Hiya Precious – This is so cool. I was browsing through the blogs on BTB when I saw your name and wondered if it was you – lo and behold, there you were – large as life and twice as beautiful. I’ve heard so much about you it was nice to read about you in your own words. I would love to write to you, but you understand why I can’t. I think about you and Chyna often. How could it be otherwise? You’re family now. I’ll visit your blog often from now on, I go there every day as a matter of course (for obvious reasons) so if you want me to know anything just put a little message at the end of one your usual blogs. I’ll make sure it gets to the right destination. Much love to you and Chyna – always Axel.
I finally found the reference to the part where Jesus tells His disciples to obey the religious authorities: Matt. 23:1-3 and onward.
He refers specifically to "Moses' seat" so I'm not sure if this only applies to the Jewish religious governmental system, or if it applies to us today. Surely similar authorities we have over us now that they had then, such as parents, and general governments, must be obeyed. But I'm not sure about the churches.
For in the following verses, Jesus tells us not to be called master or rabbi, and not to call anyone father. So while the old testament seems to have "Moses' seat" in which the people sitting must be obeyed, for Christians that related seat of authority is filled by Jesus, and we are all brethren, submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ (Eph. 5:21), where the greatest among you is the servant of all.
I liked your post on Birth Control and Catholicism. I agreed with most of it.
One thing that bothers me about birth control, not in the actual mechanics of it, or even in the doing, but in the attitude it promotes. Society at large is already programmed to be all about "me me me"; and birth control, and then abortion, just continues that trend to larger extremes.
Just like people postpone marriage these days, believing they'll "get around to it when I'm ready" I wonder if birth control enables the believing of similar deceptions. i.e. "We'll get around to having kids when we're ready financially, emotionally, have a house, have a new car, have a new stereo, etc, etc, etc."
And in this sense, the story of Onan comes into play, at least peripherally. He did what he did because he was selfish. We do what we do because we are selfish, much of the time. What's the real difference?
If we're afraid of kids because it might mess with our lives, then why are we married? Maybe there are valid reasons, but I think it's to our own benefit if that fear is examined and understood before slapping on a condom and assuming all is well.
Strong words, and words we need to hear. If we were more honest with ourselves, I think we would be shaking in our boots, if not falling on our faces before God.
One thing I find interesting is that Jesus preached repentance because the Kingdom of Heaven is near. And the rules of the Kingdom of Heaven are different than any of the rules of the kingdoms of earth. They are different, because none of the evils from the kingdoms of earth will ever get into the Kingdom of Heaven.
This distinction is important. For in the body, we are still subject to kingdoms on earth. But in the spirit and the body, we are subject to the Lord and King of Heaven.
Interestingly, none of the rules we abide by in the Kingdom of Heaven conflict with our living in kingdoms of earth. The rule of love works on both sides. So this seeming duality is not inconsistent.
But.... if "we are Caesar" as you say, are we a part of the Kingdom of Heaven or a kingdom of earth? If we are not to offer any resistance to those who are evil, as you quote Jesus saying in Matt. 5:39, then are protests an option? You write that "Christians should be marching in the streets", but isn't that a form of resistance too? Verbally we must speak the truth in love, but physically, in imposing numbers, a protest does seem rather resistive.
How can we, in the role of Caesar, use a government that uses force to effect change, when we also want to be subjects in the Kingdom of Heaven where resistance is not allowed?
I have not solved this puzzle completely to my satisfaction. But before I condemn Caesar, I think I need to work to extract myself from him, at least in the areas where God has given me light enough to see.
Because a police officer is a "minister of God" (Romans 13:4), a servant of Caesar, and a user of force. And I am supposed to love him, and go two miles if he asks me to go one.
Perhaps by not resisting him, I have separated myself from him and his tactics as well.
I read your post, "thou shall be judged". It was very heartfelt.
I hope this reply is encouraging to you. It is meant as encouragement.
You write, "I want to do good works, works I pray will afford some atonement and reparation, but in order to do those works I need to be healed, physically. In order to achieve this healing I must secure my release from prison."
I don't know what kind of physical healing you are referring to. Maybe it is a sickness, or maybe you need surgery, and that surgery is only on the outside? I don't know.
But from the context of your post, it sounds also that you want the healing to begin in your heart, and in your actions, and for the people you may have hurt, either directly or indirectly.
I think this is a good desire, to make atonement toward others and repay what may have been damaged. This is an excellent desire. The debt to God has been paid through Jesus Christ, but there may be other people who are still hurting, and could use the benefit that repayment could give. This is love.
But I would encourage you to please don't let other people determine your rate of healing. The Lord is in charge of your healing, and your sentence, your location, and justice. You don't have to be outside to begin doing good works.
Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 7:17-24 that from wherever God calls you, He can use you right there. If you're a Jew, He can use you. If you're a Gentile, He can use you. If you're a slave, He can use you. If you're a millionaire CEO, He can use you.
You don't have to wait for physical freedom to begin enjoying spiritual freedom right now. There are good works in front of us every day, if we just open our eyes and see them.
Secondly, sometimes the promises of God come many years before the fulfillment of those promises. God promised Abraham a son through Sarah, but it took about 25 years from the first promise until Isaac was born.
Moses thought he was ready to lead the people out of Egypt when he was 40. But God called him to the task when he was 80.
Third, it is possible to make life-altering mistakes and never see prison, and these mistakes can be a prison of their own. I have wasted at least a decade on impossible relationships, pursuing my own pleasures ahead of what I knew was right. None of these things would land me in prison, but it sure affects my life, and I do not have the very things I hoped for when I was young: a warm home and family. But God is able to fix even this, but I must wait for Him. And that waiting is hard. I can't really compare it to your waiting, but I do know that both you and I have good works to do right now, right where we are, even though we'd rather be somewhere else, and if we do them, we will be blessed.
Keep the faith. Grace and peace to you, through Jesus Christ our Lord.
I like your commentary on "Jesus and the Money Changers." You found some good points there, with regard to pacifism, etc. Thanks.
One other thing that I find interesting when I ponder those stories, is that the reports seem to be mentioned as isolated incidents. It doesn't sound like this was a habitual weekly thing, where every week, or every month, or however long it took for the "bums" to return, Jesus would have to pick up the ol' whip and drive them out again.
Later on in one of the gospels, when being arrested, Jesus says that He was regularly in the synagogues and everything he did was public, so it's not like Jesus was on vacation on the other weeks.
Maybe just once or twice was enough (some of the gospels mention this incident close to the crucifixion, others near the beginning of the ministry, so this could have happened twice). If so, then the moneychangers were more respectful of Jesus's authority than many of us these days.
The other idea that comes to mind was... maybe there was a rotating schedule for synagogue rabbi's to be "in charge" of the temple. This was the case for the high priest (note the story of the foretelling of John the Baptist), so maybe it was the case for other areas of the temple too. And if so, maybe Jesus had a turn, and when it was His turn, He drove out the money changers.
That's a lot of speculation, and it needs some research to see if there is any substance to it, but I bring it up because of one main point.
Jesus elsewhere told his disciples that they had to obey the teachers of the law because of the positions of authority that those teachers held. But he warned them not to be like them. There seems to be a delicate mix of authority and truth and rebuking and in the above case, semi-violent table tossing, when it comes to Jesus's teaching.
So when you recommend at the end of your post, "Get angry, overturn the money-changer's tables, save the animals, and throw the bums out!", maybe timing and authority have a place in when we do these things, at least when it comes to the property and persons of others.
Going through your posts, looks like I can't avoid the Biblical ones. (chuckle)
It is hard to tell if your post on "The price of statutory rape" is meant to be serious or not, or whether to poke fun at the Bible, or maybe to poke fun at the moral inconsistency of some.
What I find to be the most striking part of the passages you quote, is that premarital sex means a soon to be upcoming forced marriage for the couple. Which is an interesting power for women. If a virgin manages to seduce a man into having sex with her, she's got a guarantee that the marriage will occur, backed by the government!
If you're looking for justice, it's gotta apply to both sides.
I suspect this would cut down on extra-marital sex, if a man with no self-control suddenly found himself married to multiple wives that he had to support and could never divorce...
Just read the rant on Obama... some parts of your post were so true they were hilariously funny at the same time, mixed in with wry commentary on life. Very enjoyable, thanks!
Sorry, after that long screed in reply to "Private Judgment" I forgot to include the Bible reference I was trying to write about.
One story about how true it is that those in religious authority can deceive even the obedient can be found in 1 Kings 13. An older prophet deceiving a younger prophet, resulting in the younger prophet's death.
I reference that just to say, yes! "Inquire diligently" and search for the truth. Buy it and do not sell it.
I just read your recent post entitled "Private Judgment", which ends with the sentence: "Each man must follow his own reason and conscience in preference to the Bible or the church."
From what you write, I'm not sure if you are disregarding the Bible completely, or just encouraging critical and/or analytical thought while reading it. If the first, then I would disagree, since reason works better with all the facts. If the second, then I think you might be surprised to find that the Bible encourages thinking too.
One verse that I have found recently, which sheds a new light on the Bible, and Christianity in general, is 1 Thessalonians 5:21, which says: "Prove all things; hold fast that which is good."
This seems like common sense, and flies in the face of what most people assume to be religious teaching. People tend to assume that you have to "just go with it" and that questioning is automatically bad. But a faith worth anything must have practical results, and if practical results, then it can be proven as well.
You write earlier, "As an individual though I am more likely to be deceived by wicked and unscrupulous men when I put blind faith in a book on an institution than when I inquire diligently into a matter and judge the truth for myself."
The whole part of "inquiring diligently" sounds like it comes straight out of the book of Proverbs, at least to me. And there are indeed unscrupulous (or at least deceived themselves) men in the roles of religious authority. Inquiring diligently is a very good plan, to avoid being deceived right along with them.
But I'll close with this thought: If you were an almighty God that wanted to give the truth to people, how would you do it? Would you use nature? Would you use logic? Would you use reason? Would you use history? Would you use law? Would you use the written word? Would you use the spoken word? Would you use miracles? And how would you accomplish this while letting people say no to you if they wanted, and giving them the freedom to either seek you out or ignore you, as they chose?
I would say that God has used all of the above techniques through history. Some of those techniques have been impressive enough to record for future generations to learn and remember. And if you were that almighty God, would it not be possible for you to be powerful enough to make sure that enough truth existed through the ages, so that people who really wanted to, could find you?
Just some thoughts I thought I'd share. Thanks for your creative posts. Perhaps I'll have time to comment on some others as well.
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He refers specifically to "Moses' seat" so I'm not sure if this only applies to the Jewish religious governmental system, or if it applies to us today. Surely similar authorities we have over us now that they had then, such as parents, and general governments, must be obeyed. But I'm not sure about the churches.
For in the following verses, Jesus tells us not to be called master or rabbi, and not to call anyone father. So while the old testament seems to have "Moses' seat" in which the people sitting must be obeyed, for Christians that related seat of authority is filled by Jesus, and we are all brethren, submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ (Eph. 5:21), where the greatest among you is the servant of all.
One thing that bothers me about birth control, not in the actual mechanics of it, or even in the doing, but in the attitude it promotes. Society at large is already programmed to be all about "me me me"; and birth control, and then abortion, just continues that trend to larger extremes.
Just like people postpone marriage these days, believing they'll "get around to it when I'm ready" I wonder if birth control enables the believing of similar deceptions. i.e. "We'll get around to having kids when we're ready financially, emotionally, have a house, have a new car, have a new stereo, etc, etc, etc."
And in this sense, the story of Onan comes into play, at least peripherally. He did what he did because he was selfish. We do what we do because we are selfish, much of the time. What's the real difference?
If we're afraid of kids because it might mess with our lives, then why are we married? Maybe there are valid reasons, but I think it's to our own benefit if that fear is examined and understood before slapping on a condom and assuming all is well.
Strong words, and words we need to hear. If we were more honest with ourselves, I think we would be shaking in our boots, if not falling on our faces before God.
One thing I find interesting is that Jesus preached repentance because the Kingdom of Heaven is near. And the rules of the Kingdom of Heaven are different than any of the rules of the kingdoms of earth. They are different, because none of the evils from the kingdoms of earth will ever get into the Kingdom of Heaven.
This distinction is important. For in the body, we are still subject to kingdoms on earth. But in the spirit and the body, we are subject to the Lord and King of Heaven.
Interestingly, none of the rules we abide by in the Kingdom of Heaven conflict with our living in kingdoms of earth. The rule of love works on both sides. So this seeming duality is not inconsistent.
But.... if "we are Caesar" as you say, are we a part of the Kingdom of Heaven or a kingdom of earth? If we are not to offer any resistance to those who are evil, as you quote Jesus saying in Matt. 5:39, then are protests an option? You write that "Christians should be marching in the streets", but isn't that a form of resistance too? Verbally we must speak the truth in love, but physically, in imposing numbers, a protest does seem rather resistive.
How can we, in the role of Caesar, use a government that uses force to effect change, when we also want to be subjects in the Kingdom of Heaven where resistance is not allowed?
I have not solved this puzzle completely to my satisfaction. But before I condemn Caesar, I think I need to work to extract myself from him, at least in the areas where God has given me light enough to see.
Because a police officer is a "minister of God" (Romans 13:4), a servant of Caesar, and a user of force. And I am supposed to love him, and go two miles if he asks me to go one.
Perhaps by not resisting him, I have separated myself from him and his tactics as well.
I hope this reply is encouraging to you. It is meant as encouragement.
You write, "I want to do good works, works I pray will afford some atonement and reparation, but in order to do those works I need to be healed, physically. In order to achieve this healing I must secure my release from prison."
I don't know what kind of physical healing you are referring to. Maybe it is a sickness, or maybe you need surgery, and that surgery is only on the outside? I don't know.
But from the context of your post, it sounds also that you want the healing to begin in your heart, and in your actions, and for the people you may have hurt, either directly or indirectly.
I think this is a good desire, to make atonement toward others and repay what may have been damaged. This is an excellent desire. The debt to God has been paid through Jesus Christ, but there may be other people who are still hurting, and could use the benefit that repayment could give. This is love.
But I would encourage you to please don't let other people determine your rate of healing. The Lord is in charge of your healing, and your sentence, your location, and justice. You don't have to be outside to begin doing good works.
Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 7:17-24 that from wherever God calls you, He can use you right there. If you're a Jew, He can use you. If you're a Gentile, He can use you. If you're a slave, He can use you. If you're a millionaire CEO, He can use you.
You don't have to wait for physical freedom to begin enjoying spiritual freedom right now. There are good works in front of us every day, if we just open our eyes and see them.
Secondly, sometimes the promises of God come many years before the fulfillment of those promises. God promised Abraham a son through Sarah, but it took about 25 years from the first promise until Isaac was born.
Moses thought he was ready to lead the people out of Egypt when he was 40. But God called him to the task when he was 80.
Third, it is possible to make life-altering mistakes and never see prison, and these mistakes can be a prison of their own. I have wasted at least a decade on impossible relationships, pursuing my own pleasures ahead of what I knew was right. None of these things would land me in prison, but it sure affects my life, and I do not have the very things I hoped for when I was young: a warm home and family. But God is able to fix even this, but I must wait for Him. And that waiting is hard. I can't really compare it to your waiting, but I do know that both you and I have good works to do right now, right where we are, even though we'd rather be somewhere else, and if we do them, we will be blessed.
Keep the faith. Grace and peace to you, through Jesus Christ our Lord.
One other thing that I find interesting when I ponder those stories, is that the reports seem to be mentioned as isolated incidents. It doesn't sound like this was a habitual weekly thing, where every week, or every month, or however long it took for the "bums" to return, Jesus would have to pick up the ol' whip and drive them out again.
Later on in one of the gospels, when being arrested, Jesus says that He was regularly in the synagogues and everything he did was public, so it's not like Jesus was on vacation on the other weeks.
Maybe just once or twice was enough (some of the gospels mention this incident close to the crucifixion, others near the beginning of the ministry, so this could have happened twice). If so, then the moneychangers were more respectful of Jesus's authority than many of us these days.
The other idea that comes to mind was... maybe there was a rotating schedule for synagogue rabbi's to be "in charge" of the temple. This was the case for the high priest (note the story of the foretelling of John the Baptist), so maybe it was the case for other areas of the temple too. And if so, maybe Jesus had a turn, and when it was His turn, He drove out the money changers.
That's a lot of speculation, and it needs some research to see if there is any substance to it, but I bring it up because of one main point.
Jesus elsewhere told his disciples that they had to obey the teachers of the law because of the positions of authority that those teachers held. But he warned them not to be like them. There seems to be a delicate mix of authority and truth and rebuking and in the above case, semi-violent table tossing, when it comes to Jesus's teaching.
So when you recommend at the end of your post, "Get angry, overturn the money-changer's tables, save the animals, and throw the bums out!", maybe timing and authority have a place in when we do these things, at least when it comes to the property and persons of others.
It is hard to tell if your post on "The price of statutory rape" is meant to be serious or not, or whether to poke fun at the Bible, or maybe to poke fun at the moral inconsistency of some.
What I find to be the most striking part of the passages you quote, is that premarital sex means a soon to be upcoming forced marriage for the couple. Which is an interesting power for women. If a virgin manages to seduce a man into having sex with her, she's got a guarantee that the marriage will occur, backed by the government!
If you're looking for justice, it's gotta apply to both sides.
I suspect this would cut down on extra-marital sex, if a man with no self-control suddenly found himself married to multiple wives that he had to support and could never divorce...
One story about how true it is that those in religious authority can deceive even the obedient can be found in 1 Kings 13. An older prophet deceiving a younger prophet, resulting in the younger prophet's death.
I reference that just to say, yes! "Inquire diligently" and search for the truth. Buy it and do not sell it.
From what you write, I'm not sure if you are disregarding the Bible completely, or just encouraging critical and/or analytical thought while reading it. If the first, then I would disagree, since reason works better with all the facts. If the second, then I think you might be surprised to find that the Bible encourages thinking too.
One verse that I have found recently, which sheds a new light on the Bible, and Christianity in general, is 1 Thessalonians 5:21, which says: "Prove all things; hold fast that which is good."
This seems like common sense, and flies in the face of what most people assume to be religious teaching. People tend to assume that you have to "just go with it" and that questioning is automatically bad. But a faith worth anything must have practical results, and if practical results, then it can be proven as well.
You write earlier, "As an individual though I am more likely to be deceived by wicked and unscrupulous men when I put blind faith in a book on an institution than when I inquire diligently into a matter and judge the truth for myself."
The whole part of "inquiring diligently" sounds like it comes straight out of the book of Proverbs, at least to me. And there are indeed unscrupulous (or at least deceived themselves) men in the roles of religious authority. Inquiring diligently is a very good plan, to avoid being deceived right along with them.
But I'll close with this thought: If you were an almighty God that wanted to give the truth to people, how would you do it? Would you use nature? Would you use logic? Would you use reason? Would you use history? Would you use law? Would you use the written word? Would you use the spoken word? Would you use miracles? And how would you accomplish this while letting people say no to you if they wanted, and giving them the freedom to either seek you out or ignore you, as they chose?
I would say that God has used all of the above techniques through history. Some of those techniques have been impressive enough to record for future generations to learn and remember. And if you were that almighty God, would it not be possible for you to be powerful enough to make sure that enough truth existed through the ages, so that people who really wanted to, could find you?
Just some thoughts I thought I'd share. Thanks for your creative posts. Perhaps I'll have time to comment on some others as well.