a quote from another website:
Apostasy; Apostate(From International Standard Bible Encyclopedia)
a-pos'-ta-si, a-pos'-tat (he apostasia, "a standing away from"): I.e. a falling away, a withdrawal, a defection. Not found in the English Versions of the Bible, but used twice in the New Testament, in the Greek original, to express abandonment of the faith. Paul was falsely accused of teaching the Jews apostasy from Moses (Acts 21:21); he predicted the great apostasy from Christianity, foretold by Jesus (Matthew 24:10-12) which would precede "the day of the Lord" (2 Thessalonians 2:2). .... In classical Greek, apostasy signified revolt from a military commander. In the roman catholic church it denotes abandonment of religious orders; renunciation of ecclesiastical authority; defection from the faith. The persecutions of the early Christian centuries forced many to deny Christian discipleship and to signify their apostasy by offering incense to a heathen deity or blaspheming the name of Christ. The emperor Julian, who probably never vitally embraced the Christian faith, is known in history as "the Apostate," having renounced Christianity for paganism soon after his accession to the throne. .... Dwight M. Pratt So, what kind of apostate am I? The simple kind. I withdrew and continue to stand away from the organizational teachings, beliefs and practices of the Watchtower Bible & Tract Society's Witnesses as they do offend my conscience and are contrary to my devotion to love, peace and the greater good of all. I like to burn incense in honor of Goddess as well as God and do not know what it means to blaspheme the name of Christ whom I have nothing against personally. ~Merry |
