Christianity / Secular Humanist Paganism

As humans we are so gullible. So easily swayed or lead astray. If you read the Creation narrative in the first three chapters of Genesis. You will see how the devil infiltrated the serpent to spin the truth in a different way to convince Eve and Adam to disobey God. It almost wasn't what he said but how he said it. He knew God had told Adam and Eve that they could eat of all of the trees in the garden but the one at the centre. So Satan said to Eve "God has said you shall not eat of any of the trees in the garden." To which Eve replied "God has not said we cannot eat of any of the trees in the garden. We may eat of every tree except the one in the centre of the garden. If we eat of that tree we will surely die." To which Satan replied "You will nor surely die. God knows that if you eat of that tree you will be like him, knowing good from evil."

 

Now, see how Satan used a lie to establish a connection with Eve. She responded to him by saying that was not what God had said. However the damage was done. She was listening to Satan and he had established Eve's trust. This has become a tried and true pattern of Satan's behaviour and the behaviour of those who listen to him. He and they, use spin to present mere fiction and lies as though they are truth. Many innocents have died because people of power have fought wars and persecuted those who do not accept their version of the truth. Yet those powerful people have only done this because they believed the lies in the first place.

 

So it is that in 2023 we can say that Christians believe that their is a right and wrong way to do anything and the Secular Paganists believe that there is no right or wrong way to do anything. Such that Christians obey the commands of God as they are written by the Holy Spirit in their hearts and minds (Hebrews 8:7-12). While Secular Paganists believe that there is no law and that they may do as they wish. We have only to look at the examples of Stalin, Hitler and Chairman Mao to see where that kind of thinking leads. Millions dead because the perpetrators believed there is no law and therefore no consequence to the indiscriminate taking of the lives of their fellow men. They will stand before Jehovah on the judgement day and weep at the folly of believing Satan.

 

In the Christian way there is right or righteousness and there is wrong or unrighteousness and unrighteousness is categorised as sin. In the Secular Pagan way there is neither right nor wrong and there is no sin. Thus with paganism anything goes. Instead of the Ten Commandments Law they have only one commandment. Do what you will. So you can murder and be guilty of nothing. Yon can steal and be guilty of nothing. The killing of billions in the name of redressing Climate Change would ultimately  mean nothing because there is no standard of ethics or values in the Pagan system. If you believed in Mother Earth as a deity then taking life in her name could be justified and so pagan Gods become the most important thing. They become part of a dogma based around the concept that there is no right or wrong way of doing things and the ends justifies the means.

 

Once again this is the result of spin. Information, ethics and personal judgement is spun in such a way that people eventually begin to incorporate this false thinking into their personal way of looking a life. Unrecognised these lies begin to become a part of humanities way of thinking and permeate daily life and culture. So even Christians believe that abortion may be justified or euthanasia is fine as long as the person that is subject to it wants it. Morally, however, these things are wrong an fit neatly under Gods Law which says they are not to happen.

 

Thus Satan has built a structure of control on the Earth and throughout humanity. He has successfully usurped the place of man and God. God gave man authority over the Earth, Both man and the Earth were His creations. By deceiving Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. Satan took control of mankind and the Earth. He achieved this by whispering lies into the hearts of men. He mostly did this using the facts spun in a certain way to make it appear that certain evil actions are justified. Like the deaths of those involved in war. The war is just according to the spin and therefore the loss of life is justified. The end justifies the means as it were. In truth Satan is really just manipulating mankind to achieve his own objectives. Things like the murder of innocent children, gaining control of assets, nations and governments, slavery and making global highways to traffic people. He is wicked and he will ultimately account to the Lord of All, Jehovah for the evil he has wrought (Revelation 20:7-15).

 

So when you are looking at the world around you and are feeling sorry for the wicked, whoever they may be. Remember that Satan spins the facts to appear to be the truth. When in fact they are breaking the Law of God. He uses the news media to disinform the people and to spin the righteous as if they were the wicked. He attacks the hearts of even the elect to insert his brand of deception there so that they will support the wrong causes. Those who break the Law of God will drink of the cup of God's Wrath and ultimately repent or face the second death. The first death is the one every person faces at the end of this life. The second death is eternal and as such means the end of those who reject Christ Jesus forever.

 

I believe that in this time we are close to the return of Jesus and that before that there will be a global government and then a time of tribulation such as the world has not known. When that judgement is complete then Christ Jesus will return to establish the Kingdom of God. So read the bible, pray in Jesus name and prepare. The return of the Messiah is at hand or so I believe. Be aware of those false Christs that will appear during the judgement time that is to come for many will seek to deceive even the elect (Matthew 24).

Being a Christian

 

Being a Christian is not always what you would expect. When I was younger I had the impression that there were those who were in the Christian mould and those who believe they are Christian who are actually mistaken. These days I believe this is not so clear cut.

 

Christian sects or denominations are usually based around their core beliefs and values. Often this is based on interpretation of the bible or external influences on a particular denominations doctrines. Usually based on the thoughts of a particular person whose writings are given a similar weighting to the Bible.

 

However, it intrigues me that every Christian has differing opinions and sometimes opposing doctrines are mixed into their perspective. For instance Presbyterians are mostly in favour of baptism by pouring or sprinkling but some Presbyterians prefer immersion baptism which is not the historical position of their denomination.

 

Another example might be that Adventis
m teaches that obedience to the Law of God and the performing of good works are essential parts of salvation. Some Adventists would tend to see the blood of Jesus Christ shed on the Cross for the sins of all as being the primary method of salvation without the law or good works but again this is not what their denomination appears to believe.

 

Calvinism is a doctrine which states the God has predestined the salvation or damnation of mankind from before the beginning of time. Some denominations accept this as the truth while others hold it to be somewhat truthful and have integrated it in to their doctrines to some extent but congregants may accept the teachings of Calvin as truth or not.

 

It's a funny old business because as a result of all of the differing doctrines and beliefs of Christians. The belief systems of many believers is somewhat of a hotch potch. If they understood where some of the teachings that they adhere to hailed from historically. I think that they would perhaps reconsider the appropriateness of believing them.

 

Those who adhere to the teachings of John Calvin might be interested to know that he himself adhered to another source of enlightenment other than the bible. That being the Bishop of Hippo, Augustine, who was originally a follower of the Manichean Cult. A type of Gnosticism that holds that good and evil are opposing forces in nature and that special knowledge is an enlightenment available to certain people. A lot like Free Masonry actually. No wonder that Calvin subscribed to a fairly Hellenistic view of God.

 

The Adventists as I mentioned earlier adhere to the teachings of Ellen White. Amongst other doctrines are worshipping on the Sabbath Day. The act of Sabbath Keeping being crucial to salvation and eternal life because they see it as the Seal of God. The doctrine of the Investigative Judgement is another key piece in the  Adventist salvation theology. Holding the Christ Jesus entered the Inner Sanctuary in Heaven in 1844 to find who has sufficient works to get into the Kingdom of Heaven. Not too different to the Roman Catholic theology that the Adventist claim to so despise.

 

The same can be said of any number of Christians including myself. We all tend to become followers of this apostle or the other. In ICorinthians chapter 3 verses 4 through to 7 the apostle Paul says this "For when one person says, “I am with Paul,” and another, “I am with Apollos,” are you not ordinary people? What then is Apollos? And what is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, even as the Lord gave opportunity to each one. I planted, Apollos watered, but God was causing the growth. So then neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but God who causes the growth."

So, follow God and read the bible. Check out the doctrines that you say you believe and read deeply in the bible to support what they say. Apply the same principle to what your Church believes and what their denomination believes. For instance salvation to me is expressed simply in the gospel of John chapter 3 verse 16 "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish, but have eternal life." So no works involved just simple faith on the Lord Jesus Christ and you have eternal life. Clear enough for anyone and it is freely available to all who will believe.

How do you view God

I’m a Christian and I’ve found that different sections of Protestant Christianity view God very differently based on their interpretations of scripture. I attend a Presbyterian Church with a strong Calvinist tradition.

Whereas I am a Baptist with weak Wesleyan tradition. Where the Calvinist views salvation through the TULIP acronym. Total Depravity; Unconditional Election; Limited Atonement; Irresistible Grace; Perseverance of the Saints.

That’s Total Depravity, where the sinner is totally depraved and cannot choose to accept the gospel; Unconditional Election, where the sinner is chosen by God and has no choice; Limited Atonement, where the Blood of the Lamb is specific to the remnant chosen by God; Irresistible Grace, where the sinner cannot refuse Grace and is chosen without choice; Perseverance of the Saints, where the chosen one cannot reject salvation and walk away.
 
I would counter TULIP with the PCURL acronym. Partial Depravity; Conditional Election; Unlimited Atonement; Resistible Grace; Limited Perseverance.

Partial Depravity, where the person is not born into sin but commits sins leading to depravity. Conditional Election, which is  based on the condition that the sinner believes on Jesus Christ; Unlimited Atonement, where the gospel is for all mankind but only those who believe on Jesus Christ receive the Blood of the Lamb; Resistible Grace, where the sinner has freedom of choice to accept or reject the gospel; Limited Perseverance, where the person who backslides or walks away from Christ may loose their salvation.

So, having laid down the challenge to my Calvinist brethren obviously I have enormous scriptural resources to back my position? Obviously, they’re going to come at me about a scholar of the fifth century Church named Pelagious who believed among other things that man was not depraved at all and had complete freedom of choice? It becomes a giant chess game where we move our players until we reach a conclusion or more likely end in a stalemate.

This is what usually happens but it’s not the reason that I disagree with Calvinism, Christian Liberalism or Adventism and the positions they hold. I disagree because I know God. The Holy Spirit lives in my heart and I can tell you God is magnificent. He doesn’t save a chosen remnant and send the rest to hell without a choice. He didn’t create a partial universe in six days and allow the rest to evolve over billions of years. He didn’t sacrifice and angel and provide a partial salvation and add codicils to the agreement that limit salvation to a very few. He provided a Saviour with the ability and the power to save the World. He created the universe in six days. The only codicil to salvation is to believe on Jesus Christ. My God is a mighty God and no one nor anything can compare to Him. All glory to God in the Highest.

Don’t get me wrong I know there are many lovely Christian folk in all of these sects of Christianity. This is personal if you want to fight over theology but that’s not what I’m wanting to do here. I want to ask a question. How do you view God and is your view affecting the way you live your Christianity?
Can you say definitively that you are going to heaven or do you have to jump through a bunch of hoops to have any chance of getting there. I mean as a liberal Christian it might seem more likely that God is deistic and has finished with creation deciding to leave humanity and the other species to find their way through life. Who knows if there is an afterlife? If you’re a Calvinist can you be 100 percent sure that God has chosen you or, are you going to have to wait until the resurrection to find out if you made the cut? Kind of the same deal with the Adventists. Have you kept the Sabbath faithfully, obeyed the Ten Commandments enough, done enough good works toward the Investigative Judgement. Is there room in heaven for you to make the cut? Was Jesus able to pay for you or did you miss out?

What you believe about God is absolutely central to how you view your right to salvation. Which is why I believe PCURL and not TULIP for instance. I believe that I’m partially depraved because of the sins that I have toted up in my lifetime. But I believe that God knew that from the beginning that I and multitudes of others are broken people subject to sin. That God so loved me / us that He gave His only Son, Jesus Christ, to bear my /our sins on the Cross. That when I / you believe on Him we shall not perish but inherit eternal life.

There is no doubt! If you believe on Jesus Christ you have salvation. God gave unlimited atonement value to Christ’s work on the Cross so that all who believe might be saved. He made Grace resistible that those who want no part in Christ Jesus won’t have to have one. He made perseverance limited so that those who decide to walk away can and those who refuse to repent and still think they’re going to heaven can guess again. You can’t trample the Cross of Christ.

I have always believed that freedom of choice is guaranteed in the gospel of Jesus Christ and that Jehovah wants a people for His own possession. A people who freely choose to follow Him. Striding confidently into eternity with their Lord and Saviour.

Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Finally, I have some interesting questions about the verse above. Notice the Eternal life in Jesus Christ our Lord is free. If it’s free doesn’t that mean that it’s available to anyone? Doesn’t it imply that all of mankind have access to eternal life? And doesn’t it state that there is one limitation, that you must believe on Jesus Christ? It does say that eternal life is in Jesus Christ which is just another way of saying it. I’ll leave that to you to work out the details then. 

Differing Faith Perspectives - My Opinion ???

We live in an interesting time. As I say this I am thinking that maybe I’m reflecting my age and stage in life. It seemed when I was a teenager that most Christians that I knew thought the same way about the main theological issues. I’m talking Protestant Christians when I say this.

Today it seems that Christians are much more aware of the theological position of the Church they belong too. I sense that many will disagree with me here. What I mean to say is that the folk who attend Liberal Mainline churches do so because they have a more secular world view mingled with Christianity. I tend to think that in the end they will become steadily more Catholic and then fall away completely into paganism. Just my opinion here and it may be unique.

The Adventist Churches are becoming steadily more mainstream despite their in insistence on reducing the person of Jesus Christ by claiming that he is Michael the Archangel and the need for a life of good works to ensure entrance into heaven. Their adherence to the Seventh Day Sabbath and to the idea that it is the seal of God without which no one can be saved is also somewhat of an anathema to accepted theology. Which would say that belief on the redemptive work of Jesus Christ is all that is needed to be saved and in fact there is no other name under the heavens by which we must be saved (Acts 4:12). And then there is equating the writings of Ellen White to the Holy Scriptures in the case of the SDA. If this is not an attack on the Word of God and the deity of Jesus Christ what is? Is this not a cult? Again, just my thoughts here.

The Calvinist Churches are doing very well in this environment taking the mantle of Conservative Protestantism. They have slipped into the space vacated by the Wesleyan styled churches of yesteryear which either closed their doors or became Charismatic. Despite the fact that they believe that a remnant of humanity is chosen by God to salvation from the beginning while the rest are destined to damnation by the same God. They seem to cling to the idea that by nature God is moody, unpredictable and completely arbitrary in His decision making. Like the Greek God’s, basically a man with God like abilities. Absolutely the opposite to Jesus Christ who is loving, caring and desires nothing but the best for all who will believe on Him. This belief structure is as variance with everything that I was brought up to cherish and believe about the God Head as a youth. Yet again just my opinion.

The Pentecostal / Charismatic folks have a center on the speaking in tongues gifting and tend toward the seeker movement where you don’t necessarily have to change much to come to church. The music, the dress code, the preaching are geared to allow people to settle into the routine of church without changing much. Gradually this sect is becoming more worldly and less concerned with the truth. Sermons are often based very loosely on a scripture but more often than not are just some rambling personal narrative of the Pastor concerned. The issue of greatest concern here though is the potential for dabbling in spiritism. There is a very real possibility that this doctrine of the Holy Spirit is in fact a false teaching and something which derives its power from Catholicism and the Catholic Charismatic movement of the 1960's. It is an attack on the Church which has been tremendously successful and has greatly diminished the Protestant Church to a shadow of it’s former self in combination with the secular agenda of course. Yes, just my somewhat extreme opinion once again.

As a result there is for the most part a lack of conservative churches that simply believe in a gospel based theology. What I’m talking about here is a focus on John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.” A theology that believes that the gospel is for all people and that believing that Christ Jesus bore your sin on the Cross will ensure that you have justification and eternal life. A simple theology that says Christ Jesus is all you need and nothing else.

A theology which encourages new believers to follow the guidance of Acts 2:38 “Peter said to them, “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” Baptism into the death of Jesus Christ and into the newness of life in His resurrection followed by the gift of the Holy Spirit and sanctification in the New Covenant.

This is the theology of most of the Protestant Churches in the New Zealand that I grew up with and I believe it is lacking from the religious environment of 2023. An issue that I find to be difficult to make inroads into because it seems that most Christians don’t agree with a Gospel is for All based theology anymore. Most denominations would say that they do but they actually don’t.

The liberals don’t believe in a raft of fundamentals like the virgin birth, the literal creation week or even the literal resurrection. The Tongues Movement place more emphasis on speaking in tongues and healing than the need to be genuinely converted, repentant and believing on Jesus Christ and his redemptive work. The Calvinists are caught up in there being only a remnant predestined to salvation. So they don’t really place much emphasis on winning souls, preaching the gospel or even believe in the possibility of actually influencing a person to accept Jesus Christ as their Saviour.

In the end I am reminded of an event during the ministry of Jesus. Matthew 19:14 “But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven.” The Christian life is a simple thing. We believe the gospel that Christ Jesus bore our sins on the Cross and resurrected on the third day. That we might have eternal life and a hope of salvation. We get baptised in obedience and receive the forgiveness of sins and the Holy Spirt who leads us to Christ and sees to our justification and over time our sanctification. The key to the Christian life is to have child like faith in Jesus Christ. Almost a blind faith that God has you safe in the palm of His hand and you need fear neither man nor beast for nothing can separate you from the love of God.

II Peter 3:9 “The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.”

60 Second Preach and Share...

For God so loved the World. You! That He gave His only begotten Son. Jesus Christ. That whosoever. You! Believes on Him, shall not perish but inherit eternal life (John 3:16).

 

For all. You and Me! Have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23).

 

For the wages of sin is death but the freely given gift of God is eternal life in Jesus Christ our Lord (Romans 6:23)

 

So God gave His only Son, Jesus, to pay the sin debt of you and me. But you must repent and turn from that sin to Jesus Christ. Believing that He took your sins on the cross and paid the penalty that you and I deserve. In our place. He rose from the dead that we might rise into eternal life with Him. I believe will you. ???

 

Doubly Blessed

My friends do you know that God made you? In the book of Genesis in Chapter two verses seven and eight it says " Then the Lord God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being. The Lord God planted a garden toward the east, in Eden; and there He placed the man whom He had formed." Later in the chapter is described the creation of woman. Genesis chapter two verses twenty through twenty two "The man gave names to all the cattle, and to the birds of the sky, and to every beast of the field, but for Adam there was not found a helper suitable for him. So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept; then He took one of his ribs and closed up the flesh at that place. The Lord God fashioned into a woman the rib which He had taken from the man, and brought her to the man."

 

In the book of Jeremiah God describes his knowledge of the prophet in the womb. Jeremiah chapter one verses four and five "Now the word of the Lord came to me saying, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, And before you were born I consecrated you; I have appointed you a prophet to the nations.” So you can see that God knew Jeremiah from the beginning and it seems to make sense that he knows all of His children in this way.

 

Now friends, do you know that if you believe on Jesus as it says in the book of John chapter three verse sixteen "“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life." That you have been bought with a price. Galatians chapter three verses thirteen through to fifteen puts it like this "Christ bought us with His blood and made us free from the Law. In that way, the Law could not punish us. Christ did this by carrying the load and by being punished instead of us. It is written, “Anyone who hangs on a cross is hated and punished.”Because of the price Christ Jesus paid, the good things that came to Abraham might come to the people who are not Jews. And by putting our trust in Christ, we receive the Holy Spirit He has promised. Christian brothers, let me show you what this means. If two men agree to something and sign their names on a paper promising to stay true to what they agree, it cannot be changed."

 

So you my friends if you believe on Christ Jesus are doubly blessed because God has made you and He has bought you. You are a child of God and this cannot be changed.

 

2023 is here...

I am not sure if normality has returned after the lock downs and pandemic hysteria of the last couple of years. Or, if things have changed and we are just used to the new normal now? Will we ever make it back to the world we new prior to 2019?

Empty shelves in the super markets and pot holes in our roads, along with stop go ques, just seem to be the accepted thing now. Least of our worries as it were. Things are so not what they used to be though. A friend recently had her car broken into while she dropped her daughter at day care. The thieves smashed the window and stole her hand bag. She went to replace her cards and needed photo ID which had been stolen. She went to get a birth certificate only to discover they had lost her records and couldn’t issue one. She gradually got her life back together but would any of this happened in Aotearoa New Zealand ten years ago?

If we look at the world scene I guess the biggest bump on the horizon is talk of an imminent world recession. Lets hope that doesn’t knock our little piece of paradise around to badly. Real food shortages and economic collapse are never enjoyable. Then there is the continuing war in the Ukraine where weird things are also normal. Vladimir Puten threatening nuclear war every other week while Germany and the rest of Europe suck it up as shortages of energy hit hard for the winter. Someone blew up Nord Stream II although no one has taken responsibility we all tend to think it was the Americans. Like I said weird things. The World is getting stranger and stranger.

So where are we heading? Well as I mentioned and we all know Russia has invaded Ukraine and is showing the West that they aren’t the only World Power who can reduce countries to rubble. American strategists are trying to guess when China will make a move to invade Taiwan. One includes Australia into that scenario. It seems to be overlooked that China already has large populations in many Western democracies and the soft invasion began long ago. The invasion may just be a preemptive first strike against the United States followed by firm alliances with China and a shift to Communist rule in places like Aotearoa New Zealand. Who knows I guess.

Organisations like the World Economic Forum which claims Jacinda Ardern and Vladimir Putin as it’s former protégé’s are vocally calling for ‘The Great Reset.’ Which would usher in a form of corporate control of Global Society which would seem to coincide with One World Government at a corporate level and seamlessly integrate with the UN’s Agenda 30 aims and aspirations. The WEF has been around for some decades now but in the last few years it seems to be at the forefront of the New World Order and when chairman Klaus Schwab says something people listen carefully. We now have only seven years until 2030 and the UN agenda has much to do before that time. I suggest that from now on life is going to be more and more challenging as the changes start to bite.

Another facet of the New World Order is of course centered around the Roman Catholic Church and the activities of Pope Francis. The Pope lead the Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions in September 2022. One of the major take aways from his speeches being that Pope Francis called for an end to fundamentalism and terrorism through a greater interfaith dialogue based on all believers having the same rights.

It has been commented that this is veiled threat against Protestant and bible believing Christians? Portraying Christians who would not accept a secular world view, or climate change, as terrorists? Given the global situation and moves against freedom of religion and in particular in relation to evangelical and fundamentalist Christians. Focusing particularly on this kind of talk in politics of stronger laws against hate speech. This dialogue from the head of the Roman Catholic Church is in all likelihood portentous to the Church in the near future.

In conclusion: I would have to say that I have had a sinking feeling since the Christchurch Mosque Attacks in 2019. Whether the event was contrived or more likely a sign of significant change to the world in which we live. To the extent that the time of peace we have known in New Zealand is now passing away in favour of a more disrupted and disorderly time where personal freedom continues to dissipate. Where state interference at a personal level increases as government agendas involve hands on manipulation of the masses to manage perceived threats such as Climate Change and intolerance toward racial and social groupings with in society.

Finally, I perceive that Christians need to be aware that Jesus is coming soon as He promised. This time of upheaval is to be expected and once it is all over then the Lord will indeed return. If events in the world continue to unfold as they appear to be going too. Then the next few years will be pretty rough. Food shortages and economic crises with wars, famines and pestilence becoming more and more common and then probably all out world war. Anyone looking at the current situation would struggle to rule out this scenario. The 2020's have much in common with the 1930's. So it couldn’t hurt to be aware and start to prepare for what’s ahead.

Remember John 3:16 ““For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.”