Table of All Posts

We may observe, with care, that the Master did not say:

“Now that you know these things, you will be blessed.”

but

“Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.”

He did not say:

“You will seek me and find me.”

but

“You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”

He did not say:

“Seek the kingdom and all these things will be added to you.”

but

“Seek first the kingdom and all these things will be added to you.”

He did not say:

“Love the Lord your God.”

but

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.”

He did not say:

“…casting your anxieties on him…”

but

“…casting all your anxieties on him…”

He did not say:

“…you are truly my disciples.”

but

“If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples.”

All these things we could observe if we wanted.

Listening to Jesus is a thing that’s supposed to be a way of life for the Christian, and not just a thing you do at or before conversion. But when I think about it, and when I look around, it doesn’t seem that this sort of long-term, attuned-and-submissive listening to Jesus goes on like it should among the churches.

Now let me say right away that there are surely a great many churchers who are listening to Jesus for what they want to hear ― which is mostly palliative language to soothe them. But when they do that ― when they look for things like “come to me…and I will give you rest“, they’re often intending not to listen to what may be even the very next words out of his mouth ― that is, the part about having to take up his “yoke” and his “burden”. They’re all for the rest, and are willing to shirk the work, the tutelage and the obedience. So in this case, sure, they’re listening to a micro-bit of what Jesus said, even while actively ignoring the rest of his will for them. And that’s just not the kind of listening I’m talking about in this brief post. Indeed, what parent among us would be pleased with that kind of listening from their kids? We know better.

I could write you a book about good listening, but you could do just as much good for yourself just to stop and ponder the matter for a few minutes:

• How well do I listen to Jesus?
• What would he like me to hear that I haven’t wanted to hear?
• What if my heart were softer?
• How have I been holding back?
• Aren’t I in control of whether I listen well or not?
• What would he do for me if I were to listen?
• How would my relationship with him, and even my life be better?

A few minutes pondering this would be more fruitful than reading a book on the topic with one’s Sunday School class.

I’m convinced that listening ― real listening ― is the fundamental thing in a proper relationship with Jesus. And he has a way of “looking you in the eye” that will cut right through you and get to the depths of your heart faster than anything else I know.

The one who really knows how to listen, and yields himself to that practice, has some real spiritual superpowers, it seems to me. And I can’t think of any better skill set than that to have in this world!

I’ll be brief, and save the book for later.

When I read the Bible, I see not just one type of savior, but four. So hang onto your hats while I spell it out briefly, because this may well offend some traditional sensibilities.

The Big-S Savior

Obviously, there is Jesus ― the Savior that practically no one professing Christ would fail to recognize. For the record, here are some quick passages that make this obvious:

Acts 4:11 This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone.¹² And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”

Acts 13:23 Of this man’s offspring God has brought to Israel a Savior, Jesus, as he promised.

2 Peter 1:11 For in this way there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Saving Others

As popular as the concept of the “Great Commission” is, this one really shouldn’t be all that hard to grasp, even if some are reluctant to admit it along the lines of the traditional idea that Jesus is the only “savior”. In God’s plan, Christians were a big part of saving other people.

Romans 11:14 in order somehow to make my fellow Jews jealous, and thus save some of them.

1 Timothy 4:16 Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching. Persist in this, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers.

Acts 11:14 he [Peter] will declare to you a message by which you will be saved, you and all your household.’

John 5:34 Not that the testimony that I receive is from man, but I say these things so that you may be saved.

1 Corinthians 1:21 For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe.

1 Corinthians 7:16 For how do you know, wife, whether you will save your husband? Or how do you know, husband, whether you will save your wife?

1 Corinthians 9:22 To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some.

James 5:20 let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.

Jude 1:22 And have mercy on those who doubt; ²³ save others by snatching them out of the fire; to others show mercy with fear, hating even the garment stained by the flesh.

Save Yourselves

This one’s really going to rub a lot of people the wrong way, but this is not a matter of opinion; it’s a matter of scripture. Here’s what the word of God says, and it’s hard to deny that people have some necessary role in their own salvation, even though Jesus is indeed the Big-S Savior, as shown above. So we have to decide whether we’re going to listen to these scriptures, or just handwave them away with the stubborn view that the scriptures about the Big-S Savior are the only ones we need to hear, and that we can righteously ignore these:

Acts 2:40 And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation.” ⁴¹ So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls.

1 Timothy 4:16 Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching. Persist in this, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers.

Philippians 2:12 Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling,

1 Peter 1:8 Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, ⁹ obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

Luke 7:50 And he said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”

Many will struggle to admit that in God’s plan, each plays a necessary role in his own salvation, even though Jesus remains the obvious Big-S Savior forever. We might like to simply the gospel message into having just one savior, but here it is in print, folks: In God’s way of thinking about things, believers do indeed “save” themselves in these God-designed ways!

False Saviors, Gods, Christs, Prophets, Counsels, Brothers, Teachers, and Idols

Finally, let’s consider this broader category, which is opposed to the one true Savior, Jesus. Where he is true, they are false. Even so, they promise to enlighten and lead and bless and such, and even to save.

Jeremiah 14:22 Are there any among the false gods of the nations that can bring rain? Or can the heavens give showers? Are you not he, O Lord our God? We set our hope on you, for you do all these things.

2 Kings 17:15 They despised his statutes and his covenant that he made with their fathers and the warnings that he gave them. They went after false idols and became false, and they followed the nations that were around them, concerning whom the Lord had commanded them that they should not do like them.

Judges 10:14 Go and cry out to the gods whom you have chosen; let them save you in the time of your distress.”

Matthew 24:24 For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect.

2 Corinthians 11:13 For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ.

Isaiah 47:13 You are wearied with your many counsels; let them stand forth and save you, those who divide the heavens, who gaze at the stars, who at the new moons make known what shall come upon you.

Jeremiah 2:28 But where are your gods that you made for yourself? Let them arise, if they can save you, in your time of trouble; for as many as your cities are your gods, O Judah.

Matthew 7:15 “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves….²⁰ … you will recognize them by their fruits.

Galatians 2:4 Yet because of false brothers secretly brought in—who slipped in to spy out our freedom that we have in Christ Jesus, so that they might bring us into slavery—

2 Peter 2:1 But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction.

Matthew 23:15 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when you have succeeded, you make them twice as much a child of hell as you are. [Notice that they do not make converts of God, but of hell (Gehenna), so their work is false.]

Conclusion

The popular idea that saving is one-dimensional, and that Jesus is all there is to it, is simply too narrow to fit with what all the scriptures say on the topic. I think it’s about time we broaden our view and accept into our own descriptions of salvation everything the scriptures say about it, admitting that God, Jesus, the Gospel Message, those who speak it, and those who believe and practice it all play a crucial role in the salvation of souls, by the very design of none other than God himself!

1 Peter 5:⁶ Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, ⁷ casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.

I’m not so interested in the “Humble yourselves…” part, because many get that. But this second half of the sentence starts with “casting all your anxieties on him” ― which, we can be sure from the Greek grammar here, is a continuation of the “Humble yourselves” part. In other words, whatever “humble yourselves” might mean to us, to God, it means something that includes the casting of all one’s anxieties on God!

So, what if we consider ourselves humble before God, but we’re not casting all our anxieties on him? After all, how many of us are even self-aware enough to know what all our anxieties are? I mean, this command would actually take some brain power applied to it to be sure we were pleasing him as he wants. Sure, most of us believers do cast some anxiety on him, however infrequently. But all of it???

That’s quite a tall order!

So, whatever we’re doing, if we’re not doing this, we’re not quite in the kind of relationship he wants us to be in with him! It reminds me of this verse:

2 Corinthians 13:5 Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test!

Of course, to some, this last verse might sound really scary and condemning. But if you know just how ready God is to forgive us when we repent of our shortcomings, you see that all that’s really required here is simply to acknowledge the sin, ask his forgiveness, and start casting it all on him from that moment forward!

It’s a life-changer!

Most have never looked into the translation closely, but the verse that says “Love keeps no record of wrongs” has variant translations, and can actually be meaning something like this instead: “Love … does not impute evil” or “Love does not falsely charge others with wrongdoing.”

DARBY [Love] does not behave in an unseemly manner, does not seek what is its own, is not quickly provoked, does not impute evil,

YLT [Love] doth not act unseemly, doth not seek its own things, is not provoked, doth not impute evil,

The reason the traditional “keeps no record of wrongs” is problematic is that we know about the Book of Life, where records are kept of what all we have done while in the body, whether good OR bad. So if keeping a record of wrongs is a sin, then whoever is keeping the Book of Life is a sinner. So maybe this one’s worth rethinking!

Revelation 20:12 And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books.

2 Corinthians 5:10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.

So, the way I see it right now, this greatest sin, the perfect example of which was the execution of the perfect Jesus, even got mentioned in the “Love Chapter” as the antithesis of it! Love does not charge the innocent with wrongdoing!

Funny how most don’t think it’s safe
To be out on the edge ―
Where you can see over
Into the abyss below.

But what’s where the growth happens ―
Where your edges expand
And the plateau of self grows bigger and better ―
As if it were rather the point of life
To apply Truth to self and watch it grow.

And I can attest:
The more it grows,
The less likely I am to fall over,
And the more friends I can support ―
However weak or strong they may be.

And they can stand in the middle
If they want ―
Whether at my place or theirs ―
But if they come over here,
They’re going to have to get used
To me ranging all over, and spending
More time at the edge of me
Than they may think is wise and safe.

But I don’t mind;
I’ve had to get used to the idea myself.

This is a quick article I’ve written to assist a friend who is researching eschatology (“end times” teachings). The goal is not so much to target specific conclusions about such things, but common methodological errors that I’ve observed many make over the years. You’ll find that much of my concern here is about the state of mind and the character of the reader.

I hope these considerations are helpful to you in your own puzzling over end-times matters.

1. Bad Assumptions. One big class of mistake is this: To assume in advance that we know what the Revelation is about, rather than letting the book tell us itself. We can impose our own ideas onto the text, rather than really listening to it. Some of the items that follow are specific instances of this general class of error.
2. Timing. It’s a mistake not to listen to the now-ancient text when it tells is that it was about “things that must soon take place” (Revelation 1:1, and several other such statements). Many assume instead that it was written nearly 2,000 years ago, mostly to tell about events that wouldn’t happen until our time or afterwards. They are not listening to what it says ― which is a terrible mistake to make when handling the Word of God. An excellent study exercise is this: Read the entire Revelation, highlighting every time statement made in it. I.e.: “soon”, “quickly”, etc. Judge for yourself whether the imminence of it seemed to be a pressing theme of the author.
3. Separating from the Greater Context. It’s a mistake to assume that the Revelation is a stand-alone work, and that it’s not deeply rooted in the rest of the scriptures. This fact can ruin the fun of the casual sleuth, making it obvious that we need to become good students of the wider body of Bible literature instead of just entertaining ourselves by taking a casual stab here and there at what the Revelation means. The one who draws on the rest of scripture in interpreting the Revelation can reach vastly-different conclusions that the one who has nothing else to go on but the Revelation itself. The original audience of the Revelation was not one that was ignorant of the larger body of scripture, but that was expected to be familiar with it.
4. Separating from Major First-Century Events. Example: There’s a mass resurrection described in Matthew 27:51-53, but many interpreters of the Revelation make no attempt to let this event instruct their understanding of the Revelation. Was this one of the resurrections mentioned in Revelation 20:4-6? If so, which one? And if not, why would it bear no mention in the Revelation, which was written later in the same century as that mass resurrection?
   Similarly, many will read the Revelation with little idea that the Temple in Jerusalem was utterly destroyed in 70AD, in a judgment long foretold by God and his prophets, and that had been recently foretold by Jesus in the First Century. Should this historical fact be in view as we interpret the Revelation? Would the author really have skipped these mega-events in order to tell us a story wholly about something else?
5. Conflating Metaphor and Non-Metaphor. Example: Some take 6:3 literally (“…the stars of the sky fell to the earth…”), not realizing that the author has already explicitly demonstrated that at least sometimes, he uses “stars” as a metaphor for angels (Revelation 1:20 “…the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches…”). Another such thing to examine is all the “thousand years” talk in Revelation 20. Scripture famously addresses “a thousand years” in not just one other place, but two: Psalm 90:4, and 2 Peter 3:8, both passages rather cryptically, and without explaining themselves, equating the “thousand years” figure with “a day”. Is the well-informed member of the Revelation’s original audience supposed to know this when he gets to Chapter 20? Is he supposed to have the whole body of scripture in mind, or is he supposed to doggedly refuse to consider anything else he has learned from the Word of God as he’s interpreting the meaning of the Revelation?
   NOTE: There may also be instances where errors are made by assuming that passages intended literally by the author of the Revelation were intended instead as metaphors.
6. Reading Linearly, As If from a Timeline. Many will assume that the way the author presents the material in the Revelation is a simple timeline of events, from start to finish. The miss the possibility that the author, from time to time, presents information in “tableau” fashion, as if to bring the various pieces of a larger puzzle into view before telling the audience how those pieces fit together. For example, I would suggest that Revelation 12:1-6 is just such a “tableau”, bringing to mind this “woman” and this “dragon” (who can be identified from elsewhere in scripture) before launching into an account of the “war in heaven” that involved this dragon. (Read the whole chapter here.) I think it’s highly likely that there are several other such tableau passages in the Revelation, and it may not make good sense to try to read them into the timeline in strict chronological order.
7. Separating from the Original Audience. Many will read the text as if it had been written for us in 2025, and without a thought as to the fact that it was written nearly 2,000 years ago to an audience contemporary with the author. In other words, we read with only ourselves in mind, where it would make much more sense to read with that original audience in mind. That is to ask, what would they have understood? What would this have meant to them? Knowing what they knew already, how would they have taken this?
8. Not Accounting for Modern Manipulation. Many today will adopt modern interpretations of the Revelation without having accounted for the biases and motives of those who are promoting those interpretations. They may have no idea what underlying motivations could be at play, such as financial or political motivations, for example. They do not realize they may be being manipulated.
9. Assuming the End of the World. It is very popular to assume that the Revelation is generally about the end of all life on Earth as we know it. And with this assumption in mind, the reader can easily interpret more and more of the Revelation to be painting such a picture. A very fruitful study, however, is this: List every judgment in the Revelation, noting whether any is said to destroy Planet Earth, or to destroy all life thereon. If it is not expressly stated, are we safe to assume it? And have we done our due diligence in surveying alternative possibilities?
10. Doing the Math on Revelation 21:1.
    Revelation 21:1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.
    It’s easy for us to assume an old Planet Earth being literally destroyed, and a new one being put literally in its place. It’s harder for us, however, to understand why such a thing would be necessary when it comes to Heaven. Just why would that be? What was wrong with the First Heaven that it would need to be replaced? Do we really understand this?
    And what’s up with “the sea was no more”? Isn’t that part of Planet Earth? And if you’re going to get a New Earth, wouldn’t it naturally be expected to come with a New Sea? So why is this part left out in the new picture?
    I submit that these questions (and our great difficulty in answering them well) demonstrates that we are not very well qualified to understand the Revelation. Most of us, it seems, simply take this interpretation (of Planet Earth being replaced with a new one) as what we are being told, and give it little thought thereafter. But I don’t think we should presume this to be true if we can’t explain what could possibly be going on here. Indeed! Have we given any thought to other possibilities? Imagine, for example, that what we’re being told about here were not a literal replacement of Heaven and Earth (without any Sea this time), but simply a new order of things, where Satan is no longer in charge, but God and Jesus are. And would it help you to know that the “sea” is an ancient metaphor for the chaotic reign of evil? What if we’re being told about a new order of things in which there was simply no need for a place for Satan and his rebel angels, since they had already been put permanently in the Lake of Fire? Do we really know enough to rule this out? Are we really in a good position simply to ignore this possibility, and plow headlong into the common assumptions about what the Revelation means?

Let’s face it: Most of us are not Bible scholars, and are simply unequipped in our present state for handling such far-reaching considerations very well. We are amateurs at best. And further, we tend not to understand just how susceptible we are to the way that information is first framed for us by those who present it to us. We have no idea that had it been presented in a different way, or a different order, we might have drawn very different conclusions about it.

I believe that the Revelation was meant to be understood by the well-informed Christians of the day in which it was written. But we are not them. And to complicate our difficulties considerably, it was written to be cryptic, so as not to reveal its treasures to outsiders. We can become insiders if we study enough, but we don’t do ourselves any favors when we simply assume that we are insiders, and that we should naturally understand it without having to work at it pretty hard. Sadly, I’ve seen far too many moderns arrogantly assume that the indwelling of the Holy Spirit will make the Revelation’s meaning plain to them, just by their reading it, and without having to lift a scholarly finger to see what all of this kind of writing had been done in the many centuries of Bible history that preceded the First Century. Well, it’s not working. And even so, though there are a great many such people arrogantly assuming that they’ll understand it, they are not reaching the same conclusions, and are considerably at odds with one another in their interpretations.

Whatever the Revelation is describing, it was to happen in short order, and was imminent at the time the book was published. (There’s considerable disagreement on the timing of this, ranging from the late 60s to the late 90s AD.) It’s a fundamental mistake, then, to go looking for the bulk of its fulfillment in our own day, or even future to us. If you assume it’s about “the end of the world”, then you can easily prove to yourself that it hasn’t happened yet, because you can see that “the world” is still here. But I question the assumption that this is what it was about. I think instead that it was about the end of a temporary order of things that had been running a long time, and that had been prophesied as coming to an end, to be replaced with a new order of things. I believe you’ll find much discussion of this in a Bible study about the “age” and the “ages” and the transition between the two, and the then-imminence of it all. (I asked Grok 3 to compile a list of passages.)

In short, Jesus had finally arrived and had “fulfilled” the Law of Moses, which fulfillment was ushering in a new “age” from what had existed before. I believe that much of the language about these things was metaphorical in nature, such what we might seem to us like “end of the world” talk was only “end of the age”. Similarly, we do well to ask the question about “the end times”: “the end of what?” It’s too easy to assume that it simply meant “the end of existence”, or something like that. But this is much too simplistic a view, and does not serve us well. A brief survey of the body of language about “end times” and “last days” and such can instruct us considerably.

This topic is one for the long-game student, and the casual 1-day seminar student is going to be quite prone to making mistakes in judgment. I do believe the the Revelation can be understood by us moderns fairly well, though not fully. And I certainly see how, if I were wickedly inclined, I could use the Revelation to spin quite a story for modern-day political purposes, making an audience more agreeable to the machinations of some particular political regime. I could tell them that this or that current event is nothing more than the rumblings of such-and-such prophecy about to be fulfilled in our own lives. And I could get them to overlook the logical fallacy that what was written 2,000 years ago as “must soon take place” is to be read by us today as if it were written to us today and about us today. Sadly, people tend to believe what they want to believe, and I could help them imagine all manner of reasons to believe any of a number of false scenarios about our near future.

Interestingly, one of the things that a great many people really want to believe is this: Nobody would be so twisted as to want to deceive me about the right interpretation of the Revelation. But when faced with differing interpretations, they quickly shift to thinking that some definitely want to deceive them, and if not that, that those people are simply mistaken. Well, then, why couldn’t they be mistaken themselves? Is this an impossibility?

Which of these could be wrong?:

• God would not let me be wrong about this.
• God would not let my preacher be wrong about this.
• If I were wrong about this, I would know it.

If the church down the road can get this wrong (as many will certainly believe), then why can’t one’s own church be wrong about these things?

Bible versions disagree about whether Matthew 18:15 is about “If a brother sins….” or “If a brother sins against you…”. The implications are quite huge and important. But while I’ll explore all that elsewhere, the purpose of this president article is to examine whether the camps that say it’s about “conflict resolution” are doing what it says, or whether they are disobeying it.

For the record, here’s a pretty straight-forward translation of the passage in question, with the late insertion in red:

Matthew 18:15 “Now if your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault in private; if he listens to you, you have gained your brother. 16 But if he does not listen to you, take one or two more with you, so that on the testimony of two or three witnesses every matter may be confirmed. 17 And if he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, he is to be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector.”

You can see a list of the English translations here.

And here are my questions about obedience to these directions, assuming they are indeed the directions Jesus gave:

1. How often do Christians in this camp go to the having-sinned-against-them believer to “show him his fault”?
2. How often do they do it in private?
3. How often are they really listened to in that meeting ― which is to ask, how often do they truly win their brother over?
4. When they do not win their brother over in that first meeting, how quickly do they obey and go find one or two others to witness a second attempt at hashing the matter out? How often does it get put off? And how often is it put off indefinitely? How often do they disobey this step, say, by reason of “Oh, I actually forgave the offense.”?
5. Does it really say, “…but don’t confront him if you forgive it.”? Or is that just a popular assumption by which we let ourselves off the hook?
6. Hypothetically speaking, what would happen in a church culture that habitually “forgave” these things, and did not press the matter so that the offending brother was pressured to repent of them, as in the instructions?
7. When the one or two others do go along, how often does it happen that they actually confront him themselves, such that he should “listen to them” as it says ― and how often are they just silent observers?
8. Do those chosen as witnesses consider themselves under a Jesus-appointed obligation in this matter? Is this a regular occurrence in their Christian lives, or a rare one? Should it be regular?
9. In the event that the offender does not repent in the second meeting, how often do the two or three confronters actually take it to the assembly?
10. When it is taken to the assembly, is the matter actually heard by the congregants? And do they actually speak to the offender? Or is this part typically co-opted by church leadership, who step in to “represent” the assembly as proxies? If the latter happens, how is it that the offender ever gets to a chance to hear what the assembly says?
11. I notice that there is no mention of voting in this text. How many camps assume that it calls for voting the offender in or out?
12. What did it mean to “treat him as you would a pagan or a tax collector”? Does anyone even know? Do modern Christians look this up and find out, or do they never get this far?
13. Does this shunning equate to what the Didache says here?:
    Didache 15:3 Rebuke one another, not in wrath but peaceably, as ye have commandment in the Gospel; and, but let no one speak to any one who walketh disorderly with regard to his neighbour, neither let him be heard by you until he repent.
14. Is this command in Matthew 18:15-17 the same thing Paul is writing about here?:
    1 Corinthians 5:⁹ I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people— ¹⁰ not at all meaning the sexually immoral of this world, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world. ¹¹ But now I am writing to you not to associate with anyone who bears the name of brother if he is guilty of sexual immorality or greed, or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard, or swindler—not even to eat with such a one. ¹² For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Is it not those inside the church^[b] whom you are to judge? ¹³ God judges^[c] those outside. “Purge the evil person from among you.”
15. Is it the same thing Paul is writing about here?:
    2 Thessalonians 3:¹³ As for you, brothers, do not grow weary in doing good. ¹⁴ If anyone does not obey what we say in this letter, take note of that person, and have nothing to do with him, that he may be ashamed. ¹⁵ Do not regard him as an enemy, but warn him as a brother.
16. Is it the same thing Paul is talking about here?:
    Titus 3:¹⁰ As for a person who stirs up division, after warning him once and then twice, have nothing more to do with him, ¹¹ knowing that such a person is warped and sinful; he is self-condemned.

I have never once in my life seen any church anywhere make a regular and authentic practice of this passage ― whether they think it should contain the insertion or not. I think that the insertion is popularly used to keep the passage from being about sin in general, but even then, then some brother does sin “against them”, they still won’t obey the instructions even in that situation! It’s just a shallow attempt at dodging their Jesus-commissioned responsibility in the matter.

The result of this neglect is an assembly filled with members who are conditioned to think that as long as somebody “forgives” their offenses, they don’t have to repent of anything or improve themselves in any way whatsoever.

In short, I see a world of churches who simply do not want to live this responsibly, and who opt instead for some sort of spin on this passage, so as to pretend that it’s OK not to do what the Master commanded.

And I ask you: even if the insertion is excluded, what’s the harm in that? What’s the harm in teaching the Christian to abandon every sin and error? Would that be so bad? Indeed, the word here for sin (hamartia) simply means “to miss the mark”. It’s an archery term, about that commonplace occurrence of failing to hit the bullseye when shooting. And what would be the harm of training all Christians to hit the mark in living the Christian life?

Do we really think we know better than do obey Jesus in this?

If you want to insist on the “against you” insertion, then fine; you have absolved yourself from having to get involved in anybody’s sin if it is not lodged directly “against you”. But I’m not sure how much this helps you, since in this world, believers will sin against nearly every day ― and if not that, certainly every week. Why, then, do you not handle it as directed when it does happen?

Why cheat the Lord’s instructions and pretend that “forgiving” the sin is a reason not to confront it as directed? Why neglect the edification and correction of that brother, and leave him out in the cold to improve himself without your Jesus-commanded assistance?

Doesn’t that kind of behavior smack of this?

Luke 10:²⁹ But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” ³⁰ Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead. ³¹ Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. ³² So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. ³³ But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion. ³⁴ He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him. ³⁵ And the next day he took out two denarii^[c] and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.’ ³⁶ Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?” ³⁷ He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” And Jesus said to him, “You go, and do likewise.”

I don’t think this parable was really about literal wounds from robbers; I think it was about helping one’s neighbor in need, whatever the trouble. And I don’t think that Jesus was applauding the behavior of those who would “pass by on the other side”. Rather, I think he condemned it.

So I don’t see how you’re helping yourself, friend, when you claim that this passage is not about sin in general, but only about “conflict resolution”, when you won’t even obey it faithfully in that instance. I think it shows a problem with your heart if you are not driven to obey the Master.

Jesus wanted his followers to follow him in every principle. He wanted them to have help with everything, no matter how small, how large, or how often they had to address it before they finally got it right, and could obey it habitually. That was the way of life he handed down to his ekklesia. But this is so not the kind of life taught in the churches today.

James 5:¹⁹ My brothers, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone brings him back, ²⁰ let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.

Who will do this work for Jesus in such faithless churches?

Much could be said about this, of course, but it has already been said, and by Jesus and his own apostles. Why, then, should one such as I bother to say it again on his own watch? Are not the scriptures sufficient?

Here are 64 English Bible translations of Matthew 18:15. Of these, 53 adopt the “against you” idea that didn’t appear until the 4th or 5th Century AD in the Codex Washingtonianus. Earlier manuscripts lacked the “against you” idea, and spoke only of “If your brother sins…”, and not of “If your brother sins against you…”. The way it seems to me, the implications of this difference are huge. I’ll write about all that elsewhere, but the purpose of this page is simply to display the different English translations conveniently for your study.

The 11 renderings in blue font lack the insertion.

—————————————————————————–

KJ21 – “Moreover, if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone. If he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother.

ASV – And if thy brother sin against thee, go, show him his fault between thee and him alone: if he hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother.

AMP – “If your brother sins, go and show him his fault in private; if he listens and pays attention to you, you have won back your brother.

AMPC – If your brother wrongs you, go and show him his fault, between you and him privately. If he listens to you, you have won back your brother.

BRG – Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother.

CSB – “If your brother sins against you, go tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have won your brother.

CSBA – ‘If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have won your brother.

CEB – “If your brother or sister sins against you, go and correct them when you are alone together. If they listen to you, then you’ve won over your brother or sister.

CJB – “Moreover, if your brother commits a sin against you, go and show him his fault — but privately, just between the two of you. If he listens to you, you have won back your brother.

CEV – If one of my followers sins against you, go and point out what was wrong. But do it in private, just between the two of you. If that person listens, you have won back a follower.

DARBY – But if thy brother sin against thee, go, reprove him between thee and him alone. If he hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother.

DLNT – “But if your brother sins against you, go, expose him between you and him alone. If he listens-to you, you gained your brother.

DRA – But if thy brother shall offend against thee, go, and rebuke him between thee and him alone. If he shall hear thee, thou shalt gain thy brother.

ERV – “If your brother or sister in God’s family does something wrong, go and tell them what they did wrong. Do this when you are alone with them. If they listen to you, then you have helped them to be your brother or sister again.

EASY – Jesus said, ‘If your Christian friend has done something wrong against you, you must go and speak to him. When you are alone with him, tell him what he has done that is wrong. He may agree with what you say. If he does, then you can call him your friend again.

EHV – “If your brother sins against you, go and show him his sin just between the two of you. If he listens to you, you have regained your brother.

ESV – “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother.

ESVUK – “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother.

EXB – “If your ·fellow believer [L brother (or sister)] sins against you, go and ·tell him what he did wrong [L reprove/convict/correct him] ·in private [L between you and him alone]. If he listens to you, you have ·helped that person to be your brother or sister again [L gained/won back your brother (or sister)].

GNV – ¶ Moreover, if thy brother trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he hear thee, thou hast won thy brother.

GW – “If a believer does something wrong, go, confront him when the two of you are alone. If he listens to you, you have won back that believer.

GNT – “If your brother sins against you, go to him and show him his fault. But do it privately, just between yourselves. If he listens to you, you have won your brother back.

HCSB – “If your brother sins against you, go and rebuke him in private. If he listens to you, you have won your brother.

ICB – “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him what he did wrong. Do this in private. If he listens to you, then you have helped him to be your brother again.

ISV – “If your brother sins against you, go and confront him while the two of you are alone. If he listens to you, you have won back your brother.

PHILLIPS – “But if your brother wrongs you, go and have it out with him at once—just between the two of you. If he will listen to you, you have won him back as your brother. But if he will not listen to you, take one or two others with you so that everything that is said may have the support of two or three witnesses. And if he still won’t pay any attention, tell the matter to the church. And if he won’t even listen to the church then he must be to you just like a pagan—or a tax-collector!

JUB – ¶ Therefore if thy brother shall sin against thee, go and reprove him between thee and him alone; if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother.

KJV – Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother.

AKJV – Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother.

LSB – “Now if your brother sins, go and show him his fault, between you and him alone; if he listens to you, you have won your brother.

LEB – “Now if your brother sins against you, go correct him between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother.

TLB – “If a brother sins against you, go to him privately and confront him with his fault. If he listens and confesses it, you have won back a brother.

MSG – “If a fellow believer hurts you, go and tell him—work it out between the two of you. If he listens, you’ve made a friend. If he won’t listen, take one or two others along so that the presence of witnesses will keep things honest, and try again. If he still won’t listen, tell the church. If he won’t listen to the church, you’ll have to start over from scratch, confront him with the need for repentance, and offer again God’s forgiving love.

MEV – “Now if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother.

MOUNCE – “If · your brother sins, · go and point out his fault between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have won back · your brother.

NOG – “If a believer does something wrong, go, confront him when the two of you are alone. If he listens to you, you have won back that believer.

NABRE – “If your brother sins [against you], go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have won over your brother.

NASB – “Now if your brother sins, go and show him his fault in private; if he listens to you, you have gained your brother.

NASB1995 – “If your brother sins, go and show him his fault in private; if he listens to you, you have won your brother.

NCB – “If your brother wrongs you, go and take up the matter with him when the two of you are alone. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over.

NCV – “If your fellow believer sins against you, go and tell him in private what he did wrong. If he listens to you, you have helped that person to be your brother or sister again.

NET – “If your brother sins, go and show him his fault when the two of you are alone. If he listens to you, you have regained your brother.

NIRV – “If your brother or sister sins against you, go to them. Tell them what they did wrong. Keep it between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them back.

NIV – “If your brother or sister sins, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over.

NIVUK – ‘If your brother or sister sins, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over.

NKJV – “Moreover if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he hears you, you have gained your brother.

NLV – “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him what he did without other people hearing it. If he listens to you, you have won your brother back again.

NLT – “If another believer sins against you, go privately and point out the offense. If the other person listens and confesses it, you have won that person back.

NMB – Moreover, if your brother trespasses against you, go and tell him his fault between him and you alone. If he hears you, you have redeemed your brother.

NRSVA – ‘If another member of the church sins against you, go and point out the fault when the two of you are alone. If the member listens to you, you have regained that one.

NRSVACE – ‘If another member of the church sins against you, go and point out the fault when the two of you are alone. If the member listens to you, you have regained that one.

NRSVCE – “If another member of the church sins against you, go and point out the fault when the two of you are alone. If the member listens to you, you have regained that one.

NRSVUE – “If your brother or sister sins against you, go and point out the fault when the two of you are alone. If you are listened to, you have regained that one.

NTFE – “If another disciple sins against you,” Jesus continued, “go and have it out, just between the two of you alone. If they listen to you, you’ve won back a brother or sister.

OJB – And if your Ach b’Moshiach sins against you, go and reprove him in private, just between the two of you; if he listens to you, you have gained your Ach b’Moshiach.

RGT – “Moreover, if your brother trespasses against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he hears you, you have won your brother.

RSV – “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother.

RSVCE – “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother.

TLV – “Now if your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault while you’re with him alone. If he listens to you, you have won your brother.

VOICE – Jesus: This is what you do if one of your brothers or sisters sins against you: go to him, in private, and tell him just what you perceive the wrong to be. If he listens to you, you’ve won a brother.

WEB – “If your brother sins against you, go, show him his fault between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained back your brother.

WE – `If your brother does something wrong to you, go to him. Talk alone to him and tell him what he has done. If he listens to you, you have kept your brother as a friend.

WYC – But if thy brother sinneth against thee, go thou, and reprove him, betwixt thee and him alone; if he heareth thee, thou hast won thy brother.

YLT – `And if thy brother may sin against thee, go and show him his fault between thee and him alone, if he may hear thee, thou didst gain thy brother;

(Please pardon the ALLCAPS. I authored this on Facebook, where it’s the easiest form of emphasis.)

Back when I was in the “one true church”, we’d invite a lot of people to church and I’d occasionally run across one who would shun church categorically on account of all the hypocrites in religion. Such a response quite obviously sidesteps the question of what THEY should be doing — which is not to say that it must necessarily be a dodge, or be dishonest, irrational, and irresponsible. But it requires a nuanced and wise response — better than I ever managed to figure out back then.

At the time, I thought I was quite clever to respond along these lines: “Well, if you’re letting those people keep you away from God, you are farther from God than they are.”

But this, too, was a dodge to some degree. Did I deal headlong with the problem of hypocrisy in the churches? No, just as the one invited was not (yet?) dealing headlong with the question of his OWN spirituality. Rather, it was just a semi-clever semantic argument. And in retrospect, I don’t remember that it ever convinced anybody. Indeed, it seems more one of those things more intended to speak to my fellow churchmates, rather than to the one objecting to the hypocrisy. That is, to reassure them that we were in fact doing the right thing.

But WERE we doing the right thing? Well, yes and no. If you were to score us all-around, you’d probably find that we had adopted better doctrine than most churches, were more dedicated and active, took it more personally, were more accountable and more invested in it. I could have easily said to that naysayer, “Oh, you might be right about the churches in general, but you need to see THIS church; it’s different!”

And I’d have been right; it WAS different. But it was also the same. It had its successes, its bright spots, its strengths, its accomplishments. But it also had its weaknesses, too. And we were largely blind to them. To me now, it’s plain as day that one of the huge and glaring problems was that we didn’t faithfully practice the commands in Matthew 18:15-17.

Matthew 18:15 “Now if your brother sins, go and show him his fault just between the two of you; if he listens to you, you have won him over. 16 But if he does not listen to you, take one or two others along, so that on the testimony of two or three witnesses every matter may be confirmed. 17 And if he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, he is to be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector.”

Many of my churchmates will think I’m crazy about this. “WHAT???,” they would say, “We followed Matthew 18 all the time!!!”

But did they really? Yes, they’d confront each other about sin, but not whenever it happened. There was frequent hesitation to do it, and there was the frequent dodge of saying, “Oh, well, I FORGAVE that sin, so I didn’t have to confront it.” Uh, did Jesus SAY you don’t have to confront it if you forgive it????

(See, all they’re thinking about is their own part in it, and they’re not thinking about what’s best for the one who sinned— that he get help dealing with it properly.)

Yes, we did Matthew 18 more than any OTHER church I’ve ever seen. But never once in 17 years of being there did I ever see an instance of the congregational meeting Jesus called for. Not once. In 17 years.

And I’ve never seen that ANYWHERE. Any. Where.

So, then, we were a partially-restored church at best. But when the subject of hypocrisy arose, we’d take a defensive stand against it, employing some rhetoric like I mentioned above, rather than to take the matter of hypocrisy straight-forwardly. And it makes sense to me now that we did not UNDERSTAND the matter of hypocrisy straight-forwardly back then, for we were caught up in it ourselves, and hadn’t worked our way out of it.

Why couldn’t we see that Matthew 18 was so much about the GOOD of the one who sinned? Why couldn’t we see that it was also about US having the courage to help a brother? Why wouldn’t we see that this is what the Master commanded, and that he did not list the exceptions to the rule that we commonly assumed?

When God told King Saul to completely destroy an enemy and all their flocks, and Saul saved some of the flocks, God confronted him about it, and Saul actually claimed he HAD obeyed. God’s incisive reply was, “What, then, is this bleating of sheep in my ears?”

To God, it was obvious. Not so much to Saul.

And why not? Well, Saul’s problem was that he was not “a man after God’s own heart” like imperfect David was. David would mess up terribly, but he kept coming back to God. Saul, on the other hand, was aloof and dishonest about his sins, even to the point of denying the obvious. That’s quite twisted and self-deceived, and yet here he was, doing it in the name of God himself, as the anointed king of Israel! And that’s pretty messed up.

So, this person I had invited saw a problem with hypocrisy in the churches, and I had seen it, too — except not so much in my own church, and not so much in my own life. The dubious prayer, “I thank you, Lord, that I am not like those sinners over there,” comes to mind.

Of course, what SHOULD have happened is this: I should have looked that person in the eye and said, “You know, hypocrisy is a HUGE problem, germane to us all, and we all stumble in it if we’re going to espouse some certain principle, for we will most likely fall short in it, and have need to keep correcting ourselves until we have mastered the thing. I’m glad you’re concerned about hypocrisy, and the challenge for all of us is to be more concerned about it when WE do it than when others do it.”

But I wasn’t wise enough then to see it that way. Rather, I was contented with my snappy comeback about how “that makes the hypocrites closer to God than you are.”— as if the MAIN thing that is needed here is simply to be a member of a church — as if the church members have pretty much accomplished what REALLY needs accomplishing, merely by virtue of being members, and as if the rest of what is needed is sure to follow.

But it was NOT sure to follow. 17 years, and never once did I see such a meeting as Jesus commanded. Not once. There was a sensibility at work in the church that somehow quietly assumed that we knew better than Jesus on this subject. If such a meeting were really necessary, surely the LEADERS would call it. And they DIDN’T call it, so it must not really be necessary. That’s about as far as the “reasoning” ever needed to go to satisfy us.

But this is what the Lord, Master, Teacher, Creator, and Messiah commanded:

Matthew 18:15 “Now if your brother sins, go and show him his fault just between the two of you; if he listens to you, you have won him over. 16 But if he does not listen to you, take one or two others along, so that on the testimony of two or three witnesses every matter may be confirmed. 17 And if he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, he is to be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector.”

There are no exceptions stated here. One (pretty bad) book I listened to recently pretended something like this: If the offense is too great to be overlooked in love, then you should….

And NOW it occurs to me that this fine-sounding argument is really quite twisted. Overlooked in LOVE? If “love” would overlook an offense without confronting it, why in the world would the loving Master command the confrontation? Indeed, why did HE confront so much sin and error and ignorance? Was he sinning to do so?

Perish the thought!

He even asked them “are you still so dull?” — and I can’t count the times he confronted ignorance and challenged attitudes and repeated commands. This was not sin; it was his MISSION. He called them to REPENTANCE. He expect them to actually CHANGE their minds and change their actions.

Best I can tell, we were about the best church running. Even so, we stopped half way there. It’s as if our goal had been to worship a Half Jesus, never REALLY listening to the whole of him and his teachings.

And why couldn’t we see this?

Well, there are probably several reasons for this. Pride comes to mind — that and a fair dose of persecution complex, where we assumed that if we were being persecuted we must be in the right — and where we assumed that if we were in the right, we were WHOLLY in the right, and not in need of improvement ourselves.

Indeed, if were HAD realized just how much improvement of which we were in need, wouldn’t we have understand what was REALLY going on in Matthew 18? Wouldn’t we have seen that it was the very practice that could lead us all quickly to maturity in Christ?

But we had found our groove — our comfort zone. We were comfortable being in between the worldlier churches and Jesus, counting ourselves better, yet not being willing to listen actively and meticulously to ALL he commanded. We were comfortable being less comfortable than they were, but not comfortable going all-out to obey Jesus no matter what — and not comfortable THINKING about it, so as to figure this out.

But I see it now.

The righteous recognize that there’s a proper order of things, initiated by God himself. They understand that they, and everyone else, were created according to the image and likeness of God ― and they understand this metaphorically, not that they look like God, but were designed to be like him in some other ways. They understand that God has many qualities, and is honest, rational, responsible, kind, stern, resolute, proactive, just, and serving, to name a few. They understand that he wants them to be like this, too, even though they cannot possibly equal him in every way, since they lack both his powers and his role as God and Creator.

I had known I’d need more exercise,
But had hoped it wouldn’t take much.

I had known my diet needed more attention,
But had hoped it wouldn’t take much.

I had known my kids needed more of my time,
And that my retirement needed more preparation,
But had hoped it wouldn’t take much.

I had known I should love my friends and family more,
And that my character needed more effort,
But had hoped it wouldn’t take much.
And I had known that my religion required more devotion,
But had hoped it wouldn’t take much.

And then I studied Jesus and discovered that
Although it sure might look like this life
Is just about getting from day to day,
It’s really about getting from world to world ―
About preparing for the next world while still in this one,
If we dare.

It’s about who will care enough to undergo the training
For that world to which any of us could go if he cared enough.

And then, bit by bit, I began to see things differently here ―
To see the challenges less as needless and stupid bothers,
And more as necessary training for what is to come.
And I began to see how that the first and greatest commandment
Calls for all one’s heart
And all one’s mind
And all one’s soul
And all one’s strength.
And it all started to make sense to me.

And I, who had hoped it wouldn’t take much,
Have come to see that the real glory in life
Isn’t just in getting by, but in learning
To give one’s all for worthy purposes.

And now I think that this world is about
Finding people for that next world
Who want to live that way,
And who already have some
Practice in doing it ―
Who have some skin in the game.

Our bodies are hard-wired from birth
To seek out the easiest way,
But the test here seems to be not about our bodies,
But about we will live in our spirits.

And we could ― if we wanted ―
Adopt in our spirits, in this very lifetime,
The way of that second world ahead of time,
While we are still here in this one,
Living like strangers in a foreign land,
And striving for more than seems
Natural and normal to the others.

And this is how God seems to pick
Who gets to go there
When we are done.

The corrupt “two-party system” that has a chokehold on the US seems to operate on something like the following delusional thinking:

DEMOCRATS

1. What I think my party stands for is very good.
2. What I think the other party stands for is very bad.
3. When my party messes up, it’s excusable because of the good they’re trying to do. Mistakes do happen.
4. When the other party messes up, it just proves that what they stand for is very bad.
5. I can trust what my party tells me. If it were not so, they would have told me.
6. I cannot trust what the other party says. It’s corrupt to the core, whether it comes from error or intentional deceit.
7. I can trust my party to tell me what the Constitution says and means.
8. If I were wrong about this, I would know it. If there were a better way than this, I would know it.

REPUBLICANS

1. What I think my party stands for is very good.
2. What I think the other party stands for is very bad.
3. When my party messes up, it’s excusable because of the good they’re trying to do. Mistakes do happen.
4. When the other party messes up, it just proves that what they stand for is very bad.
5. I can trust what my party tells me. If it were not so, they would have told me.
6. I cannot trust what the other party says. It’s corrupt to the core, whether it comes from error or intentional deceit.
7. I can trust my party to tell me what the Constitution says and means.
8. If I were wrong about this, I would know it. If there were a better way than this, I would know it.

THE TRUTH

A. The leaders and elected officials and bureaucrats and civil service workers of both parties thrive off of the corruption in the US.

B. Both parties claim allegiance to the Constitution when it suits them to do so, but neither does all it could to support and defend the Constitution.

C. The system thrives off of its negligence to prosecute the wrongdoing of the players. And this simply feeds the fire that keeps numbers 1-6 above in play.

D. They keep us divided on purpose, pitting us against one another, when the PRIMARY conflict — the one that really matters — is between them and the Constitution they publicly swear to uphold. If that Constitution needs changing, why don’t they change it, rather than cheating it?

E. There are indeed differences between us philosophically, and these differences are deliberately fed and structured so as to keep the division viable. As long as it’s roughly a 50/50 split, the deadlock seems readily believable. “If only we could get control of all three branches—-THEN we could really get some reforms done!”

F. There is no provision in the US Constitution for political parties at all — and much less, any provision for there being only TWO of them, nor for those two parties having a chokehold on the Congress and on the electoral system.

G. Americans don’t read about the Constitution, and don’t really care what it says, as much as they may talk about it. (See point 7 above.)

H. Most people are content to live under points 1-7. The system works for the masses, who are content to live in it, even though it may be considerably aggravating to them. They are not apt to think it through, nor to push for much reform.

I. The outliers, who DO think about such things and who study the Constitution for themselves are very few in number, and have very little power under the Constitution, because the Constitution was based on the since-debunked assumption that most people will act rationally in their own best interests. (This idea is known as the “standard economic model”.) The framers assumed that the public would be as thoughtful about the process as they themselves had to be while designing the structure of the system.

J. Meanwhile, the officials keep taking those Oaths to support the Constitution, but in almost every case, it’s a huge lie, for they have no intention whatsoever of keeping it. And the public knows so little of what the Constitution says that they wouldn’t know a violation of it if it bit them in the hiney. See #7 above.

K. It’s similar to a good-cop/bad-cop system. The Democratic side of the artifice and scheme seems tasked with leading the way in moving away from the Rule of Law under the Constitution, and the Republican side is tasked with making a show of fighting this corruption, while generally failing to stop it much. (They have a “victory” occasionally, but on the whole, it’s a losing battle, and the Conservatives eventually end up working to conserve the corruptions they were speaking out about a decade earlier.)

L. The people — most of them — find this system very believable, and are quite willing to occupy themselves with the thoughts in items 1-7 above. They will not think their way out of it.

M. The majority of them might well appreciate it (in time, after the dust settled) if the system were completely reformed, but someone else would have to do it FOR them, for they are not apt to figure it all out for themselves, and much less, to do any work to that end. Indeed, what CAN they do legally but to vote and to protest and to petition the incorrigible and vast government? But voters tend to vote, concerned about RIGHT NOW, and not with the big picture in view. Indeed, they do not spend much time considering the big picture, but are content with the view in items 1-7 above.

N. So yes, our government is corrupt and most certainly could use a reform so sweeping as to rival the reform of a total abolishment and rebuilding of the government.

O. But that government thrives off of the delusion of the masses, and continues to feed and maintain that delusion, restructuring it as needed to keep the machine running — always trading in emotions and biases and lies, rather than in virtue, justice, and sound policy.

P. And why is government like this? Because you can’t get rich being a public servant and protecting the Rule of Law under the US Constitution. It’s about having money and power. And if the OFFICIALS were virtuous, the corrupt PUBLIC couldn’t keep voting themselves funds from the public treasury. So the pandering continues, along with the corruption that results from it. The corrupt leaders prey on the corruption of the public, who themselves are not sitting at home thinking about the PRINCIPLES behind all this, anyway.

Q. It’s a very base system, and far from the honorable, noble thing it is held out to be.

S. It keeps its secrets and protects its crimes. It commits atrocities from time to time, and covers them up. It molests those who seem to threaten the system too much to be risked or tolerated. And it has great powers of coercion, highly organized and highly effective.

T. It would take a LOT of public servants willing to sacrifice themselves for the cause to turn this corruption around. Meanwhile, lacking that, this system is likely more vulnerable to failing under its own weight. But to counter this, it continues to build the US empire across the world, drawing more from from others, to keep from bankrupting itself. It has no charter for this, of course, but don’t expect the citizens to notice this. (See point #7 above.)

U. The majority of the citizens claim to be Christians, but do not follow the teachings of Jesus well enough that they end up hating all this corruption and becoming the kind of self-sacrificing people who are apt to change a corrupt system. They end up being highly trained in giving lip service to Jesus while not living as he taught and demonstrated they should live — which situation is strikingly like the way they handle the Constitution. Jesus sees all this, but he does not MAKE them repent. Instead, repentance is for volunteers only, and very few among the people are volunteering for this “narrow way”.

V. Other than the *original* teachings of Christianity, what other religion is going to result in the kind of non-corrupt public we need and the kind of non-corrupt public servants we need? Islam? Judaism? Taoism? Hinduism? Confucianism? Buddhism? The American churches have not cared to discover the original teachings of Jesus in the scriptures, and to put them into practice. Instead, they have made just another worldly religion out of what used to be the one true religion — as if Jesus weren’t real after all, and were NOT going to judge them for taking on the name of Christian in vain.

W. Only people of such high character (like Jesus) can withstand the temptations that the wicked bring to bear against government officials. If we can’t get enough of those people, both in office, and in the voting booth, there’s no hope of doing much better than the current morass. A valiant president, if we can get one, can be tolerated by the system until he has termed out — and if not, he can be impeached/convicted or assassinated — and once he is done in office, all his reforms overturned. He might make a splash, but he can’t create the tidal wave necessary to wash away even HALF of this great delusion that plagues this country.

X. The people who actually understand these things, and who can resist the temptation have attained these high virtues not BECAUSE of the institutions of which they are members, but IN SPITE OF THEM. They are too few in number, and have no special leverage in this system, although their philosophy is superior to the going philosophy of the system. And this system is not going to reorganize itself so as to give those people more power in the oversight of this government.

Y. And so it is that this system is exceedingly worldly, based on delusion, and REQUIRING it to keep functioning. A righteous, reality-based people would reject the system, but there are far too of those, by four of five orders of magnitude.

Z. A righteous king could save us from this, but he’d pretty much have to kill or imprison the sitting government to do it. And then what would we do when he dies and the king’s stinking son takes over? So, the only real and long-lasting solution here is to make the PEOPLE themselves more righteous — MUCH more righteous. And how are you going to do that with the fake Jesus we get at church, or with the government itself educating the citizens at school?

KJ21 Then Peter said unto them, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.

ASV And Peter said unto them, Repent ye, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ unto the remission of your sins; and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

AMP And Peter said to them, “Repent [change your old way of thinking, turn from your sinful ways, accept and follow Jesus as the Messiah] and be baptized, each of you, in the name of Jesus Christ because of the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

AMPC And Peter answered them, Repent (change your views and purpose to accept the will of God in your inner selves instead of rejecting it) and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of and release from your sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

BRG Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.

CSB Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, each of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

CEB Peter replied, “Change your hearts and lives. Each of you must be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. Then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

CJB Kefa answered them, “Turn from sin, return to God, and each of you be immersed on the authority of Yeshua the Messiah into forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Ruach HaKodesh!

CEV Peter said to them, “Turn to God and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

DARBY And Peter said to them, Repent, and be baptised, each one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, for remission of sins, and ye will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

DLNT And Peter says to them, “Repent, and let each of you be baptized on-the-basis-of  the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

DRA But Peter said to them: Do penance, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ, for the remission of your sins: and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.

ERV Peter said to them, “Change your hearts and lives and be baptized, each one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ. Then God will forgive your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

EASY Peter said to them, ‘Each of you must stop doing wrong things. You must change how you live. If you believe in Jesus Christ, then we will baptize you. God will forgive you for the wrong things that you have done. Then you will receive the Holy Spirit, who is God’s gift to you.

EHV Peter answered them, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

ESV And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

ESVUK And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

EXB Peter said to them, “·Change your hearts and lives [Repent] and be baptized, each one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

GNV Then Peter said unto them, Amend your lives, and be baptized every one of you in the Name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins: and ye shall receive the gift of the holy Ghost.

GW Peter answered them, “All of you must turn to God and change the way you think and act, and each of you must be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ so that your sins will be forgiven. Then you will receive the Holy Spirit as a gift.

GNT Peter said to them, “Each one of you must turn away from your sins and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, so that your sins will be forgiven; and you will receive God’s gift, the Holy Spirit.

HCSB “Repent,” Peter said to them, “and be baptized, each of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

ICB Peter said to them, “Change your hearts and lives and be baptized, each one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

ISV Peter answered them, “Every one of you must repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus the Messiah for the forgiveness of your sins. Then you will receive the Holy Spirit as a gift.

PHILLIPS Peter told them, “You must repent and every one of you must be baptised in the name of Jesus Christ, so that you may have your sins forgiven and receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For this great promise is for you and your children—yes, and for all who are far away, for as many as the Lord our God shall call to himself!”

JUB Then Peter said unto them, Repent and be baptized each one of you into the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

KJV Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.

AKJV Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.

LSB And Peter said to them, “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

LEB And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized, each one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

TLB And Peter replied, “Each one of you must turn from sin, return to God, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; then you also shall receive this gift, the Holy Spirit.

MSG Peter said, “Change your life. Turn to God and be baptized, each of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, so your sins are forgiven. Receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is targeted to you and your children, but also to all who are far away—whomever, in fact, our Master God invites.”

MEV Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

MOUNCE And Peter said to them, “Repent and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

NOG Peter answered them, “All of you must turn to God and change the way you think and act, and each of you must be baptized in the name of Yeshua Christ so that your sins will be forgiven. Then you will receive the Holy Spirit as a gift.

NABRE Peter [said] to them, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the holy Spirit.

NASB Peter said to them, “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

NASB1995 Peter said to them, “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

NCB Peter answered, “Repent, and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ so that your sins may be forgiven, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

NCV Peter said to them, “Change your hearts and lives and be baptized, each one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

NET Peter said to them, “Repent, and each one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

NIRV Peter replied, “All of you must turn away from your sins and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then your sins will be forgiven. You will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

NIV Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

NIVUK Peter replied, ‘Repent and be baptised, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

NKJV Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

NLV Peter said to them, “Be sorry for your sins and turn from them and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, and your sins will be forgiven. You will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

NLT Peter replied, “Each of you must repent of your sins and turn to God, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. Then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

NMB Peter said to them, Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, for the remission of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

NRSVA Peter said to them, ‘Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ so that your sins may be forgiven; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

NRSVACE Peter said to them, ‘Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ so that your sins may be forgiven; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

NRSVCE Peter said to them, “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ so that your sins may be forgiven; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

NRSVUE Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ so that your sins may be forgiven, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

NTFE “Turn back!” replied Peter. “Be baptized—every single one of you—in the name of Jesus the Messiah, so that your sins can be forgiven, and you will receive the gift of the holy spirit.

OJB And Kefa said to them, “Make teshuva (repentance, turning from chet to Hashem) and each of you submit to a tevilah of teshuva in the Shem of Yehoshua HaMoshiach, for the selichat avon of you, and you will receive the matanah of the Ruach Hakodesh.

RGT Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and be baptized, every one of you, in the Name of Jesus Christ, for the remission of sins. And you shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.

RSV And Peter said to them, “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

RSVCE And Peter said to them, “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

TLV Peter said to them, “Repent, and let each of you be immersed in the name of Messiah Yeshua for the removal of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Ruach ha-Kodesh.

VOICE Peter: Reconsider your lives; change your direction. Participate in the ceremonial washing of baptism in the name of Jesus God’s Anointed, the Liberating King. Then your sins will be forgiven, and the gift of the Holy Spirit will be yours.

WEB Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

WE `Stop your wrong ways and turn back to God,’ answered Peter. `And then everyone of you can be baptised in the name of Jesus Christ. Your wrong ways will be forgiven you, and you will receive the Holy Spirit.

WYC And Peter said to them, Do ye penance [Penance, he said, do ye], and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, into remission of your sins; and ye shall take the gift of the Holy Ghost.

YLT and Peter said unto them, `Reform, and be baptized each of you on the name of Jesus Christ, to remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit,

KATA BIBLON

Now look at the interlinear tools at Kata Biblon for this verse:

Suppose that our traditional readings of Acts 2:38 went like this following version, which I derive from plugging in the words just above where we normally read “receive”:

And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will grasp, clutch, cling-to, seize, lay-hands-upon, take by violence, carry off, seize, possess, catch, find out, detect, overtake, and understand the gift of the Holy Spirit.

(I left out “of a deity” as the outlier here. We can discuss that at some other time.)

If you were to listen to some,
You’d get the impression that Jesus
Came to save people from doctrine, diligence,
Duty, accountability, difficulty, distress, and danger,
Rather than to lead them securely through it.

You’ll see roughly 60 English translations of Hebrews 9:27 below. I have listed them below for your examination. Here are our questions, with my brief answers:

Q: Four of these translations specify “only once” or “but once”, but does the Greek have the equivalent of a “but” or an “only”? in this verse?
A: No. Here’s BlueLetterBible’s interlinear. Note that you won’t find any “but” or “only” here. You can also double check the verse at Mounce’s Reverse Interlinear here.

Q: Isn’t this verse, even without the “only” or “but”, a rule that humans only die one time, and that a judgment follows that death?
A: Logically speaking, that’s going too far. The rule that says “It is appointed for each student to take PE once before graduation” is not the same as the rule that says, “No student shall take PE more than once.” Similarly, the rule, “It is appointed for each incumbent to be audited once during his or her term of office” is not the same as the rule, “It is appointed that no incumbent shall be audited more than once during his or her term in office.”

Many have supposed Hebrews 9:27 to be giving a rule that includes this part: “No human shall die more than once.” If that were a rule, it would have consequential implications for certain eschatological questions, such as “What happened to the boy that Elijah raised from the dead ― was he supposed to go on living until the Second Coming of Jesus?” But if Hebrews 9:27 contains no such rule, then there’s no requirement (as far as I have read in scripture) that someone could not die twice. Is this me telling you that this boy died twice? No! We are not told what did happen to him afterward. Nor are we told what must or should have happened to him afterward, except that he was to face judgment. And we can wonder at whether he faced judgment immediately after he died. Did Elijah raise him back to life so fast that there was no time for the boy’s soul to face God for judgment? And if that had happened, would that break the rule about the judgment part? Or would the rule still be true if the judgment had been delayed until, say, after he died again a second time ― or until the Second Coming? I suppose it would still be true, as long as he was (eventually) judged.

I must admit before that I was biased early on in my church life by hearing this verse discussed as if the Greek said “only once” or “but once”. This programmed me to think that I had an argument when it says “…once to die”, that I really had a point in saying, “Aha! It says once to die, and not more than that.” But I can see now that the verse didn’t make it its job to point out every detail about how death works. In other words, it says that the “once” is mandatory, but it neither implies nor demands that it could not happen more than once. Clearly, someone (such as myself), could read that into the verse, but that would be Jack’s idea, and not the writer’s idea, for the driver makes no such statement, and the context doesn’t demand such an extremely strict reading, either. I could be hard-headed about it, of course ― and many do ― but there’s no responsible way to keep insisting that more than once is disallowed.

A Preterist might have an easy time with Lazarus, and reason simply that Lazarus would have remained alive until Jesus came back to get him in 70AD. And I could not rule that out. But with the widow’s son, raised back to life by Elijah in 900 BC, roughly, would be quite old by the time of Jesus’ Second Coming, whether that happened in 70AD, as the Preterist would think, or whether it hasn’t happened yet to this day, as a Futurist would believe.

I have done much writing on the difficult mass resurrection of Matthew 27:51-53, and in many places, I have argued Hebrews 9:27 as an “only once” rule. I regret this, and will be careful to correct those arguments, wherever I can find them in print.

Here are the English verses.

__________________________________________

KJ21
And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the Judgment,

ASV
And inasmuch as it is appointed unto men once to die, and after this cometh judgment;

AMP
And just as it is appointed and destined for all men to die once and after this [comes certain] judgment,

AMPC
And just as it is appointed for [all] men once to die, and after that the [certain] judgment,

BRG
And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:

CSB
And just as it is appointed for people to die once—and after this, judgment—

CEB
People are destined to die once and then face judgment.

CJB
Just as human beings have to die once, but after this comes judgment,

CEV
We die only once, and then we are judged.

DARBY
And forasmuch as it is the portion of men once to die, and after this judgment;

DLNT
And just as it is destined for people to die once and after this comes the judgment,

DRA
And as it is appointed unto men once to die, and after this the judgment:

ERV
Everyone must die once. Then they are judged.

EASY
Every person must die once. After death, God will judge each person.

EHV
And, just as it is appointed for people to die only once and after this comes the judgment,

ESV
And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment,

ESVUK
And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgement,

EXB
Just as ·everyone [L people] ·must [is/are destined/appointed to] die once and ·then be judged [T after this the judgment],

GNV
And as it is appointed unto men that they shall once die, and after that cometh the judgment:

GW
People die once, and after that they are judged.

GNT
Everyone must die once, and after that be judged by God.

HCSB
And just as it is appointed for people to die once—and after this, judgment—

ICB
Everyone must die once. After a person dies, he is judged.

ISV
Indeed, just as people are destined to die once and after that to be judged,

JUB
And as it is appointed unto men to die once, and after this the judgment;

KJV
And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:

AKJV
And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:

LSB
And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment,

LEB
And just as it is destined for people to die once, and after this, judgment,

TLB
And just as it is destined that men die only once, and after that comes judgment,

MSG
Everyone has to die once, then face the consequences. Christ’s death was also a one-time event, but it was a sacrifice that took care of sins forever. And so, when he next appears, the outcome for those eager to greet him is, precisely, salvation.

MEV
As it is appointed for men to die once, but after this comes the judgment,

MOUNCE
And just as it is appointed for mortals to die once, and after that to experience judgment,

NOG
People die once, and after that they are judged.

NABRE
Just as it is appointed that human beings die once, and after this the judgment,

NASB
And just as it is destined for people to die once, and after this comes judgment,

NASB1995
And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment,

NCB
And just as human beings are destined to die but once, and after that to face judgment,
NCV

Just as everyone must die once and then be judged,

NET
And just as people are appointed to die once, and then to face judgment,

NIRV
People have to die once. After that, God will judge them.

NIV
Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment,

NIVUK
Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment,

NKJV
And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment,

NLV
It is in the plan that all men die once. After that, they will stand before God and be judged.

NLT
And just as each person is destined to die once and after that comes judgment,

NMB
And as it is appointed unto men once to die, and then comes the judgment,

NRSVA
And just as it is appointed for mortals to die once, and after that the judgement,

NRSVACE
And just as it is appointed for mortals to die once, and after that the judgement,

NRSVCE
And just as it is appointed for mortals to die once, and after that the judgment,

NRSVUE
And just as it is appointed for mortals to die once and after that the judgment,

NTFE
Furthermore, just as it is laid down that humans have to die once, and after that comes judgment,

OJB
And in as much as it is appointed for men to die once and after this HaMishpat [Yom HaDin],

RGT
And as much as it has been appointed to man that he shall die once (and after that comes the Judgment),

RSV
And just as it is appointed for men to die once, and after that comes judgment,

RSVCE
And just as it is appointed for men to die once, and after that comes judgment,

TLV
And just as it is appointed for men to die once, and after this judgment,

VOICE
Just as mortals are appointed to die once and then to experience a judgment,

WEB
Inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once, and after this, judgment,

WE
People must die, and after that they will be judged.

WYC
And as it is ordained to men, once to die, but after this is the doom,

YLT
and as it is laid up to men once to die, and after this — judgment,

In my reading, I ran across a reference to one’s life being “weighed in a balance”, so I thought I’d search to see how much language of this sort there is in the ancient literature. This post, therefore, is a work in progress, and I will add to it as I discover other such references. I include in the scriptures below not only what the Bible documents say about it, but anything else I could find in the writings of the ancient Hebrew Culture (before AD 100).

1 Samuel 2:3 “Do not keep talking so proudly or let your mouth speak such arrogance, for the Lord is a God who knows, and by him deeds are weighed.

Job 31:6 let God weigh me in honest scales and he will know that I am blameless—

Psalm 62:9 Surely the lowborn are but a breath, the highborn are but a lie. If weighed on a balance, they are nothing; together they are only a breath.

Proverbs 16:2 All a person’s ways seem pure to them, but motives are weighed by the Lord.

Proverbs 21:2 A person may think their own ways are right, but the Lord weighs the heart.

Proverbs 24:12 If you say, “But we knew nothing about this,” does not he who weighs the heart perceive it? Does not he who guards your life know it? Will he not repay everyone according to what they have done?

Daniel 5:27 Tekel: You have been weighed on the scales and found wanting.

Luke 21:34 “Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you suddenly like a trap.
NOTE: There are several passages about people or their hearts being weighed down — as with age, for example. I did not include them in this list. But this one has them weighed down with sins, which makes me wonder if this is not a passage about emotional well-being, but about reaching a state in which one would fail the judgment if he were judged at that time..

1 Enoch 41:1 And after that I saw all the secrets of the heavens, and how the kingdom is divided, and how the actions of men are weighed in the balance.

1 Enoch 43:1 And I saw other lightnings and the stars of heaven, and I saw how He called them all by their names and they hearkened unto Him. 2. And I saw how they are weighed in a righteous balance according to their proportions of light: (I saw) the width of their spaces and the day of their appearing, and how their revolution produces lightning: and (I saw) their revolution according to the number of the angels, and (how) they keep faith with each other.

1 Enoch 60:12 And the chambers of the winds, and how the winds are divided, and how they are weighed, and (how) the portals of the winds are reckoned, each according to the power of the wind, and the power of the lights of the moon, and according to the power that is fitting: and the divisions of the stars according to their names, and how all the divisions are divided.

1 Enoch 61:8 And the Lord of Spirits placed the Elect one on the throne of glory.
And he shall judge all the works of the holy above in the heaven,
And in the balance shall their deeds be weighed

2 Esdras 3:34. Now therefore weigh in a balance our iniquities and those of the inhabitants of the world; and it will be found which way the turn of the scale will incline. 35. When have the inhabitants of the earth not sinned in your sight? Or what nation has kept your commandments so well? 36. You may indeed find individuals who have kept your commandments, but nations you will not find.”

Apocalypse of Zephaniah 8:6 Now, moreover, my sons, this is the trial because it is necessary that the good and the evil be weighed in a balance.
NOTE: Here is the most specific reference to the good deeds being weighed against the bad. This could possibly be in view in this passage:
2 Corinthians 5:For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.

The Bible mentions several covenants, but by far, the two most important are the ones we know as the Old Covenant and the New Covenant. How well do you understand the differences and similarities between these two? Take the 14-question quiz below, and see what I think are the correct answers thereafter.

1. In which covenant, Old or New, were curses promised for the disobedient?
2. In which covenant is God depicted as a loving God?
3. In which covenant were they required to “circumcise” their hearts?
4. In which covenant is God depicted as a stern God?
5. In which covenant were they required to love God with all their heart, soul, and strength?
6. In which covenant were they required to correct/rebuke their fellow believers?
7. In which covenant were they required to obey God’s commands?
8. In which covenant were they required to judge without partiality?
9. In which covenant were they required to be holy?
10. In which covenant were they required to seek God wholeheartedly?
11. In which covenant were they required to stop sinning?
12. In which covenant were they required to love their neighbors as themselves?
13. In which covenant were they required to learn the scriptures?
14. In which covenant were blessings promised for the obedient?

The Answers

Contrary to how so many view the covenants, I believe that the same answer applies to each of the 14 questions above. It is “both“.

Let me demonstrate. Here’s the list above, each with two passages of scripture in support, one from the Old Testament, and one from the New:

1. Q: In which covenant, Old or New, were curses promised for the disobedient?
   A: Both.
   OT: Deuteronomy 28:15 However, if you do not obey the Lord your God and do not carefully follow all his commands and decrees I am giving you today, all these curses will come on you and overtake you:
   NT: 1 Corinthians 16:22 If anyone does not love the Lord, let that person be cursed! Come, Lord!
   
2. Q: In which covenant is God depicted as a loving God?
   A: Both.
   OT: Exodus 15:13 In your unfailing love you will lead the people you have redeemed.
   NT: John 3:16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
   
3. Q: In which covenant were they required to “circumcise” their hearts?
   A: Both.
   OT: Deuteronomy 10:16 Circumcise your hearts, therefore, and do not be stiff-necked any longer.
   NT: Acts 7:51 You stiff-necked people! Your hearts and ears are still uncircumcised. You are just like your ancestors: You always resist the Holy Spirit!
   
4. Q: In which covenant is God depicted as a stern God?
   A: Both.
   OT: Proverbs 15:10 Stern discipline awaits anyone who leaves the path; the one who hates correction will die.
   NT: Romans 11:22 Consider therefore the kindness and sternness of God: sternness to those who fell, but kindness to you, provided that you continue in his kindness. Otherwise, you also will be cut off.
   
5. Q: In which covenant were they required to love God with all their heart, soul, and strength?
   A: Both.
   OT: Deuteronomy 6:5 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.
   NT: Mark 12:30 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’
   
6. Q: In which covenant were they required to correct/rebuke their fellow believers?
   A: Both.
   OT: Leviticus 19:17 Do not hate a fellow Israelite in your heart. Rebuke your neighbor frankly so you will not share in their guilt.
   NT: Matthew 18:15 “If your brother or sister sins, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over. ¹⁶ But if they will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’ ¹⁷ If they still refuse to listen, tell it to the church; and if they refuse to listen even to the church, treat them as you would a pagan or a tax collector.
   
7. Q: In which covenant were they required to obey God’s commands?
   A: Both.
   OT: Exodus 12:24 “Obey these instructions as a lasting ordinance for you and your descendants.
   NT: Matthew 28:19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you...
   
8. Q: In which covenant were they required to judge without partiality?
   A: Both.
   OT: Leviticus 19:Do not pervert justice; do not show partiality to the poor or favoritism to the great, but judge your neighbor fairly.
   NT: James 2:8 If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, “Love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing right. ⁹ But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers.
   
9. Q: In which covenant were they required to be holy?
   A: Both.
   OT: Leviticus 11:44 I am the Lord your God; consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am holy….
   NT: Hebrews 12:14 Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord.
   
10. Q: In which covenant were they required to seek God wholeheartedly?
    A: Both.
    OT: Deuteronomy 4:29 But if from there you seek the Lord your God, you will find him if you seek him with all your heart and with all your soul.
    NT: Matthew 6:33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness…
    
11. Q: In which covenant were they required to stop sinning?
    A: Both.
    OT: Exodus 20:20 Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid. God has come to test you, so that the fear of God will be with you to keep you from sinning.”
    NT: 1 Corinthians 15:34 Come back to your senses as you ought, and stop sinning;
    
12. Q: In which covenant were they required to love their neighbors as themselves?
    A: Both.
    OT: Leviticus 19:18 Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone among your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord.
    NT: Mark 12:31 The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”
    
13. Q: In which covenant were they required to learn the scriptures?
    A: Both.
    OT: Deuteronomy 6:6 These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. ⁷ Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. ⁸ Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. ⁹ Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.
    NT: Romans 15:14 For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope.
    
14. Q: In which covenant were blessings promised for the obedient?
    A: Both.
    OT: Deuteronomy 11:26 See, I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse — ²⁷ the blessing if you obey the commands of the Lord your God that I am giving you today; ²⁸ the curse if you disobey the commands of the Lord your God
    NT: Luke 11:28 He replied, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it.”
    

Some Parting Thoughts about the Covenants

So much more could be pointed out about the covenants and how they are similar. Also, much could be pointed out about how they differ. My main reason for wanting to highlight these similarities is that there seems to be a vast misconception today about the two covenants ― something along these lines: “The Old Covenant is harsh and stern, while the New Covenant is loving and gentle.” To maintain this view, however, one has to disregard a lot of scripture! That’s why I want people to see the passages above, regarding what these two covenants have in common.

If these things were widely understood, it would surely have a profound effect on the churches!

What can be figured out about how “many” people were raised from the dead here?:

ESV Matthew 27:50  And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit. ⁵¹ At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook, the rocks split ⁵² and the tombs broke open. The bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. ⁵³ They came out of the tombs after Jesus’ resurrection and went into the holy city and appeared to many people.

This article aims to track down the “semantic range” of the word “many” (πολύς in the Greek, and polys when spelled with our Latin/English letters). That is: What is the range of all that it could mean, based on the what is known about the word from its use elsewhere? I’ll demonstrate in the article below these quick facts:

1. πολύς / polys is a relative term, quite like our English word, “many”. That is to say, 10 people would be “many” to have in your kitchen, but not “many” to have in a stadium.
2. The meaning of πολύς / polys seems to be reliant upon the context it’s used in, as if it means something like, “a lot for whatever we’re talking about”.
3. πολύς / polys is a very common Koine Greek word. In its various forms, it was used over 300 times in the New Testament writings, and over 500 times in the Greek translation of the Old Testament writings. (See study links below.)
4. What range of numbers was it used to describe? It was used to describe smaller numbers (such as “many” people in a house), and larger numbers, such as, for example: 1) a herd of 2,000 pigs, 2) the entire set of people for whom Jesus sacrificed himself; 3) the entire set of holy angels: ” “…ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands”. (At the end of this short article, I’ll display several dozen excerpts of its usage for your convenience, so that you can give the matter some deep consideration for yourself.)

Our Challenge

Had Matthew written that there were, say, 8 people brought back to life that day, there would be no need for this article at all, for there would be no mystery in the number itself. What would remain then would be the mysteries of “What was going on here?” and “Why was this resurrection event necessary?” and “What did this have to do with Jesus’ own resurrection on the same day?” Similarly, had Matthew told us that the number was 81,324 people (which number I just made up), we would also be relieved of needing to know the actual number, but would be faced with questions as to whether the number was significant: “Does the number 81,324 have some symbolic significance? Is it used elsewhere in the scriptures to mean something?” And with either number, the 8 or the 81,324, we’d be smart to wonder whether it had ever been prophesied about in advance.

But we didn’t get a number from Matthew; we got the very common word πολύς/polys/many. And that word is always used relative to the context. For this study, I read all 331 New Testament verses where it occurs, and about half of the 515 Old Testament verses where it occurs. (Go here and scroll down for the New Testament Verses. And go here and scroll down for the Old Testament Verses.)

Some Questions for Pondering and Study

These are the kinds of things I think we should be wondering when it comes to this passage and the way πολύς/polys/many is used here:

1. If no actual number is given in Matthew 27:51-53, are there any other indications in this passage (or in others) as to the scope of the number raised?
2. Are there any logical reasons to place boundaries on what the number might have been? For example, we can reason that it must have been more than one since:
   1) Matthew writes in the plural, and since
   2) πολύς/polys/many never refers to just one.
   Or similarly, we could reason by simple logic that: the number of holy people raised could could not exceed the number of holy people that were dead at that time — whatever number that might have been. Is there more that could be deduced like this?
3. Are there any allusions to this event in the rest of the New Testament writings? For example, might this be a case of that?: ESV Romans 8:29b …in order that he [Jesus] might be the firstborn among many brothers.
4. Was this event ever prophesied in advance? And if it were, might the Ezekiel 37 “Dry Bones” prophecy be a case of that?

I argued in my 2021 article, Jesus’ Resurrection Day Was a Bigger Day than You May Realize!, that the Matthew 27 resurrection event makes sense as the literal fulfillment of the Ezekiel 37 Dry Bones prophecy. I still find this hypothesis compelling. And in discussing it with many over the last four years, I have been disappointed to see how few are willing to give the idea a fair hearing. Instead, many are quick to hand-wave it away in various ways, such as what follows:

Some Dubious Reasoning

I’ve been studying and discussing this mass resurrection for several years now, and have noted several ill-reasoned or non-reasoned assumptions that seem to be popular. I don’t intend to comment on what’s below, except to say that good logic does not demand these conclusions, however popular they may be:

1. “This event must have been just an auxiliary miracle, generally adding heavenly witness to the miracle of Jesus’ own resurrection.”
2. “This must have been just a few people who were raised, or the story would have been told by more than just Matthew.”
3. “Those raised must have been the recently-deceased, as in the examples of those Jesus raised in the gospel accounts.”
4. “This event cannot be the fulfillment of Ezekiel 37’s Dry Bones Prophecy because we all know that that is just an allegory for the spiritual reawakening of Israel.”
5. “The mass resurrection of Matthew 27 cannot have been a literal fulfillment of the Dry Bones prophecy because: 1) If that had been fulfilled, the Bible writers would have told us this was the fulfillment. 2) Those “raised” in Ezekiel 37 were “an exceedingly great army”, and if the Matthew 27 event had been that large, we’d have been told about it specifically.
6. Gotquestions.org agrees with me that the Matthew 27 event is the fulfillment of the Ezekiel 37 prophecy, but surprisingly goes on to say it was a “few” who were raised. This contradicts the use of πολύς/polys/many in Matthew 27, and it completely ignores the mention of “an exceedingly great army” in Ezekiel 37:10 and of “the whole house of Israel” in 37:11. Without making any argument in support of the “few” assertion, Gotquestions.org says (emphasis added):
   “The raising of a few and not all of the saints shows that Jesus has power to resurrect, but also points forward to the second coming and judgment of Jesus Christ, which will include all those whose names are written in the Book Life by faith in the grace of God.”

Conclusion

So, how “many” were raised that day? I think I’ve demonstrated above (and below) that the “semantic range” of πολύς/polys/many does not rule out a very large number. So we’d have to ask ourselves: If we were standing in Jerusalem that day, looking across all the tombs in the city, and were to hear a prediction that “many” people would rise from those tombs in a few minutes, just what would we expect to see (provided we took the prediction to heart)? Would we think 3 to be a proper fulfillment of that? Or if it turned out to be 3,000, would we find that number inconsistent with πολύς/polys/many ?

I’m not suggesting that I know the number. I don’t even have one in mind. I’m content to go with “the whole house of Israel” (Ezekiel 37:10-11). I take this to mean all those whom God had considered faithful. (That is “spiritual Israel” as some call it, as opposed to those who were Jews merely physically.) But it takes some faith to think it this way, because “the whole house of Israel” was not entombed in Jerusalem; they were scattered across the nations on the Earth. And while the Matthew account only mentions those who were raised in Jerusalem, “the whole house of Israel” could possibly suggest that there was a mass resurrection among the faithful dead all across the Earth that day.

Can I prove that the Matthew 27 event is the same as the Ezekiel 37 event? No, but I think I make a strong case for it here, in my 2021 article: Jesus’ Resurrection Day was a Bigger Event than You May Realize. Sadly, however, so many believers seem to be trained to view the Bible as a collection of isolated incidents, only some of which are important to the overall story. They don’t tend to read with a view toward figuring out how each part of it fits into the whole, and what this might have to do with that. Rather, they endure the less obvious passages impatiently, in hopes of getting to something that is entertaining or otherwise useful as a stand-alone passage. So, while the Dry Bones prophecy makes for an entertaining Sunday School song, they don’t go looking for how that fits into the larger scheme of the Bible’s grand story.

What follows are some experts from where πολύς/polys/many is used (in its various word forms) in the Bible. In most instances, you’ll see a hyperlink for the verse details at BlueLetterBible.org. You’ll also see a Strong’s Number hyperlink just after the English word that was translated from the Greek.

New Testament

Matthew 27:52
καὶ πολλὰ σώματα τῶν κεκοιμημένων ἁγίων
and many bodies of the having-been-sleeping holy ones

(The form of the word above is polla (written in Latin/English letters), where the basic word itself is polys.

Mat 7:13 Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many ^G4183 there be which go in thereat:

Mat 7:22 Many ^G4183 will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many ^G4183 wonderful works?

Mat 8:11 And I say unto you, That many ^G4183 shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven.

Mat 8:30 And there was a good way off from them an herd of many ^G4183 swine feeding.

Mat 13:17 For verily I say unto you, That many ^G4183 prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them.

Mat 19:30 But many ^G4183 that are first shall be last; and th

Mat 20:28 Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many. ^G4183e last shall be first.

Mat 22:14 For many ^G4183 are called, but few are chosen.

Mat 26:28 For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many ^G4183 for the remission of sins.

Mark 5:⁸ For he was saying to him, “Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!” ⁹ And Jesus asked him, “What is your name?” He replied, “My name is Legion, for we are many.” ¹⁰ And he begged him earnestly not to send them out of the country. ¹¹ Now a great herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside, ¹² and they begged him, saying, “Send us to the pigs; let us enter them.” ¹³ So he gave them permission. And the unclean spirits came out and entered the pigs; and the herd, numbering about two thousand, rushed down the steep bank into the sea and drowned in the sea.

Mar 10:45 For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many. ^G4183

Mar 14:24 And he said unto them, This is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many. ^G4183

Mar 6:34 And Jesus, when he came out, saw much ^G4183 people, and was moved with compassion toward them, because they were as sheep not having a shepherd: and he began to teach them many things. ^G4183

Mar 10:31 But many ^G4183 that are first shall be last; and the last first.

Mar 10:45 For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many. ^G4183

Mar 13:6 For many ^G4183 shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. ^G4183

Mar 14:24 And he said unto them, This is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many. ^G4183

Luk 1:14 And thou shalt have joy and gladness; and many ^G4183 shall rejoice at his birth.

Luk 1:16 And many ^G4183 of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God.

Luk 2:34 And Simeon blessed them, and said unto Mary his mother, Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising again of many ^G4183 in Israel; and for a sign which shall be spoken against;

Luk 2:35 (Yea, a sword shall pierce through thy own soul also,) that the thoughts of many ^G4183 hearts may be revealed.

Luk 13:24 Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, ^G4183 I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able.

Jhn 21:25 And there are also many ^G4183 other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written. Amen.

Act 4:4 Howbeit many ^G4183 of them which heard the word believed; and the number of the men was about five thousand.

Rom 5:15 But not as the offence, so also is the free gift. For if through the offence of one many ^G4183 be dead, much ^G4183 more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many. ^G4183

Rom 5:19 For as by one man’s disobedience many ^G4183 were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many ^G4183 be made righteous.

Rom 8:29 For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many ^G4183 brethren.

Rom 12:5 So we, being many, ^G4183 are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another.

1Co 4:15 For though ye have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet have ye not many ^G4183 fathers: for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel.

1Co 8:5 For though there be that are called gods, whether in heaven or in earth, (as there be gods many, ^G4183 and lords many,) ^G4183

1Co 10:17 For we being many ^G4183 are one bread, and one body: for we are all partakers of that one bread.

1Co 12:14 For the body is not one member, but many. ^G4183

Phl 3:18 (For many ^G4183 walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ:

Tit 1:10 For there are many ^G4183 unruly and vain talkers and deceivers, specially they of the circumcision:

Heb 9:28 So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; ^G4183 and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.

Heb 12:15 Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many ^G4183 be defiled;

2Pe 2:2 And many ^G4183 shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of.

Rev 5:11 And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many ^G4183 angels round about the throne and the beasts and the elders: and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands;

Old Testament

The following citations lack the Strong’s Numbers as BlueLetterBible does not provide them when showing excerpts from the Septuagint. In every instance, however, πολύς/polys is used in the Greek, in some form or another. And this is a good place to note that the word doesn’t only mean “many”, but also “much” and “large”. And it’s not always used as a an adjective, but is sometimes used as a noun.

Isa 2:3 And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.

Isa 2:4 And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.

Isa 8:15 And many among them shall stumble, and fall, and be broken, and be snared, and be taken.

Isa 13:4 The noise of a multitude in the mountains, like as of a great people; a tumultuous noise of the kingdoms of nations gathered together: the LORD of hosts mustereth the host of the battle.

Isa 17:12 Woe to the multitude of many people, which make a noise like the noise of the seas; and to the rushing of nations, that make a rushing like the rushing of mighty waters!

Isa 17:13 The nations shall rush like the rushing of many waters: but God shall rebuke them, and they shall flee far off, and shall be chased as the chaff of the mountains before the wind, and like a rolling thing before the whirlwind.

GNT Isaiah 40:²⁶ Look up at the sky!
Who created the stars you see?
    The one who leads them out like an army,
    he knows how many there are
    and calls each one by name!
His power is so great—
    not one of them is ever missing!

Isa 53:11 He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.

Isa 53:12 Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.

Isa 66:16 For by fire and by his sword will the LORD plead with all flesh: and the slain of the LORD shall be many.

Jeremiah 31:8 Behold, I will bring them from the north country
    and gather them from the farthest parts of the earth,
among them the blind and the lame,
    the pregnant woman and she who is in labor, together;
    a great company, they shall return here.

Eze 26:7 For thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will bring upon Tyrus Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, a king of kings, from the north, with horses, and with chariots, and with horsemen, and companies, and much people.

Eze 26:19 For thus saith the Lord GOD; When I shall make thee a desolate city, like the cities that are not inhabited; when I shall bring up the deep upon thee, and great waters shall cover thee;

Eze 37:2 And caused me to pass by them round about: and, behold, there were very many in the open valley; and, lo, they were very dry.

Eze 37:10 So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood up upon their feet, an exceeding great army.

Eze 38:8 After many days thou shalt be visited: in the latter years thou shalt come into the land that is brought back from the sword, and is gathered out of many people, against the mountains of Israel, which have been always waste: but it is brought forth out of the nations, and they shall dwell safely all of them.

Eze 38:9 Thou shalt ascend and come like a storm, thou shalt be like a cloud to cover the land, thou, and all thy bands, and many people with thee.

Eze 38:15 And thou shalt come from thy place out of the north parts, thou, and many people with thee, all of them riding upon horses, a great company, and a mighty army:

Dan 8:26 And the vision of the evening and the morning which was told is true: wherefore shut thou up the vision; for it shall be for many days.

Dan 9:27 And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.

Dan 11:33 And they that understand among the people shall instruct many: yet they shall fall by the sword, and by flame, by captivity, and by spoil, many days.

Daniel 12:1 “At that time shall arise Michael, the great prince who has charge of your people. And there shall be a time of trouble, such as never has been since there was a nation till that time. But at that time your people shall be delivered, everyone whose name shall be found written in the book. ² And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. ³ And those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky above;^[a] and those who turn many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever. ⁴ But you, Daniel, shut up the words and seal the book, until the time of the end. Many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase.”

Daniel 12:⁹ He said, “Go your way, Daniel, for the words are shut up and sealed until the time of the end. ¹⁰ Many shall purify themselves and make themselves white and be refined, but the wicked shall act wickedly. And none of the wicked shall understand, but those who are wise shall understand.

Mic 4:3 And he shall judge among many people, and rebuke strong nations afar off; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up a sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.

Mic 5:7 And the remnant of Jacob shall be in the midst of many people as a dew from the LORD, as the showers upon the grass, that tarrieth not for man, nor waiteth for the sons of men.

Zechariah 10:⁶ “I will strengthen the house of Judah,
    and I will save the house of Joseph.
I will bring them back because I have compassion on them,
    and they shall be as though I had not rejected them,
    for I am the Lord their God and I will answer them.
⁷ Then Ephraim shall become like a mighty warrior,
    and their hearts shall be glad as with wine.
Their children shall see it and be glad;
    their hearts shall rejoice in the Lord.
⁸ “I will whistle for them and gather them in,
    for I have redeemed them,
    and they shall be as many as they were before.
⁹ Though I scattered them among the nations,
    yet in far countries they shall remember me,
    and with their children they shall live and return.
¹⁰ I will bring them home from the land of Egypt,
    and gather them from Assyria,
and I will bring them to the land of Gilead and to Lebanon,
    till there is no room for them.

Why should they come to you
When they do not even come to Him?

As reverently as they insist
Upon the one teaching of Jesus,
They turn a deaf ear toward another.

How is it that they want to bear Jesus’ name,
Yet care so little to learn his philosophy
And to walk in his Way and Truth and Life?

Well, here goes my first transmission after having quit reading and posting to Facebook for the rest of this year. I have long been in the habit of posting here, and then putting links and excerpts on Facebook for my contacts there to see, but today, this is it. And we’ll see who stops by to read this.

Think on how it is that people are born into this God-created world,
And are in a constant state of possibility regarding
Whether they might care to love and honor God or not.

He is careful to warn me that the only proper motivation for good works is the gratitude for the great grace bestowed upon us by Jesus. To do them for any other cause, he cautions―such as duty or obligation or utility or obedience―is to miss the mark and to operate in a worldly and unspiritual manner―and then he grows darkly serious when he goes on to warn of how doing good works under any hint of an understanding that they are required by God is nearing the heresy of “works salvation”.

It’s not that the time I’ve spent on this Earth so far
Has been wholly without its bright spots, mind you,
But I must say that had it all been left to me,
I would much rather have done the work
Of making bigger differences in this world
Than the world seems to want made.

The big lie says that those who have been harmed by this world deserve special latitude when harming others―that those having been cheated deserve to cheat, and those having been lied to deserve to lie, and those having been betrayed deserve to betray others.

What the well-established menace to society requires this to thrive is this: His own will to violate the good order of the society must exceed the combined will of the rest to maintain that order. Thus does the one man’s continual transgression serve to condemn the apathetic hordes, who might otherwise have put him out already with but a flick of the public wrist.

The problem with that question on the board was not that it wasn’t excellent; it was that it was the teacher’s question, and not our own.

We were not asking it; she was.

About once a year or so, I’ll have a chat with somebody about religion, to which his or her response is an enthusiastic outburst about how, surely, his or her pastor and I would get along just great.

He ventured to mention some doctrines he wanted me to believe. So, naturally, I raised some questions and objections to what he was saying. But confidently, he promised he would bring me a book that spells it all out in good order.

The churches are packed with millions and millions of members who should not be there, according to Jesus. They are not the sort to repent of their sins, and should have been confronted about it and put out a long time ago, yet they are given quarter, and with flagrant disregard for Jesus’ instructions:

¹⁵ “If your brother or sister sins, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over. ¹⁶ But if they will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’ ¹⁷ If they still refuse to listen, tell it to the church; and if they refuse to listen even to the church, treat them as you would a pagan or a tax collector.

Matthew 18:15-17. NIV.

Society A has been engineered and maximized by its leaders to reap as much profit as possible (for themselves) from the citizens.

Society B is engineered and maximized by its leaders to promote the maturation of its individuals in virtue and in just dealings.

If this is all
That goes on here
I might suppose it were
By some sad mistake
That I had come either
To the wrong where
Or the wrong when.

But it seems as yet
I’ve still got the right why.

Let me be blunt: I submit that the following passage in Jesus’ teaching is widely disobeyed in the churches―and probably by your church, too. Read the following passage carefully, and then ask yourself whether this is your regular habit whenever someone sins against you, or it is is rather something you do only occasionally.

¹⁵ “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. ¹⁶ But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. ¹⁷ If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector.

Jesus. Matthew 18:15-17. ESV.

Let us notice these four successive steps here, prescribed by Jesus in the hope that the first step alone will suffice:

It will surprise him to learn that among the things
Of which he robustly disapproves in this world,
Are some of the righteous things of God.

He didn’t realize it,
But as much of his doctrine
Had come from his own culture
Of psychological coping
As from the Bible.

And he would never realize
How much he had twisted it
Simply to make himself feel safer.

America has partied herself to death.
And I don’t mean with drugs and alcohol,
But with donkeys and elephants, mostly,
And all the pundits and labels that go with it.

It rarely happens,
But I do meet some
From time to time
Who can put a finger
Accurately on the lion’s share
Of what ails this country.
But not one in ten of those
Seem to have any real idea of
What it will take to
Make things right.

It seems they are so readily lost
When in the business of
Calculating so grand a total.

He does not know how to make a point,
But only how to hint at one,
After which he may tell himself,
If he pleases,
That those who don’t get it
Just don’t get it.

Having done a good thing,
He may impatiently wish it to be celebrated
As the summary of his life,
Though it was, in fact,
Just one moment of millions
In an unwieldy saga,
So lengthy as to make dubious
Any particular snapshot
As a proper icon for its cover.

You can make a new rule
Every time some blockhead
Transgresses common sense
Or common decency
And fouls things up.

He’s long been pretty sure that the other party is incorrigible,
So he was glad to join this one.
But if he’s like most, he’ll invest a lot of years in this party
Without ever realizing that it has its own incorrigibilities,
And is not the champion of goodness he had assumed.

He had only cared enough in the beginning
To ask whether this party is better,
And did not care enough to ask
Whether it is good enough.

I must have missed that memo from Jesus to the Christians―long revered and frequently alluded to (though strangely, never cited)―where he tells them that they must passively put up with the nonsense of others, and where he explains abashedly that he himself has since learned better than how he lived while he was here.

If I ever find a copy, though, you can bet that I’ll post it right here.

At some point, won’t you be forced to face the fact that, even if you are the perfect patriot, fortified with all wisdom and diligence, the corruption in your own party runs so deep and wide as to reduce your influence in it to something nearing one big, well-intentioned zero?

Technically, there’s a difference
Between don’t-care and don’t-care-much.
If if you’re on the receiving end,
They’re pretty much going to feel the same.

“If a man has good corn or wood, or boards, or pigs, to sell, or can make better chairs or knives, crucibles or church organs, than anybody else, you will find a broad hard-beaten road to his house, though it be in the woods.”

Ralph waldo Emerson, (1803-1882). Journal, 1855.

Must I be the peddler of my own wares,
Chasing the masses down that slippery slope
And begging them in their native Marketese
To want what they do not, but should?

Perhaps there were other indicators
That they were not listening,
But the most obvious always seemed to be
That they simply were not reading his book.

He had hitched his wagon to the church,
And the church, to the nation―
And off they went, waving their flags
And singing their songs,
And having no real need of Jesus
Beyond some name-dropping here and there―
Which seemed pious enough to them, even if
It infuriated the Jesus they never knew―
Who stayed aloof, anyway,
And never crashed their party.

The one Christian thinks his Christianity was fully settled from the get-go, and that all he has to do to please God from here on out is simply to be.

The second thinks that what happened from the get-go was just a starting pistol, and that to please God is to become like Jesus.

The third can’t quite accept the aloofness of the be idea, but neither can he wholeheartedly embrace the full accountability of the become idea. He will never settle into either camp, and has no other choice but to be confused between the two.

I could marvel at how our species
Has learned that some things
Are in fact so utterly important
As to warrant the great labor and expense
Of building a lighthouse to help the captains
Find their way without incident―

You have been happening to me
For quite some time now.

The good habits out of which
I so habitually get
Are the best evidence
For the hypothesis that
This life is, in fact,
A self-guided training program,
The point and import of which
Is not at some times
As clear to me as at others.

It is a divine kindness
In this beautiful-ugly world
That there are good things here
To be enjoyed.

Until Jesus is enough for you, no person or thing will ever be.

Steven Furtick

This meme may sound awfully right and satisfying to some, but I think it’s messed up. I think this was written from the point of view of somebody who doesn’t know Jesus very well. But let me start first by examining the “tone” of it.

Come, let us discover, new friend,
Which are the things I might discuss at ease
With a fuller person, but
Dare not mention to you.

We are free to choose the words we use, yet we use the same word to describe God as we use to describe ice cream, do we not?

I want to write a brief article today because I don’t have time to write the book(s?) that the topic deserves. But even so, brevity takes its time, too. So here’s a thesis statement aimed at giving you hope that reading this short article is worth your time:

Perhaps you have got them labeled as “strong”,
And have made up your mind that they are
Worthy of your stout and silent respect,
But it’s likely that you have little idea
What all battles they have to fight
To be the people that you see.
And I’d like to suggest that
One of those battles is
To keep it all going
Even when they
Get next to
Nothing
From their
Quiet admirers,
Who think that the
Strength is certain to
Stay as it is without good
Encouragement from those
For whose benefit it is served
Up so courageously and selflessly,
And even when they don’t feel like it.
To remain silent is to rob them of
Nature’s best encouragement,
Leaving them to whatever
Nourishment they can
Provide themselves
From their own
Convictions.

Looking at this photo of some kids at a party in 1947, I think that if I were to spend an hour considering the differences from then to now, it would be an hour well-spent.

Let us observe that
the tall husband―
who can get things
down for you―
may also,
from time to time,
put them
up too high.

How is it, O man,
That after all this time,
Knowing all these people,
You still do not know
What people are like?

Christians are all over the place when it comes to their understanding of what God requires of man before he will grant him eternal life in that Holy City. I think that naturally, one could consider the idea that “God requires nothing”, as a possibility to be covered in due diligence, but that once he sets one toe over that line of zero requirement, he steps out onto a slippery slope that will whisk a great many people away to a conclusion that do not find agreeable.

And the question, of course, is whether God finds that conclusion agreeable―whether it is the right and true conclusion, whether we might tend to think so or not. So this article examines that slippery slope, and what seems to be on each end of it, and how most people tend to reason their way up and down that slope, avoiding the landings at both the top and the bottom, preferring instead, the frantic life of trying to live somewhere along the slope itself.

I’ve made a rough list below of example positions below. It is surely imperfect in several ways, yet useful (I hope) in sketching out the gist of the quandary that plagues so many, and the various ways they dispute the particulars.

Books and books could be written about why I believe what follows, but I have forced myself to keep it very brief. And if you want to understand my reasons (beyond the tidbits of reason that are interspersed with my predictions below), you’ll need to contact me privately, or get busy reading my writings on such things. (Almost no one ever does.)

He wants to feel good about himself.

He wants others to feel good about him,
Which helps him to feel good about himself.

I struggle to understand the scriptures.

I can’t tell you that I struggle enough, mind you, but I struggle.

I have spent countless hours (though God will know the count), reading and pondering and discussing them. And surely, I have written and rewritten many thousands of pages, trying to make sense of the Bible, and of its various parts. I’ve written about things like:

He will tell you,
Just as certainly as he tells himself,
That he has set out on a righteous quest of principle
To right the wrongs that plague us all.
And he sets his sights on politics
Or religion―or perhaps on both.

They whom He did not appoint
Appoint themselves His representatives―
Or have their churches do it for them,
Which makes it seem all the more official.

I’m not sure they’re much interested in
Having as their King anyone other than
The baby Jesus, of whom they can readily
Make what they will in that quaint manger.

Is the man’s religion what the man thinks it is,
Or does God have a say in the matter?

He cannot see the difference between
“Thus sayeth the Lord” and
“Thus do I interpret the Lord’s sayings”.

It seems to me that God (and at least some of the prophets who wrote the scriptures) may have had a way of categorizing humans based on the humility they had adopted. It seems to me at present that there may have been three basic categorizations―three “camps”, into which they were divided. Let me introduce the three camps, and then I’ll show you where I find them in scripture.

I. Camp Mocker

The first camp is filled with this who are so averse to humility under God that they scoff at the very idea of it. They are the mockers.

Something Jesus said,
When speaking in print
Through The (imperfect) Preacher,
And going by the name, Wisdom―

It holds a key many have missed―

It’s a pretty good sign that somebody is not listening when they are not influenced by the presentation of fact and logic they obviously had not previously considered. They may go through the motions of responding, but that doesn’t mean they’ve done the mindwork of reflecting on the new information.

Far more people will respond than will really listen first.

Never in a thousand years would Billy tell you
That he thinks there’s any person in this world
Who is always right about everything.

Yet when it comes to people being mad at Billy,
Never in a thousand years will he think
That they could ever be wrong about that!

There are some things in the Bible that a great many churchers refuse to believe. Among them is this:

The LORD tests the righteous and the wicked, And His soul hates one who loves violence.

Psalm 11:5. NASB.

They are so conditioned that “God loves everybody” that they simply have to ignore passages like this―or worse, write them off as the unenlightened Old-Covenant ramblings of people who lived before Jesus came, and just didn’t know any better about what God is really like.

Scalpel in hand, the surgeon presumes
To exact from the body of human Reality
Only those parts she likes the best―
As if Unity and Goodwill and Pleasantness
Might be of some use, resected and laid out
In a stainless steel dish.

How long can she live with the liar
Without ever adopting one of
His blameshifting lies into
Her own self-view―
Fouling her own
Being with his
Soul-ruining
Falsehood?

If having been wronged
Gives one a moral excuse
To mistreat others,
Then shouldn’t one’s every offense
Rightly provide his victims the same excuse?

Let’s see how I can say this with utter brevity, though much more needs to be said about it.

Much ado is made of the power of God and his ability to influence and guide people, and even his ability to supersede the laws of nature. But I think that a sizable portion of God’s power is overlooked by a great many people, who give very little consideration to things like:

1. The teaching power of the way that reality itself is set up and operates in this world. That is, things like cause-and-effect, consequences of actions, and trial and error. This is part of God’s wise design for this life, yet so few Christians seem to talk about it as such. And I’d venture to say that the value of what alert humans can learn from the reality of daily life may well exceed the teaching/maturing power than all the Sunday Schools combined.
2. The fact that truth exists. Similar to the first point is that truth even exists, and is often (even if not always) discernible. The people who look for truth the most are likely the ones who find the most of it―even if we haven’t got it all figured out yet. And again, I’d venture to say that the person who is always going about, looking for the truth of things is much more likely to mature in Christ than the one who’s just looking for a preacher to listen to.
3. The power of prayer. Now, understand me EXACTLY here: You may think you know what I mean, because “the power of prayer” is such a commonly-used saying. But actually, it’s quite a misnomer almost all the time, because those who say it are almost always referring to the power of God to answer prayer; they don’t mean that the praying itself has power. But I mean to say this: regardless of whatever God might do in response to a prayer, there’s something separate going on in it. That is, that the believer’s mind is focused on the (hopefully-good) thing, and is processing/imagining/seeking some improvement. And I submit that, apart from whatever God himself may or may not do in response, these mental/emotional/spiritual processes have their own value—their own power—and that God knows this, and that it’s part of his plan. And not terribly dissimilar from this is the power of (good) conversation with (wise) friends and confidants. (Watch out, because there’s plenty of bad conversation to be had with unwise people, too!)
4. The sting of failure, and the timeout of necessity. A parent might spank a child, or put him in timeout, but we all see that God does no such literal thing for us. Many will think such things metaphorically, however, as they try to imagine God behind the scenes, working out what goes on, and what doesn’t go on in their lives. But again, apart from what God does or doesn’t do, there is also the power of life’s ability to “sting “punish” us and delay us and disappoint us and frustrate us. It all tests our resolve and convictions and plans, and our understanding of things. It tests our priorities and values. And if we’re inclined to be wise about it, it gives us a great many opportunities to grow and to improve ourselves.
5. The fifth item below. There’s a fifth item below, separate from these. And you’ll see why later.

Yes, much of what I’ve listed above is really the same thing—or is consisted merely by different angles from which to understand it. But it focuses more on the mere design of this world, and of how human societies tend to function. That is, the way God designed it, life itself has much power to test us and to show us opportunity (if we have our eyes and minds open to it) to learn better and to improve ourselves.

Sadly, though, many don’t think of all that as something that really counts when it comes to spirituality. Rather, they seem to have in mind scenarios in which God himself comes and touches their heart somehow, or changes them somehow—or sends someone else to do it—or a dream, perhaps, or something mysterious and hard to explain. That’s their idea of intervention, and the mundane matters I’ve been describing are largely overlooked. And I think that a lot of Christians are short-sighted in this way. They won’t see it as interaction with God if it doesn’t involve prayer or worship or Bible work, but I see it as interaction with the very world and the very reality and the very truth that God himself designed, and that he put us in to live out our lives.

Somehow, we’re hyper-spiritualized our idea of proper religion, so as to ignore the value of such things.

The Fifth Item

Another very powerful thing that’s overlooked is story. That is, how things go. How they turn out. What happens. What works out. Good and bad. Right and wrong. Wise and foolish. Successful and failing. Just and unjust. Win and lose.

Stories can be real-life events, or can be completely made up, and can still deal quite truly with how life goes. The Bible is packed with what I believer are some of the best stories ever told. (And yes, people debate whether they all happened historically or not—even sometimes missing the treasure of truth regarding “how things go” that’s written into the stories. And there are lots of other amazing stories, beyond the Bible—some of them obviously fiction, and still quite telling the truth of what life is like.

And these can have quite some power over the reader—power to influence and enlighten and encourage to goodness and to warn from badness. Even so, there’s plenty of bad story out there—just as there is plenty of good story, poorly told. It’s not entirely unlike the caveat I gave before how about powerful and instructive talking with friends can be, though not all are good advisors.

But to story itself, I cringe to see so many write off good story—even the ones in the Bible—in favor of things more church-official, like creeds and doctrinal bullet-points, and such. I’d trade you every creed and sermon and book from the mind of man for what we already have buried in the scriptures and waiting to be mined out from them by way of a lifetime of thoughtful and curious and eager reading.

So many want influence from God by way of feelings and dreams and inspiring pep-talks from church leaders who have some particular “vision” for them—but whether those things are available or not, we have so many other valuable things built into our life experience here. And I think they’re part of God’s general design for this Earth, and that most neglect them considerably, not counting them of “spiritual” value. Yet in my estimation, I’d say that if they knew the Spirit better, they’d see the spiritual value in them right away.

Among those who claim Jesus, there are myriad millions who will not obey this one teaching:

If your brother or sister sins, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over.

Jesus. Matthew 18:15. NIV.

They would rather 1) be wronged, and 2) let the offender go on offending God and man alike, than to confront him or her in order to help them overcome it.

But just imagine a Christian fellowship―or even a single friendship―in which all parties embraced and practiced this teaching of Jesus, with everybody pulling the same direction, toward righteousness and love!

This is why, I’m convinced, that the churches are so dysfunctional; their idea of love does not match with Jesus’ idea. Theirs is more of a feeling, where Jesus’ love is more of a doing and a helping―a love for changing and growing.

One can wish a thing in but a moment’s time,
And count it among his wants―
Telling himself, and everybody else,
That it is his ardent dream and plan.

But deep down inside, we all know―
For experience has taught us already―
That he’ll never become what he is not willing
To work for habitually.

It’s disturbing
How many will
Call themselves Christians
Before they even
Agree with God
As to what is
And is not
A sin.

Many think that
Because of God’s grace
And his amazing forgiveness,
Believers don’t have to repent and grow
And learn and change and overcome ,
And that God adamantly chooses
To see them as if they had
Already done all of that―
After which gratitude
Might actually prod
Them to grow a
Little bit here
And there.

I have worked for many years on excellence of mind―considering reality to be a fine rule of thumb, to which my own thoughts and attitudes and intentions and beliefs and decisions should be repaired. I have read all or most of about thirty volumes on the psychology of rational thought, and have also found a great many passages in the holy scriptures that show that God and Jesus alike are consummately rational and truth-loving, and expect the faithful to conform themselves to the truth in all matters.

It has been my observation―
And you can quote me on this if you like―
That most people are fairly well-behaved
When they are behaving well.

When you see them falling short,
It’s often not so much because they don’t
Know any better as it is because
They don’t want any better.

I think this meme is clumsy, and overstates its case. This is aggravating, because the point it really wants to make is a good one, but it is overstated here, beyond what is true and reasonable, as if the author were driven to declare an absolute rule about how Satan operates.

Let me demonstrate. Here’s the first sentence:

Satan disguises submission to himself under the ruse of personal autonomy.

This opening line raises the question of whether the meme will assert an absolute (which it does in the second sentence). It could make a softer entry into the subject by inserting “sometimes”, as in “Satan sometimes disguises….”. But it seems to be running headlong into the absolute statement made in the second sentence:

He never asks us to become his servants.

This is an absolute statement, leaving no room for exceptions. (Note the absolute term, never.) As such, it only takes one exception to disprove an absolute statement. And I think I have found an exception in this passage of scripture about the temptation of Jesus by Satan:

⁸ Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. ⁹ “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.” ¹⁰ Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’

Matthew 4:8-10. NIV.

Is this not Satan asking Jesus to become his servant? And does not the meme say Satan “never asks us to become his servants”? Does the Matthew 4 passage not present an exception to the rule asserted in the meme?

I think so. And should this not give one pause when considering the veracity of this absolute assertion? That is, if Satan explicitly asked Jesus to worship Satan, how can we be so confident that this was the only time it had ever happened, or would ever happen?

(I’m assuming that the meme’s author assumes that Satan is still at work today as he was in the First Century. If this is not the case, then further exception might be taken to the meme on those grounds.)

This one exception to the absolute assertion, “never”, should stop the meme dead in its tracks, but it doesn’t seem to have this exception in mind. Rather, it goes on, as if trying to make a proof from a negative:

Never once did the serpent say to Eve, “I want to be your master.”

This is another overstatement, for in no place that I know of are we told that we have in print the complete conversation between the serpent and Eve. Yet here, the meme’s author assures is that “never once” was such a thing said. And this statement certainly could have been softer. For example, it could say “We don’t see the serpent saying to Eve, ‘I want to be your master.'” Rather, it goes so far as to assure us that “never once” were such words spoken. But how could the meme’s author possibly know that? And what would make a writer want to assert so absolutely something he could not possibly know?

The meme goes on:

The shift in commitment is never from Christ to evil; it is always from Christ to self.

Note the continued use of absolute language in the terms “never” and “always” here. The author really seems to want there to be a hard-and-fast rule about how Satan operates, and is willing to go out on a limb, declaring such things without the direct support explicit statements of scripture.

I note also that this sentence seems to assume that a commitment to Christ is already in place when Satan does his enticing. That raises some questions that deserve examination in their own right.

Let us consider Judas for a moment, and the passage here:

As soon as Judas took the bread, Satan entered into him. So Jesus told him, “What you are about to do, do quickly.”

John 13:27. NIV.

It is difficult for me to imagine that what John really wants to tell us here is that autonomy entered Judas at this moment―that an attitude of aloofness and independence suddenly entered into Judas. The word John uses here is “Satan”, and the plain sense of the language seems to be that some manner of possession took place here, with Judas serving out the specific mission of Satan with regard to the arrest an execution of Jesus. Sure, the author of the meme could argue that “clearly”, Judas was in it for the money, which is a self-serving thing, and that Judas “never once” said he knew he was serving Satan in all this. But my point is that he would have to make this argument while stepping over the way that the Gospel of John tells the story. He would have to insert his points into the story told by scripture.

I was curious just how much the Bible talks about serving other gods, as opposed to serving oneself. So I searched the following terms to spot check the idea, and I got the following results:

Searching the ESV for [serv gods], I got 54 returns.
Searching the ESV for [serv self], I got 1 return, and it doesn’t seem to be relevant.
Searching the ESV for [serv selv], I got 0 returns.

So, why would the Bible speak so much in terms of serving other gods, but not in the terms that the meme seems to adamant about using?

I did search all the Bible translations at BibleHub.com, and got zero returns on the word “autonomy”.

The meme continues:

And instead of HIS will, self-interest now rules, and what I want reigns. And that is the essence of sin.

It is certainly true that shunning what God wants in order to do what oneself wants is sin, but once again, I believe the meme goes too far in saying that self-interest is “the essence of sin”. Isn’t sin conventionally defined as “missing the mark”, as in missing a target. One doesn’t have to be aiming at the wrong target to miss the one he’s supposed to be hitting. That’s what the meme seems to want to describe: replacing the pleasing-Jesus target with the pleasing-self target. But can’t one be fully intending to do right by Jesus, and still miss the mark by way of some error, or of insufficient effort, perhaps?

This whole meme seems too adamant and stubborn to me―too heavy-handed in its disposition with regard to the absolutes it asserts. Even in this final sentence, it wants to commandeer the definition of sin to serve only the one instance of substituting one’s own will for that of Jesus―as if the scriptures use the term in no other way than that.

Why the need to reframe the tactics of Satan and the very definition of sin, demanding that this one case be the only case? Why the need to declare that Satan “never once” said a thing, as if we have an exhaustive list of all the things Satan ever said? And why the need to declare that Satan “never asks us to become his servants” when we have him on record enticing Jesus to worship him, and we have Jesus on record replying: “For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.'”?

Sadly, even though this meme does recognize one of the tactics used by Satan, it grossly overstates some of its points, and is very messy, as are so many memes. The abuse of absolute terms and statements is a tell-tale sign of a messy mind. The author either doesn’t know, or doesn’t care, that we have at least one slam-dunk exception to his rule about Satan’s tactics in the biblical record.

If I wanted to write a meme about this target-switching enticement of Satan, I might write something like this:

While Satan might be happy to have somebody switch from being fully committed to Jesus to being fully committed to Satan, it would seem from a broad surveying of scripture that he is also content to have people choose an attitude of self-rule, as this effectively draws them away from Jesus, too.

Or, to tackle it from a different angle, still, I might write:

You don’t have to be an all-out Satan worshiper to rebel against God and go your own way in some fashion similar to Satan. The sin is in missing the Way of God, and not so much in which particular alternative way you chose.

Or again,

Since man is not born fully-devoted to God, but must learn that devotion during his life on the Earth, it is not necessary for Satan to convert the man to full devotion to Satan in order to ruin the man, but only to keep him from being fully devoted to God, as per the first and greatest commandment.

This is a question that will not likely occur to many a layman, and I wanted to ask it here briefly, if that were possible. It’s two questions, really―as the whole thing happens to occur to me at present:

1. What kind of narrator have we got in Genesis? And,
2. What kind of being is influencing the narrator’s thinking and writing?

Do we not so often judge our own piety
By where we draw the line,
Rather than by where we do not?

Pardon me for bring up the difference
In a world that would rather pretend
There is none, but I need to know
When you say “love”, what kind you mean.

Wouldn’t it be something
If it were to turn out that after
All these years of modest success,
I should chance to discover in myself
An honest-to-goodness superpower in such
A surprisingly-mundane thing as getting
Sufficient help from my friends!

And wouldn’t it be something
If I could be a great-enough
Blessing to them that they
Should find it worth their
Time to tend to me!

He got a love letter―
Its seven pages consuming him for a week
Until he had it practically memorized,
And had pored over each phrase to be sure
He knew what it must mean.

They think that hearing the preacher
Talk about the Bible is pretty much
The same as knowing it for themselves.

When she said “yes” to his proposal,
She had thought she was also saying “yes”
To all her dreams coming true.

That’s how it had felt.

If it should be my good fortune
To be invited to live there forever,
I hope there’s learning in Heaven.

I hope they don’t just grant me
All understanding in a moment,
But that I’m allowed to keep on learning.

They will admit that there are
Struggles in this world,
But they will not accept
That God himself has wanted
Them to go through them themselves
For their own edification.

Many fools at church will assume
That they will understand the Bible
Readily enough without any need
For cognitive grunting or sweating or stretching.

America could do better
Than the tyranny and corruption―
Than the dysfunction and disunity―
Than the waste and overspending
And the graft and plundering and constant war.

You’ll not find much else
As inspiring as a group of people
All pulling wholeheartedly in the same direction.

They find an energy that
Won’t be found by those
Who work alone.

“An animal doesn’t defecate in its own den.”
That’s what Uncle Bill said―though I can’t vouch
That these were the exact words he used
In that conversation about the best placement
For our makeshift latrine at “The Camp”.

He seemed to suggest that what comes naturally
To our animal friends should come reasonably
To mankind with just a little common-sensical
Reflection on the outcomes of human interactions.

And indeed, it seemed quickly reasonable to me.

But that conversation, as I recall, never waxed philosophic
Beyond what love of wisdom we could find in the scatological,
And made no attempt to account for how mankind
Does not seem to have been designed quite the same
As the other species, and seems to have a unique gift
For missing the obvious whenever he wants to,
Or whenever it’s about one of his own faults.

But then, I repeat myself.

Anyway, the point of all this
Is that some men do defecate in their own dens,
Metaphorically speaking, of course―
Befouling their own homes
And their own families
With things like rage and derision and bullying,
And other breaches of reason and good faith
And common decency.

And they think it their own right to do so,
And the duty of those around to clean it up―
Which point you ought to have gotten already
From my previous repetition.

And our choices in the main seem to be that
We could:

1. Rebuke them for it, risking either the resolution of the matter, or the backlash of whatever retribution they might cook up.
2. Take it all on ourselves to clean up after them, as if we were to blame.
3. Part ways, counting their low morals as a deal-breaker. Or,
4. Do our best to live with it, as if this were a tenable solution in its own right.

And no matter how you look at it,
The problem with the in-camp defecator
Becomes a problem for us to face for ourselves.
It puts us to the test and shows
What kind of people we are.

And, as hard as it may be, it may also
Show us that we have the option to improve
What kind of people we are,
Learning to be something better ourselves.

And such is life here on this beautiful-ugly Earth,
Where people are so often prickly and messy
And inconsistent, and where very hard decisions
Must be made, even if we’d rather not make them.

In my 58 years, if memory serves me well, I have always rejected the Number 2 option above,
(This pun was not intended at first, but neither was it refused once noticed!) because the falsehood of it is untenable to me. When it comes to such things, I’ve always been pretty much the no-nonsense person (though in humor, I revel in the nonsensical). But I understand that I’m not like everybody, and that many have taken to taking the blame themselves for the misdeeds of those who hurt them, or to bear the chronic burden of cleaning it up themselves. What can I say, but that I struggle to understand what that kind of life would be like? Neither the unjust blame nor the unjust burden is tenable to me.

I can say this, though: I have generally told it like it is to many regarding their bad behavior, and I have parted ways with many on account of their unwillingness to cut it out. And while none of that is pleasant, at least I don’t have to suffer the shame, irrationality, and self-harm of the Number 2 option. That is, I have not given in to the bad reasoning that says, in effect: “Since you keep hurting me, I will pretend it’s my fault, so that at least, you don’t keep hurting me and being mad at me for holding you accountable for it, and for not taking the blame and the burden on myself.”

Indeed, I have suffered enough at the hands of those who turn the tables on me for pointing out their bad behavior in the first place―who try quite predictably to pass it off as me just being something like these:

• oversensitive
• proud / arrogant
• defensive
• harsh
• bitter
• unforgiving
• ungracious
• must have been abused somehow in the past
• just likes to argue
• always has to be right

Surely, some of these counter accusations have been right about me at times, but that doesn’t change the fact that it’s a low-down, dirty dodge for the in-camp defecator to go there in a conversation that started in order to address his or her bad behavior. (See here about ad hominem dodging.) In other words, when challenged about fouling the camp, what they do is to foul the camp even more! This shows their true colors; it shows what they’re made of. It shows what kind of person they are choosing to be. And it shows how low their view of me and the other campers is.

This I have found, however: When you make a habit of calling it like it is, the camp-fouling individual tends to be the one who parts ways:

Mockers resent correction, so they avoid the wise.

Proverbs 15:12. NIV.

He finds it untenable to be called out, and will begin looking for an easy way out. This normally comes in the way of charging me with being the reason it all fell apart. But then, what else could they do? Admit to the fault in themselves?

If they were the sort to do that, they might just as well reform their own ways. Right? But that’s not the sort of person they’re choosing to be. So really, how else should we expect it to turn out between a truth-teller and an incorrigible camp-fouler?

This kind of behavior is condemned again and again in the scriptures, though in many of today’s churches, it is defended again and again as worthy of our grace and forgiveness and such. So many churches allow it and protect it, and even teach that it is justified if one’s bad behavior is being “caused” by hurts they have suffered themselves in the past.

This is particularly ironic since one of the popular counter-accusations is that Jack must have suffered hurt in the past, and is simply critizing out of bitterness―as if this is a bad thing to do. How, then, is it not bad when the camp-fouler does it? Selah.

So there is obvious hypocrisy built into the counter-accusation, but the camp-fouler is precisely the kind of person to have shut his own eyes to that sort of fault in himself, even as he is quite willing to fabricate accusations of such a fault in the one who would dare call him out for his bad behaviors.

I choose not to associate with people like that, and I do not regret it. And this is not just a matter of having my own personal solution to the problem; it’s a matter of adhering to the wisdom of the ages, as found in the scriptures:

¹ Blessed is the one
    who does not walk in step with the wicked
or stand in the way that sinners take
    or sit in the company of mockers,
² but whose delight is in the law of the Lord,
    and who meditates on his law day and night.

Psalm 1:1-2. NIV.

⁴ I do not sit with the deceitful,
    nor do I associate with hypocrites.
⁵ I abhor the assembly of evildoers
    and refuse to sit with the wicked.

Psalm 26:4-5. NIV.

²⁴ Do not make friends with a hot-tempered person,
    do not associate with one easily angered,
²⁵ or you may learn their ways
    and get yourself ensnared.

Proverbs 22:24-25. NIV.

…you must not associate with anyone who claims to be a brother or sister but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or slanderer, a drunkard or swindler. Do not even eat with such people.

Paul. 1 Corinthians 5:11b. NIV.

Take special note of anyone who does not obey our instruction in this letter. Do not associate with them, in order that they may feel ashamed.

Paul. 2 Thessalonians 3:14. NIV.

The habitual camp-fouler will insist that he has the right not to feel ashamed for his actions―and the right not to be shunned by you or the rest of the camp for them. And that’s why he doesn’t (for now, anyway) belong in a camp with other humans; he’s behaving worse than the mere animals, who know better by nature than what this human is willing to figure out by reason and observation. Even so, he can quickly come to his senses when someone fouls him! Let someone wrong him, and you’ll hear about it all day long!

And that, I submit, is a twisted human, who will use his mind only as it suits him, and not as it suits fair reason and principle and justice and goodness. He is incorrigible. That is, he is beyond correction―not by nature, mind you, but by choice.

²¹ When my heart was grieved
    and my spirit embittered,
²² I was senseless and ignorant;
    I was a brute beast before you.

Psalm 73:21-22. NIV.

² Surely I am only a brute, not a man;
    I do not have human understanding.
³ I have not learned wisdom,
    nor have I attained to the knowledge of the Holy One.

Proverbs 30:2-3. NIV.

Man was set above the animals and below the angels. He was supposed to be higher than the animals in his behavior, and not beneath them. And he is supposed to reach out and attain the knowledge of God during his lifetime. But many humans refuse this responsibility, and will not even learn that simplest of principles, The Golden Rule:

So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.

Jesus. Matthew 7:12. NIV.

The brute ignores this often, and while he may follow it in some things, he certainly will not follow it “in everything“, as Jesus commanded. In this, he is defiant to God and to any human who dares to point it out. (The Golden Rule was not new when Jesus said it, but this “in everything” part―it wouldn’t surprise me it this were unique to Jesus. (It reminds me of the First and Greatest Commandment, and the Second that is like it. And I suppose I could write a whole post about other passages it reminds me of, too, such as Matthew 5:43-48.)

The back-to-back proverbs that follow point out some of the perils of dealing with fools:

⁴ Do not answer a fool according to his folly,
    or you yourself will be just like him.
⁵ Answer a fool according to his folly,
    or he will be wise in his own eyes.

Proverbs 26:4-5. NIV.

If he foolishly fouls his own den, and we respond in keeping with this same foolishness, we can pretend―like him―that this is not a serious transgression, and that he need not reform his ways. But if we do that, we “will be just like him”, says the writer. (And this is where many who will shelter such a person fail to see that they are sinning themselves in doing it.)

Rather, what we should do is what Verse 5 says. And in this case, the translation could be better, for I think it should say, “Answer a fool as his folly deserves…”, where as Verse 4 should be understand as “Do not answer a fool employing his same foolishness to do so…”.

Unfortunately, many people fail with this two-liner proverb. That is, we do adopt the fool’s own foolishness when responding to him, and we don’t give him the answer that his foolishness actually deserves. So this makes us “just like him” (Verse 4), and it also makes it easy for him to “be wise in his own eyes” (Verse 5), since so many of us normally opt simply to let the fool be, without calling him out.

So that brings me back to the discussion with Uncle Bill: “An animal doesn’t defecate in its own den.”

If this is true, then how often to the animals have to deal with a fellow animal that does defecate in its own den?

Never. Right? It stands to reason that if it never happens, they never have to deal with it. Yet we do see them snapping at the one among them who wants to steal the food of others. And this often works for to deter some food-stealers among them, though some of them establish a dominance over the others, and put themselves at the top of the pecking order, which the others tolerate. Yet in Christ, are there not many teachings that we ought not consider ourselves better than anyone else, and that we ought to defer to the needs of others, and that the greatest among us is the servant, and not the tyrant?

How is it, then, that we so often neglect the needs of others to be corrected when their behavior falls short of the Golden Rule? Why do some of us so often suffer silently, and even clean up after their mess ourselves, rather than teaching and training them to be responsible before self, man, and God for cleaning up their own messes, and for seeing to it that it doesn’t happen again?

Do we not teach our own children how and where to defecate, and to clean themselves up? Doesn’t this seem a wholly reasonable and necessary part of good parenting? Why, then, do we tolerate it when an adult lacks the good sense of following the Golden Rule, and fouls his own camp? Why do we not consider him in need of remedial training in decency, and then see to it that he gets what he needs? Do we love him so little as to deprive him of a life-giving rebuke?

If so, what kind of people does that make us? And how does it make us any better than the den-fouler himself? How does that makes us anything but hypocritical if we call ourselves Christians, yet do not hold him to the standard of Christ?

Normal people are capable of self-correction once their bad behavior has been brought to their attention. The incorrigible ones are special people, though, and need some special help. But the problem is that our society has shunned that sort of help, and counts it as barbarous. Read it here:

Flog a mocker, and the simple will learn prudence; rebuke the discerning, and they will gain knowledge.

Proverbs 19:25. NIV.

We have to slow down go get this one. First of all, there is no promise here that the mocker will learn his lesson. Who will learn from that incorrigible mocker being flogged is “the simple“. That is, those who are in between being mockers themselves, and being “discerning”. The discerning will learn simply from being rebuked, where the simple aren’t that wise yet, but will learn from seeing the incorrigible being punished for their defiance.

Think about so many of our modern church cultures, however, where rebuking anyone has become fairly taboo with this modern and twisted idea of “grace” that is so popular. This means that even the more discerning among us aren’t getting all the knowledge they need. And when we don’t punish the incorrigible mockers, the simple certainly aren’t learning the prudence they need. And what of the mocker himself? They they are generally stiff-necked and stubborn, and refuse to learn their lessons. But if they are in a camp with us, where the camp avoids rebuking and correcting even its wisest members, how are we ever going to find out whether the fools are committed to being incorrigible, or whether they can be persuaded to repent?

I am grieved that so many today have sworn off this teaching of God, thinking that we somehow know better than to call it like it is when people do wrong. They certainly didn’t learn this by studying the whole Bible, but could easily learn it in a church that simply cherrypicks its favorite passages, and ignores the rest. And that, my friends, is itself a defiant practice, making us fools when we do it.

If rebuking and correcting those who aren’t mature in their knowledge of good and evil, and who aren’t well-trained in their own self-control is a sin, then Jesus himself was a huge sinner! And I don’t think he was a sinner at all. Yet in so many of our camps, there is such a truce between the camp foulers and the rest―even as we bemoan the sad state of things, whether it be in marriages or churches or families, or in whatever human institution.

Indeed, I know families and marriages who are trapped in this sort of truce with camp-fouling family members. It is so grievous to watch the assumption that this is just how it has to be ruin the family. And the “help” they get at church is mostly aimed at simply coping with it, rather than to be freed from it.

I say call it like it is, and let people decide what kind of people they want to be. This is far better than helping them to pretend (by our silence) that their bad actions are acceptable and that they are in a terrible state of emergency between themselves and God, as they defy his righteousness. When we take it upon ourselves to live in their filth, it’s as if we believe that this is the life that God intended for us. So, rather than fix it―or to try to fix it, and let the camp-fouler be the one to take a stand in defiance, if that’s what they choose―we settle for so much less, and we do it in the name of “the love of God”.

The Father in the Prodigal Son parable let his son leave, and didn’t run after him until the son had decided to make his own way back. And what a glorious story it is. Would that we had the wisdom and the courage to let people go away to flee to the darkness, rather than to create shadows for them in our own fellowship, so they can be comfortable remaining as they are.

This is a huge test for us. And surely, we have failed at it many times.

Perhaps this time, we could learn it and level up.

You push me down
And then you blame me for
Not popping right back up again.
You begrudge me licking my wounds,
Blaming me even for being wounded at all―
As if this were all my fault, somehow―
As if a better partner would never
Have fallen in the first place―
And why must you be stuck
With such a loser, who
Doesn’t even know
How to fill that
Great cavern
Inside your
Soul?

But you don’t know
How to fill it up, either.
And yet it is my fault that
You are so empty all the time?
Neither of us wants to admit that you
Drive most goodness out of your heart―
Including whatever of it is to be found in me―
And then you expect me not only to find
Some other way to fill you up, but
Also some way to protect you
From the hard guilt of
Your heartless
Routine.

And that’s why you
Have trained us to think
That this entire thing is my fault,
From my inability to satisfy your emptiness,
To my falling down when you push me,
And even for having this despicable
Wounded heart that pulls away
From your sickening act
Of loving concern.

And while you stand there,
Making it plain that you are tired
Of waiting for me to get myself back up,
So that our life can get back to being about you,
I must admit that it’s getting harder and
Harder to see any promise in this
Co-dependent arrangement,
Where you pretend that
The abuse is not a
Thing, and I
Pretend
It’s my
Fault.

My young self
Was needy enough
To find some desperate
Hope in this in the beginning,
But these toilsome years with you
Have pretty much beaten it all out of me.
And I find myself today on the ground once more,
Where surprisingly, I still find some promise in getting up,
Yet less than before at giving it another go with you
In this make-believe life you insist on (us both)
Leading at the cost of these wounds and of
These blame-shifting lies we both
Tell to make this union seem
Less than the nightmare
It has proven to be.

As it turns out,
I was wanting a life
Of growth and discovery,
Where you were hoping I could
Somehow save you from having to
Go through all that for yourself.
And I regret that it took me
This long to realize it,
But now that I do,
Shall I wish
The truth
Away?

I write this piece, in part, to try to get my hands around the experience of the evolving soul who is stuck in a partnership with the narcissist, and also in the hope that I have expressed it here well enough to be useful at least to the awakening partner in it, if not to the self-hardening abuser, who is not likely to want to learn. I chose to write about that point in time where the realization is dawning, but where the ultimate decision has not yet been made.

What should be done about it (by the abused) is a grievous matter, for sure. On the one hand, keeping the original covenant makes all the sense in the world, as keeping a covenant is simply what one is supposed to do. But on the other hand, it is not being kept by the other, who also promised to love and to cherish, but does not, and who continues to abuse ― so it is a broken covenant already, with both sides pretending it is not.

And I cannot say what is the right thing to do for the abused, though it is clear that this was not the dream that either had in the beginning. The sacrifice made to keep from calling it quits here forward does not result in it getting any better, for with the years comes the realization, stronger and stronger, that without both hearts being willing, it was doomed from the start.

I fear, however, that the harm being suffered is not just from the abuse, but from the various lies the abused will tell to keep hope alive: that it is his or her own fault somehow, and that it is a sin to want better, and certainly, to demand it, and that it is his or her responsibility to make the partner whole inside, and that if only I were a better person, the partner would be a better person.

It is never good for the soul, I am convinced, to tell a lie. And I hate to see it happening in any scenario, including one so tragic as what I describe here. But how can the partnership continue when one of the partners opts out wholly from the lies? Wouldn’t that lead to an untenable state of hostility and resentment? Wouldn’t it completely break the co-dependent routine?

Once the pretense is gone, what’s left but the cold logistics of a shared economy, and the hope of saving what may be saved of whatever family may have come from the union?

Many cannot fathom the losses of parting. This is true and understandable. Yet my concern is that they do not fathom the losses of staying. And I lack the wisdom to say for certain which is the greater loss, though I myself could not stand the pretense and the lies, and would have to find another life, however crippled―where at least my hopes from then forward could be honest.

And even having a strong imagination, it is difficult for me to imagine a way forward while staying without the pretense and false hope. Being wronged daily, I would find it equally untenable to call it out for what it is, or to suck it up and be quiet about it. And this makes me wonder at the state of maturity of my own spirit, and whether I should be able to endure it or not.

Pondering all this quite puts me to the test! And I am much less apt to assume to know what is the right thing to do than I might have been before. I wrote in my opening paragraph (in this explanation of the piece) about that point in time in which the ultimate decision has not yet been made. But it seems to me that such a decision can be made in installments, in a matter of speaking. That is, that one can decide to hope for just one more day. And one can decide this again and again indefinitely, never knowing whether it will one day begin to seem untenable, or whether it can indeed be held together somehow until death do us part.

But this is one of the big struggles in this world, and many more are the marriages that tend somewhat toward the dysfunctional end of the scale than those that work pretty well, all things considered. And has it not always been thus?

It is my hope, then, at least to give comfort to the abused by way of demonstrating that the struggle can be understood by someone else.

It was a simple mistake, really.
Having surrounded themselves
Thoroughly with church,
They had assumed themselves
Surrounded with God.

Knowing you’re supposed to be like Jesus
And wanting to be like Jesus
Are not even remotely the same thing.

The young buck, at 16 years old,
Follows suit after I’ve shaken his father’s hand,
And introduces himself, arm outstretched
And prepared to put the vice-grip on me,
Chest puffed out like a silverback,
And his brow furled with a seriousness
Befitting the death of a beloved head of state
In wartime, no less.

I hate to admit it after all these years, but
I suppose I have found that miraculous free time
For which everyone longs―
That time with which―if we had it―
We would all do those wonderful things
That need doing, and upon which the world
Is waiting to be a better place.

The world wants a love
That will neither call it higher,
Nor expect it to do better than it does.

He would eventually figure it out―
All that gaslighting and turning of tables.

I will briefly tell you a single thing
About the nature of us
That will itself explain to you
Many things about this troubled world―
Provided you will but take the thing
For a walk from time to time
And let it have its say:

It is harder to persuade
Many young men to
Look something up in the Bible
Than to persuade them to go
Half way around the world
To fight a war.

This man understood some things
Or a sort most will never
Lift a finger to understand.

Most, then, will never know
How many fingers he had to lift
To get the understanding he got.

And it’s like this with more than just physics.

There is no person God did not put
In this beautiful-ugly world, where,
The same as everybody else,
He could reach out for God
If he wanted while he is here.

They all show us who they are,
Even as the scriptures―
And experience in this world―
Show them who they could be
If they wanted.

The very being here is a
Test of the will of man.

It says right there in the Bible
That God’s thoughts and ways
Are higher than man’s.
And even so, it charges man in
What must be a hundred different ways
To get busy learning.

It’s Him.
Him’s the guy that needs a talking-to anytime soon.
But Him won’t listen to anybody but Him Self.
And you can bet that Mr. Him Stubborn Self
Is so not going to be starting up that conversation
Anytime soon!

Some see Christianity as a quest
That, once begun, must be completed.

Others see it as a battle
Having been won at its very start.

What say you?

At any moment in Wordle and religion alike,
The puzzler is limited by what he can think of.

Have you considered the possibility that someone can be right by accident, believing a true thing, but doing so based on faulty fact, logic, and sourcing?

Uh, friend,
You are, yourself,
Caught up in the very
Artifice and scheme of which
You are warning everyone else here.
If it is so important that they all
Should be warned about it―
And I’m not saying that
It’s not, mind you―
It is not equally
Important for
You to be
Wholly
Freed
Of it,
Too?

At 10 years old, troubled Jeffrey had not yet learned much of the concept of good and evil. Having little of the concept themselves, his parents hadn’t considered it important to teach him much other than to do chores for them―and not to bother them, of course.

He chalked up to mystery some things
That might otherwise have been solved,
Even as he considered solved some things
That God had intended still to be mysteries.

Whoever shall we blame
When the neglect and cheating
We have been thus far content to tolerate
Have grown insufferable and
Too big to ignore?

He was not friendly,
And I am left to decide
What to make of that fact―
Whether he is never friendly,
Or whether it was just today―
And whether it was his specific
Response to me, or whether it had
Nothing whatsoever to do with me at all.

And I doubt whether in that unfriendly moment,
The man had had any idea what wondering
It would unleash in this inquiring mind.
And I have probably given it more
Thought already than he will
Give it for the rest of this
Most beautiful day.

That church of yours has sure got
A strong conviction about how the women
Need to submit to the men.
It’s as if that conviction were God-powered―
Set on fire by the Spirit of God himself,
And burning bright within your souls,
Always to be honored, and never questioned.

And how interesting this is, for
I have seen a grievous evil under the sun, inasmuch as
That church of yours seems simultaneously clueless
To the fact that the very same God has commanded
All the men to submit to Christ in everything―
Including how they treat the women and children.

People are messy, and once you’ve got some years under your belt, it’s really not all that hard to find some fault in what they say or do, in their attitudes or beliefs about things. If you pay much attention at all to someone, it’s likely that it won’t be long at all before you know better than something they’re doing, thinking, or saying. And at the moment you realize that you know better, if you’re like most people, you’re very likely to make some irrational leaps in your mind. You can easily make the unjustified mental leap from “I know better in this…” to other thoughts and attitudes such as:

1. “I know better in this…therefore, I know better about everything than this person does.”
2. “…therefore, I’m a better person than this person is.”
3. “…therefore, I know pretty much everything, more or less, about the topic in question.”
4. “…therefore, I should be a teacher of, or an authority on this topic.”
5. “…therefore, we should start a new organization based on this.”

All that suffering in your life
At the hands of imperfect people,
And you decided you’d had enough―
That love just wasn’t worth it
If there was going to be any further
Chance of pain.

I saw this meme posted on Facebook and what follows is my response.

The meme seems to presuppose that people are either 100% real or 100% fake, when in actuality, we are a mixed bag—maybe 100% real about this, but not about that.

Before the kettle whistles,
Disturbing everyone in the house,
He lets out whispers
That a keen attendant may hear―
And spare everyone the interruption.

He had gotten to where he was
By putting out of his mind so far
That stupidest of presuppositions―
That he had more or less arrived already
At where he needed to be.

I don’t mean to be salty about it, but
It is difficult to explain what took me twenty years
Of study, contemplation, and debate to understand―
Such that it is impossible for you to dismiss it
In your twenty seconds of noticing that it disagrees
With what you already believe.

Just because you can walk up to Jesus
Doesn’t mean you can long stand with him eye to eye.

Just because you present yourself at church
Doesn’t mean you’ve got what it takes
To be invited at length into his eternal home.

Why do some rush to fix
Something so great as country,
Being yet unwilling to fix even themselves?

You can talk about love all day long,
And how God is love
And how yours is a loving church
And how love is the most important thing,

But if your love isn’t
The same kind of love as God’s,
It’s all a racket
And a scam
And a fraud
And you’re playing only
To those like yourself―
Who are too dull
To want the real thing.

The problems of this world
Are not, as so many believe,
The result of some grand mishap―
Something gone terribly wrong―
With God preparing to swoop down
Any minute now to fix it all
And put it back like it was.

Some dogs bark because they mean it,
And want you dead, or seriously maimed, at least.

But other dogs bark simply because
They think they’re supposed to.

And I’m not so sure I’ve learned entirely
How to tell the difference.

It is an intriguing fact of the Bible that in no place is God on record as having made any sort of introductory or explanatory statement regarding the nature of the underworld. What can be learned about the nature of the place called Sheol or Hades must be pieced together at our own risk from the brief mentions and hints here and there in the writings―including, if we dare, from extrabiblical documents from the same Hebrew culture that produced the Bible.

She does much
Because there are
Many good things
That need doing.

I could not tell you what manner of hearsay
Is most readily believed in this world,
But I can tell you that somewhere high
On the list of candidates should go
The sort of report that says that
This thing or that is not important,
And can as such be rightly
Exempted from examination.

The moral precepts in the Bible are relatively few, while its points of doctrine, and the implications thereof are multitudinous. And the way I see it at this point in my life, we could come close to mastering the former, while we could never master the half of the latter. But instead of going after excellence in morality, so many let that slide, even as they make much ado over their camp’s official doctrines, half-baked as they may be.

There are three particular things I will not suppose, and one that I will.

I dare not suppose I can fully understand from my American home in this “New World” the perspective of those who live in the old country―for whom our one or two handsful of American generations would seem but a cute beginning.

When someone makes an error on Facebook,
He might be a highly-moral-and-intelligent person
Who has simply made an error―
And who will not only gladly thank you
For bringing it to his attention,
But also correct it forthrightly
And avoid making it again―

Some obsess over the future,
In a panic to know what will happen.

And some obsess over the present,
Beside themselves to understand
What’s going on.

I’ve been working on this title question for over 12 years, but I’ve never taken a stab at putting all the answers I’ve collected in one concise article until now. The goal of this article is to be brief, while also giving a wide-scoped treatment of the question. So here we go!

SCENARIO: Suppose someone is wrong over a matter of fact or logic or morality, and you have got the facts and logic and sourcing together to prove to them all day long that they’re wrong.

QUESTIONS: Why is it so often so very difficult to get people to correct themselves? That is, to say, “OK, I see I was wrong, and I’m changing my position.”? What is it about people that makes this difficult?

If you talk hard about this world’s need for truth telling―or better yet, if you do some telling of hard truths in the specific―it will likely not be long at all until some diligent churcher shows up to make the show-stopping observation that the scripture says, speaking the truth “in love“.

He may want to suggest, or at least insinuate, that whatever truth-telling you have been doing may well be disqualified―and ungodly, even―on account of its not being accompanied with enough love (the properly qualifying amount of love being determined by him, of course).

I’m sorry that I don’t have statistics for this, because I know that impressions can be inaccurate. Even so, it seems to me that I am detecting some important and troubling society trends that need the immediate attention of an increasingly inattentive society.

It is my impression that in my youth, there were a great many people here who could not only make a phone call to get directions, and write them down, but also follow them successfully to the destination, and then show up on time, ready to be a functioning part of whatever group was meeting.

Today, however, it seems increasingly rare to find a human who can successfully follow a hyperlink to your About page and read it for comprehension. Rather, they will message you with the questions that occur to them, but it does not occur to them that they should naturally need to know the general information you have written for all your customers to know.

Do NOT tell him the truth about himself!
Are you CRAZY???

It is the very monster from which he has been
Hiding all of these years.
And if YOU bring it up, just think
How unfair and cruel that is!

You owe it to him to be at least as diligent
In protecting him from the truth
As he is himself.

There he stands, recently disemboweled
By the razor-edge of your rhetorical question,
And all he can think of at this point
Is to insult your swordsmanship,
Demanding that a better fencer
Would elaborate.

They lean so hard on their surrogate certainties,
Putting their faith wherever they may
To keep at bay the vexing question―
That destroyer of worlds―
That unsettler of minds―
That upsetter of apple carts.

Somehow, he had gotten the idea
That he was using his own brain
To do his own processing
Of the things he would discuss.

It was his chiefest aim in life
To be like everyone else,
By which he most certainly did not mean
Those who are unlike everyone else,
But only those who are like everyone else.

Deep thinking is so uncommon in today’s churches that the one who is doing it will seem quite the misfit. The one trying to understand how all the Bible details were to fit together―the one trying to make sure the doctrines are right―the one who wants to mine the depths of God’s precepts and principles―the one trying to connect the dots between passages―the one willing to examine himself to see whether he is actually in the faith, and willing to examine the church institution in the same way―the one constantly asking questions of the texts and of his friends―this person will not long be welcome.

One danger with giving generous quarter to investigation is that one might well chance upon a truth here or there that he is not willing to admit into his beliefs.

On the road to Repentance,
One happens upon the sort who will
Praise him for being on that way,
Declaring what an inspiration it is
To see someone turning it around―
And overcoming oppression―
And making something of himself.

They can’t seem to settle on the best reason
To do the right thing.

Some say it is so that you won’t get in trouble.

There is a huge difference from one human to the next
Regarding how serious we are about sin.
And there is a huger difference still in this regard
Between the best of us and God.

If it’s true as he says―that he knows that
He has not studied it deeply,
And that he has quite a limited view,
And could well be wrong in what he’s about to say―
Then why in the world is the fool venturing
To say on?

Reading the Bible is somewhat like looking into Harry Potter’s Mirror of Erised. That is, the actual meaning of the content aside, people tend to see in it what they want to see.

I don’t mean to suggest that it’s a magical book, designed to yield up a different content to each reader or listener. Rather, I’m talking about a phenomenon of the human mind itself, and not of the texts―a phenomenon that the reader brings with him to the text, and through which his interpretation and/or understanding of the text is influenced.

As if they were public defenders, looking to champion
The most absurd cause imaginable,
Some of them will even defend Judas Iscariot,
As if he did not go willingly into that darkness,
But had been forced there by virtue
Of having grown up in a bad neighborhood, perhaps,
Or having been mistreated by his dad.

Some are proud to posit that he betrayed Jesus
Simply on account of being rattled
By fear of radical change in the system.

And some say he did it not from wickedness, but to force
Jesus’ hand into overthrowing the government―
As if such, were it true, were not also a wicked manipulation.

And it is intriguing to watch them have a go at it―
Each in his own turn, defending the man,
Denounced as wicked by scripture itself,
As if it were not actually possible
For any man to be wicked.

And it is at this point that I think I have
Put my finger on it,
For if Judas can be wicked,
Then so can any of us.

And this is a truth some are unwilling to admit―
Though I suspect it is not truly on account
Of a problem with the general idea of it all,
But with the specific implications as it
Regards the possibility of their own wickedness.

They look for a way around
The stark truth of the matter,
As if God himself could be outthought.

Having diligently studied Matthew 7,
Right up to the comma, noninclusive,
He is now expert on the teachings of Jesus
And can tell you exactly what you ought not be doing―
Which includes, chiefly, reminding him of certain matters
Of diligence regarding those teachings―
Things he had already put out of his own mind
To be ignored indefinitely before you came along,
Showing yourself likely to be getting in his business―
Because some people just know what sort you are.

Some among those in the churches―some, mind you, and not nearly all―will cry out against the hypocrites in the churches. They call them Pharisees, and rail at them with deep conviction over their hypocrisy―over claiming to be loyal to God and Jesus, but cheating in the practice of it, and in the way they interpret the scriptures to their own twisted advantage.

By the time I was six or seven,
I was well-convinced that my denomination
Was the best there was, and that
My congregation was the best in town
Of that denomination.

He was at his church once,
And he heard the leader saying a thing
That he pretty much knew
Didn’t jibe with scripture.

WARNING: THIS POST MAY RAISE SOME TROUBLING THOUGHTS

Here’s what might seem like an easy question, yet it may get harder the more we look into it:

Does God run your church?

I do not presume that my audience will necessarily answer one way or the other. Some might be inclined to say “yes”, some “no”, and some will want to know “in what way do you mean?”

Show him a Bible verse he has not studied before,
And watch the common man rush to assume
That it’s true meaning must not be far
From what he thinks he already understands.

Once upon a time, someone taught man
That he is at his smartest when he
Extracts the ready facts from a narrative
So as to fashion them into worksheets
And talking points for discussion.

The Big Picture of the Bible:

God is wonderful and wants you to choose during your lifetime to become like him in his righteousness―which is only possible if you really believe in him.

The Supposedly-Improved Big Picture of the Bible:

God is wonderful, and has chosen to see you as wonderful, too, even if you never choose to become righteous during your lifetime―but he is powerless to see you this way if you don’t really believe in him first.

In Summary

Let us pause together to reflect on this great curiosity,
That our God should reach out to humankind with a book,
Knowing full well that not everyone will read
Or listen to it being read aloud, and that
Only a few will ever dig out its treasures.

What would a dishonest soul want the Bible to say?
And how would he twist it to his own satisfaction?

What would the impatient soul glean from its pages
Before he lost interest?
And what treasures would he leave in it undiscovered?

What would the bitter soul find in there,
With which to continue its bitterness?

And what would the cheery dreamer find in it
To prompt or fuel more of the same?

What would be found in it by those
Who block out whatever is scary,
Or by those who who want nothing but?

What would one find if he were the sort
To be convinced it must all be literal―
Or if he were the sort to think
It all figurative?

And what would be found by the soul
Who presumed it must all be about
His own life this very day?―
Or the one presuming it must all be
Wholly irrelevant to his life?

What would the soul find
Who thinks it a magic book,
Changing itself to be whatever
He needs in the moment?

And would would it be to the one
Who thinks that because his
Church institution has long understood it,
He need not understand it himself?

What’s to be found in the Bible by the tyrant
Or the scoundrel, who want to
Make use of others?

What by the bully
And the liar?

Or the haughty
Or the crushed?

What for the factious and divisive,
And for the untrusting?

What for the rebel
And the aloof
And the brazen?

What for those who are content
To have a mere form of godliness
That denies the real power of godliness?

What would the hypocrite make of it?
The insincere?
The coward?
The faithless?

The educated or uneducated?
The wise or the foolish?

And what kind of person are you?

There is no way that our personal dispositions and our strengths and weaknesses don’t play a role in how we interpret and understand the Bible. Even our temporary moods and our situational struggles can play an acute in our Bible interpretation in a given moment, or throughout a protracted season. Our experiences and our upbringing, our education and our worldview, our current load of busy-ness and distraction―these and so many other factors all go into the quality of the work we do when considering the meaning of the texts.

Yet this fact seems to be almost completely forgotten. If we’re like most, we think we know what the Bible means, not because we’ve studied it out and have weighed out the data, but because we think we know what it means. This or that interpretation seems reasonable enough to us, so we think it’s reasonable, even without looking for whatever reasons might be found to interpret it some other way. And we can be so unthinking about it that even when we say “Why not believe it this way?”, what we really mean is “Why not believe it this way.”

Just the first and second items mentioned in the poem above (dishonesty and impatience) are enough to wreck somebody’s Bible interpretation.

I have so much more to say about this―more than will fit into a single early-morning post. So I’ll leave you with one thought, and with a meme about what I call “Interpretation neglect”. Here’s the thought:

Whatever the Bible says―whatever is its truest meaning―whatever God himself wanted to have been said and written for the record―ask yourself this: What kind of person would want to believe that? Who would want to understand it exactly as it was intended? Who would want to embrace the truth message fully, without cheating or failing at it in any way? What kind of person would be amenable to the fullness of God’s message, and wouldn’t want to twist or spin or ignore or neglect any of it?

That’s the kind of person I want to be. And that’s no easy goal. It’s a very hard thing, indeed.

So here’s one more question: If somebody’s not yet that kind of person in this way or that―and none of us are perfect―aren’t they apt to be making some errors in how they understand the Bible here and there?

Obviously, yes. Yet who among the billions of Christians on this planet has a strong sense of awareness of the high likelihood that their understanding of the Bible is less than perfect? Do not our very institutions try to build in us a confidence that at least the organization (if not the individual) has got it all pretty much figured out correctly?

She is so tired of conflict
That she wants none of it―
Not even in the case
Of standing up for what is right―
And not even alongside her peers.

She is down for the count.

He has no purpose, it seems,
But to make a show of himself―
And no Plan B, it seems,
But to keep his distance from
Those who do not applaud.

In this society, Jesus is immensely popular for various reasons, while also being, hands down, the most misunderstood man in the history of this Earth.

Let me demonstrate for you the following schedule, rough-hewn from my own long-term observations of common religious behavior and sentiment. The first three items are from his deeds, and the fourth, from his demeanor, as popularly understood.

As it turns out, I do not have such great need of you
As would make sufferable to me the return
Of all the baggage that experience has shown
Comes inseparably with.

I’m all for self-awareness and responsible living, but if one believed all the memes one sees today, one might think that Jesus himself needed anger management counseling, based on all the times he got angry with people in the Bible stories. The memes would have us believe that any time something gets a rise out of us, it must be because we have a burr under our own saddle that needs to be removed. That is to say, that something is wrong with us.

Did Enoch walk to Heaven?
Or was it the fact that God sent for him
And had him drawn up there?

And when they built that tower
With the aim of getting up there themselves,
How did that Go?

And did Elijah get up to Heaven on his own?
Or was it not God who sent for him,
And had him drawn up there?

Call me crazy, but it’s starting to seem to me
That no one can go to Jesus in heaven
Unless the Father enables him.

 

⁴¹ At this the Jews there began to grumble about him because he said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.” ⁴² They said, “Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can he now say, ‘I came down from heaven’?”

⁴³ “Stop grumbling among yourselves,” Jesus answered.

⁴⁴ “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them, and I will raise them up at the last day.”

John 6:44. NIV.

² My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? ³ And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.

John 14:2. NIV

So many want to make the first passage above about “conversion” or “salvation experiences”, but what if it’s Jesus saying that you can’t travel to Heaven on your own, and need God to have you drawn up there?

What should you expect, really,
When the father is himself
Aloof and irresponsible?

What is the refresh rate for one’s self-view?

For example, having lost weight, and having felt good about himself as a result, how much may one regain before it is reflected accordingly in the downturn of his self-related emotions?

Indeed, having felt good that he has adopted a higher standard in any matter, how long until he begins to realize his shortcomings with regard to that standard?

After observing humankind for some time, one might opine that for a great many humans, our greater concern in such matters is not the improving of ourselves, after all, but the improving of how we feel about ourselves. That is, it’s not in improving the reality of how we are, but our emotional attitude about it.

It’s as if we were addicted to the feelings of well-being, and willing to ignore or cheat reality, if need be, to keep it going. But there’s something more in play, since the feelings spike early after some perceived success, and wear off from then forward. Still, though, some manner of perception of the success remains―like a high-water mark after a flood. And so many of us, it seems, have a hard time averting our eyes from that mark when the actual waters recede.

The actual water levels were so important when they were on the rise―when we felt we were getting somewhere. But once we’ve peaked, it’s as if we switch over to another method of self-assessment, and it can take a very long time before we come to grips, either with a disappointing plateau, or an outright regression to some lower point.

And how curious this is about us―this bent toward the overestimation of our achievements, status, knowledge, skills, abilities, and performance!

It reminds me of a joke my grandmother would tell the shoe salesman about her shoe size: “I wear a 7, but this 8 feels so good, I think I’ll take a 9.”

Surely, she had worn a 7 at some point in time. But how long had that been, and how long will one cling to how it used to be before admitting how it is now? She was kidding, I think, having realized the humor in this particular human behavior.

Of course, people don’t only cling to what was better before; some cling to what was worse. They tend to gravitate their self-estimation toward the low-water line, even if they are doing better now. And this is just as twisted when viewed from a reality-based view. And if this weren’t enough of a challenge for us, I do believe we can simultaneously hold to different attitudes about the various areas of our lives, overestimating our status in the one thing while underestimating it in the other.

We all would do well, then, it seems to me, to think how life would be different if the refresh rate on our self assessment were higher. How much more quickly might we make corrections to our course if we were checking in with the compass more often?

The one was tortured from youth with false accusations.
Another with unmeetable demands.
Another still with overbearing disapproval.
And yet another with unjust violence.

They were tormented with withering correction,
With insolent criticism.
With irresponsible impatience.

Someone among humankind had to be the first
To venture to believe that asking questions of the Bible,
So as to better understand it is a sin of wanton faithlessness.

Some people latch onto truths
One by one as they find them,
And eventually become
Much fuller people than those
Who prefer to keep their distance
From the facts as they search on
For something they like better.

Year after year, they go back to the pre-accepted lie
And celebrate it all over again,
Counting themselves vigilant and devout for it,
And rehearsing enough of its details
To feel a bit of it once again,
Savoring the dark reverie
And the sense of vindication
A people gets from having been
Attacked from without―
Whether that’s what really happened or not.

One could make quite a study of the common cheats of mankind.

And if the common cheater were to read it, he might be surprised to learn that he is not nearly the sophisticated thinker he thinks he is.

Meanwhile, the uncommon cheater would find it quite the playbook.

But if a penitent soul should read it, he would melt at his deep corruption and change his ways, spending the rest of his life training himself not to cheat anymore.

One group will not study the scriptures, because they have no interest in learning the history between God, angels, and man, or the precepts of God.

America, the Dutiful—
The country of my dreams!—
Where politics are beautiful
And all is what it seems.

Just what did you expect, America,
When you gave the vote to both
The righteous and the unrighteous alike?

No one I know is white. Nor are any of them black. And all of them are “people of color”.

How interesting that our culture is so content with labels that don’t really fit the reality.

Here at First Fruitless, under the fearless leadership of Pastor Less, we take our calling seriously, as we take a firm stand on faithful attendance to all our functions. We know that this causes some ripples in the local community, as most other churches are quite lax about attendance. And to be honest, we take quite a beating over this, with many potential members each year getting angry over our no-absence policy, as if it were a sin to expect the best from our members!

But God is faithful, and we’re sticking to our guns, knowing that our unflinching commitment to full attendance brings great glory to God, and helps us let our little light shine. And really, it’s not as hard as you might think to achieve a remarkable set of statistics on attendance. We’ve learned over the years that our attendance stats get better when we:

• take a hard stand on attendance,
• run off the people who don’t take it seriously, so that they’re not hurting our percentage of all-the-time-attendees, and
• dial back other competing drains on our members’ time, such as Bible study, deep conversations, and counseling.

We find that our members learn to take pride in having a well-attended church. Take Elizabeth Ernyew’s statement, for example:

“I used to go to other churches, where they didn’t really have much to be proud about. But when I first started coming to First Fruitless, that started changing real fast. I saw how the members were always talking about their high attendance rate, and it just spoke to my heart, too. So now I’m here every time the doors are open. It’s so good to have a church you can be proud of!”

Bett ERNYEW, Member

And listen to what Don Key told us recently:

“As Christians, we know we should expect persecution, right? And I sure get it when I put church over the non-church activities in my life! Like when I missed the annual board meeting down at the Lodge because it was the annual spring cleaning day at FF. I could tell they were upset about it, whispering behind my back, but I didn’t let it get me down, and I didn’t give in. In fact, whenever they schedule anything on days when we have conflicting church events, I don’t say a word about it, because the board should already know when I have church. After all, we keep our monthly calendar on the website. And really, they’re probably scheduling these meetings one purpose for when they know I have church anyway, just to be disrespectful. So I don’t dignify their little game by replying. I just go to church and let them figure out why I’m not at the meeting if they didn’t know already. And that’s how I take part in the fight against the devil.”

Don Key, Member

And it’s not just the adults at First Fruitless who have really captured the spirit of faithful attendance! Even our kids have it, like first-grader Willy Grow:

“It’s good to go to church all the time so God won’t send us to Hell.”

Willey Grow, Member

So join us starting this Sunday, as we pass out annual attendance drive checklist calendar! It’s a perfect time to start, and you will be entered in the annual attendance contest. The grand prize this year is a 2-day cruise vacation! (Don’t worry about missing church, because we already thought of that! The prize is for a Monday-Tuesday cruise, so you can still make it church Sunday night and Wednesday night. ) The drawing for the cruise will be from all those who have perfect attendance at the end of the 2023/2024 season. And in the unlikely event that nobody has perfect attendance, the cruise will be awarded to Pastor Less, in honor of the awesome work he does here to build God’s kingdom.

So be sure to be at First Fruitless this coming Sunday, when we’ll pass out free bumper stickers to all who enter this year. We just got them back from the print shop, and they’re beautiful! They say:

Be ye perfect in attendance, even as your heavenly father is perfect. Matthew 5:48. First Fruitless Church

Oh, and they have a picture of Pastor Less on the right side. Sorry, we couldn’t get that graphic from the printer in time to post it here on the website, but it’s really nice, and you’re going to love them!

See you Sunday!

In Him,
Pastor Less

If you want to understand
What a human soul is really like,
Then step back and observe
How it manages its beliefs.

I have seen the camps adopt a truth
The others reject, and still
Bring ruin upon themselves,
Either by way of not embracing it fully,
Or of not letting go of some other thing
They have yet got wrong.

Some are so full of themselves
And of the culture of the camp
That they could read the whole Bible,
Stem to stern, and never perceive
That the camp and God have
Different ideas about what is evil.

Others perceive it somewhat,
In glimpses now and then, but will not
Come out from them and be separate,
Finding the staying preferable
To any wholesale reform, and
Hoping it is not unforgivable.

But others still have managed
To slip the bonds of camp,
To discover all the better
For themselves what God thinks—
Where there are no guards to quash
Such investigation, and no one
To please but God alone.

And having found the truths
The camp obscures,
Why would they ever go back,
Except to preach an unwelcome truth,
Or to try to escape it once again?

The reason the camps keep the truth
At arm’s length is that
Is that it pleases them neither
To please God, nor to admit
That they do not.

Woe to those who call evil good
    and good evil,
who put darkness for light
    and light for darkness,
who put bitter for sweet
    and sweet for bitter!

Isaiah 5:20. NIV.

The one presumes to be a member of the organization
Without doing what the members
Are all supposed to do.

And you’re not supposed to notice—
Not supposed to call them out on it.
And when you do, here comes the other.

INTERVIEWER: “So, Freddy, you had 84 years to live down on the Earth. What did you spend your time doing?”

FREDDY: “Oh, it was great! I spent most of my time defending the status quo and encouraging people to feel positive about how things were.”

Why will a people languish
While regarding as holy a text
They will not take to heart?—
A text they will neither study
Nor implement as it deserves?—
A text they will not learn themselves,
Even as they insist that others should do?

What is this brain, this living machine,
Ever striving to make sense of things,
Even when working unsupervised?

And who is this idiot that has charge of it—
Morally stupid beyond what he is
Willing to admit, and clueless as to
The great value of well-regulated
Good sense and reliable reason?

Let us all suppose that he should
Someday take a notion to become
The better steward of this treasure,
And put it at last to better use.

She’s all but lost—
This idea that won’t die,
But won’t live, either—

This Great Experiment
On whether the people
Could rule themselves
Coming down to the question
Of whether they would rule themselves—
That is, whether they were willing.

NOTE: Here are the words to a section of a choral suite I’ve been working on. It’s about an episode from my distant family history—a tortured soul who tortured others. She died circa 1915, and from her came some who loved and some who hated.

The Creeping

Hers, the suffering soul
Passed it on, don’t you know,
As do so many souls
Who break the Golden Rule.

When you give the man a Bible to take home and read,
And he comes back, having found no particular hope
In the message of repentance and obedience,
But only in the glorious message of eternal life,
He has shown you that he does not believe
In the real Jesus, but in a fake one more to his liking.

It’s been about two thousand years
Since the inspired pen was stilled.
And while it may be both intriguing
And fashionable to sit and wonder
At what might happen just any minute now,
Would not a wise people, puzzling over
How long it’s been, consider also
The alternative possibility
That God has had his life-giving say already—
Once and for all—
And that there is neither any subsequent
Chapter coming, nor any need for such?

Suppose we had mistaken the climax of it all
For some glorious event, yet future,
When really, the point is that we each
Should choose, in gratitude for what He has done,
To volunteer ourselves to be like Him
For as long as we are on this Earth—
That we might venture to walk in that Image
That was decreed for our kind in the beginning—
And lived out for us in the flesh
By the Way, the Truth, and the Life himself.

Suppose we had been put here to make the most
Of what we have been given already,
Rather than to wait on Him
To give us something further yet.

So many of us spend our lives
Waiting on Him to bring to fruition
Something for which he is
Waiting on each of us.

And to our shame, we would have
Understood this already
Had we been diligently studying
All the writings He has delivered to us,
Rather than wishing for Him
To do something new.

I don’t mean to suggest that if only
Humankind would finally
Get their act together,
God would finally do some new and
Spectacular thing on this Earth.

No, I’m suggesting that he has
Already made his spectacular gesture
And sounded the call once for all,
And gives us each a lifetime in which
To respond to it as we will.

I’m suggesting that God has had his say,
And that now is not the time
To be waiting on him to do something more,
But the time for us to show our response
To what he has done already
By how we choose to live.

It’s as if he were speaking a different language—
The man who fully believes in the authority of God
To judge the creature man at the end of his life,
Declaring his eternal fate.

He builds the fact of his subjection to God
Into his life and into his thoughts.
It shapes his minutes and hours and days,
And he says “no” to things that
The others accept without reservation,
And “yes” to things they so reject—
For, to put it simply, he does not have in mind
Only his own thoughts and feelings and desires,
But is striving to fit into his mind also
The very thoughts, feelings, and desires
Of God Almighty, which he considers
More important than his own.

And most who are not doing the same will
Pay him little attention if he does not press them too much.
Not knowing what to make of him,
They will keep their distance,
Even if they find him generally likable.
They will not ask questions, but will remain
Disengaged from what engages him—
As if that could not possibly be for them, too.

They have learned simply to ignore him—
To block him out just as they would
Any man on the street who was speaking, say,
Hebrew or Greek.

I must say with great consternation that this lack of concern with accountability to God seems as prevalent in the churches as on the streets. It’s as if practically all of them were built with a view to consoling the member with some twisted religion in which there is no yoke and no burden and no learning:

²⁸ Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. ²⁹ Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. ³⁰ For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

Matthew 11:28-29. ESV.

They’ve built themselves a culture in which it’s not really expected that each Christian is in training, and is operating on a pass/fail basis. They relieve themselves of this pressure by whittling down God’s requirements to the most microscopic scale imaginable, and cutting loose from his sternness while hoping for a God who is only kind:

²² Consider therefore the kindness and sternness of God: sternness to those who fell, but kindness to you, provided that you continue in his kindness. Otherwise, you also will be cut off.

Romans 11:22. NIV.

So many are not willing to believe in a God who would cut anybody off for failing to behave as required—and especially among those who go to church. But this is exactly the sort of people Paul was writing to, demonstrating to us that the religion, in its “official” forms, has indeed been corrupted since then, with so many today finding it a foreign thought that God would draw the line with people over their behaviors.

They just ignore those passages, and emphasize any passage they can find that talks about grace and such, as if God were not also stern. And so they misunderstand the very God to whom they claim to be eternally devoted. And when you try to tell them about it, they have to find a way to shut you down. Many of them will ignore you if they can get away with it, and if you press them, they’ll push back—whatever it takes to maintain their self-deception over the nature of God.

And people like this almost never turn themselves in; they almost never come clean and admit that they’ve been cheating the scriptures in their minds, and ignoring the half of it. They are stubborn about it, and refuse to see what’s right there in front of them. And they will be shocked (even though deep down inside, they know better, and are not listening to themselves, either) when they discover in person that God and Jesus are not like they think:

²¹ “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. ²² Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ ²³ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’

Matthew 7:21-23. NIV.

They do not want to consider themselves “evildoers”. Nor do they want to get their heads around the fact that Jesus considers it evil to claim to be his follower while not submitting oneself wholeheartedly to the will of God. It’s all one big hypocritical lie, and they’re caught up in it, refusing to come clean. But Jesus will have the last word, it says here. And what will the hypocrites do about it then? Who will save them from the condemnation of Jesus?

A Little History

God had set apart the Hebrew people to be his “chosen people” out of this world. But it wasn’t just so that they could have their own camp. No, he did it knowing that out of those chosen people, he was going to do something yet further; he was going to call out of them those who really loved him and sought to do his will. This would be the real kingdom—the eternal one. These would be the real children of Abraham—not mere members of a camp or a culture or of a genealogical lineage, but of wholesale reliance on God and submission to his will.

And that’s where Jesus came in, calling the true believers from out of the Jews. “Come out from them and be separate” was the command, just as it had been for the Hebrews to come out of the world and be a special people. And those Jews who didn’t do his will were rejected and condemned by Jesus in 70AD as he had their temple and nation destroyed by the Romans.

Meanwhile, Jesus had called the Gentiles to turn to him, too, because the purpose of calling out the Hebrews as a separate nation had finally reached its fulfillment—and Jesus was here, not to call people to join another human camp, but to call them out of this world and into the next—into that Heavenly Jerusalem, that Holy City.

And he said it again and again in various ways, and through various apostles and prophets, that that Holy City is only for the holy people, and not for the unrighteous ones. (If you doubt this, read Revelation 22 and 23 and listen to what the inspired words of the text are saying.) But so many refuse to listen to this, and presume themselves as fit for the kingdom, even though they are not diligent at obeying what Jesus says. And if you press them on it, they’ll turn the tables and call you “legalistic”, and accuse you of preaching a false gospel, even though you are showing them the very words of Jesus himself, whom they claim to follow. And they turn to their camps for support, who will cherry pick from the scriptures certain verses that seem to say what they want it to say, even while they reject the whole counsel of scripture.

And this is the lie—the game—the charade of their lives. And even though they may have many lovable qualities and practices about them, they have rejected that prime directive in the first and second greatest commandments ever:

²⁵ On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
²⁶ “What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?”
²⁷ He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’^[c]; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”
²⁸ “You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.”
²⁹ But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

Luke 10:25-29. NIV.

Jesus had told this man how to be justified in Jesus’ eyes, and it involved wholehearted commitment and obedience and love. But the man was looking for a way out. Indeed, he was already a member of a camp that considered itself exempt from having to obey those two commandments, and he didn’t want to leave that camp to join Jesus instead.

And this is the way it still works today. The camps abound, in every possible flavor and disposition. Almost any kind of person can find a camp that aims itself as making people like him feel comfortable without having a wholesale commitment to obeying Jesus and living righteously as per Jesus’ own example and command.

And they do not listen, even to God, whom they call their Father, or to Jesus, who they will attest was sent by God:

⁴² Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I have come here from God. I have not come on my own; God sent me. ⁴³ Why is my language not clear to you? Because you are unable to hear what I say.

John 8:43-43. NIV.

And this is what I see today as I try to talk with people about what Jesus said. Most are quite unable to hear it. And I’m afraid they’ll never admit to the ugly truth about the state of their disobedient hearts, until they are standing before God’s throne, and it is out of their hands once and for all.

And while I’m at it here, I should go ahead and mention that some camps do acknowledge this accountability, but not as their primary raison d’être. No, they do it as a means to having power over their members, while running a church organization nowhere authorized in the teachings of Jesus or his apostles. I used to belong to a couple of camps like that, and I can attest to how counterproductive they are, even though they have got this one thing right about the need for accountability. The cheat they employ is this: The rank-and-file members are expected to obey God strictly, while the leaders and the church organization they run are not bound by such a short leash. Thus, they take advantage of people whose hearts are soft enough to obey, but whose minds are yet to uneducated in the scriptures to discern the cheats that are in play. And this sort of camp can shipwreck a great many people, just as such camps have done since that corrupt ones among the kings of Israel were doing this in Old Testament times.

The rebel Hebrew of Jesus’ day would insist that he was a child of Abraham, and even of God himself, even while standing face-to-face with Jesus, whose teachings they were rejecting. (Read John 8:31-59.) And it is no different in the churches today, where a great many people are doing the same, and doing their best to ignore those few who are trying to point this out to them.

And it has always been this way with the unrighteous, as it was with Cain who rejected the advice of none other than God himself in a one-on-one counseling session, and sold himself out to Sin. (Read Genesis 4.)

Even to this day, the “Jews” reject Jesus in their camps, while millions of “Christians” do the same—each pretending to be right in God’s eyes.

It’s the ultimate lie, to dabble while pretending to be wholeheartedly about something. I say ultimate because the fact that you’re dabbling at all gives you some activity to point to when you’re put on the spot. There’s some evidence that you’re “doing” something, so you easily “justify” yourself on that account, even if you know that you’re ignoring some level of negligence at the same time. And in this way, you can pretend that you love God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength, even though you know better, and should know better. And you can fool a lot of other people this way, too. But not God. So really, at the end of the story, you need God not to be real—or else, not to be like the God of the Bible. Otherwise, you’re busted.

The older I get, the less impressed I am with talking, and especially with debate, for I observe that it is filled with error—with slips of the tongue and with faulty memory—with biases and with the hard-to-resist influence of common hearsay we so love to repeat as if we knew already it were true. For practically all of us, it seems to me, speech is in too big a hurry, and debate is not a search for the truth, but a contest between those vying for glory.

I suppose an entire book could be written about this, but I’ll be brief about my objections to it.

She has decided it’s too much for her—
That it’s more than she can grasp.

So she quits trying to understand,
And dismisses it as a lost cause—
Walking away with no clue
As to the tragedy of her surrender.

You know they read poorly, comprehending little in their passive laziness. So you write for the lazy—accommodating them as they are. Pragmatically smart and efficient of you, you think.

A great many people have this problem:

They will hear of some idea or principle, which immediately sounds very good to them. That is, it makes them feel good. But from there, they make a wild leap into believe that they themselves are complete devotees of that cause, who understand it thoroughly and live in accordance to it.

The one man can appreciate that, with some work,
He could do some things better.

The other will insist that he himself is capable of
Naught but error, and must have the help of
The Holy Spirit if he is to be improved in the least.

“O, to be young!”, says the one, with not a thought
Of the ignorance and foolishness of youth.

And “O, to be wise!”, says the other, with some regret
That one cannot have very much of
Wisdom and youth at the same time,
Yet knowing adamantly which is the better choice.

And the one aims at what he once was,
As the other aims at what he can become.

Introduction

While studying John recently, I noted that huge number of mentions that:

• Jesus had come from God/heaven, and that
• He was going to go back there.

Further, there are several mentions, and perhaps allusions to the fact that:

• He was going to take the faithful to be “where I am” (his words) in Heaven.

The humble man will not think he’s got it made
In advance of that meeting where God
Has his say-so on this very question,
For he will already know most of his sins, and that
God has every right to refuse anyone on the account
Of such transgression.

But the camp of the proud puff themselves up
With a paradigm some call “eternal security”,
In which they count it a sin not to be sure in advance
What God will say—with no sin they could possibly
Commit between now and then having any chance
Of blotting out the predetermined stamp of approval
They have stamped on their own foreheads.

The humble man knows the scriptures—
That he has got to stay the course—
To endure to the end, and to overcome—
And even then, that God has every right
To count his failures as too big and too many,
For whose are not?

But the camp of the proud assure themselves, as if
The judgment were about them having
Already declared themselves saved,
And not about God himself
Weighing in on that question.

The humble will live with the uncertainty,
For that is his lot, and he knows it is.
And what other choice does he have but
To sin by presuming himself in the seat of God,
Declaring the matter himself, and even before
His life is finished and all his choices
Have been made?

But the proud count it a proper feature
Of their religion to declare their glory from the beginning,
And then dare everybody—God included, apparently—
To say it isn’t so.

And think on this:
Many among them who think it a sin
To judge others as to transgressions will
Declare themselves righteous in the eyes of God,
Without ever stopping to notice that
This is judging, too.

² Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful. ³ I care very little if I am judged by you or by any human court; indeed, I do not even judge myself. ⁴ My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me. ⁵ Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait until the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of the heart. At that time each will receive their praise from God.

Paul. 1 Corinthians 4:2-5. NIV.

⁹ To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable: ¹⁰ “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. ¹¹ The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. ¹² I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’ ¹³ “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’ ¹⁴ “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”

Luke 18:8-14. NIV.

By what manner of delusion does she think
That the Jesus who was so often angry in the Bible,
Is never mad today at any believer for his incorrigibility?

The novice twists a truth and his deceit is quickly laid bare by the investigator. But the veteran of wickedness twists a thousand truths, so as to overwhelm those who would try to sort it all out. To the disproof of the one, he answers with 999 lies, making a mockery of truth by his show trial of unreasonable reasons. And then he prances around as the victor when the challenger throws up his arms and walks away.

Why should any person want to chain himself to a theological system, which has predecided for him individual items of doctrine that he has no intention of learning/studying/mastering for himself? What’s the motivation here?

If it’s important, why not look into it bit by bit for himself?

He rejects the fruit of the Spirit in several ways,
Including that he has no patience for studying the scriptures
That God had delivered to his generation,
Yet he expects the self-same Spirit to grant him understanding
Of those same scriptures.

He fights against the evil that’s in your heart,
But not against the evil that’s in his own.

If you are like many, you will reject some lies,
Sometimes even daring to stand up in front
Of your fellow man and call the lies out.

And if you are like many, you will do
Such rejecting and calling out—
Even as you are embracing yet other lies
A promoting them to this smart/stupid world.

Just because mankind was given intelligence
Doesn’t mean he always uses it well.

If you listen to a group discussion—especially about a controversial topic—and I mean really listen, like you had to write it all down just right all by yourself—what you’ll likely be hearing, whether you can get your head around it or not—is a few keen comments and questions buried in a sea of sloppy, ill-defined, poorly-stated, and poorly-vetted ideas.

I see in Christian circles a good deal of talk about empathy these days, and in that discussion, I think I perceive a wide movement that’s conflating excusing with forgiving. Here’s what I mean:

Jesus says this about forgiveness in one of his parables:

Is it wrong to think that a person is obligated to live as God has obligated all humans to live?

Is it wrong to remind him of the same and to hold him to it?

If on the forehead of every human there were magically to appear a number in neon red—from zero to ten—put there by God himself to show to the world in undeniable terms how much each person cares about God, I suppose that half or more of the collective pressure of pretense in this world would immediately vanish—supplanted by surrendered shame in some cases, and humble vindication in others.

He is mad at the world for its dismal failure
To fill his personal void to his satisfaction—
That void existing in him on account of
His refusal to take in the things of God,
For which that space was designed.

I see that the teacher who loves the subject matter is often found teaching and discussing it, whether being paid for it or not—even if he or she really needs the money. And this is doubly true of the teacher who also loves the students.

But the teacher who loves only the money—or perhaps, the prestige of being the teacher—tends to be stingy and personally disinterested in the subject, even a high expertise.

And the experience of the students, from the one teacher to the other, is like the difference between day and night.

In the previous methods, we looked at questions that are actually stupid. Today, we consider a scenario in which you want to ask a question that will be taken as stupid.

METHOD #4

1. Find a person who has these qualities:

• Confident in his understanding.
• Considers himself above you.
• Hasn’t considered all the possibilities on a certain matter, yet
• Has a strong opinion on the matter anyway.

2. Ask a question that assumes that some other possibilities may have some merit and should be considered carefully.

3. You’re done! You have successfully asked a question that’s sure to be taken as “stupid”.

As I asked him questions about the doctrinal assertion he had made, he said, “I feel like you’re trying to trap me.”

But what I was trying to do was to demonstrate, by way of my questions, that he was already trapped by his own bad thinking—both by ideas that conflict with one another and by ideas that conflict with the very Bible he assumes that he believes.

But he has no apprehension, it seems, about traps of that sort.

Surely, God could have written us a manual
With precise explanations of everything,
So clear as to defy misunderstanding
And disagreement.

They would, from time to time, look around in puzzlement as to why things weren’t going as well as expected, for they had tried and tried in their camps to be as loving and gracious as inclusive as they could figure out how to be, and still, such things had not produced the church of their expectations.

But failure ought not give one pause where faith is concerned, they thought.

So they barreled ahead with their religion, assuming themselves among the accepted,
even though they had repeatedly ignored his many calls to repentance, caring only to sit with the cool kids, and to go to Heaven, of course—but not for sharing in his philosophy and character and way of truth and life.

And it was with this heart—and not a heart like his own—that they would read their scriptures
and misinterpret half the meanings, never figuring out that the writings are designed not
to yield up all their treasures to the defiant, the incorrigible, and the halfhearted. That is, to the very ones the camps are so eager to include with their Just As I Am bent that makes a mockery of the repentance required by the real Jesus, and with their incessant promises that he loves them and accepts them, even though he himself was adamant that he actually hates some, finds them repulsive, and will eternally reject them, based on their failure to repent from their sins.

But they would continue to spin and spin, expecting him never to call their bluff, but actually, to congratulate them instead—even as they are were blocked from the kind of success they expected at church and from the fruit of the Spirit that they assumed they already had in sufficient measure.

And so they stood between God and the sinner, promising a different kind of grace than what God gives, so as to satisfy those who would be satisfied—as they were themselves—with something less than the real Jesus who demands repentance.

There were some present at that very time who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. ² And he answered them, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered in this way? ³ No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. ⁴ Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them: do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who lived in Jerusalem? ⁵ No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.”

Luke 13:1-5. ESV

⁴⁶ “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you? ⁴⁷ Everyone who comes to me and hears my words and does them, I will show you what he is like: ⁴⁸ he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when a flood arose, the stream broke against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built.^{[c] 49} But the one who hears and does not do them is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the stream broke against it, immediately it fell, and the ruin of that house was great.”

Luke 6. ESV

Billy may be concerned with righteousness and unrighteousness—even strongly concerned and very vocal about it. But this does not mean that Billy has considered the righteousness/unrighteousness of as many things as God has considered. And it doesn’t mean that Billy has got it all right, either. He may well count as righteous some things that God condemns, or as condemnable some things that God has declared righteous.

I think it’s very common for Christians to have a view that differs from God’s view, and yet not to be actively aware of it. What seems woefully uncommon, however, is for Christians to grasp the import of this prophecy:

Woe to those who call evil good
    and good evil,
who put darkness for light
    and light for darkness,
who put bitter for sweet
    and sweet for bitter!

Isaiah 4:20. ESV

Such peace comes at last
From setting a thing
In proper order.

I have always loved the wilderness,
Where this ruckus of society is
More often remembered than heard
And where man-made things
Seem quite the inferiors
To the God-made.

And having taken only lately to reflecting deeply
On the ways of that grand Lady Patience—who,
I must admit, seemed less regal in my youth—
I find myself rather suddenly convinced
That the wilderness simply must be
Where Lady Patience Lives.

He thinks that Bible study is:

• making a list of a bunch of passages he has not duly contemplated himself.
• reading what scholars say about passages he has not duly contemplated himself.
• gathering and giving out statistics about word usage in passages he has not duly contemplated himself.
• a thing to be done as a leader/teacher, for the benefit of others, to help them understand passages he has not duly contemplated himself.

He goes to the trouble to do these things, but will not go to the trouble of giving a passage due contemplation himself. He’s not listening to the scriptures. He’s busy trying to play the role of a good student or a good teacher, perhaps, but he’s got his priorities off as he has neglected that fundamental task of listening to the scriptures himself.

Beware of this man. He is everywhere.

1 When God began to create heaven and earth—2 the earth being unformed and void, with darkness over the surface of the deep and a wind from God sweeping over the water—3 God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light.

Jewlish Publication Society Translation. 1985.

Dr. Michael Heiser gives an intriguing talk about this JPS translation of verses 1-3 in the video below. I’ve been considering it for some years, and will continue working on it for as long as I’m alive, I suppose. (And there is controversy about this—as there is about nearly everything.)

I have copied the passage here because it comes up so often that I needed a ready place from which to retrieve it. In case the video doesn’t render below, you can see it at YouTube here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=diEzuGvDjU0

With a tone that showed her puzzlement, and perhaps a bit of apology, along with something else on which he could not quite put his finger at first, she admitted to him, “I just don’t know why anybody would want to think as much about as many things as you do.”

As he shuns that particular virtue called patience—

Thinking that while it might be nice to stop and get it,
He cannot afford any delay in his valiant quest to
Get on with the important business of life—

He has no idea that it is the very key to
The locked doors at which he will spend
Years of his life standing and waiting
In sour aggravation.

I’m writing this post simply to ask a pivotal question that affects the way we interpret Revelation 21-22:

What did the author mean to convey by the phrase in boldface below? Was he talking about one thing or about two things?

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.

Revelation 21:1. ESV

In other words, is the idea here that there was a new system—a new whole, comprised of what used to be two separate parts? Or were the two parts still separate, stand-alone objects in his mind?

Coming soon.

Let us imagine the day
On which the world
Had finally tired
Of its lying.

I had been troubled
That an old friend was mad at me
For my slowness to do as promised—
And adding to my procrastination
About important matters,
In my delay, I had hoped alternately
That he his silence had been
Simply because he was busy—
And then again that he must be mad—

When he is called to heaven
To have that meeting of a lifetime—

He, being mistreated,
Is not content to attribute it
To wickedness alone,
But has learned by example
To frame it in terms of
The groups to which he
And the mistreater belong.

Thus is he ever ready
To assume this spirit of faction
Upon everyone in the other group,
And upon their every motive—
Even when they had come in kindness.

And this, of course, is wickedness itself,
Which he counts not as sin but necessity,
On account of belonging to his own group,
Victim that it always is.

What would it be like
If all the sin were suddenly to stop?

The one says, “Please shut up so I can think this through for myself.”

And the other, “Please keep talking so that I don’t have to think this through for myself.”

The world was divided—
And still is today—
By the announcement
That God expects something
Of the humans here.

You can tell a people’s true religious convictions about justice and righteousness by whether they will see to it that their society is administered justly and righteously.

He who sitting in the dark house
Peering from its windows
Into the daylight without
And reveling in the glory of the day
Also chooses, to our surprise,
Not to notice that he does not
Live in the daylight himself,
But in the dark house,
Where he has made for himself
A twisted religion from pretending
With the aid of its shades,
Which he may raise and lower at will.

I have so much to say about this, and I have attempted to be brief, but I have failed. So here are my hard-hitting thoughts on the subject:

I don’t know the context in which Her Schopenhauer said or wrote this, but I’ll tackle it as a stand-along meme—which is how it came to me on Facebook.

The problem with church that focuses mostly on exterior activities without focusing on the maturation of the mind—that is, on conforming one’s mind to be like Jesus’ mind—is that such religion leaves the Bible interpretation to immature minds who have not learned the honesty, rationality, and responsibility of Christ.

The one churcher looks down on the unchurched who stays home and studies the Bible like crazy (and also works hard follow its teachings). She says she’s all for studying the Bible, but “God instructed us to fellowship” (Hebrews 10:25 being implied here)—by which she means that if the stay-at-home guy were really committed to Jesus, he’d be going to a church.)

This meme presents a good opportunity to talk about a certain stubborn disposition I find in a good number of Christians. Yes, Jesus said these words:

I discuss this chapter so often with friends that it seemed smart to post a copy of my (growing) notes here. I’ve shown the text of the chapter in black with a gray background, and have included my notes in blue font after each section of text. I’ve also highlighted some words in the text, to more easily match them with the notes that follow.

Bullets on what you’ll find here

• There were four chambers (see vs. 2) for the spirits of dead humans in Sheol, and not just the two that Jesus happened to mention in the Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus.
• These were all temporarily holding compartments—until “the great judgment”.
• Two held righteous people. (“Abraham’s Bosom”, and Abel and the other martyrs.)
• Two held sinners. (One for the regular sinners, and one for those who were so wicked that God had judged them while they were still alive. Think of Korah’s Rebellion here.)
• There is talk of the annihilation of some souls here, and the ongoing punishment of others.

Translations on this page

You can view an interlinear translation here. Meanwhile, you’ll find these three translations of Chapter 22 in their entirety on the remainder of this page, along with an occasional quote from The Hermeneia Translation (Nickelsburg/Vanderkam):

1. Robert Henry Charles Translation
2. Richard Laurence Translation
3. George Henry Schodde Translation

RH Charles Translation

RH Charles translated from both Ethiopic copies and Greek copies. Where there was significant difference, he included both.

1And thence I went to another place, and he showed me in the west another great and high mountain {and} of hard rock.

The “he” here is the angel Uriel. In Chapters 17-37, Enoch is on an angel-guided tour of the creation, including Heaven, Earth, and the Underworld (Sheol/Hades).

There were four compartments, and not just the two Jesus happens to mention in the Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus.

The one bright compartment, I believe, correlates to the place of the righteous, which is called “Abraham’s bosom” in the Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus. Of particular note is that it is also called “Paradise” in various writings, which will confuse us since the same term is also used of the Garden of Eden and of Heaven, or some particular place in Heaven. (I’m writing elsewhere about this and will say more about it soon.

See also: Luke 23:43. — Apocalypse of Sedrach 16. — Recognitions of Clement Book 1, Chapter 52. — Secrets of Enoch 8:5 (and deeply consider the meaning of this sentence). — Testament of Abraham 11 (Search for the word “paradise” throughout). — Also here: Word and Revelation of Esdras. — More references will be added when I have time.

3Then Raphael answered, one of the holy angels who was with me, and said unto me: ‘These hollow places have been created for this very purpose, that the spirits of the souls of the dead should 4assemble therein, yea that all the souls of the children of men should assemble here. And these places have been made to receive them till the day of their judgement and till their appointed period {till the period appointed}, till the great judgement [comes] upon them.’

So let’s notice that these holding compartments were only to be used temporarily. They were not the final place of the spirits of the dead.

The economy of words here is difficult for us. Had we written this, we’d have probably added a bit of introduction to verse 5, saying something like, “Now, in one of those four compartments…”, but the author here expects us to be able to focus and to follow him, even though he doesn’t go to much trouble to spell things out in as many words as we might if we were writing this for our contemporaries. (And we’ll see some more of this terse presentation in the verses that follow.)

From here forward, then, I find it useful to imagine that we are standing with the author looking at the same scene he had in mind. When he says “such” or “this”, imagine him pointing to a particular compartment, and then talking about it a bit before he points to the next one .

For the record, these making suit (mentione here in verses 5 and 6) are mentioned again in verse 12, where it is obvious that they do indeed have a compartment for themselves, separate from that of the righteous.

7And he answered me saying: ‘This is the spirit which went forth from Abel, whom his brother Cain slew, and he makes his suit against him till his seed is destroyed from the face of the earth, and his seed is annihilated from amongst the seed of men.’

Let’s note that this complaining of Abel and his compartment-mates was also temporary. Apparently, at the great judgment, their suits would be heard and settled once and for all. Meanwhile, Cain and those like him were being kept prisoner in these compartments, and would be wiped out at the great judgment, never again to be seen on the Earth.

FIRST COMPARTMENT

So Enoch asks why they aren’t all together, and Uriel notes that one of the four is set apart for the righteous. It has the “bright spring of water”. Remember, I picture the “such” (Ethiopic) and the “this” (Greek) as the author pointing to one of the four as he talks.

The presence of this special compartment for the righteous raises the question of the whereabouts of Abel. It would appear that the compartment he was in (along with other martyrs) was not the one with the bright spring of water, but was separate from that. Both Jesus (Matthew 23:35) and Hebrews 11:4 call Abel “righteous”, so why would he and other martyrs have been in his own compartment, and not in the one with the bright spring of water?

One wonders whether they had volunteered to go here instead, forgoing the paradise during this underworld experience in order to make their suit. It may be, however, that these were being held unjustly by Satan’s regime, who had (unjustly) judged them worthy of death, and had inspired their murders. It may also be that God had a special role in mind for Abel and the other martyrs. Search Testament of Abraham for the two “Abel” passages to read more. I’ll flesh this idea out more someday soon, hopefully.

Regarding this “bright spring of water”, much research could be done on this. (And I’ll document it someday, perhaps.) For now, though, let me mention that the Hermeneia Translation has verse 9 thus:

Next, we move along to another compartment, this one not for the righteous, but for sinners.

SECOND COMPARTMENT

The “such” and “this” of verse 10 are the author pointing to yet another compartment in Sheol. It’s the third of the four—the first having been that of the complaining martyrs, and the second being the one for the righteous, with the bright spring of water. In this third compartment, we see “sinners”, of the general sort. These are not those sinners on whom judgment had not been executed in their lifetime. (We’ll discuss those below after verse 12.)

This idea of being judged in their lifetime immediately sends us scurrying to discover what the author might be talking about. Short version: I am convinced this is talking about people like Korah and his family (Korah’s Rebellion), and King Herod (eaten by worms) and Ananias and Sapphira (who dropped dead at the apostles feet for lying). These people were not in this present compartment, but in one to be detailed as the reading of the chapter continues below.

Meanwhile, these not-already-judged, regular “sinners” were being kept here only temporarily, as we have been discussing.

Note that those in this compartment were in great pain, just like the man in the Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus was “in torments”. And note that the people in this compartment, too, were awaiting the great judgment. And here we come to the most packed sentence in the entire chapter. They were awaiting (Ethiopic) the “great day of judgment and punishment and torment of those who curse for ever and retribution for their spirits. Keep in mind that “forever” or “for ever” often meant in Hebrew scripture something like “to the age” or “until the end of the present age”. So, this passage might contain a hint (and some will adamantly reject it) that all this early torment (before the Great Judgment) was aimed at seeing which of them would continue to curse until the end of that age, and which of them might relent. (I’m still researching this possibility.) This will pique the interest of those who wonder just what Jesus said when he “preached to the spirits in prison” (if that is the right reading of 1 Peter 3:19)—and whether there might have been any change of those among the wicked repenting at that sermon.

Anyway, back to the text: Those who would go on to suffer under that final judgment would be bound forever—which I take to mean that they would be bound unendingly in that new, unending age (the age we are in now, I believe). That is, they were not ever going to have any chance of that verdict or sentence being reversed or stayed or suspended. There will be bickering about the language here, however, with some (who believe in the eternal conscious torment of all the wicked lasting forever) insisting that “bind them forever” means that they were to be tortured endlessly. I do not think it must mean that. And I have to wonder about the difference between the fate of these souls in that third compartment, and those in the one that follows:

THIRD COMPARTMENT

These are those who had already been mentioned in verses 5 and 6. That is, Abel and other martyrs. And I do note the similarity with those mentioned here:

Revelation 6:9 When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the witness they had borne.

I think it’s likely that this group is also one of the two groups mentioned here, on either side of the “and” that I have highlighted in boldface:

Revelation 20:4 Then I saw thrones, and seated on them were those to whom the authority to judge was committed. Also I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.

To be clear, then, I believe that there are three groups in view here in Revelation 20:4. They are: 1) those on the thrones, 2) the martyrs (those in Abel’s compartment in Sheol—for it says “they came to life”) and 3) all those having died who were righteous and had not worshiped the wicked gods. The way I reason it out, that the first group, those allowed to judge, were the apostles of Jesus, as per this passage:

Matthew 19:28 Jesus said to them, “Truly, I say to you, in the new world, when the Son of Man will sit on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

For the record, I think that these people all came to life again on the same day Jesus was resurrected from the dead. I have an article about that here. And the same article is in a podcast episode here. I strongly suspect that they were brought back into the land, and stayed there for 40 years, during the period of the reign of the apostles. Yes, this would have been a really big deal—and I think it was, right along with some other really big deals that the New Testament doesn’t mention directly, such as the destruction of the Temple in 70AD. (There’s more information on this at the two links earlier in this paragraph.)

FOURTH COMPARTMENT

Now we come to one of the most intriguing parts, still with quite a stingy use of words. Those “complete in transgression” (Ethiopic)—who were they? I strongly suspect they were the ones hinted at earlier when we are told that the first compartment for “sinners” was for those on whom “judgment has not been executed on them in their lifetime“. I suspect that the ones in this present compartment were those that God had executed judgment on while they were still living—such as when the Earth had opened up to swallow Korah and his co-conspirators alive in Numbers 16. There are several other such episodes in the writings, but I’ll include a mention here of the judgment (by God) of Herod (Antipas) the Tetrarch. A summary is given in Acts 12:19-24. Meanwhile, a satisfyingly thorough account is given by Josephus here.

I do wonder, too, whether what Paul was saying in the following passage had such things in mind:

1 Timothy 5:24 The sins of some are obvious, reaching the place of judgment ahead of them; the sins of others trail behind them.

“Of the transgressors they shall be companions.” (Ethiopic). If you search for transgress/transgressor/transgression in the Charles Translation, you’ll find a fairly steady habit of using such words to refer to the rebel angels who had interfered with humankind from the beginning. These are the ones with whom those humans who were “complete in transgression” were going to become “companions”. And this raises the question, “for how long?”

ANNIHILATION

Some mentioned in this chapter were going to be annihilated (ceasing to exist) in that great judgment, but not these people, for it says “their spirits shall not be slain in the day of judgment” (Ethiopic). I think it’s safe to assume that those whose spirits would be slain were those more ordinary sinners of verses 10-11, who were being kept until the great judgment. But not these whose transgression was considered by God to be “complete”.

The Schodde translation (below) has it thus:

…who were complete in their crimes… (Schodde)

And Laurence thus:

…those who have completed crime… (Laurence)

Meanwhile, the Nickelsberg/Vanderkam (Hermeneia) translation leaves out any explicit notion of completeness. (And it departs from the other versions considerably in ways I will not comment on here.)

And this was created for the spirits of the people who will not be pious, but sinners, who were godless, and they were companions with the lawless. And their spirits will not be punished on the day of judgment, nor will they be raised from there.
(Hermeneia Translation of 1 Enoch 22:13)

Since these people had their own separate compartment, it raises the question of just what it was that should set them apart from the common sinners. I want to research this further. At a glance, I’m not seeing any hint of “completeness” in the Greek, and it doesn’t seem that verse 13 is extant in the Ethiopic. Meanwhile, the Ge’ez in the online interlinear of 22:13, I cannot read!

I did just go digging, however, for a translation from Ge’ez to English, and found this 1978 translation by M. Knibb. You can read it online here, and can download a PDF including Knibb’s translations of all the Enochian works here. Here’s Knibb’s translation of 1 Enoch 22:13:

22.13 Thus a place has been created for the souls of men who are not righteous, but sinners, accomplished in wrongdoing and with the wrongdoers will be their lot. But, their souls will not be killed on the Day of Judgement, nor will they rise from here.”
(Knibb Translation. Ge’ez to English. 1978)

I could see where this word “accomplished” might carry the connotation of “complete” as rendered by Charles, Laurence, and Schodde. For what it’s worth, I searched the whole Knibb translation for “accomplished” to see whether there was a pattern of the connotation of completeness throughout the book. I found the following results, of which you can be the judge.

10.12 When all their sons kill each other, and when they see the destruction of their beloved ones, bind them for seventy generations under the hills of the Earth, until the day of their judgement, and of their consummation, until the Judgement, which is for all eternity, is accomplished. (Knibb)

16.1 And the death of the giants, wherever the spirits have gone out from their bodies, their flesh will be destroyed, before the Judgement. Thus they will be destroyed until the Day of the Great Consummation is accomplished, upon the Great Age, and upon the Watchers and the impious ones. ” (Knibb)

22.13 Thus a place has been created for the souls of men who are not righteous, but sinners, accomplished in wrongdoing and with the wrongdoers will be their lot. But, their souls will not be killed on the Day of Judgement, nor will they rise from here.” (Knibb)

29 July 2023. This is about all the work I’ve done to date. No notes exist in the two translations pasted below.

Richard Laurence Translation

22:1 From there I proceeded to another spot, where I saw on the west a great and lofty mountain, a strong rock, and four delightful places.

22:2 Internally it was deep, capacious, and very smooth; as smooth as if it had been rolled over: it was both deep and dark to behold.

22:3 Then Raphael, one of the holy angels who were with me, answered and said, These are the delightful places where the spirits, the souls of the dead, will be collected; for them were they formed; and here will be collected all the souls of the sons of men.

22:4 These places, in which they dwell, shall they occupy until the day of judgment, and until their appointed period.

22:5 Their appointed period will be long, even until the great judgment. And I saw the spirits of the sons of men who were dead; and their voices reached to heaven, while they were accusing.

22:6 Then I inquired of Raphael, an angel who was with me, and said, Whose spirit is that, the voice of which reaches [to heaven], and accuses?

22:7 He answered, saying, This is the spirit of Abel who was slain by Cain his brother; and who will accuse that brother, until his seed be destroyed from the face of the earth;

22:8 Until his seed perish from the seed of the human race.

22:9 At that time therefore I inquired respecting him, and respecting the general judgment, saying, Why is one separated from another? He answered, Three [separations] have been made between the spirits of the dead, and thus have the spirits of the righteous been separated.

22:10 Namely, [by] a chasm, [by] water, and [by] light above it.

22:11 And in the same way likewise are sinners separated when they die, and are buried in the earth; judgment not overtaking them in their lifetime.

22:12 Here their souls are separated. Moreover, abundant is their suffering until the time of the great judgment, the castigation, and the torment of those who eternally execrate, whose souls are punished and bound there for ever.

22:13 And thus has it been from the beginning of the world. Thus has there existed a separation between the souls of those who utter complaints, and of those who watch for their destruction, to slaughter them in the day of sinners.

22:14 A receptacle of this sort has been formed for the souls of unrighteous men, and of sinners; of those who have completed crime, and associated with the impious, whom they resemble. Their souls shall not be annihilated in the day of judgment, neither shall they arise from this place. Then I blessed God,

22:15 And said, Blessed by my Lord, the Lord of glory and of righteousness, who reigns over all for ever and for ever.

George Henry Schodde Translation

NOTE: The reference numbers higlighted in gray are Schodde’s own numbers. The non-highlighted ones are RH Charles’ numbers.

22:1  22:1 And from here I went to another place, and he showed me in the west a great and high mountain-chain and hard rocks

22:2and four beautiful places.22:2 And beneath them there were places deep and broad and entirely smooth, as smooth as if a thing were rolled, and deep and dark to look at.

22:3  22:3 And this time, Rufael, one of the holy angels, who was with me, answered and said to me: “These beautiful places are intended for this, that upon them may be assembled the spirits, the souls of the dead; for they have been created, that here all the souls of the sons of men might be

22:4 assembled. 22:4 These places have been made their dwellings till the day of their judgment, and to their fixed period; and this period is long, till the great judgment will come over them.” 22:5 And I saw the spirits of the children of men who had died,

22:5 and their voices reached up to heaven, and lamented. 22:6 At that time I asked the angel Rufael, who was

22:6 with me, and said to him: “Whose soul is that one whose voice thus reaches to heaven and laments?”

22:7  22:7 And he answered and said to me, saying: “That is the spirit that proceeded from Abel, whom his brother Cain slew; and it laments on his account till his seed be destroyed from the face of the earth and his seed disappear from among the seed of men.”

22:8  22:8 And at that time I therefore asked concerning him, and concerning the judgment of all, and said: “Why is one separated from the other?”

22:9  22:9 And he answered and said to me: “These three apartments are made in order to separate the souls of the dead. And thus are the souls of the just separated: there is a spring of

22:10 water, above it, light. 22:10 And thus also is one such apartment made for the sinners when they die, and are buried in the earth, without a judgment having been passed upon them during their

22:11 lives. 22:11 Here their souls are separated in this great affliction until the great day of judgment and punishment and affliction upon the revilers to eternity, and the vengeance for their souls, and here

22:12 he binds them to eternity. 22:12 And if it was before eternity, then this apartment has been made for the souls of those who lament and those who reveal their destruction when they were killed in the days

22:13 of the sinners. 22:13 And thus it has been created for the souls of men who were not just, but sinners, who were complete in their crimes; and they will be with criminals like themselves; but their souls will not be killed on the day of judgment and will not be taken from here.”

22:14  22:14 At that time I blessed the Lord of glory, and said: “Blessed is my Lord, the Lord of glory and of justice, who rules all things to eternity!”

There’s a certain sort
Who strive to be nicer than God—
Erasing the lines he has drawn
And avoiding the sternness—
Putting up with bad behavior
He clearly rejects—
Including the very behavior
I’m addressing here.

He orders the wife and kids around because—
He will tell you—
God has put the man in charge.

Ask him about the stories that were
Left out of his Bible, and he will tell you
He does not need to know them—
Even though he will wonder about them
For all his life, and will do his best
To fill in some of the gaps, best he can figure.

Is there any act so foul
That the American people
Will not tolerate it?

When was the last time
We said “no” to corruption?

If by some new magic, this land should suddenly
See justice done swiftly and impartially
In government and business alike—
With no tyrant or scoundrel ever again
Escaping what is due him by law—
America would soon discover not only
What peace and order she has been missing,
But the security that comes from having the leaders
Fear crossing that dreadful line beyond which
Cheating is not an option.

Gone the way of the hoe and the loom
Is the skill of searching for information.
The modern thinks he needs but to ask
And it will be delivered to him—
As are his food and his clothes.

If he has his eyes at least half-opened,
He will, in time, be repulsed by the muck
Of his current camp—even if the others are not—
And he will set out from there, convinced that
A fresh start cannot be put off for another minute.

How shall we define “cult”—and what if we were to define it thus?:

cult— n. any group in which the beliefs and practices of the group are guarded from the free, honest, and rational investigation and discussion of the members

If that were the definition, is there anyone among us who has never been a cult member?

And if this is our sad state, how twisted it is that so many are so hellbent on pointing out the cultishness of other groups and ignoring that of their own?

So many love to think they have won the battle by condemning the cultishness of other groups, even as they live in surrender to the cultishness of their own. And what more pernicious social trap is there than this?

I wonder if God does not pause in amazement
When he chances upon a human
Not looking for a shortcut.

Frankly, I think it surprised man—
The difference between God’s idea
Of a satisfactory level of human effort
And his own.

This is a post about how a great many Americans today read.

They start out with as much mental energy as they’re going to have, and their attention starts fading out from there.

Plus, they’re not as willing as their ancestors to read what is on your mind. Instead, they’re likely only interested in getting answers to the questions that pop into their minds.

Rather than to read a whole article, they prefer to get whatever they think the gist is, and then they’ll ask questions about the rest, if it occurs to them to do so—even if you already went to the trouble to anticipate all those questions and answer them in writing in advance. They don’t mind pushing the burden back onto the writer in this way. They lack a sense of responsibility about the reading.

By the time they’ve gotten this far—if they haven’t quit by now—they’ll only be paying attention at a fraction of the rate they paid attention to the first sentence. Further, once they see that a paragraph is more than two lines long, they tend to shut down all the faster. They also get triggered to shut down if your sentences are thorough and well-composed, or if the vocabulary is a stretch for them—though such writing was common not even a century ago in this once-literature-rich society.

They are not accustomed, as were more of their ancestors, to thoughts that take more than a few seconds to process. They are no longer willing to do the work.

And it is hard to see in this much of a future for us.

To them, it is insane that anyone would work this hard. (Congratulations for finding this, you clever soul!)

If you build it, they will come—
Including the one in ten thousand
Who’s already been searching
For something like this,
And about one in a thousand
Of the ones you go out of your way
To recruit yourself.

We must face the fact that sooner or later
A menace to society becomes so severe—
Such a danger to safety or justice
Or order or decency—
That we must intervene and remove him
From his place, dispatching him to prison,
Or in the most egregious cases, even to God.

Do the negligent have any advantage in religion
That they don’t have in mundane matters
Such as concern civics or agriculture?

The real Jesus expects his followers to stop sinning, whereas the fake Jesus only expects them to keep believing that he is Lord and that he died for their sins.

Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you.

John 5:14. NIV

Unless you repent, you too will all perish.

Luke 13:5. NIV

Sorry, buddy, but there comes a time when—
Even though you’ve been hurt
And you’re not feeling well
And you’ve got your own issues and triggers—
We’ve got to face the fact that your sin life—
Complicated as it may be by these things—
Rests firmly on your own disinterest
In being wholly righteous.

Big boys and girls learn to suck it up
And do what’s right—
Even when it’s hard.

And you, sir, are quite obviously not trying.

There are those who count themselves
Deliberately the nicest sort
And who think it a grave sin
To confront another human about his sins.

Kay and I were watching Suits, where it was said that character Harvey Specter was hated by many of the other attorneys in the law firm because “he’s always right”.

Huh?

What good have we really done
When we rail against the hypocrisy of others
And yet play the hypocrite ourselves?

Man was to be judged
According to how he would behave
Concerning God,
Concerning the angels,
Concerning other men, and
Concerning the animals.

We are planted in this Greenhouse
To grow in righteousness,
Yet from the moment we sprout, the others
Start saying that it’s up to us
To decide what it’s all about.

The moment he figures out that
He has met someone smarter than him,
His heart sinks a bit, in recognition
That he himself should be smarter.

Not every true thing is conveniently obvious. And even so, large numbers of people may well operate on the assumption that all true things are—or should be—obvious. It is a common overestimation of human capability, often based on the assumption that what can be detected should be detectable without effort—and more particularly, detectable by our natural human senses.

Here are a few ways it happens:

In some things,
If getting help
Is beneath you,
Then so is success.

When faced with a reality in which your spirit was created by God and will have to give an account for what you’ve done when your life is over, these are your choices, as it appears to me:

1. Embrace the situation and sincerely do your best to please God, learning as you go.
2. Reject the reality, and live however you want, either:
   1. Forthrightly denouncing the reality in full (as an atheist might),
   2. Being sloppy about some of the details of what God wants, and pretending that sloppiness is OK, or
   3. Deliberately twisting some of the details into something you like better, and pretending you’re devoted to God as you do it. (Think about it: #2 is also an example of this #3.)

The not knowing is so untenable for his untrained mind
That he has learned to unleash his brain
And send it scurrying off into the weeds
To retrieve whatever it may for a narrative
By which to explain the situation.

There is the concept, however rare, that one might like to invest his efforts in the common good, without concern for how he might grow rich from it—whether in money, or in the acclaim of those he esteems.

He looks with disdain on the Churchers,
Recoiling at the sick hypocrisy he sees.
And he wants nothing to do with it—

With the Churching, that is.

Let’s pretend that it’s all
Somebody else’s fault,
And not our own.

And we can point our fingers at them
And feel happier than we would
If we were dealing with ourselves.

And they’ll get mad, of course—
Because they are like us—
And then we’ll get mad—
Because we are like us, too.

And life will be better that way
Than if we were to be honest and
Rational and responsible for ourselves.

There will not come a day
When diet and exercise
Are not important—
Though there will come
A thousand upon which
They do not feel important.

And one wonders how such a gauge
Could be so often off.

When you really think about it,
The greater part of the constant turmoil
In this human species can be
Readily explained by asking
The same developmental question
About every human specimen:

I got invited to a huge anniversary party
And most everybody came
And seemed to have a good time—
But me, that is—

That’s because the marriage they were
Celebrating is in terrible shape,
And I’m not the sort to pretend it isn’t.

So even though they drive that party
Right by my window on this day every year,
I do not enjoy it in the least.

And they don’t enjoy hearing me say why.

One of the biggest political lies—
Rarely spoken aloud, yet believed
With the force of shouting—
Is that America has a one-party problem.

It is difficult not to assume
That if only he could
Present his case better,
They would listen.

But after some time,
The notion falls flat,
And he’s left with the realization
That they would also be silent
If God himself were making the case.

The first, surprised to meet
Trouble on the road to eternity,
Determines that he must be traveling
On the wrong road.

The second, that he must be traveling
In the wrong direction.

The third, that he must be traveling
At the wrong time,
Or perhaps with the wrong people,
Or in the wrong circumstances.

But the fourth, surprised to meet
Trouble on the road to eternity,
Determines that he must be
Traveling with the wrong expectation.

It is surprising that so many are so surprised to find so much difficulty in life, and that talking about the Bible as much as they do, they do not figure out that the intent of the journey is the transformation of the traveler along the way.

I suppose that much of this unrealistic expectation comes from the ongoing rhetoric aimed at keeping non-journeyers in the pews by promising them that they are entitled to a mostly-trouble-free life, and that the difficulties they face are mostly anomalies that should fade away soon.

Here are seven passages that should make the expectation of trouble clear—and I’ll bet I could find 70!

…In this world you will have trouble….

John 16:33b. NIV

Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings,…

1 peter 4:12-13a. ESV

Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

James 1:2-4. NIV

…through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God.

Acts 14:22b. ESV

In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor…

1 Peter 1:6-7a. ESV

…we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope,  and hope does not put us to shame…

Romans 5:3b-5a. ESV

…the one who endures to the end will be saved.

Matthew 24:13. ESV

Today’s the day in the painting—the 2nd of July, when the committee of five presented their work to the 2nd Continental Congress for its approval. It would be two days before the
Congress would vote to approve the Declaration of Independence. Fifty-six men would sign it, sealing the country’s fate at the cost of inevitable war.

The following are not matters of political opinion, but of the way reality itself seems to work—as observed over many thousands of years of human history. We can wish and pretend and even try to get around the reality—and it seems someone is always trying, or wishing at least—but we’ll never have the following freedoms, because this world simply doesn’t work that way, no matter one’s preferred political party.

The ten freedoms America will never have are these:

(This article, unlikely practically everything else I write, was not afforded a final edit. And I trust you’ll understand why. if it doesn’t make sense, this will simply go to paint the picture for you even better.)

Is all the technology worth it? I have my doubts.

First of all, let me state that I don’t think that any of the advances in technology in my lifetime have done a thing to make us better people. And while I wouldn’t expect that they would make us better people, what I’m wondering about is whether they’re actually hurting the quality of life, rather than improving it.

The living human is the absolute master
Of his inner domain—for now.

By actual count,
There are zero troublemakers
Who are complete idiots—
Having zero knowledge
And zero virtue.

Like so many other foolish kids,
He wanted to be the teacher before
He knew what he was talking about.
He had the cart before the horse, to be sure.

He knows how to have an idea.

Indeed, that part’s quite easy
Because the way the brain works,
Ideas normally just pop into the mind.

It is certainly a reasonable question—how the fool could perceive his own foolishness. Yet so often it comes down not to whether he is able, but whether he is willing to survey the damage
wrought by his beliefs and decisions—and to cut it out. To correct himself. To set things straight. To make amends. He does not see what is wrong with him because he does not want to see it; not because he is unable.

Modern views of Christianity vary wildly, of course, yet there is a very popular movement toward the idea that God requires nothing of the Christian but faith/belief. And further, this faith/belief is frequently defined in the most minimalistic way possible so as to include nothing more than giving mental assent to a very small number of propositions, such as that “Jesus is Lord”, perhaps, or that “he died for our sins”.

NOTE: This article is the starting place for a larger investigation I hope to complete in time. It simply frames the question—which, in light of all the confusion on this topic, seemed worthy of posting, even before the various hypotheses are fleshed out and examined. You will see that I have laid the groundwork for those hypotheses simply by listing the various ways in which Genesis 2:17 might be questioned, challenged, or reconsidered.

Somewhere
Eventually lead
To think this could
But I’m really starting
Stacking it all first to last
Surely some see no sense in

Perhaps today is the day
When some soul on this Earth
Decides he wants to know—
And not just about a thing,
But about it all.

It took me a while to figure out how it goes,
But I can see now that he simply
Doesn’t want the facts except when they
Support the feelings he’s already cultivating.

Don’t you
Know better
Than not to know
Better than that by now?

Too few have the elusive spark that drives them
Beyond the necessary to the meaningful—
From the sanctuary of self to the garden of others.

How sweet it is, then, that such gardeners might perchance
Find one another along the way and take heart
In a camaraderie unknown to others.

Someday, after we have cleaned the garage
And fixed the old lawnmower—
After we’ve taken the kids to the Grand Canyon
And fixed up the old family photo album—
When things settle down after that
And we’ve caught up on the knitting
And finish entering our recipes into the book—

In our culture, overcoming a problem
Is a great accomplishment and is worth
One hundred awesome points.

And blaming someone else for it
Is worth a thousand.

The fool will laugh and scoff
And think you an idiot when he
Sees you being careful to vet
The thing he believed on a whim,
Simply because he heard it.

But let the thing be something
False about him and see if he does not
Demand on that particular occasion
The most stringent vetting available.

Such are those who will adopt
A lifetime of scoffing without first
Looking to see how it turns out
For scoffers in the end.

Man with the Cat. See credit.

One could tell that the man was intrigued
At having the truth in the room from time to time,
But he never warmed up to the idea of
Having it move in, and would often
Put it out with the cat.

Nothing is intended with regard to the identity of the man in the portrait.

If your plan requires
That people have to change
In order to get it done—

Surely there is nothing wrong
With either my church or yours.

By the most peculiar coincidence,
I know of a great many churches
That adamantly remind the world
That no one can earn his own salvation,
And zero churches that teach that he can.

Now let us watch the man and see
Whether he takes a notion
To make himself any better
By use of whatever he learns along the way—
Or what excuse he gives if he does not.

Something tips the balance
From a matter-of-fact acknowledgment
Of what the others are doing wrong
To a bitter rage about it.

And though I cannot say what all may cause it,
It seems to happen most commonly
When one’s own shortcomings and sins
Have been removed from the equation.

It is the dream of a lifetime for so very many
That they could have a life detached from
The reality of cause-and-effect—
Such that they could be as careless
Or as stubborn or as rash as they like,
And never have those chickens come home to roost.

And they will invest their lives in that dream,
Enlisting the help of concoctions, clerics, and counselors
As needed to dull their minds—
And all the while, calling him the heretic
Who points out the realities of the very God
They claim to worship.

Though it may seem complex,
Their problem is quite simple:
They do not like this Reality into which God
Has set their lives, and are unwilling
To be accountable for their choices.

*The painting is Sophie Anderson’s No Walk Today. See the credits here.

His party is right, he tells us,
And the other one is wrong—
And they really ought to know better, the idiots.

And for the life of him, he can’t fathom how anybody
Could be that gosh-darn stupid and blockheaded.

And he thanks God he’s not one of them.

And now, dear reader,
Having told you this much,
I leave it to you to discern
From the information given
Whether this man is
A Democrat or a Republican.

What does it say about us
That so many are afraid to ask?

Is it not that we are somehow
Afraid of the answers?

And really, who would want
To live that way—
Scared of reality?

Life in the constant smog
Can make people forget
What a clear day looks like.

Many will reason that Adam and Eve
Had not been ready to receive
The knowledge of good and evil,
And simply partook too soon of something
That would have been altogether
Proper for them—somehow—at a later time.

But I have lately come to wonder
Whether it had not been the very plan of God
That they should begin right away in that
Cavalier discovery of those two ways in which
They had been created naked—
And of what all was to be done about it.

It was the first grand demonstration day—
The result of which being that most of us
Did get dressed in the one way—

Even if having as yet little clue as to the second,
And going around half naked while fully clothed.

Finding no hope
In the beginning,
Some turn to the end—
Clamoring over the Revelation
And eager to find in it—
Or perhaps to imagine—
Something more promising than
That tired, old Genesis—
Long-since abandoned
As of no particular intrigue.

For they are not interested in
Living out their own quests
For which they were made—
But in slipping in upon
The glorious ending
Of someone else’s.

And they have missed—
I think—
The very point of being.

Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness,…

Genesis 1:26a. NIV. See chapter.

He’ll not understand the end
If he has not given himself over
To the beginning.

I’m as practical and pragmatic as the next guy, so when something’s gone wrong, I can often find a suitable workaround. I can even make do with said workout for some time, if need be.

He decides to tell himself what he is like,
And then to believe it.

And he thinks this settles the matter—
As if he could not possibly be wrong.

But he could.

*I chose the image simply because it’s a man looking into the mirror. It just happens to be a depiction of Socrates, however, which fact I didn’t put in its caption for fear of it having any sway over how this piece might be read. The work is listed as: Socrates Looking in a Mirror, print, Bernard Vaillant, after Jusepe de Ribera (called Lo Spagnoletto)

Atop his body sits a box so important
That he takes it with him wherever he goes.

If you want to hide a treasure
Where few are likely to find it,
Hide it behind the work
That few are likely to do.

The help of competent friends is a blessing
That those without it can hardly imagine.

It is a common perversion of humans
That they should hate one injustice,
But not another.

People are just too afraid
Of truth
Of growing
Of interacting
Of being wrong
Of learning anything
And of making any changes.
They are much more comfortable
Half the time having their eyes shut than opened.

People talk of giving their all
As if they really know
How to do that.

So God puts man here in this world first
Because man is not born ready for that second world,
And must have time to learn God’s ways
And to wrestle with his own will—
Should he be the sort to will that.

And so much of it seems to come down
To how the man is willing to see himself,
And whether he will let the truth of a matter
Be the truth—
Or whether he will twist it into something else.

And from there, if and when he ever notices
That his own will differs from God’s,
It comes down to who he really thinks is the boss—
It comes down to whether he will yield himself.

And who among us has the will
To wrestle with his own will,
To make it into what it is not
But should be, according to God?

Many a religion has been fabricated
In order to help men pretend
That they can be right with God
While still defiant in their wills.

Such are cities of Cain—ever empty,
Even when filled with people—
Stout fortresses on this Earth,
Yet fully exposed to the very Heaven
That they assume is their friend.

The man assumes
He’s not assuming too much.

I have not found a church yet
For which there’s not a great deal
In the Bible that does not really fit
With their official beliefs and practices.

There are differing opinions (of old) on whether Azazel and Satan are the same being. So to start off, let me introduce Azazel by what are probably the three most famous passages about him—the first from the Bible, and the second two from 1 Enoch. I present these without comment. Otherwise, I’d be writing a book!:

⁸ And Aaron shall cast lots over the two goats, one lot for the Lord and the other lot for Azazel.^[a]9 And Aaron shall present the goat on which the lot fell for the Lord and use it as a sin offering, ¹⁰ but the goat on which the lot fell for Azazel shall be presented alive before the Lord to make atonement over it, that it may be sent away into the wilderness to Azazel.

Leviticus 16:8-10. ESV

8. And the whole earth has been corrupted through the works that were taught by Azazel: to him ascribe all sin.

1 Enoch 10:8. R.H. Charles Translation

1. And Azazel taught men to make swords, and knives, and shields, and breastplates, and made known to them the metals 〈of the earth〉 and the art of working them, and bracelets, and ornaments, and the use of antimony, and the beautifying of the eyelids, and all kinds of costly stones, and all coloring tinctures. 2. And there arose much godlessness, and they committed fornication, and they were led astray, and became corrupt in all their ways. Semjaza taught enchantments, and root-cuttings, Armaros the resolving of enchantments, Baraqijal,  (taught) astrology, Kokabel the constellations, Ezeqeel the knowledge of the clouds, 〈Araqiel the signs of the earth, Shamsiêl the signs of the sun〉, and Sariel the course of the moon. And as men perished, they cried, and their cry went up to heaven . . . 

1 Enoch 8:1-2. R.H. Charles Translation

Are Azazel and Satan the same being?

I don’t think they are, but Origen did.

Origen pegs Azazel as the serpent in the Garden of Eden.

For the serpent–…–having become the cause of man’s expulsion from the divine Paradise, … having deceived the woman by a promise of divinity and of greater blessings; ….Moreover (the goat), which in the book Of Leviticus is sent away (into the wilderness), and which in the Hebrew language is named Azazel, was none other than this;

Origen. Contra Celsus, Book 6. Chapter 43

She is constantly on display
And seeking approval,
Even when no one is watching—
Worn out in the endless
Striving to meet expectations
That had never had anything to do with
Goodness and love and truth
In the first place.

The new idea, as good and right as it may be—
As true and efficacious as any—
And as much needed for life
As light to the eyes
And air to the lungs—
Seeps through the human’s mind
Until it meets regions where
It is turned away
For causes that may never
Be examined by the one
Whose mind and whose objections
They are.

Why is it that it so often seems that
The greatest thing a leader can do—

That the man should expect
God to reach out to him
Any farther than he has
Already reached out to us all
Is troublesome to me—
As if in the sacrifice of his very self,
God had not yet done enough,
And more were needed.