December 18, 2009, 8:38 am by dc-agape.

The Coming of the Melchizedek

This Scroll is barely a page long and is somewhat fragmented.  The author(s) of this Scroll intended it to be a true interpretation of the Jubilee year, which occurred every 49 years.  Numerous Old Testament scripture has been used to explain the Yahad’s personal interpretation of the Jubilee year.  The Scroll is also filled with prophecy.  Unfortunately, this does not mean the prophecies took place.  The suggestion of using Bible verses to claim a prophecy will be fulfilled at a specific time is not a sign of a miracle.  This Scroll is a good example of how verses can be taken out of context and put in a future environment where they will lead to a “prophecy”.  The people of the time could not prove that the prophecy was wrong, and those people that lived when the prophecy was supposed to take place no longer knew that a prophecy had ever been written.  I will explain more about that and introduce the Old Testament verses that were used to create a false prophecy.

Lev 25:13 “’ In this Year of Jubilee everyone is returned to his own property.  

Deut 15:2 This is how it is to be done: every creditor show cancel the loan he is made to this fellow Israelite.  He shall not require payments from his fellow Israelite or brother, because the Lord’s time for canceling debts has been proclaimed.

These verses is interpreted as what will happen in the Last Days.  After 1878 years (1948 – 70 CE) the return of Israel to the Jewish people cannot constitute “returned to his own property”.  Family records were not kept of property ownership, so no one can return to their own property.

Isa 61:1 The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach good news to the poor.  He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners,

Here the concept of Melchizedek is invoked.  It is Melchizedek himself that will proclaim the good news to the poor, the broken hearted, the captives and the prisoners.  This is a very Messiah like concept, written over 100 years before Jesus was supposed to be born. But unlike Christian theology a specific time and specific people were to receive this “Good News”.  During the 10^th Jubilee Year (500 years in the future) those who were predestined to be atoned for would receive the “Good News”.  So not just any poor or broken-hearted, or captive, or prisoner – no, only the Sons of Light would receive the “Good News”.

Isa 61:2 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn,

This is the verse that the author(s) change to fit their own desires.  It is no longer “the Lord’s favor”, they change it to “Melchizedek’s favor”.  Now this gives the believer something to hope for that is not just a vague “sometime in the future near the End of Days”. 

Psalms 82:1 God presides in the great assembly; he gives judgment among the “gods”:

The Yahad’s version of this verse is also slightly different than our NIV translation.  The Yahad believed that a second figure was to presided in YHWH’s presence and give judgment. 

Psalms 7:7-8 Let the assembled people gather around you.  Ruled over them from on high; let the Lord judge the people.  Judge me, Oh Lord, according to my righteousness, according to my integrity, O Most High.

They back up Psalm 82:1 with this verse claiming that one would rule from on high.  Their interpretation is that this person would be Melchizedek.

Psalms 82:2 “How long will you defend the unjust and show partiality to the wicked? Selah

This introduces the evils of mankind and the source of that evil: Belial…not the Christian Satan.  Men’s desire for evil will punished by Melchizedek himself at this time (500 years in the future).

Isa 61:3 and provide for those who grieve and Zion – to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of one of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of the spirit of despair.  They will be called the oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor. 

Here is a promise for those who live righteously during that future time.  Melchizedek will be the one who bestows the crown, provides the oil and garments. 

Isa 52:7 How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, “Your God reigns!”

Here the “mountains are prophets and they will proclaim the truth to all Israel.  Notice that in hindsight this did not happen since between 300 – 500 AD the Israelite nation had crumbled. 

Dan 9:26 After the sixty two ‘sevens,’ the Anointed One will be cut off and will have nothing.  The people of the ruler who will come will destroy the city and the sanctuary.  The end will come like a flood: War will continue until the end, and desolations has been decreed.

This “Anointed One” is the same as the one from Isa 61:2 who provides the vengeance of YHWH and comforts “all who mourn”.  The “Anointed One” will teach the people about the Truth and eternity.  He will also be instrumental in take Belial’s dominion and return it to the Sons of Light.

Isa 52:7 How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, “Your God reigns!”

Here Zion is those who turn to Melchizedek and are the ones predestined to follow him.  They will differ from the ways of man by proclaiming good news, peace, good tidings, and salvation.

Lev 25:9 Then have the trumpet sounded everywhere on the 10^th day of the seventh month; on the Day of Atonement sound the trumpet throughout your land.

The Scroll ends without explaining this last verse.  But it is obvious that this should be taken as the sign that the prophecy written in this Scroll has taken place when the people here the trumpet sound. 

As with most “prophecy”, this one was written for a future generation.  This one happens to be the one that would have existed in the newly Christianized Roman Empire.  Basically about the time when Theodosius died and the Roman Empire was split into two distinct providences: the Eastern and the Western.  So if this prophecy was “true” a very important question is raised.  Which “Church” is the correct church and which one follows Belial?  Would this be the Catholic Church or the Eastern Orthodox?  The implications are astounding, for the Protestant and the Evangelical Churches of the US are based on the Catholic branch. 

Posted in Important Questions, The Coming of Melchizedek, Dead Sea Scroll, kingdom of God, Freewill, Readings | Print | 1 Comment »

April 19, 2009, 10:02 am by dc-agape.

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In my last formal post on the Word of God I want to cover some of the verses in the Word of God about the salaries of those who preach the Gospel.  In our world today there is a great crime being committed by “Preachers”.  This crime is the difference between earning a living and peddling the “Word” for profit.  In one of the only fully disclosed document on the salary + bonuses/benefits for a Catholic priest, the salary for one in Baltimore was in excess of $104,000/ year for the 2007 “tax year”. One must remember that these “salaries” are tax free so when you apply the taxation rate to a citizen of Baltimore of 37.3% (28% federal, 6.25% MD, and 3.05% Baltimore tax) that salary would like an individual making over $143,000/year.  True not all preachers make this type of cash, but don’t forget historic figures like Jim Baker who bilked $1,650,000 from his followers in only one of his 24 crimes.  I hate to use Billy Graham, Sr. in such a way, but he made $174,000 in the year 2000.  Are these examples just anomalies or should Christians be concerned that some, if not many, ministers are pandering the Gospel for profit?  Paul was certainly concerned with this concept:

2^nd Cor 2:17 Unlike so many, we do not peddle the word of God for profit.  On the contrary, in Christ we speak before God with sincerity, like men sent from God.

If Paul did not pander his preaching for profit, why do so many of today’s ministers do exactly that?  Jesus certainly did not pander, nor did he advocate profit and riches in this life:

Luke 6:20 Looking at his disciples, he said: “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.

Luke 12:33-34 Sell your possessions and give to the poor.  Provide purses for yourselves that will not war out, a treasure that will not wear out, at treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys.  For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

It’s quite clear that Jesus had no desire for his followers to become rich here on earth.  In fact, he warned about the dangers of becoming materially rich.  So why do Christians pay their religious leaders so much money?  Aren’t the leaders supposed to be the role models?  Why do these leaders keep the money for themselves?  Should they not follow their own “perfect” role model – Jesus?

It is true that Paul tells the Corinthians:

1^st Cor 9:14 In the same way, the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should receive their living from the gospel.

But right before that verse Paul also says this about a preacher’s salary:

1^st Cor 9:12 If others have this right of support from you, shouldn’t we have it all the more?  But we did not use this right.  On the contrary, we put up with anything rather than hinder the gospel of Christ.

This is a crucial concept.  Corruption, especially financial, leaves a bad taste in people’s mouth and feelings.  Seeing the corruption within the Church hinders the Gospel.  People do not want to be part of such contradicts of teaching and actions.  Worse, this is exactly what proves to the Atheist that religion is not supernatural. Indeed, it would seem that religion is human-made for the profit of those who gain the most from fleecing the flock!

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March 20, 2009, 7:36 am by dc-agape.

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Codex 1, Tractate 2, 13:25-16:30

This will end my posts on the Apocryphon of James.  I plan to return to the Holy Qur’an after this post.  I will follow some logical advice that I received from one of my commenters about starting with the last Surahs and reading toward the front of the Qur’an.  Before I return to the OT, there are a number of Dead Sea Scrolls that I want to take a look at.  Many of the Scrolls are either commentaries on the OT Books or additions to the OT Books.  Many things occurred in the Book of Genesis and the Dead Sea Scrolls expand upon those stories.  So before I return to the OT and start reading the Book of Exodus, I will be looking at Books like the “The Words of Levi”, “The Last Words of Judah (3Q7)”, “A Sermon on the Flood (4Q370)”, and “Lives of the Patriarchs (4Q464)”.

The final section of the Apocryphon of James starts with Peter asking a question to Jesus.  Peter was confused by Jesus’ remarks about becoming closer to the kingdom of heaven and then later casting them away from the exact same kingdom.  Jesus did that wishy-wash twice so I can completely understand Peter (the Rock) being confused.  It was a confusing reading for me as well.

Jesus told Peter that it was ok to be elated at the thought of eternal life.  But that it was ok to also be sorrowful when receiving instructions on how to receive that life.  He went on promise them that they had received eternal life.  Here is a passage that today’s “Christian” will eat up:

14:14-19 Verily I say unto you, he who will receive life and believe in the kingdom will never leave it, not even if the Father wishes to banish him.

This is definitely in contrast to Barnabas’ (Paul’s) or Apollos’ teachings:

Heb 6:4-6 It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age, if they fall away, to be brought back to repentance, because to their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace.

So the big questions is: are the author(s) of Hebrews teaching the “true” Word of God, or are they not?  Jesus says you can’t fall away, the Book of Hebrews says that you can.  Which is right?  And if Jesus is right, which most will agree with, and then what does that make the Book of Hebrews?  Does that not make that Book a false teaching?  Should it be in the Word of God?  Why is it in the Word of God, if it contradicts Jesus’ own teachings?  Every Christian should look at these questions in the most serious manner possible.  Their salvation may depend upon it.

Then Jesus began to teach them about his leaving.  During this lesson Jesus describes how those who came before him and prophesied about him were blessed.  It again, gets into predestination of “they who were proclaimed by the Son before they came to be”. 

When Jesus left, James and Peter did follow him for a short period of time.  They saw:

15:9-13 We heard with our ears, and saw with our eyes, the noise of wars and a trumpet blare and a great turmoil.

Ain’t heaven grand?  They continued upward, and heard and saw angles signing, benedictions, and rejoicing.  But when they attempted to reach further “to the Majesty” they were interrupted by the other disciples. 

They had to tell the other disciples that Jesus had left, only the two seeing this, which is in contrast to this verse:

Acts 1:9 After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.

In this verse Luke makes it clear that all the disciples saw Jesus ascend.  So the question must be asked again, this time of the Book of Acts!  Which story is accurate?  Is Luke, who might have been a companion of Paul correct, or is the brother of Jesus correct?  Is the Book of Acts the Word of God?  Remember, in Acts Jesus only stayed for 40 days.  In the Apocryphon of James, Jesus stayed for 150 days.  The question must again be asked, did a fait accompli occur in the first century Church?  Where are the teachings of the actual apostles?  Why are almost all the Books of the NT written by people who had never been taught by Jesus?  How accurate can 2^nd hand information be, especially when it was not recorded for hundreds of years and had many scribal errors and changes?

Returning to the last few lines of the Apocryphon, James and Peter have worse news for the other disciples.  There will be more generations of Christians, and the apostles were only saved for the sake of these later Christians.  James then claimed that he dispersed the apostles to different areas, while he stayed in Jerusalem.  At that point, he was still in doubt that he was saved:

16:9-10 But I myself went up to Jerusalem, praying that I might obtain a portion among the beloved, who will be made manifest.

James ends with directions to the recipient (Cerinthus?).  These directions included the need to strive to be part of those that had life.  But he ends with more predestination:

16:26-30 We do, indeed, proclaim a portion with those for whom the proclamation was made, those whom the Lord has made his sons.

Indeed, it is Jesus (or YHWH) who makes the decision as to who will be his sons.  And that would make both 14:14-19 and Heb 4:4-6 then not be contradictions.  Only if predestination occurs can both passages be in harmony.  Only when YHWH is the chooser can the concept of never losing salvation and the possibility of losing salvation be unified.  So in the end, a loving creator has chosen who will be separated from him for all eternity.  How loving is that?

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March 17, 2009, 9:04 am by dc-agape.

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Codex 1, Tractate 2, 6:21 – 8:27

This section of the Apocryphon of James starts with a question about prophecy.  Jesus answers them that when the “head” is removed there will be no more prophecy.  Two verse from the Word of God explain this concept and why removing the “head” had ended prophecy.

Eph 4:15 Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ.

So from this verse, from Paul to the Ephesians, Jesus is the Head.  Which means that when he is gone prophecy will end, making John the last Prophet.  But there is one more verse that collaborates with this passage from the Apocryphon of James:

1^st Cor 13:8-10 Love never fails.  But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away.  For we know in part and we prophecy in part, but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears.

Many Christians see this verse as the explanation of why prophecy does not occur today.  But when you put all three passages together there is no need to guess.  Jesus and Paul have made it clear that after Jesus left prophecy would end.  What Paul meant by the “when perfection comes” has been lost.  Great going inerrant Word of God!

Jesus continues to remind James and Peter about his teachings.  This section reminds me of an earlier post in the Gospel of Mark.  Jesus is still showing his humanity…he rebukes his disciples for not being able to perceive his teachings through the parables and even his straight talk.  Yet we know that YHWH has to open the eyes and unblock the ears for people to understand (Mark 4:12).  Obviously, YHWH has still not accomplished this task!

Here again Jesus changes the subject rapidly.  This entire section is more like clips than a narration.  He talks about how to be saved.  He says that being saved requires eagerness and cannot be urged upon anyone.  No less to his apostles, who should already be saved?  I do like his next topic about hypocrisy:

7:17-22 Come to hate hypocrisy and the evil thought; for it is the thought that gives birth to hypocrisy; but hypocrisy is far from truth.

Hypocrisy is one thing that I can say is a pet peeve of mine!  It would seem that it was also one of Jesus’.  The decision to be a hypocrite does come before the action itself.  And hypocrisy is most definitely far from the truth.  As I have said before, Jesus had some wonder teaching.  I just wish that the “Christians” would actually follow his word and his actions.  They claim to imitate him and yet there is not a single sign that this is true.

Jesus continues to jump from topic to topic.  At one point he talks about the kingdom of heaven.  He warns that it can wither.  The cause of this withering is similar to a fruiting plant.  If you allow the plant to go to “seed” it stops producing seed, but if you continue to harvest the plant continues to grow more seeds.  Jesus claims that he has done exactly this while on earth and is eager to return to heaven.  Jesus then mentions some of the Parables that he taught and how some people understood them.  It would seem that Jesus is rebuking James and Peter for not being satisfied with these Parables.  But the text jumps to the next subject abruptly.

He jumps to the concept of being earnest about the word:

8:10-15 “Become earnest about the word!  For as the word, its first part is faith; the second, love; the third, works; for from these comes life.

This definitely goes in the face of modern “Christianity”.  Works actually ranks third in the list of things required to receive life!  Many of today’s “christian” believe that only faith is required.  How wrong they are!  Love and works are also required.  Jesus goes on to explain why this is so.  Using an example of a grain of wheat, he tells James and Peter that it is by faith that one sows the seed (hoping that it will sprout).  That same person lovingly tends the plant that sprouts.  But to live the person must do the work of harvesting and preparing the food to live.  This is so true and seems to be self-evident, yet the “christians” of today seem to focus on only single parts of this lesson.

Remember, you can read the entire Nag Hammadi Library here…The Gnostic Society Library.

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March 8, 2009, 12:05 pm by dc-agape.

I want to continue the topic of what the Word of God as to say about its self.  In this case I want to cover what the Word has to say about what must be given up to follow the Word.  Most “Christians” know these things but they do not actually obey the Word of God when it comes to doing it, so it is worth repeating.  The act of not following the Word of God is another proof that these people are not Christians and the fact that no Christian sect actually obeys these commandments means that there is no Church on earth.  As I have pointed out before, if there is no Church, there is no Holy Spirit, and if there is no Holy Spirit then there is no Jesus, and without Jesus there is no YHWH.  Obeying the Word of God is the only proof that YHWH exists and since no one obeys the following verses that is proof that YHWH does not exist!

So what are these all so difficult verses to obey?  They are the ones that tell the disciples of Jesus what they must give up to be his followers.  The message in the Gospel of Matthew is giving up your family.  The message in Gospel of Mark is giving up your wealth and life.  The message in the Book of James is giving up your pride.  Barnabas or Apollos wrote in the Book of Hebrews that one must follow and imitate the leaders who taught the Gospel.  Paul’s message is giving up payment for your services in teaching the Gospel.  But Paul goes even further in his letter to the Philippians, he requires them to act a certain way.

To take a closer look at these verses from the Word of God, the Gospel of Matthew has three verses.  In the first:

Matt 8:21-22 Another disciple said to him, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.”  But Jesus told him, “Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead.”

Many “Christians” use this verse to say that Jesus was in a hurry to complete his ministry and did not have time to wait.  But that is the lamest excuse possible for not following the commands of the Word of God.  Two reasons can be used to make that distinction.  First, when this story occurred Jesus had barely started his ministry and he knew when it was going to end.  Second, in the story of the Rich Young Man (Matt 19:16-24) Jesus tells the young man to follow all the commandments, including “honor your mother and father”.  In fact, even though it is slightly off topic for what I wanted to cover in the Gospel of Matthew, here are the exact requirements from Jesus:

Matt 19:18-21 “Which ones?” the man inquires.  Jesus replies, “’Do not murder’, ‘do not commit adultery’, ‘do not steal’, ‘do not give false witness’, ‘honor your father and mother’, and ‘love your neighbor as yourself’.”  “All these I have kept,” the young man said.  “What do I still lack?” Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell you possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasures in heaven.  Then come, follow me.”

You see, to be a disciple of Jesus, you must obey the OT laws, including honoring you parents; but to be perfect you must sell your possession and follow Jesus.  So Jesus would not have commanded the young man to dishonor his father unless he meant that to be a requirement for being a disciple.

And that is exactly the case:

Matt 10:21-22 “Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; children will rebel against their parents and have them put to death.  All men will hate you because of me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved.

This did occur in the early Church, but when in the last 1000 years has it happened?  It happened in the US’s civil war (Fredericksburg.com), but not because of religion.  Do all men hate you?  Would your own family betray you?  Of course not, Christianity is the majority in the US and most of Europe.  In fact what is ironic is that the Christian is no longer hated (yes in small pockets of the world they still are).  But Jesus said “All men”, he did not say “a few here and there”.  It is the Atheist, the Muslim, and the gay people that are the ones hated by the world.  Christians have sold out.  Their doctrine so watered down that it cannot fulfill the commandments in the Word of God.

I will finish this post with one last verse from the Gospel of Matthew:

Matt 10:37-39 “Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.  Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.”

Putting these four sets of verses together, it is clear that the Church is not fulfilling the requirements that the Word of God has commanded.  These commandments and prophecies were not just for the early Church!  These are for anyone who would follow Jesus and be his disciple.  These are the directions that must be followed to be saved.  If you cannot obey them, Jesus clearly states in that last set of verses you are not worthy of him! 

The Gospel of Matthew’s message is that to follow Jesus a person must give up their family, their property, their love of this world, and their life.  If a “christian” cannot do this then all the praying and all the church attendance, and all the “good works” are for nothing, they are still “not worthy of Jesus”.  And you all know what that means:

Mark 8:38 If anyone is ashamed of me and my word in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels.”

Are you too ashamed of the Son of Man to follow his commandments?

Posted in Word of God, kingdom of God, Disciples | Print | 3 Comments »

March 7, 2009, 8:26 am by dc-agape.

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As I have continued describing some of the reasons that I became an Atheist, I have left this one out.  One reason that I have left it out was that it relates only to the Christian YHWH.  No other religion claims that the “undesirables” of society were to be treated with great friendship and respect.  Only Jesus did this, only Christians claim to be like Jesus.  The Buddha, and Buddhism itself, does have a response to this topic, but it is not a positive one (Taiwan News).  Neither philosophy nor any religion has ever put the weak, the poor, the outcast at the top of the list of people to treat as equals, yet that is exactly what Jesus did:

Matt 21:31 “Which of the two did what the father wanted?” “The first,” they said. Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth, the tax collector and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you.

Later he goes even further and makes the “outcasts” a least one magnitude greater than “righteous”:

Luke 15:7 I tell you in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.”

The second reason that I have not covered this topic yet is that it is quite complex.  It will most likely take me at least three posts to cover all the verses in the Gospels about how Jesus treats the outcasts.  And that is without using the repetitive stories in more than one Gospel.  The final reason is that it does not leave “christians” in a good light.  In fact, it makes the farce of the entire Christian religion so obvious that many will be offended.  But then the Book of James does have something to say about that:

Jam 4:4 You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world is hatred towards God?  Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God.

The topic of “being a friend to the world” requires its own numerous posts.  But I am doing the same thing as James points out.  This blog has not been created to be friend the worldly christians.  In fact, this blog was created because of the worldly christians.  But that too is for a different post.

In this post I want to cover the stories and parables that Jesus used in the Gospel of Matthew to show how the “outcasts” of society were to be treated.  I used Matt 21:31 at the beginning of this post, I will return to it at the end.  Let’s start with one that shows there is no difference between the outcast and the righteous: Matt 5:43-48 (I won’t repeat the entire section here, but I will use most of the important points that Jesus makes).  Here Jesus makes the comparison between the Jewish outcast and the Jewish “faithful”.  This is part of The Beatitudes that is rarely repeated, due to its more demanding tone.  He starts with how the sun and rain are shared by all people.  The meaning of this is simple…we all live here; we all experience the same earthly conditions.  But then he gets more “in your face”.  These two are worth repeating verbatim:

Matt 5:46-47 If you love those you love you, what reward will you get?  Are not even the tax collectors doing that?  And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others?  Do not even pagans do that?

So here Jesus uses two types of outcast to show the “faithful” how as followers of YHWH these people need to stand out in a crowd not just be a crowd.  Today’s christian could learn a lot from these verses. 

The next verse in the Gospel of Matthew I want to use is the tried and true story of Levi the tax collector. 

Matt 9:10 While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and “sinners” came and ate with him and his disciples.

This caused a stir among the “righteous”.  They wondered why Jesus would be making himself “unclean” by eating with “sinners”.  So here Jesus is not worried about “his image”, he is not worried about “who he is seen with”.  Instead he tells the Pharisees this:

Matt 9:12 On hearing this, Jesus said, “It is not the healthy that need a doctor, but the sick.

Jesus was telling the crowd that his purpose was to attend to the needs of the “sinner” not the “righteous”.  “To be like Jesus” is to do the same thing.  But do notice one thing…he did not require the people (“sinners”) to listen to him preach before they ate with him!  In fact, Jesus did not preach to the “sinners” at all, he rebuked the “righteous”. 

The next verse I want to use is this one:

Matt 11:19 The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and “sinners”’.  But wisdom is proved right by her actions.

Here Jesus is not only saying that it is his purpose to attend the need of the “sinner” but that it was the wisest thing to do.  It is the actions that a person takes that prove how wise the person is, not what they says.  Christians should take that to heart, lots of talk without action is meaningless.  Show your wisdom by your actions.  Do something, anything would be better than sitting on your ass!

Finally I will return to Matt 21:28-32.  This is the Parable of the Two Sons.  A father asks his sons to work in the fields, but both tell him “I will not”.  One later reconsiders and does as he was told.  Jesus compares the “righteous” leaders of the Jewish religion to the tax collector and the prostitutes and found the “sinners” were better people than the “righteous” leaders.  He was talking about repentance, but today there is no difference between the “righteous” leaders and the “sinner”.  Yet one is “high and mighty” and wants to control the actions and thoughts of the multitudes. 

This is why I became an Atheist.  It was not because I was gay, even though that did make me an “outcast” amongst the “christians”.  But it was the examples that Jesus used to compare the “righteous” to the “sinner” and the way Jesus treated the “sinner” that made me realize that whatever and if ever Jesus truly did teach these things…christians have completely ignored his teachings.  They are not Christ-like, and hence they are not Christians.

Some will say that I fell away because of the treatment I received from “bad christians”.  But it is actually the complete opposite.  For a very short period I saw the “kingdom of God” while part of the ICOC.  It almost existed!  But then I found out that what I thought I saw was only a mirage, the closer I got, the image either faded away or retreated.  I realized that if YHWH existed, and if Jesus was sent here to earth, then the Holy Spirit had to exist.  Yet I saw no sign of the Spirit, everything I saw was just humans trying to follow an imaginary set of rules and regulations.  These rules were completely arbitrary, some people could break them and some people were not allowed to break the exact same rule.  If the Holy Spirit were active and existed then this would have been the outcome:

Acts 5:1-11 

When the Spirit of the Lord was tested in the Book of Acts by Ananias and Sapphira, it did something about it.  There is not such action in the Churches today, which means that there is not Spirit of the Lord in the Churches today.  This can only mean one thing…there is no Spirit, and without the Spirit there is no Jesus, and without Jesus there is no Christian YHWH. 

But there is another sign that the Spirit is not in the Churches.  And that sign is what this post is about.  The outcasts have not been cared for by the “Christians”.  There is little to no attempt to eat with the “sinners”.  In fact, it is the exact opposite.  Hate speech fills the newspapers, television, and internet about abortionist, homosexuals, and evolutionary scientist.  And that Hate speech is spewing from “Christians”.  The homeless are forced to listen to sermons and pray before they are allowed to eat.  The widow is milked for every penny she has by preachers using the Bible and this verse: Mark 12:42-44.  These are not the actions of a disciple of Jesus; these are the actions of vile creatures that can barely call human.  They twist the very religion they claim to belong to their own desires.  I will leave with this quote from Susan B Anthony:

I distrust those people who know so well what God wants them to do because I notice it always coincides with their own desires.

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Posted in Traditions of Men, kingdom of God, Becoming an atheist | Print | 19 Comments »

February 20, 2009, 8:27 am by dc-agape.

Mark 13

This is the famous chapter that many people use to claim that the end is near.  To their misfortune that has not occurred in the last few centuries.  A proper reading of the entire chapter will leave you with 3 distinct possibilities.  First, Jesus was talking about the Day of Pentecost.  The entire chapter is devoted to preparing his disciples for this Day.  Second, if Jesus is describing his return…then two things contradict this interpretation.  One, he uses the phrase “this generation will certainly not pass away”.  Well the generation that he spoke to certainly did pass away.  Two, these end times do not agree with the Book of Revelation. Rev 19:11-21 speaks of the return of Jesus on a white horse which is nothing like Jesus’ depiction in Mark 13:26-27.  The last possibility is that John Mark (or later scribes) muddled this story from different messages that Peter told in Rome.  Parts of this story are about the end of Jerusalem, others could be about the end times. 

What were the signs to look for?

1)      False Prophets:  Jesus uses this at the beginning (Mark 13:6) and in the middle (Mark 13:21-22).  I don’t know how many false prophets occurred in the 1^st century AD, but we certainly have ours now (rev Hagee – Jewish Journal).

2)      Rumors of war:  Mark 13:7-8 – Well there have certainly been plenty of wars!

3)      Earthquakes: Mark 13:8 – Well that doesn’t give us any new info either.

4)      Plagues: Mark 13:8 – Nothing new there either.

5)      Persecution: Mark 13:9-13 – well it certainly happened in the 1^st few centuries.  But today is rather rare and family members are not the ones turning in their blood relatives.  One site here does describe the “persecution” today – Kjos Ministries. 

6)      Destruction of Jerusalem: Mark 13:14-15.  Well that certainly happened in 70AD (Eyewitness to History).  It certainly has not occurred again.  If fact, it has been fortified and protected by the greatest powers on the planet.  Both the United States and the Muslim religion protect the city of Jerusalem.

7)      Days of distress: Mark 13:15-20.  Here is a good one:

a.      Mark 13:19 because those days will be days of distress unequaled from the beginning, when God created the world, until now – and never equaled again.

b.      So the Days of Distress will be worse than the flood!  And nothing like that will ever happen again…meaning that it is not the end of the world (or the heavenly kingdom – which requires the destruction of the old earth – Rev 21:1).

8 )      Jesus will return: Mark 13:26-27.  These verses are very different from Rev 20.  In the Gospel of Mark Jesus says that he will gather the elect from earth and heaven.  In opposition to this The Book of Revelation chapter 20 only talks about rising the elect dead without any coming from heaven.

9)      This generation will not pass away: Mark 13:30.  Either the end times occurred in the first century AD or we have to wait until #1, #6, and #7 occur.  Even accounting for the partial destruction of Jerusalem in 70AD #1 and #7 will be tough ones.

Since we don’t need to worry about this happening anytime soon and won’t know when it is going to happen (Mark 13:32-33), there is one thing that we should be worried about.  The term elect is used in this chapter, which should make everyone perk up their ears and listen.

Mark 13:20 If the Lord had not cut short those days, no one would survive.  But for the sake of the elect, whom he has chosen, he has shortened them.

We are back to freewill.  YHWH will choose the elect.  We do not choose to be the elect; we don’t have the freewill to be saved.  But this elect will be immune to false teachings:

Mark 13:22 For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform signs and miracles to deceive the elect – if that were possible.

Jesus is not just banking on the elect not being gullible…he knows that they cannot be fooled.  How many today are fooled by false teachings and false prophets?  38,000 denominations of Christianity exist as of this day; can all of them be right?  How many of them do miracles  (Polycarp)?  How many of them say here is Christ (gotquestions.org)?  How many of them prophecy the end times are near (Fundamental Preaching)?

Posted in Inerrancy - My Ass, kingdom of God, Gospel of Mark, Freewill, Readings | Print | 2 Comments »

February 18, 2009, 10:31 pm by dc-agape.

While talking to some of my analytical chemistry research group members I had the oddest experience.  Having grown up in the Deep South, I was exposed (and baptized) as both a Southern Baptist and a Presbyterian.  When I moved to Hawai’i, I joined what was called the Oahu Church of Christ (I’m slightly confused because of internal strife) but now it is called the Honolulu International Church of Christ.  From these experiences, I had until recently felt that my knowledge of the Bible was quite strong.  Low and behold, I find out that the Protestant Holy Bible and the Jewish Holy Bible have the same Old Testament.  The Catholic Bible’s Old Testament has additional Books.  Between a split in the Church of Christ and the International Church of Christ (which was never supposed to happen, Holy Spirit and all that mumbo jumbo) and this new information about the split in the “Holy Book” format, I am certainly glad to be a happily gay Atheist!  No one can possibly understand the earth shattering, mind blowing experience this has caused…Pascal’s Wager (alone) has just moved one step closer to proving Atheism is the correct philosophy! 

Readers must understand that the concept of both the “Church” and the “Holy Bible” being split into two distinct subgroups is overwhelmingly convincing that no supernatural being is in charge of “Christianity”.  No excuse can explain that the Catholics use one “Holy Book” and the Protestants use a different “Holy Book”.  But more extreme is that the “Church (the Kingdom of God)” has split! 

Due to these “revelations” I will be adding a book called “The Apocrypha: An American Translation” translated by Edgar J Goodspeed printed by Vintage Books, New York, New York, 1959.   I do not want to miss the chance to read what “Christians” of past eras might have believed were god inspired writings.  And yes, the concept that Christianity has changed over the millennia is part of my personal experiment.  I want to explore these changes to the Unchangeable Word of God.

Posted in Pascal's Wager, Word of God, kingdom of God, State of Mind, Introduction | Print | 7 Comments »

February 17, 2009, 7:33 am by dc-agape.

Mark 10:24-52

In Mark this is the beginning of Jesus’ first and only trip to Jerusalem.  I do want to emphasize Jesus’ response to the rich man, I feel I cut it short two days ago in (To Be a “disciple of Jesus”).  Here is also where Jesus repeats his plan to be killed.  Is includes another story of how arrogant the disciples are and ends with a blind man receiving faith healing.

I don’t think I can stress enough what it required to be “saved”.  The watered down crap of Christianity is just that crap.  Nowhere in the Bible does Jesus tell his followers to “pray him into their hearts”.  In contrast he says this:

Mark 10:29-30 “I tell you the truth”, Jesus replied, “no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mothers or fathers or children or fields for me and the gospel will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age (homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children, and fields – and with them, persecution) and in the age to come, eternal life.

Read that “I tell you the truth” again…think on it.  This is a promise that you will receive from YHWH these things only if you leave your home, your family, and your job!  Notice that Jesus separates home from family and home from fields.  He is telling his disciples to leave their families, their homes, and their properties, and their income.  Why do I not see any “Christians” do that today?  And no, missionaries don’t count…they return home and they get paid for their services (payment for spreading the word will be an upcoming Biblical Topic). 

At the beginning of the only trip to Jerusalem in the Gospel of Mark, Jesus again warns his disciples about his plans to be killed.  But he promises to rise after three days.  Sometime after that but before reaching Jericho, two of the disciples get a little too big for their britches.  From Perea to Jericho (Wikipedia map) is one of Jesus’ shortest trips, since Perea is an area and not a distinct place.  This trip could have been as short as crossing the Jordan river.  During this trip is when James and John get a little too arrogant.  After all the times that Jesus tells his disciples that the first will be the last, that the first must serve everyone else…still these two request to be given the highest place of honor in heaven.  He repeats this one more time for them:

Mark 10:43 Not so with you.  Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave to all.

This is the root of Christianity; Jesus attempts to convey this message over and over again.  Today “christians” have so watered down this passage that servant and slave mean to be paid speakers and teachers.  Sorry, but that is not Jesus’ concept.  The first part that verse “Not so with you” describes the difference between power hungry authority and what the disciples should be like.  Neither of these concepts are even visible in the Church today.  Why has the Traditions of Man nullified the Word of Jesus?

Finally, the chapter ends with the story of Bartimaeus.  In Jericho a blind man attempts to get Jesus’ attention.  Many people attempted to stop him from getting Jesus’ attention, but this only made him try harder.  Jesus does hear him and calls him over.  Bartimaeus asks for Jesus to heal him, because Jesus asks what the man wants…Jesus does not know that a blind man wants to see.  Odd, the son of Man is not perceptive enough to know what the man wants.  But immediately Bartimaeus can see.  Here we have another faith healing…all it took for Jesus to heal this man was the faith that Bartimaeus had.  Compare that to the blind man in Bethsaida (Mark 8:22-26).  Why in Jericho, where Jesus has not been yet, can Jesus heal by a word, yet in the city of Bethsaida, where Jesus travels to and from often, does it take two tries to heal the man?  In fact, there is another difference between the two stories: in Bethsaida he does it in secret while in Jericho he does it in front of a huge crowd.  He is obviously attempting to attract attention at this point.  Why would he be afraid to attract attention earlier (as most Christians assume), he had YHWH protecting him…things will work exactly the way YHWH wants them to.  Unless, Jesus is not 100% certain that this is what YHWH wants.  It in fact, looks more like a normal man making plans and hoping that YHWH will be with him, instead of the Son of God coming to do exactly what YHWH wants.  Remember, YHWH has complete control of any person’s actions that he so desires (freewill).

Posted in kingdom of God, Gospel of Mark, Disciples, Freewill, Readings | Print | No Comments »

February 15, 2009, 1:19 pm by dc-agape.

Chapter 10:13-31

Two stories in this section describe what is required to become a member of the Church.  First, everyone must become like children.  Yeap, everyone must be childlike…moldable, naive, and susceptible to authority.  Second, following all the laws is required and giving up everything that might get in the way of following Jesus.  That’s right, get rid of everything that is a link to this world.

The disciples got high and mighty and started sending children away.  We get to see a not so rare moment:  Jesus gets angry.  In fact:

Mark 10:7 When Jesus saw this he was indignant.  He said to them, “Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.

Indignant (dictionary.com) means feeling wrath.  Why Jesus feel wrath at his disciples…Jesus did not open their minds until after his resurrection:

Luke 24:45 Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scripture.

So basically Jesus got angry with his disciples because he did not teach them what they need to know.  How “righteous” is that?  It’s his fault that his disciples at in that fashion yet Jesus allows his human emotions to get angry at the wrong people.

But this is the section of the Gospel where we are told that we must be like children to enter the kingdom of God (the Church):

Mark 10:8 I tell you the truth, anyone you will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.”

To join the church, a person must suspend logic, reason, and wisdom, and relay on a child’s imagination.  That’s right!  To become a Christian one must give up everything that you know.  Well that certainly explains why it is so difficult to communicate logically with many Christians.

The second story is about a rich man who had followed all the Jewish laws.

Mark 10:20-21 “Teacher,” he declared, “all these I have kept since I was a boy.”  Jesus looked at him and loved him.  “One thing you lack,” he said. “Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven.  Then come, follow me.”

Notice that Jesus did not tell him that following the Jewish law was not required!  What Jesus said was that he lacked one thing…giving up everything he owned in the world.  This is not specific to rich people or to Jesus’ life time.  Take a look at what happened when Jesus called his disciples:

Luke 5:11 So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him.

Like I said, it was not just in Jesus’ time.  Look at the first Church in the Book of Acts:

Acts 2:44-45 All the believers were together and had everything in common.  Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need.

No one owned property…is this the first description of Socialism or Communism?  It certainly is not Capitalism!  But it goes further than this read Acts 5:1-11.  This is the story of Ananias and Sapphira.  The Holy Spirit killed two people not just for lying about the amount of money the property was worth (bad enough) but they sold the property to fulfill the requirements of Acts 2:44-45.

So to be a True Christian (or better phrase “disciple of Jesus”) one must be two things: like a child and a socialist.  Being like a child is dangerous because we have seen over and over how the authority of the church leaders has put our children at risk.  Being a socialist is so antithesis to US christians.  Isn’t odd…the very people who should be concerned about other people, like the poor, are united with the Republicans who believe in personal wealth.  Yet, Jesus told people to be “disciples of Jesus” one must be the exact opposite of most of the “Christians” in the US!

Posted in kingdom of God, Gospel of Mark, Disciples, Readings | Print | 1 Comment »