We are all familiar with the concept of the Christian hell: A fiery place of eternal torment where the rich man begged for a drop of water to cool his tongue. Such imagery makes us think that hell is a terrible place. But does the Bible really teach that hell is place of everlasting punishment for those who have rejected God’s ways?
Even the question itself would be ridiculous if you read the Bible without contemporary Christian influence. [Read more…] about Hell: The Fallen Doctrine
I remember the first time I read the brief allegory of Jesus in the house of Martha and Mary. I was a little confused. Why would Jesus indirectly rebuke Martha when she asked for help? As the story goes, Martha invites Jesus inside her home. During the course of the evening, Martha is running around trying to get prepared for the evening meal. She gets frustrated because Mary isn’t helping. Instead, Mary is sitting at the feet of Jesus and listening to his words. So Martha, at her wits end, runs to Jesus and complains.
Luke 10:40-42 states: [Read more…] about Martha and Mary: A spiritual Lesson about Love and Duty
I have had many requests for a post on the topic of homosexuality and the Bible. Most have been from people asking for an esoteric perspective. I got the impression that these requests were from straight persons trying to understand how this lifestyle fits in from a spiritual standpoint. Since I am a straight married man myself, I’ve never had a real interest to go into the subject. But I am finally giving in to a recent e-mail asking me to specifically address the topic. [Read more…] about The Bible Does Not Condemn Homosexuality: Romans 1:21-23 Proves It
Today’s post is dedicated to those who may be going through a trial. I am writing it because I myself am currently going through a trail that has taken quite an emotional toll. I know I will overcome it, especially when I put it into the perspective of why we are all here to experience life. Adversity is our friend when we allow it to be, for at some point it, when we yield, and only when we yield, it can reveal our spiritual nature. [Read more…] about Why God Allowed the Israelites to Gorge on Quail
This post will cover Irenaeus and Valentinus, and the seeds of Orthodoxy that were beginning to develop in the second century. If you have been keeping up with the first five parts of this series, then you already know that the earliest Christianity had very different beliefs than today’s Orthodoxy. The earliest Christians relied heavily on Jewish tradition. They followed a strict moral code, subjugating their lives to God through a consecrated lifestyle. They believed that the man Jesus completely fulfilled the Law of God and this earned him a great honor. To the earliest Christians, Jesus was savior because he showed mankind the way to the Kingdom of God through obedience and by the teaching of esoteric wisdom (the science of the soul). [Read more…] about The Great Controversy: Irenaeus and the Development of the Orthodox Church Part 6
To finish our study and truly begin to understand how the Orthodox Church developed, we need to take a close look at Valentinus, who will play a large part of in verbal war of doctrine with Irenaeus and Orthodoxy. I will discuss the life and beliefs of Valentinus first, followed by Irenaeus, and then the exchange between the two as documented by later church fathers such as Tertullian. [Read more…] about Valentinus, the Bridal Chamber, and Meditation: Part 5 of the Development of the Orthodox Church
This post will continue our series on the development of Christian Orthodoxy and the Orthodox Church. In part three I said I would get to Valentinus and Irenaeus, but that will have to wait for part five. There is too much important information I couldn’t leave out, which we will discuss here first. We’ll be covering the late first century to the mid second century with just a few—albeit very important—events in our attempt to understand the broader movement and developments of Christianity.
It is important that you realize history is always written by the victor. [Read more…] about The Didache, Clement, Hermes and Marcion: Development of the Modern Church Part 4
In the first two posts of this series we laid some important groundwork about Paul and Gnosticism. Today I’m going to lay a little more groundwork about the synoptic Gospels and the Gospel of Thomas. This is all necessary before we get into the meat of how Orthodox Christianity and the Early Church formed.
Let’s do a brief recap. [Read more…] about The Development of Christianity: Part 3
In part one of this series, I spoke about the Jesus that Paul preached. I gave five or six reasons and presented more than a few scriptures to justify that Paul’s Jesus was in fact a mythical Christ that served as a model for deeper revelation. Today’s post will continue unveiling some of Paul’s sayings that point to Gnostic principles. This is important ground work and hopefully it will open many doors of understanding for us when we get into how and why the institutionalized church developed (It’s not all about Constantine). [Read more…] about How Modern Christianity Developed Part 2
Since it’s the Holiday season and I’m now off work for a few weeks, I’ve been thinking about the Early Church. I’ve been trying to piece together how early Christianity morphed to provide the framework for today’s Christianity. I’ve wrote about Gnostics and true early Christianity before, but I thought it would be fun to dig in and provide the larger picture for how Christianity started and progressed to what it is today. Of course I’m no scholar, and I’m sure there are a lot of things I will get wrong. But I hope I can provide an interesting timeline with some reasonable evidence to point to a working theory. [Read more…] about A Working Timeline for How Modern Christianity Strayed From Its Origins: Part 1
Many of you have probably heard about all the catastrophic events that were supposed to happen on the earth sometime in September 2015. John Hagee, declared a prophet by many mainstream Christians, gave some the idea that the conclusion of the fourth and final Blood Moon from 2014-2015 would usher in a major change on the earth, a change so grand it would affect all our lives in a measurable way as it relates to the mainstream Christian idea of God and a divine plan. Other, less notable preachers, stated the Second Coming of Christ would be at hand by September’s end. Of course none of these things have so far materialized. And they won’t—at least not according to mainstream evangelistic Christian view. [Read more…] about Eating the Flesh of Jesus
A few years ago I wrote an article entitled, The Spirit of the Tithe: It Was Never About Money. Today we’ll further discuss the real meaning behind the Old Testament Tithe. I would recommend you read the article above first if you still believe that tithing had anything to do with money. In that article I give good reasons as to why it could not. I have learned a few things since that last article years ago, so naturally I couldn’t give all the answers to tithing back then. But the original article still contains some good information and serves the purpose of freeing those who might feel guilty for not giving ten percent of their income to a pastor at a church. This article, however, will get to the real meaning of the tithe, from an esoteric viewpoint, which is the most important one. 🙂 [Read more…] about The Real Meaning of the Tithe
The Jesus of the New Testament has come down through the ages as a carpenter. The Gospel of Mark, chapter six verse three, clearly identifies him as such:
“Is this not the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joses, and of Juda, and Simon?
It is interesting that the Son of God would be a carpenter. [Read more…] about Jesus and the Meaning of the Carpenter