THE LORD IS COMING. Am I ready! Am i still clinging to earthly treasures and things. As a Minister it is sometimes scary to see how many of us do not realise the earnest of the time. Are we ready for the First Ressurection because??? i AM UTTERLY SCARED NOT TO BE FOUND WORTHY.How sad, to be terrified of "not being found worthy", as if spiritual "worthiness" were something that could be quantified. To spend life living in dread of a fictional event that has been "imminent" for over 2000 years now. The writer continues:
Please Brothers and Sisters let us Pray earnestly for each other and more so for those of our Bretheren that do not understand or who haved turned away.Not content with feeling miserable all by himself (I assume the writer is male, because the New Apostolic Church doesn't ordain female ministers), the need to spread the dread is so great that he prays to his god that those who have rejected the offer to live an eternity doing only what an all-powerful deity thinks they must do forever and ever will be returned to the fold, so they too can live in fear for the rest of their days until they die, never having realized "the goal".
Thanks, but no thanks. I don't need your prayers, nor do I want them. I'm immune to the self-loathing and fear that has captured your mind.
Rich...
ReplyDelete"Not content with feeling miserable all by himself (I assume the writer is male, because the New Apostolic Church doesn't ordain female ministers), the need to spread the dread is so great that he prays to his god that those who have rejected the offer to live an eternity"
You know they say "misery loves company"
It's sad that people(religion) have went to these extremes to impose their own standards through this "worthiness" mechanism not fully knowing God's standards. Even Christ kept it simple by asking all just to love each other and that standard goes for those who believe in God or otherwise.
Anonymous said: "It's sad that people(religion) have went to these extremes to impose their own standards through this "worthiness" mechanism not fully knowing God's standards."
ReplyDeleteA lot of those extremes are in the Bible, though. The concept of being "left behind" is clearly detailed, as is the "weeping and gnashing of teeth" of those who aren't found worthy. Fear is very much a component of Christian belief, and is used to good effect in the NAC, as evidenced by the terror felt by the writer of the "Maranatha" post.
Anonymous said: "Even Christ kept it simple by asking all just to love each other and that standard goes for those who believe in God or otherwise."
Except that's not the only requirement for passage into heaven - unbelievers who loved their neighbors will see "the wrath of God" no matter how well they treated others. (John 3:36)
The comments posted by the minister on the NAC Singles site are a reflection of an idea that has been indoctrinated into not only NACs, but most christian denominations. One of the most pernicious ideas, IMHO of course, to ever emerge from organized christian religion is rooted in the fallacy of the doctrine of original sin. It teaches that human beings are born in sin and as such are conditioned to view themselves as "poor miserable sinners" who need to be saved. Essentially, this becomes a self-fulfilling prophesy and becomes the basis for the belief that humanity needs to be "saved" by someone other than oneself.
ReplyDeleteIf one looks to the source of this idea, the Book of Genesis is pointed to as the place where God supposedly condemns all future humanity for Adam's first sin. The problem is that God never said it in Genesis or anywhere else for that matter. God never condemns future generations for Adam and Eve's "sin". That is why the Jewish people have never anticipated the arrival of a messiah who would free them of their sins because they believed they always had a direct connection with God and therefore the opportunity for forgiveness.
It was Paul who first introduced the idea of original sin...not God...not even Jesus who makes no mention of this idea in the NT. Consider for a moment how the doctrine of original sin changes everything. It lays the foundation for the need of a savior that never existed in this form in the OT. The Jewish expectation of the messiah had nothing to do with a savior who would die for their sins. As a matter of fact, it is an abomination in Jewish tradition to believe that someone else can free you from the responsibility of your own mistakes.
This fear of needing to be found worthy has its roots in the concept of original sin and colors one's entire sense of who you are. It leads one to believe that guidance for decision-making needs to be sought outside oneself, because afterall, you're just a poor miserable sinner and will mess up your life without external divine intervention. You can't trust yourself and are conditioned to depend on either God or his chosen ambassadors for help.
Needless to say, this lays the foundation for shaping and molding people who are easy to lead and do as they are told. Ignorance and fear are very powerful tools necessary to control people.
Excellent post. Regarding original sin, Phoenix said: It teaches that human beings are born in sin and as such are conditioned to view themselves as "poor miserable sinners" who need to be saved. Essentially, this becomes a self-fulfilling prophesy and becomes the basis for the belief that humanity needs to be "saved" by someone other than oneself.
ReplyDeletePrecisely! And here comes religion, peddling a cure for a disease they invented in the first place. Immunity from the disease can only come about through knowledge.
Rich said:
ReplyDeletePrecisely! And here comes religion, peddling a cure for a disease they invented in the first place. Immunity from the disease can only come about through knowledge.
Let's take this a heretical step further...doctrines and dogmas have been
"invented" to justify the business that became known as the christian church. I believe it may very well have started with Paul, who in many instances was not in agreement with Peter, who was supposedly the head of the church.
Later, around 500 AD we have evidence of yet more dogmas and doctrines being "invented" or "discovered" or "divinely inspired" to lay the foundation of what was in the process of becoming an organized business known as the Catholic Church. Christianity has a history of creating dogmas to justify their position.It is first and foremost a business.Divine inspiration has nothing to do with it.
The NAC and its leaders have been doing what the early founding fathers of christianity have done before them...invent dogmas to justify their position.Claim divine inspiration as the basis for your doctrines and people are afraid to challenge the idea.
The simple universal ideas that Jesus supposedly taught in the Sermon on the Mount for example, have little to do with that which later became known as organized christianity. I think even Jesus would be surprised to see how "his" church evolved.
But what do I know...I'm amongst the lost sheep who have turned away...
While sitting in church (nonnac) yesterday the pastor's message was on false teachers and false apostles. The clear definition of the scripture was uplifting. Not to mention the fact that his definition of 3 things going on at the time in the scripture of Colossians sound like the NAC of today and yesterday. The pastor mentioned and defined legalism, mysticism, and aceticism (sp?).
ReplyDeleteI will post more later, but in a nutshell, he defined the practices of the NAC up and down. I do know we are not the only church with a sense of elitism and exclusivity, regardless, it is scary how accurate the definitions were with regards to the NAC.
One example he used was a Baptist church his family attended and the 'rules' the choir members had. For example, women - no pants....families...NO MOVIES, and the few others were scarily close the the rules the NAC had. I am glad I am out.