by jam 36 Replies latest social current
I wish I could have the faith (again) that you folks have.
My brother (JW elder) told me, because you do not have
Jehovah,s spiritual direction and when you read from the Bible
it,s not God,s words but Satan,s influence.
The bible is very clear to me then ever before.
It,s racist, class distinction, and violent.
You, my friend, need to read the Watchtower's version........ oh wait its just as bad
My faith isn't in the bible, Jam. It is in Christ, and God. Them alone. I don't consider the bible inerrant, or the whole thing scripture. In fact, it doesn't even claim that about itself. People have just twisted that into a doctrine, and the witnesses have continued in that doctrine, as much as they like to think they're different than all the other religions.
Its hard to separate faith from the bible/religion... or at least be able to look past them and their errors to Christ, Himself. I had to set it all aside - the bible and religion - and just turn myself over to God; listen for Christ, and understand that if it does not stem from love, then its probably something man made.
Because Christ is the truth. We see God through Him. Christ showed love, mercy, and forgiveness... for all, friend and enemy. So that is who God is, as well.
Peace,
Tammy
jam, I think your instincts are correct on matthew 15:23-27 - that an important geo-political point is being conveyed. Those scriptures are very clear about Jesus and his disciples' attitude to the Canaanite woman. They ignored her pleas for help and - "Then Jesus said to the woman, "I was sent only to help God's lost sheep—the people of Israel."
but because she expressed strong faith in Jesus and then expressed emphatic acceptance of Jesus' mission to the people of Israel, he healed her daughter.
If jesus had not shown how strongly he was affliated with Israel and Israelite traditions he could have been charged with being in league with the devil or of simply being a magician. In Matthew's gospel which was written after 70 CE a miracle worker/wisdom teacher who went from village to village had to be written about as someone who identified himself with a traditional God. There are quite a lot of references in Matthew to how negatively Jesus viewed the conduct of the religious leaders. So the question arises who then was he aligned with or was he indeed linked to beelzebub? Writers needed to ground Jesus in a Godly traditon. So this is part of waht I see in Matthew 15:23-27.
any accusation of racism and any justification of racism grounded on the gospels must first take account of the geo-political situation of the Jesus being written about.
This is a Muslim argument that Jesus was only sent for the lost sheep of Israel.
It forgets many things but the most obvious being 'make disciples of ALL NATIONS'
God's plan from the very beginning was always to bring thew world to knowing Him, through Israel.
And That is what happend.
Well now we know
http://www.passionfortruth.com/contentpages/18867/823504f4-e16a-4581-bb5f-66570740f985/NumberOneTeaching.aspx
Matthew 15:24
“I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.”
(He was not sent for Jews only)
James 1:1 "James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad, greeting. "
Believing in G-d or a messiah is no free ticket to paradise. The bottom line is that it's all about regathering the remnant of Israel from all the pagan nations into which they were assimilated and adopted their religions. That means all the religions of this world are pagan regardless of whether they cloak themselves in an x-tian veneer but don't follow the Tanakh be they Jew, Muslim of x-tian. Granted, some pagans will be brought along like out of Egypt, but it is the remnant of Israel to whom the NT was addressed which is why there are so many sects and denominations that can't understand it - but there are some within those groups who can and who are of the lost tribes.
So freydo, does that mean if you are not 'of one of the lost tribes' you may as well forget it? You aren't chosen? Therefore....screwed?
