The Kingdom of the Heavens > 2022

Yearly Archive: 2022

A Few Comments on the Overall Process

August 21, 2022 0 Comments

Most of the currents of modern Western history can ultimately be traced to the well-meaning decisions of Christian leaders in the early centuries to seek political sponsorship. This led to the inversion of the Gospel message, forced exile of “heretics,” the rise of Islam through the influence of exiled “heretics,” and most of the subsequent upheavals in the Western world.

A God who Speaks, Authority Contests, Changed treatment of each other, Compulsory Christianity, Desire to have our own way, Disrespecting poor believers, Divisions in the Church, Ethnic Division, God Never Stopped Speaking, God Speaks to Us, Heresy, Islam and Christianity, Islam as a Consequence, Peril of Seeking Power, Peril of Seeking Respectability, Religious violence and persecution, Repentance, Salvation, Social control and statecraft, Through the church, Truth and Falsehood, Wars as consequences, What is sin?

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A Simple Summary of Church and Western History–Introduction

August 15, 2022 1 Comment

An introduction to the process by which, in seeking the approval and sponsorship of those in political power, and the delusion of holy conquest, Christianity, as defined by its victorious leaders, has consistently denied the possibility of a living, individual friendship with God. First in a series.

A God who Speaks, Compulsory Christianity, God Acts by Speaking, God Never Stopped Speaking, God Speaks to Us, God's Voice, Peril of Seeking Power, Peril of Seeking Respectability, Social control and statecraft, Uncategorized

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What I Believe–stated simply

July 24, 2022 7 Comments

In this post, I give a short, one web page, summary of what I believe, in language as simple as I can manage. It gives only a quick, “big picture” of my understanding of God, my relationship to him, and my role on Earth. Comments are invited.

Church purpose versus church growth, Complex unity, Conversation with God, Divisions in the Church, Eternity, Free will, God Acts by Speaking, God is Love, God Never Stopped Speaking, God Speaks to Us, God was never our enemy, God's Existence and Nature, God's purpose for us, God's rationality, God's sovereignty, His Children, His Friends, Immanence, Islam as a Consequence, Language and Speech, Male and female, Merit, Omnipresence, Reconciliation, Refusing to hear, Regeneration, Rejecting God, Repentance, Restoration of God's Image, Salvation, Show us the Way of Truth, Sin, Sins versus sin, The Invisible God's Self-Existence, The Kingdom of the Heavens, The Problem of Evil, To be his ambassadors, To be in his image, To live in unity, Transcendence, Trinity, Ultimate reality, Unity, Wars as consequences, What is God's Word, What is sin?

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Distinction Between “Sin” (Singular) and “Sins” (Plural)–Part 5–First John

June 25, 2022 2 Comments

The Scriptures generally draw a qualitative distinction between “sin,” in the singular, and “sins,” in the plural. “Sin” is our inward attitude of rebellion against God. “Sins” are bad actions. This post gives examples from First John which paint a picture of the complete Christian life.

A God who Speaks, Confession and Repentance, Confession of Sin, Desire to have our own way, God was never our enemy, God's Voice, Is forgiveness of sins the focus of salvation?, missing the mark, Reconciliation, Repentance, Sin, Sins versus sin, To live in unity, What is sin?

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Distinction Between “Sin” (Singular) and “Sins” (Plural)–Part 4–The Epistles of James and Peter

June 20, 2022 0 Comments

The Scriptures generally draw a qualitative distinction between “sin,” in the singular, and “sins,” in the plural. “Sin” is our inward attitude of rebellion against God. “Sins” are bad actions. This post gives a series of examples from James and First and Second Peter.

Desire to have our own way, Forgetting God, God's purpose for us, Greed, Knowing good and evil, Refusing to hear, self-serving worship, Sins versus sin, Trusting sight over God's words, What is sin?

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Distinction Between “Sin” (Singular) and “Sins” (Plural)–Part 3–Hebrews

May 22, 2022 2 Comments

The Scriptures generally draw a qualitative distinction between “sin,” in the singular, and “sins,” in the plural. “Sin” is our inward attitude of rebellion against God. “Sins” are bad actions. This post gives a series of examples from Hebrews.

A God who Speaks, God Speaks to Us, God's purpose for us, God's Voice, His Friends, Is forgiveness of sins the focus of salvation?, Merit, Promises, Reconciliation, Refusing to hear, Rejecting God, Repentance, Restoration of God's Image, Salvation, Sins versus sin, What is sin?

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Distinction Between “Sin” (Singular) and “Sins” (Plural) — Part 2

May 12, 2022 1 Comment

The Scriptures generally draw a qualitative distinction between “sin,” in the singular, and “sins,” in the plural. “Sin” is our inward attitude of rebellion against God. “Sins” are bad actions. This post gives a series of examples from John and the shorter Pauline Epistles.

Confession and Repentance, Confession of Sin, Discipline or Correction, God was never our enemy, God's purpose for us, God's rationality, Is forgiveness of sins the focus of salvation?, Peril of Seeking Respectability, Reconciliation, Regeneration, Repentance, Repentance in community, Restoration of God's Image, Restoration of our Relationships, Salvation, The Problem of Evil, To be his ambassadors, To live in unity

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The Distinction Between “Sin” (Singular) and “Sins” (Plural)–Part 1

May 5, 2022 3 Comments

The Scriptures generally draw a qualitative distinction between “sin,” in the singular, and “sins,” in the plural. “Sin” is our inward attitude of rebellion against God. “Sins” are bad actions. This post gives a series of examples from Romans, 1 and 2 Corinthians.

God was never our enemy, God's purpose for us, God's rationality, Is forgiveness of sins the focus of salvation?, Reconciliation, Regeneration, Rejecting God, Restoration of God's Image, Salvation, self-serving worship, Sin, Sins versus sin, The Problem of Evil, To be his ambassadors, What is sin?

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The Implications of Jesus’ Humanity, Revisited

April 24, 2022 2 Comments

Jesus came as a man–fully human–and lived under the control (“filling”) and power of the Holy Spirit, in exactly the same way we can, if we will permit him to do it. In this respect, the only difference between Jesus, as a human, and us, is that Jesus was never anything but fully under the Spirit’s control. Jesus invites us to live as He did, obeying the Spirit’s direction and living by the Spirit’s power.

A God who Speaks, God Acts by Speaking, God Never Stopped Speaking, God Speaks to Us, God's purpose for us, His Children, His Friends, Holy Spirit, Jesus the Son, Promises, Show us the Way of Truth, Son of Man, The Invisible God's Self-Existence, The Kingdom of the Heavens, Through Jesus, To be in his image, Trinity, Ultimate reality, What is God's Word

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Related Keys to Psalm 37:4-5 and Psalm 51:3-4

April 17, 2022 1 Comment

God’s intention is that, as we take delight in him, he will put his desires within us. This will make us progressively more able to trust God, do good, and avoid sin. It will also make us increasingly able to discern when our guilt doesn’t come from God.

A God who Speaks, Confession and Repentance, God Never Stopped Speaking, God Speaks to Us, God's purpose for us, God's Voice, His Children, missing the mark, On speaking terms again, Reconciliation, Refusing to hear, Repentance, Restoration of God's Image, Salvation, Show us the Way of Truth, Sin, Sins versus sin, Through Jesus, To be in his image, What is sin?

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