... I have to say I'm not terribly impressed. Everywhere I go, whether online, on television, or in real life, it seems we have descended upon each other like a pack of vultures. Someone always has to come up with some kind of "teaching" or some new set of rules to add on top of faith as if any of that will make us purer or holier than Jesus Himself can by His blood.
Not to mention being raised by therapists for parents leaves me with a few unfair advantages you may not be aware of, so permit me to enlighten you. I'm onto you, all of you.
I know what makes you tick; it's as obvious as the noses on your faces -- that is to say, as obvious as the things you each continually harp on, the hobby horses you each ride. They give you away. It doesn't take a genius to read and apply Romans 2:1 to every single one of these hobby horses by name, but add to that a solid I.Q. and a lifelong informal education in human psycho-social development and behavior, and you'll find you have nowhere to hide and no facade thick enough to ever be anything but transparent to my eyes. 
At 25, I've learned more about what makes people tick than most do in eight years of college and grad school. A couple people on this site have said "how can you be so smart so young?" But I really owe it all to my parents. They were determined to raise a truly mentally healthy child with positive coping skills and an unassailable self-esteem, and unlike many who wish for such things, they had the education and skills to do so. I do not feel arrogant about this in the slightest; on the contrary, its humbling and a bit intimidating, because it makes me feel more will be expected of me than of those less fortunate, and like everyone else, I'm aware of my faults and foibles and limitations.
But I didn't start this entry to brag on my folks or defend myself against invisible imaginary accusers. I wanted to let you all know the jig is up and I'm onto you. I don't know where you got the idea in your heads that Christianity consisted of multiplying rules upon rules upon rules to create and bind onto others burdens "grievous to be borne". Jesus said His yoke was easy and His burden was light. I don't know where you got the idea that Christ sets us free as some kind of cruel trick to bring us back under the law and not just the law but the letter of it and many other rules and addenda with it, but Paul said it was for liberty that Christ set us free, and that we should not be entangled again in the yoke of bondage.
And I have no clue when you all decided to throw your Bibles away in favor of attempting to either outright coerce or subtly 'herd' everyone into some Borg-like uniformity of conformity, but last I checked, Romans 14 is still in the scriptures and it still states, basically, stop going on pulpit campaigns and bully-patrols about every aspect of people's lives. If people want to eat this or that, or not, it's their business, not yours. If people want to celebrate this day or that, or not, it's their business, not yours. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind, as each stands or falls alone, individually accountable before God, and quit creating division and strife over these things by pushing your views on others.
There's a saying going around at present in a few versions. "Fight smarter, not harder!" would be one variant. "Work smarter, not harder!" would be another. Why do you keep going back to the Old Testament which has been superceded and surpassed by the greater and more perfect revelation of God available in Jesus Christ? Jesus Christ split history! He rose from the dead! Jesus Christ effected the greatest and most permanent "paradigm shift" this world had ever known before or will ever know hereafter!!! He fulfilled the law in every particular ... FOR us, not to make us do it all over again ourselves!!! With Jesus we have the chance to "SERVE GOD SMARTER, not harder!!!" Don't you remember Him criticizing the Pharisees -- with scathing words most uncharacteristic of Him, no less! -- for doing this garbage two millenia ago, while reaching out His healing and welcoming embrace to publicans, harlots, the poor, the despised, the sick, the demonized? Do you really imagine He did all this to make them become Pharisees in the end? You think He set them free to lay upon them the same grievous yoke Paul referred to as "too grievous for our fathers to bear"?
I just don't get the appeal of modern-day Judaizing. And I'm not talking strictly about the "Messianics" here. I'm not talking about those who simply take an interest in ancient Hebrew history or culture, or study the Torah out of that interest. I'm talking about those who want the Torah to overtake and supplant the Gospel -- which had been meant to overtake and supplant IT instead!!!
And I'm not even talking merely about those who want to bind Torah, specifically, upon themselves and go back to pursuing their own holiness and/or righteousness (like Paul describes in Romans 10) out of some kind of misguided, deluded effort of devotion to Christ (when in reality it only demonstrates failure to trust HIM and HIS finished work completely for salvation). I'm talking about those who, even with no overtly visible "Judaizing" agenda or component to it, just happen to come along and embody a walking fulfillment of Colossians 2:20-23. Trying to bring in some new prohibition on this or that, in direct contradiction of the clear and sound counsel of Romans 14 on such matters, that they should be left to the individual conscience before God and NOT promoted one way or the other nor made the focus of disputation engendering strifes.
My Fellow Christians, I'm not an eloquent person, and I'm not even trying to be eloquent here. I'm just speaking the truth of what I see as plainly as I can. You are going the wrong way, those of you who want to bring Torah back to either supplant the Gospel or stand parallel and equal with it. You are going the wrong way, you Judaizers creating more rules and burdens for the believer to have to assimilate with your "special revelation" teachings and your inability to recognize the fundamental global paradigm shift effected by Christ Himself. We don't storm pagan temples to overturn their 'idols' by force anymore; that went out on the Cross with all the rest of sin and confusion about God. Now, today, we have the power of the Gospel to change lives, and those who accept Christ come forward THEMSELVES to burn their OWN books and artifacts of whatever lifestyle they've turn their backs on. We don't treat them like enemies but like "pre-Christians" -- souls for whom Christ died just as surely as He died for our own, who just might -- if we don't blow it by being insufferable jerks! -- be persuaded to consider Him, consider His offer, weigh His claims, taste and see, maybe even come to Him. Paul laid the foundation in Acts 17 but most of us would not recognize a bona fide Acts 17 ministry if it kicked us in the face -- and why? -- because we would be too busy running it down into the ground for being too "pagan" simply because it would be using reason to approach pagan-oriented non-believers instead of acting irrationally and fearfully with them. We would be too busy pooh-poohing it as a waste of time because it could only appeal to a small niche of humanity rather than raking in the masses. Nope, we would be too busy criticizing and faultfinding, too busy nitpicking and acting like ignorant herd animals, dumb nervous sheep, dogs sniffing and circling and marking our precious little "territory".
I haven't even gotten started on you lot bellyaching over supposed "tares" yet. But stick around, because you'll be next.
(To be continued ....)
Not to mention being raised by therapists for parents leaves me with a few unfair advantages you may not be aware of, so permit me to enlighten you. I'm onto you, all of you.
I know what makes you tick; it's as obvious as the noses on your faces -- that is to say, as obvious as the things you each continually harp on, the hobby horses you each ride. They give you away. It doesn't take a genius to read and apply Romans 2:1 to every single one of these hobby horses by name, but add to that a solid I.Q. and a lifelong informal education in human psycho-social development and behavior, and you'll find you have nowhere to hide and no facade thick enough to ever be anything but transparent to my eyes. At 25, I've learned more about what makes people tick than most do in eight years of college and grad school. A couple people on this site have said "how can you be so smart so young?" But I really owe it all to my parents. They were determined to raise a truly mentally healthy child with positive coping skills and an unassailable self-esteem, and unlike many who wish for such things, they had the education and skills to do so. I do not feel arrogant about this in the slightest; on the contrary, its humbling and a bit intimidating, because it makes me feel more will be expected of me than of those less fortunate, and like everyone else, I'm aware of my faults and foibles and limitations.
But I didn't start this entry to brag on my folks or defend myself against invisible imaginary accusers. I wanted to let you all know the jig is up and I'm onto you. I don't know where you got the idea in your heads that Christianity consisted of multiplying rules upon rules upon rules to create and bind onto others burdens "grievous to be borne". Jesus said His yoke was easy and His burden was light. I don't know where you got the idea that Christ sets us free as some kind of cruel trick to bring us back under the law and not just the law but the letter of it and many other rules and addenda with it, but Paul said it was for liberty that Christ set us free, and that we should not be entangled again in the yoke of bondage.
And I have no clue when you all decided to throw your Bibles away in favor of attempting to either outright coerce or subtly 'herd' everyone into some Borg-like uniformity of conformity, but last I checked, Romans 14 is still in the scriptures and it still states, basically, stop going on pulpit campaigns and bully-patrols about every aspect of people's lives. If people want to eat this or that, or not, it's their business, not yours. If people want to celebrate this day or that, or not, it's their business, not yours. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind, as each stands or falls alone, individually accountable before God, and quit creating division and strife over these things by pushing your views on others.
There's a saying going around at present in a few versions. "Fight smarter, not harder!" would be one variant. "Work smarter, not harder!" would be another. Why do you keep going back to the Old Testament which has been superceded and surpassed by the greater and more perfect revelation of God available in Jesus Christ? Jesus Christ split history! He rose from the dead! Jesus Christ effected the greatest and most permanent "paradigm shift" this world had ever known before or will ever know hereafter!!! He fulfilled the law in every particular ... FOR us, not to make us do it all over again ourselves!!! With Jesus we have the chance to "SERVE GOD SMARTER, not harder!!!" Don't you remember Him criticizing the Pharisees -- with scathing words most uncharacteristic of Him, no less! -- for doing this garbage two millenia ago, while reaching out His healing and welcoming embrace to publicans, harlots, the poor, the despised, the sick, the demonized? Do you really imagine He did all this to make them become Pharisees in the end? You think He set them free to lay upon them the same grievous yoke Paul referred to as "too grievous for our fathers to bear"?
I just don't get the appeal of modern-day Judaizing. And I'm not talking strictly about the "Messianics" here. I'm not talking about those who simply take an interest in ancient Hebrew history or culture, or study the Torah out of that interest. I'm talking about those who want the Torah to overtake and supplant the Gospel -- which had been meant to overtake and supplant IT instead!!!
And I'm not even talking merely about those who want to bind Torah, specifically, upon themselves and go back to pursuing their own holiness and/or righteousness (like Paul describes in Romans 10) out of some kind of misguided, deluded effort of devotion to Christ (when in reality it only demonstrates failure to trust HIM and HIS finished work completely for salvation). I'm talking about those who, even with no overtly visible "Judaizing" agenda or component to it, just happen to come along and embody a walking fulfillment of Colossians 2:20-23. Trying to bring in some new prohibition on this or that, in direct contradiction of the clear and sound counsel of Romans 14 on such matters, that they should be left to the individual conscience before God and NOT promoted one way or the other nor made the focus of disputation engendering strifes.
My Fellow Christians, I'm not an eloquent person, and I'm not even trying to be eloquent here. I'm just speaking the truth of what I see as plainly as I can. You are going the wrong way, those of you who want to bring Torah back to either supplant the Gospel or stand parallel and equal with it. You are going the wrong way, you Judaizers creating more rules and burdens for the believer to have to assimilate with your "special revelation" teachings and your inability to recognize the fundamental global paradigm shift effected by Christ Himself. We don't storm pagan temples to overturn their 'idols' by force anymore; that went out on the Cross with all the rest of sin and confusion about God. Now, today, we have the power of the Gospel to change lives, and those who accept Christ come forward THEMSELVES to burn their OWN books and artifacts of whatever lifestyle they've turn their backs on. We don't treat them like enemies but like "pre-Christians" -- souls for whom Christ died just as surely as He died for our own, who just might -- if we don't blow it by being insufferable jerks! -- be persuaded to consider Him, consider His offer, weigh His claims, taste and see, maybe even come to Him. Paul laid the foundation in Acts 17 but most of us would not recognize a bona fide Acts 17 ministry if it kicked us in the face -- and why? -- because we would be too busy running it down into the ground for being too "pagan" simply because it would be using reason to approach pagan-oriented non-believers instead of acting irrationally and fearfully with them. We would be too busy pooh-poohing it as a waste of time because it could only appeal to a small niche of humanity rather than raking in the masses. Nope, we would be too busy criticizing and faultfinding, too busy nitpicking and acting like ignorant herd animals, dumb nervous sheep, dogs sniffing and circling and marking our precious little "territory".
I haven't even gotten started on you lot bellyaching over supposed "tares" yet. But stick around, because you'll be next.
(To be continued ....)
