"Morality is doing what's right, regardless of what you're told. Religion is doing what you're told, regardless of what's right."- unknown
Some years ago an American Missionary pastor was living in Davao City, Philippines. One night an intruder broke in to rob him. The resulting noise awoke the pastor who disturbed the man. The intruder then stabbed the pastor in the chest with a knife but, fortunately for the pastor, the knife point stopped on a rib bone.
The intruder was subsequently arrested and charged with attempted murder, but the pastor was troubled, with his conscious telling him he had to be forgiving, so after counselling the man, the pastor refused to press charges, and the intruder was released back into the community.
Two weeks later, that same intruder broke into a neighbour’s home, and again awoke the home owner, but this time the victim was not so fortunate. The knife point passed between his ribs, and pierced his heart, killing him.
About three years ago I related this story to an Australian pastor, seeking his viewpoint on the America’s act of forgiveness. The Australian pastor responded with a question, “What does the Bible say?” By way of reply, but without quoting any Scriptural references, I said that we are to forgive, but sin has consequences. The Australian pastor agreed, and went on to say that if anyone harmed any member of his family he would do all in his power to see the accused brought to justice, but at the same time try to be forgiving.
Thus, I will use that as my criteria here: What does the Bible say?
I don’t know the American statistics, but in Australia only five percent of the population regularly attends church, and of those five percent who do attend, only five percent admit to reading the Word of God. That’s only 0.25%, meaning the remaining 99.75% of Australians only know what the church leaders claim is written in the Bible.
James said it’s not enough to be hearers of the Word, but we must be doers of the Word. (James 1:22).
Unquestioning adherence to the commandments issued in the Bible are guaranteed to destroy every marriage. Observe the 2nd Commandment given to man in Genesis 2:24, “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.” Look closely at these words. A wife is not to leave her parents. She is to remain under the roof of her parents’ house.
This was exemplified in Genesis 29:24-31:17. In fact we see here where Jacob only left Laban after Laban more or less evicted him.
This was exemplified again in the New Testament. In Mathew 8:14 & 15 we read, “Now when Jesus had come into Peter's house, He saw his wife's mother lying sick with a fever. So He touched her hand, and the fever left her. And she arose and served them.
Look closely at the above words. “And she arose and served them.” If the mother-in-law were merely an invited guest, only taken there while she was sick, she would not have served them. Quite clearly then, the home belonged to the wife’s parents. She was the hostess. Peter had obeyed the Word of God and had gone to his wife.
Much of southern Europe still practises that Biblical teaching today, as does much of the Philippines. It is only the Protestant nations that have forsaken the Word of God. In these nations the elderly parents are thrown into homes for the aged and forgotten about by many people.
What else does the Word of God have to say about the family? (All references offered come from the KJV and NIV.)
In Exodus 20:12 we read, “Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee”. Honour thy father and thy mother. What is meant by honour, and for how long should we honour our parents? Look again at the words of the Bible for an answer. In Ephesians 6:1-3 it says, “Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right. Honour thy father and mother; which is the first commandment with promise; that it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth.” Colossians 3:20 goes on to say, “Children, obey your parents in all things: for this is well pleasing unto the Lord.” Quite clearly then, we honour our parents by obeying them. How long are we to honour and obey our parents? Today, according to man’s law, that depends very much on which country, or even which part of a country, you belong to. In Australia, the age of independence was set at twenty-one years old. Later, this figure was reduced to eighteen. In the Philippines, it is supposed to be eighteen, but a girl cannot marry without the parents’ consent until she is twenty-five. Obviously, there is no arbitrary figure placed on when a child is supposed to be independent of his or her parents, while in Jesus’ time the age of maturity is believed to have been 30. What does the Bible say about this?
Nowhere in the Bible does it say you will only obey your parents until you attain a certain age. The Bible says a man must obey his parents until he takes a wife. What then? Nowhere does it say that a woman will stop obeying her parents. Just what does the Bible say? In Genesis 2:24 we read, “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.” This is echoed again in Mark 10:7 & 8 “'For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh'; so then they are no longer two, but one flesh” Again this is echoed in Ephesians 5:31 "For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh."
Now, Julie’s parents, having a complete understanding of the entire Bible, took total advantage of Romans 13:1-5. According to Romans 13:1-5, “Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and he will commend you. For he is God's servant to do you good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword for nothing. He is God's servant, an agent of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer. Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also because of conscience.”
It thus stands to reason that if no government can be in power unless placed there by God, then no law can become law unless allowed by God. This command is reinforced in 1 Peter 2:13-16, where we are instructed to live as slaves.
In Davao City, Philippines, three families own or control more than 90% of the city. Mafori own the main public market, as well as vast tracts of the surrounding district. Monteverde controls the City Government, while Villa Abrille own large tracts of land, but also control the court and the police. I married into the Villa Abrille family. At that time, Julie’s father had significant influence over a congressman, and was successful in having Article 312 of the Civil Code of the Philippines enacted. Article 312 of the Civil Code states: “Grandparents shall be consulted by all members of the family on all important family questions.”
This law was passed by both Congress and the Senate under the guise and presumption that an older person is a wiser person. That’s not necessarily true. An older person may be more knowledgeable, and more cunning, without being wiser.
In reality, this law, now officially repealed, is used by many families for total enslavement, such being the purpose of Julie’s mother when she instigated its enactment. I even consulted a Filipino lawyer about it, pointing out that, at the then age of 60, my grandparents had died many years ago, and that I was already a grandfather. Response: This is Philippine law, Australian grandparents and grandchildren don’t count. I then argued that, at the then age of 53, Julie’s grandparents had also died many years before. Response: Read the law. It does not say your grandparents. It says grandparents. The lawyer then asked me if Julie had any children, nephews, or nieces? I said, “Yes”, to all three. The lawyer then told me that Julie’s parents are the grandparents. Now, given that adult children are presumed to be ignorant, the grandparents decide what the important family matters are.
In practice, to get permission to purchase or import an item you have to pay the parents. If it’s a locally bought item the parents demand 100% of the face value but, if the item is imported, the price can be 10x, 100x, or even 1,000x its true value, and if the price is not paid the item is forfeited to the parents.
All of Julie’s immediate family, including her late father, and also her cousins, are accomplished thieves. When I left the Philippines in February, 2003, I secured my belongings in a storage shed. Not to be outdone, Julie’s father obtained a Demolition Permit, claiming the perfectly sound storage shed was in imminent danger of collapse. Such was his position with the City Government. He stole most of the content, including all my tools. Everything was sold within two hours, and the proceeds used for gambling.
Julie’s father died in 2005, but her much younger mother is still very strong and healthy, she being only 17 years old when Julie was born. Now, knowing what Julie’s mother would do, I carefully instructed Julie NOT to tell her mother she had returned to Davao City in August, 2012 but Julie, instead of obeying her husband, obeyed the Word of God – Obey your parents IN ALL THINGS. Her mother visited the house, accompanied by a thirty strong entourage, and carried away all of my remaining possessions.
When I arrived, and demanded to know what happened, first Julie lied to me, claiming a local gang had taken them. When Julie realised I knew she was lying she started quoting the Word of God to me, beginning with Job1:24, “What do you want your belongings for? Can you take them with you when you die?”
I pointed out that I wanted to use them while I am still alive. She retorted with, “If you were a Christian you would not have them. You would already have given everything to my mother.” (Luke 18:22, her mother claims to be poor.)
I then proceeded to carefully study the Word, and quickly discovered just how much the organised Church deceives the masses.
To begin with, Jesus clearly states we must buy our way into Heaven. Oh, there’s no set price, other than 100% of everything we own (Luke 18:22). That is why Jesus said the poor widow gave more than the rich, when she gave her last farthing (Mark 12:42-44 and Luke 21:2-4). Now, we are not told whether she walked around the corner, and fell over a gold bar, or whether she went home and died of starvation. I tend to think she went home and died, and went to her Reward.
That a Christian is allowed to have absolutely nothing is reiterated in Luke 10:1-4 when he sent out the 72 with nothing.
This teaching of Jesus makes Paul’s words in Ephesians 2:8 & 9, a total mockery. Oh, it’s grace in the sense that there’s no fixed fee, but if we carry this through, then it’s not enough for a person to tithe. Christians should be donating all their income and every possession to the poor. In Acts 4:32-37 we see that the early church carried out Jesus’ instructions, unlike the church of today.
At least I fared better than Ananias and his wife, Sapphira, who were cruelly murdered by Peter for failing to turn over 100% of what they had (Acts 5:1-10). Although I had my goods stolen by my own wife I did escape with my life.
I quickly discovered that Colossians 3:20 is the pivotal verse concerning Christian behaviour, and controlling every other teaching in the entire Bible – Children, obey your parents IN ALL THINGS. Now, what could be clearer? The Apostle Paul made it perfectly clear – there are absolutely no exceptions to his commandment!!! Thus, when Jesus said, “Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, honour thy father and thy mother: and, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.“, and again when Paul repeated these words in Romans 13:9 we see that all of these commandments are conditional upon the say-so of the parents.
Before Julie returned to Davao City in August, 2012 I made the mistake of explaining to her that an electronic drum machine was important to me. I even showed her a power adapter I had bought to make it work. I begged Julie NOT to inform her mother of her arrival in Davao shortly ahead of me, but Julie chose to obey the Word of God (Romans 13:1-5). She had to tell her mother my belongings were important to me. Her mother then demanded the drum machine, but when Julie could not identify it her mother came in with a full crew, and stole everything I had, even a pair of hand carved bookends I had made more than 30 years previously. The total replacement value of what was stolen amounted to more than $5,000.
Julie obeyed the Word when she lied to me. She obeyed the Word when she defied my wishes, she obeyed the Word when she wilfully allowed her mother’s crew to steal from me.
Parts "B" and "C" to follow...
Some years ago an American Missionary pastor was living in Davao City, Philippines. One night an intruder broke in to rob him. The resulting noise awoke the pastor who disturbed the man. The intruder then stabbed the pastor in the chest with a knife but, fortunately for the pastor, the knife point stopped on a rib bone.
The intruder was subsequently arrested and charged with attempted murder, but the pastor was troubled, with his conscious telling him he had to be forgiving, so after counselling the man, the pastor refused to press charges, and the intruder was released back into the community.
Two weeks later, that same intruder broke into a neighbour’s home, and again awoke the home owner, but this time the victim was not so fortunate. The knife point passed between his ribs, and pierced his heart, killing him.
About three years ago I related this story to an Australian pastor, seeking his viewpoint on the America’s act of forgiveness. The Australian pastor responded with a question, “What does the Bible say?” By way of reply, but without quoting any Scriptural references, I said that we are to forgive, but sin has consequences. The Australian pastor agreed, and went on to say that if anyone harmed any member of his family he would do all in his power to see the accused brought to justice, but at the same time try to be forgiving.
Thus, I will use that as my criteria here: What does the Bible say?
I don’t know the American statistics, but in Australia only five percent of the population regularly attends church, and of those five percent who do attend, only five percent admit to reading the Word of God. That’s only 0.25%, meaning the remaining 99.75% of Australians only know what the church leaders claim is written in the Bible.
James said it’s not enough to be hearers of the Word, but we must be doers of the Word. (James 1:22).
Unquestioning adherence to the commandments issued in the Bible are guaranteed to destroy every marriage. Observe the 2nd Commandment given to man in Genesis 2:24, “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.” Look closely at these words. A wife is not to leave her parents. She is to remain under the roof of her parents’ house.
This was exemplified in Genesis 29:24-31:17. In fact we see here where Jacob only left Laban after Laban more or less evicted him.
This was exemplified again in the New Testament. In Mathew 8:14 & 15 we read, “Now when Jesus had come into Peter's house, He saw his wife's mother lying sick with a fever. So He touched her hand, and the fever left her. And she arose and served them.
Look closely at the above words. “And she arose and served them.” If the mother-in-law were merely an invited guest, only taken there while she was sick, she would not have served them. Quite clearly then, the home belonged to the wife’s parents. She was the hostess. Peter had obeyed the Word of God and had gone to his wife.
Much of southern Europe still practises that Biblical teaching today, as does much of the Philippines. It is only the Protestant nations that have forsaken the Word of God. In these nations the elderly parents are thrown into homes for the aged and forgotten about by many people.
What else does the Word of God have to say about the family? (All references offered come from the KJV and NIV.)
In Exodus 20:12 we read, “Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee”. Honour thy father and thy mother. What is meant by honour, and for how long should we honour our parents? Look again at the words of the Bible for an answer. In Ephesians 6:1-3 it says, “Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right. Honour thy father and mother; which is the first commandment with promise; that it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth.” Colossians 3:20 goes on to say, “Children, obey your parents in all things: for this is well pleasing unto the Lord.” Quite clearly then, we honour our parents by obeying them. How long are we to honour and obey our parents? Today, according to man’s law, that depends very much on which country, or even which part of a country, you belong to. In Australia, the age of independence was set at twenty-one years old. Later, this figure was reduced to eighteen. In the Philippines, it is supposed to be eighteen, but a girl cannot marry without the parents’ consent until she is twenty-five. Obviously, there is no arbitrary figure placed on when a child is supposed to be independent of his or her parents, while in Jesus’ time the age of maturity is believed to have been 30. What does the Bible say about this?
Nowhere in the Bible does it say you will only obey your parents until you attain a certain age. The Bible says a man must obey his parents until he takes a wife. What then? Nowhere does it say that a woman will stop obeying her parents. Just what does the Bible say? In Genesis 2:24 we read, “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.” This is echoed again in Mark 10:7 & 8 “'For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh'; so then they are no longer two, but one flesh” Again this is echoed in Ephesians 5:31 "For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh."
Now, Julie’s parents, having a complete understanding of the entire Bible, took total advantage of Romans 13:1-5. According to Romans 13:1-5, “Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and he will commend you. For he is God's servant to do you good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword for nothing. He is God's servant, an agent of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer. Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also because of conscience.”
It thus stands to reason that if no government can be in power unless placed there by God, then no law can become law unless allowed by God. This command is reinforced in 1 Peter 2:13-16, where we are instructed to live as slaves.
In Davao City, Philippines, three families own or control more than 90% of the city. Mafori own the main public market, as well as vast tracts of the surrounding district. Monteverde controls the City Government, while Villa Abrille own large tracts of land, but also control the court and the police. I married into the Villa Abrille family. At that time, Julie’s father had significant influence over a congressman, and was successful in having Article 312 of the Civil Code of the Philippines enacted. Article 312 of the Civil Code states: “Grandparents shall be consulted by all members of the family on all important family questions.”
This law was passed by both Congress and the Senate under the guise and presumption that an older person is a wiser person. That’s not necessarily true. An older person may be more knowledgeable, and more cunning, without being wiser.
In reality, this law, now officially repealed, is used by many families for total enslavement, such being the purpose of Julie’s mother when she instigated its enactment. I even consulted a Filipino lawyer about it, pointing out that, at the then age of 60, my grandparents had died many years ago, and that I was already a grandfather. Response: This is Philippine law, Australian grandparents and grandchildren don’t count. I then argued that, at the then age of 53, Julie’s grandparents had also died many years before. Response: Read the law. It does not say your grandparents. It says grandparents. The lawyer then asked me if Julie had any children, nephews, or nieces? I said, “Yes”, to all three. The lawyer then told me that Julie’s parents are the grandparents. Now, given that adult children are presumed to be ignorant, the grandparents decide what the important family matters are.
In practice, to get permission to purchase or import an item you have to pay the parents. If it’s a locally bought item the parents demand 100% of the face value but, if the item is imported, the price can be 10x, 100x, or even 1,000x its true value, and if the price is not paid the item is forfeited to the parents.
All of Julie’s immediate family, including her late father, and also her cousins, are accomplished thieves. When I left the Philippines in February, 2003, I secured my belongings in a storage shed. Not to be outdone, Julie’s father obtained a Demolition Permit, claiming the perfectly sound storage shed was in imminent danger of collapse. Such was his position with the City Government. He stole most of the content, including all my tools. Everything was sold within two hours, and the proceeds used for gambling.
Julie’s father died in 2005, but her much younger mother is still very strong and healthy, she being only 17 years old when Julie was born. Now, knowing what Julie’s mother would do, I carefully instructed Julie NOT to tell her mother she had returned to Davao City in August, 2012 but Julie, instead of obeying her husband, obeyed the Word of God – Obey your parents IN ALL THINGS. Her mother visited the house, accompanied by a thirty strong entourage, and carried away all of my remaining possessions.
When I arrived, and demanded to know what happened, first Julie lied to me, claiming a local gang had taken them. When Julie realised I knew she was lying she started quoting the Word of God to me, beginning with Job1:24, “What do you want your belongings for? Can you take them with you when you die?”
I pointed out that I wanted to use them while I am still alive. She retorted with, “If you were a Christian you would not have them. You would already have given everything to my mother.” (Luke 18:22, her mother claims to be poor.)
I then proceeded to carefully study the Word, and quickly discovered just how much the organised Church deceives the masses.
To begin with, Jesus clearly states we must buy our way into Heaven. Oh, there’s no set price, other than 100% of everything we own (Luke 18:22). That is why Jesus said the poor widow gave more than the rich, when she gave her last farthing (Mark 12:42-44 and Luke 21:2-4). Now, we are not told whether she walked around the corner, and fell over a gold bar, or whether she went home and died of starvation. I tend to think she went home and died, and went to her Reward.
That a Christian is allowed to have absolutely nothing is reiterated in Luke 10:1-4 when he sent out the 72 with nothing.
This teaching of Jesus makes Paul’s words in Ephesians 2:8 & 9, a total mockery. Oh, it’s grace in the sense that there’s no fixed fee, but if we carry this through, then it’s not enough for a person to tithe. Christians should be donating all their income and every possession to the poor. In Acts 4:32-37 we see that the early church carried out Jesus’ instructions, unlike the church of today.
At least I fared better than Ananias and his wife, Sapphira, who were cruelly murdered by Peter for failing to turn over 100% of what they had (Acts 5:1-10). Although I had my goods stolen by my own wife I did escape with my life.
I quickly discovered that Colossians 3:20 is the pivotal verse concerning Christian behaviour, and controlling every other teaching in the entire Bible – Children, obey your parents IN ALL THINGS. Now, what could be clearer? The Apostle Paul made it perfectly clear – there are absolutely no exceptions to his commandment!!! Thus, when Jesus said, “Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, honour thy father and thy mother: and, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.“, and again when Paul repeated these words in Romans 13:9 we see that all of these commandments are conditional upon the say-so of the parents.
Before Julie returned to Davao City in August, 2012 I made the mistake of explaining to her that an electronic drum machine was important to me. I even showed her a power adapter I had bought to make it work. I begged Julie NOT to inform her mother of her arrival in Davao shortly ahead of me, but Julie chose to obey the Word of God (Romans 13:1-5). She had to tell her mother my belongings were important to me. Her mother then demanded the drum machine, but when Julie could not identify it her mother came in with a full crew, and stole everything I had, even a pair of hand carved bookends I had made more than 30 years previously. The total replacement value of what was stolen amounted to more than $5,000.
Julie obeyed the Word when she lied to me. She obeyed the Word when she defied my wishes, she obeyed the Word when she wilfully allowed her mother’s crew to steal from me.
Parts "B" and "C" to follow...
