Infantile misuse of Biblical texts

This particular abuse of the text was found on the Mandatory Facebook page.

The context of stoning has NOTHING to do with smoking marijuana or any drug that gets you stoned, it is to do with stoning someone to death, the practice of pelting rocks at them until they die, not smoking weed every day till you are in a drug induced high.

It is anachronistic to read back later definitions of words into the biblical text and as far as abuse goes, this is an egregious misuse of the text.

Answering Judaism.

What is the true rainbow?

As you all may be aware, the rainbow has been used in reference to celebrating the fact that homosexual marriage has been legalized in America. Facebook now has a feature where you can change your profile image to a rainbow colour to join the "celebration".

How demonic, This is truly a profaning of the rainbow. The true meaning of the rainbow is NOT to be a celebration of homosexuality, what the true meaning of the rainbow is the promise that God himself will never flood the world with destruction:

"Genesis 9:8 Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him: 9 “I now establish my covenant with you and with your descendants after you 10 and with every living creature that was with you—the birds, the livestock and all the wild animals, all those that came out of the ark with you—every living creature on earth. 11 I establish my covenant with you: Never again will all life be destroyed by the waters of a flood; never again will there be a flood to destroy the earth.”

12 And God said, “This is the sign of the covenant I am making between me and you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all generations to come: 13 I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth. 14 Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, 15 I will remember my covenant between me and you and all living creatures of every kind. Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life. 16 Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth.”

17 So God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant I have established between me and all life on the earth.”"

This is the reason the rainbow was seen in the sky, a reminder to God that he will never again destroy earth with a flood. For man to pervert the rainbow into a celebration of gay marriage, is truly reprehensible.

Answering Judaism.

Honour your parents: When and where?

"Exodus 20:12 “Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you."

Of the moral commands that apply to us today, this one certainly does and is often overlooked.

Let us get one thing out of the way that Jesus said before we press on:

"Matthew 10:37 Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me."

Jesus says that we are to love him more than our parents. Jesus DOES NOT mean that you are to hate, disparage or hurt your parents, but what he does expect is for all of his followers to love him more than them, but NOT to the exclusion of them. See here on Matthew 10:34: http://answering-judaism.blogspot.co.uk/2014/05/did-jesus-dishonour-his-parents-and.html

What do I mean by not to the exclusion of them? Simple, Jesus himself said the following to the Pharisees:
"Mark 7:6 He replied, “Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written:

“‘These people honor me with their lips,
    but their hearts are far from me.
7 They worship me in vain;
    their teachings are merely human rules.’[b]
8 You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to human traditions.”

9 And he continued, “You have a fine way of setting aside the commands of God in order to observe[c] your own traditions! 10 For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and mother,’[d] and, ‘Anyone who curses their father or mother is to be put to death.’[e] 11 But you say that if anyone declares that what might have been used to help their father or mother is Corban (that is, devoted to God)— 12 then you no longer let them do anything for their father or mother. 13 Thus you nullify the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And you do many things like that.”"

The Pharisee's tradition caused them to serve God at the EXPENSE of their parents, essentially trying to deny that they had responsibility to help their parents when they are old. This is an extreme position to take and Jesus denounced the Pharisees for it.

Jesus doesn't expect you to NEVER care for your parents period, otherwise he wouldn't of condemned the Pharisee's tradition and he would of simply let them be if that was the case.

Mosaic Law called for your death with respect to not honoring your parents.
"Exodus 21:15 “Anyone who attacks[c] their father or mother is to be put to death."

"Leviticus 20:9 “‘Anyone who curses their father or mother is to be put to death. Because they have cursed their father or mother, their blood will be on their own head."

While Christians are not under the Old Testament law and the death penalty is not applicable to the Christian church, it does stress and express how seriously God takes honoring one's parents.

If you think about it, being banned from using your PS3 or XBOX (or whatever game console you use) or being banned from hanging out with your friends via being grounded is a mercy compared to being put to death eh?

Paul himself even stresses the importance of obeying one's parents:
"Ephesians 6:1 Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. 2 “Honor your father and mother”—which is the first commandment with a promise— 3 “so that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth.”[a]

4 Fathers,[b] do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord."

"Colossians 3:20 Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord.

21 Fathers,[c] do not embitter your children, or they will become discouraged."

This exhortation is carried through the NT, Just reading Romans 1 we see the following:
"Romans 1:28 Furthermore, just as they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, so God gave them over to a depraved mind, so that they do what ought not to be done. 29 They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, 30 slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; 31 they have no understanding, no fidelity, no love, no mercy. 32 Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them."

This is indeed quite serious.

Is there a time where disobedience to your parents is allowed, Yes, but only ONE context. If your parents tell you to violate what God has said in his word, Only then can you disobey, but if your parents tell you to do something that is good in God's sight, like help them out, tidy your room or something like that, then carry out what they say. Disobedience to parents is only allowed IF they tell you to disobey God, that's it.

Be bereans and let me know what you think.

Answering Judaism.

PS. Jesus even tells John to look after his mother, which is honouring your parents biblically, but not in the Romanist sense of praying to her or asking her to go to God and other blasphemous doctrines of Rome. See my articles on Mary here:
http://answering-judaism.blogspot.co.uk/2014/12/shoehorning-roman-doctrines-into.html
http://answering-judaism.blogspot.co.uk/2014/10/mary-greatest-woman-who-ever-lived.html
http://answering-judaism.blogspot.co.uk/2014/11/mary-greatest-woman-who-ever-lived-2.html
http://answering-judaism.blogspot.co.uk/2014/11/catholic-dogmas-three-things-worthy-of.html

Difference between propaganda and fact

Propaganda is defined here: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/propaganda

Engaging in propaganda, information used to harm a person or a group, was very common in WW2 in Nazi Germany and many others also engage in it today.

If one is seeking expose a ministry or an individual that is spreading falsehood, they must be able to back their points up and demonstrate such. If they are incorrect on a certain point, they need to be honest enough to correct themselves and instead refute what the person ACTUALLY says, not a caricature of what that person is saying. We all mistakes in haste and need to be willing to admit them.

A propagandist will usually twist facts to sway people to their cause, which is despicable to say the least. This includes defaming a persons character with lies and deception, rather than establish facts about the person, drawn from the individuals actions.

If the person you respond to in question responds, read carefully what they have said and engage the argument. False ministers of the word need to be brought down via the truth, not brought down via lies and propaganda.

Jesus Christ is not honoured when he seeks Christians engage in lies, thus if you are an  apologist for a biblical ministry, seek to uphold the truth when you respond to the person, do not engage in deceiving your audience about a person, for that is a wicked way of the world.

Sometimes, but not always, a person can check the claims of the propagandist and realise they have been led astray, when they actually find out what the position of the defamed individual actually is.

Let us be called to a higher standard in all matters of faith and conduct.

Answering Judaism.

Trinity: A response to David Brainerd

What it says on the tin. I'll just dive in this time.

David Brainerd 4 days ago

Well, if you haven't gotten to the point 2 minutes in, then I doubt you'll ever get to it.

 ·

Hide replies 

bobo577 4 days ago

+David Brainerd I have to mention the Trinity Delusion's point first THEN address the point.

Now here are the points in question by David

David Brainerd 3 days ago

+bobo577 Well as to your response, you just don't get it. The Holy Spirit is not referred to as "he" except in Trinitarian biased English translation. In Greek "he" is not referred to as "he" because of the neuter gender of spirit.

I comment on the point on neuter in this article here: http://answering-judaism.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/challenge-from-facebook-unitarian.html

David Brainerd 3 days ago

+bobo577 Being and person are equivalent terms. We do not ever mean something distinct from the person which they can share with another person when we say being. Trinitarians don't speak human language but Satan's language.

Being is what you are, person is who you are, they are not equivalent terms. It's not that hard. Furthermore the comment given is an ad homenim rather than an actual point.

David Brainerd 3 days ago

+bobo577 God didn't inspire the Bible for Greek philosophers but for fishermen and tentmakers, etc. common men, and common men use the term being to mean the same as person. God speaks the language of the average man, not of sophists like Athanasius and Sam Shamoun. So OUR definition of terms (us common men) IS GOD'S definition of terms. You philosopher types are accepting Satan's definition of terms.

 ·

Instead of attacking Sam Shamoun and Athanasius, why don't you actually address what they are saying? Philosophy has it's time and place and using certain terms to explain the Trinity doesn't mean Trintarians are accepting Satan's definition of terms.

What is wrong with trying to explain the Trinity biblically by using "philosophical" terms? Just because a term is not in the Bible, doesn't make it so. Not to mention even the average man would and could use terms to distinguish between person and being.

David Brainerd 3 days ago

+bobo577 As to the quotation "in him dwells the fulness of the godhead bodily" this means he is NOT God. If he were God, God would not dwell in him, because he would BE God. This is merely saying that the Holy Spirit (here called the fulness of the godhead) was given to him beyond measure (John 3:34) and dwells in him bodily beyond measure.

Robert M. Bowman makes the following observation regarding Colossians 2:9 and 1:19:
"Some argue that Colossians 2:19 ("and you have come to fullness in him") shows the "fullness" of verse 9 doesn't not mean that Jesus has God's very nature. The reasoning seems simple enough: Paul says that we have the fullness, not that we're God by nature; therefore, saying that Jesus has fullness doesn't make him God by nature, either. But this argument misconstrues the relationship between the two statements. Paul is not saying that believers have the fullness of deity dwelling in them bodily as well! Rather, he is saying that God's fullness is found in Christ personally, those who are united to Christ (who are "in him") have the fullness of God's power and love working in their lives. In both cases it is God's fullness, but in the case of Christ it resides in him personally and bodily, whereas in our case that fullness is meditated to us through our relationship with Christ"

and

"Finally we should comment on the argument that Paul's statement in Colossians 1:19- that God "was pleased" for all his fullness to dwell in Christ-proves Christ was not always deity. In context, Paul i referring to the incarnation. He is saying that God was pleased to be fully incarnated in the human Jesus of Nazareth. "It is the same Jesus, crucified and buried but risen again, and now alive for everyone as Christ the Lord, in whom the totality resides." Colossians 1:19 and 2:9 on their own do not address directly the question of the nature of the Son prior to his incarnation."
(Robert Bowman and J. Ed Komoszewski, Putting Jesus in his Place: A Case for the Deity of Christ).

Also regarding John 3:34:
"31 The one who comes from above is above all; the one who is from the earth belongs to the earth, and speaks as one from the earth. The one who comes from heaven is above all. 32 He testifies to what he has seen and heard, but no one accepts his testimony. 33 Whoever has accepted it has certified that God is truthful. 34 For the one whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God[i] gives the Spirit without limit. 35 The Father loves the Son and has placed everything in his hands. 36 Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on them."

John 3:34 is not even talking about the same subject of Colossians 2:9, it is talking about Jesus being sent by the Father and that the Holy Spirit can be given to individuals without a limit to who he may give it to. This is NOT the same context as Colossians 2:9.


Answering Judaism.

3 points of interest, Quick response to cbd94

This is only going to be a quick response to cbd94 to three points raised in an article.
Point #1: This individual is not a Catholic, however he has come to accept certain Catholic beliefs after his own studying of the evidence. I pray he will convert to the Catholic faith as God has decreed that there is no salvation outside the Catholic Church. There will not be exception this individual or any other individuals. God does not compromise on this issue.
God didn't decree anything about the Roman Catholic Church being the instrument of salvation. Quite to the contrary, If anything, the Roman Catholic Church is a puppet used to decieve people and keep many away from salvation. I'll at least commend cbd94 for not saying "Oh you guys are just separated brethren" and recognize these are salvation issues.

Point #2: Bobo577 is not a spokesperson for Christianity nor is he even a Christian. He has told me that he belongs to the Anglican "Church", which is a false institution that was solely created to allow a 16th century mass-murdering king to engage in adultery. Anglicans, along with all other Protestants, are members of a false religion and are not Christians in any sense.
I plan to leave the Anglican Church soon, not sure when, but soon. Having said that, there are Anglicans who are saved and ones who are not. Plus what about all the evil popes in history?

As for the subject of the Anglican history. I would need to look into it.

The subject of the origins of Anglicanism need looking into.

Point #3: I advise all Jews and other people who are seeking information on the Christian religion to avoid the blog of "Answering Judaism" because it doesn't teach authentic Christianity and instead teaches the Anglican and Protestant version of Christianity. Do you want to learn about Christianity or about the Protestant version? I advise people of good will to read Catholic blogs only on this issue.
Yeah because going to Roman Catholicism will work SO well for the Jews and they will be guilty of the same things Catholics are guilty of, necromancy, idolatry, etc, things in the OT they were chastised for and were EXILED for. I won't talk about the issues here and now, I have other papers on this:
http://answering-judaism.blogspot.co.uk/2014/10/mary-greatest-woman-who-ever-lived.html
http://answering-judaism.blogspot.co.uk/2014/10/biblical-and-manmade-tradition.html
http://answering-judaism.blogspot.co.uk/2014/10/forced-celibacy-doctrine-of-demons.html
http://answering-judaism.blogspot.co.uk/2014/11/more-roman-catholic-and-eastern.html
http://answering-judaism.blogspot.co.uk/2014/11/more-roman-catholic-and-eastern_7.html
http://answering-judaism.blogspot.co.uk/2014/11/catholic-dogmas-three-things-worthy-of.html
http://answering-judaism.blogspot.co.uk/2014/12/shoehorning-roman-doctrines-into.html
http://answering-judaism.blogspot.co.uk/2014/11/sola-scriptura-response-to-quinque-viae.html

That's all I have to say. To all readers, just study, pray and look into these things.

Answering Judaism.

Addendum 13th of July 2015: Yesterday I came across this link and I am surprised I found it so quickly.

Go here regarding the history of Anglicanism: http://anglican.org/church/ChurchHistory.html
One of the points in the article, is this:
"There is a public perception, especially in the United States, that Henry VIII created the Anglican church in anger over the Pope's refusal to grant his divorce, but the historical record indicates that Henry spent most of his reign challenging the authority of Rome, and that the divorce issue was just one of a series of acts that collectively split the English church from the Roman church in much the same way that the Orthodox church had split off five hundred years before."

This is isn't to defend Henry the VIII's issue on divorce, but hopefully it will bring to light certain issues regarding him. I would suggest cbd94 actually carefully looks into the issue before rashly making claims.

Heresy of Mormonism: How many Gods exist?

It is very important to know that Christianity and Mormonism are not cut from the same cloth and believe very different things about the Gospel and one of the aspects of Mormonism is polytheism, something that indeed separates it from true Biblical Christianity, ONE of many things.

The Bible makes it abundantly clear over and over that there are NO other Gods besides YHWH. Here are many of the texts affirming this:

"Deuteronomy 4:35
You were shown these things so that you might know that the LORD is God; besides him there is no other."

"Deuteronomy 32:39
"See now that I myself am he! There is no god besides me. I put to death and I bring to life, I have wounded and I will heal, and no one can deliver out of my hand."

"Psalm 18:31
For who is God besides the LORD? And who is the Rock except our God?"

"Isaiah 43:10
"You are my witnesses," declares the LORD, "and my servant whom I have chosen, so that you may know and believe me and understand that I am he. Before me no god was formed, nor will there be one after me."

"Isaiah 44:6
"This is what the LORD says-- Israel's King and Redeemer, the LORD Almighty: I am the first and I am the last; apart from me there is no God."

"Isaiah 44:8
Do not tremble, do not be afraid. Did I not proclaim this and foretell it long ago? You are my witnesses. Is there any God besides me? No, there is no other Rock; I know not one.""

"Isaiah 45:6
so that from the rising of the sun to the place of its setting people may know there is none besides me. I am the LORD, and there is no other."

"Isaiah 45:18
For this is what the LORD says-- he who created the heavens, he is God; he who fashioned and made the earth, he founded it; he did not create it to be empty, but formed it to be inhabited-- he says: "I am the LORD, and there is no other."

"Isaiah 45:21
Declare what is to be, present it-- let them take counsel together. Who foretold this long ago, who declared it from the distant past? Was it not I, the LORD? And there is no God apart from me, a righteous God and a Savior; there is none but me."

"Isaiah 46:9
Remember the former things, those of long ago; I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me."

"Joel 2:27
Then you will know that I am in Israel, that I am the LORD your God, and that there is no other; never again will my people be shamed."

It is very clear from the scripture that there are NO other Gods. What you have are emphatic statements.

Now here are some possible objections to respond to:

"Oh but it means the only God of this planet in those contexts?"
The statements don't imply such a thing, In fact it demonstrates that there is only ONE, period. Other gods are called demons in the scriptures, both the Old Testament and the New Testaments:

"Deuteronomy 32:17

17 They sacrificed to false gods, which are not God—
    gods they had not known,
    gods that recently appeared,
    gods your ancestors did not fear."

"Psalm 106:37 They sacrificed their sons
    and their daughters to false gods."

"Revelation 9:20

20 The rest of mankind who were not killed by these plagues still did not repent of the work of their hands; they did not stop worshiping demons, and idols of gold, silver, bronze, stone and wood—idols that cannot see or hear or walk."

Several more texts could be cited to bring home the point that the other gods of the nations or even the hypothetical scenario that there are supposed gods on other worlds, they would all be worthless idols or even demonic entities. Although the Mormons do not worship these entities, To say that there are other gods that exist, is certainly not a biblical thing to say.

The Old Testament even goes as far as telling us not to invoke deities in and oath or even, not uttering the names of false gods on your lips. This is quite serious.

"What about 1 Corinthians 8:6?"
Let's read:
"1 Corinthians 8:4 So then, about eating food sacrificed to idols: We know that “An idol is nothing at all in the world” and that “There is no God but one.” 5 For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as indeed there are many “gods” and many “lords”), 6 yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live; and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live."

The text is not saying that polytheism is acceptable or is even something Paul acknowledges. What is actually being talked about is that while the world claims that there are many gods, Paul and the Christians affirm and know that there is only ONE God and ONE Lord. See my comments on 1 Corinthians 8:6 here in this article:
http://answering-judaism.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/response-to-savedbybaptisms-arguments.html

"What about Psalm 82:6?"
The text in question doesn't teach that men can become Gods or that they are Gods. As I have said before, What Jesus is using in the context is an a fortiori argument or an argument from a yet stronger reason to further demonstrate his deity, which most anti-Trinitarians overlook. Keith Thompson, CEO of Reformed Apologetics Ministries explains this point better than I do in his documentary "Word of Faith Teachers: Origins & Errors of Their Teaching" which can be found here (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6KIA06kDRw4 Watch from position 56:51-1:00:28).

Watch the section in question if you want to understand what the text itself means.

"If we are polytheists, What about you? don't you believe in the Trinity?"
The Trinity is not polytheistic at all.  It teaches that in the very being or essence of God, there exist Three Distinct persons, Not three beings in one being or three persons in one person . There are not three separate Gods, but one Eternal God which the TANAKH and the NT make very clear. Hence the Trinity isn't polytheistic in the slightest.

"Why don't you pray like in James 1:5 to see if the Book of Mormon is true?"
Let's see what James 1:5 saying:
"James 1:2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters,[a] whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. 4 Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. 5 If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. 6 But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. 7 That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. 8 Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do."

The context has nothing to do with asking if a certain book is true, what it is talking about is if you are uncertain about something and you need the wisdom, God will grant it if you ask. This text cannot be used to prove the book of Mormon or other.

(I have asked God if the Book of Mormon is true and he said NO if any one is curious.).

"I feel in my hear that Mormonism is true"
A feeling in the heart doesn't make something true, in fact, the heart is deceitful above all things (Jeremiah 17:9). Our hearts must never be used as the criteria of truth, many can make this claim that they believe that their religion is true because their heart says so. See the following paper: http://answering-judaism.blogspot.co.uk/2014/06/spiritual-experiences-what-can-they.html

"You need the Book of Mormon to understand the Bible"
Says who, Some fellow who never knew the apostles directly but claimed revelation? I am sorry, The Bible is what is to be used as a witness for or against the book of Mormon, you don't need the book of Mormon to supplement the Bible, nor can it supplement the Bible.

More objections may be looked into if the Lord Wills

Answering Judaism.