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 »

October 7, 2009, 9:05 am by dc-agape.

John Chapter 19

I am going to split this chapter into two separate posts.  One will be about the “prophecies” that where fulfilled in Jesus’ death.  The second post will describe some of the issues with John’s account verse the Synoptic Gospels and the Traditions of Men.  Four prophecies were fulfilled in the Gospel of John.  Yet once again, for prophecy to be accurate…freewill must be suspended.  Or Scripture must be taken out of context to make it fit the circumstances. Let us see which is more likely.

The first prophecy is this one:

John 18:24 “Let’s not tear it,” they said to one another.  “Let’s decide by lot who will get it.”  This happened that the scriptures might be fulfilled which said, “They divided my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing.” So this is what the soldiers did.

This passage is supposed to come from the Book of Psalms 22:18.  Surprisingly this is exactly what that verse says.  But if one reads the entire Psalm one sees that this was not about Jesus.  Take a look at this beginning:

Psalms 22:2 Oh my God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer, but night, and am not silent.

Psalms 22: 20-21 Deliver my life from the sword, the precious life from the power of the dogs.  Rescue me from the mouth of the lions; save me from the horns of the wild oxen.

Only by taking this Psalms out of context can one apply specific verses of this Psalms to the death of Jesus.  Verses 20-21 specifically indicate that King David was concerned about evil men, while dogs, lions, and wild oxen.  Obviously, Jesus was not exposed to dogs, lions, or oxen.  So grabbing one verse in claiming that it is prophecy is only taking that verse out of context.  But even if we give the benefit of the doubt to this being a prophecy a bigger problem occurs.  This particular prophecy relates to how the soldiers treat Jesus’ clothing.  Is there obeying prophecy they have no freewill.  They did not get to choice to fulfill this prophecy.  As a result, YHWH at any time can suspend freewill.  Hence, we can never tell if we are acting under freewill or under YHWH suspension of freewill.

Another possible prophecy fulfilled in this chapter is this one:

John 18:28 later, knowing that all was now complete, and so that the scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, “I’m thirsty.”

This supposed prophecy comes from Psalms 69:21 which says:

Psalms 69:21 they put gall inlet food and gave the vinegar for my first.

But let’s take a look at the following verse is in this Psalms:

Psalms 69:22-25 Let the table set before them become a snare; may become a retribution and a trap.  Many there eyes the darkened so they cannot see, and their backs be bent forever.  Pour out your wrath on them; let your fierce anger over take them.  May their place the deserted, that there be no one to dwell in their tents.

Is this the loving Jesus?  This is a direct combination to the “prophecy” verse.  Should we believe that in the last moments of Jesus’ life he became as vindictive as the most vile human nature can provide?  Or should we realize that this verse was taken out of context.  Again, the other possibility is that the guards had no freewill.  They had to obey the prophecy.  Once again this would indicate that YHWH can and does suspend freewill arbitrarily.  Hence, we can never tell if we are acting under freewill or under YHWH suspension of that freewill.

The third prophecy is found in this verse in John:

John 19:34 instead, one of the soldiers pierced Jesus’ side with a spear, bring a sudden flow of blood and water.

Zechariah 12:10 And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication.  They will look on me, the one they have pierced, and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child, and grief bitterly for him as one grieves for firstborn son.

Again, this “prophecy” has been taken out of context.  This verse talks about the people who have pierced Jesus as the ones who mourn.  No indication that the Romans mourned Jesus’ death.  They certainly did not mourn with the bitterness of the loss of a firstborn son.  Again, if we give the benefit of the doubt to this being a fulfill prophecy we end up with freewill being arbitrarily denied.  Hence, we can never tell if we are acting under freewill or under YHWH suspension of that freewill.

The final supposed prophecy is here:

John 19: 36 these things happen so the scriptures would be fulfilled: (delete that “not one of his bones will be broken,”

This prophecy comes from the book of Exodus 12:46:

Exodus 12:46 “It must be eaten in one house; take none of the meat outside of the house.  Do not break any of the bones.  The whole community of Israel must celebrate it.

The crucifixion occurred outside so the beginning of the verse has already been compromised.  The last sentence of the verse has also been compromised, the whole community did not celebrate this event.  So once again a “prophecy” has been taken out of context.  Again, if we give the benefit of the doubt to this being a fulfill prophecy we end Up with freewill being arbitrarily denied.  Hence, we can never tell if we are acting under freewill or under YHWH suspension of that freewill.   

To the non-believer, these so called “prophecies” are very suspicious.  There without doubt taken out of context, and as a result, are questionable at best.  Worst though, is the concept that they are true prophecy.  If they really are prophecy, and numerous people during the crucifixion of Jesus had their freewill removed.  Even if this removal was only temporary, this indicates that YHWH can do so at any time, for any reason, and we (puny humans) are completely helpless in these cases.   The whole argument of freewill becomes a mute topic with this understanding.    If humans can be manipulated as play toys to a supreme being at any arbitrary moment freewill does not exist.  The concept of prophecy only strengthens this concept.  For prophecy indicates that the future has already been recorded.  Prophecy also indicates that the outcome of our choices have already been recorded.  Hence, it may feel like we have freewill, but in the end we are just actors on a stage as indicated by Shakespeare:

Jaques:

All the world’s a stage,
And all the men and women merely players;
They have their exits and their entrances,
And one man in his time plays many parts,
His acts being seven ages.

As You Like It Act 2, scene 7, 139–143

Posted in Gospel of John, Contradictions, Freewill, Readings | Print | 1 Comment »

October 5, 2009, 7:05 pm by dc-agape.

John Chapter 18

This is the chapter where Jesus is “betrayed”, Peter denies knowing Jesus, and Barabbas (an Israeli freedom fighter/terrorist) was set free.  Obviously, some of these things are questionable at best.  All three are veiled in Christian mysticism.  Of course, to the common believer all three of these events are completely logical, completely under YHWH control, and completely without question having occurred.  But is this true?

Let’s start with a “betrayal”.  Was it truly betrayal?  Jesus was certainly prepared for it.  Does that mean that there was a supernatural power behind the events?  Or does Occam’s razor come into play?  For Jesus to know what was going to happen the easiest and simplest explanation was that Judas and Jesus had easily planned this.  The olive garden (”because Jesus had often met there with his disciples”) was actually not used very often.  Using all four Gospels, Jesus was rarely in Jerusalem.  Only the Gospel of John does Jesus into Jerusalem more than once.  His last stay only lasted six day (John 12:1).  And not once did the disciples go to the Mount of Olives during this period of time.  So the verse that says:

John 18:2 Now Judas, who betrayed him, knew the place, because Jesus had also met there with his disciples.

Nowhere in the Gospels does it describe Jesus using the Mount of Olives as a common location for Jesus’ teachings.  Adding to that six days does not single out a single location, unmentioned in the gospels, as a place where Judas could be certain that Jesus would be.  The only way Judas could know this was if Jesus had told him to meet him there.  Jesus certainly had everything under control, because he planned it that way.  No supernatural control was needed.  The other option is that Judas had no freewill.

More interestingly, is the case of Peter fulfilling Jesus’ prophecy of his denial.  For Jesus to get that right down to the exact moment:

John 18:27 Again he denied it, and at that moment a rooster began to grow.

This would imply that Jesus certainly knew to the finest detail what Peter would do (the rooster crowing as Peter denied knowing Jesus).  If we take this passage literally, then as I’ve said before, Peter did not have freewill.  This would mean that YHWH can and does remove freewill arbitrarily.  As a result, we pour humans can never tell whether we’re acting under our own freewill or being forced by a supreme being.  Anything that I do, saying, or believe is subjects to the arbitrary decision of YHWH to interfere.  Saying that YHWH can but doesn’t, does not solve the fact that at any arbitrary moment YHWH to interfere at his whim.

The story of Barabbas adds another interesting twist to this chapter.  No other document, Roman or Israeli, mentions the name Barabbas.  To make matters worse, no documents, Roman or Israeli, even mentions that Pilate ever offered the Jews the opportunity to release a prisoner at the Passover.  Both of these cases make the story of the release of Barabbas questionable.  Was even more detrimental to this story is what the Gospels claim about Barabbas.  If he truly was an instigator and a murderer, he was certainly a Zionist.  Pilate, as the highest ranking Roman in Jerusalem, would never free such a man.  When you add all these historical perspectives, this passage (recorded in all four Gospels) begins to look very pale to say the least.  The other option is that Pilate had no freewill.

To the non-believer, this chapter implies three things: a different relationship between Jesus and Judas that the Traditions of Men have implied, the lack of freewill that the Traditions of Men imply, and the questionability of the legitimacy of the Gospels.  Again, I will last a simple question: why are there so many Traditions of Men included into the Word of God?  These incidences of questionable interpretation put a cloud of doubt over the entire Bible.

Posted in Gospel of John, Traditions of Men, Freewill, Readings | Print | 6 Comments »

September 29, 2009, 9:19 am by dc-agape.

John Chapter 15 – 16:4

In my last post I wrote about being fruitful and the meaning of love and obedience.  In this post I want to write about the greatest love, Jesus’ purpose, and being chosen.  I will have one final post on this chapter writing about hatred, hatred without reason, and killing in the name of YHWH.

This chapter is packed with good examples of what a follower of Jesus is supposed to do to the world, experience in the world, and display to the world.  But this chapter does one other thing…it makes it obvious to the non-believer that Christian ≠ follower of Jesus.  I will discuss each one, and let you decide.

Christians today its claim to not know YHWH’s purpose, but this should not be the case:

John 15:15 I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business.  Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. 

Jesus again describes one of his most important commands.  That command, we know is the second greatest command, is to love one another.  But in this description of the command to love one another Jesus adds a more stringent component.  “To love one another” means to be willing to sacrifice your life for the one you love.  It is very easy to say you’re willing; it is a completely different thing to actually mean it.   In the United States, and most likely most of Europe, the non-believer never gets to see this type of love.  Since Christianity is majority, or least accepted in these countries, there are few opportunities to lay down once alive for love.  Oddly, what the non-believer has been able to see, are people laying down their lives for equal rights, to save the environment, or to fight tyranny.  This type of love is not limited to Christianity; as a result, the non-believer sees no difference between a Christian and the non-Christian.

Now unless Jesus was only speaking about his Apostles, which seems odd, for even though this speech occurred at the Last Supper, is clear that everything Jesus said was about all his disciples.  So to claim “YHWH works in mysterious ways” or “no one knows YHWH’s plans” is actually saying that these people are not friends but are servants.  This would also indicate that these people, that say these things, are not part of the true vine…they have already been cut off.   If Jesus knows his Father’s business and his friends know Jesus’ business, Christians (who are friends of Jesus) should know YHWH’s business.  The fact that Christians do not know YHWH’s business proves that they are not followers of Jesus.

Once more Jesus brings up the topic of being chosen:

John 15:16 you did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit – fruit that will last.  Then the Father will give you would ever you ask in my name.

Again, one can argue that this statement was only directed at the Twelve.   But that would be taking this out of context, for many other parts of this conversation relate to all disciples.  Even if you were to take this to only apply to those in the room, then there would be no more fruit after they died.  The fruit that lasts are those people who obey (love) Jesus and his teachings.  So once more, it is clear, that Jesus chooses who will be his disciples.  Freewill does not exist, because it is Jesus who controls who will love and obey him. 

To the non-believer, these three topics continue to prove that something is terribly wrong with Christianity today.  If there were any disciples of Jesus left on earth, we (the non-believer) would see these three things very clearly.  What we do not see is the love Jesus describes here in the Gospel of John and elsewhere, that Christians know (as friends) Jesus’ and YHWH’s business, or Christians recognizing that not everyone can be saved.  Christians in the U.S. claim that this is a Christian nation.  But we do not see the form of love that Jesus taught his disciples.  We also do not see Christians who understand and know YHWH’s business, in fact, it is the exact opposite – Christians have no clue what YHWH’s business/plans are.  Finally, the US Christians cannot or will not recognize that it is Jesus who chooses who will follow him.    It is odd to say, and I’m sure most people will disagree, but what Jesus said in this chapter of the Gospel of John is at the heart of being a disciple of Jesus.  Ignoring or rationalizing away the implications of this chapter only weakens the religion.  And a weaken religion does not fulfill the purpose of that religion; it is only a Tradition of Man.

Posted in Love, Gospel of John, Traditions of Men, Freewill, Readings | Print | 2 Comments »

September 24, 2009, 8:47 am by dc-agape.

John Chapter 13

I am not sure how far I will get in this chapter.  Three major topics are repeated here: service, love, and betrayal.   In hindsight John writing this Gospel sees the importance of love in the message of Jesus.  He shows an example of love and the commandment of love that Jesus gives his disciples.  In the example of love service plays a part.  Since they are interconnected, one cannot have one without the other.  Jesus also shows two predictions (again written in hindsight).  The first is Judas’ betrayal of Jesus to the Jewish leaders.  The second is Peter’s own betrayal of Jesus.  If Jesus knew in the future betrayal of these two men…they had no freewill.  To know something will happen is better than predicting; it indicates that something is planned.

The dialog between Jesus and his disciples (notice that John does not use the word Apostles) and especially Peter shows how important service to others is to being Christian.  But not just any type of service, Jesus made it clear that it should be of the most humble and menial form.  Yet somehow Christians have completely forgotten this most important teaching of Jesus.  They neither serve each other (showing love to those that love them) nor do they serve the non-believer, so that we know that they are disciples of Jesus.  In fact, it is the exact opposite today!  Christians attempt to take the highest position possible…that of governance.  Governance is neither menial nor humble; it is the most important form of work here on earth.  Without governance nations would crumble, bloodshed would be rampant, and humanity would never have crawled up from subsistence living allowing for science, arts, and technology.  But when religion attempts to govern we see things like the Inquisition, the Dark Ages, the subjugation of women, and even intolerance of minorities.  (And before any one might claim that Hitler was an atheist please read mein kampf and his speeches – where the Bible and Christianity are cited over 75 times).

But Jesus teaches love is the most important action that Christians can take.  This form of love has two effects.  As I just mentioned it means doing the most humble and menial of tasks for others (not just other Christians – see Matt 5:46-48) but also this love will be felt by others and will prove a person is truly a follower of Jesus.  Christians today, who demand new laws be written to punish/subjugate minorities (taking rights away from homosexuals), who vocally call for bloodshed of innocents (war against the Middle East), and demand government money be spent on religious symbols – instead of taking care of the poor, are truly showing the non-believer that Christianity has failed to follow the example of Jesus.  In fact, even wasting money on attempting to get science to be watered down with Creation “Science” in the classroom is just another form of this lack of love.  Should not Christian’s time, effort, and money be going to loving their neighbor by helping the poor, the orphan, and the widow?  Instead we (the USA) have the super right wing conservative fiscal party (the Republicans) gathered with the super right wing religious!  The “godless” Democrats are the one actually showing love to the poor!  What complete irony.

Jesus does on other thing in this chapter.  He prophesied the betrayal of two of his disciples.  The concept that Judas was a disciple is rather complicated to explain to those who believe that Judas was the Betrayer, but let me just point to a few verses (Matt 10:12, Matt 26:14, Mark 3:19, Mark 14:10, Mark 14:43, Luke 16:6  – he is named as one of the Apostle).  But more important is that Jesus knows that someone (from his inner ranks) must betray him – Matt 26:24, Mark 14:21, Luke 22:22).  In fact this verse is worth noting:

John 13:27 As soon as Judas took the bread, Satan entered into him.  “What you are about to do, do quickly,” Jesus told him, but no one at the meal understood why Jesus said this to him.

Jesus knew that Judas not only was going to betray him, but that Judas had to betray him.  There was no freewill in this action.  Remember if Jesus had not been betrayed the crucifixion would never have taken place!  Judas may have done the most important act that any Christian could perform, preparing the events that lead to religion known as Christianity.

But Jesus did not stop there.  He also prophesied that Peter would deny him three times within the following 12 hours.  Again, freewill is removed from Peter at this point.  For Jesus to know in advance that Peter would deny knowing Jesus can only have occurred if Peter did not have freewill.  In both of these cases, both Judas’ and Peter’s, we are shown that humanity is completely helpless in making freewill choices.  We are forced to take the actions that are required to fulfill YHWH’s plans for each one of us. 

This realization leads to troubling outcomes.  The divided Church would indicate that YHWH plans to send billions to hell.  Not only the ones that “choose” to sin (the non-believer) but also the ones who have been taught by the Traditions of Men that they are saved!  But with this being the case, then YHWH is not a loving supreme being.  He has planned the suffering of untold billions (if not trillion and quadrillions) in hell.  Worse is that it is a hell of his own creation!  So now we have a vicious circle…how can a loving god allow so many to go to a hell he created without allowing them to chose?  But we know that untold millions had no choice, prior to the conquest of the European Christians during the 15^th and 16^th centuries (at least 1400 years after Jesus died) only a small fraction of the world’s population even knew the story of Jesus.  At that time the population of Japan was 1,800,000 people, the population of China was well above 100,000,000 people, the population of India was 35 million people, in North America the population was as much between 8 and 112 million people, and that does not include Australia, South and Central America, Africa, or the Pacific Ocean nations.  To say the least estimates put the total population of the world at the beginning of the 16^th century  435,000,000 people.  It is quite obvious that these people did not have freewill to chose to worship YHWH!  What a loving YHWH, allowing nearly 300,000,000 million people to go to hell because he allowed them to be born in countries that had not heard the Word of God!  And that was only the beginning of 15^th century…hell certainly will be a crowded place with many innocent people sent there without freewill.  We can only hope that the Mormon’s are right and Jesus was sent to the Americas!  Otherwise, YHWH is a cruel and unworthy being to worship.

Posted in Gospel of John, Contradictions, Personal Responsibility, Freewill | Print | 1 Comment »

September 23, 2009, 8:14 am by dc-agape.

John Chapter 12:20 – 50

This section has three interesting concepts that I believe most (if not all) Christians overlook, ignore, or rationalize.  The first one is who Jesus is speaking to about his death.  Unless there has been some heavy editing he is speaking to the Greeks who came up to worship at the Feast.  The second interesting thing about this section is that Jesus promises that the prince of the world would be driven out…now!  Of course, that was over 1,900 years ago and still has not happened.  Finally, we have another proof of how YHWH keeps some (if not most) people from turning to him.  This of course, is where the rationalization occurs.

The opening of this section goes like this:

John 12:20-23 Now there were some Greeks among those who went up to worship at the Feast.   They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, with a request, “Sir,” they said, “we would like to see Jesus.” Philip went to tell Andrew; Andrew and Philip in turn told Jesus.  Jesus replied, “This hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.

The word “replied” in this sentence indicates that Jesus was talking to the Greeks.  These Greeks were Jewish and there may have been some actual Israelites in the crowd.  But whenever the Greeks want to talk to Jesus about obviously started this conversation.  I bring this topic up because the NIV it claims that these Greeks were not actual believers.   So what we have here is a Tradition of Man superseding the Word of God.  I will continue to point out where it is obvious to the non-believer that the traditional interpretation of the Bible is not what the Word of God actually says.  For this everything written in this book is truly Word secondary translations and interpretations based on other humans are the basis for Traditions of Men.   

One more place that Christians like to ignore or rationalize is this verse:

John 12:30-31 Jesus said, “This voice was for your benefit, not mine now is the time the judgment of this world; now the prince of this world will be driven out.

Jesus mentions two things in this verse that are supposed to happen “Now!”. One is and the judgment of the world began almost 2000 years ago.  And secondly, that the devil would be true that helped almost 2000 years ago.  Obviously neither of these two things occurred then or is occurring now.  This is just one of the places in the Word of God that Christians must rationalize to make it fit their Traditions of Men.   The other option, is that heavy editing of what Jesus actually said has occurred.  In either case, the validity  of this passage (and possibly the Bible itself) is brought to view.  Basically, either Jesus did not know what he was talking about or men have changed what was said.

Finally we reach another quote used by Jesus that indicates YHWH chooses who will hear his message and who will not.  The passage quoted comes from Isaiah 6:10 and says this:

John 12:40 “He has blinded their eyes and deadened their hearts, so they can neither see with their eyes, nor understand with their hearts, nor turn – and I would heal them.”

Christian rationalization and the traditions of men claim that sin comes first and then YHWH fulfills this verse.  But when you look at Isaiah this is not the case.  The full passage that is quoted is actually this:

Isaiah 6:9-12  He said, “Go until the people this: Be ever hearing, but never understanding; be  ever seeing, but never perceiving, make the heart of this people calloused; make their ears dull and close their eyes.  Otherwise they might see with the eyes, understand what their hearts, and turn and be healed.  Then I said, “For how long, O Lord?” “Until the cities lie ruined and without inhabitant, until the houses are left deserted and the fields ruined and ravaged, until the Lord has sent everyone far away and the land is utterly forsaken.

Sorry for the long quote, but it is important to show that either Jesus twisted the old testament, man has twisted Jesus’ words, or humankind is a play rag doll for YHWH’s pleasure.  In the book of Isaiah the people they have sinned, but it is YHWH who has chosen to punish without reprieve.  In both the gospel of john and in the book of Isaiah it is clear that it is YHWH who controls whether humankind sees, hears, and understands the message.

To the non-believer these three things indicate that the Word of God is questionable at best.  It is becoming clear to me that reading the Word of God does not build faith, instead it shows how Traditions of Men have twisted the bible to say what they wanted to say.  This is taken place either by mistranslation, twisting of the verses, or rationalization.  For whatever reason, the original intent of Jesus’ message has been garbled.  One of the most obvious signs Is That the Kingdom of God is divided.  And we all know what Jesus says about that:

Luke 11:17 Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them: “Any kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and a house divided against itself will fall. 

Posted in Contradictions, Gospel of John, Traditions of Men, Inerrancy - My Ass, Freewill, Readings | Print | 6 Comments »

September 2, 2009, 6:47 am by dc-agape.

John Chapter 10  

This passage is about the “Good Shepherd”.  Of course, this is also where the concept of Christians being the sheep is also reinforced, which is definitely not a good quality in humans.  Being like sheep leads to “like sheep to the slaughter”.  It indicates the gullibility of the human race to believe anything.  It indicates how humans can be lead by a strong voice to do anything without questioning the intent of the “Shepherd”.  This human characteristic has lead to 45,000 denominations in the Christian faith.  Most of the “Shepherds” of these denominations are the “thieves and robbers” that Jesus speaks about.  These “Shepherds” prey upon the human quality to not question even the most absurd statements.  If it is said with “Authority” the sheep will follow, even to the slaughter.

Even more telling in this passage is this verse:

John 10:3 The watchmen opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice.  He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.  When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice.

Sheep are not intelligent enough to have freewill.  Those that the “Shepherd” has authority over follow him blindly.  But those sheep were also selected by the “Shepherd”.  The sheep did not choice which “Shepherd” they wanted.  This is more Biblical proof that those that are “saved” and those that belong to a different “Shepherd” are not chosen by human freewill.

But Jesus goes on.  He promises something that cannot be proven.  He claims that those who are his sheep will:

John 10:10 the thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

There is no proof that “spiritual life” is granted by being a sheep in Jesus’ flock.  Even claiming that Jesus came back from the dead, we have no proof that following one particular “Shepherd” will lead us to eternal life.  From my own experience, I have attempted to follow numerous Southern Baptist congregations, one Presbyterian, and even the teachings of the Boston Church of Christ.  In all of those cases, the first thing that struck me was that each one taught a different Jesus.  They focused on different passages as the “most” important.  There was not “One Flock” but many different flocks.  It, of course, took me 22 years to explore those few options that presented themselves to me.  In one lifetime, one could never explore each and every Church that claims they are the way to salvation.  Even if one were to attempt to search, night and day without working, without eating, without staying in one location.  It might be true that one of them multiple churches in one of the multiple cities on this planet is the “Flock” that belongs to Jesus.  But unless a person is born in the right place, sent to the right city, has the opportunity to run into the right person, and has been taught from childhood that they must search for the right church, will there even be the slightest chance that an individual will find the mysterious “Flock”.  The “Flock” does not advertise their existence by either their actions or their doctrine.  Most advertise their hypocrisy with loud voices.  They show no compassion to the “lost”, they show that they do not believe in justice (but will use every means possible to eliminate justice), and they deny (vigorously) that geology, biology, chemistry, physics, and astronomy are false, yet at the same time gladly use the results of these sciences in their daily lives.  The computers that we use, the internet that connects us, the medicines and machines that keep us healthy and alive (beyond Natures limits), the light that we see at night by, even the electromagnetic signals we use to send television and radio waves to distant locations and a host of other simple observations prove that science is correct and cannot be denied.  Yet many of these “Flocks” demand that some form of voodoo science exists that invalidates all the science that provides humans with the ability to have raise us above being hunters and gathers.  Many the Amish are the True Flock!

Jesus goes even further with an un-provable promise, one that can never be affirmed.

John 10:28 I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand.

This is a whooper of a promise, and yet there is no validation of the promise!  Do we chemically die yet some un-measurable part of us survives?  But even more questions arise if this is the case.  The Buddhist philosophy also believes this, but instead of being judged by one supreme being, they believe that we are reincarnated!  So right there we have two different theories, neither one having any way of testing that describes what happens to this un-measurable quantity of our individual self.  Of course, the humanist/materialist has a completely different theory…that this un-measurable portion does not exist!  Since we can now measure things as small as a single atom (and under certain conditions even the things that make up the things that make up the atom (protons, elections, quarks, and neutrinos), if this un-measurable portion exists it is either smaller than an anything we have ever measured or not made from the physical world.  If, as the religious person claims, this un-measurable something is supernatural in essences and is not reincarnated, many questions are raised.  Where do these un-measurable things come from prior to each individual birth?  What are is this material made from?  How does this un-measurable thing interact with the physical world?  When does it attach itself to the individual life – at birth, at conception, at the age of accountability?  How does it remain attached to the physical body without any physical evidence?  When does it leave the physical body – when the heart stops the first time?  When the brain no longer functions?  Oddly, the Word of God is completely silent on these questions.

Jesus ends this passage telling the unbelieving Jews that even if they do not believe his words they should believe his miracles (John 10:38).  Yet today, we only have his recorded words, we are not give his miracles (except in written form) to trust that he is the Son of Man.  We see no blind man receiving sight (except a few through the act of medicine), we do not see healing of disease like AIDS, cancer, diabetes (except through the act of medicine), and we certainly do not see miracles such as curing the amputee or the effects of Thalidomide!  So we are stuck believing words that were written nearly 1900 years ago (and edited numerous time, with poorly translated versions, and in languages that have cultural and historical idioms) to relay on the salvation of this mystical magical un-measurable quaintly of human life (that no other species in the universe possesses).

Posted in Gospel of John, Tall Tales, Freewill, Readings | Print | 14 Comments »

August 31, 2009, 8:10 am by dc-agape.

John Chapter 9

This passage is one story.  It starts the healing of a blind man.  It includes the question of who was responsible for this man’s blindness.  The largest portion is about “the Jews” questioning a Jew about this healing.  It ends with Jesus meeting the man who was blind later, after the man had suffered interrogation and humiliation at the hands of “the Jews”.

Here is the verse that eliminates “Original Sin”, yet all Christians still believe in some form of this popular Tradition of Man.  Blindness, being an imperfection in Jewish traditions was a punishment bestowed on one generation for the sins of the previous generation.  Yet here Jesus is claiming that this man was not born blind because of sin.  No the reason this particular man was born blind was so that Jesus could heal him!  First, we see YHYH manipulating DNA to make himself look like a super-hero.  This is similar to a man starting a fire so he can then “save” the inhabitants of the burning house!  This is without a doubt a sign that YHWH does interfere with freewill, when it pleases him.  This then makes him no different than the Greek, Roman, Egyptian, and Norse gods.

But what is worse is that this man, with the DNA that YHWH manipulated, was tortured by “the Jews”.  I mean tortured because a simple citizen being brought before the ruling council of Israel must have been extremely nerve-wreaking.  And not only was the man himself so treated, but his parents were dragged into the fiasco as well.  We know that they were terrified:

John 9:22 His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jews, for already the Jews had decided that anyone who acknowledged that Jesus was the Christ would be put out of the synagogue.

So in the act of healing a man that YHWH purposely made blind, three people are terrorized by the leading religious leaders of the day.  The man, who was blind, was insulted and thrown out of the synagogue (most like ex-communicated).

When Jesus finds him later, of course the man who was blind has nothing to lose by following the man that made him see.  He could no longer be abstained of sin in the synagogue, yet he knew that he would not receive the blessing of YHWH during his lifetime because of Jesus’ healing!  His only option was to believe that Jesus was truly divine.  Wow, what freewill he had.

Jesus uses this experience to also teach about “spiritual blindness”.  Even though the man was thrown out of the synagogue, the Pharisees were nearby and overheard the conversation between the man who was blind man and Jesus. 

Here is an interesting verse:

John 9:41 Jesus said, “If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; but now that you claim that you can see, your guilt remains.”

This single verse explains much about who will make it to heaven and who will go to hell.  Those who claim to understand YHWH are with sin, not those of us who are “blind”!  So actually by the spreading of the “Good News” Christians are dooming people to hell.  Yet today’s Christian wants to spread the “Word” as far as possible, but not insure that those who hear it understand it.  Wow, you do realize that this is exactly the same thing that happened in Iraq?  We invaded the country with enough fire power to dispose a tyrant, but we did not bring enough man-power to ensure democracy.  Christians do the exact same thing today.  They quickly go on missionary trips to “save souls for Christ” yet do not teach the new converts the intricate details of how to be disciples of Jesus.  They open the “spiritual eyes” of the “sinner” yet do not ensure that the new converts are going to remain saved.  Even here in the US, the true Christian continues to whine “they aren’t real Christians”.  But they do nothing to correct these people that are going to hell!  It is not the un-believer that needs to be saved…it is the false Christians who need to be saved.  The real Christians have missed the mark, “sinned”, by not recognizing this simple fact.

As an Atheist, I am glad that I am spiritually blind!  This adds an entire new dimension to Pascal’s wager.  In fact, it makes Pascal’s wager false!  For living life as if YHWH exists, yet not “seeing”, will cause the one who wagers to bear the guilt.  For the one who wagers that YHWH does not exist, we remain “blind” and carry no guilt.  This turns out that Pascal’s wager dooms many more to hell and to heaven.

Posted in Gospel of John, Pascal's Wager, Traditions of Men, Freewill, Readings | Print | 12 Comments »

August 29, 2009, 9:58 am by dc-agape.

John Chapter 8:31 – 8:59

I had completely forgotten that I have Isaac Asimov’s Guide to the Bible as a resource.  Even though it is dated (1978), somewhat speculative, and written by the “Father” of modern Science Fiction, it does have some interesting tidbits.  Previously I had mentioned that the Gospel of John was similar to Gnostic Christianity.  Reading Asimov’s observations I was again reminded that the word “Logos”- (Word) in both Gnostic and mainstream Christianity means the same thing.  It also has the same spiritual meaning.  The Logos is the Light of the World and through Logos salvation will be delivered.  Jesus, in both forms of the same religion, is the Logos.

I will have to do a review of Asimov’s concepts (on the Gospels) in the future, it is a fascinating read.  I’m not sure where to put it at the moment…it is not a Holy Text.  And I am not ready to start delving into every possible commentary on each of the individual Holy Texts.  Since it agrees more with the non-believers point-of-view it is biased.  But at the same time it is Isaac Asimov’s work!  I know that I should not hold one particular man in such regard, but it is Asimov!  Such a dilemma, I will be adding observations from Asimov where it seems appropriate. 

I know that I glossed over a large amount of material in my last post on Chapter 8 of the Gospel of John.  And to be honest, this is most likely the most significant chapter on Jesus’ teachings that the Gospel of John introduces (other than the first chapter).  I feel that I am not doing this chapter justice.  But I am at a loss to the appropriate way to proceed.  That is one of the reasons I did not make a post yesterday, I was attempting to determine if I was missing something important enough to add more posts. 

I also got on an Atheist high horse in my last post!  This of course, led me to not address Jesus’ actual sermon.  As I had said in both the preliminary posts on this chapter…this sermon does not lend well to multiple posts!  I think that I should hold this post to just the section on Sons of God verses Sons of the devil.  This will mean that I will have one more post on this chapter that covers the last eleven verses of the chapter.

Here Jesus brings up the concept of slavery…not to another human but to actions.  At this point it is slavery to sin (and ultimately to the devil).  But elsewhere in the Word of God the only other choice is being a slave to YHWH:

1^st Cor 7:22-23 For he who was a slave when he was called by the Lord is the Lord’s freeman; similarly, he who was a free man when he was called is Christ’s slave.

Many other verses go along with this vain of thought.  If these are our only two choices: freewill is again questionable.  Slaves, by definition, do not have freewill – they must do as their master orders.  They also do not have the right (or power) to choose their master or even “win” their freedom from one master.  One master must buy the slave to change the slave’s ownership.  Technically, Jesus “paid” this fee, but then all of us would be slaves to YHWH, if this were the legal case.  More is obviously required.  And Jesus provides that “more” within this sermon.

These Jews, that believed him, do not understand him because they are slaves to their father, the devil (John 8:43-44 and 47).  We also know that a “house cannot be divided against itself (Mark 3:23-27)” and a person can only have “one master” (Luke 16:13).  So by Jesus’ standards we are all slaves, either to the devil or to YHWH.  As a result, we do not have freewill; we will do as our master orders us.

This is further proven by Jesus himself:

John 8:47 He who belongs to god hears what God says.  The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God.

By not belonging to YHWH, we cannot hear, and therefore understand, Jesus’ teachings.  It is a catch-22.  To understand Jesus we must already belong to YHWH, but to belong to YHWH we must understand Jesus!  With this circular logic and the catch-22 we are stuck in a perpetual dichotomy of either being saved or not with no power to change the “ownership” on our own. 

Oddly enough, science is getting to the point of solving the answer to the ultimate question: the Grand Unification (Unified Field Theory) and/or the Theory of Everything.  Many scientists are under the opinion that once this is understood, everything can be predicted.  If this is true, humanity does not have freewill…we are guided by the events prior to the choice being made and the outcome can be predicted.  On the other hand, due to the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle, many more scientists are under the impression that nothing can ever be predicted with 100% confidence.  Isn’t it odd that both religion and science are struggling over the same concept?  Yet neither religion nor science can determine which is correct! 

Well, I did it again.  This chapter is extremely complex!  The implication of this sermon by Jesus are, without doubt, have the greatest influence on the Christian religion.  Yet, because on one hand it seems so simple, and on the other hand it is so complex, neither Christian nor non-believer attempt to delve into this passage.   

Posted in Gospel of John, Freewill, Readings | Print | 8 Comments »

August 27, 2009, 7:18 am by dc-agape.

John Chapter 8:11 – 8:41

This chapter is a difficult one to break into smaller sections.  The entire passage is one sermon from Jesus.  There are breaks but they do not lend to separate posts very well.  To begin with Jesus is speaking to a larger crowd; he then spoke directly to Jews that believed him.  It is this section that is the most telling.  Jesus addresses the concept of being a son to YHWH and a son to the devil.  Jesus closes this sermon with more about himself.

In the opening of this passage, Jesus seems to be have been speaking to a large group of people.  He promises that he is the “light of the world”.  We know that he did not mean the literal light from the sun.  This was purely figurative, or if you wish spiritual.  We know this because all of his followers still had to deal with the darkness of night; he also used words like “light of life”.  But he made a bold claim:

John 8:12 When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world.  Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.

Notice that he did not say “Those who believe in me”, no, he said those who follow him!  This is a significant point that many modern Christians do not recognize.  Following Jesus is much more difficult than just believing in him. 

Jesus continued this opening claiming that sense he had YHWH on his side he actually had two witnesses (himself and YHWH).  I would truly love to see someone call YHWH to the witness stand!  So no, in a purely legalistic stance this does not hold water. 

Without doubt, Jesus’ life was predestined.  Even he knew what was going to happen to him.  Yet for some reason Christians then believe that the people surrounding Jesus still had freewill.  How can this be?  If someone had to betray Jesus for the crucifixion to take place, if a group of people had to order this crucifixion, if Pilot had to approve this crucifixion, and if Jesus had to raise on the third day, how do any of these people have freewill?  So, at least, when it counts YHWH does take freewill for humanity.

Jesus continues with a lot of spiritual mumbo jumbo.  Most of it was judging the Jews that were listening to him.  Kinda an odd way to win souls, speak harshly to them, when they were interested in what he had to say.  Yes, they questioned him, but he made it clear that they did not understand him because they were not from YHWH.  He even goes so far as to clarify this dilemma:

John 8:28 So Jesus said, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am, the one I claim to be, and that I do nothing on my own but speak just what the Father has taught me.

So not only can they not understand him due to their lowly births (on earth), but because they cannot understand him until his crucifixion!

Later he spoke directly to:

John 8:31-32 to the Jews that believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teachings, you are my disciples.  Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

At this very verse Jesus tells people that believe him that belief is not enough.  To be disciples of Jesus one must hold to his teachings.  Paul uses similar language in his ministry:

1^st Cor 15:1-2 Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand.  By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you.  Otherwise, you have believed in vain.

Both men indicate that belief can be useless.  A specific action must follow belief – holding to the teachings of Jesus.  This is an important distinction!  One that is so easily mislead by the masses of Christendom.  But this exact passage (both Jesus’ and Paul’s) show why we have 45,000 denominations of Christians instead of just one!  Only one can be holding to the teachings of Jesus.  But which one is holding to the teachings of Jesus?  In that regard, Jesus may be the light of the world and his followers may have the light, but the rest of us (non-believers) are stuck with 45,000 possible (yes I do mean possible) correct doctrine. 

To the Atheist (and I am sure the Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist, and Hindu as well) it is truly by your actions that we will know that anyone is a follower of Jesus.  The problem is…we see nothing different from those claiming to be Christians and those claiming to be Jews, Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu, or Atheist.  Christians…you do not stand out!  Nothing proves that you are “the light of the world”.  Nothing proves that the world hates you!  In fact, the world may despise you, but that is because of the hypocrisy that we see, not because the message you bring is difficult or painful to us.

Posted in Gospel of John, Personal Responsibility, Disciples, Freewill, Readings | Print | 22 Comments »