It is a historical parable--like when Suetonius tells his stories, or Plutarch--of man coming into judgment and knowing right from wrong. The serpent is Satan, the deceiver, tempting Adam and Eve in their innocence--before they know how to tell right from wrong--and causing them to commit sin, where the sin is coming into the knowledge of sin. The Nakedness is Adam and Eve without the knowledge of sin, so they don't know it's shameful yet, until they eat from the fruit, and then they know why sin is sin. That's ultimately the core of why God has to judge the world, too, is that we corrupted it through our knowledge, and why Christ says "Judge not lest you be judged." Because judgment is the first sin humans acquired, from eating the fruit.
Category: Ministry
On the Death Penalty in the Law
This is a very nuanced topic.
So, “Not on yote nor tiddle shall pass from the law until all is accomplished.” It says that in Matthew. So, we have to understand what Jesus did. Right? Jesus went to the Cross, and died for our sins. What’s He saving us from? What sins? Why does He have to save us? Those are the questions you should be asking.
So, the Law carries with it a death penalty. Like you just quoted. For being gay, for disobeying your parents, for breaking the Sabbath, for committing adultery. And those laws are still in effect. Yes. But there’s two everlasting Covenants. An Old Covenant—the Law you’re talking about—and the New Covenant—in Christ Jesus’ blood.
So, there’s two everlasting laws. The Old Covenant, which kills the soul because no man, save Jesus, could ever walk in it without being condemned to death. Then there’s the New Covenant, which is by the Grace of Mercy, that we follow the Spirit of the Law, and not the Letter. As the Spirit saves, but the Letter kills.
Now… why is this? Because the Law of Moses, didn’t produce the effects of righteousness. In fact, just the opposite, you had people who obeyed it ritualistically, while ignoring the general context of what the law was trying to accomplish—which was to save a soul and cause righteousness.
So… Christ saved us from that Law. He took it into His flesh, and died, and went to hell, and suffered our penalty. And then He raised from the dead. Also, He became our Sacrifice—that’s why we take Communion—and Baptism became our New Circumcision.
So, whatever sin you’ve done, it’s nailed into Christ Jesus. Meaning, we have mercy in Christ—not so we can sin, and break the Sabbath (Not have Rest in Christ Jesus) or Murder, or Blaspheme or be disobedient to our parents, but to have mercy until Christ rains righteousness down upon us, and gives us Mercy and Peace.
Philemon
Philemon actually is anti slavery. Jewish Law forbids returning an escaped slave to their owner, so Paul in effect restores Onesimus to freedom, and demonstrates Jewish Law is no more binding, but rather the Spirit of Grace, by returning him as a freed man and not as a slave. It demonstrates how Grace is not by the letter, but through the Spirit. And then Paul restores all his owed debts, demonstrating how Christ saves us even more. Onesimus actually becomes a pretty significant person in the early church, too.
On The Universe
The Greeks just thought it was infinite and always existed.
No, the great sages of the past all saw God's handiwork in Geometry. Some people don't understand even basic things, so that makes faith all the more important. I see the design in the universe when I study number and Euclid. Even Chemistry works through number and the four operations.
That's fundamentally what Newton expected to find, that if a God existed the laws of physics ought to be comprehensible. And he saw in Geometry a consistent language and if he found it in the very laws of the Universe it would have to be designed.
I don't think, either, it's right to say that the laws of physics just sprouted into being by chance. What they show, when you study them, is intricately complex webs of logic that all work perfectly together, which the only conclusion to have from that is a designer. And then language also shows that.
Some people don't comprehend addition or subtraction. Some people claim it's all made up by Western Whites. Some people claim there is no goodness. Some people claim there is nothing truly beautiful. All of those are false statements, but evade the intellect of our best minds. Due to stubbornness and politics, but it is the right conclusion that all of that objectively exists, and so does God. Which Christ is the only truly good God out of millions, so it must be Him.
Sermon 2
My, not Paul's teachings on marriage.
Listen, my brethren, to Paul, for marriage brings worldly sorrows. But, good worldly sorrows, for one then has company in this strange world, and recourse to expire worldly lusts. And a spiritual sister or brother, whom flesh binds with flesh, and a child springs forth into this world, sown between the fruits of two lovers.
If you cannot afford or fathom how to take care of your children, do not have sex. But, if your wife or husband have desire, satisfy it fully. And have the children, for God shall abundantly provide for a household sown in love. Sown in discord, it shall have curses, but in love, and peace, and no enmity or strife, there shall be fruitful fields and gardens, and springs, and wells, and rivers, and much fleshly lusts expired through the satisfaction of your mate.
Do not marry one of the same sex. Do not change your gender from your sex. For if you do that, you will surely die in the lake of fire. Until you divorce this strange spouse, and expire the lust completely, whether by castration, then so be it. Or by neutering, then so be it. Whether by plucking out your eyes, or ears, then so be it. My heart aches, that questions like these were not common for so many years, and yet now everyone is forced to ask them. Or, if you have no lust, you may remain whole, and not a Eunuch, but abide in peace.
If unmarried, the LORD shall bring you dreams if you need them. Wash, do not enter into battle, and your soul shall be purged of fleshly lusts. It is better not to have dreams, however. Also, do not be filthy Dreamers, looking for lusty ways to gratify your desires.
As for birth control, use whatever you wish, but maximize the pleasure. But, do not kill the seed, or the egg, or the fetus. That is my teaching, not Paul's.
Also, love your spouse as much as you can. Indulge in love, and feel love for one another. Drink deep of each other's cisterns and wells, in the love enjoined in the two through the fleshly covenant of marriage. Love her, deep love, and true love. Make heavenly peace the union you share with your spouse, and friendship felt most sincere. For if it is not this, you cannot be divorced.
Do not get divorced. Not for any reason, other than adultery. Any other reason, causes infidelity, and is wickedness.
Do not fantasize about anyone beside your spouse. And if you do not have a spouse, do not fantasize, but let your dreams purge worldly lusts. Do feel a bit guilty for dreams, however, as they are not good. But, do not feel like you have sinned, either. Only that you are unclean. But if you do have a spouse, fantasize about her often, for she is your soulmate, and she is whom God gave you as your portion in this life.
Have one spouse unto death, and if need be another in widowhood. And if your spouse has touched the flesh of adultery, you are made free.
Sermon 1
Brethren, Greetings in Philadelphia. I come to acknowledge that a great mischief has been wrought in the land. Men are being led astray to dismember themselves, and turn themselves into women. And women the same, fashion loins for themselves through strange science. There are women who exert their own rule over men. And men who see women as a lesser creature, and not with the soul of man. There is greed, concupiscence, and a fire about to be put out by Sin and its idolatry.
I say, these are evil times we live in, but it was asked, "How do we save Christianity?" For the heathen think we are about to perish, as they plot to take our liberty away, and kings strip the title of "Church" from their domains. We shall not perish, but be gathered to all the worlds, my brethren, and brought back to Zion. We save a man's soul through the law, and our sobriety. We walk in peace, and love, and charity toward our fellow man, and give right answers. So even the Heathen , when they are rebuked to their face, they know that it is because we love them, and not because we wish to harm them.
Hell exists, my brethren, and it is a comfort to me. For I see all the suffering caused by the heathen, and I weep at the disasters they reap, always causing distress to themselves and others, by stripping away that which is natural to man, and replacing it with something base and unkind. For they say "Consent" as if it were a word which granted them license to do all manner of evil. Can you consent to the destruction of your own soul? Surely you can, and it will reap the same vengeance as it did in this life, and there will be no pleasure in it in hell, when it is through.
As for heaven, Zion is Peace, and we obtain her through the arts of Kindness, Charity, Love, and Good Fruit. She is beautiful, so desire her like a comely maid. I do not know what heaven shall be, but take all the good you see in this life, and put your hopes there, for Satan will not allow you to have a good life, if he were able. If you have a good life, rejoice, but tremble for many are taken off the path of righteousness by worldly lucre.
The prophets are among us, and speaking, and the tabloids are running stories of insane conspiracies. Maybe they are true. Maybe they are not. In my own estimation, it is sin that is causing everything, and not the agency of man working destruction, but rather sinners with no knowledge of the good, trying to construct a "Better World" where their vision has nothing like love, charity or kindness, but rather has lust, greed and self-assertion. And this is the world they are creating, and the world rejoices in this new creation. And it shall, Christians, therefore seek to obtain Mercy as a Prize, for she is beautiful among all others, and she is one. Seek after Mercy, and Peace and Wisdom, and bind them to your bosom, and lie down with them in matrimony. Marry them to your soul, and you shall have all the worldly fruits for repentance and righteousness. And not the fruits of vanity and greed.
Brethren, Suicide is a grievous sin, and the heathen being so frustrated by our words, take their own lives, to spite us. For this cause, Brethren, keep preaching the truth, and you shall retain Mercy, and they hell. For the fires are quenched in them, of good fruit and spirits, and they have wedded to themselves Sin in Holy Matrimony. A marriage of sin and flesh, conjoined to the corruption of the State and corruption of the Soul. Therefore, preach repentance to them in kindness, so if they do die by our words, they were at least warmly entreated, and not harshly criticized. Preach to them in love, and not bitterness, envy or slander.
Also, keep back the storms of Antichrist, by watching the clouds moving in on the horizon. Know the times. Keep Peace in your hearts, and Wisdom, and Mercy, and Love, and Justice, and know the times we live in, are not good times. For, being so cursed upon the earth for a little while, the curse itself will save you, having not received your earthly reward--or perhaps you have lost it--you shall attain a better hope for the world to come, and all your sin purged from you, you shall be married in the land of Zion. And eat the Supper Feast with our LORD of the Fruit of Life, the Milk and Honey of Zion, and the Living Waters. It shall taste better than any earthly morsel, and greater still, shall be our cities and gold and mansions.
Brethren, keep at bay all sinful thoughts, all sinful lusts... and know I write a sermon not Scripture... for I write many sermons, and many words to you. Do not depart from the Sixty Six books of the Bible, but seek where it is written, and seek witnesses for yourselves among the Heathen, that confirm God's Word. Seek for wisdom, and refined by fire, you shall be tested as Gold come out of the furnace, and made a Holy Portion for the LORD. Don't commit suicide, but rather run the race, and many shall follow after you, and shall be tried in the same furnace as you, my loves. And perhaps, a holy sacrifice shall be left, of even worldly prosperity, and we shall be saved from the testing to come.
The Theodicy
Jesus’ entire ministry addresses the Theodicy, Alex. Literally, it’s just a way of saying, “There’s absurd suffering in this world, so believe in me, and you’ll go to a perfect one.”
Consider the theme of the Resurrection? How can man–who is incredibly fallible–live for eternity without suffering, without the perfect mind and body of Christ? How can there be peace without the Spirit? Obviously, the world is cruel, evil, destructive… God knows that, so He prepared a better one. The world was always that way, too, due to the fall. It wasn’t supposed to be a perfect world, and the days where we were supposed to make our lives here, ended when Babylon Sacked Jerusalem.
Like the real thing to think about, is how Sin causes suffering. And by elevating it to the top of the Pantheon–by making Sin the milieu–you’re causing even more suffering, not less. The Law is meant to help ease suffering, by giving a perfect statute, which will inevitably cause peace and tranquility, even in the face of natural disaster or misfortune. Because people will share one another’s burdens. But, with the Every Man for Himself routine, and the libertine mores regarding sexuality, we can’t find the things that cause human happiness, as all those avenues are blocked, and replaced with something dirty that cannot fulfill the true desires of mankind.
Snippet of Christ’s Life as Told by the Psalmist
[W]hen Jesus stayed behind in the Temple, Jesus was really bothered by that, you see in the Psalms. He thought He sinned. He knew He didn’t but He had a human nature susceptible to shame, too. But{} Joseph and Mary were too poor to afford a tutor for Jesus, or even books. Christ also had to sleep on the floor His whole life, as the family couldn’t afford a bed for Him.
Banned Comment on YouTube
They do have a natural capacity to know right from wrong. I do agree with you there, but without the proper moral upbringing and guidance, they lose it very quick. Especially when sexual immorality is involved.
Morality is difficult. It takes men with IQs of about 180 to come to the very basics. And someone like you, creating a system of morality, is dangerous, because you're just not going to get even ninety percent of it right. You need moral teaching.
Yes people are born knowing right from wrong--I won't dispute you there, because the Bible teaches that--but you do divert off of that ethics very quick, and very young. And that's why you need the Bible to remind you what that ethic is.
And the ethics of the Bible isn't because "It will please God," What will please God is human happiness and flourishing, and peace. Which you can't have if you deviate off of the Bible's standard. Any diversion from that standard, and you don't have peace anymore, you have corruption, violence and lawlessness.
And the fact is I don't doubt you do good. But, you have no capacity to understand good, or do good, without God's agency. You don't realize how many people I meet that struggle to even know what Good is. They deny it even exists, and while you believe in Good--that's a good thing--it's ultimately up to God to establish the good, and make it so. Otherwise it's just human opinion, and strife, and war between conflicting power dynamics that determines it.
Why I Believe the Bible
I just believe in the Bible because Jesus is good, and no other religion presents a sound moral argument. Atheism presenting the worst, and Hinduism probably the best--which is scanty at that. So, that's why I'm a Christian. And really, you can't possibly get a better moral premise than Jesus. You can't beat it. Ever. Not even Pythagoras--who came the closest. Or even Mozi, Confucius or Mencius, but Christ beats them all in succinctness, clarity and His own demonstration. Also, the Torah is pretty cool, too. If you really understand it, but the beauty of Christianity is that the Law was abolished in Christ, and that's just the Law that's going to judge the world for its sin. It's not something we're supposed to follow--and there's messianic prophecies in the Old Testament that show that, too.