Mmm…. I don’t think so. About 600,000,000 people were killed by regimes that forbid the practice of religion, and their justification for it is that Religion contradicts science. Not to mention, the racism of the Nazis was founded on Evolution, and the cause of the first world war was probably due to the advances of technology we saw, as people were kind of not coping with it that well, and that frustration led to the outbreak of the war. And the Holocaust was due to Scientific racism, which I outlined, so the entire cause of World War II was due to Evolutionary Biology.
But certainly, you’d be right that Religious Dictatorships aren’t good. As religion has bad sides, as well. That’s well documented. But, in the grand scheme of things, more people were killed in the name or cause of science than any other.
Category: Ministry
On My Sin and Theology
I'm like a hybrid Protestant and Catholic. I get my Old Testament from Baptists, my New Testament from Lutherans, and my Creativity and Aesthetics from Catholics. My aunt was a Catholic, and she taught me the value of beauty (but so did my school, when they brought in paintings to look at). I [...] don't answer to a church authority. I'm kind of like a monk, that I detail a lot of interesting proof the Bible is true. I don't fit well into systems. I'm not a Rogue Priest, as my authority comes from Christ. But, I'm a friend to Catholics and Protestants, and would like the religion to be strong into the future, which I have a feeling if it takes certain directions that's not going to happen. I'm afraid the great falling away will be in my lifetime, and I'm called to preach against sin. Like Christ called Herod a fox, like you said in another sermon, we have to hold our governments accountable for the evil they do. But, we cannot accept LGBTQ as a church. We just cannot. We also have to understand Jesus wasn't necessarily someone who was fascinated with high ritual, or doing everything according to the book. And Christ liked to use insignificant losers like me. Paul was a murderer, so was Moses, David committed three unpardonable sins in the world's eyes, rape, adultery and murder. I mean, the whole world can be against me, but I know God is for me. I didn't do anything like that. But, in the world's eyes I did awful things. Like, I think if there's going to be a Bible verse written about me, it's that my sins were exposed, so the world rejected me, but they were none of them uncommon among men. It's just the flamboyant nature of some of them... it's like, I know what my sins are. I know I sinned. It's just, most people's sins nobody knows about. How much murder is in the average person's heart or adultery? It's just mine could not be hidden.
Why I Believe
For me belief in God is an acceptance of a proposition of descriptive facts. 1. The Moral Evidence that Jesus taught, 2. The Physical Evidence that proves the Bible, 3. The textual evidence within the Bible itself that predicts Jesus and 4. The natural conscience of man. And 5. The coherent nature of our universe--which is what Newton described, and when he discovered Gravity everyone thought was proof God exists, because the universe had actual laws that determined it. 6. The light that shines off of a person who has God, as that's called Shekinah Glory (וְשָׁכַנְתִּי) in the Bible. And 7. The fruits of the Spirit.
Morality just is. Like Thales' Theorem. Morality exists, it's on our consciences and obeying it produces the best quality life not only for you, but for everyone around you. However, there've been societies where rape and murder was perfectly legal, that lasted for at least a millennia. That's not why Rape and Murder are wrong.
Why Rome Fell
Rome fell for a number of reasons, [homosexuality] being one of them. I wouldn't say it's the cause of the fall, but it's definitely a correlation. Probably, you can read in Horace that women were getting promiscuous, and that's usually the first sign toward social failure, which Rome's was a long winding spiral downhill for about three hundred years, ever since Augustus. Like, under Tiberius they literally crucified God, and put a Pear Tree on Trial. And in the time of Horace, we see the women are beginning to be predatory, and are starting to not have fidelity, which that stirs up a lot of problems in a culture. Probably that's the root cause of why societies fall, is men lose faith in women and the fidelity of marriage as a binding social contract, and begin to be androgynous as a result. And that leads to weak ethics, and men who can't bear the weight of society, so another society comes and conquers them.
Homily on Fortune
I don't think Faith is a means to getting rich. Paul wasn't rich. Neither was Jesus. Neither was Onesimus or Polycarp, or Titus, or Ignatius. Lydia was rich, but she happened on her riches before she became saved.
Fortune's a lot. God gives people riches according to their work, not their level of obedience. Which, if you're in obedience to the LORD, and doing the work He's given you faithfully, you'll be made rich, and will come the added effect of having not one sorrow attached to it, or even a hindrance to your faith.
But the reverse is also true, if you work evil, and wrought destruction for yourself, your riches will add many sorrows, both worldly and spiritual.
Why the Church is Falling Away
This is why so many are losing their faith. "I believe." What exactly? Do you believe in evolution, creation science, Islam, God, the universe, alien space demons, empathy? What exactly do you believe in?
I see so many Christian artists lose their faith, because they hadn't a deep knowledge of the LORD. It may not be entirely their fault, either, because I've seen a lot of Christians lose faith over Evolution because someone taught them God wasn't omnipotent. That He had to play by the rules of our cosmos. I've seen Christians lose their faith over LGBTQ---because they had no foundation of understanding right from wrong.
Unfortunately, this is the world we live in. Where not many have the Gospel preached to them in power, but rather church is a fun place we go, and hop up and down, go to the tattoo parlor down the street, get Jesus' name scribbled on our arm, then go to the coffee shop and Christian book store, and draw up enneagrams and anoint ourselves with magic waters. Get taught how to feel good about ourselves, and how to succeed in this vain life.
The fire of the LORD is about quenched in our youths, as they didn't learn the Gospel truth. Which is repentance from sin.
On Vulgarisms and Taboos in Christianity
"And he said unto them, Go ye, and tell that fox, Behold, I cast out devils, and I do cures to day and to morrow, and the third day I shall be perfected."
"Fox" was a curse word in Roman times. While I agree with everything you're saying--and notice He's not preaching a sermon here, or in congregation and communion with God--sometimes you need to use harsh language to get the point across. Like, a Christian can kill in war, can he not? I think in some contexts---and most serious Christian authors have used foul language in literature---it's necessary to speak harsh words. Just saying...
I'm not saying Ray should start cussing in his videos--by all means--but sometimes a vulgarism is needed to add emphasis, especially when dealing with a sin. Like, again when sin is called a "Filthy Rag" we don't have an equivalent in English, but it'd be the same as calling sin "Shit".
And I'm certainly not telling anyone to make a habit out of it. Simply, though, to express disgust at a sin, sometimes you need to use words that can accurately describe it. But, Ray, don't start doing that in your video. I'm just speaking, as someone who writes literature, I do that because I'm not expressly calling what I write "Holy". It's just literature. But you should never blaspheme. That's something you ought not do. Or use filthy language. It's used in this context, to address a man who was pure evil, and it cut for that reason. There's a season to use swear words, and a season not to.
Why You Go to Hell
If you think it comforts me that anyone goes to hell, you’re wrong. The issue is, without Christ’s righteousness, where will you go? You’ll go somewhere.
Sin is why there’s suffering. It’s why you suffer, it’s why the world suffers. And, if you are capable of sinning, you aren’t capable of being in heaven. Instead, you’ll go to a place where everyone, that’s all they have is sin, and no more love, joy, peace, or any of God’s Spirit or power to make you right. But, all you have to do, to have that righteousness, is to ask Jesus to give it to you, and start being empowered by His Spirit while on Earth, until the process is complete.
Sermon on the Mark of the Beast
[...][T]he Arabic name for Allah is a lot like the Greek Numeral xi, in its lower case form. The chi regards the mark, and the zeta the symbol for the currency. 666 is two thirds in Base Ten Math, so the Spirit divided from the Soul and Flesh. And of course the name of the Beast is Sin. And of course Hubal is derived from the ancient Babylonian Moon Goddess Sin.
Sermon on Epicurus
Ah, Epicurus was a genius. He’s one of my favorites. But this little quibble doesn’t matter. I’d just retort—with all the suffering in this world, there’d better be a better one.
I mean, the great philosophers have all agreed life’s pretty pointless, and some philosophers actually encourage bad behavior for its expedience.
Certainly, there’s an objective Ethics, which Epicurus is famous for quantifying the rational means to getting there, but then there’s people who don’t care about the collective, and only themselves, and there’s people who do care about the collective, but do all sorts of harm. It’s the fact that people are sinful, this world is cursed, but our hope should be to reach a better one through God’s power. As could heaven be heaven, if man had his original nature? That’s why we need Christ.