December 2008 Agapetheism –Part Two
This article by Kevin A. Beck, in a continuing series, will help you see God in the light of His true essential character. God is Love.
Fortitude, Pluck, Courage This is the second article, in a series of articles, uses as a back drop, specific words that may or may not be in common usage. These words are being used, as will other words in the future, to expand our mind, and stabilize the heart. October 2008
Freedom to Change
A dynamic person is someone in motion, who is moving as opposed to being static. This article reveals the freedom, that is God given, to change the way we view and approach life when change is needed. By James Forehand.
What’s in a Word? This is the first article, in a series of articles, uses as a back drop, specific words that may or may not be in common usage. These words are being used, as will other words in the future, to expand our mind, and stabilize the heart.
Agapetheism –Part One
This article by Kevin A. Beck, in a continuing series, will help you see God in the light of His true essential character. God is Love.
The Chacter of God This article by, James Forehand, exposes some of the erroneous views concerning the Character of God.
Eternity & Time by John Gavazonni (pdf)
In this article John is reflecting on the nature of eternity and time and their relationship. The reading of this article will require patient thought.
The Way Called Heresy
This article was written by, now deceased,Ray Prinzing a minister of the gospel for many years. He was one who believed in the redemption of all humanity.
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The Jubilee Connection
This article by James Forehand is the inspiration for his ministry and this web site.This article by James Forehand is the inspiration for his ministry and this web site.This article by James Forehand is the inspiration for his ministry and this web site.This article by James Forehand is the inspiration for his ministry and this web site.
Hope Beyond Hell This is an excerpt from Gerry Beauchemin’s book Hope Beyond Hell.
Fortitude, Pluck, Courage
This year, 2008, in September, I ended my sixty-fifth year by riding in a cross country bicycle ride of sixty-five miles called Conquer the Coast, which turned out to be sixty-eight and a half miles. For most people, to ride a bicycle that far takes a fair amount of fortitude, pluck, courage. Fortitude---strength of mind that enables a person to encounter danger or bear pain or adversity with courage. Pluck---courage to meet danger or difficulty. Courage---the attitude of facing anything recognized as dangerous, difficult, or painful.
On this bike ride I encountered obstacles that caused me to question whether I had the strength, stamina, and resolve to complete the challenge before me. I am not athletic or have any special abilities, in fact the opposite is probably true, but what I did have was a desire, a resolve, a determination in the face of extreme fatigue and pain. Doing one of these bike rides is probably sort of like a woman having a baby. I looked forward to the ride. I had trained for about three months. Rode hundreds of miles to prepare for what was ahead. There was exhilaration as the trek started with hundreds of other riders, then the first obstacle---the harbor bridge over Corpus Christi harbor. By the time I got to the top of the bridge my heart was pounding and I was breathing so hard it seemed I would not get enough air---then, there was the exhilaration of reaching the top and the tremendous scenery that enabled me to see across Corpus Christi Bay on a cool, clear day. After the very hard climb up, there was the joy of coasting down the steep decline at high speed, but then once again throughout the ride there were the difficulties that wore away the strength and endurance until all that was left was the mindset, the fortitude, the courage, to gather strength, try and ignore the pain, and finish what had been started. Then the thoughts started coming to mind; why in the world am I doing this?
Crossing the finish line was the birthing of the baby, and as the fatigue, and pain subsided there was once again the desire to do it again next year.
In my now, sixty-six years of life there have been many episodes of life that I have had to, like King David of the Bible, when he …encouraged himself in the Lord, have had to exercise fortitude, pluck, courage, especially among spiritual peers, when going against popular (orthodox) opinion. One needs to pluck up, i.e. rouse one’s courage, take heart, when it would be so easy to stop swimming against the tide, so to speak, and return to that which is familiar, and accepted by friends and family. Being plucky i.e. brave, spirited, resolute, is necessary when the odds are stacked against you and failure is not an option.
So now the question arises, where does this fortitude to prevail come from? This courage comes from deep within our heart; but how did it get there?
To answer that question let’s take a look at two men. The first is Adam; the first man that the Bible says was the first human creation. He lived in a paradise with only one rule; don’t eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. He broke the only rule he had from God which resulted in the sin of unbelief, and just as all humanity has been given Adam’s genes we also have been given his sin. When he was tempted to disbelieve God by eating of the tree; he chose not to exercise resolution and gave in to the temptation and thereby taking all of humanity with him. Maybe pluck had not been invented yet, but because of the lack of courage on Adam’s part fortitude, pluck, courage, and resolution have become a very necessary part of life.
This brings us to the second man in our question. His name is Jesus. I’m not sure which name is better known; the one who got us into all this trouble or the one who got us out.
I don’t know if there was a conversation between God and Jesus or not; if there was it may have went something like this. God--- Son you know all the trouble mankind is having. I would like for you to take on a human body, go live among them pay the price that is needed to deliver them from their hopeless condition, but after you have redeemed them I want you to, by the Spirit, to live within them and give them hope and power to live life. Jesus---I’ve always known that this day would come and You know that I am ready to go.
And He did and you already know the rest of the story. The greatest story ever told. So Jesus came and not only exercised tremendous fortitude, pluck, courage, but He now lives within each of us and has brought into each of our hearts the same power that it took for him to live and die. When we think we can’t go on in this trek we call life remember Christ Jesus lives within you to give you the fortitude, and courage to fulfill your purpose even without us even recognizing what that purpose is. Your purpose may simply be the sum total of your life; what ever that may be, and that probably applies to us all.
"Preaching Christ crucified, risen and coming again." That was a description I chose. many years ago, to sum up what I understood should be the main thrust of an evangelist's ministry, and what I promised would be mine, in an introductory letter I composed to send out to a number of churches.
I had, since age sixteen, served out an internship under older mentors as a gospel singer, but on occasion, also called upon to preach. Barely out of my teens, I felt it was time to launch my own ministry. I wanted the pastors of the churches I was contacting to know that I would center my message in the essentials of the faith, and I would not be "majoring in minors," as the saying goes.
For me, at that time, having been schooled in the conventional fundamentalist understanding of the core issues of the gospel, assuring pastors that I would be “preaching Christ crucified, risen and coming again," I felt would be sincerely portraying myself to them as standing on solid theological ground, so they would seriously consider having me for some future evangelistic series of meetings.
Now, at the time of this writing--- fifty plus years later---I find myself still preaching Christ crucified and risen with all the glorious implications in that which theologians call "the Christ event," BUT looking back in amazement at how I, and those pastors I was contacting, could consider it so very important to preach Christ coming again, when, in fact, quite clearly, according to scripture, HE NEVER LEFT.
Yep, that's what I said: Jesus never left. Since He came into the world, sent by the Father, born of a woman, to be the Savior of the world, He has been Emmanuel (God with us). He is not the dearly, beloved, departed Lord. He has been true to His word, "Lo, I AM with you always, even to the end/consummation of the age." Did you get that? As our Lord stood on the mount of ascension, with His disciples gathered around Him, about to be "taken up from them," He assured them, "....I AM with you always..."
However you might understand what happened as He was taken (received) up, it cannot be understood to mean that He was leaving them. Dear ones, He never left, so from whence has come this centuries-long deluge of concern, teaching, prognostication, exhortation and fixation about Him returning? "Lo, I AM with you always, even to the consummation of the age." Hello! Anyone out there?
Even if one interprets the Lord's promise as primarily referring to the consummation of the age of the law, looking forward to the complete dismantling of the central elements of the Old Covenant in the destruction of the Temple and the city of Jerusalem in A.D. 70, surely it must be inferred, that if He would continue being with them in that transition, He would not absent Himself in the age of the unveiling of the New Covenant, since His indwelling presence as our life, is the very essence of that glorious relationship.
Surely, anyone instructed at all in scripture, must understand the centrality of the presence of Christ, dynamically in, and among those of the community of the faith, and latent within all men, as the very dynamic of the continuing aionian administration of God as the Spirit of Christ causes us to participate in His Person, death, resurrection and glorification.
Having established that, dare we make a difference between Him being with us in Spirit, and actually being with us personally, when Paul sounds the note over and over again, that Christ, Himself, lives in us, that it is He, the Lord, who is "the life-giving Spirit," and He is our life?
Connect the dots, dear ones. If we are indwelt by the Holy Spirit, and Christ lives in us; if Christ is our life, and if the Lord is the life-giving Spirit, dare we even suggest that, in some strange sense, we should be expecting Him to return to us from somewhere "out there?" Where did we get the notion that we'll have to depart this space-time continuum in order to "be with the Lord?" From whence came the notion that the Lord will have make an aionian re-entrance at some time in the future? The average believer simply does not appreciate, nor understand, our Lord's complete, resolute, and irrevocable commitment to be in us, and with us, IN the aion(s),
Well, of course, the claim is made that scripture does teach the return of Christ. Possibly more than any other proof-text---one that colors the interpretation of all other passages about "the coming of the Lord,"---the commentators settle upon our Lord's promise as conventionally mistranslated in John 14: 3. Quoting from the NAS translation---which I for years preferred, and considered very reliable---: "And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that here I am, there you may be also."
Well, that would seem to settle it, wouldn't it? Isn't it clear that Jesus spoke of going, and then coming again; of a departure and a return? No, in fact, it isn't clear at all. Wouldn't those words as translated cause one to scratch their head in bewilderment in the light of what I've pointed out thus far? Wouldn't it amount to a clear-cut contradiction if His real, personal, unbroken, continuing presence is intrinsic to the aionian economy of God?
The problem is easily solved by determining, without theological bias and agenda, what the original Greek has Him actually saying. I will refer the reader to Jonathan Mitchell's translation of this passage as thoroughly accurate and rich in meaningful nuance. You can Google Jonathan's translation, or simply click on to the second of the two url signatures at the bottom of this writing to access our brother's deeply appreciated labor of love.
But for now, for the sake of brevity, I will quote from the Concordant Literal Translation of the New Testament as fundamentally accurate but not quite as probing of the Greek as Jonathan's: "And if I should be going and making ready a place for you, I am coming again, and I will be taking you along to Myself, that where I am, you also may be."
Did you get the difference? It is strategically important to do so. It is NOT, "And if I go......I WILL come again...." It IS, "And if I should be going...I AM coming again." (emphasis, mine). If you do not treat scripture with careful, proper respectful examination, you can easily miss the very obvious. That is that His going and His coming again were concurrent.
They were two aspects of one transition. In going, He was coming. By leaving them as a merely external presence, He was simultaneously coming again to them to indwell them. A simultaneous transition was about to occur His going in one mode became His coming in a new one. He reiterated the same as recorded in the sixteenth chapter, verse 7 of the same Gospel: "But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper shall not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you." (NAS)
Now stay with me, dear reader. Let's be "rightly cutting the word of truth." The very same author, John, in his first epistle, instructed the church that we have that Helper/Advocate/Consoler, and He is none other than Jesus Christ, the righteous One. Add to that, going back to John 14: 18, where Jesus says, "I will not leave you bereaved, I am coming to you.' (Concordant literal version). The coming one was, on one hand, "the Spirit of Truth," (14: 17), yet also to be identified as Christ Himself, who IS "the way, the TRUTH, and the life." (14: 6). Obviously, the Spirit of Truth, and Christ, the Truth, cannot be separated.
In going, our Lord, simultaneously sent forth Himself as---as Paul wrote---"the Lord, the Spirit." "The Helper, the Holy Spirit (14: 26), must not be understood in contradiction to the Person of Jesus Christ. There is a juxtaposition of the Holy Spirit and the Person of our Lord that conventional evangelical theology handles with extreme clumsiness.
It was primarily via Paul, that Jesus would explain Himself more clearly as He promised He would, saying that He had more to say to them but they were, at that moment, not able to bear the further revelation (16: 12). He, later, speaking mostly through Paul, clearly revealed that the Spirit they had received was Himself glorified.
I cannot think of anything more cunningly deceptive, in respect to what ought to be the focus of the believer, than a teaching that has the effect of removing our Lord off to some distant heaven, when the truth is that the heaven of our Lord is the regenerated human spirit where He lives in the glory of His Father. What has been called "the Lord's prayer, opens with "Our Father, who art in Heaven....." I shall never forget asking the Lord what that meant. I was at least clear that the heaven of God's abode was not, as the gospel song says, "over the sunset mountain," or something of that sort.
His answer to me was quick and wonderfully summary: "I dwell in the transcendance of my own glory." Christ is the radiance of God's glory. The Father is in the Son, and the Son is in the Father, and They are in us. Enough of this childish foolishness that would divorce the presence of Christ from the core of our humanness.
When Jesus came, born of the virgin Mary, conceived of the Holy Spirit, "the Word became flesh, and we beheld His glory...." If you would find Christ, look for HIm in the humanness He shares with us. But you must look beneath the encrustation of "the outer man," the man of the self-created, self-perceived persona. Look beyond the man of sin, to the man whom God, in making His Son to be sin for us, has made to be His righteousness.
More, Much More “But not as the offence, so also the free gift. For if through the offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many.” – Romans 5:15
It is interesting to observe that while all Christendom will acknowledge that by one man, and his offence, death passed upon all men, yet they cannot accept the glorious fact that much more the grace of God shall abound unto all men. That one man’s offence could cause such devastation of the human race, because death passed upon all men, does not provoke an argument, for the evidence is all around us. But when one man, Christ Jesus, releases the outflow of grace, through His obedience to the will of God, then people find it hard to believe that this shall have the same coverage, for ALL men.
Yet there is also a MUCH MORE to be brought into account here, for the FREE GIFT is not the same as the offence. One act of disobedience brought the judgment unto condemnation. But by the time the free gift came on the scene, there was not just one offence to take care of, but now it must cover many offences and a multitude of sins. Therefore, how much greater is this free gift, able to go beyond all sin and gain the victory, until ALL shall receive His life.
“For if by one man’s offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ,” (Rom. 5:17). There is no need to describe to what extent death has reigned. But there is a realm, which is greater in its dominion, as we much more reign in life. Death cannot keep its prey, for LIFE is greater than all death, and Jesus Christ is Lord, both of the dead and the living. He hath the keys of death and hell, and when He opens the gates of death, every captive shall be set free, and shall come forth into His life. “Where sin abounded, grace did MUCH MORE ABOUND.” – Romans 5:20
Much more than all the sin and strife,
We see in Christ abundant LIFE.
Almost everyone has, in their lifetime, been to a circus, viewed a side show, or seen a performance on TV that featured lions, dogs, tigers, seals, or possibly chickens, jumping through hoops to the command of the trainer. I don’t know how animals’ minds work, but it’s probably sort of like human minds. Why were they jumping through the hoops? They were jumping because they were trained to do so and for their efforts they were given a treat—a reward, approval. They were simply doing what they were trained to do in order to receive their reward. They were being controlled by the trainer. One could say they were conscientious, which has to do with being governed by or conforming to the dictates of conscience. One who is conscientious would also be meticulous, careful; desiring to do things right because someone is watching and if I do it right I will be given approval; if I do it wrong or refuse to obey, disapproval. Being conscientious has to do with the conscience, that part of the psyche which has knowledge of “right and wrong” with a compulsion to do “right”. Breaking the word conscience down to its component parts gives us “with science”, or we could say two kinds of science. One kind has to do with what has been learned the other kind is what God has put in our heart---two kinds of conscience. In our definition of the two kinds of conscience the first would be, our previous example, the trained animals, which is skill or technique based upon systematized training; something that has been learned. To many of us life is indeed a skill or technique based on laid down laws, rules, accepted behavior, religiosity, or morals, that have been programmed into our mind by those whom we would consider peers or authority figures which is also culturally cultivated.
Historically people have been taught how to live life based on incredibly erroneous information. Religion has taken people down roads of conscientious pursuit to the point of disrupting, or even destroying the lives of the people who were conscientious in obeying the rules, laws, dictates---jumping through hoops to please the “god”. There are individuals who will beat themselves bloody, others will crawl for long distances over rough ground until their hands and knees are bloody, others will have themselves nailed to a cross, and others will commit mass suicide to please their god or an authority that represents a god. That is religion at its worst, or is it? We, who may call ourselves intelligent, civilized, informed, sometimes do the same things in a more palatable manner. Pastors, teachers, religious hierarchy has their flock jumping through all kinds of hoops to please God, to get a reward i.e. to be blessed, gain approval. But who are they gaining approval from? From the authority or from God? We are so concerned about pleasing God we forget it’s not about us---it’s all about Jesus Christ and He Himself pleasing God. We are pleasing to God without jumping through the hoops, i.e. keeping, obeying established laws, because Jesus Christ did for us what we could not do for ourselves. What did He do for us? Jesus fulfilled the Law by becoming the law and being nailed to the tree i.e. the cross. Who did He do this for? He did it for you. Every you, every person that ever has been, or ever will be. God Said, This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased.
So now let’s talk a little about the second science in conscience. Remember the first was what we have learned. The second is that which is unlearned, that which is in our heart, which God has placed in our heart through Jesus Christ.
Paul, an Apostle of Christ Jesus according to the commandment of God our Savior, and of Jesus Christ, who is our hope…the goal of our instruction, is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith….holding to the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience. Our heart is pure because of Christ, which, when we become aware of that purity, it gives us a good conscience---a clear conscience---a perfect conscience. We don’t learn it, we become aware of the purity, the perfection, the love that has been set in our heart by God through Christ. By faith we understand that God has set within our heart a clear, pure conscience—clear, pure—not because we haven’t done anything wrong, but because Jesus didn’t do anything wrong. Jesus was, is, our purity. He was perfect therefore we are perfect in Him. We are …hidden with Christ in God.
Now the question that rebounds in our minds is; so what do we do to serve God? We don’t “do” anything; it’s already been done. Again, according to the Apostle we have a goal.
That goal in life is: …love from a pure heart …
We need to relearn how to be conscientious. Not doing to get approval---not loving to get a reward, but instead being a reward. The Love of God flowing through us to others. It’s not what we do, it’s who we are.
There are times when my wife will say to me, “James enough!” What she is telling me is; I am garrulous. That’s not a word that many of us use very often, if ever. It has to do with a talkativeness that is given to being wordy, pointless, even annoyingly dull or rambling.
The opposite of garrulous could be loquacious which has to do with expressing oneself very articulately or fluently. Now there is a talkativeness that is given to a readiness to talk or a disposition to enjoy conversation. I have friends who are garrulous and it is hard to see the point of their conversation; then I have friends who are loquacious and it can be hard to understand them without a dictionary in hand. I think I have been guilty of the former, but I am have never been accused of the latter. Talkativeness is probably where I best fit. I enjoy talking, sharing experiences of life, or my understanding on a particular subject. I especially like sharing understanding, or experiences that may be of benefit to someone else.
My vocabulary is limited and sometimes I have a difficult time expressing myself, but I do know that the only way that I will be able to expand my vocabulary is to use what I have and add a word occasionally so that it will expand. This can be done by reading and doing what I am doing right now, writing. The old adage “use it or lose it” applies here. You may be thinking right now—James you are getting very close to being garrulous. To avoid that, let me get to my point for writing this article.
I am planning on a regular basis to give the visitors to this web site (www.jubileeconnection.com) words that may expand their vocabulary, trying to add some understanding to their mind, but more than that some substance to their heart.
In the gospel of John the first chapter and the first and second verses it says, In the beginning was theWord, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. Here we see God is called the Word. The common understanding here of God being the Word is referring to Christ as being God. I will not get into that at this time. What I want to emphasize is, God is called The Word. But why is He called the Word? Let’s think about that for a moment. When we say a word, if we understand the word, immediately there comes to mind a vision that the word describes. For instance I say car. If I had never seen a car, never heard of a car, the word car would have no meaning to me. But because it does have meaning, when I hear the word I don’t have to think about it for I easily understand. So the word car does not expand our mind, unless I say carro, which is Spanish for car. We may or may not understand carro, but it gives the same description with a word from another language. So words are used to give us understanding; they are descriptive.
So again; God is called The Word. Why? In the book of Genesis chapter one verse three—Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. God spoke and there was. God is called the Word because He is beginning of expression. Whatever He spoke came into being. God is the Word.
Not only is God called the Word, but Christ is also called the Word. Again in John chapter one verse fourteen; And the Word becameflesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father (God), full of grace and truth.
Christ is the full description or expression of God. Jesus Christ said; if you have seen me you have seen the Father. Christ was the initial expression of God. The first expression of God came through Christ, and everything else came into being or expression through Him.
So now let’s sum this up this way. Names are also words that describe people. When I say the name Loretta, a person may or may not come to your mind; however when I hear the name Loretta all kinds of visions, descriptions, or expressions come my mind because that’s my wife’s name. Forty-six years worth of visions, descriptions, impressions immediately flood my mind.
What happens when we hear God’s name. Do all kinds of visions, descriptions, expressions, and impressions of Him go through our mind? As we interact with someone, spend time with that individual, we begin to get to know them, and their name begins to be more meaningful to us.
He’s our heavenly Father, creator, redeemer, savior, our light in a dark world. In fact spiritually He actually lives within us guiding our lives without us even having to ask him. He has put this world in motion and we are part of that motion. We are God’s most precious possession, and when He sees us He see us without fault, because He sees us through His faultless Son Jesus Christ. We are infinitely important and valuable to Him.
So here we are seeing God who created this universe with a word, and in particular us, so when we go through our life meeting individual people let’s remember, each one came from God, and because we came from God in a sense is god, and as His words had power, our words have power as well. Just as we express ourselves with words God expressed Himself through Jesus Christ, humanity, and the whole universe.
Lest I become voluble, which suggests a free, easy, and unending talkativeness, I will conclude this article.
What is the character of God? What are His essential qualities? What is His nature? Is He dependable, trustworthy, and compassionate? Why would we consider whether or not God possesses these characteristics? Why? Because these are the essential qualities that we expect of people that we look up to, admire, or pattern our lives after, so God should, at least, have these qualities.
Why should we even have to ask these questions? Why should we even need to ask whether God possesses the high moral ground concerning His character? Why? Because of many erroneous views of God. Because of many people who claim to follow, or represent God, but do not have the above essential qualities.
Under the old covenant (the Law of Moses), which God had with Israel, God “appeared” to be vengeful, hateful, intolerant, possessive, controlling, and maybe arrogant. Many “followers” of God have felt justified in taking on these attributes because they felt that they saw them in God. Saul ( later to be Apostle Paul) was an example of this by him beating, imprisoning, and even executing those who had moved on into the new covenant of God that He had made with the world through the cross of Christ. He believed his actions pleased God because of what he saw in the old covenant. Other leaders such as Hitler, and his followers felt they were pleasing God by killing the Jews, and ones such as Jim Jones, and David Koresh controlled the people, who were following them, and felt they had the power to determine whether their followers lived or died. Those who enslaved the black people, and essentially women, believed that God gave them that right. Many feel they are on the high moral ground when they persecute gays, and people of other races, because they felt God was prejudice against these because of the Law of Moses. Many people today feel that prejudice is okay. Why? Because many, if not most, church leaders are still actively teaching and practicing the Law of Moses. They will say they don’t, but if they are attempting to keep one law they are obligated to keep all of the law. Under the Law of Moses God was exposing the sin nature of mankind. The law exposed, because of the sin nature, the necessity of God needing to exert total control over mankind’s actions, and showing the failure of mankind to keep God’s law, and the necessity of a new heart.
So we see that God’s character needed to be what it was under the old covenant law to show humanity their need of a change of heart that would come from Jesus Christ. That heart change would be for all mankind, even though most would not recognize that fact. God’s true character would come to light under the new covenant.
We ask the question again. What is God’s character? What is His essential quality?
It’s Love!
Let’s give love a definition through a little poem:
Love is saying to someone I want the best for you And I’m willing to be a channel For that best to flow through
In God’s case it is the channel for love to flow through.
Under the old covenant God was expressing love because He was giving mankind what they needed. It could be called tough love. The law was good, but it was impossible for mankind to keep (obey) the Law of Moses i.e. the old covenant. God exerted a strong measure of judgment because of humanities failure, which in turn caused mankind to fear God. All this was going somewhere. There was a purpose, and it reached it’s fruition on the Cross of Calvary when Jesus cried out “Father forgive them for they know not what they do”. And He did! He did what? He forgave all of humanity—past, present, and future whether they asked Him or not. It was a total covering (atonement) for all of humanity. What kind of character would God have if He didn’t do in Christ what He did in Adam? What did He do in Adam? He pronounced all humanity as sinners. And what did He do in Christ? He pronounced that same humanity as righteous. Was anyone required to ask Adam into their heart to become a sinner? No! So in turn should anyone be required to ask Christ into their heart to become righteous? No. None were left out of Adam’s sinful act; likewise none were left out of Christ’s righteous act. When was mankind forgiven for their sin? They were forgiven before the foundation of the world. They were forgiven even before there was sin. God did not require an action on humanities part to be redeemed from sin. He required an action on His part for mankind to be redeemed. He showed under the law that mankind could not do what was required for them to be righteous. We now see that under grace that God did for all humanity what they could not do for themselves. The true character of God is love, grace, mercy upon ALL of His human creation. The sooner we proclaim the true character of God the sooner we will see the world change. We are not waiting for an uppertaker to take us up, or an undertaker to take us down, but we are waiting for a revelator to reveal the true character of God to all humanity. We are waiting for someone to re-present Him to the world. Hell is a non-issue when we know the true character of God.
In Leviticus 25we see a picture that would be brought to fulfillment– brought to fruition– to completion–by the Son of God, Jesus Christ. It was a picture of the grace of God– of the gospel, good news– the redeeming love of God.
Under the Mosaic Law God was the ruler of the nation of Israel. As ruler He ordained laws that they were obligated to obey. These laws weren’t necessarily convenient for everybody, but were necessary for the good of all. These laws taught unquestioned obedience to God. It taught them to trust God. One particular law revealed the equality of all. This was the Law of Jubilee. There may have been different levels of leadership , economic, educational, and social status, but ultimately everyone was on a level playing field as far as God was concerned. This equality was illustrated once every 50 years through the Year of Jubilee.
There were many people, possibly through no fault of their own, who were victims of poverty. As a result they may have lost their inheritance, i.e. property, land, because of their poverty. Actually the land did not belong to the people, but to God. They were stewards or managers of the land. They may have also lost their freedom because of debt and became a slave to their debtor. The Year of Jubilee focused on the fact that God was the God of all not just a few.
The Law of Jubilee spoke of Justice. This justice had to do with restoration. Restoration had to do with the people who had lost their land i.e. inheritance. Their land was restored to them in the Year of Jubilee. Justice also had to do with freedom. Their freedom was restored. They were set free from the bondage of debt. The ones enslaved to debt were returned to their families. The debtors did not have a choice as to whether they would return land that originally was owned by someone else. They had no choice but to cancel financial debts. They had no choice as to whether debtor slaves would be set free. It was theLaw, of Jubilee. In between the Jubilees, the fifty year period, one could be redeemed, bought back, from loss of land or freedom by a kinsman (kinsman redeemer). If no redeemer was available then one must wait for the Year of Jubilee.
When the trumpet (shofar, ram’s horn) was sounded abroad, throughout the land of Israel, The Law of Jubilee went into effect. All who were bound by debt were set free! But there was coming One Who would proclaim to all the world ..you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free...
In Isaiah 61 we see a prophesy of the fulfillment of the Year of Jubilee. Under the old covenant (Mosaic Law) the Year of Jubilee was for the Israelites exclusively. A foreigner did not have the rights of an Israelite concerning the Jubilee. In verses 1 & 2 it was pointed out that One was coming Who would be anointed (empowered) with the Spirit of the Lord God. He would bring good news (gospel) to the afflicted. He would bind up the brokenhearted, proclaim liberty to captives, and freedom to prisoners. He would proclaim the favorable year of the Lord i.e. The Year of Jubilee. The One Who would accomplish this would be Jesus Christ. He would become
the Year of Jubilee. This accomplishment would not only be for the Israelites, but for all mankind. It would not be every fifty years, but permanently– past, present, and future. The Lambof God, redeemer, slain from the foundation of the world. He would be the kinsman redeemer.
This also would be the day of the vengeance of our God. He would take vengeance against sin i.e. poverty by judging all of mankind in the body of Jesus Christ. As a result of all mankind being crucified in Jesus Christ we would be comforted, released from our captivity to sin. In all this God would be glorified. Praise the Lord!
In the next scene concerning the fulfillment of the Year of Jubilee we come to Luke 4:18-21.
Jesus Christ has come to the earth as a human being. He is Jesus–a man. He is also the Christ–God.
He is the Son of Man. He is also the Son of God. He is thirty years old and He comes into the synagogue on the Sabbath. He is handed the book of the prophet Isaiah and He found the place where it was written (Isaiah 61) The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel (good news) to the poor (those under the poverty of sin). He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives (all who had been captivated by sin), And recovery of sight to the blind ( all who had been blinded and lost their way because of sin), To set free those who are downtrodden (freedom to all who had been beaten down and bound by sin), To proclaim the Favorable year of the Lord(The Year of Jubilee).
So we see that the curse of poverty i.e. sin to be totally reversed by Jesus Christ becoming–our restoration–our freedom–our righteousness–our provision–our redeemer–our deliverance–our salvation–our Jubilee. And the grandeur of all this is that it is all mankind’s position before God. It may not be their experience, but it is their position.
The Jubilee Connection is humanity, all mankind, being connected to the old covenant Year of Jubilee by the sacrificial death, burial, resurrection, ascension, and Pentecostal return of Christ to live in all. It was for freedom that Christ set us free...so that God may be all in all.
Hope Beyond Hell
Are you at peace regarding the eternal destiny of your children, parents, brothers, sisters, grandfather, grandmother, aunts, uncles, cousins, and friends? Are you experiencing abundant joy in your "personal" salvation while unsure if some loved ones might suffer through all eternity? How is that possible? You see, we Christians have a problem, a very serious problem. The problem is in our belief that hell is "eternal" and that most of humanity will go there. Deep inside we know something is not right, but we suppress our questions and doubts because we "think" the Bible teaches it. What inner conflict rages within! It is futile to find satisfying answers to the problems it raises. For example:
How can an all-powerful, all-knowing, and all-loving God create billions of people knowing most will be tormented in hell forever?
Why must our free will to damn ourselves be "absolute," greater than God's "free will" to save us-- His property?
How can Adam's power to condemn us be greater than Christ's power to save us?
Please do not accept pat answers to these critical questions. Jesus commands us to judge for ourselves what is right (Lu. 12:57). What is right about a punishment that never ends? How has this teaching affected the spread of the "Good News"-- the Gospel? Think about it, an "eternal" hell...
Maligns God's character before the world.
Contradicts His unending and unfailing love for all people.
Makes our worship stem from fear instead of true affection.
Denies His unlimited power to accomplish His will.
Makes man's will greater than God's will.
Infinitely minimizes Christ's triumph over Satan.
Denies Christ fully accomplished His mission on earth.
Violates the divine witness revealed in every conscience.
Negates the most glorious promises in the Bible.
Ignores the testimony of the early Church.
Robs us of peace and joy.
Affects what we become; like father-- like son.
Hinders world evangelism.
"Test all things (1Th. 5:21). Have you tested this teaching?
For most of my life the fear of hell stalked me, ever waiting for an opportune moment to rear its ugly head. Just the idea was like a sword slicing through me. It has been the greatest stumbling block to my faith. In fact, I almost gave up on Christianity because of it.
Hell is a horrifying thought. Millions have been terrozied by it. Some have even killed their children to spare them such a fate. If we would truly grasp the horror of it, we would go insane. Our every waking moment would have to be spent sntching whoever we can out of the fire or nothing but constant guilt would torment us. Can you imagine the horror of suffering "forever?" What is a billion years? It is but a second in eternity. Who could possibly imagine such horror? What if one of your loved ones should go there? Does this thought affect how you feel about God?
This theme has gripped my heart as it afflicts millions of people and dishonors God before the world. After years of wrestling with this topic, studying the Bible, and reading the works of others, I have found that hell is a judgement given from the disciplinal hand of a loving Father. Though severe, it serves a good and remedial purpose.
One of our greatest presidents agreed. In Abraham Lincoln the Christian, William Johnson stated:
Abraham Lincoln did not nor could not believe in the endless punishment of anyone in the human race. He understood punishment for sin to be a Bible doctrine; that the punishment was parental in its object, aim, and design, and intended for the good of the offender; hence it must cease when justice is satisfied. All that was lost by the transgression of Adam was made good by the atonement.
That is the message of this book. It is indeed good news for those tormented over the destiny of lost loved ones! Millions in our land can relate. Though the subject is hell, the book is really about God. What is He like? Have you heard the cliche: "God is good--all the time?" Well you will find solid support for ut here. God is good even in His judgements. They are not infinite and horrendously cruel. But just, righteous, and remedial.
If you find I am manipulating the Scriptures in this book, then please leave it. But if not, be ready to fall in love with an amazing and wonderful God!
Tradition
You invalidate the word of God
for the sake of your tradition
(Mt. 15:6 NAS; Mt. 15:3,9)
If religious leaders of Christ's time could invalidate the word of God for the sake of tradition, is it not possible today? Is the Church somehow immune? Only in 1995 did the Southern Baptist Convention finally submit an official apology regarding their stand on slavery. Yes, slavery used to be accepted in Christendom. Many debates took place for and against slavery with each side quoting the Bible. However, when one considers that the letter kills and the Spirit gives life, and our beliefs must harmonize with the sprit and tenor of the Bible as a whole, the argument against slavery takes on new force. The same applies with the case against an "eternal" hell.
Traditions endure for generations, are highly revered, and are extremely difficult to change. There are no harder forms of error to confront and correct. When Paul and Stephen decalred to their fellow Israelites that God's mercy extended to the Gentiles, they were stoned. Do we hold to any traditionas for which Christ might rebuke us? If we refuse to acknowledge any inconsistencies in our beliefs, how will we ever know?
This book examines the Augustinian tradition of everlasting punishment, so called because it stems principally from the theology of Augistine, who is said to be the father of the western Church. This tradition assumes that the vast majority of the human race will never be saved. This is based on passages such as, "Narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it" (Mt. 7:14). But is this what Christ meant by these words? This book presents strong evidence why this could not be what Christ and the Apostles taught.
Most Christians have not fully thought through the serious implications of this tradition. In essence, it teaches that an all-powerful and loving God has created a world knowing full well the majority of His creation would spend an eternity in suffering. How can this be?
Although this is what tradition assumes, most Christians, in their heart of hearts, do not embrace it. In Hell Under Fire, Daniel Block, professor of systematic theology at Westminster Theological Seminary, wrote, "The traditional doctrine of hell now bears the marks of odium theologium-- Its defenders are seemingly few." Though its defenders may be few, the doctrine itself continues to terrorize millions.
The tradition that an all-knowing, all-loving, and all-powerful God would create a world where the majority of His human creatures are destined to spend eternity in suffering is incomprehensible. What greater horror has the world ever known?
Implications
These people draw near with their mouths and honor Me with their lips, but have removed their hearts far from Me, and their fear towrd Me is ttaught by the commandment of men.
(Is. 29:13)
What is this passage saying? It is warning us about a fear toward God taught by the commandment of men. Could Augustine's teachings on hell be just such a commandment? Certainly, it removes our hearts far from God! Can we honestly say our affection toward God has not been influenced by this horrid doctrine? Has the thought that God might punish you or your loved ones forever in hell ever hinder your love toward Him?
This tradition seriously affects our understanding of God, including our whole outlook on life and how we relate to people. Do we not reflect, at least to a degree, the character of God we worship? If we think seriously about the implications of this teaching, it will lead to certain undeniable conclusions as mentined previously.
Confronting Our Tradition
A tradition begins when someone's interpretation (in this case Augustine's) is accepted by others and passed down through the generations. How many Hindus, Buddhists, Muslims, and Christians hold to beliefs solely because they have been passed down to them? Should we not critically evaluate for ourselves our tradition? "Test all things; hold fast what is good" (Th. 5:21). "Why do you not judge for yourselves what is right" (Lu. 12:57)? Christ strongly warns us about the traditions (Mt. 15:3, 6, 9). Perhaps you have struggles with hell as I have. Maybe you have longed that somehow, in this case, tradition is wrong. If so, read on. But before starting let us consider one important point.
The Scriptures
The Bible has been translated from ancient tongues and cultures by men who carry their own ideas into their translations. They cannot help reading the ancient manuscripts through the lens of their personal theology. They are only human. Since most have held the doctorine of eternal torment, they unwittingly filtered all they translated from that mindset. That is why we must constantly be on our guard, like the Bereans (Ac. 17:11), comparing Scripture with Scripture base on the original Greek and Hebrew words. It is naive and irresponible not to do so.
Unless God gives us ears to hear, the Bible will remain a mystery (Pr. 20:12; Lu. 8:8). For unless He opens our minds and hearts, we toil in vain. "For our sufficiency is from God and not of the letter...forthe letter kills, but the Spirit gives life" (2Co. 3:5, 6). The Ku Klux Klan are known to have based their evil actions on the "letter" of Scripture, but did they know its Spirit? "Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth" (2Ti. 2:15).
To help you rightly divide the word of truth, I submit the folowing basic principles of interpretation for you consideration:
Pray for understanding.
Trust Scripture to interpret Scripture rather than commentaries.
Remember that the ancient eastern custom was to use language in the most vivid way possible.
"Are you not therefore mistaken, because you do not know the Scriptures not the power of God" (Mk. 12:24)? I encourage you to meditate on the Scriptures presented in this study, for they focus strongly on God's power. Follow the example of the Bereans, who were "more noble" than the rest, for they did not just take someone's word for it, but searched it out for themselves (Ac. 17:11). To do this you will need a concordance listing words according to Greek usage, not English. I highly recommend the The Word Study Concordance, by George Wigram and Ralph Winter. You do not need to know Greek to use it. Winter explained:
The Word Study Concordance traces not English but Greek words. You can find listed every passage where a given Greek word occurs regardless of how many different ways it may be translated into English. Even the best lexicons are basically some scholar's reflections on the data drawn from a concordance. Once you have read these Bible passages yourself, you have acquired something no dictionary can easily give you-- a certain intinctive feel for the word. You have become conditioned by the actual use of the word (which is the most normal and reliable way to learn any word in any language), not to equate it to some other word. Students often try to short-circuit this process and go directly to a lexicon.
We are blessed to have access to excellent Bible study tools enabling us to better understand God's Word. With a humble spirit and a prayerful attitude, let us look intently into God's written revelation seeking to understand His character and purpose in His judgements. Let us now critically examine the foundation pillars that have made belief in everlasting punishment possible.
Introduction from "Beyond Heaven and Hell", by Gerry Beauchemin.
“But this I confess unto thee, that after the way which they call heresy, so worship I the God of my fathers, believing all things which are written in the law and in the prophets.” – Acts 24:14
The word ‘heresy’ literally means: ‘to take, to choose’; and then can be understood as to refer to the belief which was chosen. The Dictionary gives it to mean “religious opinion opposed to the authorized doctrinal standard of any particular church”. Thus, an opinion held in opposition to the commonly received doctrine.
While in a negative sense it refers to one who has chosen a cultist doctrine, methinks there is also a positive sense for those who use the right and privilege of choosing to pursue truth regardless of the commonly accepted traditions of men – though those traditionists will brand them as heretics.
Of the way of the Pharisees Paul was well familiar, and well he knew that “in vain do they worship Me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men,” (Matt. 15:9). He had an encounter with God, and the Light had shone deep into his being, now he desired to WORSHIP THE GOD OF HIS FATHERS, and it was esteemed a way of heresy, because he was ready to BELIEVE ALL THINGS which are in the law and in the prophets. It was this realm of ‘believing’, this faith in the truth which set him apart from all other ways. He was now a part of the very WAY, which earlier he had persecuted so violently.
All the Jews know about this ‘sect’ that was everywhere spoken against. Of our Lord also it was said that He was “set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel ; and for a sign which shall be spoken against,” (Luke 2:32). He, who came forth, visible expression of the invisible God, was spoken against by all those who refused to receive and believe Him. Therefore it follows that all who would FOLLOW HIM would likewise be spoken against, branded as heretics. Organized religion has always been against those who would believe the truth, choosing beyond what their traditions offered. But truly we have found it to be a way of joy, life, and victory.
As I reflected on the theme for Transmillennial 2006, It’s All About God, a question struck me. “Which God?”
In today’s pluralistic world, ‘God’ might mean many things. Is it the god of fundamentalism (of whichever religion)? Is it the god of Platonism, deism, or preterit-deism that suggests god finished his business sometime in the past and now is simply letting things run? Is it the god who sits on a throne and determines the course of human events?
When it comes to God, generally speaking we seem to have one of two broad options. The first is polytheism (or Many-gods-ism). This is the belief that there are many gods like the pantheon of Greek, Roman, Norse deities. The second is Monotheism (or One-god-ism). Monotheism is the belief that there is one and only one god.
It would appear that today’s world has opted for polytheism. We have Eastern gods and Western ones. Pagan gods and druid gods. Gods whose followers practice yoga or pray five times a day or take communion every Sunday.
The gods in today’s globalized world compete in the marketplace for adherents. They’re like a fast food menu. Would you like you god(s) to be Hindu, Buddhist, Taoist, Muslim, Ancestral, Jewish, or Christian? Would you like to supersize that god?
Many people reject metaphysical gods all together in favor of the all-encompassing secular gods that go by the name of Science, the Market, or the Economy.
At this point, you may think I’m loopy. You might be wondering, “Wait a minute. There is only one God. The One True God, and all other gods are not really gods at all. Only one God spells his name with a capital G (and maybe a capital OD too). It just so happens that this ‘capital G’ God is my God.”
If this is what is going through your mind, then you are a monotheist. Supposedly, one of the hallmarks of Western society is “Monotheism”—or what Thomas Cahill calls, The Gift of the Jews.
Unfortunately, most ancient Hebrews simply were not monotheists. Most ancient Hebrews—even including first-century Second Temple Jews were Henotheists. (Henotheism is not the worship of chickens.) If polytheism is the belief in many gods, and monotheism is the belief in one (capital G) God, then henotheism is the belief that there may be many gods, but I serve only one god. It is “my-god-ism.” Henotheism says, “You have your god. We have ours.”
Many Biblical passages indicate that ancient Hebrews leaned toward henotheism. Like Commandment 1. “You shall have no other god before me,” has “other gods” built right into the equation.
Three Problems with Monotheism
Upon close inspection, we find three big problems with Monotheism in today’s world.
Problem One. Almost everyone who gives a flip about God is, ultimately, a monotheist. Hindus have Brahman. Buddhism has enlightenment or pure consciousness. Taoists have Tao. Muslims have Allah. Jews have Yhwh. Christians have Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
So the question might not be, “Are you a monotheist? Instead, the question is “which monotheism do you accept and practice?” At this point, you might object: “All those other (small g) gods aren’t the same as my (capital G) God.” All this simply illustrates the second big problem with monotheism.
Problem Two. Many (if not most) folks who see themselves as monotheists are henotheists in disguise. “They have their god and we have ours—even if their god is only a figment of their imagination.”
This type of monotheism-that-isn’t-monotheism finds expression in terms of “Our God has selected us to be his special people.” We are the one nation under God or the One True Church, and as such we see ourselves as having a duty to be faithful to this one God by bringing the rest of the world under the rule of our God. We might do this via “evangelism,” imperialism, holy war, or in court. Steven Poole, in his book Unspeak, describes the “playground game of My-God-Is-Better-Than-Your-God.”
On the world stage, one group wages a holy war against another, and the other responds with its leaders announcing a crusade. Within Western society, religious monotheists wage a war on secular monotheists, who return fire by attempting to wipe out public conversation related to God.
The point is that many monotheists (who are really henotheists) often express their version of theism through some type of violence. It seems like children of the Lord far too often resemble Children of the Corn. In her book, The Curse of Cain, Regina Schwartz argues that monotheism is violent by its very nature. While that may be an overstatement, it gives us a cogent and stern critique to consider thoughtfully.
Problem Three. Almost no one is a monotheist—even those who claim to be monotheists. Hinduism has Brahman but also a pantheon of other divine beings. Islam has Allah but also powerful forces like jinn. Buddhism has Enlightenment but also samsara. Christianity has Father, Son, and Spirit but also demons, an Antichrist, and a malevolent anti-god. While no good monotheist would equate evil or harmful spiritual beings as being gods in their own right, it seems like these beings get a lot of credit for being nearly god.
Beyond that (and more to the point), we in the West (including Western Christians) talk about all of the gods of our society. They may not go by the names of Zeus, Baal, or Aphrodite, but they are our societal gods just the same. We call them the Economy, the Market, Democracy, Liberty, the Media, Hollywood, the War, Society, and Culture. We ascribe to them personalities, principalities, and powers. “The Economy grew stronger last quarter. The Market is nervous. Democracy is spreading.”
We see the hand of these gods at work as they determine our fate. We offer them sacrifices of higher interest rates, 401(k) investments, and ticket sales.
Even within Christianity, each sub-branch has its own god vying for our attention and acceptance. The god whose body becomes bread literally. The god who hand selected you for salvation and your neighbor for condemnation. The god who wants you to take communion every Sunday. The god who wants you to honor him on Saturday night. The god who likes organ music and the god who prefers rock and roll. The god who doesn’t permit women to speak in public worship services. The god whose real followers speak in tongues and the god who stopped miraculous work 2,000 years ago. The god who is going to kill two-thirds of all Jews in a nuclear holocaust while faithful Christians levitate into heaven.
Now, besides the fact that everyone is a monotheist and no one is a monotheist, monotheism works just fine.
God and Monotheism
But here’s the rub. Doesn’t the God we read of in the Bible (the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob) want us to acknowledge him and only him as the One True God? It would seem so Biblically. The Shema: Yhwh our God is One. The prophets, in passages like Isaiah 44:10, ridicule idolatry (which isn’t necessarily the same as monotheism). Christian Creedal traditions emphasize monotheism first and foremost. Nicene Creed begins with the famous words: “We believe in one God…” But the history of the creedal formulations shows that these were designed to exclude political opponents far more than honoring the One True God.
However as I see it, there is a bigger question: “Is God’s ultimate purpose getting all people to recognize that there is only One True God?” Let me put it more bluntly: Is God’s ego so big that God needs everyone’s conscious recognition in order to feel like it was worthwhile creating us in the first place? Is God so insecure that God needs my verbal (if not mental) acknowledgement in order to feel complete? Let me phrase it another way, “Did God call Christ to the cross simply to get our attention?” Maybe we’d be well served to remember James 2:19.
I believe that unlike us God does not live from the outside in—seeking affirmation from others. Perhaps there is something else at work. Something bigger that God is concerned with, has always been concerned with, and always will be concerned with. As I see it, God’s primary concern—God’s overarching interest—is love. The New Testament word is Agape. I believe that God poured so much of himself into love—that God so identified with love—that the apostle John could say without fear of being contradicted, “God is love.” Theos agape esti.
This truth, this realization, this call can help us transcend the debates of what Jonathan Kirsch calls “God against the Gods.” The disputes of monotheism versus polytheism have gotten us nowhere. The wars over the proper brand of monotheism have caused no little amount of bloodshed.
So today I am calling for a “New Kind of Theism.” A theism that transforms the fruitless millennia of fighting over who owns the rights to God—as if God were a commodity to be brokered.
Today, the new kind of theism I am calling for is Agapetheism. Agape—Love—tells us who God is, what God does, and what God calls us to. Agapetheism is simply this: Approaching God in terms of Love, not number. Exploring Agapetheism
Agapetheism frees us from metaphysical speculation on the “attributes” of God and jot-and-title squabbling over the “right way” to honor the One True God. It breaks down the barriers between secular and sacred versions of god. Agapetheism opens for us the freedom to love God without restriction, to see God everywhere, and practice the presence of God regardless of the situation because wherever love is God is present.
Jewish theologian Abraham Heschel described God as the “God of Pathos,” the God of Passion. Taking this as a cue, Agapetheism changes our focus from looking at God as a Being “apathetically out there somewhere” to being the passionate One in our midst and in our hearts. A God who is filled with passion is fully engaged. A God (as John Caputo reminds us) of tears and compassion who is moved by our sighs and cries.
Agapetheism defuses fights over God because love does no harm, is not puffed up, does not seek its own. Agapetheism doesn’t even enter the religious fracas, because Love is not in fights over God. Love does not behave rudely.
Speaking of behaving rudely: Agapetheism never asks someone, “What do you believe?” Instead, Love asks, “How can I serve you?” Do you see the difference?
This takes me back to the Christian creeds for a moment. Of the major creeds, do you know which ones mention God’s love? Apostles’ creed? No. Nicene? No. Chalcedon? No. They go into detailed formulation on what their framers consider to be the one true nature of the One True God, but they all ignore Love—which God is. This leads me to ignore the creeds. By ignoring Love and instead focusing on who is in and who is out, the creeds help establish deep structures in historic Christianity that run counter to both Christ and God. It is time we transcend these patterns and form new deep structures.
But perhaps you feel a need to formally express your faith. Jesus formulated and expressed Agapetheism like this: “Love God, and love your neighbor as yourself.” That’s enough. Anything more than that is too much. Once we get this down to an art, then maybe we can move on to something else. However, I suspect once we practice loving God and our neighbor that we won’t ant to move on to anything else.
But what does that mean? How do we live Love? 1John 3:17-18 tells us to love God by being generous to others. We can practice Agapetheism by practicing compassion. You express love for God wherever you encounter another person, because “compassion” is literally “feeling with.” Jesus and Agapetheism
Let’s unpack Agapetheism a little bit more. A good place to start is with Jesus in Mark 12:28-34. Jesus affirms there is one God (which ultimately everyone believes), but he reveals something surprising about this God. Actually, the scribe reveals it, and Jesus agrees.
God has not instructed you to conquer the word in his name. All that God wants is for you to experience love because in experiencing Love you experience God.
According to Jesus and the scribe, the way to express love for God is not through acts of piety or worship. Not by sacrificing, singing, or praying. Instead, theway to love God is by loving your neighbor as yourself.
See, God and your neighbor have a lot in common. They are both what Jacques Derrida calls the “wholly other.” Both God and my neighbor are “not me.” For me to love either one calls on me to open myself, to create space, to embrace. In opening to the neighbor who is “wholly other,” I open to God.
Jesus affirmed the scribe’s answer about loving God and others by telling him: “You are not far from the Kingdom of God.” Why was the scribe so near? Because he intellectually knew the significance of loving God and loving the neighbor (the other)? Or was it something else?
A parable. Once there was a Christian who attended praise gatherings weekly. She sang, prayed, was baptized, took communion, and even spoke in tongues. But she threatened her children and ignored the homeless. She told diseased people that it was a punishment for their wicked ways. She prayed that she would eventually be pulled off the planet to keep bad things from happening to her while million of others would be left to suffer unspeakable horrors. At the same time, there was a Buddhist (or maybe it was a Muslim, or it might have been an atheist) who never set foot inside a church building or worship warehouse, never read the Bible, and never took communion. But she visited the sick, took food and clothing to the homeless, and volunteered in a HIV/AIDS clinic. She encouraged her children to express themselves even if they disagreed with her. Which of these is closer to the Kingdom of God? Seeing God, Seeing Love
As I read Jesus in the Gospels, this is what Agapetheism is all about: loving God by loving others. The apostle John asked, “How can you love God who you haven’t seen while hating your brother or sister whom you have seen?” This realization helps us make practical sense of the controversial phrase, “Every eye shall see him.” When we look with the eye of love, we see God. Because seeing is not about what is seen. Seeing is a reflection or a projection of the See-er; it is a commentary on the one who is seeing.
Perhaps you’ve encountered Rubin’s Vase. A black and white drawing. Look at it one way and you see a vase. Look at it another way and you will see two faces looking at each other. What do you see? There are two images, but only one is visible at a time. What you see depends on what you are looking for.
Now consider a homeless person. What do you see? What are you looking for? In Matthew 25, Jesus said that he is that homeless person. On another occasion, Jesus told Philip: “If you’ve seen me, you’ve seen the Father.” To put it more bluntly, “To see a homeless person, a sick person, a lonely person, an injured person—to see Another person—is to see God.” So when Jesus said, “The poor you will have with you always,” we can hear, “God you will have with you always.”
When we look with the eyes of love, we can’t help but see God and God’s kingdom everywhere, because Love is in our gaze, and God is Love.
Love helps us see God and God’s Kingdom in a fresh light. John Caputo (in The Weakness of God) wrote that the Kingdom of God is the event called by the name of God. And what is the name of God, but Agape? Love! The Apostle Paul put it like this in Romans 14:17, “For the kingdom of God is not food and drink but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.”
When we are moved by love, speak love, embody love, enact love, transmit love, and show love, we are doing nothing less than expressing the Kingdom of God, the Domain of Love.
This is October 2008 and there is a presidential race tacking place. They are making accusations back and forth to try and discredit each other in an attempt to win voters to their side. One of the accusations made in presidential campaigns is—He changed his mind. Changing ones mind is not a freedom that a candidate has the right to do. Why don’t they have that freedom? They don’t have the freedom to change their mind because that is a sign of weakness, wishy-washiness, or unstableness. Remember John Kerry, the 2008 presidential candidate, who stated that he voted for the war before he vote against it, or Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney who changed his mind about abortion, or, coming up to date, John McCain changed his mind about drilling for oil off shore in the Gulf, or Barak Obama changing his mind about sources of energy for the US? It was not politically correct for them to change their minds.
As I see it change is not only a fundamental right, a freedom, but, in many cases an important necessity. Change is an important part of our world. Winter changes to spring, spring changes to summer, and summer changes to fall, and if we don’t change with them, in some parts of our planet, it can actually be deadly. I am finding that as I grow older there are changes taking place in my body. I could deny what is so very obvious and refuse to change the way I live my life and suffer the consequences, or I can change things such as try to eat as healthy as I can, get plenty of exercise, get preventative medical care, and proper sleep, and discontinue harmful habits. For most of us that takes a lot of change. It would indeed be foolish to refuse to change a way of life that may be harming us. Some may say that it is too late for me to change, you can’t teach an old dog new tricks, or I am set in my ways. None of these are true as long as we are still breathing, our heart is pumping, and we have sufficient brain waves.
My former pastor, Warren Piersol, had this saying—there’s nothing more permanent than change, and I have found that to be true in my own life of sixty-six years, but he also said not to change just for change sake. We shouldn’t change just to be changing, or to follow the crowd, but to be ready and willing to change when the need is evident.
There have been many significant changes that I have experienced; changing seemingly has become a way of life for me. Life without change is static even stagnant, for life is not static, it’s dynamic. As I have already mentioned, our world, yea even the Universe, is not static, it’s dynamic, for if one is static that one is not moving; however if one is dynamic that one is in motion.
The last few years have been very dynamic for me in that I have experienced dramatic change; in fact I call it a paradigm shift, in the way I view life, God, His dealing and relationship with humanity, but most of all the way God views humanity.
Change is not only dynamic, but it is also a freedom to choose how we will live our life. In the Bible, Galatians one verse one, the Apostle Paul stated; It was for freedom (change) that you were set free… What was the change? Mankind was set free from the strictness, of following the Mosaic Law, to the freedom, dynamics, of following a new law of love; of listening to ones own heart.
Now this brings us to the conclusion of this article. What is the major change that humanity needs? It’s a change of heart! God has deposited within us, that is within our heart, one law; which is the law of love. You may ask, how you know that law of love is in all humanity, and I would answer, because God has deposited within all humanity the Spirit of God and God is love. A dramatic change in our world took place 2000 years ago when Jesus Christ died on the cross. Our world changed in that moment when Jesus cried out Father forgive them for they know not what they do---- It is finished!
Time actually ended at that point and started over. The way God dealt with, and views mankind started over. He put a new heart in us, a heart of love.
So why don’t we love? We don’t love because we are not willing to change or we are unaware of the need or availability. Someone could go to my bank deposit a million dollars there and if I never became aware of it I could die in poverty. It was applied to my account, it was my possession. That’s the importance of sharing with the world who they really are in Christ. Why do we still need civil laws after two thousand years? Again, because most do not know what’s been deposited in their account. In many nations of the world they do not have the freedom to change as we do here in America because they live under a theocracy that mandates theocratic laws upon them. We must never allow our government to mandate theocratic laws upon us which would take away our freedom to change.
A Poem
I’m free to have a brand new start
I’m free to listen to my heart
I’m free to have a change of mind
I’m free to be a different kind.