You got my name right on the first try. Thank you for making the video. The explanation, especially the end, helped me understand your use of the word. I also agree with your categorizing Idolatrous Abrahamics in this way, and I also agree with your critique. I have used the term "idolatry of the book." To describe what I’m hearing from you. I love the bible. I’ve believed in it all my life. I've been teaching it for over thirty years. I've made about eighty chapters of the bible into songs. But there is this impulse to make the book into a kind of perfect idol. Instead of actually learning the lessons of the bible. They impose an unrealistic standard of perfection on the bible. They set people up to either become mindless idol worshipers or to reject the bible because, ironically, it isn't a miraculous book. It's as if in the absence of Jesus' miracles, we wanted to make the bible a kind of miracle to wave in peoples faces as if it was itself all the evidence one needed to see to believe. I know this because I realized that was me. The world I grew up in, presented the bible to me as, “The Word of God.” And I was a credulous child. That made the Bible the most important book. I read my children’s bible and started taking the grown up one seriously when I was just 19. I have called myself a Christian all my life. But I have not always believed the story of Jesus the way I believed IN the story of Jesus. But since 2005 I realized I ought to be doing both. Later, I learned that the one I had let slip was the most important. God is to be "worshiped" in spirit and in truth, as Jesus taught. You call it mind, I don't think that is wrong, we are aiming at the same target. I think of spirit as the very essence of conscious life as an individual living being. "God breathed into his nostrils the breath of life (spirit) and man became a living soul." Our embodied minds actions are the indication of what we worship and serve. You don’t have to believe in him, he’s talking to you anyway. Through righteous, honest thoughts. We are all eating the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. We are conscious and at least some of us have conscience. The voice of God, can be heard by the minds contact with the world. Whoever acts rightly on that is pleasing to God. Worship and religion ought to be a projection of the mind’s belief in action. Living and breathing one’s religion faithfully. "For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings." And as the book of James says,"If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man's religion is vain. Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world." When I see someone being authentic and faithful to their principles, especially ones that are good and true. I think of that person as pleasing to God, as the Apostle said. " in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him." So when I see Muslims fighting against their oppressors, I turn to the Christians and say, "Their God has told them to make holy war against the unbelievers, but Jesus told us to turn the other cheek, what is our excuse?" Is this not a beam in our eye? (It is). When I hear valid criticism of the bible or Christianity in general, from unbelievers, I listen. There’s a lot of vitriol, but that is not what I want to project into the world. I am a Christian. I know it is difficult to believe. I know from my experience. I have had my doubts. I’m no better than Thomas. And I feel more ignorant today than I did when I was nineteen, and that was the year I started leading bible studies. The more I learned about God the more I knew how much more there was to learn. And I almost lost my faith in 2005, but that's a long story. Anyway, I enjoy hearing your perspective because you talk about things differently and I find that refreshing. Few take the bible seriously, while not literally. That’s all I could ask of anyone. I can see you doing that, I’ve been doing that too. Jesus uses irony, talks in parables, there are mountains of metaphors. Many Christians simply don’t understand the stories or refuse to live like they know them to be truthful in a way that affects their behavior. Your videos help me think in new ways, my brain has to kick in to handle the new information. I usually think of the new wine as new information, new ideas, but “life experiences” will do just as well. Zephaniah "And it shall come to pass at that time, that I will search Jerusalem with candles, and punish the men that are settled on their lees: that say in their heart, The LORD will not do good, neither will he do evil." "Settled on their lees" old wine in old bottles. There are consequences to stagnation and apathy. There is far too much to learn and do to become inflexible and we will wither away like the fig tree that Jesus cursed, when if we might have obtained good fruit instead. I liked that interpretation. I do want to live forever, and I take the notion seriously that I should be the kind of person that fits into a kingdom of heaven. And the kingdom of heaven is at hand, not far off. I need to act like it now if I believe and I want to live forever. I must act as though I truly believed and that’s a problem because the world is full of doubts. If I believe Jesus is the way, then I will walk in that way. He knows I’m flawed, and forgives me, that’s why he expects me to tolerate and be kind to others. Especially, people that hate me. That is the best part of the parable of the good Samaritan, they hated the Samaritans, they didn’t get Judaism right. That’s not the way to be. If I believe Jesus laid his life down for me. It’s also pretty clear to me that’s not intended as a free ticket to paradise, but an invitation to live life more abundantly. It does not cost you anything. Except giving up the dead life I had living an unworthy life. That has to die. Sure, I can handle serpents with the best of them. And I can to drink up poison like nobody, but I don’t take that all literally and tempt God to answer me according to my foolishness. (I love those verses) I take up responsibility for how I live out my time in this world. That is my cross. I think life is a test. I was very good at taking tests. I have no intention of failing this one. The temptation to idolatry is much deeper and insidious than people realize. Ultimately, it is the worship of self. The idol is an empty vessel, a projection of it’s maker’s mind granting their heart's desires. But when you abide in the truth and the truth abides in you, you shall ask what you desire, and it will be done. Antichrist opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped so that he occupies the place of God in our minds, that is the true temple. The fruit of all the false ideologies and heresies, is death. And we can literally see it happen over and over. They can use the bible to justify all kinds of evil, just like they use Jesus to justify themselves. But that is not faith. And faith is what justifies those that are called and chosen and faithful.
Hi, remember me! You did a video on my question a while ago. I have been on a journey and still trying to figure it out but here is what I have concluded so far.... any organised religion has some truth but also a lot of lies. Catholic Church being the worst. Christians worship Yahushua (wrongly known as Jesus) because they have been indoctrinated to believe in the “trinity” which is a false idol there to make you break the first 2 commandments. Yahuah (Creator) is real and He has shown Himself to me and the truth about religion. The story about the fig tree is that it was in season but it wasn’t producing fruit so Yahushua gave it death. Just like when man is not producing good fruit while on earth by not having a relationship with Yahuah and not keeping the commandments and doing evil, they get death too (they don’t get the gift of eternal life). When God is taken out of man, he dies, just like when fish are taken out of water they die. Christians worship Yahushua instead of Yahuah which breaks the first 2 commands. I started going to a baptist church after our conversation and began to figure out that all organised religion is corrupt. It’s about being a believer in Yahuah and accepting the sacrifice of Yahushua for our sins so we can have a personal relationship with Yahuah. I fasted for 10 days and prayed about the true names of Father and His Son and He showed me Their names. I have since learned how to hear Yahuahs voice. He also showed me that Yahushua is our brother, teacher, saviour of our sins, Master and King. But Yahuah is God who we pray to and worship to etc. In 325AD Constantine changed the original Christianity to make it more appealing to the pagans to try to reunite the masses and keep them under control (a one world religion). Constantine got rid of the High Sabbaths like feast of Trumpets, Yom Kippur, Yom teruah, day of attonement, sukkot etc and replaced them with Xmas, Easter, valentines etc. It’s all to take us away and confuse us so we can’t build our relationship with Yahuah. I could go on forever. I’ve done so much research for truth by praying and crying out to Yahuah and He is Faithful to answer us if we ask with all our heart. Yahushua tells us “I go to my God and your God, my Father and your Father”, yet Christians seem to think that Yahushua IS God?! It’s madness how they blindly listen to pastors and don’t bother to ask Yahuah. I love you and your brain! You are doing so well on your journey of truth. I hope I can bring some light since I’ve done so much work the last few years trying to figure this mess out! Kee doing what you’re doing but ask with passion on your knees to YAHUAH. He wants to show you the truth you just have to have eyes to see and pick up on His voice. Yah bless you! ❤
I am a gentile BTW who has been adopted by Yahuah into Yishrael (Israel). I’m no religion, religion is totally corrupt and so has the bible been. From what I can make out, if we want to be adopted as children of God we have to become Yahudites (Judans) which means doing what the Old Testament says and keeping Sabbaths and keeping the 10 commandments (including Saturday sabbath - Christians are conned into doing pagan sun worship day thanks to the Catholic Church). We no longer have to do sacrifices because Yahushua was our spotless lamb (he full filled the 10 commandments, He didn’t abolish them like Christians think). Basically, I am a believer in the Eternally Self Existing Yahuah and His Son and talk to Him all throughout my day from “good morning Abba (daddy/papa) to goodnight”. He is my Father and my Friend. He guides me, takes away my anxiety’s and keeps me in line so I can try to be a righteous daughter. I learn from Yahushua and His teachings and try to be like Him as much as I can by loving my enemies and trying my hardest to keep Yahuahs law. I pray, read then study the bible to try to figure out what was really said and sing worship songs when in the car or just cooking at home etc. It’s all about having a relationship with Yahuah and it’s truly amazing when you start doing it. He has changed everything about me and I love who I am now. I couldn’t cook beans on toast a few years ago. Now I’m making every meal from scratch, making my own bread daily, making my own medicine, growing my own food, making my own cleaners and soaps, getting into hydrophonics now! I used to gamble, drink, eat rubbish, smoke, had so many addictions and slowly He has taken all the bad fruits out of my life and I feel soooo much better. I basically love Yahuah with all my heart, mind and soul, love my neighbour as myself, feed homeless, help those in need etc and have Faith In Yahushua’s sacrifice so that one day I can go and be with them in a different realm (or on the new earth - I’m still on that journey of mind boggle 😂). Anyway, just thought I’d drop you a line since I’m in a different head space to my previous message from a while back!
