The dictator saw the Sage, and then he said,
"Tell me, the sage wisdom."
So the Sage said, "In war, kill your enemy quick.
"And only wage war, when a country deserves
"To have its children slaughtered."
The dictator, feigning rage,
Cried out, "Such is unlawful!"
The Sage then said,
"Lawful speech I have, to say you are an evil wretch."
The dictator then cried,
"I shall come and kill you, and make it quick.
"I will not torture you, just kill you quick."
To which the Sage said,
"So come, and bring all you have."
The dictator did not come;
Where was he? The enemy was turned
To the sea, and their stink raised up
Before all the land.
The Four Cycles of Sermons
Taking the Church Calendar, but not making it mandatory, I would take my sermons as such:
Platitudes:
These would be sermons on Charity, Kindness, Love, Gentleness, Meekness, Patience, Good Works, Loving your Neighbor, and goodwill toward men. Such sermons would be less referential to scripture, and would be more in line with teaching the basics of love and truth.
Logos:
These would be sermons on Apologetics, on Evidence, on building a body of knowledge for evidence in support of scripture. As Reason is part of our faith, it would teach reason as a means of connecting with God, through Evidence, and Philosophical Arguments, and Historical Criticism. Also aid from the Apocrypha would be used in these sermons.
Beatitudes:
This would be sermons of Exposition from the New Testament. There would be one chapter read from a book of the New Testament. And the book would be read, and exposited verse by verse. Using the conservative exegesis of the Bible's True Sense.
Dogma:
This would be sermons of Exposition from the Old Testament. There would be one chapter read from a book of the Old Testament. And the book would be read, and exposited verse by verse. Using the conservative exegesis of the Bible's True Sense.
The Church Calendar would start, using the 52 weeks. And on the 53rd week, there'd be a sermon of Beatitude for that special week. The first week would start with Platitude, and so forth, the weeks would cycle from the four modes of preaching. So the entire sense of scripture is preached, from Good Works, to Reason, to Exegesis.
Compilation of the New Standard Apocrypha
Foreword: The Apocrypha is not scripture. It is, rather, a step below scripture, more sacred than a Sermon or Hymn, but less sacred than Scripture. There are teachings in the Apocrypha that are not divine commands, but rather, it's the authentic expression of Christians and Jews throughout the centuries, giving wisdom and knowledge.
One must read this for discernment, not as a canon of sacred scripture, but as a reminder that men of faith come from different walks of life, and denominations. Though contradictory at times, it is no doubt that all of these works were created by authentic and sincere students of the faith, and did what their consciences allowed them to do, innovating the religion where necessary, and expositing it.
I guarantee, those who study Theology will be little interested in this. As there is no Theology to be gleaned from it. It is rather, pure thoughts from Christian men and women. As the modern scholar tries to innovate the religion, all of this is less of an innovation, but a reminder of the Solid Food we are expected to eat when we've reached maturity.
To discern, where there is error, but also to accept the knowledge of brothers and sisters from the centuries on forward. As many attempts are being made to add new books to the 66 Canon, when there really ought not be anything added or taken away from it. 66 is Man, and the Bible were given to Man, by the divine witness of those prophets, holymen and apostles, to be transcribed and handed down through the ages.
Likewise, witnesses have seen authentic martyrdoms, and kept accounts of the saints throughout history. This is pure doctrine, given by those saints who have carried the torch throughout the centuries. It can be abused by Christians, or used to edify them, the same as the scriptures themselves.
Just like any man who does not know an idol is in their right hand, if read incorrectly, the faith can be stolen from them, which is also true with the 66 Books of the Canon, that without proper instruction, it can sever the chords of silver. But, if bound to the traditions, and imparted the gifts of the Spirit, it will be a resounding Harp, which will keep one attuned to God's Peace and Will.
In a sense, this document is my 95 Theses, where Christians throughout the ages have held differing views, there is still one Holy and Apostolic Faith. This is only a selection of the most authentic articles of the Christian faith, yet there's so much more, in Hymnals, Sermons, Hagiographies, Martyrologies, Apologetics, Midrash, Prayers, Ecclesiastical Histories, and all the rest of Christ's body, what they have lived, and produced. As John said about Christ when He resurrected, all the books in the world couldn't contain His deeds, and how many more worlds would be contained in our One and Holy Body?
Old Apocrypha
Old Testament Apocrypha, King James Authorized Edition (No Jubilee or Enoch or Jasher)
New Apocrypha
The Letters of Publius and Pilate Translated by Sebastian P. Brock
Lives of the Apostles, Written by B. K. Neifert
J. B. Lightfoot's Translation of the Didache
J. B. Lightfoot's Translation of The Epistle of Barnabas
J. B. Lightfoot's Translation of Clement 1 and 2
J. B. Lightfoot's Translation of the Seven Epistles of Ignatius
James Donaldson's Translation of The Martyrdom of Ignatius
J. B. Lightfoot's Translation of Polycarp's Epistle to the Philippians and the Martyrdom of Polycarp
J. B. Lightfoot's Translation of The Shepherd of Hermas
The Fragments of Papias, Translated by J. B. Lightfoot
The Accounts of the Ten Roman Persecutions in Martyr's Mirror, by Thieleman Van Braght translated by Daniel Rupps
The Apostles' Creed, Book of Common Prayer 1662
The Nicene Creed, Book of Common Prayer 1662
The Athanasian, Creed Book of Common Prayer 1662
255 Dogmas of the Catholic Church St. Stephen's Narrative Synthesis (https://stbenedictchurch.org/files/2020/12/255-Dogmas-of-the-Catholic-Church.pdf)
95 Theses of Martin Luther translated by Adolph Spaeth, L.D. Reed, Henry Eyster Jacobs, et Al., Trans. & Eds.
The Complete Augsburg Confession Produced by Allen Mulvey and David Widger
The Original 39 Articles of Religion, Book of Common Prayer 1662
The First, Second, and Third Confessions in Martyr's Mirror, by Thieleman van Braght, Translated by Daniel Rupp
Westminster Confession of Faith, 1647 by Cornelius Burges
95 Theses, Written by B. K. Neifert
What gives us the capacity for great evil, also gives us the capacity for great good.
Work?
Work comes in different forms---
The bearded Country Man
Reads books, and tells his thoughts.
He gets paid. I listen to him.
But, I feel the judgmental
Glare of my Earthly sire
Over in the dining room.
"You are doing fake work."
No... I am not. I am listening
To a thousand voices
So mine can be well informed.
Someone must, or we'll all
Be ignorant.
A man, like a dog, if it barks, be still, leave and be silent.
People who seek wisdom, will find virtue.
The Daffodil and Aster Flower
The daffodil is
The first flower of springtime.
The aster is last.
The yellow nosed daffodil
And the mauve daisy aster.
Blurb about Decartes
[F]or laymen we breathe through the lungs. Descartes said that{} air gets pulled into the lungs, and is absorbed into the blood, and the blood carries it to the rest of the body. That's what he felt the blood vessels were doing, just by doing anatomy. That was [in the] 1600[s] and was in Discourse on the Method. Really, what he was trying to get at, too, the whole "I think therefore I am" thing was the starting point. Which, that's the kind of logic we need to use again, as it gets us further than having to rigidly define everything, and pick at hyper technicalities. The principle is true, but the particulars are a little bit different. We need the principles, to move to the particulars, not the particulars to move to the principles. That's the basic categorical fallacy everyone's making in academia, and is causing us to lose everything we know.
I can think of scholars who disregard Papias' fragment, when half a dozen fragments say Papias knew St. John. And there, we have two fragments of a corroborated chain linking two Gospels to witnesses, and a first century saint who knew other witnesses, or heard from those who knew witnesses: and another two fragments, that say Papias dictated the book from John, corroborating again, another chain of witness. It's an important part of scholarship to move to the principle and not nullify the facts.
Between two numbers are infinite points, so if we focus on the infinite gap between Being, we never arrive at it. Which is the fundamental flaw of Western Philosophy, is to remove essence from the equation, which essentially removes body from the world, and breaks down all logical chains.
Also, consider, "Antichrist" is disembodied, so that there is no body. There can be no statement "Jesus Christ is Come in the Flesh", for to Antichrist, all is incorporeal and built through magic. It is sustained through his will, and not God's. As is the Gnostic belief of the Body and Soul being dualisms, and the Body was evil but the Soul was good. This is not the way we understand it, if we're going to have science. The body and soul are good, and are inseparable from one another. What happens to the body, is experienced by the soul, and vice versa. What is the body, but isn't the soul is not whole, nor is what is the soul, but not the body. For the Body without a Soul or the Soul without a Body is but a demonic apparition, and ceases to be. It is to be doubleminded, and therefore, at variance from the established Word of God. Therefore, to be nothing, and the Atheist Philosophers preach this doctrine, which how can there be any being or existence without God? That is the question... and Philosophers have never answered it, and likely could not. Or else they would have.
