God Speaks to Us

The ways in which God has always spoken to people

Repentance, in the Weaker Sense, in the Parable of the Two Sons

As the parable of the two sons in Matthew 21:28-32 shows, repentance is merely changing our minds so that we start to do what the Father asks. Repentance does not require remorse, payment of a penalty, or even in all cases a spoken apology, and the forgiveness that it produces cannot be sold.

Matthew 5:8–Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

Matthew 5:6 and 5:8 speak of the state of hungering and thirsting for righteousness, which leads to purity of heart because God satisfies the hunger. The result of purity of heart is being able to to “see” God, to perceive his presence and work, even in the present time.

God’s Working with Us is Not About Our Present, Temporary Happiness or Comfort

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.

The “Winning” Faction may be Heretical

Because the truth remains true even if no one believes it, it does not depend on human power relationships. Therefore, it is not safe to label people “heretics” because they disagree with us concerning doctrines that were imposed on our ancestors by right of conquest or that disagree with teachings honored by political leadership or majorities today.

Some Other Issues Affected by the Question of Whether and How God Speaks

The question whether God still speaks impacts a number of other issues, ranging from the nature of a believer’s relationship with God, to the miraculous, to church offices and authority.

Introduction to the Word and Voice of God

This post is the beginning of my attempt to focus on the question of how God speaks (or permits Himself to speak) to us today. It presents a summary of the various positions commonly held, from which discussion will proceed in later posts.

Brief Introduction to the Politicization of Christianity and its Consequences–From Jesus to 312 CE

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.

About Jesus in the Earliest Christianity

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.

The Departure of Organized Christianity from its Roots, Second through Sixth Centuries CE

This is an outline of the second part of my attempt to link early errors of organized Christianity to the state of the modern world–specifically, in this part, by showing the origins and entrance of specific errors before Muhammad which profoundly affected subsequent history. Links will be added as future posts are written.

THE VOICE OF GOD (GOD SPEAKING TO US) OUTLINE

This is the index to a series of posts on the voice, words and Word of God, the centrality of God’s voice to everything, and the argument that God both still speaks and still speaks to us, Links will be filled into the outline as future posts are written.