I know I've been speaking some hard things against Roman Catholicism lately; even Christianity in general.
The point isn't to condemn folks today, however, but simply shine light on the past and bring clarity. We should be informed of our sad past as so-called Christians so that we won't repeat our ancestor's mistakes. The future generation's behavior should be proud reflections of Messiah, not squabbling, idolatrous, murderous religionists like the past has been.
That said, I'm convinced that God is so good that He overlooks our theological problems if we truly love him and try to live for him. I honestly believe that even Roman Catholics, Protestants of all kinds, Messiah-following Jews....God loves 'em all, we're his kids, he's our dad. This is not another bogus "all paths lead to the same destination" pep talk. This is a "God is so good, he overlooks our faults if we love him" reality check.
Our dad is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, with plenty of pity to show to us - the Lord is so good to us. He doesn't chide us; doesn't let his anger or his wrath abide on us - no, the Lord is too good for that. God doesn't reward us according to our sins, nor does he tit-for-tat us when we sin. Instead, he lets us enter into his throne room with boldness when we're hungry for his forgiveness, like a father welcoming home his son. The Lord is -- indeed! -- so good. Even though we often sin and break his righteous Torah, he nonetheless invites us into his throne room out of sheer kindness, and speaking as our intercessor on our behalf is a gentle Messiah who delivers us for our good.
...the Lord is sooooo good. Hallel-lu-Yahweh (Hebrew for "praise to Yahweh!") -- that he, our Master, is so good. (Thanks Marty!)
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Now playing: Marty Goetz - O Holy One
via FoxyTunes
Yes He is.
ReplyDeleteBTW, you might be interested in looking at Dr. Howard Morgan. He has some powerful insight into Israel and the Church.
http://www.hmmin.com/
Take a look at the teachings section. Great stuff.
We should also keep in mind that "in Messiah" we all perceive God differently. It is how we as individuals can perceive Him. We are all different, see things and understand things different, so we see God from a "different angle" so to speak.
ReplyDeleteTo quote scripture,
Rev 4:2-3 Instantly I was in the Spirit, and there before me in heaven stood a throne, and on the throne Someone was sitting. The One sitting there gleamed like diamonds and rubies, and a rainbow shining like emerald encircled the throne.
If God (the Father) sits on the throne appears as a diamond or jewel, then if we take that analogy to its extent we will find that a diamond changes its appearance when you look at it from different angles. It may have a different shape, it may reflect a rainbow in its light, it may even blind you. But it's still the same diamond.
Quote from Dr. Howard Morgan
ReplyDeletehttp://www.hmmin.com/Teachings/beit.html
"The ancient rabbis expressed their comprehension of the realities of diversity of understanding, and the necessity for it, by analogizing it this way. They said that studying the Word of God was like having a group of students examining a huge diamond set in the middle of a table. As the light of the Lord came upon the diamond everyone from their own position and perspective saw different radiant and glorious colors. As they saw the magnificent colors and shared what they saw, they began to realize that what they were seeing was the manifold wisdom of God being revealed in part to everyone, and that together we get a full picture. No one individual has all of the wisdom or revelation. While it is true that you may know more than anyone else at your study, remember what the apostle Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 13:9: each one only sees in part and knows in part. So no matter how much you know, all you know is a part. Every point of view is also many points of blindness. No one can see behind him, no one has eyes in the back of his head (no, not even your mother or sixth-grade teacher even if they convinced you that they did!). We all need someone to see what is going on behind us. We need each other, and we need each other's point of view.
Another analogy the Rabbis had that expressed the same understanding was the likening of the Word of God to a rock, and studying the rock was equivalent to hitting it with a hammer. The small pieces that flew off the rock landed in the hands of those who were studying. Each student could examine his little piece with its own unique shape. He could arrogantly and ignorantly argue that his little piece was all there was to the rock, and that his little piece with its own particular shape was the shape of the entire rock. An absurd position, but it clearly illustrates the foolishness of so many Christians who adamantly hold on to their own little pieces (their pet doctrines) and ignorantly proclaim that that is what the whole rock is like. Let us study the pieces we have and all the other pieces, so that we can all truly come to the "fullness of Messiah" (Ephesians 4:13)."
"I know I've been speaking some hard things against Roman Catholicism lately; even Christianity in general."
ReplyDeleteIndeed; and some of it is just down-right ignorant ... similar to that (presumably Indian) fellow at CodeProject who wouldn't be educated out of his ignorant Great Idea of the relationship between the names "Saturn" and "Satan."
But, for a specific: "Easter," as our name for the season and/or religions festival, has nothing to do with Constantine; in most languages other than English, the word used to name the season/celebration of Christ's Resurrection is derived from the Hebrew for "Passover."
"Easter" -- the English-language name for "Pasch" -- is just that, an English-language peculiarity; just as is "Yule" for "Christmas" (and, for that matter, the word "Christmas" itself, since most languages use a word related in some way to "birth"). When the pagan Anglo-Saxons were Christianized, they transfered the names of some of their pagan festivals to specificially Christian festivals which occurred at the same general time of year.
That doesn't make "Easter" pagan, much less anti-Christian. It is only small-mined (and willful) ignorance that continuously seeks to make it so.
Ignorant? Ilion, my friend, I've said that Easter is named after a pagan goddess, and indeed it is: the Anglo-Saxon Eostre.
ReplyDeleteRegarding it's relation to Constantine, please see this post, in which I quote Constantine's own decrees which replaced God's Passover with man's Easter. (Done so in raging, anti-semitic hatred, by the way. Please read the post.)
If I am ignorant on these matters, please show me. I'm here to learn and bring clarity, not spout any falsehoods. Tell me about where you think I'm wrong and even if we can't agree, at least we can clarify our stances.
Judah,
ReplyDeleteI would advise you to buy a copy of the catechism to inform your misinformation about the catholic church. For the last 2000 years people have tried to discredit and diminish and even destroy the church, but despite your protestations, when Jesus said "You are Peter and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it" He made St. Peter the first Pope and the line remains to this day. You may want to spend more time in building up people instead of passing on misinformation about the church that Jesus founded.
God Bless!