[thoughts from the other side by ~burning woman~ ]
I’ll begin by laying down my case with the following evidence from two New Testament quotes:
Matthew 12:32 Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.
Mark 16:17 And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well.”
(Quotes from the New International Version of the bible)
My intent in the following is to do a little exercise in logic based on the truths I’ve been taught in my various interactions with Christian teachings. Much apologetic effort has been expended by the Church to dissimulate and misinterpret these particular sayings attributed to none other than Jesus Christ, the Son of God and Lord of the Christian churches in all and sundry denominations.
What does it mean to blaspheme against the Holy Spirit? Much has been said about it in what is called “Christian hamartiology,” (doctrine of sin). The bottom line of this teaching is, if one refuses to acknowledge Christ as the only saviour, that is the sin against the Holy Spirit. Logically, sure, to refuse the “gift of eternal salvation through Christ” has to result in damnation within the technically constrained concept of Christian salvation, but to jump from that to “blasphemy against the Holy Spirit” as described by Jesus? I think not.
More logic: let’s see if I can link the blasphemy concept with the other quote from Jesus about the signs that were meant to accompany true believers. This, I think, is where the rubber really hits the road and things start to either move forward, or seriously fall in the proverbial ditch.
Starting with statistics, there are roughly 2.5 billion Christians in a world of 7.2 billion people. That’s a lot of witnesses for Christ; a lot of potential for “good” to be made manifest daily on this world. In fact, considering the promises of Jesus, that’s more than needed to shift the world. Statistically that’s 1 Christian for every three other individual on the planet.
But it’s not working; in fact the religion has flat-lined, its numbers remaining static versus global population expansion, noted movements being lateral rather than vertical. What is the interpretation of this decline? I say “decline” because any organization that is not growing is dying. An organization cannot remain effective in a static condition as it cannot attract new membership, having nothing new to show, or more accurately, having no new blood to feed upon since all organizations are predatory.
Observation: the church has become indistinguishable from the rest of the power operations on the planet. It is facing stiff and younger competition from Islam and scientific materialism, and apathy from within its stifled ranks. The “easy believism” based on a Ronald McDonald God who does it all for you is taking its toll. Were it not for the right-winged crazies hardly anyone would even hear of Christianity – it would be there, a quiet, comfortable fading neutral background and its adherents, while going through the motions of church attendance and paying their eternal life insurance dues, would blend into the materialistic culture so well no one would suspect they have any religion at all.
I remember reading from the New Testament, “you are the light of the world; a city on a hill cannot be hidden.” How, except for the certifiable idiot-fringe hate-filled crazies on Fox News TV, in politics and in the business corporate sector, can you hide 2.5 billion lights of the world? That has to count as the great miracle of the age.
Logic (and speaking strictly with the language of the religion in question): the church, the organization, has taken away the tool necessary to foster true evangelism and guarantee salvation. That tool was not only promised by Jesus to every believer, but it could not be hidden. It would cry from the housetops. It would dance openly in the streets. Everybody would hear and see that here was something different, something new, and its “newness” would manifest everyday until the coming of the Lord – it would never stop and never lose its effectiveness. That tool was the empowering by the Holy Spirit, without which there is no power, no discipleship, no legitimate evangelizing, no salvation: that’s right, no salvation.
The church excised the Holy Spirit because the Holy Spirit wouldn’t keep still, wouldn’t abide by priestly rules; wouldn’t force women to be subservient to men but simply entered all, men, women, children, even the poor and horror of horrors, even non-chosen peoples and non-whites. It made no distinction of race, status or previous beliefs and didn’t give “more” to those who felt themselves worthy of more. So the Church, now capital “C” simply had to take over and enforce order in the camp. No more public demonstrations of miraculous acts; no more women preaching; no more children claiming to know something; no more coming together for collective meals to ensure all the people were taken care of equally. That simply would not do as it called up the wrong kind of attention and would never lead to a secure position within political and moneyed elites.
Sorry Holy Spook, but you’re a disturbing influence and you don’t understand demographics. We’ll take care of things from now on and you’ll see numbers and power like never before. Let’s start by reinstating meritocracy and a male-only top-down absolutist system. Women, stay at home and learn from your husbands; slaves, remain subservient to your masters. As for children, let’s go back to the Old Testament in dealing with them and stone them to death if they disobey their parents. Whew, we almost lost it there, but the Old Order is back on track.
How long has the Church operated outside the influence of the Holy Spirit, except for rare exceptions that were quickly stomped on and stamped out? Basically for 2000 years! Who was the very first hired gun to manage the movement away from freedom of expression in the Holy Spirit back to a “classical” style of religion? Paul of Tarsus, a true Manchurian candidate if there ever was one in history. He performed splendidly; let’s give him a standing ovation.
Jumping to today: based on biblical information, primarily on information pertaining to be the sayings of Jesus, how many of the 2.5 billion Christians are actually true believers and saved? Well, that should be easy to compute logically. I began with blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. That, in a nutshell, is ascribing to Satan that which is the work of God. Very well, that’s rather meaningless where there are no works of God in evidence, so let’s turn it around: how about ascribing to God the works of Satan? The works of the organized Church? That can work if I can prove it. And that proof has already been given to me, by the Holy Spirit through none other than the Word (Jesus), or the inspired, inerrant word of God.
Now let’s consider that other (“wish he’d kept his mouth shut here!”) quote: the famous/infamous “signs” that would accompany true believers, or disciples. Nothing terribly difficult here: driving out demons, handling poisonous snakes, drinking deadly poisons, sure, no problem: that can be faked in any case. So can the speaking in new tongues if the clear meaning is completely twisted as done regularly in Pentecostal churches where they call pure gibberish and gobbledygook, “tongues” which amounts to nothing less than verbal mocking of the Holy Spirit. So, here’s the capper: and when they lay their hands on sick people they will get well.
That’s my proof, your honor. If anyone claims to be a follower of Christ, a disciple, a believer, then let that one come forward now and demonstrate the power of the Holy Spirit through her or his healing hands. Remember, those of you eagerly lining up to show your power, that this healing must be instant, observable by all and permanent. Any person being healed can subsequently be tested by a competent doctor (I’m sure we may still be able to find one of those, however difficult that may prove to be) to be certified completely healed. And, since Jesus made no excuses for failure in this, neither do I: you can’t claim that the healing didn’t take because the “patient” didn’t believe in it. That was never the point and that is mocking the words of Jesus himself – and his miracles.
My conclusion is as simple as it is devastating: if you cannot do this very little thing, how dare you claim to be saved? And if you cannot do this, are you not, in fact, blaspheming against the Holy Spirit when you do claim to be saved? Are you not making God to be a liar? Are you not claiming boldly that God breaks his promises?
And that’s a slam dunk! The prosecution rests, your honour.
God Bless
Joel
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=PJLTiM4_Xx4
Healing Believe It! - Bro. Lee Stoneking
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=QlEmWKzg4Fg
The Truth About Salvation
http://salvationaccordingtogodsword.blogspot.com
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Up until about 1950, medicine and healing did not prevent death, and of course, we had two world wars with fiendish communism and fascism to deal with in the 20th century, so everyone knew death firsthand and it scared them into becoming believers with all the funerals and little hope in this life.
The problem in the 21st century is that most young people do not see death of their parents until they are middle-aged and grandparents. For the most part, whether they are rich or poor, they live a fairly good life of plenty of food, entertainment, and diversions, with little strife that required them to retreat to the church. In fact, for most Christians, the church has become a place of good times and fellowship, not hiding in fear of the devil coming down on them. Hence, the decline.
Based on what is happening in the Islamic world. There is plenty of fear there and if you don't convert to Islam, at least in following the stupid rules, you generally could be in great danger of more than just being ostracized as being of a "infidel" religion. Hence, the growth.
You're right, except for the conservative nut cases with ideological (illogical) reasoning, Christianity is on its way out.
You have to admire the life of Jesus, though. The problem is that nobody wants to live like him, especially conservatives.
Ron
Love ya!
Jane