The Constitution forbids Congress or the States or the Local Governments from inhibiting the free exercise of religion. Passing a law which makes the Church an arm of the State is unconstitutional. Making a Pastor decide between obeying a law and helping a person in his care is wrong and illegal. The State of Missouri and the County Prosecutor of Jackson County, Missouri wanted Bishop Finn and the Catholic Church to tell them that Father Shawn Ratigan had downloaded pictures of a little girl who was naked. The Church and Bishop Finn did that, but they did not do it until they had tried to act as a loving Pastor toward Fr. Ratigan. Bishop Finn acted correctly and the State is wrong to criticize.
Consider that in 325 A.D., Constantine the Great made the Church an arm of the State and down that slippery slope we saw freedom of religion vanish. Consider that the Catholic Church strongly opposes the lawful treatment of illegals in this country. Consider that if the Bishop can be held accountable for not turning Father Ratigan over until he had exhausted his Pastoral duties to him then he can be held guilty for not turning in the illegals in his congregations. Consider those things he does which the Church approves but the State does not. Do we really want to go down the slippery slope of allowing the State to decide what the Church should do? I for one dislike Bishop Finn but I for one support him in this crisis. If religious people do not stand up now, they will eventually see the State dictating what they can believe and do. What is the difference between Fascist Germany and Communist Russia if we start interfering with the lawful work of the Church?
Now here is what I propose. The Pope should place Jackson County, Missouri under interdict. He should refuse to allow Masses to be said, people to be buried, children to be baptized, people to be confirmed and stop his Priests and Nuns from performing any act until the People of Jackson County recall the County Prosecutor and the Judge who is hearing this case. He should order Catholics to refuse to recognize the government of Jackson County, Missouri until it restores freedom of religion. He should excommunicate those catholics who were members of that illegal Grand Jury. He should withdraw his Papal Legate and should appeal to the International Court to arrest the criminal Prosecutor who is orchestrating this outrage. The Pope should make it clear the separation of Church and State is a two way street. If the State wants to be involved in the Church, the Church can get involved in the State and shut it down.
biwh
Monday, October 17, 2011
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Monarchy vs. Democracy
Every Jewish prayer begins: "Baruch atah Adonai Elohenu melech ha olam ..." This means Blessed are you O Lord, our G-d, King of the World. James, Paul, and Peter aspire to be slaves of G-d and Yeshua ha Meshiach. e.g. James 1:1. Somewhere along the way Americans and Europeans came to believe that Heaven is a democracy and entrance was guaranteed for those who believed in Heaven. Where did that come from?
Acts 2:44 clearly says that the primitive Church was a commune run on the communist principle of each according to his need. It was interesting that all the early church were loafers and spent their time praying and waiting for the Jesus to return.
The claims of religious people that G-d supports democracy are false. Hell is a democracy. It is chaotic and fraught with difficulties. The orderly Kingdom of Heaven is an autocratic theocracy with G-d as King and Yeshua as Prime Minister and Regent. The Lord knows your every thought and always has. The thought police are in full control. The fact that they gently at first try to correct us and keep us on the Path doing what G-d Wills is followed by more drastic acts when we refuse.
The claims that G-d supports capitalism, a system built upon greed and focused more on greed in America by the so-called American Dream, are also false. G-d supports work. He supports sharing. He supports everyone contributing. He supports inventions to make life easier, but he supports giving them away rather than accumulating large amounts of wealth in return for their creation.
The best system of government is one with a divinely appointed Judge who is both Prophet and Arbiter. This government has no bureaucracy and the decisions of the Judge are enforced by G-d and the People who accept that this person is the one appointed by G-d. This system would be sort of an Ayatollah Khomeini without the support of the State of Iran or the Pope without the structure of the Church.
When the Meshiach comes, according to Jewish, Christian, and Muslim theologians, He will Rule and Reign. He will come with an army. He will enforce his Will for 1,000 years. Most, the vast majority, who have never learned to accept the Hand of G-d on their heads, will chafe under His Rule. When the Rule ends, as Revelation reports, the Devil will have easy pickings and most people will follow him and his promises of democracy and freedom. Those people will die forever.
What is a religious person to do. First, vote for the person who is godly. (This should give you much pause and difficulty.) Second, ask whether our acts contribute to the reign of G-d or to the reign of Satan. Third, live in accordance with the Golden Rule mediated by the 613 Mitzvoth of the Torah. Fourth, challenge every claim.
If every one followed these rules, the world would change and the Meshiach would never come because Heaven would descend to earth now. This world will never happen. It did not happen for the idealistic communist or the Adam Smith capitalist or the devout Christian. It cannot happen until Meshiach comes.
Acts 2:44 clearly says that the primitive Church was a commune run on the communist principle of each according to his need. It was interesting that all the early church were loafers and spent their time praying and waiting for the Jesus to return.
The claims of religious people that G-d supports democracy are false. Hell is a democracy. It is chaotic and fraught with difficulties. The orderly Kingdom of Heaven is an autocratic theocracy with G-d as King and Yeshua as Prime Minister and Regent. The Lord knows your every thought and always has. The thought police are in full control. The fact that they gently at first try to correct us and keep us on the Path doing what G-d Wills is followed by more drastic acts when we refuse.
The claims that G-d supports capitalism, a system built upon greed and focused more on greed in America by the so-called American Dream, are also false. G-d supports work. He supports sharing. He supports everyone contributing. He supports inventions to make life easier, but he supports giving them away rather than accumulating large amounts of wealth in return for their creation.
The best system of government is one with a divinely appointed Judge who is both Prophet and Arbiter. This government has no bureaucracy and the decisions of the Judge are enforced by G-d and the People who accept that this person is the one appointed by G-d. This system would be sort of an Ayatollah Khomeini without the support of the State of Iran or the Pope without the structure of the Church.
When the Meshiach comes, according to Jewish, Christian, and Muslim theologians, He will Rule and Reign. He will come with an army. He will enforce his Will for 1,000 years. Most, the vast majority, who have never learned to accept the Hand of G-d on their heads, will chafe under His Rule. When the Rule ends, as Revelation reports, the Devil will have easy pickings and most people will follow him and his promises of democracy and freedom. Those people will die forever.
What is a religious person to do. First, vote for the person who is godly. (This should give you much pause and difficulty.) Second, ask whether our acts contribute to the reign of G-d or to the reign of Satan. Third, live in accordance with the Golden Rule mediated by the 613 Mitzvoth of the Torah. Fourth, challenge every claim.
If every one followed these rules, the world would change and the Meshiach would never come because Heaven would descend to earth now. This world will never happen. It did not happen for the idealistic communist or the Adam Smith capitalist or the devout Christian. It cannot happen until Meshiach comes.
Monday, October 10, 2011
Haters and Scripture
I went to the Council Grove Christian Church, a fundamentalist independent church which functions under the governance of a local board, and found a congregation that thrives on hate. I was almost taken in. I went for two weeks and my treatment was open and welcoming. This week a small video was shown that showed the nation of Qatar. The Pastor decried the wealth of the Qatari and the fact that they invited persons from other Asian nations to work for their people. He stated that the people were crying out for G-d and that they needed Jesus. I noticed that in the evening they would have a supposed expert on Communism that would tell you why it was still a threat and next week someone would talk about Mormonism. Such falsehoods here expressed made me wonder whether their smiling faces were all the way to trick the Rabbi into coming their direction.
Jesus never once spoke against any other religious faith. He spoke about Jews and how Jews should act, not believe. Some churches thrive on instilling fear in their people and then like a parasite they feed off of that fear and stroke it and teach it. It is much easier to teach hate and fear than it is to teach the duty to love ones neighbor. In Jesus day, the Mormons of the day were called Samaritans (still are) and the Jews hated them, not because they did not keep the Torah, but because they were not following the authorities in Jerusalem. Mormons have many laudable qualities, openness being excepted as they have none. They are getting back what they give, but lest someone throw a stone at my house, which I believe is built on rock and out of stone, I will defend the right of a person to follow their teachings. I am not afraid of a defeated "ism" or an "ism" like capitalism which has no protection against greed. I have no fear of Mormonism, Islam, Buddhism, etc. My faith is right for me and the existence of contrary views does not challenge me.
I went to the web site of this Council Grove Christian Church and found that they believe that the bible is inerrant. For those of you that still feel that the bible does not have any errors, I recommend Bart Ehrman's new book Forged. This book will show you why the Bible is not free from errors. In fact he argues strongly that forgeries made it into the new testament. Based upon his criteria, the book of Deuteronomy is a forgery and was not sanctioned by Moses. However, I have told you before, the only portion of the scripture which was written from on high were the 613 mitzvot or commandments. All the rest of scripture is written by man and must be read within the context of its writing so that you can discern what comes from G-d and what does not.
Council Grove is not the desert or the wilderness in a physical since, but Council Grove, Kansas is intellectually the desert and yet there are those who seek to water in this desert. Mrs. McClintock asked me to lead a group which would talk about the hot issues of the day: political, scientific, and religious. There are those who hunger for truth here.
So long from the desert.
Jesus never once spoke against any other religious faith. He spoke about Jews and how Jews should act, not believe. Some churches thrive on instilling fear in their people and then like a parasite they feed off of that fear and stroke it and teach it. It is much easier to teach hate and fear than it is to teach the duty to love ones neighbor. In Jesus day, the Mormons of the day were called Samaritans (still are) and the Jews hated them, not because they did not keep the Torah, but because they were not following the authorities in Jerusalem. Mormons have many laudable qualities, openness being excepted as they have none. They are getting back what they give, but lest someone throw a stone at my house, which I believe is built on rock and out of stone, I will defend the right of a person to follow their teachings. I am not afraid of a defeated "ism" or an "ism" like capitalism which has no protection against greed. I have no fear of Mormonism, Islam, Buddhism, etc. My faith is right for me and the existence of contrary views does not challenge me.
I went to the web site of this Council Grove Christian Church and found that they believe that the bible is inerrant. For those of you that still feel that the bible does not have any errors, I recommend Bart Ehrman's new book Forged. This book will show you why the Bible is not free from errors. In fact he argues strongly that forgeries made it into the new testament. Based upon his criteria, the book of Deuteronomy is a forgery and was not sanctioned by Moses. However, I have told you before, the only portion of the scripture which was written from on high were the 613 mitzvot or commandments. All the rest of scripture is written by man and must be read within the context of its writing so that you can discern what comes from G-d and what does not.
Council Grove is not the desert or the wilderness in a physical since, but Council Grove, Kansas is intellectually the desert and yet there are those who seek to water in this desert. Mrs. McClintock asked me to lead a group which would talk about the hot issues of the day: political, scientific, and religious. There are those who hunger for truth here.
So long from the desert.
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