Skip to main content

Home/ Following Jesus Better/ Group items tagged Spirit

Rss Feed Group items tagged

Filter: All | Bookmarks | Topics Simple Middle
Gary Patton

Andrew Sullivan: Christianity in Crisis - The Daily Beast - 0 views

www.thedailybeast.com/...an-christianity-in-crisis.html

bibliolatry bible religion christianity politics

shared by Gary Patton on 11 Apr 12 - No Cached
  • Not the supernatural claims that, fused with politics and power, gave successive generations wars, inquisitions, pogroms, reformations, and counterreformations
    • Gary Patton
      Gary Patton on 11 Apr 12
       
      I'm not so sure the Bible documantation of Jesus' miracles are responsible for the horrors Mr. Sullivan seems to attribute to them.
  • What does it matter how strictly you proclaim your belief in various doctrines if you do not live as these doctrines demand?
  • And more intensely relevant to our times. Jefferson’s vision of a simpler, purer, apolitical Christianity couldn’t be further from the 21st-century American reality.
    • Gary Patton
      Gary Patton on 11 Apr 12
       
      Is using Matthew 5:13-16 to justify spending one's time in so-called "social action" really Biblical? Are we wise attempting to get worldly people to obey what they cannot and do what only Jesus Followers are commanded? Does it not seem a waste of time and energy better spent "making disciples" (Matthew 28:18-20) ...one on one (2 Timothy 2:1-2)... God's clearly commanded plan?
  • ...14 more annotations...
  • evangelical Protestants who believe that religion must consume and influence every aspect of public life
    • Gary Patton
      Gary Patton on 11 Apr 12
       
      Please note my questions in the e-Sticky Note above in this paragraph.
  • The crisis of Christianity is perhaps best captured in the new meaning of the word “secular.” It once meant belief in separating the spheres of faith and politics; it now means, for many, simply atheism.
  • you’ll find a small room containing an 18th-century Bible whose pages are full of holes. They are carefully razor-cut empty spaces, so this was not an act of vandalism. It was, rather, a project begun by Thomas Jefferson when he was 77 years old.
    • Gary Patton
      Gary Patton on 11 Apr 12
       
      Some would argue that President Jefferson was the R-E-A-L founder of the current "Jesus Movement" of Bible reductionists. Or a kndred spirit of the "Red Letter Christians".
  • Christianity has been destroyed by politics, priests, and get-rich evangelists. Ignore them, writes Andrew Sullivan, and embrace Him. 
  • Christianity in Crisis
    • Gary Patton
      Gary Patton on 11 Apr 12
       
      "What does it matter how strictly you proclaim your belief in various doctrines if you do not live as these doctrines demand? ", the writer asks. That's about as difficult a question as one can ask a so-called Christian. gfp (2012-04-11)
  • the unilateral prohibition of the pill
    • Gary Patton
      Gary Patton on 11 Apr 12
       
      Given the Catholic "Doctrine of Infalibility", "unilateral" is the right word and one all Catholics are expected to obey.
  • The hierarchy was exposed as enabling, and then covering up, an international conspiracy to abuse and rape countless youths and children.
  • Inequality, poverty, even the torture institutionalized by the government after 9/11: these issues attract far less of their public attention.
  • the mainline Protestant churches, which long promoted religious moderation, have rapidly declined in the past 50 years. Evangelical Protestantism has stepped into the vacuum, but it has serious defects of its own.
  • many suburban evangelicals embrace a gospel of prosperity
  • Others defend a rigid biblical literalism
    • Gary Patton
      Gary Patton on 11 Apr 12
       
      If an omnipotent, supernatural God cannot keep His own words to humankind accurate over time, is He really a God that should be worshipped by Mr. Sullivan? There is a great deal of documented proof for the accuracy of the Bible with Scripture documents available from a time when the eye witnesses to what Jesus said and did were alive and active. Does Mr. Sullivan really believe that the first Apostles and early Christians agreed to be tortured and killed, horribly, for lies in forged documents as they were for most of the 270 years after Jesus died? And if you feel the documents were forged after the eye witnesses died, please reflect on my opening question.
  • Still others insist that the earth is merely 6,000 years old—something we now know by the light of reason and science is simply untrue.
    • Gary Patton
      Gary Patton on 11 Apr 12
       
      Is Mr. Sullivan really calling as witnesses the same science and it's so-called experts at proving their theories by replicating them that hasn't been able to produce one single shred of evidence for its sacrosanct "Theory of Evolution". Is he really criticizing estimates of the earth's age on the basis of Biblical dating by calling geologists as testamentarians who use the dating of fossils by archeologists to date their rocks when those same archeologists often date their fossils from the rock layers in which they are found. Some science that, eh?
  • Evangelical Christians
    • Gary Patton
      Gary Patton on 11 Apr 12
       
      I agree that torture is unBiblical and something a Jesus Follower should NEVER condone to be used under any circumstances ...never mind the proven fact that it is a totsaally unreliable way to get accurate information. However, Jesus isn't yet finished conforming me to His character as well as His likeness any more than He is the people who support this barbarism. But, I have the promise of the loving, living God that He is doing so in His way and His timing documented in Romans 8:28-39! Any so-called Christian who's not seeing him/herself becoming more like Jesus "as time goes by" is probably not one!
  • Jesus never spoke of homosexuality or abortion, and his only remarks on marriage were a condemnation of divorce (now commonplace among American Christians) and forgiveness for adultery.
    • Gary Patton
      Gary Patton on 11 Apr 12
       
      Jesus doesn't have to speak on every moral issue condemned in the Old Covenant and He did say He had come to fullfill it! Does Mr. Sullivan really see Jesus condoning the homosexual behaviour that is rampant now on TV while He still loves and died for the sin nature and sins of it's practitioners? How can Mr. Sullivan suggest the antiviolent God-man who deplores murder is not appalled by abortion ...let alone the malevolency of "Partial Birth Abortion" that is practised by so-called healers all over Canada and in many U.S. States.
Gary Patton

Fasting & Jesus Comment - Bible Gateway - 0 views

www.biblegateway.com/passage

bible scripture scripture interpretation matthew fasting

shared by Gary Patton on 07 Apr 12 - No Cached
  • Matthew 6:16-18
    • Gary Patton
      Gary Patton on 07 Apr 12
       
      Is Matthew 6:16-18 and Jesus' comment on fasting His command to practise a "spiritual discipline" or a suggestion to religious Jews about their common practise? gfp (2012-04-07)
  • Whenever you fast
    • Gary Patton
      Gary Patton on 07 Apr 12
       
      There is no command that we fast in either the Old or New Covenant that I can find. Verse 16 for me is a suggestion not a command. If I'm correct, why do Christian pulpiteers and writers talk about Jesus' quote here like, as this writer says, it should be taken as "an assumption" that Jesus Followers for all time should fast? Why not just consider it what it was? In context, I suggest that Jesus was teaching about an appropriate attitude to take in our relationship with God and our worship of Him. To do so, Jesus used illustrations about how to fast a worship activity practised by the Jews of his day and Old Covenant characters with whom they were familiar. His illustrations were made to a group of religious Jews when He was teaching them on a hillside by using inappropriate fasting practises which some of them followed that He and everyone else present probably observed regulalrly. Likewise, because Holy Spirit "drove" Jesus into the wilderness without food or water for 40 days for reasons unique to Jesus' ministry, why is it often taught that we must imitate that one time happening, as far as we know, in our Masters life? Undoubtedly, fasting can be healthy for some when properly practised. It may also have positive spiritual implications when done for reasons God leads the faster about. But, much of the super-spiritual things taught about fasting for spiritual reasons, such as in the Christianity Today article at http://diigo.com/0p9iv do not seem to have any real Biblical support, in my opinion.
  • Gary Patton on 07 Apr 12
     
    Is Matthew 6:16-18 and Jesus' comment on fasting His command to practise a "spiritual discipline" or a suggestion to religious Jews about their common practise? gfp (2012-04-07)
Gary Patton

Was Jesus' Last Supper a Seder? - Biblical Archaeology Review - 0 views

www.bib-arch.org/...jesus-last-supper.asp

bible scripture interpretation Jesus judiasm christianity archaeology history

shared by Gary Patton on 07 Apr 12 - No Cached
    • Gary Patton
      Gary Patton on 07 Apr 12
       
      Why would two people, Matthew and Luke, who were the more consistent eye witnesses to the accounts that they report copy Mark? It makes no sense. Mark was a boy while Jesus walked Israel and did not travel about with Him. Mark also was not an original Disciple of Jesus and reported on most the events in his Gospel based on second hand information from the Disciples who did travel with jesus, one can assume. I feel the whole Mathew and Luke copied Mark plus Mark is based on some lost document called "Q" theory of many scholars is rooted in a desire by many to deny or ignore God's supernatural involvement in the documentation of His Son's incarnation and ignores the fact that Matthew and John were eye witnesses to all of what they wrote about. They had no need to copy but had their own perspective on what they heard and saw as do modern witnesses. Likewise, modern research indicates that the reports of most eye witnesses are highly unreliable. If God was not involved, one would have to question the accounts. If that one is not a Jesus Follower and without faith in the supernatural inerancy of the Biblical accounts of both the Old and New Covenants, that's another matter entirely.
  • Thus, in fact we don’t really have three independent sources here at all. What we have, rather, is one testimony (probably Mark), which was then copied twice (by Matthew and Luke).
  • Was Jesus’ Last Supper a Seder?
    • Gary Patton
      Gary Patton on 07 Apr 12
       
      This April 2012 article in BAR analyzes the similarities between the Jewish Seder and what Christians call Jesus' "Last Supper" and the timing of the event based on archaeological evidence. gfp (2012-04-07)
  • ...25 more annotations...
  • the Gospels—with their hatred of the Jewish authorities
    • Gary Patton
      Gary Patton on 07 Apr 12
       
      I wonder why the author construes an historical report of what the writer considered 'truth' and 'facts' as 'hatred'. The history of Christianity may be replete with antisemitism, especially some of the protestant Reformers of the Catholic Church, like Luther particulalrly. However, I feel the charge of hatred in the Gospel accounts of the Jewish involvement in the death of Jesus is an unfair one. The Roman authorities were jst as responsible for the crucifixion of Yeshua/Jesus. In fact the Bible seems to make clear that the sin nature and sins of every person who has ever or ever will live is the real reason for Jesus' death. We are ALL responsible ...not just the Jewish and Roman authorities!
  • John’s timing of events supports the Christian claim that Jesus himself was a sacrifice and that his death heralds a new redemption, just as the Passover offering recalls an old one. Even so, John’s claim that Jesus was killed just before Passover began is more plausible than the synoptics’ claim that Jesus was killed on Passover.
  • the Last Supper could not in fact have been a Passover Seder.
    • Gary Patton
      Gary Patton on 07 Apr 12
       
      Christian historical tradition labels "The Last Supper" a Seder ... not Jesus. He is recorded to have simply called it the "last time He would eat this bread and drink this wine until ...". It was "the time for passover". That Jesus duplicated many Seder rituals seems to be clear from the Gospel accounts ...even if the timing was off. What's the big deal? The REALLY important thing about the Easter events is that Jesus died for humankind's sin nature and sins. Plus, the other big historical event is His resurrection from the grave as proof that God accepted Jesus' sacrifice on behalf of "all who will believe" in Him and what He did for us!
  • That Christians celebrated the Eucharist on a daily or weekly basis (see Acts 2:46–47) underscores the fact that it was not viewed exclusively in a Passover context (otherwise, it would have been performed, like the Passover meal, on an annual basis).
    • Gary Patton
      Gary Patton on 07 Apr 12
       
      Jesus called us to "do this", i.e., celebrate His sacrifice by eating together as a community of Believers in and Followers of Him. He did not call us to celebrate Passover an eternal commandment for Jews only. Jesus claimed that he had come to fulfill "all the [requirements of the] law and the prophets"!
  • Moreover, while the narrative in the synoptics situates the Last Supper during Passover, the fact remains that the only foods we are told the disciples ate are bread and wine—the basic elements of any formal Jewish meal.
  • “Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed, and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, ‘Take, eat; this is my body.’ And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, ‘Drink of it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant’” (Matthew 26:26–28=Mark 14:22; see also Luke 22:19–20). Is this not a striking parallel to the ways in which Jews celebrating the Seder interpret, for example, the bitter herbs eaten with the Passover sacrifice as representing the bitter life the Israelites experienced as slaves in Egypt?
    • Gary Patton
      Gary Patton on 07 Apr 12
       
      I'd suggest it is more a replacement of, as I note above, rather than a parallel with a Seder!
  • For many Jews (especially non-Orthodox Jews), the process of development continues, and many modern editions of the Haggadah contain contemporary readings of one sort or another. Even many traditional Jews have, for instance, adapted the Haggadah so that mention can be made of the Holocaust.8
  • Almost everyone doing serious work on the early history of Passover traditions, including Joseph Tabory, Israel Yuval, Lawrence Hoffman, and the father-son team of Shmuel and Ze’ev Safrai, has rejected Finkelstein’s claims for the great antiquity of the bulk of the Passover Haggadah.
  • It’s not that rabbinic literature cannot be trusted to tell us about history in the first century of the Common Era. It’s that rabbinic literature—in the case of the Seder—does not even claim to be telling us how the Seder was performed before the destruction of the Temple.b
  • the Holy One, blessed be He
    • Gary Patton
      Gary Patton on 07 Apr 12
       
      Here may lie the roots of the similar Muslim practise regarding their reverance, not for God's holy name(s) but, for their human prophet Mohammud. Many Muslims are taught to rever their prophet at a level that approaches worship. The Judeo-Christian Bible reserves worship ONLY for Almighty God ...not the demonically inspired construct called Allah and certainly not a murderous Arab warrior from the 7th Century.
  • King of Kings, the Holy One Blessed be He
    • Gary Patton
      Gary Patton on 07 Apr 12
       
      As I wonder in the e-Sticky Note immediately above, here may lie the root of the similar Muslim practise regarding their reverance, not for God's holy name(s) but, for their human prophet Mohammud. Many Muslims are taught to rever their prophet at a level that approaches worship. The Judeo-Christian Bible reserves worship ONLY for Almighty God ...not the demonically inspired construct called Allah and certainly not a murderous Arab warrior from the 7th Century.
  • Might not Jesus be presenting a competing interpretation of these symbols? Possibly. But it really depends on when this Rabban Gamaliel lived. If he lived later than Jesus, then it would make no sense to view Jesus’ words as based on Rabban Gamaliel’s.
    • Gary Patton
      Gary Patton on 07 Apr 12
       
      Most Jesus Followers would work from the premise that Yeshua's/Jesus' words during his last Supper on earth, 'till His return at the end of times, were inspired by God's Holy Spirit ...like all His other recorded comments in the Scriptures.
  • Virtually all scholars working today believe that the Haggadah tradition attributing the words quoted above to Gamaliel refers to the grandson, Rabban Gamaliel the Younger, who lived long after Jesus had died.14 One piece of evidence for this appears in the text quoted above, in which Rabban Gamaliel is said to have spoken of the time “when the Temple was still standing”—as if that time had already passed.
    • Gary Patton
      Gary Patton on 07 Apr 12
       
      Like many scholars, including some Christian ones, statements like this one are often rooted in a disbelief of the supernatural plus a denial of the possibility that God gave Gamaliel, the Grandfather, a prophetic "word of knowledge"! Prophesy can place the words in the elder Gamaliel's mouth who did live at the time of Jesus who also prophesied the soon-coming (about 40 years later) destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem.
  • And presumably they would have engaged in conversation pertinent to the occasion. But we cannot know for sure.
    • Gary Patton
      Gary Patton on 07 Apr 12
       
      A Jesus Follower can know that s(he) knows by faith in the accuracy of our Scriptures. The Scriptures make clear, not 'presumably', that Jesus discussed His replacement of an Old Covenant commandment with a New Covenant. he explains clearly a NEW symbolism for the bread and wine as remembrances and tokens of His sacrificed body and blood on behalf of all who would believe ...NOT the Jews deliverance from Egypt but... all humankind's route to deliverance from the penalty of our sin nature and sins (Romans 3:23 & 6:23) through Him!
  • Having determined that the Last Supper was not a Seder and that it probably did not take place on Passover, I must try to account for why the synoptic Gospels portray the Last Supper as a Passover meal.
    • Gary Patton
      Gary Patton on 07 Apr 12
       
      The Last Supper being a Seder meal on the Day of Passover is NOT the key issue for a Jesus Follower as I mentioned in my e-Sticky Note above. The key on the cotrary is Who Jesus was as the God-man and what he was about to do for us on His cross on cavalry.
  • Another motive relates to a rather practical question: Within a few years after Jesus’ death, Christian communities (which at first consisted primarily of Jews) began to ask when, how and even whether they should celebrate or commemorate the Jewish Passover
  • The Quartodeciman custom of celebrating Easter beginning on the evening following the 14th day apparently began relatively early in Christian history and persisted at least into the fifth century C.E.
  • Early on, a number of Christians—Quartodecimans and others—felt that the appropriate way to mark the Jewish Passover was not with celebration, but with fasting.
    • Gary Patton
      Gary Patton on 07 Apr 12
       
      Interestingly, no where, that I can find in the Old or New Covenants, does God command or even suggest that His people should fast. I have not extensively researched the issue but, I suspect I'll discover that, this propably is a Jewish ritual that was carried on by early Christians, i.e., another man-made tradition. There is the reference in Matthew 6:16-18 where Jesus says: "When you fast ...." This is NOT a command but simply, in context, an observational reference to a practise that was common among religious Jews ...the group to whom Jesus was speaking. I comment further on this issue in e-Sticky Note on the Matthew 6 Scripture at http://diigo.com/0piw0 and in the article on fasting from Christianity today at http://diigo.com/0p9iv .
  • Thus, until Jesus’ kingdom is fulfilled, Christians should not celebrate at all during Passove
    • Gary Patton
      Gary Patton on 07 Apr 12
       
      here again, and depsite what Karl Kuhn says, the issue is not celebrating Passover, but Jesus' command to eat together as a group of his Followers whenever we can and "remember" him.
  • By calling the Last Supper a Passover meal, these Jewish-Christians were trying to limit Christian practice in three ways. Like the Passover sacrifice, the recollection of the Last Supper could only be celebrated in Jerusalem, at Passover time, and by Jews.c
    • Gary Patton
      Gary Patton on 07 Apr 12
       
      This heresy didn't last very long. Some Messianic Jews still today follow Old Covenant feast and other practises that other Christians do not.
  • there are various reasons why the early church would have tried to “Passoverize” the Last Supper tradition.
  • This too is a Passoverization of the Jesus tradition, but it is one that contradicts the identification of the Last Supper with the Seder or Passover meal.
  • Surely the depiction of the Last Supper as a Passover observance could play a part in this larger effort of arguing that Jesus’ death echoes the Exodus from Egypt
  • a widely popular Paschal sermon, which could well be called a “Christian Haggadah,” reflecting at great length on the various connections between the Exodus story and the life of Jesus
    • Gary Patton
      Gary Patton on 07 Apr 12
       
      Typology as some call it i.e., seeing Old Covenant people, practises and places as 'types' or 'shadows' pointing to or representing Jesus is common in some Christian circles and with some teachers.
  • Contrary to popular belief, the Catholic custom of using unleavened wafers in the Mass is medieval in origin. The Orthodox churches preserve the earlier custom of using leavened bread.23 Is it not possible to see the switch from using leavened to unleavened bread as a “Passoverization” of sorts?
    • Gary Patton
      Gary Patton on 07 Apr 12
       
      And regardless of leavened or unleavened bread or wafers, these kinds of issue are seen by many Jesus Followers as focusing on dead and deadly religious ritual, regalia and rules rather than on relationship, revelation and romance with a living God through Yeshua/Jesus the Messiah/Christ.
Gary Patton

The Intent of the Law One God of Judaism and Christianity - Bible Gateway - 0 views

www.biblegateway.com/passage

bible scripture scripture interpretation Islam Jesus islamism Islamists christianity judiasm

shared by Gary Patton on 01 May 12 - No Cached
  • Galatians 3:15-25
  • God is only one
  • the Scripture has (P)shut up [k]everyone under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe.
  • ...1 more annotation...
  • before faith came, we were kept in custody under the law, (Q)being shut up to the faith which was later to be revealed. 24 Therefore the Law has become our (R)tutor to lead us to Christ, so that (S)we may be justified by faith.
  • Gary Patton on 01 May 12
     
    Galatians 3:15-25 describes clearly why God gave the Jewish law to all humankind. Verse
Gary Patton

Galatians 3:19-25 NASB - Why the Law then? It was added because - Bible Gateway - 0 views

www.biblegateway.com/passage

bible scripture scripture interpretation God Jesus Holy Spirit Allah law

shared by Gary Patton on 08 May 12 - No Cached
  • Galatians 3:19-25
  • God is only one.
    • Gary Patton
      Gary Patton on 08 May 12
       
      The ONE GOD of the Old Covenant (Testament) and the Father of the Son of God, Jesus (Yeshua) of the New Covenant are clearly stated in this passage to be the same ONE GOD. Verse 20 is contradicts the mistaken claims of Islam and Muslim jurisprudents and scholars. Muslims proclaim that their deity, Allah, is One God, as do Christians and Jews. But Allah, for many reasons, is NOT the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Yeshua (Jesus) that Christians and Jews worship as the ONE and ONLY God.
  • the Scripture has (H)shut up [f]everyone under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe.
  • ...1 more annotation...
  • But before faith came, we were kept in custody under the law, (I)being shut up to the faith which was later to be revealed. 24 Therefore the Law has become our (J)tutor to lead us to Christ, so that (K)we may be justified by faith. 25 But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a [g](L)tutor.
    • Gary Patton
      Gary Patton on 08 May 12
       
      Verse 23 & 24 clearly explains the purpose of the Jewish Law and that Followers of Jesus are NOT subject to it.
Gary Patton

The Antidote to Dis-Stress - Bible Gateway - 0 views

www.biblegateway.com/passage

bible scripture john 14 stress stress-management joy hope persecution peace

shared by Gary Patton on 16 Feb 12 - No Cached
  • But the (A)Helper, the Holy Spirit, (B)whom the Father will send in My name
    • Gary Patton
      Gary Patton on 16 Feb 12
       
      Altought the word "Trinity", is nowhere in the Christian Scriptures. The concept of One God as three distinct and unique personalities is otline here and throught the New Testament. In addition, the Old Covenant repeatedly points to the coming of Messiah, Yeshua (Jesus).
  • John 14:26-28
    • Gary Patton
      Gary Patton on 12 Sep 12
       
      The Antidote to Dis-Stress Jesus came that his Followers who trust in Him may live in 'permanent peace'. In John 14: 26-28 here, read how that promise was fulfilled. Peace can has been defined many ways. In John 14:27, Yeshua (Jesus) states clearly that, ultimately, peace is a Person, God Himself living in each Jesus Follower.
  • Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. (F)Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.
Gary Patton

What Is a Berean Christian? - Bible Gateway - 1 views

www.biblegateway.com/passage

bible scripture teaching wisdom acts

shared by Gary Patton on 18 Feb 12 - No Cached
  • Acts 17:10-12
    • Gary Patton
      Gary Patton on 18 Feb 12
       
      Acts 17:10-12 confirms why Jesus Followers are often taught to use their Bibles like the Jews of the town of Berea in Biblical times. gfp (2012-02-18)
  • ---Amuzgo de Guerrero (AMU)--- Amuzgo de Guerrero &nbsp; ---العربية (AR)--- Arabic Bible: Easy-to-Read Version Arabic Life Application Bible &nbsp; ---Български (BG)--- 1940 Bulgarian Bible Bulgarian Bible Bulgarian New Testament: Easy-to-Read Version &nbsp; ---Chinanteco de Comaltepec (CCO)--- Chinanteco de Comaltepec &nbsp; ---Cakchiquel Occidental (CKW)--- Cakchiquel Occidental &nbsp; ---Kreyol (CPF)--- Haitian Creole Version &nbsp; ---Čeština (CS)--- Bible 21 Slovo na cestu &nbsp; ---Dansk (DA)--- Dette er Biblen på dansk &nbsp; ---Deutsch (DE)--- Hoffnung für Alle Luther Bibel 1545 &nbsp; ---English (EN)--- 21st Century King James Version American Standard Version Amplified Bible Common English Bible Contemporary English Version Darby Translation Douay-Rheims 1899 American Edition Easy-to-Read Version English Standard Version English Standard Version Anglicised GOD’S WORD Translation Good News Translation Holman Christian Standard Bible J.B. Phillips New Testament King James Version Lexham English Bible The Message New American Standard Bible New Century Version New International Reader's Version New International Version New International Version 1984 New International Version - UK New King James Version New Life Version New Living Translation Today's New International Version Worldwide English (New Testament) Wycliffe Bible Young's Literal Translation &nbsp; ---Español (ES)--- La Biblia de las Américas Castilian Dios Habla Hoy Nueva Biblia Latinoamericana de Hoy Nueva Traducción Viviente Nueva Versión Internacional Palabra de Dios para Todos Reina Valera Contemporánea Reina-Valera 1960 Reina-Valera 1995 Reina-Valera Antigua Traducción en lenguaje actual &nbsp; ---Français (FR)--- La Bible du Semeur Louis Segond Nouvelle Edition de Genève – NEG1979 Segond 21 &nbsp; ---Κοινη (GRC)--- 1550 Stephanus New Testament 1881 Westcott-Hort New Testament 1894 Scrivener New Testament SBL Greek New Testament &nbsp; ---עיברית (HE)--- The Westminster Leningrad Codex &nbsp; ---Ilonggo (HIL)--- Hiligaynon Bible &nbsp; ---Hrvatski (HR)--- Croatian Bible &nbsp; ---Magyar (HU)--- Hungarian Károli Hungarian New Testament: Easy-to-Read Version &nbsp; ---Hawai‘i Pidgin (HWC)--- Hawai‘i Pidgin &nbsp; ---Íslenska (IS)--- Icelandic Bible &nbsp; ---Italiano (IT)--- Conferenza Episcopale Italiana La Nuova Diodati La Parola è Vita Nuova Riveduta 1994 Nuova Riveduta 2006 &nbsp; ---Jacalteco, Oriental (JAC)--- Jacalteco, Oriental &nbsp; ---Kekchi (KEK)--- Kekchi &nbsp; ---Latina (LA)--- Biblia Sacra Vulgata &nbsp; ---Māori (MI)--- Maori Bible &nbsp; ---Macedonian (MK)--- Macedonian New Testament &nbsp; ---Mam, Central (MVC)--- Mam, Central &nbsp; ---Mam, Todos Santos (MVJ)--- Mam de Todos Santos Chuchumatán &nbsp; ---Plautdietsch (NDS)--- Reimer 2001 &nbsp; ---Náhuatl de Guerrero (NGU)--- Náhuatl de Guerrero &nbsp; ---Nederlands (NL)--- Het Boek &nbsp; ---Norsk (NO)--- Det Norsk Bibelselskap 1930 En Levende Bok &nbsp; ---Português (PT)--- João Ferreira de Almeida Atualizada O Livro Portuguese New Testament: Easy-to-Read Version &nbsp; ---Quiché, Centro Occidenta (QUT)--- Quiché, Centro Occidental &nbsp; ---Română (RO)--- Cornilescu Romanian &nbsp; ---Русский (RU)--- Russian New Testament: Easy-to-Read Version Russian Synodal Version Slovo Zhizny &nbsp; ---Slovenčina (SK)--- Nádej pre kazdého &nbsp; ---Shqip (SQ)--- Albanian Bible &nbsp; ---Српски (SR)--- Serbian New Testament: Easy-to-Read Version <option class
  • the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true
    • Gary Patton
      Gary Patton on 25 Feb 12
       
      Given the recurring warnings in the Bible, especially the whole Book of Jude (http://diigo.com/0neqs), Jesus Followers are wise to do like the Bereans of the Apostle Paul's day when he taught them something they had not heard before. Use of the Scriptues can, however, turn into bibliolatry when we don't use it in the Spirit. Some religious Christians can arrogantly and legalistically use Scripture as a club against others.
  • Gary Patton on 18 Feb 12
     
    Acts 17:10-12 confirms why Jesus Followers are often taught to use their Bibles like the Jews of the town of Berea in Biblical times.
Gary Patton

Humility, I Don't Know: Thoughts on | Frank Viola - 0 views

frankviola.org/...idontknow

scripture interpretation religion christianity

shared by Gary Patton on 02 Apr 12 - No Cached
  • There’s an idea that somehow got into the evangelical Christian mind. That idea is that if you teach the Scriptures, you are obligated to have a conviction on every issue that the Bible addresses, let alone mentions. I don’t know who invented this idea, but it’s just plain wrong. And it leads to all sorts of problems.
  • I Don’t Know
    • Gary Patton
      Gary Patton on 02 Apr 12
       
      There's an idea that somehow got into the evangelical Christian mind. That idea is that if you teach the Scriptures, you are obligated to have a conviction on every issue that the Bible addresses, let alone mentions. This idea is unBiblical and just plain wrong. Plus, it leads to all sorts of problems.
  • Paul said “we know in part” (certainty cannot be attained in everything).
  • ...7 more annotations...
  • he didn’t say “we know nothing” (certainty can be attained for some things)
  • you don’t have to know the answer to every question brought to you.&nbsp;In fact, I’d be scared if you did.
  • Taking a position and pontificating on it when you’ve not done the necessary home work to come to a thoughtful conclusion, or before you’ve received insight from the Holy Spirit on a matter, is just plain reckless.
  • So don’t buy into the lie.
  • “We, however, will not boast beyond proper limits, but will confine our boasting to the field God has assigned to us,
  • In short, stay within your calling. Keep within the ministry that God has given you, and don’t extend beyond it.
  • And nevah evah be afraid to say, “I don’t know.”
    • Gary Patton
      Gary Patton on 02 Apr 12
       
      Alernatively, try: "I haven't studied that and don't have time right now to do so for you." Then, suggest a place where your questioner might find the answer to the issue which they asked about?
Gary Patton

On Certainty | Frank Viola - 0 views

frankviola.org/...on-certainty

scripture scripture interpretation bible

shared by Gary Patton on 02 Apr 12 - No Cached
  • Certainty? I’m a Christian: thus I’m absolutely “certain” of that which it is impossible to be “certain.” (2 Timothy 1:12)
    • Gary Patton
      Gary Patton on 02 Apr 12
       
      I'm not sure this paraphrase is what Paul was telling us!
  • I believe in the kind of certainty in a Resurrected Christ that led Paul of Tarsus to untold suffering, imprisonments, and even death.
  • Empiricism is overrated. It’s profoundly limited in the kind of knowledge it can provide.
    • Gary Patton
      Gary Patton on 02 Apr 12
       
      em·pir·i·cism/emˈpirəˌsizəm/ Noun: The theory that all knowledge is derived from sense-experience. Practice based on experiment and observation. (Google) However: "Revelation" from Holy Spirit always trumps "empiricism"! ~ gfp '42™ But, liberal, Christian writers who are deconstrucionists usually discount the miraculous and the supernatural.
  • ...2 more annotations...
  • On Certainty
    • Gary Patton
      Gary Patton on 02 Apr 12
       
      "Certainty? I'm a Christian: thus I'm absolutely "certain" of that which it is impossible to be "certain." (2 Timothy 1:12)"
  • Peter, James, John, and Paul did not create wars or persecutions or bloodshed by their certainty in a Resurrected Jesus. No, they were rather the victims of such.
Gary Patton

John 14:1-6; 22-27 NASB - Jesus Comforts His Followers - Bible Gateway - 0 views

www.biblegateway.com/passage

bible scripture john

shared by Gary Patton on 04 Apr 12 - No Cached
  • John 14:1-6; John 14:22-27
  • Do not let your heart be troubled; [a]believe in God, believe also in Me.
  • I go to prepare a place for you.
  • ...6 more annotations...
  • I will come again and receive you to Myself, that (D)where I am, there you may be also.
  • “I am (F)the way, and (G)the truth, and (H)the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.
  • You are going to disclose Yourself to us and not to the world?”
  • If anyone loves Me, he will (D)keep My word; and (E)My Father will love him, and We (F)will come to him and make Our abode with him.
  • But the (I)Helper, the Holy Spirit, (J)whom the Father will send in My name, (K)He will teach you all things, and (L)bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.
  • Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. (N)Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.
  • Gary Patton on 04 Apr 12
     
    These passages from John 14 were shared by my Friend, Bruce Malcolm, at the Funeral service for my Mom, Ina Donelda Patton (aka Donnie (family) & Donna (friends). These passages confirm the eternal promise of Jesus to His Followers, of which my Mom was one, that they will spend eternity with Him in His mansions in heaven. Each human is a "spiritual being in a temporary earth suit". And, therefore, we each will live forever. The only question is where we will spend the non-earthly part of our eternity ...in what Jesus called "heaven" or "hell". The answer to that question depends solely on whether one chooses to believe that Jesus was "a liar", "a lunatic" or "Lord" of us all and "God Incarnate", His eternal "Son" who choose to die on a cross to pay the full penalty for our sin nature & sins which our "good works" cannot pay for. In addition to the above passages, another Friend, Adele Van Caulart, read Psalm 23 ...another source of great assurance of God's love and His peace for my Mom and me. gfp (2012-04-04)
Gary Patton

The Violent & Valiant Take Heaven - 0 views

DIIGO_FILE_HOME/t08i/u6mw

heaven theology note

shared by Gary Patton on 08 Jul 12 - No Cached
  • " The violent and valiant are they which take heaven by force: cowards never won heaven. Say not that thou hast royal blood running in thy veins, and art begotten of God, except thou canst prove thy pedigree by this heroic spirit, to dare to be holy despite men and devils. The eagle tries her young ones by the sun; Christ tries his children by their courage, that dare to look on the face of death and danger for his sake ..." (Mark 8:34, 35) ~ Pastor William Gurnall (1617–1679) English author & clergyman from Chpt. 1 of his e-Book, "The Christian in Complete Armour ...A Treatise Of the Saints' War Against the Devil" at http://is.gd/Na6TmN "Take heart therefore, O ye saints, and be strong; your cause is good, God himself espouseth your quarrel, who hath appointed you his own Son, General of the field, called 'the Captain of our salvation,’ Heb. 2:10. He shall lead you on with courage, and bring you off with honour. He lived and died for you; he will live and die with you; for mercy and tenderness to his soldiers, none like him. Trajan, it is said, rent his clothes to bind up his soldiers' wounds: Christ poured out his blood as balm to heal his saints' wounds; tears off his flesh to bind them up. For prowess, none to compare with him: he never turned his head from danger: no, not when hell's malice and heaven's justice appeared in field against him; knowing all that should come upon him, [he] went forth and said, 'Whom seek ye?’" (John 18:4) ~ Pastor William Gurnall (1617–1679) English author & clergyman from Chpt. 1 of his e-Book, "The Christian in Complete Armour ...A Treatise Of the Saints' War Against the Devil" at http://is.gd/Na6TmN "In a word, Christians, God and angels are spectators, observing how you quit yourselves like children of the Most High; every exploit your faith doth against sin and Satan causeth a shout in heaven; while you valiantly prostrate this temptation, scale that difficulty, regain the other ground, you even now lost out of your enemies' hands. Your dear Saviour, who stands by with a reserve for your relief at a pinch, his very heart leaps within him for joy to see the proof of your love to him and zeal for him in all your combats; and will not forget all the faithful service you have done in his wars on earth; but when thou comest out of the field, will receive thee with the like joy as he was entertained himself at his return to heaven of his Father." ~ Pastor William Gurnall (1617–1679) English author & clergyman from Chpt. 1 of his e-Book, "The Christian in Complete Armour ...A Treatise Of the Saints' War Against the Devil" at http://is.gd/Na6TmN
  • Gary Patton on 08 Jul 12
     
    How to make heaven by Pastor William Gurnall (1617-1679) English author & clergyman from Chpt. 1 of his e-Book, "The Christian in Complete Armour ...A Treatise Of the Saints' War Against the Devil" at http://is.gd/Na6TmN
Gary Patton

"No Pain. No Gain! - Bible Gateway - 0 views

www.biblegateway.com/passage

Bible scripture discipline spiritual growth

shared by Gary Patton on 15 Aug 12 - No Cached
  • Hebrews 12:1-12
  • Therefore
  • we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us
  • ...9 more annotations...
  • ay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us
  • run with (C)endurance the race that is set before us
  • fixing our eyes on Jesus, the [b](D)author and perfecter of faith
  • consider Him who has endured
  • you have forgotten the exhortation which is addressed to you as sons,“(L)My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord,Nor (M)faint when you are reproved by Him; 6&nbsp;(N)For those (O)whom the Lord loves He disciplines,And He scourges every son whom He receives.” 7&nbsp;It is for discipline that you endure; (P)God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline?
  • we had [e]earthly fathers to discipline us, and we (R)respected them; shall we not much rather be subject to (S)the Father of [f]spirits, and (T)live? 10&nbsp;For they disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them,
  • so that we may share His holiness
  • All discipline (V)for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the (W)peaceful fruit of righteousness.
  • Therefore, [g](X)strengthen the hands that are weak and the knees that are feeble,
  • Gary Patton on 15 Aug 12
     
    "No Pain. No Gain! The author of Hebrews said the above in Hebrews 14:1-12 to challenge Jesus Followers to "run the important race of life" and "stay the course". And s(he) did so long before Nike used the slogan to peddle over-priced shoes one doesn't really need to make it to the "finish line that is REAL-ly important ().
Gary Patton

The Violent & Valiant Take Heaven - 0 views

" The violent and valiant are they which take heaven by force: cowards never won heaven. Say not that thou hast royal blood running in thy veins, and art begotten of God, except thou canst prove th...

heaven theology note

started by Gary Patton on 27 Aug 12 no follow-up yet
Gary Patton

Modern Wheat Is A Stealth Killer - 0 views

www.wheatbellyblog.com

health wellness wheat arthritis cancer cardiovascular obesity

shared by Gary Patton on 30 Nov 11 - No Cached
  • This is a way to obtain the rich flavors and textures of cocoa, the health benefits (e.g., blood pressure reduction, antioxidation) of cocoa flavonoids, while obtaining none of the sugars/carbohydrates . . . and certainly no wheat!
  • Pumpkin pie is one of those fixtures of Thanksgiving dinner that, when recreated without wheat, can be enjoyed without worry.
  • Sadly, cholesterol values can be a crude and often misleading set of measures.
  • ...9 more annotations...
  • conventional cholesterol values are next to useless. Tracking the right data is crucial.
  • most people don’t measure this
  • small LDL is the #1 most common cause for heart disease in the U.S., not “high cholesterol.” Wheat consumption increases small LDL particles; wheat elimination is the most powerful tool available for reduction of small LDL particles, particularly when combined with weight loss.
  • CRP and other measures of inflammation drop to the floor with wheat elimination.
  • Wheat products are a convenient source of indigestible fiber. But the idea that you must have whole grains from wheat to obtain sufficient fiber is pure fiction. There are plenty of other foods that are rich in fiber.
  • non-wheat fibers low in carbohydrates, especially flaxseed and chia.
  • They do not have any effect on blood sugar.
  • wheat consumption changes the bacterial composition of your intestinal tract. Taking a probiotic for a few weeks can provide organisms like lactobacillus and bifidobacterium that help regain normal bacterial populations.
  • So going wheat-free does not mean a lifetime of pushing and straining,
  • Gary Patton on 30 Nov 11
     
    Modern wheat, especially whole wheat contributes to the pandemic of arthritis, cancer, Type II Diabetes, obesity and all lifestyle diseases. And when it doesn't, wheat is still a "Stealth Killer" of men, women and our children and grandchildren Ours is NOT the wheat our Grandmas used to bake with! And this is true no matter where you live in the world because Canadian-designed hybridized-wheat has been spread everywhere ...even into isolated areas of China because of it's yields! It's additional huge benefit (pun intended) is "Lose the Wheat, Lose the Weight"! gfp (2011-11-26)
  • Gary Patton on 30 Nov 11
     
    The Bible says our bodies are "the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). So, we're wise to care as best we are able for it. And modern wheat, especially whole wheat, contributesr to the pandemic of arthritis, cancer, Type II Diabetes, obesity and all lifestyle diseases. And when it doesn't, wheat is still a "Stealth Killer" of men, women and our children and grandchildren. gfp
Gary Patton

Interpreting Scripture: Our Greek-ness is Showing - 0 views

catchthewindministries.blogspot.com/...-scripture-our-greek-ness.html

bible bibliolatry scripture interpretation

shared by Gary Patton on 28 Nov 11 - No Cached
  • All of us who have been raised and/or educated in a western culture…regardless of our ethnicity or heritage…think like Greeks. And this can cause us some problems when we attempt to interpret the Bible.Because God is not a Greek.
  • Among other things, we Greeks believe that there is only one correct way to interpret any particular scripture and apply it to our lives
  • hen interpret biblical truth through our own personal religious, cultural, societal, and experiential lenses
  • ...7 more annotations...
  • When a verse or passage in the Bible lends itself to more than one interpretation, we Greeks seem unable to consider the possibility that both interpretations might be equally valid.
    • Gary Patton
      Gary Patton on 28 Nov 11
       
      Actually, this tension is not really a "big deal" because the simple English word, 'antinomy' explains the Biblical concept of "equal and opposing truths"! Might it be that christains simply like to fight? In discussing contrary points-of-view on a 'proof-text', for example, do we allow Mr. Sin to rear up our flesh like a wild, untamed stallion ...rather than the Indian warrior pony in North American terms... to which Jesus was referring via the 'Greek' word He used when commanding us to be 'meek'. (Forgive me David, I don't speak Aramaic, either! :-)) gfp
  • That’s how we get more than 20,000 versions of the same truth.
  • I’m not convinced Jesus had any interpretation in mind when He spoke these words. He always did what He saw the Father doing, and He always spoke what He heard the Father speaking. I don’t know that Jesus needed much explanation or clarification before revealing the works and words of the Father.
    • Gary Patton
      Gary Patton on 28 Nov 11
       
      And prior to going to His cross and being resurrected, Jesus, the incarnate "God Man", would have had to later think through what the Father gave him. Maybe He even talked through optional interpretations with "His boys"? Might He even have argued with Himself over them? (I hear that muttered "God forbid", Dr. Dave! :-)) gfp
  • I have been awestruck by the preciousness of Jesus and determined to obtain an intimate relationship with Him regardless of the cost because He is the only One who is worth what I will pay for Him. And I have been brought to tears to know that He loves, cherishes, and values me so much that He would pay the ultimate price to invite me into the relationship that He and the Father &amp; the Spirit have enjoyed from eternity past.
  • Or we can put aside our Greek-ness and give up on the idea of objective truth defined as a body of information and correct interpretation. How about we simply adopt the Bible’s definition of objective truth?
    • Gary Patton
      Gary Patton on 28 Nov 11
       
      I can suspect the horror this suggestion is generating in the flesh of "anti-grace-teaching" Pastors and the religious spawn they have misled! gfp
  • how about we let the Author of the scriptures quicken them to our hearts so that we see them in whatever light He wishes for us to see them at that particular moment?
    • Gary Patton
      Gary Patton on 28 Nov 11
       
      WoW! What a novel idea!! Here again, this will be fleshly fear-inducing for religous people and their mistaken and misleading mentors. (And Dr. Dave knows that and does it intentionally, eh David! :-)) gfp
  • Only a Greek would ask such questions.
    • Gary Patton
      Gary Patton on 28 Nov 11
       
      Amen!!!!!!!!!!!!
  • Gary Patton on 28 Nov 11
     
    Dr. David Ryser, my Friend and a Greek and Hebrew scholar and teacher points out some core challenge of Scripture interpretation. The challenge applies cross-culturally and to followers of different gods ...with some adaptation to your culture and faith for non-Jesus Following religious people. All of us who have been raised and/or educated in a western culture…regardless of our ethnicity or heritage…think like Greeks. And this can cause us some problems when we attempt to interpret the Bible ...because God is not a Greek. gfp (2011-11-18)
Gary Patton

Holy Spirit Is ALWAYS Working in Jesus Followers - Bible Gateway - 0 views

www.biblegateway.com/passage

Scripture bible philippians salvation gospel

shared by Gary Patton on 20 Dec 11 - No Cached
  • For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until (D)the day of Christ Jesus.
    • Gary Patton
      Gary Patton on 06 Jun 12
       
      This passage is another clear promise of the surety of a Jesus Follower's salvation in Christ and the truth of the doctrine that we are "once saved and always saved" as also promised in John 10:22-30 at http://diigo.com/0jv8q and in Romans 8:29-38 at http://diigo.com/0lc07 as well as here in Philippians 1:6 at http://diigo.com/0lzi8.
  • Gary Patton on 20 Dec 11
     
    Philippians 1:5-7 makes this VERY clear!
Gary Patton

"Islam, How it works" - 0 views

gatesofvienna.blogspot.com/...how-does-islam-work.html

jihad jihadism sharia islamism Islam

shared by Gary Patton on 06 Dec 11 - No Cached
  • It is a comprehensive system regulating all areas of life. There is no separation between religion here, politics there, law there — therefore none between Islam and Islamism, either. Islamism is not an abuse of Islam, because Islam is different from our worldview.
    • Gary Patton
      Gary Patton on 06 Dec 11
       
      Many Muslims don't like the terms 'Islamism' and 'Islamist'. They say the former confuses a political ideology with a religion and, the latter confuses a moderate Muslim with a violent Jihadist. This expert argues there is NO need to make a distinction because there is none needed because they all mean the same the same! Oh my! Are Westerners being 'conned' by liberal, politically-correct media terminology when they use Islam/Islamism distinction? Is it really Muslim taqiyya (dissimulation)? gfp (2011-10-27)
  • the Islamic norms and values system regulates the living together in Muslim societies far beyond the religious realm in the narrow sense of the word: without Islam they could not work at all.
  • you needn’t be an Islamic scientist to analyze the sociology of Islam.
    • Gary Patton
      Gary Patton on 06 Dec 11
       
      One may not need to be an Islamic scientist. But, given the danger of western cultural biases that the author mentions below (highligted in red), westerners may NOT understand Islam and the Islamic mind. A further danger is that violent Jihadists use taqiyya (dissimulation) to launch and perpetuate proganda lies. gfp (2011-10-27)
  • ...22 more annotations...
  • the role of religion in the social fabric of Islamic societies is quite different from that of Christianity in ours. Islam does not only relate humans to the hereafter, like all religions do, and determine what is good and evil, but it also defines what is legal or illegal in a juridical sense, legitimate and illegitimate in a political sense, true and untrue in an empirical sense. Islam is, so to speak, the DNA of its societies: not only a religion but a social system.
  • Religions shapes the system of culturally valid and (by socialization) internalized pre-assumptions about issues such as truth, justice, morality, ethics, society, or violence; i.e. all the assumptions that precede actual political thinking.
    • Gary Patton
      Gary Patton on 06 Dec 11
       
      This a dangerous key to Westerners' failure to understand Islam & what we, not Muslims, have labeled Islamism. Islamism is distinguished in the West from Islam as a political ideology. Islam, itself, is a political ideology. gfp (2011-10-27)
  • these assumptions are not just shared in Islam
  • We use a certain terminology fit for describing our own culture, but not fit for that of Islam.
    • Gary Patton
      Gary Patton on 06 Dec 11
       
      This is very wise observation. Given this crucial point, the imporatnt question that arises is how do non-Muslims guard against the trap of cultural misalignment mistakes. I believe only Jesus Followers are eqipped to do this consistently and well because the power of Holy Spirit is available to us when we choose to walk in it and Him! (Galatians 5:16 &25) gfp
  • the widespread assumption in this country under which we perceive Islam — that all religions are equal or “want the same thing” — is misleading.
  • Islam does not generally outlaw violence, not even in a strictly moral sense.
    • Gary Patton
      Gary Patton on 06 Dec 11
       
      This is a demonic opposite of Jesus' commands to His Followers to be non-violent and wage peace ...not war. e.g. Matthew 5:38-45 However, when dealing with criminality, violent Muslim jihadism or other activities by which people can be harmed, Jesus did not tell us to hold our peace and be passive D.O.O.R.M.A.T.S. (Dependent Order Of Really Miserable And Timid Souls). e.g. Matthew 23:23-33
  • Blaise Pascal once said. “Jesus let himself be killed, Muhammad himself killed”.
    • Gary Patton
      Gary Patton on 06 Dec 11
       
      With even more contarst, I'd suggest: "Jesus teaches His Followers to wage peace and allowed Himself to be murdered; Muhammad teaches his followers to wage war and himself murdered others!" ~ gfp '42™
  • Violence in Islam has a structuring function: it makes a difference between above and below, i.e. master and slave, men and women, believers and unbelievers. Islam doesn’t define peace as a universal principle.
  • The Islamic concept of society is based on the division of humanity into “believers” and “infidels” — and Islam leaves no doubt that the “infidels” sooner or later have to disappear in history. “Good” in the ethical sense, is what is good for the spread of Islam; “evil” is any opposition to it
  • No, “Islam” means, in friendly translation, “devotion” and less friendly, “submission”. The word is derived from the same word-root as “Salam” (peace), but it is not a synonym.
  • it creates a tacit social acceptance of violence, provided it is directed against the “infidels”, even among those Muslims who are not individually violent.
  • Jihad is not just war. It includes anything Muslims do to bring the world under the law of Allah.
  • Therefore, I conceive Islam as a Jihad System.
  • the Koran refers in the latest, the Medinan suras — which are in any doubt, the decisive — relatively little to the “greater” jihad, the struggle for one’s own faith, compared with the struggle against the “infidels”, the so-called “lesser” jihad which is crucial in these suras.
  • Islam rejects the notion of a universal ethics by which all people have equal rights, no matter what religion they belong to, or peace as a matter of principle. Such views contradict not only the teachings of Islam, but its basic structure.
  • Islamism is only the political side of Islam, that is, in fact, no degeneration, but a part of this religion. The Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan has said quite rightly that there is no radical and no moderate Islam, but only Islam.
    • Gary Patton
      Gary Patton on 06 Dec 11
       
      Succintly put!
  • The idea of an Islam without Sharia law is absurd, that would be — not like soup without salt, but like soup without water. Therefore, Islamists are quite correct when claiming to be in harmony with the Prophet and the Koran. And consequently these Islamists are not socially isolated, but very respected for their strong faith and respected members of the Islamic community.
  • Couldn’t there be an Islamic Enlightenment
    • Gary Patton
      Gary Patton on 06 Dec 11
       
      Dr. Tawfik Hamid, among others including some Islamic scholars, would agree this is possible and fight at risk to their lives for its arrival. Tawfik argues that there is a big difference between fundamentalist, Qur'anic Islam, correctly interpreted, and what is promoted by all Islamic judicial jurisdictions. So Muslims who feel like Dr. Hamid are very much alone among the approximately 3.5 billion Muslims world-wide. His Website is www.tawfikhamid.com where he operates as a Muslim "voice calling in the wilderness".
  • Firstly, I repeat: That would undermine the basis of Islamic societies. Therefore, there is enormous social pressure which prevents this. Secondly, Islam itself is already in some ways a kind of “enlightenment” as Islam has questioned anything in Christianity that is paradoxical and dialectical, sometimes incomprehensible, and to bring it to a simple formula:
  • was our Reformation something moderate?
    • Gary Patton
      Gary Patton on 06 Dec 11
       
      Some prominet & well-known Christian writers argue that the Christian "Reformation" actually reformed very little of what was and still is variants of what is really paganism. They document from a variety of historical sources, including the Christian Bible, that pagan practises are what are practised on Sunday morning by most traditional Protestant denominations in addition to both the Roman & Orthodox Catholic Churches. Pastor Frank Viola's book, where you can learn more about this thesis, is called "Pagan Christianity". Reverend Viola argues that Christians are NOT pagans, but their traditional Western churches and church practises are. gfp (2011-10-27)
  • in Islam, as a “back to the roots”, means just the opposite, emphasizing the validity of the political model of the original community of the Prophet, whose political profile I’ve already described.
  • there are already first indications of an Islamist turn of these revolutions,
    • Gary Patton
      Gary Patton on 06 Dec 11
       
      Some of my Muslim Friends who live in Canada make an even scarier case than this author. My Friends are well-tuned to accurate sources of Muslim and other information other than the politically-correct and often-leftist, western media. These Friends argue that all the current talk about Arab Spring democracy rising from the ashes of Afghanistan, Egypt, Tunisia, and as I write, Libya is absolute and utter nonsense. One well-informed Friend says that the prior leader of Al-Qaeda in Libya has returned to the devastated country and is firmly in control of most anti-Qaddafi forces. Al-Qaeda people will win any election held in Libya in the coming months, according to him. No commentator or group that I've heard or read at this writing, including the internationally-respected and knowledgeable Stratfor, the geo-politcal analyst group, has yet to even hint at this reality. That the terrorist Muslim Brotherhood will engineer the same coup in Egypt is being suggested in some quarters, already. I sense the same radical Jihadish coup will take place in Arab countries, possibly even Saudi Arabia, all across the Middle East and North Africa. And I bet it will be accomplished under the noses of Western political leaders who will pay for and host the forthcoming elections at great expense to western taxpayers to extend democracy. Duh! I also sense a modern Muslim Caliphate is in the birth canal of the 21st century with Satan as both the father and mid-wife. I'm awaiting with interest to see what the living God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob will allow and whom will be the wet-nurse, anti-Christ whom emerges to lead it. (Turkey's Ardogan is already in the running according to some experts.) gfp (2011-10-27)
Gary Patton

Jesus Is Living IN His Followers and OUT of Them - Bible Gateway - 0 views

www.biblegateway.com/passage

john freedom christ scripture

shared by Gary Patton on 24 Jan 12 - No Cached
  • John 15:5
    • Gary Patton
      Gary Patton on 22 May 12
       
      Jesus Is Living IN His Followers and OUT of Them In this Jesus Following Bible passage, Jesus (Yeshua), as almighty God, makes a startling but freeing statement of His truth. 2011-09-08
  • he who abides in Me and I in him, he (A)bears much fruit
    • Gary Patton
      Gary Patton on 22 May 12
       
      Jesus makes clear in this verse that that as you rest, remain, stay in Him, He will live His life out through you. Jesus' Apostle (sent-out-one) and our fellow Follower, the Apostle Paul, uses expressions like "live" and "walk in the Spirit" to command the same behaviour for his First Century Gatherings plus modern Jesus Followers us in Galatians 5:16 & 19 at http://diigo.com/0m0c1 and http://diigo.com/0mqyl . This is re-confirmed in other words by Paul in Galatians 2:20 at http://diigo.com/0jggi where he clarifies that for Jesus Followers that their Master's "yoke is easy and his burden light" because He lives His life out through us making us only "Walking Dead Wo(men)".
  • apart from Me you can do nothing
    • Gary Patton
      Gary Patton on 22 May 12
       
      What is it that some Jesus Followers don't understand about God saying in this verse that when we work in our own strength we'll accomplish "nothing" of value? My Friend and Brother David Ryser comments on this phrase in a fantastic Blog posting. And he knows what he's talking about when it comes to New Covenant (Testament) Scripture because he is a Greek Scholar with a Ph.D.. David points out: "Part of the problem [with this phrase] is our poorly translated English Bible…and poor translation leads to poor interpretation…and every version has serious problems. "In several translations, the last part of John 15:5 is rendered, "without Me you can do nothing." This leads us to conclude that with Jesus we can do anything. But the Bible never says this…not in Greek, anyhow…and it flies in the face of what Jesus is teaching in the first part of John 15. "The picture here is NOT of a vine that is not with us. The idea is NOT that we branches could bear all kinds of fruit if the vine were alongside of us. "And yet, how much preaching have we heard about how we can accomplish great things for the Kingdom of God with Jesus at our side? "Rather, the illustration Jesus uses is that of a branch that has been detached from the vine. And the word translated "without" (χώρις) in some of the most popular English versions of the Bible, is better translated as "apart/detached from" as it is in the NASB and the NIV. Just try to tear off a grape branch from the grapevine with your bare hands sometime. You will discover the branch is an outgrowth of the vine…so much so that if you attempt to tear off the branch, it will shred the vine all the way to the root. "Grape branches cannot be torn off. They must be cut off. "And if the branches are cut off from the vine, the life of the vine will not flow through them. Not only will the branches not bear fruit, they will die. We are delusional if we think that we are going to produce and manifest the fruit of the life of
Gary Patton

"The Gospel" (Good News) of the REAL Yeshua (Jesus) ...Not the Isa of the Qur'an - Bibl... - 0 views

www.biblegateway.com/passage

Jesus matthew Sermon scripture gospel evangelism

shared by Gary Patton on 22 Dec 11 - No Cached
  • Blessed are the [c]poor in spirit, for (E)theirs is the kingdom of heaven. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;4 “Blessed are (F)those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;5 “Blessed are (G)the [d]gentle, for they shall inherit the earth. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;6 “Blessed are (H)those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;7 “Blessed are (I)the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;8 “Blessed are (J)the pure in heart, for (K)they shall see God. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for (L)they shall be called sons of God. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;10 “Blessed are those who have been (M)persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for (N)theirs is the kingdom of heaven. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;11 “Blessed are you when people (O)insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me.
  • Matthew 5:1-11
  • When Jesus saw the crowds, He went up on (B)the [a]mountain; and after He sat down, His disciples came to Him. 2 (C)He opened His mouth and began to teach them, saying
  • Gary Patton on 22 Dec 11
     
    In His "Sermon on the Mount", quoted in Matthew 5:1-11 from God's "New Covenant" with those who would Follow Him, Yeshua (Jesus/ Isa), the First Century Palestinian, shares with His first Disciples (Learners) what has become know since antiquity as His "Sermon on the Mount" and "The Beatitudes". Yeshua's public talks always were directed primarily at His then and future Followers. Only secondarily did He intend them for the thousands of people often listening. (Huge crows followed him because of His popularity as a Rabbi (Teacher) and the power of what He said. People at the time and since say his talks were unlike anyone had come to them before Him. (Matthew 7:28) No one who has come after him has come close to his power and influence ...including Muhammad, Islam's principal Prophet. This will be attested to by anyone who reads these to men actually said in both the Gospels and the Qur'an. For His Followers, Jesus' words are a road map for their post-salvation lives as born-again people. What they meant to the crows you can discover in my Sticky note below. gfp (2011-10-24)
Gary Patton

The Cloak of Antichrist in Bible Prophecy - 0 views

whenthepiecesfit.org/#.TxL1AEtYeVI.email

Islam islamism bible scripture interpretation antichrist satan

shared by Gary Patton on 16 Jan 12 - No Cached
    • Gary Patton
      Gary Patton on 17 Jan 12
       
      Don't miss the outline and my annotations below because this book argues that Satan's favourite disguise when appearing to human beings is in the form of 'religion'. If this be Biblically true, as the author attempts to prove, then organized religion in all it forms, not just Islam, is the REAL enemy that Ephesians 6:12 says every Jesus Follower fights against as his/her most dangerous foe, not people, at http://diigo.com/0jl35">http://diigo.com/0jl35" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://diigo.com/0jl35. (I'd argue if the author is correct, that Islam is our greatest physical adversary but traditional, organized religion of every stripe, including Christian denominations, is our potential, greatest spiritual enemy in the last days i.e., read the Book of Jude. gfp (2012-01-15)
  • He really doesn't&nbsp;carry a pitch fork and have a long red tail and two horns.&nbsp; Yet, he is a master at disguise.&nbsp;&nbsp;Got any ideas of his favorite?&nbsp; Masquerade, that is?&nbsp;&nbsp;
  • satan is in disguise -- even in the Garden of Eden.&nbsp; The reason?&nbsp; Because that is how he appears before humanity.&nbsp;&nbsp;
  • ...27 more annotations...
  • His best disguise?&nbsp;&nbsp;Religion.
  • the "bomb throwers" of Islam are not the aberration of true Islam; but rather, they are the actual root.
  • The Bible gives us "identifiers" to be able to locate him.&nbsp; They are called "antichrist."&nbsp;
  • Whenever the antichrist identifiers are present, satan is present.&nbsp;
    • Gary Patton
      Gary Patton on 16 Jan 12
       
      The author means Satan's influence is present in the form of his diabolical power exercised by his troops, demons. Only Almighty God is everywhere-present, all-powerful and all-knowing according to the Bible.
  • When antichrist is present, satan has left his "fingerprints" behind.&nbsp;
  • Since its inception in the 7th century AD, Islam has waged holy war, jihad, against anyone who stood in its way.&nbsp;
    • Gary Patton
      Gary Patton on 16 Jan 12
       
      Jihad is an Arabic word that describes the peaceful or violent expansion of Islam as "the only way" as stated in the Constitution of the Muslim Brotherhood. This monstrous and multiple-tentacled organization was founded and is headquartered in Egypt. It operates stealth-jihad organizations funded by Saudi Arabian, Wahhabi-sect money in every non-Muslim democracy and other country in the world according to experts in Islamic terrorism like Raymond Ibrahim and Tawfik Hamid. However, most Westerners fear AlQaeda the most. In the statements of all violent Jihadists and their groups directed at European or American audiences, they maintain that the terrorism they inflict on the West is merely reciprocal treatment for decades of Western and Israeli oppression. (The common term used by many American politicians for this is "blowback".) Yet in writings directed to their fellow Muslims, their hatred is presented, not as a reaction to military or political provocation, but as a product of religious obligation. For instance, when addressing Western audiences, Osama bin Laden used to list any number of grievances as motivating his war on the West. These included, among others, from the oppression of the Palestinians to the Western exploitation of women, and even U.S. failure to sign the environmental Kyoto protocol. All these were designed to be intelligible from a Western perspective and mask their real intent using taqiyya, Qur'anic approved "liefare". However never once, according to Raymond Ibrahim, did bin Laden justify Al-Qaeda's attacks on Western targets simply because non-Muslim countries are infidel entities that must be subjugated ...as violent Jihadists read the Qur'an. Indeed, he often initiates his messages to the West by saying, "Reciprocal treatment is part of justice" or "Peace to whoever follows guidance". Regrettably, he means something entirely different from what his Western listeners understand by words such as "peace," "justice," or "guidance." Wes
  • All of these wars are spiritual in nature-- not political.&nbsp;&nbsp;Islam is one of two world empires that has waged holy war against Jews and Christians.&nbsp;
  • The Bible calls him, Abaddon, the Hebrew name for "destroyer."&nbsp; Islam calls him,&nbsp;al-Mahdi, "master of the sword," and the "long awaited one."
    • Gary Patton
      Gary Patton on 16 Jan 12
       
      al-Mahadi or "Twelfth Imam" In Shi'a Islam, al-Mahdi will come at the end of days to bring the world to Islam for Allah. he will arrive in the midst of man-created world chaos or cause it after his arrival. His followers are called "Twelvers". The top government leaders of Iran and the real leaders, the "Mullahs" are Twelvers and based on a secret, recent video they released to their military and others, they believe only chaos will bring him back to earth. Joel Rosenberg, author of "The Twelfth Imam", and others argue they wish to expedite the Madhi's return by raining nuclear chaos on the Middle East i.e., on Israel, thereby creating the necessary ingerdients for his return. Sunni Muslim theology also includes a belief in, plus an eschatological* expectation of, the "Twelfth Imam" or the Mahdi, according to Mr. Rosenberg. * es·cha·tol·o·gy (sk-tl-j) n. 1. The branch of theology that is concerned with the end of the world or of humankind. 2. A belief or a doctrine concerning the ultimate or final things, such as death, the destiny of humanity, the Second Coming, or the Last Judgement.
  • To Christians, he is the last "false prophet, i.e., the Antichrist.&nbsp; To Shia Islam, he is al-Mahdi.&nbsp;
    • Gary Patton
      Gary Patton on 16 Jan 12
       
      Sunni Muslim theology also includes a belief in, plus an eschatological* expectation of, the "Twelfth Imam" or the Mahdi, according to Mr. Rosenberg.
  • The chapters below are not final, but drafts that eventually made their way to final form in the recently published book.
  • Islam, as a religion, somehow survived&nbsp;the&nbsp;death of the one so crucial to its existence.&nbsp; Against all odds,&nbsp;Islam grew to&nbsp;be a voracious kingdom in an unbelievably short period of time.
  • seven separate&nbsp;periods in Islamic history begin.
  • Think about it.&nbsp; Ten horns, seven heads, and ten diadems; and,&nbsp;Islam&nbsp;fufills both&nbsp;counts.
  • In the Last Days, Islam's Last Caliphate will arise.&nbsp; Led by Muhammad al-Mahdi, an Alliance of ten muslim nations or groups will unite.&nbsp;
  • all Islam will unite under Muhammad al-Mahdi.
  • the "revived Caliphate," will usher in the Last Days.
  • This chapter will reveal another detail of Revelation 17's scarlet beast.&nbsp; The beast is al-Mahdi; the empire is the Revived (and last) Islamic Caliphate.&nbsp;
  • Don't think for a moment that "Babylon" identifies this harlot&nbsp;as modern Iraq, and the ancient city of Babylon
  • The harlot is wealthy, and she has made the merchants of the world rich and great from&nbsp;her "wine."
  • What is the one substance that the entire world cannot do without?&nbsp;&nbsp;The woman?&nbsp; Find the highest "towers" in the land of Islam and you will find the harlot who has built them.&nbsp;
    • Gary Patton
      Gary Patton on 16 Jan 12
       
      The author is VERY knowldgeable about the Christian Bible, Islam and history. His analysis is VERY well developed and suggests "wine" is oil and "the woman" is Saudi Arabia and her predecessors.
  • Saudi Arabia, the birthplace of Islam.&nbsp; The owner of the world's largest proven oil and gas reserves.&nbsp;
  • We move to the final stages of the Last Days as an Alliance of nations is prophesied to attack Israel.&nbsp; The leader of the attack is named in prophetic scripture:&nbsp;"Gog."&nbsp; He is "prince" of the&nbsp;"land of Magog,"&nbsp;and the leader of three "nations" from the land of Magog, "Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal."&nbsp;
  • nations of the Middle East,&nbsp;Asia, and Africa, including&nbsp;Iran, Turkey, Ethiopia,&nbsp;Armenia, and Libya.&nbsp;
  • This chapter will&nbsp;interpret Russia to be&nbsp;the key nation in this Alliance against Israel,&nbsp;along with&nbsp;Iran&nbsp;as the&nbsp;lead nation from&nbsp;the Middle East.
  • A most important element of&nbsp;this victory is not that the Muslim nations of the world are defeated, but&nbsp;that&nbsp;the Spirit of God is&nbsp;"poured out upon Israel," an event that can&nbsp;only be fulfilled with the return of Jesus Christ, and Israel's acknowledgment of Jesus as Messiah.&nbsp;
  • The time of tribulation has arrived, a seven year period&nbsp;the Bible describes as a "time of distress such as never occurred since there was a nation until that time" (Daniel 12:1).&nbsp;
  • Satan and his agents will have their way until God extends His sickle and pours out His&nbsp;wrath&nbsp;upon the "sons of disobedience."&nbsp;
    • Gary Patton
      Gary Patton on 19 Jan 12
       
      In his book, "The Pre-Wrath Rapture of the Church", Marvin Rosenthal, outlines a powerful, Biblical analysis of the Old and New Covenants regarding when the so-called "Rapture" of Jesus Followers takes place. Mr. Rosenthal concludes from his well-documented, clear, easy-to-understand and graphics-supported analysis that the commonly-believed "Pre-Tribulation Rapture" theological position of most North American Bible teachers is inaccurate and not supported by a careful Biblical analysis. You can read a short, well-done summary of Mr. Rosenthal's thesis by another Bible teacher at http://diigo.com/0mhvg.
  • Gary Patton on 16 Jan 12
     
    This book argues that Stan's favourite disguise when appearing to human beings is in the form of 'religion'. If this be Biblically true, as the author attempts to prove, then religion is against what Ephesians 6:12 says every Jesus Follower fights against as his/her most dangerous enemy. gfp (2012-01-15)
« First ‹ Previous 61 - 80 of 91 Next ›
Showing 20▼ items per page