Confusion the Great

(MIC. 7: 4) The best of them is like a thorn; their godly are like a thorn bush. Woe to your watchmen; your appointed punishment is on the way. The time of their confusion is now.

Oh man! Here we go. Politics and current events on As Bereans Did. Brace yourself. Run away while you can!

I usually avoid these things here, but every once in a while I find it too compelling to pass up. I did it once back in 2009 with my article "Cultism Abounds". I was reading that again recently and I still agree with it. If anything, it's even more applicable now. As Yoda said, "Now, matters are worse."

Today, I have something for everyone to dislike. I'm pretty good at that. Nobody loves a moderate. I feel the need to talk about a big problem I see in the world. I want to relate it to every sphere I can think of, because it applies to every sphere I can think of. My inspiration is the recent murder of a high-profile conservative in the U.S. and the ongoing battling that has come out of it. (Today's post isn't directly about this. The spectacle is what got me on the soap box.)
More specifically, I am referring to Confusion.

I pray about it almost daily, I've said it many times in other places, and it has been said here before - the main issue in the world today is confusion. I don't care if it's Left or Right, secular or religious, Armstrong or Mainstream, political or scientific or financial or or medical or otherwise, the prevailing condition infecting the world today is confusion. A blinding, debilitating confusion.

And what is another word for confusion? Babylon.

In the Bible and in the Ancient Near East, chaos was personified in the form of terrifying beasts, one of which was Leviathan. Chaos, like these multi-headed, slithering beasts, manifests itself in many ways. I want to highlight two ways: lack of standards and lack of self-awareness.

What do you expect to happen when you throw truth out the window, with some even denying it exists? Strict materialists deny we even have a mind in the traditional sense. Free will is an illusion, generated by colocation of atoms working by order of physics. Were we not warned, and by none other than Nietzsche of all people? "But xHWA!", one will plead, "You mean that 'God is dead' guy??" Yes! The "God is dead" guy. Have you ever actually read what he wrote and tried to understand it? Here read it: Nietzsche, Parable of the Madman.
But you won't, I suppose. Did you? Did you understand it? Did you not see how Nietzsche is desperately trying to find meaning and purpose and something of value in the void?

"What were we doing when we unchained this earth from its sun? Whither is it moving now? Whither are we moving? Away from all suns? Are we not plunging continually? Backward, sideward, forward, in all directions? Is there still any up or down? Are we not straying, as through an infinite nothing? Do we not feel the breath of empty space? Has it not become colder?"

Nietzsche didn't believe in God, but even he could see that without the idea of God, of something bigger than us, there is no anchor to stay us and no star by which to guide the ship. It drove him mad, you know.

Everyone doing everything that crosses their mind. All truth is subjective. All ethics situational. All morality relative. Do you know what happens when morality is relative? Tyranny! Yes. Without an objective standard of morality, and the only thing we have are our own opinions, there are two ways to enforce a standard - convincing people to agree with you, and forcing them to agree with you. Rational argumentation might work with some but not all, and should the movement grow it tends to degenerate into force. This is the tyranny of relativism - without objective moral truth, whoever has the most power to enforce their will upon others gets to define what is right and wrong. Instead of one God, we have eight billion gods, and growing. Try being a collectivist and then going against the collective? Why won't you? See my previous statement.

That is what we see today. Mob rule. Power. Tyranny. Chaos. Confusion.

In my observation, people are behaving like they have no standards. Oh, people talk a lot about standards, like justice and freedom and democracy and safety and equality and rights, but for the most part they don't genuinely mean any of it. People who cry loudest LOVE the things they cry about. They love it! They love injustice and tyranny and hate and fascism and danger and inequality and rights denied ... but only when it comes from their side. When others do these things - greatest evil ever seen in the history of evil!! But when their side does it - wunderbar!!
If you love it when it comes from your side and hate it when it comes from the other side, that has a definition: hypocrisy. "Do what I say, not what I do." Have you considered actually hating these things, no matter who does them?

I have written (to a resounding thud) many times about this. I've said if Armstrongists want to set a standard, then they need to stick to it.
Want to claim, "We only regard what's in the Bible"? Fine and well. Then put away all claims about Nimrod's influence, lost centuries, church eras, Constantine, Nicea, Rome's Challenge, the modern Jewish calendar, Hislop's nonsense, 19-year time cycles, British-Israelism, etc etc etc. None of those things are actually in the Bible. For anyone out there saying, "But the Bible does talk about some of these things," but not to anywhere near the degree they've been taken. Nimrod is in the Bible, but Nimrod starting Catholicism and then Alexander the Great taking it from the Babylonians and handing it to the Greeks is not in the Bible. It's not even in the history books. Yet, that has never stopped a single Hislop fan from repeating his non-Biblical claims as God's own truth.

Want to claim "we need to keep the Ten Commandments"? Fine and well. Then keep the one about Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor (EXO. 20: 16; 23: 1). Stop promoting lies that have long since been proven lies. Stop quoting only the parts of a story that you prefer while leaving out the rest. Stop purposefully misrepresenting the beliefs of others. Stop falsely accusing your fellow Christians. Stop accusing faithful Christians of being pagan based on false information.
Those are just two examples of many!

And so it is in so many other arenas these days.

I was asked what I think about the entertainer Jimmy Kimmel being indefinitely removed from his television show. I responded, what's good for the goose is good for the gander. If there is a standard, then have a standard. He should be treated the same as others should be. (This seemed to please some people.) Then I continued, if people should be cancelled then cancel him, but cancel everyone by the same measure. But if we complain when people we like are canceled, then he should not be. It shouldn't be one way for one group (Roseanne Barr and Dave Chappell) and another way for another group (Jimmy Kimmel and The View). Make the choice. (This seemed to displease those same people.)
If Donald Trump should order the FCC to revoke broadcast licenses for bias, then good and well. Revoke the license for Fox, too. Else, don't revoke at all. Find some other means to fix the issue. An equitable and fair means. Bias needs to be addressed when it gets out of hand, but don't address bias with another bias. Or worse, claim to be addressing bias but by halves. (Hypocrisy.)

And what is the other side always waiting for (regardless of whom 'the other side' is)? Vengeance. "You just wait until we are back in power!" See? Loves the things they say they hate. I jokingly describe it as, "I hate people who hate!" See the irony there? If you hate people who hate, then you are a person that hates.
Cue the excuses and self-justifications.

People are beyond my comprehension. I can't believe we survive as a species. There has to be a God or we'd have died out long ago. Problem is, I am a people.

This is why I try very hard never to pray for justice. All I am doing is praying for my own condemnation. I deserve justice. I do! And that means I deserve to be condemned by a righteous God. Because I have sinned and I have earned it. No, I pray for mercy, forgiveness, and for the Lord to remember His covenant with His people. One of the hardest things I have ever done in my entire life was to pray this for my enemies. A person close to me did me very, very wrong. Affected every facet of my life, including this blog, and will continue to do so for the rest of my life here. Though inside I screamed and cried and plotted for revenge, and I am still angry, I had to deny myself and give vengeance to the Lord. I set a standard as one of living by faith and now I had to live by it, or else by getting my way I would condemn myself. Jesus never said following Him would be easy.

Along with no standards comes no self-awareness.
People seem utterly incapable of understanding what they are doing anymore. They are blind to their double-standards. I might poke fun with commentary like, "I hate people who hate!", but is that not so? And are people not repaying hate with more hate? And are they not patting themselves on the back for how good they are? Do they not excuse themselves when someone points this out?

I read that U.S. Congressman Jerry Nadler just complained that demonizing people puts people in danger. His real point was that since people demonize him that he is in danger. Typical politician. Self-serving to the last. What is he really saying? "I can't defend my positions logically, so I hope painting your position as dangerous and myself as a victim will get me out of the need to be held accountable." That is what he's really saying. It's called DARVO. But is a Congressman who barely goes out of doors without a security detail close by really in much danger? Congress just gave themselves $10k per month for personal security. Tell me that story again about how Nadler is unsafe.
Demonizing people does put people in danger. It's true! Always has and always will. So, don't do it.

Are you inwardly complaining that I haven't also blamed "the other side" as well? Don't go to that "so's your old man" bit. I blame everyone! I started out this post as much. I don't see the point in going over every example in some attempt to be fair. People don't want fair, they want affirmation. So, the example of Nadler will suffice for today. Thinking of reasons "the other side" is unfair serves my point - because it's probably right, they probably are. But pointing out how dirty the plate is doesn't make the cup any cleaner.
Personally, I don't accept "they did it too!" as any kind of excuse. I don't accept it from my kids or myself, and the teachers I had didn't accept it from me when I did it.

No standards. No self-awareness. No accountability at all. No truth. No roots. No foundational, guiding philosophy. No mercy. Mob rule. Tyranny. Chaos. Confusion. That is Babylon the Great today. And we're all soaking in it.

That's why I still believe in end-times. Not because of nuclear proliferation or European Unions or lost tribes or time cycles or eras or any of that doomsday cultery. Because of Babylon. Because of Confusion. Because of Chaos, symbolized by beasts. Even the church is carried away by it. Spirits generally war in the realm of ideas and principles. If Satan has been released and is overcoming the faithful (REV. 20: 7-8), then this might just be it. (Yes, I fully realize Armstrongists will reject my reference to Rev. 20 right there. But that is for another post.)
Satan is overcoming. By and large, what good has Christianity been lately? Some good, sure! Here and there. The light yet shines. But I mean in general. Too caught up in money and politics and scandal and infighting and ancient rivalries and winning a proselyte only to make them twice the child of Hell as themselves. (God forgive me for using such strong language against my fellow Christians.)

It's this modern world, I say. It's Babylon.

(REV. 18: 4-6) 4 Then I heard another voice from heaven saying, “Come out of her, my people, so you will not take part in her sins and so you will not receive her plagues, 5 because her sins have piled up all the way to heaven and God has remembered her crimes. 6 Repay her the same way she repaid others; pay her back double corresponding to her deeds. In the cup she mixed, mix double the amount for her..."

Nietzsche was right. And so was Paul (II TIM. 3: 1-5).

Want to come out of her? Realize you're in her. Take accountability for your own part in all this. Have a standard and stick to it. Apply the same standards to yourself and "us" as you do "them". But first, learn the lesson of Nietzsche and put God back at the center - and accept the Gospel. It's the best way I can think of to start. "Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to My voice.", (John 18: 37b). Become a disciple and mirror the Teacher. No point in morality if it's just more of the same self-righteous situational ethics that we forget when it's convenient and which gets us nowhere.

(ISA. 27: 1) At that time the Lord will punish with his destructive, great, and powerful sword Leviathan the fast-moving serpent, Leviathan the squirming serpent; he will kill the sea monster.

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It is important that you understand; Everything on this blog is based on the current understanding of each author. Never take anyone's word for it, always prove it for yourself, it is your responsibility. You cannot ride someone else's coattail into the Kingdom. ; )

Acts 17:11

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Peddlers of Paganism

Is it that time of year already? Time for another "once pagan, always pagan" post.

The number-one subject I have been asked about over the years is in regards to holidays and can people be pagan for participating. Got an email just last week about it. People out there are truly concerned if they are still a good Christian, not because they've renounced their faith but because they celebrate Jesus Christ.

When a good Armstrongist friend of mine called me after many years of no contact, he just wanted to small talk. He told me he still thought I was a faithful Christian despite leaving the church (I like to think I am). He is a quality man. It was nice of him. But there was one and only one message of importance he wanted to convey: don't start keeping Christmas. He didn't call or write or anything for several years, and hasn't since, but he made a special effort to deliver me this one critical message. He could have said so many other things, like don't stop keeping the Sabbath, but he didn't. That's how important it is within that system.

Some of the messages I get are from people who are curious, some are concerned, but some are suffering. You wouldn't believe how many people from around the world live their lives in fear. I receive messages from God fearing Christians who get crippling anxiety because they had pleasant thoughts by looking at a billboard or having a passing conversation. Do we serve a God of fear? No. But fear is what they have.

Here is from one such message:

"xhwa, I am terrorized by guilt again today. Today, I was talking to receptionist and she brought up a small sentence on the Christmas tree."

Terrorized! By a conversation.
Here is from another:

"Ever since I have been made aware of pagan origin of certain traditions, my life has been a living hell. I wish I had never been exposed to such literature because it hasn't been profitable to my life. It has only given me guilt trips, moody feelings, sadness, depression. I cannot go about life without these thoughts and people infiltrating my head."

A living hell! Afraid of plants and wreaths and lights and sweets and colors and shapes. They feel happy, then guilty for feeling happy, then anxiety hits. My heart truly goes out.

Those are extreme examples, you might think. Maybe so, but they are real none the less, they are God's all the same, and they deserve dignity and truth. They feel terrible inside like they have betrayed their God all because of what they were told by media pumped out by peddlers of paganism year after year around this time.

You might wonder what I mean by "peddlers of paganism". I am referring to leaders from systems, like Armstrongism just for one example, who create media that tries to sell faithful Christians on the idea of being pagan for participating in mundane, non-salvational activities such as holidays or birthdays or for having certain decorations. They peddle the idea that sugar and wax and plants can defeat the God who ransomed you. They peddle the idea that you are a pagan. Even when you are not.
Bearing false witness.
What happened to "the TEN COMMANDMENTS, God's great SPIRITUAL LAW"? Apparently, that greatness ends at the 4th Commandment.

FORETHOUGHT AND INTENT

Let's answer the big question right up front. Are you, a God-fearing Christian, now a pagan for participating in mainstream Christian holidays? My answer is a qualified 'no'.

Merely participating in a Christian holiday, or having holiday decorations, does not - I repeat, does not - make you a pagan. Calendar dates and bits of paper and plastic and colors and shapes and flowers and candles and treats do not have the power to snatch you out of the hands of your Father in Heaven.
My "no" is qualified because it all depends on your heart and your intention. What makes you a pagan is actively, knowingly, intentionally worshipping another deity. Are you intentionally celebrating Christ? Then, no, you are not a pagan. Are you actively, knowingly, intentionally honoring some other deity, like the Gentiles of old? I am not talking about having a decoration or doing some pastime activity. I am not even talking about idols in our lives, like avarice or sex, that take your focus off your Christian walk. I am talking about actively, currently, knowingly dedicating your time and honor and hopes and worship to another deity. No? Then you have nothing to worry about. Yes? Then you are participating in something inadvisable and you really ought to rethink your path. There is no better way to utterly violate the New Covenant than that.

Notice how you would be fully aware of this. It will come as no big surprise to you. You will not need a peddler of paganism to stop by and inform you of anything because you will be well aware already. A Christian cannot accidentally or unknowingly be a pagan.

You cannot bend down to slide a gift under a tree, with thankfulness to God in your heart, and accidentally be a pagan. You cannot see an old television show, get nostalgic feelings, and suddenly be a pagan. You cannot see a display at a store, get a sense of beauty from it, and suddenly be a pagan. You cannot eat a cookie, really enjoy it, and suddenly be a pagan. That just isn't how paganism works. Did you worship the cookie or the ballet or the decoration? No. Did you replace God in your heart and intent? No. Then that was neither idolatry nor paganism.

Part of the game these peddlers of paganism play is they use such a loose definition of idolatry and paganism (when it suits them) that it goes off the deep end into superstition. Their superstition. They say a Christmas Tree is the same as child sacrifice. They say you can overpower God even by the mere presence of a candy cane. Sugar is bad for you, but not that bad! They say once a thing is pagan, it is always pagan - no matter how many millennia pass by. But is that so?

PAUL'S TAKE

What did Paul say?

(I COR. 8: 1-7) Now concerning things offered to idols: We know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge puffs up, but love edifies. 2 And if anyone thinks that he knows anything, he knows nothing yet as he ought to know. 3 But if anyone loves God, this one is known by Him. 4 Therefore concerning the eating of things offered to idols, we know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is no other God but one. 5 For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as there are many gods and many lords), 6 yet for us there is one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we for Him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and through whom we live.
7 However, there is not in everyone that knowledge; for some, with consciousness of the idol, until now eat it as a thing offered to an idol; and their conscience, being weak, is defiled.

An idol is nothing. How can the peddlers of paganism sell us the idea that so many things have dreadful power when Paul tells us the idol is nothing? Is Paul discounting idolatry here? No. Paul is simply saying that, to a mature Christian whose heart is solidly with God, the idol is nothing, because the idol has no power. As we saw in my post "Once and Future Kingdom - Part II", Jesus took that power away from the false gods. Idols have no power against you. How much less things that were never idols to begin with.

Then Paul continues to verse 7. He says not everyone understands that Jesus took all power away from the false gods and now those idols are nothing. For some, the idol is something, and it defiles their weak conscience. That is what the peddlers of paganism hope to get from you. They want your conscience defiled ...because their weak conscience is defiled.

(I COR. 10: 25-28) 25 Eat whatever is sold in the meat market, asking no questions for conscience’ sake; 26 for “the earth is the Lord’s, and all its fullness.” 27 If any of those who do not believe invites you to dinner, and you desire to go, eat whatever is set before you, asking no question for conscience’ sake. 28 But if anyone says to you, “This was offered to idols,” do not eat it for the sake of the one who told you, and for conscience’ sake; for “the earth is the Lord’s, and all its fullness.”

Paul, continuing the idea from chapter 8, addresses the notion that all things are lawful for us (v.24). He never denies that! But he exhorts us to remember not all things we do in our freedom are helpful or edifying for others. We should consider others in what we do. Then he gives an example.
Paul tells us we are free to go to a non-believer's house. Because we are free to! That they are pagan doesn't matter. Does their paganism make us pagan? No. We can eat whatever they set before us, asking nothing about it. Does eating and celebrating make us pagan? No. What if the meal were dedicated to pagan gods without our knowledge? Still no! That was the entire point in verse 25. Much of the meat sold in the market was openly dedicated to a pagan god within the past few days. Paul knew that. The people who asked Paul about it, prompting him to write about it, knew that. Still no. Here, Paul says that if anyone expresses concern that the food was offered to idols (he does not say the host expresses this, but anyone), then you stop and do not eat. Because it becomes pagan when someone brings it to your attention? No. You stop for their conscience, not for yours. Our conscience is clear, because our hearts belong to Jesus. But their conscience is weak.

Presumably there might be other Christians there, and those people might be put off that the food was offered to idols. Does this make the person claiming idolatry correct? No. For an idol is nothing. But it does make it a matter of good taste to treat them kindly. The question is - how far do we take this? Do we let people of weak conscience control our lives and our homes and our churches? No. Their weak conscience is not a license for manipulation. I feel this is more of a "when in Rome" sort of a thing.

Do you see how this relates to holidays and birthdays and treats and decorations?
It has to do with the notion of once pagan, always pagan. The peddlers of paganism build their entire case on it. Paul blows that up. Kindly.

Note how the dedication of the food was immediate, not thousands of years ago. And the dedication was real, not made up. Not false accusations. Paul knew that meat in the market was quite recently offered to idols within a functioning temple to a pagan god he could name by pagan priests he could see, and Paul still said to eat it. For “the earth is the Lord’s, and all its fullness.” If that food is not once pagan, always pagan, then how much less is a Christmas cookie? Christmas decorations are dedicated to Christ, and none besides - at least by Christians anyway. Similar decorations may or may not have been used in the distant past by a defunct religious system. What does that have to do with us? Nothing. Peddlers of paganism will protest that God hates those things forever, but Paul blows that up.

Are you seriously going to tell me that I can put meat in my mouth that was dedicated to Aphrodite not 72 hours ago and it's perfectly fine, because “the earth is the Lord’s, and all its fullness”, but if I put up a wreath-shaped cookie in my mouth that I dedicate directly to the Lord, then I am a pagan because that shape was used 2,000 years ago for a pagan purpose? Nonsense!

BIBLICALLY UNBIBLICAL

If once pagan, always pagan is a genuine issue, as the peddlers would have us believe, then we all are in big trouble, them included. If people who preach once pagan always pagan understood how many things they do which have "pagan" connections, they would be unable to function. (I am putting “pagan” in quotes because these things aren’t actually pagan. They are just falsely accused of being pagan.) There is nothing that you do that does not have a "pagan" connection except actually having faith in the Living God. You name it, if it is in our world then it has "pagan" connections.

How many times have I gone over lists of things that are used by God in the Bible or by Christian churches today that were once pagan? Many times! Here I go again:

Priesthoods, ministers, elders, sermons, temples, sacrifices, prayer, rest days (sabbaths), holidays, religious rituals like baptisms, circumcision, instructions on morality, laws and codes of behavior, parables, special decorations, sacrifices, special meals, fires, candles, incense, hymns, psalms, choruses, ritual meals, religious texts, religious schools, religious heroes, marriage, honeymoons, wedding rings ... I could go on and on.

Many of the things in the list above, which qualify as once pagan always pagan, are things the peddlers of paganism do regularly. We all do. But they excuse themselves. They excuse themselves while condemning others. "Paganism for thee, but not for me." All of these things have exactly the same "pagan" connections as jack-o-lanterns. All of these can be found in pagan religions first before they were in the Bible or in Christian practice. All of them. I thought a pagan item was the same as child sacrifice? Funny how that story changes. All of those were pagan, yet they were all adopted in worship of God.

Don't get me wrong here. God is no fan of actual, genuine idolatry. But the peddlers use a definition of idolatry that they themselves don't meet, and that changes to suit their situation.
They will tell you that God is a believer in once pagan, always pagan. That is not what we see in reality. Almost every aspect of what God commanded Israel to do, right down to the Ark of the Covenant, had some counterpart in a pagan religion. You didn't know the Ark of the Covenant was patterned directly after an Egyptian box used in religious worship? It was! God used it anyway. (Biblical Archaeology Society blog has an article on it, titled "The Ark of the Covenant in its Egyptian Context") 
God did that?? YES!
God adopted "pagan" things into His worship. It's not just Paul that blows up once pagan, always pagan. God does, too!

I have been told, "Well, those things were used by God, so that makes them OK." Fine. Let's go with that. That is the standard now. If God did it, then it's OK.

In addition to novel holidays (EST. 9: 20-28; JON. 10: 22-23), and gift-giving (EST. 9: 22), God also lists the use of statues in His worship (EXO. 25: 17-19), garland, bells and fruit (EXO. 28: 33-34; 39: 25-26; II COR. 3: 16), lights, flowers and ornamentation (EXO. 25: 31-37), greenery (LEV. 23: 40; NEH. 8: 13-15), and evergreens and pine trees (ISA. 60: 13), to name a few. Miller Jones over at the God Cannot Be Contained blog reminds us the very crown God will place on our heads, "...is indicative of the wreath, garland, coronet which was worn by the Roman emperor or given as a prize to the victor in the public games of that time..." God is going to award us a pagan wreath to wear?! Scandal!
All of these "pagan" items are used in the Bible in the proper worship of God. All of them used at Christmas. All of them condemned by peddlers of paganism.

What happened to if God did it, then it's OK? That didn't age well. Do you see how their standards change?

What's more, they will claim if God did not directly command it then we shouldn't be doing it. In other words, God never commanded Christmas, so we shouldn't do it. But is that what the Bible says?

In the Bible, God never commanded most of the Old Covenant law to Gentiles. That doesn't seem to stop anyone from doing what God didn't command. In the Bible, God sanctioned the creation of novel holidays. The Jews made up Purim and Hanukkah - and God honored both. Matha wrote one of the best articles in the ABD catalogue, "Established and Imposed". It is biblical and acceptable to create a new holiday that honors God.
So, what God does not command, that they do. They do things God did not command and then they condemn those who do not follow them. And what God allows, that they do not do. They abstain from things God allows and then they condemn those who do not follow them. If it was never pagan, then it's pagan anyway, and if it is biblical, then it's still pagan. Unless it's something they like, then it's OK. Nonsense!

(ACT. 10: 15b) "What God has cleansed you must not call common.”

They tell you December 25 was an ancient pagan holiday. It wasn't. They tell you early Christians ignored Jesus' birth. They didn't. They tell you Christmas was Nimrod's birthday. It wasn't. They tell you Christmas Trees were pagan. They weren't. They tell you Jeremiah 10 condemns Christmas trees. It doesn't. They tell you all trees are pagan. They're not. They tell you Santa is an anagram for Satan. It's not. They tell you gift-giving is wrong. It's not. They tell you Easter was an ancient pagan day. It wasn't. They tell you Easter means Ishtar. It doesn't. They tell you Jesus wasn't resurrected on Sunday. He was. They tell you it's wrong to have a holiday God didn't command. It's not. They tell you birthdays are pagan. They aren't.
I could keep going and going like this, but I don't need to. We have articles for that. Go to our Categories page and look for Christmas or Easter or whatever. There it all is! I recommend starting at the Easter FAQ and the Christmas FAQ. All of the questions you have will be addressed there. If not, write me.

We can see the real story is quite the opposite of the one they peddle.

When God does it, it is redeemed and becomes clean. Unless you're a peddler of paganism. In which case you will continue to condemn those things as unredeemed and unclean. When God does it, it points to Him and is contrasted with paganism. Unless you're a peddler of paganism. In which case you will continue to condemn those things as idolatry and paganism. When God does it, the items find their proper use, as all things should be used to glorify God. Unless you're a peddler of paganism. In which case you will continue to say those items are abominations.

RIDICULOUSNESS

Does it surprise you to learn the peddlers of paganism have not been straight with you about holidays and what their history is? Their source material is garbage. They will quote anything that says what they want to hear. It doesn't matter how low the quality of the source. And if their source doesn't say what they want, they selectively quote it so it comes out how they want, or they just misrepresent it altogether. Or else they just make things up out of thin air. I can show you examples of this. I have a whole section on the Categories page just for false history, but check out these three articles, just for example. As you read them, pay attention to their sloppy research methods.

A Pattern of Dishonest Documentation
Review of COGWA's Origins of Easter
Quartodecimens - Were They Law Keepers?

Over the years , the authors at As Bereans Did have dedicated countless hours to studying the truth, and sometimes we study holidays. We have dug down deep into the dusty annals of history to bring you the facts about the origins of holidays and dates and traditions. Because we hate ourselves? It might seem that way, but no. Because they lied to us, too! Now we want the truth. And we want you to have it, too. We have investigated if holidays make us pagan. They don't. We have investigated whether or not attempting to keep "biblical" holy days is a better option. It isn't. We have deeply investigated this notion of once pagan, always pagan. It's bunk.

Debate with the peddlers all you like. It won't help. Read Dillon's article "A Dialogue on Jeremiah 10". Research and write blog posts for decades. It won't do any good. The peddlers of paganism do not change when exposed to facts and reason. There is nothing you can tell them they haven't already been exposed to. They just don't care. Do you think the people who write the books and make the videos misunderstood? Maybe they didn't read the same things as the authors here at ABD? Of course they have! I started reading the things I read because I read about them in Herman Hoeh's material. (Herman Hoeh was once the top official Armstrongist historian. "The most accurately informed man in the world.") I thought he was trustworthy. To my surprise, Hoeh selectively quoted, misrepresented, outright changed parts he didn't like, and even made things up as he went along. I know this because I went to his sources and read them (if he bothered to cite sources). I was shocked! So, I wrote blog posts (plural) about this. I quoted Hoeh, I quoted his sources, I pointed out how they were not the same, I even gave links so the reader could verify on their own ... and for my efforts I was called a liar. No, seriously. They called me the liar. Hoeh said he accurately quoted a source, I demonstrated he did not, and I am the liar for it.

You want another example? They condemn birthdays. Show me the place in the Bible where birthdays are condemned. You can't. It's not there! They condemn you based on their own opinions, not commands from the Bible. What happened to not doing things that aren't commanded? Oh, they say, "The only birthdays recorded in the Bible were celebrated by pagans," but 1) birthdays aren't religious celebrations. 2) Job's children were not pagans and neither was Herod Antipas. He was a practicing Jew, just not a good one. So, it is not true that only pagans had birthdays. And 3) there is one more birthday in the Bible they prefer to leave out: Jesus' own birthday.

(LUK. 2: 9-14) 9 And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. 10 Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. 11 For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.”
13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying: 14 “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men!” 

If that isn't celebrating, I don't know what is. I've heard of cowboys and I've heard of princesses, but I have never heard of any other time when a multitude of angels showed up and shouted for joy at a birthday.
Let us not forget that the angels, shepherds, Magi, Anna the prophetess, John the Baptist, Zecharias and Elizabeth the parents of John the Baptist, and Mary and Joseph all rejoiced to see His first coming. All of the angels and heroes of old eagerly awaited that time. Abraham rejoiced and was glad to know He was coming. There is nothing wrong with being overjoyed that the Lord was born. It remains the second-greatest miracle in the history of mankind. He couldn't die if He wasn't born.

Alas. Once again, if God does it it's still wrong, and they aren't above leaving things out they don't like.

WHAT'S REALLY GOING ON

They peddle paganism, not because the things actually are pagan, but because they need them to be pagan. They need to differentiate their product from the mainstream, or why would you send your money to them? Think about it. If church 1 is exactly like church 2, why do we even need church 2? But if church 2 can scare you into believing church 1 is pagan, then you might send them your money. That's the real game, ladies and gentlemen: money. The peddlers aren't here to help you. They are only here to help themselves ...to you and your cash. (We don't take donations here. Only prayers. Our services are completely free. You couldn't pay us even if you wanted to. Praise God!) The very same people who tell you it does not honor God to give gifts to your loved ones and the poor (like the Bible says in Esther 9: 22), will tell you it honors God to give your money to them. That's the reason why I am calling them "peddlers". They are selling a product. The product is fear.

You're a pagan Nimrod worshipper, and Jesus can't save you if you sing those carols and find joy in colored lights. But if you take up Old Covenant legalism and send them your money, they might put in a good word with God for you.

They accuse you. That makes you feel bad, doesn't it?

Let me ask you this. In centuries past, when the fundamentalists Protestants were - in the name of God - accusing people of witchcraft and burning them at the stake (or various other tortures), do you think those accused people were real witches? No, they weren't. Those weren't witches at all. Those were Christians! Do you think those accusing them were correct? No, they weren't. Do you think those accusations were based in truth and well-researched fact? They did have the handbook "Malleus Malifecarum", after all! No, not really. Do you think those who accused their fellows in order to avoid torture were being honest and altruistic? No, they weren't. Fear makes people do strange things. Oh, how they professed they were doing God's good justice, up to an including murdering people, yet they were wrong all the same. Their victims were innocent of the charges, yet they did what they did all the same. They were killing their own brothers and sisters in the faith, all the while saying they were honoring God. Did that honor God? Even the fundamentalists themselves later admitted it did not.
How are these modern peddlers any different than those past fundamentalists? Only in that they do not burn people at the stake. Otherwise, it's the same. They still falsely accuse you. They still condemn you. They just can't kill you. No, they say God is going to do that. You are judged and condemned on false witness by people who are making up fake histories and who believe God cannot overcome a candy cane.

It reminds me of what Jesus said to the Apostles:

(JON. 16: 2) They will put you out of the synagogues; yes, the time is coming that whoever kills you will think that he offers God service.

Of all people on earth, the Apostles were put out of the synagogues and killed. How are these modern peddlers any different than those past Jews? Only in that they don't have letters from the Sanhedrin permitting them to stone you. Otherwise, it's the same. Remember, Jesus Himself was - in the name of God - falsely accused and tried and sentenced for blasphemy.

Look. Let's get something straight.
If you really feel that badly about a holiday or a decoration, don't do it!! There is freedom in Christ. Do, or do not - it's the same. So long as it is to Christ that you do or do not do. I am not here to convince you to keep holidays. I am merely telling you that you are being falsely accused and there is no valid reason for you to feel like a pagan. Yet, if you do feel badly about something, then don't violate your conscience.
But ask yourself - do you feel badly because it is bad, or because peddlers of paganism made you think it is bad, falsely? Our articles are here to help you decide that. Test the spirits.

In absolutely no way should this article be understood as excusing actual idolatry or paganism. The message at ABD has been consistent over the years - there are many false gods but only one true God, our New Covenant duty is faith in and loyalty to God through Jesus Christ, our Christian calling is to follow the Holy Spirit into service and charitable works, our freedom in Christ is not a license to sin. Pretty standard, really. If something is genuinely pagan or idolatrous, we highly recommend having nothing to do with it. Knowingly, willfully, intentionally turning away from God to idolatry is a salvational issue and it is genuinely dangerous. Again, we just disagree with the peddlers of paganism on what real idolatry is. They use a shifting definition and shifting standards, and we call them out for it.

CONCLUSION

If you knowingly and intentionally devote your worship and honor to Jesus Christ, trusting in Him for your salvation, then an idol is nothing. He has taken all power and authority, and you are a citizen in His Kingdom now. Believe that. Rejoice in it! "Once pagan, always pagan" is an unbiblical and broken line of reasoning that no one really follows. Paul didn't preach it. God didn't heed it. Neither should you. How much less pagan is an item that was never an idol in the first place?
And no, you cannot accidentally or unknowingly become a pagan. As the sun rises in the east and sets in the west, you cannot accidentally be a pagan while worshipping Jesus Christ. The peddlers' accusations have no power over you.

You just want to be a good Christian. Your heart is in the right place. It's the peddlers that are the problem, not you. They have taken your eyes off the righteousness that comes from faith (ROM. 3: 21) and put your eyes on efforts that can never bring righteousness. Not even the law could bring righteousness (GAL. 2: 21), how much less can avoiding poinsettias? Mundane things do not overpower God. Avoiding them cannot bring you righteousness. So, stop looking there.

The peddlers want to be good Christians, too, but they have terrible information and were trained by people with less than honorable motives. Don't listen to them. Don't give them power over your life. Have faith and follow the promptings of the Holy Spirit. Look at the fruits! Do the peddlers bring you peace and truth? Or, do the peddlers bring you torment and fear, based on false claims? (You will know the claims are false when you read our articles and pray about it.) You know it's torment and fear. Do they bring you the Gospel of Jesus Christ or accusations? You know it's accusations. So don't heed them. Just walk away.

At what point do we look ourselves in the mirror and in all seriousness tell ourselves, "I will, from this moment forward, stop believing in once pagan, always pagan, because it is a thoroughly un-biblical notion, and I will stop listening to these peddlers of paganism who lie to me and themselves, and who only seek to enrich themselves at my expense" ?

I am bashing people pretty hard in this article. I don't usually do that. It is normally my way to go light and try to build bridges. I prefer to ease people toward the truth. The issue is, a light touch isn't always called for. Sometimes Paul writes Titus, and sometimes Paul withstands Peter to his face. When I get letters from good, God-fearing Christians who doubt themselves and their families and their faith - over demonstrably false nonsense peddled by fundamentalists - I get upset. I believe I am justified in getting upset. That's why I'm in a snit today and ranting on.

I would like to give you a short list of some recommended articles to get you going in the right direction. If you still have questions in your mind, like may we celebrate birthdays, or may we celebrate holidays God did not command, or should I be keeping "biblical" holy days, or even questions about "learn not the way of the heathen" - we hope we can be of some help.

• Established and Imposed
• Jeremiah 10 and Christmas Trees
  
• Falsely Accused? Christmas Trees and Germanic Paganism
• Why Not Keep Biblical Days?
• On Nimrod and Christmas Trees Part I
• Nimrod's Birthday Was January 6?
• Two Sabbaths of Matthew 28
• Easter History Part I
• Three Days and Three Nights

Keep in mind we have a Categories page with abundantly more than just this. Scroll on down to the Holidays section.

May the Living God, in whose hands you are held, guide you and teach you, strengthen your faith, uplift you, assure you, bring you to a better understanding of who you are in His eyes, and keep you safe in the sure salvation obtained for you by our Lord Jesus Christ.

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It is important that you understand; Everything on this blog is based on the current understanding of each author. Never take anyone's word for it, always prove it for yourself, it is your responsibility. You cannot ride someone else's coattail into the Kingdom. ; )

Acts 17:11

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A Wake-Up Call to Rod Meredith

“As a former Protestant with many family members still Protestant, I feel compelled to warn you of a soon-coming disaster!”

So begins Rod Meredith’s article, “A Wake-Up Call to All Protestants!” in the September-October 2015 issue of the Living Church of God’s Tomorrow’s World magazine.

Ok, Rod, you have my attention. I left the Church of God community and am now what you would call a “Protestant.”  What’s up?

Apparently Protestantism is becoming irrelevant because “mainstream” Christian churches are trying to fit in with the world and don’t stand for anything anymore. Gone are the faithful ministers who strongly condemn fornication, drugs, drunkenness, lying, cheating and other immoral behavior from the pulpit.

“Do such God-fearing, Bible-believing ministers still exist anywhere?”Certainly not in “mainstream” Protestantism!” Meredith contends. “For if any such faithful Bible-believing minister like this did exist in any of these churches, he would soon be fired or figuratively “run out of town”.

This is news to me, as well as the other 3,500 members of my church, who have not run my Protestant pastor out of town after he made any of the following comments from the pulpit during the last 12 months:

“God's will for you is that you would become more like Jesus, and the first thing that the Bible addresses as we seek to become more like Jesus is that we should abstain from sexual immorality. Notice that phrase: "that you should abstain from sexual immorality."  The word "abstain" there means to stay as far away from something as possible.  And the Greek word for sexual immorality there—in English, it's two words.  In Greek, it's one word.  The Greek word is "porneia."  We get our word "pornography" from that word for  sexual immorality.  It's a word that refers to any kind of sexual sin.  It covers the whole spectrum.  It covers pornography.  It covers homosexuality.  It covers adultery.  It covers marital unfaithfulness.  It covers premarital sex.  It covers dirty, lustful thoughts.  It involves filthy talk.  It covers dirty jokes.  It covers anything that is sexually impure before God.  And the Bible says we should abstain from those things.  We should get as far away from it as possible.”

“Look down in verse 7 of 1 Thessalonians chapter 4.  Notice there, the Bible casts an even broader net.  It says, "For God did not call us to uncleanness, but in holiness."  Now, the word "porneia" is a broad word for all kinds of sexual immorality, but the word "uncleanness" there in verse 7 includes any type of immorality, whether it's sexual immorality or any kind.  The word for "uncleanness" can refer to drinking and drunkenness.  It can refer to lying.  It can refer to cheating.  It can refer to stealing.  It can refer to mistreating other people.  In short, anything that is displeasing to God—the Bible says God did not call you to that.  Listen, God did not save you so that you can indulge your life in sin.  And yet there are many Christians who think that, because they're saved, and because God's mercy has reached down and touched them, and they have been made clean by the blood of Jesus Christ, and they have a home in heaven, that they can turn around and live however they please.  And friend, it doesn't work that way."

 "I am appalled by those who call themselves Christians, and yet they've justified sins, just made excuses for all kinds of sins, from the use of alcohol and drugs to homosexuality to abortion to premarital sex.  And I believe the heart of God is broken by Christians who have called light, darkness, and darkness, light and who are even turning away and walking away from their marriages, as though their vows to God meant nothing.” 

 “Friend, as a follower of Jesus Christ, God wants you to tell the truth, to be honest and to live with integrity, whether you’re under oath or not under oath. Whether you’re talking to someone casually or whether it’s a serious conversation, whether it’s in business or it’s in school or whether it’s in a relationship. Whether it seems like a major lie or a little white lie… He wants you to be honest, to tell the truth, and to live with integrity. Because we serve the Lord Jesus Christ, and He has said, I am the way… and what? The Truth… and the life…”.

Wow. I see Rod's point. That guy is a spineless jellyfish. (Sarcasm intended).

Are there liberal Protestant churches out there? Absolutely. Probably more than there should be. But are there conservative ones that uphold moral standards? Absolutely. You might have to look around a bit to find one that “stands for something,” as Meredith's article puts it. But what he wrote is intended to discourage you from doing that.

Make no mistake. I suspect this article is not intended as a “wake-up call” to Protestants, although if it dragged a few in to add to LCG’s dwindling tithe base, Rod wouldn’t cry.  But I am willing to bet it was intended to discourage unhappy Living Church of God members from looking elsewhere (as we know many of you are). Why do I think that?

Because right after Rod gets done telling us how bad the Protestants are, he starts in on the Catholic Church. Wait a minute. I thought this article was a wake-up call for Protestants. Why is he drawing Catholics into this? Now, I’m not Catholic, but I certainly have met some Catholics in the past few years whom I respect greatly. Some who know more than me about the Bible. And the more I talk to them, the more I see that some of their traditions have more logic and less superstition than I was taught.

Though it's now a cold war instead of hot, the battle between Protestantism and Catholicism is alive and well. Alexander Hislop capitalized on it when he created his disproven theories, and the COGs are only too happy to follow in his footsteps today. COG leaders are almost giddy when they point to the un-Christian ways Catholics and Protestants have interacted throughout history (as Meredith does in this article). There's no way there could be true Christians on either side of that mess! I guess battling and slandering other churches is sin unless you happen to lead a COG splinter. And I'm not just talking about LCG.

Here's the point: If Rod Meredith can scare you into believing that anything outside of LCG is Sodom and Gomorrah, then he stands a better chance of holding onto you and your tithes. Because if all Protestant churches are shallow, immoral social clubs and the Catholic Church is the great whore of Babylon, then why rock the boat and look elsewhere, no matter how unhappy you are in LCG? It's pointless. Sit back down and keep your mouth shut. Oh, and don't forget your offering. After all, next Monday is a Holy Day.

In effort to shore up his crumbling empire, Rod Meredith impugns good men who stand for far more than he ever has; and risk far more than he ever will. Unless you consider the risk Meredith stands for bearing false witness against men of God. As a former COG member with many family members still COG, I feel compelled to warn you: Wake up yourself, Rod, and repent of your errors. Unless they're not simply errors...

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It is important that you understand; Everything on this blog is based on the current understanding of each author. Never take anyone's word for it, always prove it for yourself, it is your responsibility. You cannot ride someone else's coattail into the Kingdom. ; )
Acts 17:11
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I pushed the Jesus button, nothing happened

I was reading Russell Millers post for today (4-19-09) Why I'm so hard on Christians, all I can say is wow, but I relate to what he says. I too tried to attend churches many times, and failed. It made me think of my own story, and it's conclusion.

I didn’t finish seventh grade because there was to be a parade that the school band was to play in, and seeing that it was on a Saturday, I couldn’t go. The band instructor was kind enough to announce in class that a few Seventh day Adventists were allowed to come, he pointed out me and my brother and said, “well I guess if your church wont let you come, far be it from me to fight God.” This of course resulted in getting ambushed after school over the next week or so with the finale being my brother attacking one of the animals that was trying to kick me in the kidneys.

My brother was that way, pent up rage burst out, but the guy was too big and threw him to the ground and had a thumb in each eye apparently trying to poke them out. I snapped at that point and kicked him in the ribs, and in the flurry, that guy disappeared and this 9th grader was all over me, my shirt was soaked in blood, and tears were streaming down my face, some girl was laughing and handed me a tissue, then we were at it again, all in slow mo, until In the process of falling backwards, a lucky kick under the chin knocked him out, and I landed on him with both knees. One of his buddies began wailing on me screaming, “you don’t hit them when their down.” Fortunately an adult showed up at that point.

I got kicked out of school the next year when I was 13, for “behavior problems” that in actual fact was me trying to mask my descent into nervous break down. Hostility could keep me from disintegrating, and yeah, I got into some running battles with some freaks that my pride wouldn’t let me back down to. These were some jocks that literally got rid of the English teacher by coordinated foot stomping on queue from the ringleader who was a jock, and therefore an untouchable, who was not disciplined period. I, however, was expelled for returning a punch to the face of one who had attacked me in the classroom, and as the final straw, disrespect to the librarian, who had said something rude, and judgmental to me. I liked the English teacher because she had read one of my compositions to the class, and praised it as excellent, a rare taste of approval. The juvenile mafia didn’t like this, which was a root of the developing conflict.

After I was expelled I never went back to school. My nerves were fried. I just wondered around, and prayed for help. No help was forthcoming. I survived, my mother became afraid of me and never again laid a hand on me, even though I was programmed to where if she had told me to kill some one, I might very well have done it, since in my mind, she was part of the chain of command from God on down. She had me do some sick things that violated scripture, but in my mind, a command over rides principle.

I survived, educated myself as best I could. My bible studies began to cause me to see contradictions in what I had been taught, particularly starting with church authority. The local minister was a tyrant, who was both demeaning and a taskmaster who assigned fasting and set hours of knee time with regular written reports to be turned in. Every church member became his spy, and I frequently had to park my old van many blocks from the people’s place who let me sleep in their garage to prevent the minister from finding out.

After I left WCG around 1990, I was cut off from every one I knew, since WCGers were the only people in my world; even though to them, I was a pariah, actually called me to my face, “the church outcast.” I had no way of getting a job, and no where to go. I had met the black sheep brother of a social misfit bachelor church member. He took pity on me and invited me to come over to his place in the country and stay in an old trailer parked there. This guy was a rude crude outlaw; a wonderfully kind man who grew marijuana, cussed like a sailor, said every thing that was on his mind with unabashed bluntness, and seemed to support a host of people, gave dope to cancer patients, and even kept his mother happily stoned while she was dying with what his mother only knew as “sleepy time tea.” This mans kindness far exceeded any kindness ever shown to me by one bearing the name of Jesus. I wanted to do something for him in return, so I began watering his babies, and essentially was doing this for four years while I rethought everything.

To make a long story short, I watched preachers on TV, and heard the message that Jesus will come and do all these wonderful things which never materialized regardless of my diligence. After this four year period, which was full of sometimes terrifying events impertinent to the point, after a little police intervention, I again found myself with nowhere to go, and alone, and wondering where was God. And why did my life have to be like this. It’s hard for some one with a chronic anxiety disorder to function in any normal capacity.

I had done enormous amounts of reading, and had followed many paths, but the only solid thing I could find was the prophecies that were accurate, so I returned to excepting scripture as true, but the disconnection between what the preachers said and reality was beyond being rationalized; so I dumped any further expectations from Christians, and looked to see if their message was some how a misrepresentation. I’m going to tell about my answer, which I’ll not represent as ‘the‘ answer, but an answer none the less. I read Jacobs words as anomalous to the candy coated come-ons I was being fed.

Gen 47:9 “And Jacob said unto Pharaoh, The days of the years of my pilgrimage are an hundred and thirty years: few and evil have the days of the years of my life been,”

If God left Jacob in his troubles, how can Christian preachers tell every one that all you need to do is follow some little formula and be freed of the world’s sorrows? Jesus said in parables that bad things would happen, and he wasn’t going to stop them.

Jesus is speaking of himself in this parable, and of the fact that he was going to leave here, but while he is gone… Mat 24:48 “But suppose that servant is wicked and says to himself, 'My master is staying away a long time,’ Mat 24:49 and he then begins to beat his fellow servants and to eat and drink with drunkards. Mat 24:50 The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he is not aware of. Mat 24:51 He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Here again Jesus portrays the scenario of his going away during which things happen according to the will of men… Luk 19:12 "There was once a man of high rank who was going to a country far away to be made king, after which he planned to come back home.” In between verses men invest talents without interference. Luk 19:15 “He was made king, however, and returned home.”

Here Jesus tells his disciples that they may well be poor, hungry, hated, excluded and insulted, and with reason to shed tears, It all sounds quite familiar to me.
Luk 6:20 Looking at his disciples, he said: "Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.
Luk 6:21 Blessed are you who hunger now, for you will be satisfied. Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh.
Luk 6:22 Blessed are you when men hate you, when they exclude you and insult you and reject your name as evil, because of the Son of Man.
Luk 6:23 Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven. For that is how their fathers treated the prophets.
Luk 6:24 But woe to you who are rich, for you have already received your comfort.

Here, as I see it, Jesus is speaking of himself : Mar 12:1 “He then began to speak to them in parables: "A man planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a pit for the winepress and built a watchtower. Then he rented the vineyard to some farmers and went away on a journey.”

Now while Jesus is away, In between Jesus going and coming, I will insert something written about Israel, but that illustrates Gods attitude, and also speaks to the fact that evil will be allowed during this time where God essentially steps aside while the evil men do reaches it’s full measure… Eze 34:18 Is it not enough for you to feed on the good pasture? Must you also trample the rest of your pasture with your feet? Is it not enough for you to drink clear water? Must you also muddy the rest with your feet?
Eze 34:19 Must my flock feed on what you have trampled and drink what you have muddied with your feet?
Eze 34:20 'Therefore this is what the Sovereign LORD says to them: See, I myself will judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep.
Eze 34:21 Because you shove with flank and shoulder, butting all the weak sheep with your horns until you have driven them away,
Eze 34:22 I will save my flock, and they will no longer be plundered. I will judge between one sheep and another.

Mar 12:7 But the tenants said to one another, 'This is the heir. Come, let's kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.'
Mar 12:8 So they took him and killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard.
Mar 12:9 What then will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and kill those tenants and give the vineyard to others.

There is more, but I’ll leave it here for now. Bob Marley when asked about how he handled poverty said that it all depends on your expectations, when I quit expecting what the preachers were saying, I quit feeling like some thing was extraordinarily bad about me, and that I was being personally rejected. I see enormous deception going on with a motive to gain a following, and offering money from churches at large; but out of all of them, I expect there are some individuals who are genuine; but as for me, I have no desire for organized religion, and I can see why Jesus hung out with the prostitutes and the tax collectors.

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It is important that you understand; Everything on this blog is based on the current understanding of each author. Never take anyone's word for it, always prove it for yourself, it is your responsibility. You cannot ride someone else's coattail into the Kingdom.

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Cui Bono?

For some time, I have been under the impression that the issues with various churches and even cults in regards to doctrinal beliefs revolved around, for the most part, different interpretations of Scripture that results from pre-conceived beliefs. As one theologian put it, “Our beliefs tend to drive our interpretation and translation of the Scriptures.”

But another motive is what drives doctrine when it comes to cults and cult-meisters.

What is the motivation of a wolf in sheep’s clothing (read, wool suit)? To feed his own belly; to use religion as a means of personal gain. And the personality type who does this are those who are narcissistic megalomaniacs. It does not hurt their conscience to take advantage of, and destroy the lives of other people.

This is what drives their “interpretation” of Scripture; to achieve personal gain, and the only people who matter to him are those who can help him achieve this end. All others are expendable and not worthy of his (or her) attention.

We can give these people any number of labels; “Christian Guru” comes to mind, even though there is nothing Christian about them outside their own claims.

The old covenant makes for a convenient and ready-made system for accomplishing what these gurus want most; money and power over others. All one needs do is play to people’s egos, and play to one’s fears.

One’s ego is stroked by convincing them that God has taken a personal interest in them, opening up hence unknown “truths” to them that are not being revealed to mankind in general, while warning these same people of the dreadful consequences of rejecting that “truth” that they are privileged to be receiving should they reject it. It is a hard combination for many people to ignore.

From there, it is merely a matter of “modifying” their understanding of Scripture so that the guru, the cult-meister, profits as a result. Tithing serves the guru’s purpose perfectly, and, with just a little modification of the interpretation of Scripture, the people are convinced they are to send him their monetary tithes.

But the gospel as found in Scripture does not serve the needs of the guru cult-meister. No problem though, the gospel can be altered by him also, so as to serve again his aims and end. Simply make tithing obligatory as a part of your gospel. Seeing though that it would be difficult to justify one modified point of old covenant law, other points of that law have to be accepted as being required for salvation also – as long as those points also somehow benefit the guru cult-meister.

The true irony in this whole process is that anyone from within the group that recovers from their involvement in the group and the control of the guru ends up being seen as, in some instances, attempting to undo the now accepted theology for their own benefit! I have been accused of doing what I do for the purpose of personal gain so many times I have long since lost count.

I show people tithing is not required in the new covenant. How on earth do I personally gain from pointing that out? I have never taken one dime from anyone for the work I put into teaching and counseling people out of the teachings of “Armstrongism.” I even turned down $15,000 from one individual who had been saving up his tithes, thinking he had to give it to a true representative who was doing God’s work. I told him it would be better for him to give it to the poor; the fatherless and widow.

Those unfortunate people who are in religious cults have everything backwards and upside down. They impoverish themselves giving their money to a cult-meister while accusing anyone who would dare point out they are wrong as those with personal motives of self-aggrandizement. The latest such accusation brought against myself was an Armstrongite claiming I was trying to make myself one of the two witnesses of Revelation! Believe you me, that is one position I have no desire to fulfill! It’s bad enough having Armstongites and Seventh Day Adventists breathing down your neck nearly everyday, but at least you are reasonably sure you are not going to be put to death tomorrow.

There is no personal gain in what I do, besides the occasional satisfaction of knowing that I have managed to help rescue a person from the grips of tyranny and freed their minds so that they can logically and rationally go about the rest of their lives. I’ve had people call me up in the middle of the night to thank me for helping them out of their involvement in a cult and from the brain-washed state they were in as a result.

On the flip side, hardly a day goes go by when I don’t get an email from someone, somewhere, telling me what an evil, rotten person I am. Here’s a sampling from just today:

You are one-dimensional in your thinking.

You cannot reason beyond your own pride
and make-believe.

You have chosen a verse or two and twisted
their meaning to suit yourselves, rather than
looking into their true meaning as a whole.

You have lost your way. You witness lies.

You perhaps have even lost eternal life (?)

You therefore must assuredly be a law-breaker.
Break one law and you break them all.

This proves you liars, and self-serving old men.

What is wrong is that you commit the unforgiveable sin and turn God's Spirit of grace into a falsehood. You condemn the unchangeable law of God. You lead other foolish people astray with your lies.

That was from today. Care to see a sampling from yesterday?

Remember that when you blatantly attack the Holy Sabbath that you are not attacking Sabbath keeping Christians. God is the author my friend "LEST YOU FORGET". You might want to tone down your rhetoric. Christian Sabbath keepers are really trying to help and deliver you from the Mark of the Beast. Be thankful before you mount your next attack against the Holy Sabbath. Friend you know the truth. Stop kicking against the pricks.

The Old Covenant was a good Covenant but the people were sinful, faulty, messed up, rebellious, cantankerous and biligerent as you have demonstrated . . . toward the Sabbath truth.

Here’s from the day before yesterday, April 15th:

The Ten Commandments apply to all mankind. ... you are obligated to keep the Sabbath day holy. Stop kicking against the pricks. Get your theology together. You are so confused. You don't understand Old Covenant vs New Covenant theology. You are way off base. Take your time and do proper exegesis. Your isogesis has messed up your confused mind. Why are you so bitter? Who hurt your feelings? What happen in your former Church that caused such bitterness in your heart toward the Sabbath? Why are you attacking God's Holy Law? Are you aware that you are only hurting yourself and giving atheists fuel for their fire?

Your allegiance will be either to God or Man. You can't serve two masters. You will love one and hate the other. Your constant attacks on God's sacred Sabbath suggests that you have already made your choice quite clear. You will be judge for your blatant disobedience, disrespect and disregard of God's Holy Law and his Holy Sabbath day unless you repent(James 2:10-13). This is a nondebatable issue. . .

There have been even more colorful emails in the past. Here’s one of my recent favorites:

You Bear the mark of the beast.
6666666666666666666666666
6666666666666666666666666
6666666666666666666666666
6666666666666666666666666
6666666666666666666666666

This was all done in large, red letters. My reply was thus:

May God forgive you for being so quick to judge and condemn.

Followed with a response:

“Say this to me at judgement day Satan.”

Also done in large, red letters.

Those who would deceive; those who are not interested in truth, are motivated by greed and the self.

Those who seek to help others are not out to deceive, and are not motivated by greed and the self. Their motivations are selfless in nature, and they are in receipt of persecution from the very ones they are trying to help.

And yet, there are those who read these blogs who have brought accusations against me, accusing me of being self-motivated after all. I guess now those of you who have done this will have to change your accusations to accusing me of wanting and desiring persecution and that I must enjoy being reviled.

You know... it would be so much easier to just quit doing what I do, and let those comparatively few I am able to help suffer through their fate for the rest of their lives, and maybe into the next one.

Cui bono. What do I have to personally gain? Neither wealth nor control or power over others. I gain a “thank you” from those people and a feeling of satisfaction knowing they have now been exposed to the true gospel as found in Scripture.

I’m such a terrible person...

Bill Hohmann

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It is important that you understand; Everything on this blog is based on the current understanding of each author. Never take anyone's word for it, always prove it for yourself, it is your responsibility. You cannot ride someone else's coattail into the Kingdom.

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