October 1, 2009, 8:37 am by dc-agape.

John Chapter 15 – 16:4

In my last two posts I wrote about being fruitful and the meaning of love and obedience knowing Jesus’ purpose, the greatest love, and being chosen.  In this post I want to write about the about being hated, having hatred, 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.

John 15:19 If you belong to the world, it would love you as its own.  As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world.  That is why the world hates you.

From this verse it is clear that a difference exists between Christians and the world.  This difference is so great, that hatred is the only word that can describe the difference.  The world’s hatred of Christians was quite obvious up until the reign of Constantine (320 AD).  At this point in time the persecution of Christians nearly ended.  They may not have been like, but there were no longer being killed for their faith.  This would pretty much indicate that slowly Christianity and the world are becoming one.  In modern times, most of Europe and all of the Americas are Christianized.  So how is it that the world now loves Christians?  One must also remember that almost all of Africa has also been Christianized.  Only in the Middle East and some parts of Asia are Christians still hated.  Reading John 15:19 again, “if you belong to the world, it would love you as its own.” Guess what?  The world loves Christians!  And from Jesus’ own words that means that Christians belong to the world.  The spiritual implication of this concept is straightforward.  Christianity no longer teaches something contrary to the sinful world.  Does this mean the world is no longer full of sin?  Or does this mean that Christianity is now full of sin?  If Christianity truly taught something that was contrary to the world, this verse (John 15:19) would mean something.  Instead, at least in the United States, two groups of people are hated: Atheists and homosexuals.

To the non-believer it is very odd that those that were hated are now the ones who hate!  Nowhere in Jesus’ teachings did he require hatred.  There is one verse:

Luke 14:26 “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters – yes, even his own life – he cannot be my disciple.

Two things about this verse should be taken into account.  First it is considered a hyperbole, the feelings the disciples should have forged worldly relationships compare to the relationship with Jesus should be as great as hating one and loving the other.  The other thing that should be considered is that in no way can this verse be linked to hating sin.  In fact, one other verse describes one a disciple will hate:

Matt 6:24 “No one can serve two masters.  Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other.  You cannot serve both God and Money.”

This is as close to teaching hatred as Jesus gets.  But neither of these verses teaches the disciple to hate the non-believer (sinner).  Yet that is exactly what occurs in the modern Church.  Neither Atheists nor homosexuals are openly accepted in any but a few non-traditional Churches.  Very odd for religion based on love, don’t you think?

In fact, Jesus warns about hatred and killing done in the name of YHWH:

John 16:2 They will put you out of the synagogue; in fact, the time is coming when anyone who kills you will think he is offering a service to God.

Matt 24:9-11 “Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated but all nations because of me.  At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betrayed and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people.

Today, both of these verses can be clearly seen actually happening.  Christians have been known to put people out of their church and to kill in the name of YHWH.  At the same time, many false prophets have risen up and have deceived the masses.  At this point in time, the haters and deceivers cannot be separated from the disciple of Jesus.  The combination of these two verses and the fact that these warnings have occurred leads the non-believer to one conclusion: will the true disciple of Jesus please stand up!  The non-believer can certainly not tell the difference between the hater, the deceiver, and the disciple.

All in all, this chapter in the Gospel of John has been unique for this experiment.  It may be having worked through four different books in the Bible I am beginning to see something that is not visible to most readers of the Word of God.  On the other hand, focusing on the positive teachings of Jesus, instead of the vitriol taught in the Church, may be influencing my perspective.  Many of the positive things that Jesus taught were not new, but the way he combined the different aspects of love, hope, and spirituality was certainly different from the old religions and from the Old Testament.  It is truly a shame that modern Christians have lost the focus on Jesus.  Instead, some focus on Paul’s teachings and others attempt to justify the Old Testament with the teachings of Jesus.  I guess this should not be unexpected, out of the Christian Bible only 10% of the Word of God is directly from Jesus.  And even that in 10%, half of it is mostly repetitive.

Posted in Love, Gospel of John, State of Mind, Readings | Print | 2 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 28, 2009, 8:15 am by dc-agape.

John Chapter 15 – 16:4

There are so many things that need to be said about this chapter.  Being fruitful, love and obedience, answered prayers, knowing Jesus’ purpose, the greatest love, being chosen, being 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.

Being fruitful is part of being a follower of Jesus.  This does not mean just the bringing of souls to YHWH!  It means living a godly life and having a virtuous character.  This does not mean sometimes being fruitful!  We think of seasonal fruiting plants and believe that bearing fruit can be sporadic, but this is not Jesus’ intent.  The “true vine” never goes dormant; it has the light of YHWH always making it grow.  Even the pruning is to make it have more virtue and more proof of a godly life.  Here is the first proof that non-believers have where Christians ≠ followers of Jesus.  In the modern world both “Christians” and non-believers both live virtuous lives.  I can say this because the word “virtue” is not linked to YHWH or even Christianity!  It is defined as living life in conformity to moral or ethical principles.  And YHWH does not have a strangle hold on ethic…it was perfectly fine to own slaves and to be polygamous in the OT, by Jesus’ time polygamy was out of fashion (unethical) yet slavery was still acceptable (ethical).  100 years ago it was unethical to marry inter-racially, but today we see that as common (and ethical) as treating each human as an equal.  Equality was certainly not ethical until the very most recent times, yet we still have issues with this concept!  So if ethics (virtue) change over the millennia, how exactly are we to tell who is a Christian?  We cannot unless they set themselves apart.  The only way Christians have set themselves apart from non-believers is to make false accusations against science, equality (slavery and equal rights), demanding constitutional amendments dictating their particular morality, and vandalizing of family planning clinics.  Are these truly godly life or virtuous character?  Worse is the cyclical nature of Christian’s virtue.  None become more virtuous with age!  No what the non-believer sees is that with age the skeletons in the closet are exposed, proving that the “spiritual” leaders are bogus.  The biggest sign of this is looking at the children of these leaders.  Billy Graham’s son Franklin Graham is a hatemonger, as was Jerry Falwell son Jonathan, and Pat Robertson (Timothy Brian).  Are these truly “godly”, are the actions of these men virtuous (both the father and the son)?  The biggest skeleton in each of these fathers’ closet is what the son does!  For it is from the parents that the child learns hatred and corruption.  Isn’t it always said that being the preacher’s kid is the worst, they even have a name for it Preacher’s Kid Syndrome?  If a preacher cannot bring their own child up to exemplify Jesus, that is one huge skeleton in the closet.

The Gospel of John returns to the concept of love and obedience being linked.  One cannot love Jesus without obey his teachings.  Not the teachings of Paul, Luther, John Smith, or John Calvin.  One must follow and obey the actually teachings of Jesus to love Jesus.  Yet only 66.6% of the NT does not deal with the teachings of Jesus.  Where is the focus on the important teachings that the followers of Jesus must obey?  Why have they been superseded by the teachings of Paul?  How can one obey and love Jesus when so little of his teachings remain?  Only two documents (the Gospels of Matthew or Mark and John) remain of the closest thing we have to the teaching of Jesus.  Even the Book of Acts is suspect, it was most likely written by a follower of Paul!  What happened to the documents that were written by the actually followers of Jesus?  Why were they not canonized?  What teachings did they invoke that the Orthodox Church found inappropriate?  Jesus had many disciples (more than the twelve) shouldn’t we have more copies of what the individual disciples had to say?  With the overwhelming focus on the teachings of Paul verse the teaching of Jesus, does not the NT come under a cloud of questionability?  Did none of the original disciples make records of their gnosis, their logos from Jesus?  Why did the followers of these men not record the sermons these men taught?  Or did these recording get written, but the Orthodox Church deemed them unacceptable?  Could the Christianity that “won” actually be a false teaching of Jesus?  It certainly is not based on obey Jesus; instead it is based on obeying men…especially Paul.  With so little of the Christian doctrine based directly on Jesus teachings one must wonder.  The Beatitudes are held as models to aspire to, instead of ways to actually live life.  But shouldn’t they be obeyed (not just used as an unreachable goal) if one loves Jesus?  As I have said before, Atheist do not hate YHWH nor Christians because of the hard teachings…no it is because of the hypocrisy in the lives of Christians that Atheist despise.  And the lame excuse of “we are only sinful human” does not cut it.  Being “born of the Spirit” and “guided by the Spirit” and “born of God” and this one specifically:

1^st John 3:9-10 No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God.  This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not a child of God; nor is anyone who does not love his brother.

This verse puts to death the lame excuse of we continue to sin after “loving Jesus”.  If you follow Jesus you no longer sin!  And if you claim to be a Christian and you continue to sin, you make this verse a lie.  By making this verse a lie, you invalidate the entire Bible…since this is the Word of God.  Loving Jesus means obeying Jesus, it also means living a righteous life without sin.  Otherwise, you make a mockery of the teachings of Jesus and will not be pruned, you will be thrown away to be burned.  Get it right “Christians” is all I can have to say!

Well since I have at least seven more topics from this chapter, this might go on for some time.  By far, the Gospel of John has got to be the most important source of the teachings of Jesus.  The Synoptic Gospels were written to collaborate with each other.  The Gospel of John was written to teach Jesus’ followers how to love and obey Jesus.

Posted in Love, Gospel of John, Personal Responsibility, Readings | Print | 17 Comments »

September 25, 2009, 8:21 am by dc-agape.

John Chapter 14

This chapter stresses two things: love and obedience.  Jesus continually repeats that YHWH and he are inseparable, and indicates that once someone becomes a Christian (disciple of Jesus) they too are inseparable from YHWH and Jesus.  Jesus even promises a Spirit of truth to help his future disciples to follow his commandments.  And he makes one guarantee that has rarely been proven:

John 14:13-14 And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father.  You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.

Odd how this guarantee is that any pray (that glorifies the Father) will be answered!  Yet how often do prayers get a “No” as an answer.  It is pretty clear that Jesus had just promised that there would be no answers of “No”.  Yet today, Christians assume that this is a valid response from YHWH.  But this Tradition of Man is not valid and it is not within the teachings or commandments of Jesus!

And what is this chapter’s major theme?  This is that those who love Jesus will obey everything that Jesus taught (not Paul, not James, not Luther, and definitely not the Pope).  And we only have four surviving documents of these teachings, of which the Synoptic Gospels are almost complete duplicates.  I find it very suspicious that we only have 2 documents, as a result, that describe Jesus’ actual words…were there not at least 11 Apostles and untold number of disciples?  Why do we not hear what they have to say about their personal experience with Jesus?  Has not Jesus’ teachings been tampered with (destroyed) by the canonization of only the Synoptic Gospels and John’s Gospel?  The Book of Acts is the only other book that comes close to directly describing the teachings of Jesus.  Why is 66.6% of the NT written by the “Apostle” Paul?  Why is it that the rest of the NT does not quote Jesus?  Yet to love Jesus is to obey Jesus…which means focusing on what Jesus taught!  Why do today’s Christians not focus on what Jesus taught?  This was his last desire to his disciples that they would love and obey his teachings…should not the modern disciples of Jesus also obey this desire?  Would not Christendom be one unified Church if this was the case?  Wouldn’t the non-believer know that YHWH existed if the Church actually loved (and obeyed) Jesus’ teachings? 

Do notice right away that the words “way”, “truth” and “life” were not capitalized.  This tells us something as well.  What this tells us is that Jesus is not the “Truth” nor the “Way” nor even the “Life”.  The traditions of men have changed the meanings of Jesus’ words from words that mean something spiritual to words that must be taken literally.  These three words (way, truth, and life) only apply to the disciples of Jesus, not to the world in general.  I know that my “Christian” readers will not grasp the difference, but the un-capitalized word is meaningful only to the followers of Jesus, while the Capitalized words are imperatives (related to all humankind and the universe).  Jesus did not use the word as capitals and they are not imperatives, they are specific to his followers and only his followers.

But what should we make of this Spirit of truth?  Other places it is referred to as the Holy Spirit.  Jesus here teaches the meaning of this concept.  This Spirit will:

John 14:26 But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.

This Counselor will only be sent to those who love Jesus, which implies those who obey Jesus.  So this crap about “praying Jesus into your heart” and being saved is only a Tradition of Men.  It does not save your soul!  Only by loving Jesus and obeying his teachings can one be truly a follower of Jesus (a Christian) – Jesus own words.

To the non-believer this begins to make sense out of the chaos that Christianity presents.  It is obvious that only one Church exists (not 45,000).  It is becomes obvious why it is hard to tell the difference between disciples of Jesus and Christians.  It becomes clear that today’s Christian has elected to follow the Traditions of Men instead of the teaching of Jesus (66.6% of the NT being written by Paul).  And, finally, it becomes all too clear why prayers can be answered with “No”, because they are not prays of the faithful!  Christianity is just a religion, being a disciple of Jesus is something completely different.

Posted in Love, Gospel of John, Holy Spirit, Traditions of Men, Readings | Print | 3 Comments »

September 7, 2009, 11:13 pm by dc-agape.

Jesus taught many things about love.  He includes it as the second most important commandment.  Not just in the Gospel of Matthew (Matt 2:38) but also in the Gospel of Mark:

Mark 12:31 The second one is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.

But what type of love are Christians supposed to give to their neighbors.  Obviously “Love your neighbor as yourself” has no meaning to the TrueChristian™.  For it is clear that they will obey only the Laws that they believe their YHWH has commanded them to follow.  But how do you love your neighbor?

Jesus has another saying that most TrueChristians™ like to ignore.  It is these verses:

Matt 5:46-47 If you love those who 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?  Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

You see TrueChristians™ are commanded by Jesus to show love to everyone…not just to those that are like them.  In other words, even if it hurts, TrueChristians™ have to love sinners like Atheist and homosexuals.  And what is the Biblical definition of Love:

1^st Cor 13:4-7 Love is patient, love is kind.  It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.  It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.  Love does not delight in evil, but rejoices with the truth.  It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

You see this is how TrueChristians™ must love their neighbors!  They must be kind to their neighbors, they cannot be rude to their neighbors, and they cannot keep records of wrongs that their neighbors do.  They must protect their neighbors and they must trust their neighbors!  If they cannot do this they are no better than others and they are just like the “pagans (sinners)”.

Now I have only been able to post on the first Important Questions.  But this question involves TrueChristians™ and homosexual rights in the USA.  By attempting to condemn homosexual civil marriage (the right to choose who you marry) TrueChristians™ are showing their true colors.  They are rude, they are not kind, and they keep records of wrongs committed by homosexuals.  They are not protecting their gay neighbors and they do not trust their gay neighbors!  They are breaking the second commandment of Jesus teachings by their hypocrisy. 

Christians wonder why Atheist and homosexuals treat them like spoiled little children…is it no wonder, when Christians cannot even follow their simplest of commandments from their role model?  Is it no wonder that Atheist mock and sneer at Christians, when it is the TrueChristians™ that cannot obey even the simplest concept of their own religion?  Oh, it’s true that Christians love their Christians neighbors, and sometimes their Jewish neighbors, and on occasions even their Mormon and Muslim neighbors, but to ask a Christians to show Biblical Love to a gay man or an Atheist…impossible!  It just won’t happen.   And just why is that?

Is it not because Atheist and homosexuals are the “worst” sinners?  Actually that is a balloon full of extremely hot air.  For TrueChristians™ know that all sin separates humans from YHWH, and not a single one is more or less acceptable to YHWH.  Just read:

Gal 5:19 The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like.

Notice that sex is in the list, it’s even the first one mentioned, but it is not the only sin.  And Paul does not make a difference between eating too much and having sex outside of Biblical polygamous marriage.  He also does not make a difference between sexually sin and rage, or sexually sin and fractions and dissensions.  And that is the key!  Why do we have 45,000 denominations of Christianity: fractions and dissensions!  There can be no TrueChristians™ as long as there is fractions, dissensions, discord, and the like.

Paul has a more complete list of sins:

Romans 1:29-32 They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed, and depravity.  They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, and malice.  They are gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant, and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; they are senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless.  Although they know God’s righteous decrees that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them.

Notice that the closest Paul gets in this list to homosexuality is “filled with depravity”.  He includes “God-haters” but not those who deny YHWH (Atheist).  By the way, this is a list of sins practiced by those that “knew” YHWH existed.  just as a dig…does this remind you of our Representatives and Sentors (just a little bit)?

And before any Holy Rollers claim that this verse fits me: YHWH turned me over to homosexuality when I was 13!  If you believe my heart was filled with wickedness and I did not “glorify YHWH” at that age, you are a liar.  I became an Atheist because for nine years I attempted everything suggested by my religious leaders to eliminate the “sinful nature” that I had no choice about, and YHWH did nothing!  The hormones in my body increased as I turned to a young teenager and then into an older teenager and finally a self-sufficient adult male…the “sinful nature” did not abate, it did not become easier, and in fact, by the shear act of denying it the urges became stronger!  Finally it dawned on me either YHWH was a liar or non-existent.

Posted in Important Questions, Love, State of Mind, Becoming an atheist | Print | 7 Comments »

September 7, 2009, 6:43 am by dc-agape.

Last week I ask some tough questions to one of my Christian commenters.  I had a reason for each of the questions.  I have posted why the first question:

How do True Christians respond to the desire of homosexuals to have the same legal rights as heterosexuals to marry the person they love?  Specifically I asked how my commenter responded to the approval of California Prop #8.

In response I have received two replies that need to be addressed:

Please explain compassion and justice from a materialistic world view.

I am not clear how the issue of Gay Marriage relates to your understanding the teachings of the Bible though.

It would seem that our True Christian is not clear on the concepts of compassion or justice even while living in the USA.  It would also appear that our True Christian does not understand that to be “Christ-like” one must show compassion and act in a just manner towards one’s fellow human.  Let me see if I can clear up some of the confusion.

Dictionary.com makes answering the first part of the first request very simple.  The definition of the English word “Compassion” is:

A feeling of deep sympathy and sorrow for another who is stricken by misfortune, accompanied by a strong desire to alleviate the suffering

Deep awareness of the suffering of another coupled with the wish to relieve it

It would seem that our Christian does not understand that one must not only claim to have compassion, but that one must also wish to relieve it!  The “stricken by misfortune” can certainly be a disqualifier to the subject of Gay Marriage until you combine justice with compassion.  Even thought the second definition “a deep awareness of the suffering of another” is clear enough to show that by banning/protesting Gay Marriage the Christians, who do this, are not showing a deep awareness of the suffering of others.  In fact, they are not even aware of the suffering that they are inflicting on other citizens in their own country.

But to truly understand that the Gay Marriage protest is causing suffering and striking the homosexual community with misfortune one must include the concept of justice and having a just attitude.  Using dictionary.com two of the meanings of the English word noun “Justice” are appropriate for the “materialistic world view”:

These are the “top” definitions of the English adjective “just”!  Notice the words justice, fairness, equitable, and lawful.  Dictionary.com has two definitions of the word justice that are in direct relation to this topic:

Conformity to this principle, as manifested in conduct; just conduct, dealing, or treatment

The maintenance or administration of what is just by law, as by judicial or other proceedings

These are not the “top” definitions of the English noun “Justice”; they are definitions of the word.  In my original post I described what was just by law: equality of all citizens in the USA.  The denial of equal rights to marry the person one loves is in the United States a fundamental denial of the right to pursue happiness.

I must admit that the concepts of compassion and justice are difficult to comprehend, especially to one that already receives both with abundance.  Of course that is what makes it difficult for one who claims to be compassionate and just to “forget” how to be exactly that: compassionate and just!  Since they receive it without thinking about it they “forget” that other people do not have the same experiences in life.  In fact, the people who deny compassion and justice to the gay community, here in the USA, are lulled into believing that everyone receives the same treatment that they themselves receive.  They are being taking their own freedoms for granted.

I think that I have hinted at the controversy of Gay Marriage and the teaching of the Bible.  Maybe I have not been clear enough.  If Christians are to be “Christ-like” does that not mean that they should show compassion and justice as Jesus did in the Gospels.  One thing that is missing from the Gospel is the concept that the “sinner” should be treated as less valuable, less human than the righteous believer.  In fact, the exact opposite is the case.  Jesus turned water into wine for a wedding festival – John 2:1-11 (gluttony), Jesus ate with the tax collectors and the prostitutes (greed and sexual amorality), and Jesus even taught in the Beatitudes:

Matt 5:7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy”. 

And further in Jesus’ ministry Jesus tells his followers this:Matt 22:37-40 Jesus replied. “’Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’  This is the first and greatest commandment.  And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’  All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

To love your neighbor but to deny them the same right that you take for granted is a hypocrisy.  How can you love your neighbor “as yourself” yet demand that your neighbor cannot have the same rights as you!  So from a Biblical stand point and a “materialist” stand point there is no difference. 

It is true that some Christians believe that all homosexuals will go to hell…how “loving”.  But should not Christians have the decency to show mercy, compassion, justice, and love to the “sinner” while we are here on Earth?

Posted in Important Questions, Love, Personal Responsibility, State of Mind, Introduction | Print | 13 Comments »

September 6, 2009, 7:56 am by dc-agape.

Last week I ask some tough questions to one of my Christian commenters.  I had a reason for each of the questions.  You see, Christians worship a supreme being that is known for compassion, justice, and love.  The questions I ask should have included two more, but I thought I had covered all the important topics.  I will add the importance to those two questions in late post.  I will explain the reason for each of the questions in the next nine posts.  The purpose of the questions was to determine if our commenter was True to the Christ-like qualities expected from Christians.

How do True Christians respond to the desire of homosexuals to have the same legal rights as heterosexuals to marry the person they love?  Specifically I asked how my commenter responded to the approval of California Prop #8. 

The USA Declaration of Independence includes this passage:

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

If “all men are created equal” then why are homosexually not allowed to have the same unalienable Rights to pursue Happiness as a heterosexually?  Either the foundations of the USA are anti-Christian or Christians are using only parts of our heritage for their specific “goals”.  Notice that the writers of this Document include “all men”, “their Creator”, and “unalienable Rights” in one sentence.  At the time of writing this Document the authors did qualify “all men” to only include Caucasian men who owned land.  Since then our nation was included non-Caucasians and women.  Both struggles were long, hard, and dangerous.  Have we not learned anything for the past?  Why do the followers of a compassionate and just supreme being not only deny these simple acts of compassion and justice but vigorously demand (Constitutional Amendments) to control other human beings? 

The act of deny Freedom and the pursuit of Happiness are extremes in the act of being non-compassionate and removing justice from a country founded exactly on those principles.  Both gay men and lesbian are requesting the same rights as any other human being in the US of A.  Yet it is the compassionate, just Christians that are leading the fight to deny these unalienable rights from people that they dislike (Hate? Fear?). 

To say the least, this is pure fodder for the Atheist!  The contradiction between claiming to be compassionate and just and the actions that Christians take on such a civil rights matter are so blatant that very few Atheist bloggers have rejected the rights to homosexuals.  In fact, most Atheist blog writer scathing rebukes towards this undeniable hypocrisy!  Do remember, that civil marriage is not religious marriage.  Churches do not have to provide marriage location to those that are not members of that particular congregation!  The Catholic Churches certainly do this.  As many have said before…if you don’t want to have a homosexual marriage, don’t have one.  But denying the right to pursue happiness and the freedom to marry the person you love is antithetical to the founding of our Nation. 

The first argument that this type of logic receives from Christians is that our Government was designed by “Christians”!  Yet if that was the case, why is the 1^st Amendment to the Constitution of the USA the freedom of religion, freedom of speech, and the freedom to peacefully assemble.  Why would the founding “Fathers” want to ensure that any form of religion be accepted!  If they had meant only the Christian religion, what about the Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, and Buddhist in our country?  Should we deny them the right to worship freely because our founding “Fathers” were from a diverse European Christian heritage? Of course not!  So the same cannot be applied to those who do not “obey” the Christian doctrine that homosexuality is “sinful”. 

The second argument that this type of logic receives is the “slippery slope” concept.  This argument goes something like this…where will it end if we allow these “people” to marry?  Of course this is smoke and mirrors.  The first “slope” is polygamy.  The Christian’s own Bible approves of marriage were more than one wife is involved!  Mormonism is based on this concept (they do not practice…much); the Muslim faith allows this as well.  Of course, the slope is even steeper than this.  Christians attempt to claim that if the US allows homosexuals to marry other forms of “sinful” marriage will follow…child marriages, animal-human marriages, etc.  Shall I use the nations of Belgium, Croatia, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and South Africa as proof that this slippery slope does not occur?I could continue with the “arguments” against gay marriage, but since they are purely propaganda I will end with this link to Yes on Gay Marriage.  This link includes the top nine myths that our loving, compassionate, just Christians have fabricated to stir public opinion to their side of the “debate”.

Posted in Important Questions, Love, Contradictions, State of Mind | Print | 8 Comments »

August 29, 2009, 4:28 pm by dc-agape.

In this post on why I became an Atheist I want to focus on “Lukewarm” Christians.  In a sense this can be considered all moderate Christians, you know the ones that go to church every once in a while, say “God bless you”, and in general claim to be “Christian”.  This includes most Protestants and Catholics, and a good dose of “Fundamentalist” and “Charismatic” Christians.  But there is a second group of “Lukewarm” Christians that I actually want to address.  This is the group that allows the little things in life to come before their responsibilities to following Jesus.

I want to start with this passage from Paul (1^st Cor 7:28-40).  Paul clearly states that marriage divides the attention of Christians between pleasing YHWH and worry about earthy issues.  He, of course, does not promote celibacy (as Catholics would like to claim), but he does have this to say:

1^st Cor 7:28 But if you do marry, you have not sinned; and if a virgin marries she has not sinned.  But those who marry will face many troubles in this life, and I want to spare you this.

But this teaching of Paul’s is in direct contradiction to Jesus’ about two masters:

Matt 6:24 “No one can have two masters.  Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other.  You cannot serve both God and Money.”

Being concerned about this life, satisfying your partner (not just sexually) is exactly the same thing as Jesus’ choice between YHWH and Money!  One cannot serve their family and serve YHWH at the same time.  In fact Jesus has two saying that directly relate to this:

Matt 6:31-34 So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly father knows that you need them.  But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.  Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Yet as of today, I have not met a single “Christian” who follows this advice.  No, instead, what I have seen is the rationalization that those who seek the kingdom will make lots of money (for cloths) and have plenty of food and water.  But this is not Jesus’ point!  To attempt to make this clear look at these passages:

Matt 19:21 Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven.  Then come, follow me.”

Matt 8:20-22 Jesus replied, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head”.  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.”

It is perfectly clear that Jesus expects his followers to trust that YHWH will provide all their necessities.  This is not just during Jesus’ lifetime.  The first church also did not worry about money, food, or clothes (Acts 2:42-47).  But today’s Christian is so caught up in the “rat race” that the Socialism that Jesus espouses is considered to be un-American!  Yet it is perfectly clear that Jesus’ teachings are not just a form of socialism they are the purist Socialism possible (and not Marxist Socialism!).  Unfortunately, modern Christians believe that Capitalism is acceptable!  But Capitalism is the antithesis of Socialism. 

Another difference between Jesus (and his disciples) and modern Christianity is this verse:

Matt 5:38-42 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’  But I tell you, Do not resist an evil person.  If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.  And if someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well.  If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles.  Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.

In direct opposition to this passage the US military, and our former “Christian” President Bush, chose to carry out a pre-emptive strike against Iraq.  I mention our US military because 60% of our military is evangelical Christians.  Also, there exists the fact that in 2002, 69% of conservative Christians support military action in Bagdad.  Both our military and our government are acting in very non-Christian manners and the staunchest Christians in the US support these actions. 

Finally, I want to bring this verse into the equation:

Colossians 3:2-5 Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.  For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.  When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.  Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires, and greed, which is idolatry.

Even though Paul focuses on sexual activities, thoughts, and greed he includes impurity.  With that broad term Paul includes anything that is not acceptable to Jesus and YHWH.  Yet modern Christians are anything but focused on earthly things.  They have created the War on Christmas, they are determined to put religious icons in secular government (public) locations, and they want to have their doctrine taught as science in public schools!  These three examples are but a few of the examples that modern Christians have not focused on things above but things here on earth!

Together, when you include the “stuck in the rat race” mentality, the pre-emptive strike attitude, and the focus on earthly matters it becomes clear that modern Christians are not disciples of Jesus.  No, they are Christians!  And the difference between being a disciple of Jesus and being a Christians is nearly as large a gap as that between Islam and Judaism.  Just like the difference between Muslim and Jew is based on which son of Abraham that religion follows, the difference between Disciple and Christian is as simple as following Jesus or following the Traditions of Men.  When will this “Christian” nation wake up and realize that they are not Disciples of Jesus! 

But to make things worse, even the “Christians” who begin to understand this do nothing.  Where is the fury that Jesus had in the Temple?  Where is the forcefulness of Paul’s defense of the True doctrine?  Why has even the “best” Christians allowed these false teachers to continue to preach without a single form of opposition!  Should we not see Christians that are not lukewarm act like this….Americans for the Truth about Homosexuals.  In general should we (the un-believers) not see Disciples of Jesus standing up and telling the false teachers of Christianity stop the hypocrisy?  Or is it that even the TrueChristians™ are afraid that Modern Christians are right? Or maybe they rationalize that “the enemy of my enemy is my friend”?  Or how about this one:

1^st Cor 3:5 “What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe – as the Lord has assigned to each his task.

Which is the verse used to claim (rationalized) that all Christians are equal!  But that is clearly not Paul’s intent:

1^st Cor 1:12-13 What I mean is this: One of you says, “I follow Paul”; another, “I follow Apollos”; another, “I follow Cephas”; still another, “I follow Christ.”  Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized into the name of Paul?

Yet today we have the exact same thing in Christendom.  One says I am a Baptist, another says I am a Catholic, and another says that they follow Jesus.  It is the same problem that Corinth had and it is still not resolved, yet today we have no Paul to demand correction!  Yet today we have divisions in the Church, based on the Traditions of Men, which no one will address.   What a truly sad state Christianity is in!  And how true Jesus was in saying this:

Luke 18:8 I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly.  However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?

This is getting to long, but I want to ask one more question.  Why is it that homosexuals, Atheists, and Muslim are the most despised in the US (pdf)?  Aren’t Christians supposed to be hated by the world:

John 15:19 If you belong to the world, it would love you as its own.  As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world.  That is why the world hates you.

Posted in Love, Personal Responsibility, Traditions of Men, Biblical topics, Becoming an atheist | Print | 14 Comments »

August 26, 2009, 7:21 am by dc-agape.

John Chapter 7:53 – 8:11

This chapter is a difficult one to break into smaller sections.  The opening verses (1 – 11) are obvious additions from someone who was not the original author.  But it is such a powerful story that many (if not all) Christian would like to be “True”.  It certainly portrays Jesus as a loving “Savior”. 

The gist of this passage is that some leaders of the Jewish community attempt to trap Jesus with a special case.  The case deals with a woman who has been caught (red-handed) in the act of adultery (doesn’t that take two?).  When these leaders confront Jesus, he seems to ignore them, by writing in the something (unspecified) in the ground.  He responds to their continued questioning in this fashion:

John 8:7 When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.”

Death by stoning was the official punishment for adultery of a betrothed virgin.  The response to this “offer” was that slowly, as each person realized that they too had some form of sin, the accusers left.  When Jesus again looked up only the woman was standing in front of him.

The passage ends with Jesus not condemning the woman but leaving her with this command:

John 8:11 “No one, sir,” she said.  “Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.”

This is a very lovely story of the power of forgiveness.  I only wish that more Christians would follow Jesus’ teachings here.  Instead, we have, throughout Christian history, had laws that continued to punish “sinners” immediately.  Only recently did the US Supreme Court over throw a specific “sexual act” law that was put in place by Christians!

To put it plainly, if Jesus did not condemn in his life, why do Christians?  It is true that Jesus ends with the “leave your life of sin” statement.  But that is not the meaning of this passage.  The meaning of this passage is about forgiveness.  It shows that humans must be forgiving because none of us are perfect.  We each have our faults and as a result we cannot hold others accountable for their specific faults. 

Unfortunately, some human faults are damaging to society.  Which exactly are the damaging ones?  Well that depends on the society and the specific activity.  In a purely religious society, as some Islamic nations, human actions are much more damaging to the “fabric” of that society.  But in secular societies, such as the US, laws that prevent activities are more damaging than protecting.  The best example of this was Prohibition.  In fact, laws like the Prohibition Act made things worse!  When the legal system is overwhelmed with minor violations (imposed by specific groups) the entire legal system begins to fall apart.  As our population increases, either our legal system must increase (increasing the costs of policing society) or minor acts that do not harm citizens must be accepted as part of society.  This may seem to be a situation of compromise that will lead to chaos and anarchy, but that is purely fictional.  If our police and our judicial system focus on what is truly harmful to society, then only the crimes that are harmful to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness will be punished.  As Jesus allowed the act of adultery, in this passage, to be sorted out later, so should society allow minor disagreeable acts to settle “out-of-court”.

One of the biggest examples of this is the 1960’s.  This period of US history was the most decadent period of hedonism in our countries history.  Yet the people who have aged from that period are now either the most amiable people I know (such as a friend in Philadelphia) or the staunchest supporters of the Moral Majority.

If only this passage were truly a teaching of Jesus (and it might well be).  If only Christians would follow Jesus’ lead in this area!  But instead we have people like Dr Jerry Falwell (Falwell Ministries and Liberty University) or the Westboro Baptist Church (godhatesfags.com).  Both are such wonderful examples of the loving nature of YHWH and Jesus!  Many other examples exist of this type of Christianity, I am just using two of the most outspoken groups that create more damage to society than prevent damage.  Yet both groups claim to be protecting society – their version of society!

Posted in Love, Gospel of John, Traditions of Men, Readings | Print | 4 Comments »

August 23, 2009, 7:00 am by dc-agape.

 It is high time for me to begin again the posts on Biblical Topics.  I had difficulty deciding which topic was more important: the Holy Ghost, Disciples vs. Christians, or Love.  I have realized recently (due to interactions with a determined Christian) that I can now answer that question.  So I have begun the research into the Biblical topic of Love.  I realize that many Christian do not understand Biblical Love.  I am certain that Atheist, Christians, Jews, and Muslims are most likely unfamiliar with the actual Biblical meaning, since we each have our personal understanding of this Biblical Topic. 

Love is spoken about in the Word of God on numerous occasions.  In fact, many Christians believe that YHWH is the source of love in the world we live in.  But is this true?  Is it Biblically accurate?  What does the Bible really say about YHWH, love, and the interaction between the two?  I have decided that this topic is more important than what Jesus’ disciples were like (very un-modern Christians) or what is to be expected from the Holy Spirit (the Bible is very clear on the Spirit’s powers).  So these two Biblical Topics will have to wait.

So what is the definition of Love?  Anyone who has gone to a marriage in the US will surely remember this passage:

1^st Cor 13:4-7 Love is patient, love is kind.  It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.  It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.  Love does not delight in evil, but rejoices with the truth.  It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

That is a very long list of qualities that love has!  It is also a wonderful list of qualities that we humans would like it to have.  Does YHWH have these qualities?  The short answer is a big NO!

YHWH admits to being envious.  He does not always trust.  He is not kind.  He does keep a record of wrongs.  And he does not always protect.  The Word of God is the source of these three contradictions between Love and YHWH.  Let’s take a closer look.

How can I say that YHWH is envious?  It is very simple.  Go ahead using the thesaurus and look up the word jealous.  Jealous is synonymous with envious.  And the antonym of jealous is trust.  Why do I bring up the word jealous?  I do this because these are words that YHWH uses to describe himself.

Exodus 34:13 Do not worship any other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.

Moses uses the capital form of the word Jealous to name YHWH, not just to describe YHWH.  Not only is YHWH jealous but he is the embodiment of Jealous in actual form.  The Bible continues to remind us that YHWH is jealous (Deut 4:24, 5:9, 6:15, Joshua 24:19, and Nath 1:2).  So if Love is not envious and envious is synonymous with jealous, can YHWH be Love?  But this goes further.  The antonym for jealous is trust, and the antonym for envious is kind.  So by YHWH own definition of himself and of the word Love, he cannot be Love!  He is kind, he is envious, and he does not trust. 

Love does not keep records of wrong.  Yet we are told that:

Numbers 14:18 The Lord is slow to anger, abounding in love and forgiving sin and rebellion.  Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation.

Other verses in the Bible repeat this keeping of records (Exodus 20:5, Exodus 34:7, and Deut 5:9).  So YHWH keeps records of wrongs not just on the people that actual do the act, but he keeps these records and punishes four additional generations.  If that is not keeping records of wrong (and going overboard) what is?  It is hard enough to explain punishment for eternity for sin and love in one being.  But when that same being claims to be a loving entity (and Christians have emphasized this) yet records are kept of wrong-doing until the fourth generation, there is a disconnect.  Either YHWH is love and does not punish to the fourth generation (keeping records of wrong) or YHWH is not love.  The only other option is that Paul, when writing to Corinth, introduced a Tradition of Man into the Bible itself.  But if Paul did that, can we trust any of his teachings?

Editors Note: Before anyone says that this is a falling of translation or the English language in general, think long and hard about what that implies!  If either of these are the case, then the entire Bible is suspect and cannot be trusted.

Posted in Love, Contradictions, Traditions of Men | Print | 17 Comments »