Former location of "The Kingdom of the Heavens" blog, written by an incurable fool who is trying to become a holy fool!
Correctly including character flaws in the word “paraptoma” yields a reading of Romans 4:25 which correctly includes our death to the power of sin in our members, which died with Jesus, in the justification for which he died..
In the Lord’s Prayer and the parallel teaching about mercy, Jesus tells us that we are to ask God to release us from the consequences or resulting debts of our sins as we release others from the debts we imagine they owe us. While praying, we are to show mercy upon the flaws (paráptōmata) that led them to sin, because the Father will show us mercy in the same measure.
The continued existence of ethnic Coptic and Assyrian Christian minorities in Egypt and the Middle East demonstrates God’s faithfulness and the possibility of a literal fulfillment of Isaiah 19:23-25. If God can preserve these ethnic groups across two millennia of persecution in order to fulfill a prophecy, can he possibly need my “help” doing anything in my own life?
Jesus contrasted the Jewish leaders, who refused to hear his words, with the Ninevites who repented at the preaching of Jonah and put away their bloodshed and violence.
To enter God’s kingdom, moment by moment, I must repent of my claims of ownership of my own life. Instead, I must be willing to do things His way, even if it is His will that I crash and burn in this world. He is reality. His unseen Kingdom will one day be seen, and it will eventually be obvious to everyone that His reward is more real than anything in this world.
A God who Speaks, God Speaks to Us, God's Existence and Nature, God's purpose for us, God's rationality, God's sovereignty, Immanence, Must Trust God to Enter, Promises, Repentance, The Invisible God's Self-Existence, The Kingdom of the Heavens, To see God's glory, Transcendence, Ultimate reality, What is God's Word
The problem with Sodom was its arrogant indifference to the poor and vulnerable, as shown by the violent hate crime it attempted to commit against two visiting angels. This arose, in turn, from its affluence and its sensual focus. All of these problems characterize the modern world, including the Church (where they lead to often-violent divisions). The traditional Christian interpretation of the Sodom story prevents us from seeing this.
An abuse of God's image, Christianity and Social Evils, Church purpose versus church growth, Desire to have our own way, Desire to have our own way, Disrespecting poor believers, Divisions in the Church, God's sovereignty, Greed, Historical Background, Our Oneness in Christ book revision, Racism, Rejecting God, Sin, To be in his image, Trusting sight over God's words, What is sin?
A brief summary of the course and causes of the transformation of Christianity from a faith that offered individual friendship with God into a politicized tool of social control up to 312 CE.
A God who Speaks, Background Information, Church purpose versus church growth, Compulsory Christianity, God Speaks to Us, God's Existence and Nature, Historical Background, Peril of Seeking Numbers, Peril of Seeking Power, Peril of Seeking Respectability, Purpose of the Church, Replacing Relationship with Morality, Social control and statecraft, Transcendence
I am posting a new poem I recently wrote, the most complete text I am able to find of an old Isaac Watts hymn, and some related scriptures, all on the subjects of death and the futility of “success” in this life. God is our only hope.
This post is a detailed index of what the earliest Christian churches appear to have understood, this time about the Person of Jesus. Most of these ideas were later distorted, leading to divisions in the Church and historical consequences in the world. Further links to this outline will be added as new articles are written.
A God who Speaks, Church History, Islamic History and Secular History Interaction, Eternity, 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 sovereignty, Immanence, Index, Jesus the Son, Reconciliation, Salvation, Show us the Way of Truth, Son of Man, The Invisible God's Self-Existence, Through Jesus, To see God's glory, Topic Index, Transcendence, Trinity, Victory, What is God's Word
Though more detailed than previous indexes, this post is also an index to points later distorted that the New Testament–supplemented by other early writers–shows the earliest Church understood about God’s person. Further links will be added as new articles are written.
Church History, Islamic History and Secular History Interaction, Eternity, God is Love, God's Existence and Nature, God's Other Attributes, God's rationality, God's sovereignty, Immanence, Index, Meaning of Unity, Omnipresence, The Invisible God's Self-Existence, Topic Index, Transcendence, Trinity, Unity