann Coulter's philosophy and call it Christian, when it comes to hating your enemy. There is no where in the words of anything our Lord ever spoke while on this earth or even today from heaven, anything "Christ like" in hating your enemy.
The Old Testament is full of shadows, unrevealed truth about God until God manifest Himself as man in the person of Jesus Christ. Thus when Jesus speaks he speaks with all authority and above all authority of whatever was written in the Old Testament.
He is the Lord thy God speaking God's will for men today, in a New Covenant (Testament). God is sovereign and can change anytime he wants to the ground rules for life and thus Jesus wiped out the idea of eye for an eye and tooth for a tooth.
So, how does Ann's words ever come out to be Christian, they don't. They are ignorant and reveal her biblical ignorance. For Jesus is the Prince of Peace.
It is Jesus who teaches us to suffer, "to not insult when insulted, not to injure when injured" and it is his teaching on the Mount of Olives found in Matthew that slaps the duct tape write over the mouths of all those so called great religionist like Augustine, who helped develop the stupidity of interpreting the New from the Old rather than the other way around. Out of his inability to understand scripture he helped propagate the concept of "Justified war". This one little theological concept that has plagued the church of Jesus Christ since, causing a scourge of liars and demons to reign on this earth in the form of warmongers in the name of Christ- the greatest example of taking God's name in vain.
Even today, the Muslims refer to us as the "Crusaders". Most people don't understand or even have the slightest knowledge of the history surrounding the Crusades, who fought them or why. Instead we as Americans have been given the romanticised ideals of the knights in shining armor saving the distressed damsel. "King Arther and his Knights of the Roundtable" do not tell the tale of the truth of the Crusades.
I quote from the book, entitled "A History of Christianity by Brian Moynahan.
*"Religion, as an ancient Arab saying went, "is a falcon with which to hunt", Christians also learned to use their "faith" as an instrument of war, finding the fierce bird too, immensely and adaptable". ..end quote.

Here are just a few facts that perhaps "Protestants" did not know.
Pope Urban, to help re-open the land route to Jerusalem that had been cut of by the Turks, wanted to motivate the "faithful" to do so by force of arms.
He begged his listeners - "I, not I, but God exhorts you- to urge the men of all ranks, knights and foot soldiers, rich and poor, to hasten to exterminate this vile race (referring to the Muslims) from our lands" (referring to the Holy lands).
His voice was frequently drowned by tremendous cries of "Deus le volt" "God wills it!"
Any who fought the pagans would enjoy remission of sins, "this I grant to all who go", he said."through the power vested in ME by God, he said.
The Pope had no imagination in obtaining a motivation amongst those who the church reminded them they were sinners. What a perfect opportunity to have your sins forgiven by simple declaration of the Pope, by simply taking up arms against these horrible people the Muslims.It appeased the flesh of men, it coincided well with the religiosity of the church and it gave the people a way out of purgatory and hell.
What churchman or woman would not take an opportunity such as this to finally assuredly have their sins forgiven for all time declared by the "only true representative of Christ on earth (Catholic teaching and Protestant practice often), by simply taking up arms against an enemy that did not share the same religion as they. To have their sins wiped clean by the shed blood of a Muslim enemy. A religion that in their opinion and most of the opinion of today is made up of pagans anyway. Forgetting that much of the Western church practices and beliefs are as pagan as well. The only thing the Protestants did was exchange the pope for a pastor or denominational president and Luther gave the bible back to the "unlearned" but still managed to keep them in ignorance with the belief one has to go off to seminary and be educated to have any authority about scripture. Only the educated and the called and ordained minister can interpret it are the Protestant belief.
What change was there? Very little and next to none. Catholics and Protestants are on the same stick just slightly at opposite ends. The difference is there is a "christian religion" and then there is "Christianity" and the two in truth are a long way apart from one another. There is no compromise between evil and good and there can be none. We are taught to hold onto that which is good and to abstain from evil. but the evil is pervading with teachings from hell and liars even today.

So, Pope Urban managed in a short speech to motivate the faithful to war. There is np difference in the same popery that goes on in many churches today, with the ideals being taught like Ann Coulters philosophy, Kill them all, then we can Christianize them.
What a farce and what a lie, for if our faith in a living God is not above their gods of violence, who shall want to come to Christ, for in that very declaration made by such important church leaders, the Christian faithful have their own declaration of "jihad", Holy War!
The willingness to die for their "faith" no matter what, guaranteeing their entrance into heaven is no different than that of a Muslim who is willing to die for his "religion".
Thus today we find many "christians", unlike myself, willing to go to war-crying "God wills it". How they do not recognize that when they do so, they take the name of Jesus in vain. They disparage the name of Jesus, their actions, their beliefs and their hatred compares none to those that we claim are our enemies.
Put your self in the shoes of the enemy, what do you as a Christian have to offer that differs from their own religion, if it is not the Christ who did not offer insult to those that insulted Him, or injury to those that injured him, then you have nothing to offer. This is what we have to offer, our Saviour and Lord who told Peter, put away your sword. The same Jesus who taught us to love your enemy. Forgetting that we were yet His enemies, when Christ died for our sins. Forgetting that He could have called ten thousand angels to defend him, and ushered in what Israel to this day still tries to lay claim to -the world.
If Christianity offers nothing more than other religions worldwide- to which ours is suppose to be love undeserved toward all mankind, than what is their to offer?
What Christianity would Ann Coulter and her followers in America offer a Muslim, who you have killed and slaughtered their children, their women and the innocent for the sake of revenge and because of fear.
Where is the "faith" that these Christian Nationalist proclaim to have. My answer, they are not Christians, and if so they have been seriously decieved by Popery once again. They have forgotten from whence they came. They forget they were enemies of God and deserved death as well, yet God loved us first.
The "church" that teaches hatred of the enemy is no church at all, it is a deception and a lie, Satan himself coming as angel of light.
Truly the last days are here as the Bible describes these people as lovers of themselves, boasters, proud, haters of good, lovers of money.
The greatest thing a Christian can do, is love your enemy, pray for them that despitefully use you. Where are the words of Jesus in the "church" today?
They aren't there, and if not, then it is no EKKLESIA at all, it is an apparition of evil disguised, wolves in sheeps clothing.
For those of you, that subscribe to the words of Ann Coulter, my only obligation is to pray for you that your eyes might be opened to truth, and you will flee from evil. The philosophy that she brings is the philosophy of a world gone mad at the hands of Satan himself. REPENT!
" You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain". There is much more meaning to that then what the average American has been taught to beleive.
For those "high priest and "pastors" that teach such garbage, your condemnation awaits in the end. For many will come saying, Lord, Lord, but He will say to them - I knew you not.

Dr. J.

Wednesday, March 14, 2007

Pastoring America

I recently ran across some news on the Zondervan website, I have to share, because this further confirms the problem I have with the institutional church. We have strayed far from what Christ had in mind. Origen started it with his lifting the Bishop to being equal with Christ, and Constantine building the temples. Catholicism to Protestantism, the game is the same, these two are on the same stick, just opposite ends. This has existed since the church no longer was the make up of all beleivers,(the EKKLESIA, called out ones) and the multiplicity of elders among each body and each operating in the gifts of the Spirit as given. It has become a place to go to and a man to hear. Sunday entertainment. Ask most folks within a day of Sunday service what the sermon was about and they can't tell you. We may have restored the Bible to the common people, but Luther never strayed from the concept of the one man show and the temple being a building. The church has remained in this darkness for over 1800 years. The article quoted below clearly shows how seriously we are off the track, and the purpose of Christ. To go into all the world and preach the Gospel. This was not a command for just those that are "called to preach" a misnomer from day one. All believers are called to the ministry of reconciliation and they are priest of the Almighty. We have left what Christ established to return to Judaism with the building of our temples and the creation of our high priest. Read these recent statistics.

Survey: Pastors Would Use Surprise Income to Build and Evangelize

(ER 5.11.06) - A new survey shows what pastors nationwide would do if their church received an unexpected financial windfall.

The research was conducted for Facts & Trends magazine and sought to clarify the overall budget and spending priorities of clergy and lay people. According to a survey conducted by Ellison Research, 31% of the more than 500 Protestant pastors surveyed said they'd build, expand, or update their church's buildings and facilities. That preference is even more pronounced among Southern Baptist pastors, 43% of whom say they'd spend the unexpected financial boon on facilities.

Sixteen percent of all pastors say they'd use the windfall to increase community evangelism activities. Paying off debt (12%) and adding staff (10%) are also among the priorities expressed. Only 1 percent indicate they'd use the windfall to increase the salaries or benefits for staff members.

In a companion survey of almost 1,200 Protestant lay people, the top 3 priorities for spending a windfall would be paying off debt (18%), increasing social programs (18%), and building, expanding, or updating church facilities (17%).

Dr. Thom Rainer, author of Breakout Churches and The Unchurched Next Door, says the surveys show the need for a balanced perspective on what it means to be a church.

"It seems as if the research confirms that we can lose our focus when we start focusing on that which matters but which should be more peripheral than the main things, such as evangelism," Rainer notes.

Ron Sellers, president of Ellison Research, says the findings may make it appear that evangelism, missions, and outreach are a higher priority for clergy than for their congregations. "[But] in reality, both put a fairly high priority on evangelism," he says. "They just have different priorities for where the evangelism should take place."

Rainer offers a different perspective. "More than half of all members of churches in America will meet their Savior face to face without ever having shared Christ with anyone," he says. "On the leadership issue, 53% of pastors have not shared Christ, by their own admission, in the last 6 months."
Rainer admits he may be oversimplifying things, but offers this observation: "It seems to me, when someone [asks]: 'What's wrong with the evangelistic health of our churches?' — I can give a simple response: We're not doing it." (Source: Ellison Research, www.ellisonresearch.com)

What this clearly shows, is a total error on the part of Pastors, and in my opinion much of the congregation as well. Being segregated into our own little shelters and thinking God dwells there, and that all there is to worship is going to the building.

Worship encompasses all that we are, if we are believers. Every part of our life, everyday. We have hidden ourselves in our selfish agendas to build bigger and better than the next guy- whatever denomination or other church there is in our community. Athens, Texas has over 47 (give or take a few) different churches, yet evangelism, feeding the poor, and missionary work is very low within this community. Not, that there aren't some programs out there to do these things, but the question must be asked, what impact has it had on this community of some of the highest known drug arrest for methamphetamines and more.
Very, very little. Lets look at some more facts.

91% of all Christian outreach/evangelism does not target non-Christians, but rather those who have already heard the gospel and have a number of churches in their area. while 67% of the people in the world still have not heard the name of Jesus and 200 million Christians live und some form of persecution for their faith.
Christianity in the West flourishes as a multi-billion dollar enterprise. Statistics like these confirm that the Body of Christ has, for the most part committed it's rich supply of resources to itself. Pickup any Christian magazine (you'll find a vast selection) and see for yourself. They are loaded with ads for all sorts of conferences and seminars, Christian entertainment, books of every kind, T-Shirts, CD's almost anything you could imagine. In addition to T-Shirts and music, you can find a deluge of Christianized pop-psychology and the latest Christian romance novels. Everything from Christian debt consolidation to Christian singles clubs are all prevalent particulary in America. Just consider all the ministries that pop-up in our Christian world. Have you ever wondered about all the new approaches and solutions. There all kinds of seminars available. Seminars on divorce, addiction, and demon deliverance. There is someone new everyay proclaiming a solution or enhancement for everthing you can think of.
The truth is we are loaded with dollars. Higher wages are paid for the best entertainers. Larger the congregation the bigger the salary is for the Pastor- the one man show- minus the musicians and singers- who in most cases are unpaid.
We may say we don't have money enough for evangelism but the truth is someone is paying for all this.
With our position of wealth in this country it surely can be concluded: Love requires us to take seriously the responsiblity of helping the poor of this world so they might have enough food to eat. Along with this comes the responsibility to share the Gospel.
Wasn't this the first of only two creeds added by the Elders and Apostles at Jerusalem- "Remember the poor".
Yet, we go on building bigger and better!
The next time your church wants to vote on a building fund, you might consider these statistics as well.

* 854 million people across the world are hungry, up from 852 million a year ago.

* Every day, almost 16,000 children die from hunger-related causes--one child every five seconds.

In essence, hunger is the most extreme form of poverty, where individuals or families cannot afford to meet their most basic need for food.
Hunger manifests itself in many ways other than starvation and famine. Most poor people who battle hunger deal with chronic undernourishment and vitamin or mineral deficiencies, which result in stunted growth, weakness and heightened susceptibility to illness.
Countries in which a large portion of the population battles hunger daily are usually poor and often lack the social safety nets we enjoy, such as soup kitchens, food stamps, and job training programs. When a family that lives in a poor country cannot grow enough food or earn enough money to buy food, there is nowhere to turn for help.

Facts and Figures on Population

* Today our world houses 6.55 billion people.


* The United States is a part of the developed or industrialized world, which consists of about 57 countries with a combined population of about 1 billion, less than one sixth of the world’s population.
In contrast, approximately 5.1 billion people live in the developing world. This world is made up of about 125 low and middle-income countries in which people generally have a lower standard of living with access to fewer goods and services than people in high-income countries.
The remaining 0.4 billion live in countries in transition, which include the Baltic states, eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States.

Facts and Figures on Hunger and Poverty

* Worldwide, more than 1 billion people currently live below the international poverty line, earning less than $1 per day.
Among this group of poor people, many have problems obtaining adequate, nutritious food for themselves and their families. As a result, 820 million people in the developing world are undernourished. They consume less than the minimum amount of calories essential for sound health and growth.
Undernourishment negatively affects people’s health, productivity, sense of hope and overall well-being. A lack of food can stunt growth, slow thinking, sap energy, hinder fetal development and contribute to mental retardation.

Economically, the constant securing of food consumes valuable time and energy of poor people, allowing less time for work and earning income.

Socially, the lack of food erodes relationships and feeds shame so that those most in need of support are often least able to call on it.

Facts and Figures on Health

Poor nutrition and calorie deficiencies cause nearly one in three people to die prematurely or have disabilities.
Pregnant women, new mothers who breastfeed infants, and children are among the most at risk of undernourishment.
In 2005, about 10.1 million children died before they reached their fifth birthday. Almost all of these deaths occured in developing countries, 3/4 of them in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, the two regions that also suffer from the highest rates of hunger and malnutrition.
Most of these deaths are attributed, not to outright starvation, but to diseases that move in on vulnerable children whose bodies have been weakened by hunger.
Every year, more than 20 million low-birth weight babies are born in developing countries. These babies risk dying in infancy, while those who survive often suffer lifelong physical and cognitive disabilities.
The four most common childhood illnesses are diarrhea, acute respiratory illness, malaria and measles. Each of these illnesses is both preventable and treatable. Yet, again, poverty interferes in parents’ ability to access immunizations and medicines. Chronic undernourishment on top of insufficient treatment greatly increases a child’s risk of death.

In the developing world, 27 percent of children under 5 are moderately to severely underweight. 10 percent are severely underweight. 10 percent of children under 5 are moderately to severely wasted, or seriously below weight for one’s height, and an overwhelming 31 percent are moderately to severely stunted, or seriously below normal height for one’s age.

That is enough statistics for now. You should by now stand firmly convicted and if not let me add this:

Revelations 3:14-22
And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write:These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God: 15 I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot:I would thou wert cold or hot. 16 So because thou art lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spew thee out of my mouth. 17 Because thou sayest, I am rich, and have gotten riches, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art the wretched one and miserable and poor and blind and naked: 18 I counsel thee to buy of me gold refined by fire, that thou mayest become rich; and white garments, that thou mayest clothe thyself, and that the shame of thy nakedness be not made manifest; and eyesalve to anoint thine eyes, that thou mayest see. 19 As many as I love, I reprove and chasten:be zealous therefore, and repent. 20 Behold, I stand at the door and knock:if any man hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. 21 He that overcometh, I will give to him to sit down with me in my throne, as I also overcame, and sat down with my Father in his throne. 22 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith to the churches.

I end with this thought, truly if what we have is what Christ intended, then why is it so ineffective in turning the "world upside down" as it did in the days of early Christianity?

It's time Pastors and Congregations to see the harvest is plenty the laborers few.

Dr. J.