The MIC is really big in San Diego: every other car has a sticker on the windshield that allows them to drive onto a military base or a weapons manufacturing plant.
In addition many, if not most people who live here came to San Diego through the military and decided to stay. They are proud of the US military and its record of bombing the crap out of everybody.
In order for these people to stand up against war, they would have to admit that their whole lives: their military service and their current employment, are based on evil lies. That's not going to happen. It is much more preferable to sing patriotic songs and watch the fireworks and complain about the Muslim threat to israhell. Thanks Jews!
- Alas, Greg, there will always be morons, like myself and others who frequently visit this site, who --having carefully considered the content of the bible -- find it to be trustworthy, and not deserving of the scorn you pile on.
If the Bible is one you consider deserving of mockery, you may find an ally in the Babylonian Talmud, which also belittles and mocks Christ, as well as those who put their hope in him.
The words of the the prophets and the accounts of Christ will endure, as they have for time immemorial. 'The magical Jew', as you label him, spoke wisdom which will continue to penetrate the souls of men and women of all backgrounds, races and social standing; while his detractors will quickly wither away, forgotten, much like the Talmud.
As Paul wrote in his letter to the Corinthians:
For the message about the cross is nonsense to those in the process of being destroyed, but to us in the process of being delivered, it is the power of God.
Indeed, as the Torah quotes God: “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise and frustrate the intelligence of the intelligent.”
Where does that leave the philosopher, the Torah-teacher, or any of today’s thinkers? Hasn’t God made this world’s wisdom look pretty foolish? For God’s wisdom ordained that the world -- using its own wisdom -- would not come to know him. Rather, God decided to use the “nonsense” of what we proclaim as his means of delivering those who come to trust in it. Precisely because Jews ask for signs and Greeks try to find wisdom, we go on proclaiming a Messiah executed as a criminal! To Jews this is an obstacle, and to Gentiles it is nonsense; but to those who are called, both Jews and Gentiles, this same Messiah is God’s power and God’s wisdom.
For God’s “nonsense” is wiser than man’s “wisdom.”
- Greg, you raise some pertinent points in your comment above. I would very much like to respond to the matters you raise, point by point. It's pretty late here where I am so please excuse my tardiness in replying to your objections. Tomorrow I will endeavour to address them, as they are warranted. Until then, my regards.
In many respects, I do see where you’re coming from and can understand your scepticism when it comes to the bible, insofar as it can be rightly linked to unsavoury people, both within the Jewish community and the institutionalised church.
Just to clarify, it’s not that I have a need for anything Jewish. I do yearn for The Truth, and, after much searching, reading and consideration, I have been persuaded by Jesus’ self proclamation: “I am the way, the truth and the life” (John 14:6), as well as Paul’s very insightful statement in his letter to the Colossians:
“God’s once-hidden truth, the Messiah -- it is in him that all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden.” (Col 2:2-3)
The fact that the Messiah happens to have come from the line of Judah is important only in that it fulfilled God’s plan to reconcile the world to himself. However if he had, in his wisdom, chose to accomplish this through the German peoples, or the Chinese, or the Arabs or the Eskimos, I would have equally been grateful.
As it happens – if the bible is to be trusted – God did this through a people whom he called ‘the least of the nations of the earth’ and ‘a stiff-necked people’.
Like you Greg, I resist magic and deception. But neither is to be found in Christ. In fact he is presented – again, if the bible is to be trusted – in a manner altogether different, such as John’s First letter:
“...this is the message which we have heard from him and proclaim to you: God is light, and there is no darkness in him — none! If we claim to have fellowship with him while we are walking in the darkness, we are lying and not living out the truth. But if we are walking in the light, as he is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of his Son Jesus purifies us from all sin.” (1 John 1: 5-7) You are right however in saying that Jesus divides. He did say himself that he “came to bring a sword” and that on account of him, “mother will turn against daughter, a son against his father, brother against brother”. But in the context of his message, he was telling us that the world would inevitably be divided over him, the stumbling block. To those who are his, Christ is ‘the fragrance of Life’, while to those who reject him, he is ‘the stench of death’.
As far as ‘honouring your mother and father’, yes, this is one of the commandments, and regarding the Law, Jesus said: “Don’t think that I have come to abolish the Torah or the Prophets. I have come not to abolish but to complete.”
The words you quoted Jesus as crying out while hanging from the cross “My God, my God – why have you forsaken me” was the moment Christ took upon himself that which was the sentence of all men: utter separation from God. Christ, in accomplishing this on our behalf, was actually quoting the opening verses from King David’s psalm (chapter 22). If you read the rest f this psalm Greg, you will see that Jesus’ sacrifice was not, in fact, ‘the end’, but just the beginning.
As you opine ought to be the case, the ritual circumcision (an outward sign of the covenant between God and the Israelites which separated them from the pagan nations), has indeed been done away with ‘in Christ’, as has the temple sacrifices and other ordinances specifically given to the ancient Israelites. Paul, in his profound letters, writes extensively on this, such as found in the following excerpt from his letter to the Colossians:
“Also it was in union with him that you were circumcised with a circumcision not done by human hands, but accomplished by stripping away the old nature’s control over the body. In this circumcision done by the Messiah, you were buried along with him by being immersed; and in union with him, you were also raised up along with him by God’s faithfulness that worked when he raised Jesus from the dead. You were dead because of your sins, that is, because of your “foreskin,” your old nature. But God made you alive along with the Messiah by forgiving you all your sins. He wiped away the bill of charges against us. Because of the regulations, it stood as a testimony against us; but he removed it by nailing it to the cross. Stripping the rulers and authorities of their power, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by means of the cross. “So don’t let anyone pass judgment on you in connection with eating and drinking, or in regard to a Jewish festival or Rosh-Hodesh or Shabbat. These are a shadow of things that are coming, but the body is of the Messiah”. (Col 2:11-17)
Greg, the bible contends that we are indeed slaves – not to the Jew (despite the aspirations of Talmudists, Cabbalists and modern world Jewry) -- but rather, we are slaves to sin, Jew and gentile alike. If the testimony of the bible is true, and not a cruel con job, then in Christ we are freed from being slaves and are made friends with God, ‘adopted as sons’, and co-heirs of his Kingdom.
Thanks again for enduring my long-winded reply. As you can tell I enjoy relaying ‘the good news’ in a world plagued with the bad.
The MIC is really big in San Diego: every other car has a sticker on the windshield that allows them to drive onto a military base or a weapons manufacturing plant.
ReplyDeleteIn addition many, if not most people who live here came to San Diego through the military and decided to stay. They are proud of the US military and its record of bombing the crap out of everybody.
In order for these people to stand up against war, they would have to admit that their whole lives: their military service and their current employment, are based on evil lies. That's not going to happen. It is much more preferable to sing patriotic songs and watch the fireworks and complain about the Muslim threat to israhell. Thanks Jews!
lol
ReplyDeleteHow many Morons keep watching the RT?
ReplyDelete-
ReplyDeleteAlas, Greg, there will always be morons, like myself and others who frequently visit this site, who --having carefully considered the content of the bible -- find it to be trustworthy, and not deserving of the scorn you pile on.
If the Bible is one you consider deserving of mockery, you may find an ally in the Babylonian Talmud, which also belittles and mocks Christ, as well as those who put their hope in him.
The words of the the prophets and the accounts of Christ will endure, as they have for time immemorial. 'The magical Jew', as you label him, spoke wisdom which will continue to penetrate the souls of men and women of all backgrounds, races and social standing; while his detractors will quickly wither away, forgotten, much like the Talmud.
As Paul wrote in his letter to the Corinthians:
For the message about the cross is nonsense to those in the process of being destroyed, but to us in the process of being delivered, it is the power of God.
Indeed, as the Torah quotes God: “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise and frustrate the intelligence of the intelligent.”
Where does that leave the philosopher, the Torah-teacher, or any of today’s thinkers? Hasn’t God made this world’s wisdom look pretty foolish? For God’s wisdom ordained that the world -- using its own wisdom -- would not come to know him. Rather, God decided to use the “nonsense” of what we proclaim as his means of delivering those who come to trust in it. Precisely because Jews ask for signs and Greeks try to find wisdom, we go on proclaiming a Messiah executed as a criminal! To Jews this is an obstacle, and to Gentiles it is nonsense; but to those who are called, both Jews and Gentiles, this same Messiah is God’s power and God’s wisdom.
For God’s “nonsense” is wiser than man’s “wisdom.”
(1 Corinthians 1:18-25)
-
ReplyDeleteGreg, you raise some pertinent points in your comment above. I would very much like to respond to the matters you raise, point by point. It's pretty late here where I am so please excuse my tardiness in replying to your objections. Tomorrow I will endeavour to address them, as they are warranted. Until then, my regards.
-
ReplyDeletePART 1 of 2
Hello Greg,
In many respects, I do see where you’re coming from and can understand your scepticism when it comes to the bible, insofar as it can be rightly linked to unsavoury people, both within the Jewish community and the institutionalised church.
Just to clarify, it’s not that I have a need for anything Jewish. I do yearn for The Truth, and, after much searching, reading and consideration, I have been persuaded by Jesus’ self proclamation: “I am the way, the truth and the life” (John 14:6), as well as Paul’s very insightful statement in his letter to the Colossians:
“God’s once-hidden truth, the Messiah -- it is in him that all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden.” (Col 2:2-3)
The fact that the Messiah happens to have come from the line of Judah is important only in that it fulfilled God’s plan to reconcile the world to himself. However if he had, in his wisdom, chose to accomplish this through the German peoples, or the Chinese, or the Arabs or the Eskimos, I would have equally been grateful.
As it happens – if the bible is to be trusted – God did this through a people whom he called ‘the least of the nations of the earth’ and ‘a stiff-necked people’.
Like you Greg, I resist magic and deception. But neither is to be found in Christ. In fact he is presented – again, if the bible is to be trusted – in a manner altogether different, such as John’s First letter:
“...this is the message which we have heard from him and proclaim to you: God is light, and there is no darkness in him — none! If we claim to have fellowship with him while we are walking in the darkness, we are lying and not living out the truth. But if we are walking in the light, as he is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of his Son Jesus purifies us from all sin.” (1 John 1: 5-7)
You are right however in saying that Jesus divides. He did say himself that he “came to bring a sword” and that on account of him, “mother will turn against daughter, a son against his father, brother against brother”. But in the context of his message, he was telling us that the world would inevitably be divided over him, the stumbling block. To those who are his, Christ is ‘the fragrance of Life’, while to those who reject him, he is ‘the stench of death’.
As far as ‘honouring your mother and father’, yes, this is one of the commandments, and regarding the Law, Jesus said: “Don’t think that I have come to abolish the Torah or the Prophets. I have come not to abolish but to complete.”
(PART 2 to follow)
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ReplyDeletePART 2
The words you quoted Jesus as crying out while hanging from the cross “My God, my God – why have you forsaken me” was the moment Christ took upon himself that which was the sentence of all men: utter separation from God. Christ, in accomplishing this on our behalf, was actually quoting the opening verses from King David’s psalm (chapter 22). If you read the rest f this psalm Greg, you will see that Jesus’ sacrifice was not, in fact, ‘the end’, but just the beginning.
As you opine ought to be the case, the ritual circumcision (an outward sign of the covenant between God and the Israelites which separated them from the pagan nations), has indeed been done away with ‘in Christ’, as has the temple sacrifices and other ordinances specifically given to the ancient Israelites. Paul, in his profound letters, writes extensively on this, such as found in the following excerpt from his letter to the Colossians:
“Also it was in union with him that you were circumcised with a circumcision not done by human hands, but accomplished by stripping away the old nature’s control over the body. In this circumcision done by the Messiah, you were buried along with him by being immersed; and in union with him, you were also raised up along with him by God’s faithfulness that worked when he raised Jesus from the dead. You were dead because of your sins, that is, because of your “foreskin,” your old nature. But God made you alive along with the Messiah by forgiving you all your sins. He wiped away the bill of charges against us. Because of the regulations, it stood as a testimony against us; but he removed it by nailing it to the cross. Stripping the rulers and authorities of their power, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by means of the cross.
“So don’t let anyone pass judgment on you in connection with eating and drinking, or in regard to a Jewish festival or Rosh-Hodesh or Shabbat. These are a shadow of things that are coming, but the body is of the Messiah”. (Col 2:11-17)
Greg, the bible contends that we are indeed slaves – not to the Jew (despite the aspirations of Talmudists, Cabbalists and modern world Jewry) -- but rather, we are slaves to sin, Jew and gentile alike. If the testimony of the bible is true, and not a cruel con job, then in Christ we are freed from being slaves and are made friends with God, ‘adopted as sons’, and co-heirs of his Kingdom.
Thanks again for enduring my long-winded reply. As you can tell I enjoy relaying ‘the good news’ in a world plagued with the bad.