Created  Sun. Feb. 28, 2009                                        Nevertheless, when the Son of man comes, will he find faith on earth? [Luke 18:7]

A Gospel 4 Everyone!

The Premise of this Article

I write this, one of perhaps my most important articles, as an introduction to those who think they know it all or expect an awful lot of people, all people, no exceptions. For it highlights a problem people have with the prevailing views and beliefs of Christians. They have accepted pat, simple, easy answers from their elders and parents and have passed these on when they should have questioned them.

In the later 50s and more prominently in the 60s, the young did begin to question many things and perhaps too much. But they had many good points, all the same. The divide happened because the old ways were to far out of alignment with reality and the young bucked and rejected the many pat, stupid, easy answers that did not begin to satisfy or even address reality and be honest and candid.

Pat, simple, easy answers take no effort, require no thought and sort of allow us take things for granted and not have to strain ourselves. It takes guts and courage to re-check something or give it 2^nd thought and examination. But Christians are supposed to make sure about what they believe and more importantly, why. They do not accept what people say without making sure it can be and is supported in the Bible. Well, they are suppose to do that but most just rely on what others tell them because it is easy to follow and does not take any effort. It is the lazy way out and God does not like laziness.

Today, Christianity has become loaded with every sort of blind, pat, simple, easy answer and they just don’t work with the young and it should be no surprise. These answers and beliefs are a completely failure. Christians like everything being simple, easy, cut and dried, black and white, with no gray areas. The only problem is that life is often nothing but maybe shades of gray. The Bible and God’s law have lots of conditions and gray areas that many have turned into cut and dried, black, and white solutions, which violate the spirit God intended.

Another problem is that, in general, people do not like to use their brains. They react with those old, easy, cut and dried ideas. It is an automatic reflex. When they encounter something new and different, they immediately react negatively and reject it all, without giving much thought.

3rd big problem is that Christians always promote and expect the ultimate idealistic solution, which is often not realistic or practical. They expect that anyone should be able to follow God in exactly the same way as everyone else. The same tastes, same views, same everything, with little to no tolerance for anyone who sees things differently. This is not fair or right. The gospel of God allows for lots of variations on everything except the few laws reserved for no compromise.

BBE) 6 it is not wise to go farther than what is in the holy Writings
RSV) 6 that you may learn by us not to go beyond what is written
Wey) 6 "Nothing beyond what is written!"
YLT) 6 learn not to think above that which hath been written

But Christians go far beyond the few important laws to nearly every little view on just about anything. They have dictated far too much, covering political things, entertainment choices and a whole lot more. The Bible says not to go beyond the things written. You might say, not to go beyond the things specified that are certain. Many are not able to go along with the narrow confining expectations and mold made for everyone by mainstream Christianity, so called. Who can blame them?

So I ask, I even beg, for Christians to dare to reconsider their views to see if they are narrow and unreasonable or not.
2 Corinthians 13:
            GLT)  5 Examine yourselves, whether you are in the faith, prove yourselves.
Weymouth )  5 Test yourselves to discover whether you are true believers: put your own selves under examination.
Rotherham )  5 Be trying, yourselves, whether ye are in the faith, be putting, yourselves, to the test!
            BBE)  5 Make a test of yourselves, if you are in the faith; make certain of yourselves.

God Judges All Individually
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God does not judge any 2 people the same way. He judges each according to their personal abilities, circumstances, and experience. One who has had a hard life might be allowed a little bit more in behavioral problems that that of someone raised in good circumstances. Smart people, judges, teachers, and people with power and influence will be judged much more severely than those who are dumb, or with little influence or power. We should do the same.

Some people are born to wonderful loving parents while others are born to miserable or ignorant parents. Some are born to poor parents while others are born to rich ones. Some live in good community circumstances, others do not. Some are born in peaceful law abiding places and some in war torn, crime ridden areas. Not all are born to the same political rule or persuasion. There are many varieties of circumstances that we can be born into.

Indeed, some are born into a good life where life is a blessing. But as well, some are born into a life that is not a blessing. It is a living hell on earth. There are many things that can shape or alter our views so that no 2 people come out exactly alike. Some come out very different from the usual.

But God’s gospel was designed for all people everywhere and of every circumstance. But many Christians do not apply the gospel to every circumstance and expect all to be exact duplicates of each other. This is not God’s Gospel, nor His son’s, nor that of the Apostles, Prophets, or any of the rest of His servants.

GLT) Matthew 9:
12 But Jesus hearing, He said to them, The ones who are strong have no need of a physician, but the ones who are sick.
13 But going, learn what this is, "I desire mercy and not sacrifice." For I did not come to call righteous ones, but sinners to repentance. {Hosea. 6:6}

God wants all people to be saved. The Gospel is meant for all, but especially for those who do not yet know or obey God. This is who we have to present the Gospel to.

Matthew 16:
27 For the Son of man is about to come with His angels in the glory of His Father. And then "He will give reward to each according to his actions."
[LXX-Psa. 61:13; Pro. 24:12; MT-Psa. 62:12]

Luke 6:
35 But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for he is kind to the ungrateful and the selfish. 
36 Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.
37 Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven; 
38 give, and it will be given to you; good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For the measure you give will be the measure you get back. [RSV]

Matthew 11:
28 Come to Me, all those laboring and being burdened, and I will give you rest. 
29 Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, because I am meek and lowly in heart, "and you will find rest to your souls." [Jer. 6:16] 
30 For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light.

GLT) Isaiah 61:
1 The Spirit of the Lord Jehovah is on Me, because Jehovah has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the meek. He has sent Me to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to captives, and complete opening to the bound ones; 
2 to proclaim the acceptable year of Jehovah, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn

Errors of Current Common Gospels
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Modern common gospels preached by most mainstream Christianity today are grossly lacking in real, solid, carefully thought out answers that address nearly everyone and every situation. I will explain. Most Christians expect a very narrow rigid line of doctrine, that is always shear black and white, cut and dried, one size fits all solution, to be followed. The Problem is, many of God's laws allow for more than one solution, based on particular circumstances. Mercy and not Sacrifice or the Letter of the Law, right?

Matthew 23:
1 Then Jesus spoke to the crowd and to His disciples,
2 saying, The scribes and the Pharisees sat down on Moses’ seat.
3 Then all things, whatever they tell you to keep, keep and do. But do not do according to their works, for they say, and do not do.
4 For they bind heavy and hard to bear burdens, and lay them on the shoulders of men, but they do not desire to move them with their finger.
5 And they do all their works to be seen by men. And they make their phylacteries broad and enlarge the borders of their robes.
6 And they love the first couch in the suppers, and the first seats in the synagogues,
7 and the greetings in the markets, and to be called by men, Rabbi, Rabbi.

23  Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithes of mint and dill and cummin, and you have left aside the weightier matters of the Law: judgment, and mercy, and faith. It was right to do these, and not to have left those aside.
24  Blind guides, straining out the gnat, but swallowing the camel!
25  Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you cleanse the outside of the cup and of the dish, but within they are full of robbery and excess.
26  Blind Pharisee! First cleanse the inside of the cup and of the dish, that the outside of them may become clean also.
27  Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitened graves which outwardly indeed appear beautiful, but within are full of bones of the dead, and of all uncleanness.
28  So you also indeed outwardly appear righteous to men, but within are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.

Matthew 5:20 For I say to you, If your righteousness shall not exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees, in no way shall you go into the kingdom of Heaven.

Christians preach and teach a gospel that only works for a few people; hardly any, really. More often than not, the "gospel" fails but most go on pretending that it does not and that they are all following it when in truth, most are lying and not following it at all. But they all support the lie and keep it going. They put on a pretense, a show, like actors, which Greeks called hypocrites. This gospel of theirs is is also very unappealing and unrealistic to many who we are supposed to preach to and win over to Christ. But these mainstream preachers do not care as long as the ones who do listen to them and follow them, and contribute lots of money to them. But they dishonor God and the gospel given to them to preach.

For instance, they preach to people raised in good circumstances who were brought up from the beginning to think like mainstream Christians, so called. Maybe in the Bible Belt, so called, and raised and programmed to think and act a certain way, and never once question what they were taught and they blindly follow what is handed down. Despite this, these same ones who follow blindly, perhaps pledging their virginity till marriage, often do not live up to those vows because they try to prolong a built in, God given, and very powerful, desire for sex, that should cause them to seek out marriage at a very young age, by today's standards, although God does not consider it young, as in too young.

They say you must not commit fornication, but most of them do. They say you should wait till you marry and get a good job and circumstance first. But that almost never happens, either, before they give in to sex. Better to marry while young and work from there but they prefer to sin, instead. Hypocrites indeed. Chastity rings are a load of crap if it usually ends up in fornication. The solutions offered do not satisfy the requirements of God. Another solution is badly needed or at least needs to be given more thought.

We say kids should wait till 25 or 30 to marry, when they are dying for marriage or at least sex by 14 or 15. But we also say, because we could not possibly be wrong, that its wrong to even think bad things or fantasize about them. So we say masturbation is wrong or that seeing a picture of a naked body will send us straight to hell, but we deny marriage at a realistic time as well, so that absolutely no outlet is allowed from 15-25 or 30. Remaining chaste for the most important 10 or 15 years of our sexual craving? It will almost never happen.

What is the solution? Where have we gone wrong? Is it impossible to follow God's law or have we ourselves made it impossible to follow and obey God and His rules by our own silly rules? There are many things to review and reconsider. But most refuse and they love to insinuate the worst in me, suggesting I am vulgar, or given to the flesh, as if I had done something rather than discuss something. They refuse to address anything I write, and yet insist I am clearly wrong. But if I am wrong so obviously and clearly, then it should be so incredibly easy to point out where or how I am so wrong. Yet they can not and do not. They know they can't, but I am still the wrong one. Liars and hypocrites!

We have many issues that need better thinking than we have yet seen. Our stands on all angles of slavery, drugs, many sex issues, prophecies, over-emphasizing some things while drastically under-emphasizing others; we have so much to reconsider. The laws of most nations are no where near God's laws yet we acts as if our laws of our nations were far superior to God's laws. We have rejected God, thrown Him off His throne and declared ourselves gods instead.

Consider a few responsibilities that each Christian has but many neglect nearly all the time.

The Number 1 Duty to God
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Consider the accounts in Ezekiel 3 and 33!

RSV) Ezekiel 3:
16 And at the end of seven days, the word of the LORD came to me:
17 "Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel ; whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you shall give them warning from me.
18 If I say to the wicked, ‘You shall surely die,’ and you give him no warning, nor speak to warn the wicked from his wicked way, in order to save his life, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood I will require at your hand.
19 But if you warn the wicked, and he does not turn from his wickedness, or from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but you will have saved your life.
20 Again, if a righteous man turns from his righteousness and commits iniquity, and I lay a stumbling block before him, he shall die; because you have not warned him, he shall die for his sin, and his righteous deeds which he has done shall not be remembered; but his blood I will require at your hand.
21 Nevertheless if you warn the righteous man not to sin, and he does not sin, he shall surely live, because he took warning; and you will have saved your life."

RSV) Ezekiel 33:
1 The word of the LORD came to me:
2 "Son of man, speak to your people and say to them, If I bring the sword upon a land, and the people of the land take a man from among them, and make him their watchman;
3 and if he sees the sword coming upon the land and blows the trumpet and warns the people;
4 then if any one who hears the sound of the trumpet does not take warning, and the sword comes and takes him away, his blood shall be upon his own head.
5 He heard the sound of the trumpet, and did not take warning; his blood shall be upon himself. But if he had taken warning, he would have saved his life.
6 But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet, so that the people are not warned, and the sword comes, and takes any one of them; that man is taken away in his iniquity, but his blood I will require at the watchman’s hand.
7 "So you, son of man, I have made a watchman for the house of Israel ; whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you shall give them warning from me.
8 If I say to the wicked, O wicked man, you shall surely die, and you do not speak to warn the wicked to turn from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity, but his blood I will require at your hand.
9 But if you warn the wicked to turn from his way, and he does not turn from his way; he shall die in his iniquity, but you will have saved your life.

It is a very serious responsibility to be or claim to be, a Christian. For God assigns us a responsibility toward all other people, to bring them the good news but also to warn them of what is coming. If they are doing wrong, and you warn them, and they do not listen, they will die but you will live, for giving them fair warning. But if you do not warn them that they are doing wrong, then they will still die, but you will die as well for not living up to the responsibility given to you by God.

As Paul has once declared:
RSV) 1 Corinthians 9:
16 For if I preach the gospel, that gives me no ground for boasting. For necessity is laid upon me. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!

It is not just Paul that has that duty. It is all of us. Of course, before we can warn or even teach the scriptures and what they require, we must first learn them well ourselves. Then we can teach.

(RSV) James 4:17 Whoever knows what is right to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.

It is a very serious responsibility we have before God and men. We must actively do good and warn as well. So you who got a big mouth and are quite sure I am absolutely wrong, you have to warn me or you will die with me, if I am wrong as you say. But you can't just say I am wrong without showing me why and how. To tell a person they are going the wrong way and not show them their error and the right way, is a sin. Fact! Have I said or reasoned wrong? Where? Point it out and show me! Otherwise you shall surely die for neglect of duties.

But here is the other problem. You may not be able to show me where I am wrong. You might be stumped and not be able to answer me. That could only be for 2 reasons. You have not learned much or know much and so can not show me. That means you have not done your work, yet. You have not learned enough to be useful to God. Time to get to work, isn't it?

On the other hand, maybe you need to go get some help from those who know more than you. Find the smartest people you know to help you find an answer you can give to me, to show me my error. On the other hand, it is also a possibility that I am right and can not be refuted because I am standing in the truth and it is you who are wrong.

I repeat yet again, if I am so clearly wrong, surely this will be no tough assignment for you to show me my errors and point me in the right direction. But I have never seen anyone dare try to overcome my reasoning and scriptures quoted. Yet I do believe many have faulted me for what I write while not having the courage to address me or my ideas by name or description. So it is not me who is wrong if you are tongue tied and can not move your hands or fingers to point out where I err. If I am wrong, I will die, but if you do not correct me with facts, then you're going with me to the grave.

Show some guts, some courage, some diligence and accountability. I dare you! Lets see you just try, just even once. I'll bet you can't do it because you are in error and I am not. Prove me wrong!

What I Have Presented
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I have presented numerous articles of every sort with volumes of scriptures to support what I assert. I supply lines of reasoning. Show me where those are wrong! I have covered nearly every topic under the sun that is very relevant to our times today. Show me one place where I have erred or forever hold your peace in print.

I have written what I consider a very well thought out presentation on what it really means to be sinful and born of sin and in sin, the sin of Adam. Most people say they are sinners with their lips but with their rules and expectations, they really say we are perfect and should be always perfect. We can't possibly be perfect and God still be true. If we were perfect, we would never die. FACT! So many things have gone on, very misunderstood through the ages and it needs to stop now and be corrected.

To the best of my ability, I have tried to let the world of Christianity know the many errors they have accumulated and piled up over the centuries since Christ died and was resurrected. I have tried to warn and have written much to show you exactly why. Again, if you say I am wrong, show me where! I took the time to show you where I think you went wrong. Either set me straight or prepare to die a 2nd death at the day of God's Judging.

So at the end of this article, under Related Articles, I list the most important articles for you to consider. But really, this whole site presents many things that badly need re-considered.
Do unto others as you would have them do unto you, right? Do you agree?

RSV) Matthew 25:
31 When the Son of man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne.
32 Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate them one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats,
33 and he will place the sheep at his right hand, but the goats at the left.

34 Then the King will say to those at his right hand, ‘Come, O blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world;
35 for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me,
36 I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’

37 Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see thee hungry and feed thee, or thirsty and give thee drink?
38 And when did we see thee a stranger and welcome thee, or naked and clothe thee?
39 And when did we see thee sick or in prison and visit thee?’
40 And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me.’

41 Then he will say to those at his left hand, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels;
42 for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink,
43 I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’

44 Then they also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see thee hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to thee?’
45 Then he will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it not to one of the least of these, you did it not to me.’
46 And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.

This is a very serious account that most do not take seriously. Jesus is going to judge us by how we treat even the least of his brothers in the faith here on earth as if we did it to Jesus, instead. I take the time to show you possible errors. You need to take the time to show me my errors if there are any. I am easy to get a hold of by email. I do not hide or make it nearly impossible to email as many do. And by slighting me in saying I am in error and implying I preach vulgar or obscene things, you are certainly slapping me or spitting in my face, so to speak. If I happen to be right, and you do this, it will be Jesus you actually do it to. If you are right, you'll be fine. But if by some miracle you do happen to be wrong, you could be in very serious trouble with none other than Jesus, the Christ, the son of the living God. So go ahead! Make my day!

Have you ever linked to my site or shared some of it with someone? Offered a kind word to me? Written something yourself to refute my ideas, even if not to me personally? Sent me a link to it? How you respond to my large volume of work and large amount of time and study, is going to make a serious impact on how you are judged by Christ come Judgment Day. You wait! You'll see! I am warning you know for your own protection and to cleanse the blood from my own hands as well. Ignore it all at your own peril.

What Happened in the 1950s and 60s
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As I see it, the 50s brought some new problems to the USA and a good deal of the world, perhaps, as well. Some of it was the aftermath of WWII. In WWII, we temporarily relaxed and suspended many morals and had to completely change our way of life. The country sort of looked the other way while young women gave the soldiers a last thrill, perhaps as incentive to go to war, and maybe a going away present, in case the soldier did not come back. Prostitution was legalized and carefully regulated so that problems were minimized. Women went to work in large numbers, due to men going overseas. They suddenly discovered independence and more freedom to do as they pleased. Loose conduct was not so much a problem for sake of the soldiers.

Once women got a taste of independence, they were not anxious to give it up. I can't really fault this, but the way our world had run prior to the war, men worked and women raised the kids and tended to household work. One income was enough to support as family, as it should be! What was going to give, once all the boys came back? What was left of them, anyway! Who will take care of the kids and household chores? What is more, when the guys came back, they had been exposed to horrifying conditions and were psychologically affected, some even damaged. To be fair, I don't imagine the Great Depression exactly helped the situation, either. I am sure that had some residual effect on all people who went through that as well.

Also not appreciated is that the goal of the education system had been, from its beginning in the later 1800s, to limit knowledge and education to its bare essentials whereas Americans had, before mandatory education had come along, educated their kids far more than those who rule us would have liked. By taking over for the parents, they could stop the kids from learning too much. The effect was that by WWI, they could barely find enough men who had enough brains to be useful. OF course, the Civil (so called) War had killed of most of the best and brightest for quite some time. But by WWII, the boys were not smart enough. They had to improve education after that. So we were less equipped and prepared for life than ever before, after the war.

The combined effect was a disaster, but likely one that was intended for us. How better to change a society and how it does things than to force a crisis upon it that would force those changes. So morals, once having been relaxed, were never going to be the same. Morals can not just go back and forth; once the genie is out of the bottle and the imaginary line in our consciences has been broken, it is very hard to put it back. It is too easy to keep going back and forth over that line. Rosie the Riveter, symbolic of working women during the war, did not want to stay at home or even get married. It was much more fun to play the field as far as sex goes. Women in general found this new freedom kind of fun. It is fun, but also comes with many harmful consequences but these were not fully appreciated or recognized, at least at first. I don't think we yet realize how much damage was done.

So there were so many tensions on the family unit now that had never been before, in the history of the USA and the world at large. Kids grew up in marriages loaded with tension and conflict. It was not the nice or stable environment it once had been for many, although family life has always been a challenge for as long as people ever existed. But it was now even worse and due to get more so as time went on. It was easier to walk away from it. At first, few did because the stigma of divorce was present. But after a few had done it and broke the ice, it got easier and easier.

Life was becoming so different from what was being preached and taught to kids. Everyone was nice and trustworthy, right? Well, that was not how the kids found it. There were lots of lies about how if you worked hard and did a good job, you would be rewarded. That was a lie, too. And Marriage was so wonderful, right? Well, there goes another myth! Get a job, a lousy, low paying thankless job that was drudgery and boredom and you were supposed to be happy with life. But that is not how it felt. I could go on and on about the disillusions of life after the war onward. The work place was becoming far more pressured and demanding. Everywhere the pressure was being turned up and it was all mounting. Despite every effort to ignore it and escape through diversions in recreation or whatever, it was not working because it was not very humane, what was taking place. The old myths, mantras, and status quo lines were not working anymore.

We had lots of silly taboos for which there were no good answers, either. We were absurdly conservative, far too much so. Kids could not express the world honestly and were supposed to be seen and not heard. They were to respect institutions and customs that were getting harder to respect everyday. What pleased the older generations just was not connecting with the young. I think this is what helped bring JFK to office, along with some help from the mob. But I do think that JFK really did win over a lot of America. More on that later, maybe.

When times get difficult, often new tactics will be called for. Life was getting worse and no one wanted to admit it and fix it. Those who led us were tightening the vise on us and the older generations were just sitting there doing nothing and pretending nothing was wrong. But everything was wrong and the kids knew it and they began to talk among themselves and unrest began to grow. No one noticed at first. Some changes began in the later 50s but it would become all too obvious in the 60s. It would not hide then, any longer. Worse, kids were not being brought up well at all. Parents thought the kids could raise themselves. It did not work out that way.

Its a funny thing about human nature. Its lazy and does not like to tackle or deal with tough subjects. We prefer to ignore it and hope it will go away, all though it never does. We keep on doing the same things and yet expect different results than before. We think we can wish things out of existence but it always fails. Time and again, the young nation of Israel in the time of the Judges, would let themselves fall into slavery and misery at the hands of their surrounding enemies because they would not keep the commands of their God, Jehovah. They would not drive out the Canaanites as commanded for they did not want to be bothered. Maybe it would just go away by itself, right?

This is the problem that now confronts Christianity as never before. The world has gotten far worse, just as God had said it would, and yet Christians have not addressed or prepared for hardly any of it. They have let everything go and just hoped it would all get better but it won't. God said it would become the worst time in world history. Why don't Christians believe God and prepare for this terrible day and age that Jesus, the Apostles and Prophets spoke of?

Modern Mainstream typically Right Wing Conservative Christianity has long ignored the many skeletons in its historical closet, and paid no attention to the many things important to God and for the benefit of His people were changed by social political engineers who ultimately, more typically, serve the interests of the devil rather than God and seem to hate God and His will. Christianity has completely failed its kids so that now the kids have no real answers as to how to cope with a world so alienated from God. Modern Popular Christianity has been a total failure. That is why most kids today do not even pay attention to it anymore.

Kids need to be accurately informed of the world as it really is, and not as many have pretended it to be. Its not a nice place and they need to know that. When the army prepared new recruits, they go through boot camp. Boot camp is rigorous and instructors prepare and condition the recruits for very challenging conditions, and how to handle them and survive. Our kids need as much, if not more. Instead, we tell them how great and fair the world is and that everything will be just fine. Complete lies. They need truth, not lies. The devil lies full time and we need to stop helping him and start revealing the truth about our "wonderful" world.

Anyway, the 60s brought on a large protest from a portion of the young. Maybe not a majority at that time, but they would grow in numbers. They were upset about a lot. But as well, they were seduced by their libido but no one was really able to explain why that could and would be so bad. But they found out as women got left with babies and absent run-away impregnators. Many lessons were learned the hard way because the parents had no idea what they were doing with those first baby boomers. It was in the 70s that our society really began to change in a big way, and so many ways.

But as these things began with kids mildly rebelling in the later 50s, the parents were not prepare to address so many things because neither they nor their religious leaders had bothered to give anything much thought. We all paid for their really poor job of preparation. Its only gotten worse, not better.

The Challenge Before Us      . . .    If We Dare!
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Do you belong to a church and have a leader? Called by some a Pastor, a Reverend, a Minister, a Priest, a Bishop, an Elder or whatever! Then I am talking to you. Many of you, most of you, depend on someone else knowing and teaching you. You like to be part of a flock, a herd, a congregation, a group, a place of belonging. As well, there is that pressure to fit in, not rock the boat, go along with the party line; long ago compromised and sold out, in all likelihood. You are the one most likely to be in danger. You are the ones the powers that be have sought to mislead and keep under control.

But at the same time, there are all these small independent voices of concern on the internet and around, who do not care about fitting in or making anyone happy. They only care about God and are willing to speak the truth and sound the alarm. They do not depend on anyone or anything other than their own conscience and intellectual faculties to arrive at the truth. They may not be perfect and there will be some errors among them, but as a whole, they are far more likely to have a better body of truth than what the mainstream popular options will have.

You need to begin an open honest diligent search to make sure what you believe is really, absolutely, the truth, as best as you can discern and understand it. It should only matter what you think, not what your neighbor, friend, or fellow church members think, or even your pastor, politician, professor, teacher, therapist, doctor, lawyer, employer, or other should say. You are just as capable of reasoning and thinking as any of them are. They do not possess any special abilities or powers. They are not gods, but merely ordinary average flawed and possessed of sin - men.

You need to conduct your own trial and be the judge and jury of your trial to determine who is right and who is wrong. It is you who must answer to God, using your own brain and abilities. The abilities of someone else will not help you. If they are right, they will only save themselves. You still have to show that you know and obey for yourself. If they are wrong, Jesus says that if a blind man leads a blind man, they will both fall into a pit. Don't throw away your life because you listened to someone else who has followed the beaten path, the broad, well traveled road, leading to destruction.

Jesus has made it clear that only a few, a very few, have found the path leading to life. Its not a well traveled or popular road. Its narrow, cramped and not a fun path to walk. But take it anyway. Its the only one leading to life!

But this is not just for you. You have to tell others as well. I showed you Ezekiel 3 & 33. It is your duty to correct other Christians if they are in error. You can't just walk away silently. You don't have to directly confront them but you could publish something. But if someone directly confronts you, you need to and are obligated to respond. If you do not, it could have serious consequences for you. Consider that if you are afraid to confront a person who seems to have an interest in the Bible, how much more afraid are you going to be when an authority or power confronts you about your faith and wants you to give it up and renounce Christ?

Jesus said that he who is faithful in small things is faithful also in big things and that he who is unfaithful or unrighteous in little is also the same in much or bigger things as well. If we can not rise up to the small challenges, how will we ever stand up to the big ones? It is best to get into a mentality where you are used to taking on challenges without hesitation. You establish a pattern and a habit that will serve you well. And of course, getting to know the Bible and Law of God really well will make this much easier as well.

If you don't have all the answers, then read what many different denominations and sources have to say. Consult as many varied ideas on matters as you can. In fact, look for the ideas that seem to break with the pack and challenge the popular beliefs. In a trial, a fair trial, both sides have a right to present their side. In a multitude of counselors there is wisdom and salvation, say the Proverbs. Do you believe that? Then practice it. Would you conduct a trial with only hearing one side or half the evidence? I hope not. I'm not done yet with this.

In addition, if you have kids, you have to teach them the right things. They are not going to accept stupid simple easy answers and explanations. These will not work and they know it. You will have to give everything some deep careful contemplated thought. And you will have to admit your ignorance at times and pledge to update whenever possible. Honesty and candor are very important with kids. Not being willing to admit mistakes will erode trust and confidence in you kids. You know how you hate it when authorities will not admit that they can and do make mistakes, right?

Matthew 7:
13 Go in through the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many are the ones who go through it. 
14 For narrow is the gate, and constricted is the way that leads away into life, and few are the ones who find it.

Luke 13:
22 And He went through by cities and villages, teaching and making progress toward Jerusalem . 
23 And one said to Him, Lord, are the ones being saved few? But He said to them, 
24 Labor to enter in through the narrow gate, for I say to you that many will seek to enter in and will not have strength.

I love to compare the 2 accounts of the narrow gate. They are not the same accounts. Matthew's account is from the Sermon on the Mount. But in Luke, someone has heard that Jesus said not many will be saved. It sounded hard to believe. So he asks about it. Note how Jesus answered him. It was basically, you don't know the half of it. Not only are few finding it, but of the few finding it, many of them will not actually enter or have the strength to continue once they do enter. How sad, huh?

But what I say to that is, don't expect lots of your friends and church members to be all excited when you start questioning certain ideas or beliefs as you begin to take a 2nd look at things. They do not like what they have come to believe, to be disturbed. They do believe that ignorance is bliss and they fear you are eventually going to disturb their peace among the crowd. You will end up like Jesus, alone on a cross, wondering what the number of that truck was that hit you and flattened you out. Its a lonely road to the top. But its the only road that you have.

RSV) Mathew 9:
16 And no one puts a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, for the patch tears away from the garment, and a worse tear is made.
17 Neither is new wine put into old wineskins; if it is, the skins burst, and the wine is spilled, and the skins are destroyed; but new wine is put into fresh wineskins, and so both are preserved.

The old tied way of doing things has got to stop. It does not work anymore. In fact, it never did. The world has gone to hell because we were all sleeping on the watch and did not see the enemy approaching from afar. Now the enemy, the devil, has overtaken all things and we are left wonder what hit us. Where were all our political leaders while this was going on? Even more important, where were our religious leaders, our shepherds, our church leaders, who were supposed to be guarding the city walls and watching out for the flock? How come they did not see what is going on and still don't really see. What a bunch of failures they have all been. Blind guides everyone of them. You need a new wine skin, my friends. A total break with the typical controlled networked system where everybody is expected to fit in and get along and not rock the boat. Time to break out on your own and do it for yourself. You can do it. Many have. No prophet was ever cheered by the crowd in their own time. Jesus said nearly all of them met with death.

Pick up your cross and follow the Messiah daily.
Matthew 10:38 and he who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.
Matthew 16:24 Then Jesus told his disciples, "If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.

Motivated with Mercy and Compassion
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1 Cor.13:
1 If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.
2 And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.
3 If I give away all I have, and if I deliver my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.

1 Cor. 14:1 Make love your aim

1 John 5:2 By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments. 3 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome.

Incidentally, these scriptures quoted from 1 John 5 are almost identical to those spoken by Jesus in John chapters 13 &15 as well as the following:

John 13:
34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; even as I have loved you, that you also love one another.
35 By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.

John 15:12 This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.

I should not really have to elaborate on the above, but I can not resist. No matter what we undertake, if it is not done with love and motivated by deep sincere love as in real concern, empathy, and compassion, then it will be for nothing. Part of the reason behind this is that when you talk, there are any number of tones in which you can deliver your words. The tone needs to be one of love and concern, not harshness or an emptiness of feeling, indifference, sarcasm, or worse. It needs to be warm, soothing, healing, and confidence building as love can do.

The words we choose also need to have that love behind them. If we really work hard to bring up that love into our hearts, it will automatically bring up the right words and make up for them by the tone, and other non-verbal cues that make the person believe there is real compassion and sincerity in what you speak or teach. Without that love coming through in the voice and non-verbal expressions, you often will not reach the heart of the other person. And that is what is most important.

Too may times, Christians do not speak out of love or concern, nor act out of love, either. The problem with print, such as here, is that you do not have the non-verbal elements to add or subtract to the words. But the reader needs to carefully weigh the words when they are in print and be objective in considering them. As Christians, we do not want to make excuses to slight or ignore an idea or trivialize it, pre-judging it. Remember that as you judge people and ideas, so God will judge you. If you are a fair impartial judge, you shall get an fair impartial judgment.

So we agree that love as a proper motivation is very important, right? Still, I am going to hammer this sort of idea to death, just a little. But this is not just love for your own kids or those in your church or denomination. It is for the whole world of people. Your gospel, your message, must be relevant and important to the world as well as your own.

Luke 6:
27 But I say to you that hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 
28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. 
29 To him who strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also; and from him who takes away your coat do not withhold even your shirt.
30 Give to every one who begs from you; and of him who takes away your goods do not ask them again. 
31 And as you wish that men would do to you, do so to them. 
32 If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. 
33 And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. 
34 And if you lend to those from whom you hope to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to receive as much again.
35 But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for he is kind to the ungrateful and the selfish. 
36 Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.
37 Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven; 
38 give, and it will be given to you; good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For the measure you give will be the measure you get back. [RSV]

Do we, do you, consider a gospel that will be meaningful and important to those who are not Christian? Do we take the careful time to really think through the Bible to account for different circumstances that we will encounter? Will our message work on foreign peoples? Poor peoples? Outcasts? Abused or neglected? The rich? Addicts? Criminals? Our message was meant to be taken to all. We must take it to all, if we are to please God.

But in saying that, do we first know the Bible as we should? Do we have really good solid scriptural reasoning or do we have nothing but those pat, simple, easy answers and beliefs to offer? It really forces us to give very careful study to the scriptures, for our responsibility to God and men is a very serious and weighty one, not to be taken lightly at all.

Yet another problem is that many Christians totally shun the world, such as the Amish. But we can not completely shut out the world and still show compassion and take the gospel to them. We can not completely avoid temptation and hide from sin. Nor are we even expected to. Consider this next account very carefully, please.

(GLT) 1 Corinthians 5:
9 I wrote to you in the letter not to associate with fornicators;
10 and not altogether with the fornicators of this world, or with the covetous, or with plunderers, or with idolaters, since then you must go out of the world.
11 But now I wrote to you not to associate intimately; if anyone is called a brother and is either a fornicator, or a covetous one, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or a plunderer, with such a one not to eat.
12 For what is it to me also to judge the ones outside? Do you not judge those inside?
13 But God will judge the ones outside. "And you shall put out the evil one from you." [Deut. 17:7]

There is sin all around most of us who live in cities and towns and villages. But we do not entirely avoid them. We are not expected to. In fact, the gospel taken to the nations was first taken to the cities, primarily. It was an urban movement that only many years later made its way out into the remote places. We only avoid those who we personally know as brothers and sisters who sin without shame or regret. God will take care of the world when He is ready. But we owe the world love and the Good news of God's Kingdom. We dare not keep it from them or God will judge us. We do not look down on them or despise them. They know not what they do. We show compassion and understanding, even as Jesus did!

Matthew 9:
35 And Jesus went about all the cities and the villages teaching in their synagogues, and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every weakness of body among the people.
36 And seeing the crowds, He was moved with pity for them, because they were tired and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd.
37 Then He said to His disciples, The harvest truly is great, but the workers few.
38 Pray then that the Lord of the harvest may send out workers into His harvest.

Mark 6:
33 Now many saw them going, and knew them, and they ran there on foot from all the towns, and got there ahead of them.
34 As he went ashore he saw a great throng, and he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things.

Jesus well understood the difficult position people were in. Most never had the guidance and instruction they really needed. Those who rule over them do not guide them for their benefit but use them. Jesus felt great pity and compassion for the crowd. He taught them and then fed them as well. Do we realize how tough it is to grow up in the world without knowing much about God and often not receiving nearly enough love and direction of any kind? It is vital that we fully understand how these might view the world and life. Life is not necessarily seen as a gift by some, but a cruel joke on them. We need to understand that perspective as well as our own.

Matthew 18:
10 See that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I tell you that their angels in Heaven continually look on the face of My Father in Heaven.
11 For the Son of man has come to save that which was lost.
12 What do you think? If there be to any man a hundred sheep, and one of them strays away, will he not leave the ninety nine on the mountains, and going, seek the straying one?
13 And if he happens to find it, truly I say to you that he rejoices over it more than over the ninety nine not going astray.
14 So it is not the will before your Father in Heaven that one of these little ones should perish.

Little ones can also include anyone lost or ignorant of God and not loved and nurtured as God intended that all should be. Since the sin of Adam, many have lacked what God had wanted them all to have. We have been chosen to bring God to those lost little sheep of His, little lambs to be tenderly cared for and have someone to understand them a little. Their views and thinking are as relevant as ours. They need and deserve consideration, too.

Luke 15:
4 "What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost, until he finds it?
5 And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing.
6 And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost.’
7 Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.

10 Just so, I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents.

Jesus, on behalf of the Father, will turn heaven and earth upside down, if he must, to get that one lost sheep. We must have the same devotion to the cause of others as well. How much or how far will we go to understand the perspective of those who have never known God previously or have not had God presented to them right?

James 3:
1 Let not many of you become teachers, my brethren, for you know that we who teach shall be judged with greater strictness.
2 For we all make many mistakes, and if any one makes no mistakes in what he says he is a perfect man, able to bridle the whole body also.

While James was applying this primarily to those who teach the entire congregation in some way, it does not completely exempt us. We all have to responsibility to preach, which means we will have to teach as well. We teach our kids, right? We teach friends. Whenever we teach, we also have a responsibility to do it right, honoring God in doing so. And while some might say, I will avoid teaching so that I can not be judged severely, it should also be understood that we can not abdicate or ignore whatever responsibility we have to spread the message of God and pass it on to our kids. We must do so with all our heart, mind, body, soul, strength and zeal. So we must give it our all, always, never holding back on God or men. Ezekiel 3 obligates us. If we refuse like Jonah, we might end up in the belly of a fish or much worse. Sound the alarm!

If we try to completely avoid any sin, we will quickly find out it really and truly is impossible. Why we would have to get out of the world. We do not get out and we do not quit mixing in company with those on the outside. They are not lepers and we are not angels and we should be able to interact with them without serious sin. Oh, we might laugh at an off color joke, but we will not stoop to fornication or adultery, right? We worry about the big sins and not make a big deal about those silly little things. Its called balance and perspective. We have priorities to observe and we can not be perfect. So we must be willing and able to let some things at the bottom of the list go.

What things are those? That is what I have written so much about on my site. Too often, I find the most important things being neglected, while the more trivial and unimportant things are made a big deal of, and I am disgusted. For if we make such a huge deal out of, say, masturbation; then how can we also say to our child, avoid porn, questionable entertainment and music, dirty jokes, crude language, bad thought and fornication of all types, not even kissing or holding hands or dating, or nothing.

With such a long, though trivial list, we have guaranteed, in the world we live in, that our child is guaranteed to fail some of the things in that list. And if any of those things condemns us, then the child is going to throw his arms up and say, I give up. I can not possibly live up to all that. So since I am going to hell, no matter which small thing I violate, I guess I might as well break them all and so he goes out and fornicates.

The Bible did not list many things in Acts 15. In fact, only 4! Not even 10! Just 4! And James said in that chapter, if you keep (these 4) things, you are doing well. In other words, if you can keep these 4 in the world we live in, your doing well and we wont ask too much more of you. The "gang," called together by the Holy Spirit, picked the 4 most important, and made it clear that the ritual symbols of the law such as the Sabbath and circumcision were not required of the non-Jewish people coming to God.

So I ask you to do as I have done, and carefully reconsider all those silly little rules you have been carrying around and see which ones are really and truly important and which ones are not worth worrying about, being nearly as trivial as circumcision or what foods you eat or not, etc. In the mad house we call this world, we have enough to worry about with the big things to bother to give every little supposed sin a massive amount of attention.

I have questioned everything on my site. You need the guts and the courage to do the same. You need the care and compassion to do the same. You need to be sure about what you require of others, for if you require too much, be damned sure that God will require the same of you. Are you sure you want to do that to yourself? If there is any tenderness or compassion left in you, you need to give this the very serious attention it requires. Show me your priority list. Look at that! You don't even have one. Shame on you! Time to make one, don't you think?

More Perspectives to Consider
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I want to tackle a few other perspectives that can have a big impact on some issues that some would think absolutely out of the question. If we were born to good families and brought up in the word of God, then we are fortunate and gifted. But we will also have more expected of us for having such advantages. On the other hand, if we were born orphaned or unloved, poorly fed, in difficult times and places, and without knowing God, then God will not expect as much, though many times, He has gotten as much from people of those backgrounds as He has from those who had much more to begin with.

But all the same, when one carries the marks of abuse of some sort or another, God will likely show more compassion than He might for someone with less excuse for bitter behavior. God knows what each of us carries. We should not be too harsh in our judgments of others. If I may illustrate. I recall one girl in the church I was in, who wanted to move out of her home as soon as she hit 18 and graduated. She then went to live with her grandmother. I thought it odd though, for grandma was not a church-goer like the parents. I also felt the girl, now 18 and not at home, had some personality defects. I thought to myself that maybe she should have a bit more to show for herself and that maybe she ought to remain at home, since she still attended meetings at the church.

It was a couple years later that I learned her father had been helping himself to her since she was 14. Well, that explains why she left the house, right? It might explain a lot of things. It might not excuse everything, either. But I felt a bit ashamed that I had judged her to some degree, without really knowing or having any idea of what she really endured or why she seemed a bit on fire, shall we say, and having strong teen interests in boys. Most girls in that church did, but she might have had a little more reason for having difficulties coping with such urges for obvious reasons.

But though I was about 26 or 27, I think, I came to realize that there could be many who carried things I could never imagine, and not all as obvious as what this girl had experienced but as severe if not worse. Its easy to judge and far too much we can not see or know. Only God is qualified for such judgment. Our approach always has to be one of assumed blindness in other people's affairs. They answer to God, and not us, really. Not as much, anyway.

But here is where things get complicated. Our strong emotions can go so far as to color our interpretation of the scriptures, and even blind us to proper interpretation. Oh yes, it is a fact. Emotions can be such hazardous obstacles to clear thinking. Let me illustrate this as well. In the face of what might be, for some, overwhelming temptation, we might in a moment of weakness, compromise our convictions and do something stupid. Our resolve melts and we give in, because emotions and desire can get the best of anyone at any given time. Perhaps a young man is confronted with a very beautiful young woman who is so turned on by him and she just decides to pop open her blouse and it gets hot and heavy maybe she even gets rid of everything else.

The young man and possibly even the young woman, too, had no intention of going anywhere near that far. But having underestimated the visual power of the body revealed, it quickly grows totally out of control. It can happen. Oh, surely Christian kids should know better, you say. Well, its one thing to say I won't do it, but until you have actually faced that temptation, you don't know what kind of power or effect it might really have, especially if you have never even seen a naked or exposed women before or been out with a female before.

But such desires can really mess with our intellect and decision making. Just ask Samson if you doubt me. Ask King David if you doubt. Great men have been made fools of in such ways. But this also illustrates why being completely sheltered and let out all at once might not be good. Too much too fast can leave someone over-exposed and under-prepared. Slowly absorbing temptation throughout our lives is better.

Let Reason Rule
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But now I ask, could other emotions really get in our way and pollute our judgments on scriptural doctrines. I think it has happened. Watch this. Life is a gift, right? It is and it can be! But sadly, for some, life is misery, poverty, suffering, abuse, beatings, and who knows what. Solomon said in Ecclesiastes that life was bitter and that the dead were better off than the living and better off than both of them is the one who never was born. Job and Jeremiah cursed the day they were born. So we have 2 very different ideas on this matter, both of which can be found in the scriptures. How's that for a dilemma, huh?

We have Abraham, who did not hesitate or question God when God asked him to sacrifice his only son, and the one promised to produce a nation of "seeds." Abraham questioned God in regards to Sodom and Gomorrah but not in sacrificing his son. What? That was amazing trust in God. Faith if ever there was such a thing. Would you be so trusting of God so as to not even question that? I really doubt it and I will tell you why.

Tihs now brings up abortion. Who in their right minds could ever abort a baby, you ask? To someone born of a good family and brought up loved and fearing God, this might well be unthinkable. Yet is was not that unthinkable to Solomon, Job, or Jeremiah, or even Abraham! Were they wicked, maybe? Well, if they were, then God is looking rather suspect, isn't He? But I am going to assume God knew what He was doing when He called these men righteous. It will be a very cold day in a damn warm place when I second guess God!

I have written an extensive article on Abortion, not because I believe Christians can or should do such a thing but that such a possibility could seem more reasonable to someone ill equipped to handle bringing up a child, for one. As well, that God must be the one who defines when a life is a life. If He says its when they are conceived, then that must settle it. But on the other hand, if He says its 6 months pregnant, that must settle it. If He says its when a baby takes its first breath of air, then that is the rule. We have no right to tell God what He can define or not. He is the boss, not us.

And if there were another scripture or 2 that makes it clear that a fetus that is caused to miscarry and does not incur the death penalty, then whether we can conceive of that or not, or accept it or not, that becomes the rule. But too often, it is our strong emotions, coupled with our complete lack of compassion for those who have few of the advantages we had as kids, that clouds our judgment and makes us severe and condemning, beyond what God may have condemned. We can not begin to understand the uncertainty and fear they might be facing or how ill equipped they really are to raise a child, when they had so little given to them. Or the harm that can come from an unloved delinquent child or one who is thrown away for adoption.

We all seem to be happy and eager to judge for others when maybe we are not qualified to do so. But what I ask is that you carefully consider the scriptures on the matter, as I have laid out in my article on abortion. At the very least, perhaps you can show more mercy and compassion for someone facing such a decision. For we who boss and make decisions for others without mercy and compassion, can be guaranteed to receive none from God, ourselves. I believe Christians have taken a real bad serious mis-step on this issue.

Another problem is that people equate abortion with euthanasia and genocide. It is neither of those. I could not possibly be wrong, you say? I hope you're right. But let me put it this way. If you are right, it should be so easy to point out my error, if there is one. Are you afraid? Besides, whether it is certainly wrong or not, I am not saying anyone has to abort. To me, the ultimate maturity and respect for another person's judgment and conscience means that if they have reasonable good sound reasons for concluding abortion may not be wrong, then that should be respected.

But if you are going to just blindly reject this plea, you really are taking a chance, for if just by some miracle, you end up being wrong and judging so harsh, and being so hard headed about it, God may well decide you would make a terrible addition to His fine Kingdom and He might decide He has no use for your kind. So just to be sure, why not give my article a consideration. I only brought it up because, even if it is wrong, Christians have no right on earth under God to shoot and kill abortion doctors or blow up abortion clinics. Such ones who advocate such things are absolutely going to be judged by God as wicked. God has reserved it to Himself to judge the world and those on the outside, as I quoted in scripture earlier, and has forbidden us to do so. We only judge our own in our own church or religious community.

There are a number of issues like this one. All stirring up the most fanatic reactions, while fornication runs rampant among their own kids. I marvel at this. The comment was made about Moses that [GLT, Numbers 12:3] "the man Moses was very meek, more than any man who was on the face of the earth." If Moses, given a position higher than nearly any other but Jesus, or possibly Noah, Job, or maybe Daniel, was so meek and reasonable, that maybe we ought to try to be the same.

It is never a good thing to be hard headed and not be willing to listen and reason when asked to do so. But if you want to gamble with your life, it is your right to do so. I have cleansed my hands of any blood guilt as far as I am concerned. Let God be my judge and yours! I can do no more.

Romans 12:18 If possible, so far as it depends upon you, live peaceably with all. [RSV]

(RSV) James 2:
1 My brethren, show no partiality as you hold the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory.
2 For if a man with gold rings and in fine clothing comes into your assembly, and a poor man in shabby clothing also comes in,
3 and you pay attention to the one who wears the fine clothing and say, "Have a seat here, please," while you say to the poor man, "Stand there," or, "Sit at my feet,"
4 have you not made distinctions among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts?
5 Listen, my beloved brethren. Has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which he has promised to those who love him?
6 But you have dishonored the poor man. Is it not the rich who oppress you, is it not they who drag you into court?
7 Is it not they who blaspheme that honorable name which was invoked over you?
8 If you really fulfill the royal law, according to the scripture, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself," you do well.
9 But if you show partiality, you commit sin, and are convicted by the law as transgressors.
10 For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it.

To be partial in our treatment of people or in judgment of matters, we commit sin and are convicted. Are you sure that is what you want:? If you deliberately break one single law, you break the whole contract, do you not? I really do think being hard headed and absolutely sure, is taking a very big chance. Surely I am not that hard to refute if I am so wrong.

Acts 18:
24 But a certain Jew named Apollos, an Alexandrian by birth, an eloquent man, came to Ephesus, being powerful in the Scriptures. 
25 This one having been taught by mouth in the way of the Lord, and being fervent in spirit, he spoke and taught accurately the things about the Lord, having understood only the baptism of John.

To be accurate, you really have to know the scriptures and really care about being careful and accurate. You don't get those by being careless or showing no effort.

Acts 18: 4 And he reasoned in the synagogue on every sabbath persuading both Jews and Greeks.

Acts 17:
10 But the brothers at once sent both Paul and Silas to Berea during the night; who having arrived went into the synagogue of the Jews. 
11 And these were more noble than those in Thessalonica, for they received the Word with all readiness, daily examining the Scriptures if these things are so.

Some Jews were far more willing to examine the scriptures and test out what Paul was saying, even though Paul was considered a heretic by most Jews. I come to you all now, begging to be heard on serious matters with more scriptures and reasons that you have ever seen before. Will you take another look at those scriptures like these in Berea did? Show me where I am wrong? I will certainly review anything you give me. Will you do the same?

I spend many hundreds of hours on this stuff, more likely in the thousands, all tallied. I get no money, unlike many, and neither any glory or credit. I do not even put my name on these to get credit as well as follow the tradition of many books in the Bible, who also do not declare who the writer/recorder is. I reserve no copyrights or even care if you credit me or not and few do. I do not want to hinder the message in any way. Its the message and not me, that I care about. I write and do my best to make my concerns known so that I may free myself from any blood guilt for knowing and not telling. I can do no more for you if you want to turn a deaf ear and blind eye. My hands are clean of any blood guilt.

You need to decide how much you are willing to extend yourself for God and man. How deep is your love?

The Big Picture
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Many Christians do not understand this odd dilemma in the Bible. The Bible often presents the ultimate standard of perfection, never intending us to be able to live up to it, but to try to get as close as we can, within reason, without being extreme and trying for too much. But there are plenty of places where the Bible also makes clear that perfection is beyond our reach and we will all fall short and goof up, almost continually, at least in word, if not deed. But the Bible does not always clarify this. We are supposed to keep it in mind.

In many of the subjects I write, I show you how far we are from the standard of God. Christian Community is one such example. We have lost nearly all of it and won't get it back before Jesus returns to make all matters right. We need to know how bad things have gotten and what we are missing. It would be silly to try to get it all back now. We must prepare for the ultimate testing. Neutrality and War show the extent of our madness and how far we have strayed from the commands of God. The Sexual Topics Page has many articles that demonstrate how little attention we have given to what is the most powerful and overwhelming urge that we must deal with, our ultimate challenge-enemy, really. Since it is our biggest challenge, it deserves and should get the most attention, and yet we are horribly afraid of it and run and hide from it, making us and our young all the more vulnerable to it. How stupid! When will we ever learn??? Cowards do not inherit God's Kingdom! Fact!

The respect for the individual and his own Christian Conscience and mental faculties is profound in the Bible, yet mysteriously absent among denominations. We are supposed to go along with the majority of the group. There is where we have erred, but the devil likes it that way. We need to become individuals before God and His Christ. One True Church shows that there is no such thing and that the wheat and weeds, the sheep and the goats, live together until Christ returns to separate them and he has not done that yet, but soon will, I imagine. It further highlights the individual serving Christ, and not a group. We all answer to Christ individually. We do not need a mediator to Christ. Christ is the only mediator between us and God.

Another important matter as I see it, is How to Interpret the Bible in the 1st place. Most don't seem to have a clue. But it is important to know. If we are going to Educate Our Children, then we must help them understand the topics I bring up here and prepare them for what really is and what really is going to happen, so they don't get caught by surprise, unprepared. Our Sinfulness is one of the most important articles dealing with what we can reasonably expect of others and what we can not. If we judge severely or expect too much, we will end up being judged by that same measure. You don't want that, do you?

You have lots to consider and I hope you will have the courage and diligence to take this on. Its a lot of reading, but I absolutely guarantee you, that much of what you read here, you have probably never encountered before. But sadly, you should have, but your religious shepherds have seriously let you down. Fire them and get some better advice elsewhere! Time to face the Real World once and for all. We have a great battle before us and we will all be tested to our limit. But if we have prepared well, we can and will endure it victoriously. But if we run and hide, we will almost certainly die the 2nd death, from which there is no return.

You need to get this right. Failure is not an option! I have washed my hands clean of blood guilt in what I publish on this site and in looking for individuals who seem to have the right stuff. You destiny is solely in your own hands now. Good luck and Best wishes and the spirit of God will do what it will with that, according to your faith. Now its your turn to wash your hands or not!

I have added a number of articles here (my Top 10) in order of importance (approximately) to the subject of this article, for the most part. I think you should give the first couple or so some very serious consideration. If you find these to be junk or the ramblings of a mad man, you can point out one or two reasons why and you need not go any further. On the other hand, if you find yourself unable to refute, you need to get some help or maybe consider changing you mind. As well, you might want to keep reading more for maybe you got quite a bit to reconsider. Yeah, it could happen. I wish you my best and the spirit of God will do as it may.

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