Missionaries In The Neighborhood

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SOLOMON vs JESUS

● 2Tim 3:16 . . All scripture is inspired of God

Followers of Islam claim that the entirety of the Koran was given to Muhammad word for word via voice dictation; but Christians dare not make the same claim for the Old Testament, viz: though it's all inspired, it was not all given word for word via voice dictation.

Bible students are often baffled as to why Solomon's remarks in the book of Ecclesiastes sometimes contradict Jesus' teachings in the New Testament. Well; the answer to that is actually pretty simple.

Solomon wasn't inspired to record his observations from the perspective of an enlightened man who's privy to knowledge beyond the scope of empirical evidence and human experience; rather, from the perspective of a man under the sun; viz: a down to earth thinking man whose perception of reality is moderated by what he can see for himself going on around him in the physical universe; which of course results in an evaluation of life on earth as seen from the earth rather than an evaluation of life on earth as seen from heaven.

In other words: Ecclesiastes is one man's world view-- his personal philosophy of life --rather than a book of either history, revelation, or prophecy; and it's loaded with pessimism; which is basically a mindset inclined to dwell on the negative in human experience rather than the positive. For example::

"You only go around once, so do it with all the gusto you can get!"

That was a Schlitz beer advertisement some years ago. It's worldly wisdom thru and thru rather than heavenly. Compare it to a couple of Solomon's remarks:

● Ecc 9:5 . . The living are conscious that they will die; but as for the dead, they are conscious of nothing at all

● Ecc 9:10 . . All that your hand finds to do, do with your very power, for there is no work nor devising nor knowledge nor wisdom in Sheol, the place to which you are going.

That's the same wisdom as Schlitz beer wisdom.

Solomon was a very wise man; in point of fact, he was the brightest intellectual of his day. But Solomon's knowledge and experience were limited. He didn't know everything there is to know, nor had he seen everything there is to see, nor been everywhere there is to go.

● Matt 12:42 . .The queen of the south will be raised up in the judgment with this generation and will condemn it; because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, but, look! something more than Solomon is here.

In other words; Jesus' wisdom trumps Solomon's.

● John 1:1-3 . . In the beginning the Word was, and the Word was with God, and the Word was a god. This one was in the beginning with God. All things came into existence through him, and apart from him not even one thing came into existence.

● Col 2:3 . . Carefully concealed in him are all the treasures of wisdom and of knowledge.

And Jesus' comes highly recommended too.

● Matt 17:5 . . This is my Son, the beloved, whom I have approved; listen to him.

So then, when encountering remarks in the book of Ecclesiastes that are out of step with Jesus' teachings in the New Testament, my unsolicited spiritual counseling is: go with "my Son".

● John 8:12 . . I am the light of the world. He that follows me will by no means walk in darkness, but will possess the light of life.
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CHRIST'S PARABLES

Fiction can be defined as stories about people, places, and events that, though untrue; are plausible; viz: realistic.

Fantasy can be defined as stories about people, places, and events that are not only untrue; but implausible; viz: unrealistic.

For example: a story about a wooden boy like Pinocchio is unrealistic; while a story about a boy with autism is realistic. The difference between Pinocchio and the autistic boy is that the one is compatible with normal reality; while the other is far removed from normal reality.

I have yet to read even one of Jesus Christ's parables that could not possibly be a real-life story. They're all actually quite believable-- banquets, stewards, weddings, farmers sowing seed, pearls, lost sheep, fish nets, women losing coins, sons leaving home, wineskins bursting, tares among the wheat, leavened bread, barren fig trees, the blind leading the blind, et al.

Now; if Christ had told one that alleged the moon was made of green cheese; we would have good reason to believe that at least that one was fantasy; but none of them are like that. No; there's nothing out of the ordinary in his parables. At best; Christ's parables might qualify as fiction; but never fantasy because none of them are so far removed from the normal round of human experience that they have no basis in reality whatsoever.

Luke 16:19-31 is commonly alleged to be a parable; which of course implies that the story is fiction; and some would even say fantasy. But the parable theory has a fatal flaw. Abraham is not a fictional character: he's a real-life man; the father of the Hebrew people, held in very high esteem by at least three of the world's prominent religions: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. And he's also the friend of God (Isa 41:8). I simply cannot believe that Jesus Christ-- a man famous among normal Christians for his honesty and integrity --would say something untrue about a famous real-life man; especially about one of his Father's buddies.

And on top of that, the story quotes Abraham a number of times. Well; if the story is fiction, then Jesus Christ is on record testifying that Abraham said things that he didn't really say; which is a clear violation of the commandment that prohibits bearing false witness.

There is something else to consider.

The story of the rich man and Lazarus didn't originate with Jesus Christ. No, it originated with his Father. In other words: Jesus Christ was micro-managed.

● John 3:34 . . He is sent by God. He speaks God's words

● John 8:26 . . He that sent me is true; and I speak to the world those things which I have heard of Him.

● John 8:28 . . I do nothing on my own initiative, but I speak these things as the Father taught me.

● John 12:49 . . I have not spoken of myself; but the Father which sent me, He gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak.

● John 14:24 . .The word which you hear is not mine, but the Father's who sent me. So, by alleging that Luke 16:19-31 is fiction/fantasy, the parable theory slanders God by insinuating that He's a person of marginal integrity who can't be trusted to tell the truth about people, not even about His own friends, which is ridiculous seeing as how Titus 1:2 and Heb 6:18 testify that God cannot lie.

God's impeccable character is what makes that narrative all the more terrifying. Unless somebody can prove, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that Christ's Father is a tale-spinner; I pretty much have to assume the narrative was drawn from real-life; and if not drawn from real life, then at least based upon real life.

In other words: there really is an afterlife place of conscious suffering where people endure unbearable anxiety worrying their loved ones are on a road to where they are and there is no way to warn them; similar to the survivors of the Titanic watching their loved ones go to Davy Jones while utterly helpless to do anything about it.

People for whom I feel the most pity are parents that brought up their children in a religion whose pot at the end of the rainbow is filled with molten sulfur rather than gold. How do people bear up under something like that on their conscience?
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MISSIONARIES AT THE DOOR

Should you decide to go head to head with Watchtower Society missionaries, here's some useful tips passed on by Pete, the ex Jehovah's Witness mentioned at the first.

1• Round up a copy of the Watchtower Society's New World Translation of the Bible, and its Kingdom Interlinear Translation of the Greek Scriptures. Sometimes these are available in thrift stores like Good Will and Salvation Army. Both are available online from amazon dot com.

For some useful insights into a variety of Jehovah's Witness teachings, the little brown book titled Reasoning From The Scriptures is a must-have. It's available online too. Be sure to get the Watchtower Society's version instead of another book by the same name authored by a different agency.

2• Do not let these people get personal with you. You must never ever assume they are your friends because first and foremost their primary interest is in making you a life-long slave to the Watchtower Society. You can be courteous and you can be civil, but it's highly recommended that you not let them into your life.

3• Do not accept their literature. They will want to come back later and discuss it with you; thus taking control of both your thinking and the meeting.

4• Don't let them get too far into their spiel, but at the first opportunity begin introducing your own questions; thus denying them control of the conversation.

5• Do not debate. You're not a salesman pushing a product, nor a recruiter, nor a candidate running for an elected office: you're not on a quota, you're not out to win anything, nor are you required to win-- you're a herald; viz: a messenger. Your information is best presented as a second opinion for them to think about; and that's all. No hammering and no pressuring.

The goal is to show missionaries that the Society's isn't the only expert opinion out there. In other words: the Watchtower Society's interpretations aren't the only option; nor are theirs eo ipso the right interpretations just because the Governing Body says so.

6• Avoid getting embroiled in trivial issues like birthdays, Easter, Christmas, Christmas trees, the design and construction of the wooden device upon which Christ was crucified, saluting the flag, service in the military, and that sort of thing. There are much bigger fish to fry than those.

The No.1 issue on their minds when they come to your door will likely be Jehovah's kingdom, in particular, the portion of His kingdom to be on Earth.

7• Make them listen and pay attention to what you say even if you have to repeat yourself to do it, or clap your hands, snap your fingers, or raise your voice. Do not let them digress, change the subject, go off on a tangent, nor get distracted and/or turn their attention elsewhere while you're speaking. If they start digging through their bags, shuffling papers, tinkering with their tablets, or looking up a reference; call them on it because there is no use in speaking when their minds are elsewhere occupied.

8• Do not permit them to interrupt you and/or talk out of turn. Politely, but firmly, insist that they hold their peace until you've said your piece.

9• Do not permit them to evade and/or circumvent difficult questions. They sometimes say that they will have to confer with someone more knowledgeable. When they do that, the meeting is over. Thank them politely for their time and then ask them to leave and come back when they have the information. Do not let them stay and start a new topic of their own.

10• Do not react and/or respond to ad hominems, which can be defined as a logical fallacy in which an argument is rebutted by attacking the character, motive, or other attribute of the person making the argument, or persons associated with the argument, rather than attacking the substance of the argument itself.

11• These people undergo hour upon hour of training to refute standard Christian doctrines, so it's very important to show them the Bible not in ways they've already seen, but in ways they've never imagined.
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