(01/08/2018) Mythology Opposes Christian Belief

From the Spiderwick Chronicles, a series of 5 children’s books for ages 9-12 by Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black, published 2003-2004.  I first mistakenly took this plate that describes the Phoenix as being from Audubon.

Today, personal testimony is shared on the value to Christian believers of idolatry, mythology, and alternative belief systems (e.g., Buddhism, Hindu, Islam).  The mature Christian asserts that what he speaks and thinks are products from the operation of GOD within man, yet, accepts personal accountability for his use of the gifts and endowments from GOD.  All are challenged to apply and be fruitful through autonomy, balance, boldness, focus, restraint, and self-government.  Readers who have followed the development of my written works from the 1970’s have seen that, for me, mysteries of the phoenix come into view that include the Incarnation of divinity, rebirth through fire and judgment, immortality, and the apprehension of sacred wisdom.  The truest forms of divine wisdom instruct against such elements as anger, fear, hate, love of death, exaggerated pride, prejudice, and presumption.  A fighter in the “Yahoo! Answers” forum using the ID “Yaw Jian fong” (I have “jian fong” translated as “see that Bhudda” — Level 5 with 7,423 points, a member since November 16, 2010) posted the following:

How should Christians deal with mythology-related things?

What I mean is anything related to the myths of any culture or religion, from gryphons (Greek) to medieval European legends and the Ramayana (Indian). They are "myths" because they are usually about subjects that are not true, but were so treasured by their cultures for making their histories somewhat more interesting.

However, mythology also contains certain elements that are unacceptable to Christian laws, such as other gods and spirits, idolatry, and mysticism. How should Christians deal with such things, including Christians who enjoy mythology-related matters?

Should they use them with caution, or completely avoid them for compromising their beliefs?
Update: I prefer that the Christians should answer this question. Many atheists already consider Christianity itself to be "mythology", so they do not need to answer.
Update 2: In short, are mythology-related things acceptable to Christians (as long as they do not trap themselves into believing them), or not?

THE GOLDEN ARROW:  For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh:  (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds;)  Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;  (2nd Corinthians 10:  3-5, King James Version, KJV)

THE  DOUBLE DAGGER:  The Fullness of GOD? (05/21/2017); Tools For Knowing Divinity (05/12/2017); Abstractions, Atheism and I.Q. (08/18/2016); The Accounts of Giants (05/24/2016); The Cross and Critical Thinking? (04/13/2016); Convicted By His Humility (09/10/2015); To Study the Book of Judges (09/09/2015); The Baptist and The Tishbite? (02/18/2015); Escape from Racism (10/24/2012); Christians Who Ignore GOD’s Laws (10/25/2012)

“Yaw Jian fong”, here is something I will share that has not come from the Adversary.  Christians are to be “in the world,” yet, not “of the world.”  As developing believers who are not ripe (mature) for harvest by Jesus at his Second Coming (we also say, Advent, his appearing, the Rapture), Christians focus on the acquisition of sacred knowledge and spirit content conveyed through doctrine and the holy writings, and imparted through discovery, fellowship with other believers, gradual growth, learning, and ongoing sacred practice (e.g., praise, prayer, sacrifice, unselfish service, and worship).  Given that the consciousness and self-will (we also say, willpower) of Christians is transformed by operations of divinity, Christians are a “new creation” that exists on a higher plane as well as that of the world.

Following my graduation from the University of Chicago (U of C), whose registered heraldic coat of arms displays a legendary figure, (the red phoenix) as a symbol of learning and wisdom, I was privileged to teach at Federal City College, here, in Washington, DC (that is now respected as the University of the District of Columbia).  This school also uses a form of the phoenix (the firebird).  During late 1970, I decided to build a book publishing house to preserve a personal testimony as a Christian believer that would further nourish and prepare others as the body of Christ world-wide.  Being an African American, who was not able to garner necessary support after designing a system for public education of Black children when I attended school at Harvard and U of C—and understanding that for Black lives to matter, we might have to accomplish our goals and secure respect by dint of arms.  To admonish and caution those at our much touted schools of divinity and theology, oriental institutes, and seminaries who would leave me “marooned”, I chose a coat of arms bearing a black phoenix.  When appealing to educated men, such as myself, symbols in and from the world operate as a bridge to dialogue and exchange.

In addition to dramatic and legendary accounts, complete and properly configured belief systems should address the nature of knowledge and knowing; the origins of existence and life; time, space, and other frameworks that connect discrete and disparate meanings, standards, and values as well as descriptions for the otherwise invisible, unknowable and unknown actors, agents, and causes who have brought about the possibilities and things that are actual (i.e., things carnal, material, secular, and social that have measurable dimensions).

Christian belief does use parables (object lessons), verbal descriptions, and illustrations from oral traditions.  Even so, Christianity is clearly far from being founded on a platform of fables (accounts that use animals acting and speaking to provide moral instruction), superstitions, and accounts of the occult.  Every Christian begins as a sinner who must undergo a transformation that is so comprehensive and profound, believers are instructed to say, You must be born again.  Existing as a full and mature Christian requires inseparable aspects of spirit content from the makeup of divinity.  Included are faith, forbearance, forgiveness, holiness, longsuffering, lovingkindness, respect, wisdom, and wrath against sin.

Of course, there is far more that could be said.  (For example, according to world history (that is secular), by relying on the finite and temporal tools of mankind (e.g., emotion, idolatry, intellect, logic, carnal reason, philosophy, and science) there will never be more available in racist nations than apartheid, “Bantu education,” and the teachings that Blacks despair and hold to self-destruction nor can Black lives in America, and all lives through out the globe, be lived with freedom to explore, grow, share, and realize human potential that includes a capacity to demonstrate and display divine substance.)  Even so, I trust this fragment will be useful.  Be it unto you according to your faith.

Washington, DC

(01/07/2018) Two Become One Flesh

Today, gender roles in marriage, holy matrimony, and being joined to GOD are topics.  Much of what we read regarding family and marriage in the holy writings speak to the social institutions made by mankind, not the sacred institution used to generate life and impart godliness to human couples.  Marriage in Bible times often responded to population events such as epidemic disease, crop failures, famine, and warfare that repeatedly might result in the destruction of from twenty to one hundred thousand or more males in a single battle.  Initially, polygamy (1 man, many wives) and polyandry (1 woman, many husbands) were practiced for survival, and to restore communities that otherwise would be wiped out.  Union of two Christian believers can be thought of as “arranged marriage” and “pre-ordained” in the sense that both partners of the pair already are committed and “belong” to a divine person, Jesus Christ.  Just as a couple becoming husband and wife does not eliminate their accountability and duty as individuals having their own parents, siblings, or an employer, their union as spouses does not remove all their privilege as distinct persons having separate self-will, and who are to maintain both self-government and integrity of conscience. A writer in the forum shared by “Yahoo! Answers” who  uses the ID “Krystal Rice” (the profile information was lost) posted the following:

Biblical roles as a husband and wife?

Me and my husband are both growing in our spiritual walk with God. But we are having a huge issue!!! He thinks the only role a woman plays is to submit to the man, which is true, but it’s not the only role. Bible says we are to submit to eachother out of reverence for the Lord & that the man provides and puts the woman’s needs first. With his issue lingering for the past week he has begun to be cold and dictates I do certain things. I want him to lead us as God leds the church but I also want to be heard. He posed that I either submit/ do what he says or leave the relationship.

What do you guys think and how should I handle this? Its more about understanding than anything. & perception.

THE GOLDEN ARROW:  And unto the married I command, yet not I, but the Lord, let not the wife depart from her husband:  But and if she depart, let her remain unmarried, or be reconciled to her husband:  and let not the husband put away his wife.  But to the rest speak I, not the Lord:  if any brother have a wife that believeth not, and she be pleased to dwell with him, let her not leave him.  For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband:  else were your children unclean; but now are they holy.  But if the unbelieving depart, let him depart.  A brother or a sister is not under bondage in such cases:  but God hath called us to peace.  (1st Corinthians 7:  10-15, King James Version, KJV)

THE DOUBLE DAGGER:  When Believers Practice Divorce (12/10/2017); Separate Yet Not Alone (06/28/2017); Conforming to Divine Standards (06/18/2017); Marriage Is A Sacrament? (06/11/2017); The Relationships With GOD? (11/30/2016); In Relationship With Divinity? (08/16/2016); The Wife of Your Youth? (12/22/2015);  Sermons About Good Sex? (08/25/2014); About Good Sermons? (08/26/2014); The Church as a Bride? (05/15/2013); How Do I Repent? (05/16/2013); A Life Companion? (11/07/2012); On Asking Why (11/08/2012)

“Krystal”, consider the following that comes from a focus wherein the divine purpose for marriage is to establish oneness without sameness.  In sacred marriage, the two become one flesh, and GOD is the other.

Even, within the body of Christian believers, today, spiritual confusion may be found regarding gender roles, and sexuality for men and women.  The church is to understand that, by the sacrament (sacred practice) of holy matrimony, a man and a woman undergo a divine operation—one akin to the creation of Eve from the rib of Adam, and that is not merely sexual joining (we say, coitus, congress, intercourse)—to become “one flesh” as life companions with divinity.  Where both members have lives in commitment to GOD through Jesus Christ, their separate obligations and relationships to the three persons within the GODhead (the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit) are not annulled, canceled, diminished, or replaced.  Correctly understood, the two are even more the new creation in Christ, and are gifted to serve as those who display the imparted Spirit of GOD. 

There are other divine operations that are being carried forward.  Sinners are “recruited” to become reborn and endowed with divine substance through repentance, and water baptism.  The inborn spirit is to die, be buried, and restored from the dead; and a “born again” believer is to result.  Even so, the transformation for mankind to exist as immortal and incorruptible (we say, perfected) is not complete.  Salvation is not a “one-time” event; those who are born again must “grow up again,” and become ripe (mature) for harvest at his appearing (i.e., the Advent, the Rapture, the Second Coming of Jesus Christ).  They are to display their own divine substance as developing believers who are now offspring of GOD, and joint-heirs with Jesus.  Included are faith, forbearance, holiness, longsuffering, lovingkindness, respect, wisdom, and wrath against sin.

Husbands and wives are to be co-workers through their shared lifestyle and daily routines that can proclaim the good news (we say, the Gospel) of salvation, rebirth, and the return of the Lord for those members of his body (the church), who are to reside in the heavenly City (the New Jerusalem).  Arbitrary differences are put aside.  In the newness of his resurrection (rather than what men are quick to call “Christian law”), believers continue to encounter the same “growing pains,” life challenges, and suffering with others on the earth.  Through the imparted Spirit, the pair will experience permanent change that prepares them for the day of the Lord.  There must be discovery, fellowship with more mature believers (e.g., clergy, prayer leaders, their own parents), gradual growth, sacred knowledge in place of secular knowledge, as well as comfort, edification, and exhorting the church through prophecy.  The transformation will be completed “in the twinkling of an eye” as they are lifted up to “meet the Lord in the air.”  Consider again the following that uses language from the Bible:

(1.)  Matthew 19:  4-6, King James Version (KJV):  4 And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female,  5 And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife:  and they twain shall be one flesh?  6 Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.

(2.)  Ephesians 4:  4-6, KJV:  4 There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling;  5 One Lord, one faith, one baptism,  6 One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.

(3.)  Mark 10:  2-5, KJV:  2 And the Pharisees came to him, and asked him, Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife? tempting him.  3 And he answered and said unto them, What did Moses command you?  4 And they said, Moses suffered to write a bill of divorcement, and to put her away.  5 And Jesus answered and said unto them, For the hardness of your heart he wrote you this precept.

There is far more to be said, correctly examined, and made a part of our own developing belief.  (For example, (4.)  Galatians 3:  27-29, KJV:  27 For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.  28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female:  for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.  29 And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.)  Even so, I trust this fragment will be useful.  Be it unto you according to your faith.

Washington, DC

(01/05/2018) Certainty, Conviction and Faith

Faith and Hope are inseparable sacred substance, and the presence of one is evidence that the other exists also.

Today, topics include certainty, conviction, and faith.  The evidence for spiritual things must itself be spiritual in its makeup, process, and product.  The makeup of any aspect of divinity is always found to be its own essence and elemental substance.  Thus, for example, faith is made up entirely of faith; holiness is made of nothing else, only holiness.  Despite the excellence of our schools, universities, and present-day technology, neither angels nor mankind can generate or manufacture the aspects of divine spirit.  Sinners are to discover within themselves and others the multiple divine substances that were imparted to mankind in Creation, that now have become dulled and muted through the operations of sin.  By becoming “born again” all may receive a fresh endowment of spirit content that includes forbearance, forgiveness, gratitude, joy, humility, longsuffering, lovingkindness, meekness, purity, and the sovereign will of the Father.  A fighter in the “Yahoo! Answers” forum using the ID “John” (Level 1 with 10 points, a member since November 21, 2008) posted the following:

Why are believers so convinced that 'spirit' (what gods are made of) exists, even though it is non-physical and not detectable in any way?

It seems strange to be so sure about something which can only be though about, and not be experienced in any other way than thinking about it?

THE GOLDEN ARROW:  Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,  To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you,  Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.  Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations:  That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:  Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory:  Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.  Of which salvation the prophets have enquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you:  Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow.  Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things, which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven; which things the angels desire to look into.  (1st Peter 1:  3-12, King James Version, KJV)

THE DOUBLE DAGGER:  Knowing What To Believe? (12/31/2017); Law of the Spirit (12/27/2017); Divine Holiness and Sanctity (12/25/2017); Wisdom In A Mystery (11/22/2017); About Using “Sacred Logic” (11/19/2017); All Divinity in ONE? (11/17/2017); Tools For Knowing Divinity (05/12/2017); Proof That GOD Exists? (10/16/2016); The Focus Upon Spirit (09/12/2016); Convicted By His Humility (09/10/2015)

“John”, divinity, active presence, and spirit can be apprehended and realized through events, joining, and utterance.  Your error is in “thinking” that divinity and sacred content imparted from the makeup of GOD (we say, breath, life essence, spirit, Word) can not be discerned (i.e., recognized and properly responded to by using ones own spirit makeup as a standard).  There are many things in existence that can not be completely or correctly examined and known relying only on finite human tools such as emotion, intellect, logic, carnal reason, secular knowledge, and science.  Among the many unseen things that have meaning, quality, and value for the living are consciousness, endurance, hope, justice, mind, personhood, thought, time, and truth.

Where “to know” means having certainty, unalterable confidence, and conviction that may only increase, Christian believers acknowledge that their ability to communicate, exchange and interact as created beings and living creatures with GOD and with one another requires spirit content be imparted from the fullness of divinity (we say, the GODhead; the three divine persons; the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit).  Included are balance, completeness, faith, forbearance, holiness, oneness without sameness, purpose, righteousness, wisdom, and wrath against sin.

The things from GOD do not “seem strange” to sinners who become “born again.”  Their inborn spirit must die, be buried, and restored to life from the dead, so to speak.  As those sprung forth from seed and divine DNA, those who are “reborn” are called “offspring”, “sons and daughters of GOD,” and joint-heirs with Jesus Christ.  The children of GOD are all “developing believers” who must become “grown up again” and mature for harvest at the coming of the Advent (the Rapture, the Second Coming) while meeting life challenges, enduring “growing pains,” and living under the mechanical, natural and social law of the earth.  Believers may complete their mortality (die), prosper, or suffer.  All who receive a fresh endowment of spirit from the makeup of GOD are to display the divine character and nature through their fellowship, practice, lifestyle and living routines.  Consider the following that uses language from the Bible:

(1.)  Romans 1:  16-22, King James Version (KJV):  16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ:  for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.  17 For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith:  as it is written, The just shall live by faith.  18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;  19 Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them.  20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:  21 Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.  22 Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,

(2.)  1st Corinthians 12:  3, KJV:  3 Wherefore I give you to understand, that no man speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed:  and that no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost.

(3.)  1st Corinthians 2:  7-14, KJV:  7 But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory:  8 Which none of the princes of this world knew:  for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.  9 But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.  10 But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit:  for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.  11 For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God.  12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.  13 Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.  14 But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God:  for they are foolishness unto him:  neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

There is far more to be said, correctly examined, and spiritually apprehended.  (For example, (4.)  Romans 8:  5-9, KJV:  5 For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit.  6 For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.  7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God:  for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.  8 So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.  9 But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.)  Even so, I trust this fragment will be useful.  Be it unto you according to your faith.

Washington, DC

(01/04/2018) Power Of The Tongue

Today, topics include breaking New Years resolutions, keeping ones promises, and Christian believers always speaking the truth.  Ones words and speech may bear fruit (produce) such as comfort, encouragement, sacred knowledge, and wisdom; and ones misuse of words as gossip, hate, lies and slander can result in death, misery, self-destruction, and suffering.  Many followers of Jesus Christ regard “New Years” resolutions to be a departure from sacred commitment, discipline, and practice.  Swearing on oath, making promises, and making verbal contracts and vows always imply that specific goals for change and progress can be met relying on self-will and responses to conditions that are carnal, material, secular, and social.  A fighter in the “Yahoo! Answers” forum who used the ID “levi” (Level 1 with 75 points, a member since March 17, 2016) posted the following:


Does god or Jesus get mad if we break our New Years resolution? If so how can I make him unmad?


THE GOLDEN ARROW:  The words of a man’s mouth are as deep waters, and the wellspring of wisdom as a flowing brook.  It is not good to accept the person of the wicked, to overthrow the righteous in judgment.  A fool’s lips enter into contention, and his mouth calleth for strokes.  A fool’s mouth is his destruction, and his lips are the snare of his soul.  (Proverbs 18:  4-7, King James Version, KJV)


THE DOUBLE DAGGER:  Free Speech in Church? (12/18/2017); Actual Utterance From GOD? (08/11/2017); Divinity Must Be Proclaimed? (05/09/2017); Should Christians Cuss? (04/17/2015); A Slip of the Tongue (09/17/2014); Which Things We Speak (09/18/2014);  Freedom of Foul Speech (09/10/2014); Dating and Worship? (09/11/2014); All Lying Forbidden? (03/04/2014); Wrong Not to Forgive? (03/05/2014)


“levi”, breath, utterance, and Word are spirit substance that makes known the active presence who is GOD.  Therefore, the place of commitment, the giving of ones word (we say, promise), and the speaking of truth have special meaning and value among mature Christian believers.  Believers are to be the “voice of GOD on the earth.”  The respect we show the Creator should also appear as we deal with our brothers particularly when they are at fault and in error.  As those who are “born again” continue to “grow up again”, accepting permanent changes in their own character, makeup, and sacred content, many aspects of divine process and revelation become increasingly clear.  Consider the following points:

(1.)  Utterance and word are divine tools to convey and impart spirit substance from the makeup of divinity.  Included are awe, declarations of love, determinations in judgment, forgiveness, oneness without sameness, personhood, proclamation of law, prophecy, and unseen workings of sovereign will.  Proverbs 18:  21, King James Version (KJV):  21 Death and life are in the power of the tongue:  and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.

(2.)  The wrath of GOD against sin is a fixed, immutable, and unchanging aspect of divine fullness.  Divine wrath (burning rage; judgment) is more than merely an emotion or feeling that “comes and goes.”  Psalms 7:  9-17, KJV:  9 Oh let the wickedness of the wicked come to an end; but establish the just:  for the righteous God trieth the hearts and reins.  10 My defence is of God, which saveth the upright in heart.  11 God judgeth the righteous, and God is angry with the wicked every day.  12 If he turn not, he will whet his sword; he hath bent his bow, and made it ready.  13 He hath also prepared for him the instruments of death; he ordaineth his arrows against the persecutors.  14 Behold, he travaileth with iniquity, and hath conceived mischief, and brought forth falsehood.  15 He made a pit, and digged it, and is fallen into the ditch which he made.  16 His mischief shall return upon his own head, and his violent dealing shall come down upon his own pate.  17 I will praise the LORD according to his righteousness:  and will sing praise to the name of the LORD most high.

(3.)  Correctly understood, whatever we say, how we say it as well as when and where we say it has power to establish and to destroy meaning, trust, and value that are intended to endure.  Numbers 30:  1-2, KJV:  1 And Moses spake unto the heads of the tribes concerning the children of Israel, saying, This is the thing which the LORD hath commanded.  2 If a man vow a vow unto the LORD, or swear an oath to bind his soul with a bond; he shall not break his word, he shall do according to all that proceedeth out of his mouth.

Of course, there is far more that could be said.  (For example, words and actions by Christians are to be examined for spirit content from GOD, and received both as “testimony” (words spoken under oath that have the authority and power in judgment because they are “the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth”) and “evidence” (just like DNA, ballistics, eyewitness reports, and fingerprints in criminal trials).  Ephesians 4:  29-32, KJV:  29 Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.  30 And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.  31 Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice:  32 And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.)  Even so, I trust this fragment will be useful.  Be it unto you according to your faith.

Washington, DC

(01/03/2018) Sin No "One-time" Event

Today, reply is made showing that the divine process responding to the sin of Adam is one of correction, rather than punishment.  It is not so much that sinful attitudes and behavior, or lewd and outrageous conduct can appear again and again.  The disobedience of the first pair (the male and female) upset divine order throughout both earth and heaven.  Sin exists as an aspect of life process for mankind, and thereby, sin breaks off and ends eternal life.  That is why, rejecting and resisting sin is more than simply “breaking a bad habit.”  Sinners must come to understand that (1) sin is an unseen, yet, continuous process (a streaming of events in sequence and over time that defile holiness and oppose divine will), (2) sin is no “one-time” event, and (3) sin results in multiple changes and shifts not acceptable to GOD that will appear as unintended consequences within the makeup of the living, and within their spheres of life.  While sin is no spirit substance, and has not been created or put forth by divinity, sin may dominate awareness and self-will (willpower) within created beings and living creatures.  Therefore, the elimination of sin requires the use of revelation, warnings, death, applying sacred law, final judgment, mercy, the Incarnation of Deity, Jesus dying on the cross, the imparting of divine spirit content from the makeup of the Creator, resurrection from the dead as well as the second death (annihilation).  The process of sin must be answered by divine Spirit process, the streaming of sacred truth and substance from GOD.  One of the fighters in the “Yahoo! Answers” forum who uses the ID “Anonymous” (no profile information appears) posted the following: 

Punishing other people for Adam and Eve's "sin" is an a*sh*le move? How isn't it?

THE GOLDEN ARROW:  I am the living bread which came down from heaven:  if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever:  and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.  The Jews therefore strove among themselves, saying, How can this man give us his flesh to eat?  Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you.  Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day.  For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed.  He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him.  As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father:  so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me.  This is that bread which came down from heaven:  not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead:  he that eateth of this bread shall live for ever.  (John 6:  51-58, King James Version, KJV)

THE DOUBLE DAGGER:  Law of the Spirit (12/27/2017); Our Fitness To Continue? (12/24/2017); Heaven Denied to Mankind? (12/08/2017); GOD Appearing As Christ (12/03/2017); Sin Is A Condition (11/26/2017); All Have Come Short (10/11/2017); The Nature of Death (04/25/2017); Must GOD Hate Sinners? (09/01/2016)

“Anonymous”, even where a person can not elevate the level of their focus and comprehension above the “a*sh*le”, other body parts, and operations of flesh to correctly consider the character, makeup and substance of divinity, seeking to have answer as a serious thinker, they will have to consider and contemplate the ongoing and repeated disruption of divine order caused by sin, and its impact on the universe.  With this in view, we say, sin is not a “one-time event;” sin is a continuous process, with unintended consequences and effects that include death; the reduction of divine spirit content within the living; the second death; and the end of accord, focus, peace, and stability among those in relationships of oneness without sameness.

The response to operations of sin by created beings and living creatures should acknowledge that sin opposes the continued existence of divine law, the Law Giver, and the platforms for continuity, duration, and life.  Sin is contrary to the character and makeup within the living, yet, may dominate their awareness and self-will appearing to be harmless, natural, and normal.  Sin promotes chaos, disorder, flux, and return to the conditions that were in place before the founding of heaven and earth.  Many have experienced that GOD will forgive sin, yet, the Creator does not eliminate or suspend all the consequences of sin.  This said, sinners are to make responses to sin that have been commended and counseled through sacred covenant, godly doctrine, divine law, prophecy, and the outcomes of ones own choices and decisions.

The process of GOD to relieve mankind from the consequences of sin is one of correction by rebirth and the imparting of divine spirit substance from the makeup of GOD more than one of punishment.  Every man is to develop and display their own integrity of being through relationship with divinity.  The children are not punished for the sins of the parents, yet, are to live, and will be challenged throughout their own lifetime, by the conditions created by their parents.  Consider again the following that uses language from the Bible:

(1.)  Exodus 34:  5-8, King James Version (KJV):  5 And the LORD descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the LORD.  6 And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth,  7 Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children’s children, unto the third and to the fourth generation.  8 And Moses made haste, and bowed his head toward the earth, and worshipped.

(2.)  Romans 5:  17-21, KJV:  17 For if by one man’s offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.)  18 Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life.  19 For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.  20 Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound:  21 That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.

(3.)  Ezekiel 18:  20-24, KJV:  20 The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son:  the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him.  21 But if the wicked will turn from all his sins that he hath committed, and keep all my statutes, and do that which is lawful and right, he shall surely live, he shall not die.  22 All his transgressions that he hath committed, they shall not be mentioned unto him:  in his righteousness that he hath done he shall live.  23 Have I any pleasure at all that the wicked should die? saith the Lord GOD:  and not that he should return from his ways, and live?  24 But when the righteous turneth away from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, and doeth according to all the abominations that the wicked man doeth, shall he live? All his righteousness that he hath done shall not be mentioned:  in his trespass that he hath trespassed, and in his sin that he hath sinned, in them shall he die.

Of course, there is far more that could be said.  (For example, (4.)  Ezekiel 18:  32, KJV:  32 For I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, saith the Lord GOD:  wherefore turn yourselves, and live ye.)  Even so, I trust this fragment will be useful.  Be it unto you according to your faith.

   
Washington, DC

(01/02/2018) Can GOD Feel Pain?

Image downloaded 1:30 PM, 01/01/2018 at https://www.godisreal.today/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/picture-jesus-cross-sinner.jpg

Today, as we complete the transition from the year 2017 ending to the beginnings of 2018 as a year of opportunity and possibility, reply is made to one of the fighters in the “Yahoo! Answers” forum on the ability of divinity to feel pain.  Many correctly acknowledge that GOD is able to display and put forth authority and power over birth, death, existence, life, heaven and hell, the natural world, and the world of spirits, yet, they mistakenly continue to express certainty that GOD is so mighty he must be indifferent, unfeeling, and has little interest in the activity of mankind upon the earth.  Such believers also may hold that divinity is distant, remote, silent and uncaring concerning human needs, or the personal crises, growing pains, sufferings, and woes within families of flesh.  They are to be told, as surely as the divine Father has loved the sacred Son from the foundation of heaven and earth, there is no sadness or sorrow that GOD can not feel; and the Creator is no stranger to compassion, empathy, and what it feels like to be betrayed and despised.  These overlook the interdependence for survival that must exist, and the principles of divine order that maintain the universe.  Like the body (the church) that is made up of different members, and where injury to one part is an injury to the whole, the Creation and the universe are established as having oneness without sameness.   When a single aspect of the fullness for life is damaged or unbalanced there is a disturbing ripple that travels throughout.  This is the case with sin, that opposes the continued existence of divine law, the Law Giver, and all divine order. Divine administration to cleanse, heal, and preserve the broad range of things manifest by the sovereign will of GOD, must embrace and reach even to the darkest, smallest, unseen detail.  It is not so much a matter that God does not care as that divinity may only use ongoing, lawful and predetermined sacred process to fulfill the present needs.  “Anonymous” (no profile information shared) posted the following:


Can God even feel pain? He cant relate to me, im human and he is oso "superior" to the rest of puny human peasants?

That is why we must keep reminding us that we are forever beanth him like Roach under a shoes ready to be stepped on if he ever so chooses. In order to live correct we mist constantly worship him & everything that he does or be treated like garbage and tortured for eternity.


THE GOLDEN ARROW:  And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.  And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.  And the Lord said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them.  But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.  (Genesis 6:  5-8, King James Version, KJV)


THE DOUBLE DAGGER:  Having Personhood Without Gender? (12/13/2017); Thoughts On Divine Personhood (12/07/2017); The Practice of Love (07/27/2017); Endurance, Humility and Obedience? (06/04/2017); That GOD Is Faithful? (08/31/2015); On Death and Pain (05/08/2014); A “Good” Verse? (05/09/2014)


“Anonymous”, GOD feels joy, love, righteous anger, and the sensations of a human body through the person of Jesus Christ.  Many developing Christian believers are discovering that the fullness of divinity (we say, the GODhead; the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit) is a single active presence (some say, breath, life essence, spirit, Word) who uses the device of personhood when communicating, exchanging, and interacting with created beings and living creatures through ongoing relationships that may be intimate and private.  Divinity also is using multiple sacred operations (e.g., baptism, forgiveness, Incarnation, inheritance, judgment, rebirth, resurrection from the dead) whereby the Creator is made knowable, known, accessible, and approachable.

GOD must be realized as a living spirit, therefore, ones consciousness must become reconfigured and directed to acknowledge and respond to the movement and workings of sacred substance.  To truly comprehend the many profound things from GOD, sinners have to be “born again” by receiving fresh endowments of spirit content from the GODhead, and then “grow up again” to become mature.  All are to display such divine attributes as balance, faith, forbearance, holiness, longsuffering, lovingkindness, restraint, wisdom, and wrath against sin.

Inseparable aspects from the makeup of Deity can replace the inborn spirit within those who repent and submit.  The “image of GOD” becomes visible to believers who will practice discernment (using their own spirit from the divine makeup as a standard to recognize and respond to the divine spirit within clergy, events, individual persons, prophecy, purposes, the holy writings, etc.). 
By appearing in flesh and human form on the earth as Jesus Christ, the three persons who are one have provided assurance that our own, and the humanity of others, can be genuine expressions of divine being.  Men, women, and children can appear on the earth as legitimate offspring of GOD and joint-heirs with Christ, who display the character, makeup and substance of GOD.  Through Jesus Christ the full GODhead has been immersed in carnal, material, secular, and social realities that include birth, aging, bereavement, condemnation, punishment, torture, suffering, and uncertainty.  Consider again the following that uses language from the Bible:

(1.)  John 4:  24, King James Version (KJV):  24 God is a Spirit:  and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

(2.)  Isaiah 53:  3-11, KJV:  3 He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief:  and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.  4 Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows:  yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.  5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities:  the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.  6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.  7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth:  he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.  8 He was taken from prison and from judgment:  and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living:  for the transgression of my people was he stricken.  9 And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth.  10 Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief:  when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.  11 He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied:  by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.

There is far more to be said, correctly examined, and spiritually apprehended.  (For example, (3.)  Romans 8:  5-9, KJV:  5 For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit.  6 For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.  7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God:  for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.  8 So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.  9 But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.)  Even so, I trust this fragment will be useful.  Be it unto you according to your faith.

Washington, DC

(01/01/2018) "New Creation" and Life

We begin the New Year sharing points on the new creation, the acceptance of water baptism by Jesus Christ, and the Lord’s identity as the Second Adam.  In the same way, the existence of heaven and earth are accomplished through the accord and action of the Word and the Holy Spirit as primary agents from the fullness of divinity, Salvation, eternal life for mankind, and the new creation upon the earth are begun and will be completed through the Incarnate Son and the Holy Spirit.  Jesus Christ appeared as the “second Adam” and “the faithful witness” to all the works of GOD for creation, dominion, revelation, and sacred truth among created beings and living creatures.  Developing Christians are to suspend their use of secular knowledge and carnal reason by relying instead on the Spirit and Word of “new life.”  A fighter in the “Yahoo! Answers” forum using the ID “?” (Level 3 with 2,007 points, a member since June 19, 2013) posted the following:



Jehovah's witnesses....was Jesus Christ born again?



THE GOLDEN ARROW:  For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth:  and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind.  But be ye glad and rejoice for ever in that which I create:  for, behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy.  And I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in my people:  and the voice of weeping shall be no more heard in her, nor the voice of crying.  There shall be no more thence an infant of days, nor an old man that hath not filled his days:  for the child shall die an hundred years old; but the sinner being an hundred years old shall be accursed.  And they shall build houses, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them.  They shall not build, and another inhabit; they shall not plant, and another eat:  for as the days of a tree are the days of my people, and mine elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands.  They shall not labour in vain, nor bring forth for trouble; for they are the seed of the blessed of the LORD, and their offspring with them.  And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear.  The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the bullock:  and dust shall be the serpent’s meat. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, saith the LORD.  (Isaiah 65:  17-25, King James Version, KJV)



THE DOUBLE DAGGER:  Knowing What To Believe? (12/31/2017); Jesus Demonstrated Perfected Humanity (10/29/2017); Christ Our High Priest (10/25/2017); Undergoing A Sacred Transformation (10/24/2017); Accepting Christ, Accepting Change (10/20/2017); Divine Forgiveness Not Enough? (09/22/2017); Adam, Family and Law (07/05/2017)



“?”, I will not answer as a Catholic, a Jehovah’s Witness, a Messianic Jew, a Seventh Day Adventist, or any other category of denomination/community of faith.  Yet, as one encouraged to be a joint-heir with Jesus Christ, I feel I have some points to share that will help developing Christian believers “see with new eyes”:

(1.)  Jesus acknowledged the operations of GOD through water baptism, and was willing to be joined to the prophetic ministry of John the Baptist who was filled with the Holy Spirit (also called, the Comforter, the Holy Ghost, the Spirit of Prophecy, the Spirit of Truth).

(2.)  Although raised and nourished on holy ground and the offerings of the covenant people of GOD, John left the Temple community at Jerusalem to be an evangelist in the wilderness, and to serve as the forerunner and herald authenticating “the faithful witness” who would demonstrate and proclaim divinity as Incarnate (i.e.,  manifest on the earth in flesh as one anointed and imparted from the fullness of GOD—we say the Christ, the Messiah).

(3.)  Water baptism depicts the death, burial, and resurrection of ones inborn spirit.  More than simply that sinners are cleansed, they are “born again” from divine DNA in the sense that they become filled with sacred seed, must “grow again,” and become mature/ripe for harvest.  Their repentance goes forth powered by inseparable aspects of divine substance imparted from the spirit makeup of GOD.  Included are balance, completeness, faith, forbearance, holiness, longsuffering, lovingkindness, meekness, oneness without sameness, personhood, wisdom, and wrath against sin.

(4.)  Jesus accepted baptism as an expression of sacred laws pertaining to the offering of sacrifices for atonement and propitiation of sin.  The letter of the law was not being carried out, rather, the righteousness in the law was being performed.  The frameworks of time and space did not apply as though the Christ would be offered on the cross the very next hour or day; and the baptism of Jesus became his ordination as well as the declaration of his standing as Son of the Highest, and the firstborn heir who is to fulfill the will of the Father in his absence.

(5.)  The birth of Jesus signaled the new creation wherein the Anointed One appears as the Second Adam.  As surely as an inheritance of sin came upon mankind through the first Adam, an inheritance of priesthood modeled after the one existing in heaven and administered by Jesus as High Priest was shared as an inheritance for mankind on the earth.

There is far more to be said, correctly examined, and spiritually apprehended.  (For example, (6.)  The nativity of Jesus at Bethlehem through his mother, Mary, is to be understood as a “birth” of the Word (breath, life essence, Spirit) who has always existed among the three persons of the GODhead (the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit).  As developing believers continue their study of the holy writings, many will discover that the resurrection of Jesus from the tomb of crucifixion may be described as his rebirth.)  Even so, I trust this fragment will be useful.  Be it unto you according to your faith.

Washington, DC