Our Lord and savior, the Christ, has a name. His is the name above all names, and he is highly exalted.
But what is that name? Some say it is "Jesus", while others say "Yeshua", while still others say "Y'shua".
I posit that it could just as easily be "Yehoshua", anglicized "Joshua". After all, Y'shua is just a contracted form of Yehoshua.
But, the Greek texts refer to the Messiah as 'Iesous', from which we get 'Jesus'. Despite all this, I am not convinced that the Lord cares which pronunciation of the name you use. I can only assume that Paul gave unto those who spoke Greek the Greek form of the name that we have anglicized.
Beware, lest you become like the Judaizers, creating a condition that our Lord does not require. He is not so petty as to condemn a man or turn him aside because of the pronunciation of His name.
Friday, April 6, 2012
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
Evolution: Philosophy, yes. Science, no.
Today's admonition brought to you by: Paul
"O Timothy, keep that which is committed to thy trust, avoiding profane and vain babblings, and oppositions of science falsely so called: which some professing have erred concerning the faith. Grace be with thee. Amen." - I Timothy 6:20-21
- Posted on my Facebook wall
(I expect this to turn into a whole series of articles over time. As such, I only want to start the general premise today and see where we go from there.)
"O Timothy, keep that which is committed to thy trust, avoiding profane and vain babblings, and oppositions of science falsely so called: which some professing have erred concerning the faith. Grace be with thee. Amen." - I Timothy 6:20-21
- Posted on my Facebook wall
(I expect this to turn into a whole series of articles over time. As such, I only want to start the general premise today and see where we go from there.)
I pride myself on having at least a sixth-grade understanding of science and a smattering of insight into philosophy. I am a firm believer in the value of both; philosophy contains our approach to understanding or at least approaching truth, and science is a powerful branch of philosophy. Without at least the basic mindsets, we could never have advanced anywhere near where we are right now.
That said, there are many who hold anything proclaimed "scientific" as indisputable and infallible. If a matter has been settled, they reason, there are few valid circumstances for raising a question against it, much less attempting to refute it. The problem here is that a scientific claim is a UNIVERSAL ASSERTION - so long as certain conditions are met, the claim must hold true. If one piece of evidence can consistently demonstrate a flaw in the claim, it is not scientifically true. If I could, consistently, without any force, move myself through space freely and unimpeded by gravity, I would demonstrate that the laws of gravity are not true. A new hypothesis about gravity would then be necessary, and it would not be true until it proved itself irrefutable.
The other fundamental principle of science is TESTABILITY. If you cannot test a claim, it cannot be declared scientifically true. There is no scientific proof of George Washington crossing the Delaware in 1776, because we cannot test George Washington crossing the Delaware in 1776. We have evidences of George Washington crossing the Delaware in 1776, but evidence is only useful in other branches of philosophy, not science.
How does this apply to Evolution? If Evolution were scientific, we should be able to test Evolution, to invalidate its hypothesis by direct testing, something that no one believes we can do. If Evolution were scientific, we should be able to declare it not scientifically true if we can find one scenario which consistently violates the hypothesis.
Contrary evidence would certainly be sufficient to question Evolution if it were scientific, but it is not scientific because it cannot meet the testability requirement. Thus, we must find new philosophical grounds on which to validate or invalidate the assertion of Evolution.
I propose that we evaluate the philosophical assertion of Evolution based on three criteria: its premises, its evidences, and its fruits. By premises, I mean the philosophical and scientific suppositions that are inherent in the claim. By evidences, I mean testimonies and evidences that show the truth of the premises. By fruits, I mean the effects of the philosophy on those individuals who hold it to be true.
Because if Evolution cannot pass the tests of a valid philosophical stance with benefit to mankind, it ought to be discarded.
Because if Evolution cannot pass the tests of a valid philosophical stance with benefit to mankind, it ought to be discarded.
Monday, April 2, 2012
Why I Distrust Most Modern Bibles: Introduction
For those who may not know, I have gone back and forth between the 1599 Geneva Bible and the Authorized Version of 1611 (also known as the KJV, using the 1749 revisions) for the past two or so years. Before that time, I had not really considered my Bible carefully, and not just because I didn't read it (being a sorcerer and all). As of this writing, I seldom touch any other translation except to study their issues.
There are three major issues with all the "modern" Bibles that I have studied thus far:
- They are based on the Alexandrian texts, which are less accurate and less reliable than the Byzantine for any number of reasons
- They are perverted by "textual criticism", which allows the translation team to take all kinds of liberties with the text (including omitting entire verses)
- They are predominately paraphrases, obfuscating the original textual basis of their scriptures
- Matthew 17:21
- Matthew 23:14
- I John 5:7-8 (this is among the worst, as they changed the numbering of verses to hide the omission - compare the KJV with the NIV for an obvious example)
- Matthew 6:13 and Luke 11:2 (modifications to the Lord's prayer you probably never realized were there in the NIV)
- Matthew 9:13 and Mark 2:17 (same verse, two books)
- And, of course, John 8:1-11 (the woman caught in adultery), which the "earliest and most reliable (read: Alexandrian) texts" omit
Testimony of a Sorceror
(NOTE: This is as much a confession as a testimony. The original author has been far more wicked and sinful than his friends and family will ever know.)
"I cannot remember a time I didn't go to church. I was baptized in the Methodist church when I was an infant, I was raised in a Lutheran home, and I attended school at a Presbyterian elementary school. I memorized every Bible verse I was given, and I loved to talk about what the Bible had to say.
"That all changed when I entered middle school. Those who knew me during my childhood know that I was rebellious and angry much of the time, but this only increased as I entered my teens. I took martial arts and played football. I played increasingly violent video games. Nothing reduced my irritation one bit. One day it dawned on me that I was really angry with reality. As an avid reader, I could quote stories of children going off to accomplish great things, often without any real training or natural talent, but I was stuck. I wanted to be more, to be better, to be the greatest.
"That's when I began to read Harry Potter and my Dungeons and Dragons books with greater interest. The more I read, the more I desired the world of magic and power, the dominance that comes from mystical control. I wished to be like the Most High.
"It started simply. Browsing through the library I chanced upon a book on Wiccan magick. This seemed to be the best avenue to that power I sought. So, knowing that I could never check this book out from the library, I stole it and hid it in my room.
"I practiced the rituals in secret during the weekends and at night, long after my parents had gone to bed. I was thrilled and enthralled by the sensations that flooded into me as I performed the most basic conjuring rituals (for conjuring it was). I dreamed dreams, cast runes, prepared poppets, lit incense. But soon it was not enough.
"Though I knew there was a little power in what I did, I could never be entirely sure of what I saw. Several of the spells that seemed to work best could have easily been coincidence, and none of it approached the powers I wished to have over all things. I grew increasingly irritable and moody, writing dark poems and chants that served only to ease my torment for a short while. It was in this state that I discovered the works of Aleister Crowley and the grimoires known as the Keys of Solomon.
"As a side note, during this time I grew increasingly sinful in all ways. I increasingly inflicted harm on myself (when I couldn't get my abusive girlfriend to do it for me), and I discovered those perversions that congregate on the internet. I grew physically more violent, at one point choking someone who slighted me. If I could have found drugs, I know I would gladly have partaken in those as well. Suffice it to say, I was increasing daily in sin.
"After only a cursory reading of the vile texts I acquired, I began to openly seek a demonic entity to guide and empower me. I offered my blood to the first entity that responded (given from a shallowly slit wrist) and promised him access to my flesh if I could share in his powers. With the aid of this and other spirits, I cast spells not found in my books or on the internet, for by my sacrifice of flesh and indulgence in vileness that I would never speak aloud I was given the desires of my heart.
"This is the state, more or less, in which I entered high school. Many things happened that I am still loathe to recall, but I found myself in home school for a semester. One night in October (if memory serves), I sat down to conjure a spirit to teach me and take me on an astral journey (which I do not believe I have ever suffered, thanks be to God). For some reason unknown to me, I decided to conjure an angel, and naturally I gravitated toward Gabriel.
I prepared my ritual in my customary way, then I sat down and cast my protections, with one addition: I invoked the name of the Most High, who to some sects of the craft is known as "He who must not be named". Immediately, I fell to the ground on my face and was unable to move, for the LORD spoke to me. I was filled with bitterness and gnashed my teeth as my sins of the past few years were laid out before me by God, the shadow of whose passing causes the earth to shake and the mountains to tremble. For the space of over an hour I was rebuked by the Scripture, as His words came to me by the Holy Spirit, teaching me all that I had done and how expressly it was forbidden. In my agony, I cried out to Jesus for forgiveness, that he should spare me the wrath that I now feared above all things in heaven and on earth.
"Then came the peace that passes all understanding, as the mightily incensed God granted me mercy, forgiving all my sins and granting to me anew the Holy Spirit, that comforter and counselor promised by Christ to his children. That day many spirits were driven from me, I am assured, for since that day I have never once been so tormented as I was before.
"Thanks be to the LORD God of Israel, and to our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the Holy Spirit that he should deliver a wretch such as myself. Blessed be the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, who is even now my High Priest and my mediator before the Father."
- Robert Beisert, on this day, at this time
"I cannot remember a time I didn't go to church. I was baptized in the Methodist church when I was an infant, I was raised in a Lutheran home, and I attended school at a Presbyterian elementary school. I memorized every Bible verse I was given, and I loved to talk about what the Bible had to say.
"That all changed when I entered middle school. Those who knew me during my childhood know that I was rebellious and angry much of the time, but this only increased as I entered my teens. I took martial arts and played football. I played increasingly violent video games. Nothing reduced my irritation one bit. One day it dawned on me that I was really angry with reality. As an avid reader, I could quote stories of children going off to accomplish great things, often without any real training or natural talent, but I was stuck. I wanted to be more, to be better, to be the greatest.
"That's when I began to read Harry Potter and my Dungeons and Dragons books with greater interest. The more I read, the more I desired the world of magic and power, the dominance that comes from mystical control. I wished to be like the Most High.
"It started simply. Browsing through the library I chanced upon a book on Wiccan magick. This seemed to be the best avenue to that power I sought. So, knowing that I could never check this book out from the library, I stole it and hid it in my room.
"I practiced the rituals in secret during the weekends and at night, long after my parents had gone to bed. I was thrilled and enthralled by the sensations that flooded into me as I performed the most basic conjuring rituals (for conjuring it was). I dreamed dreams, cast runes, prepared poppets, lit incense. But soon it was not enough.
"Though I knew there was a little power in what I did, I could never be entirely sure of what I saw. Several of the spells that seemed to work best could have easily been coincidence, and none of it approached the powers I wished to have over all things. I grew increasingly irritable and moody, writing dark poems and chants that served only to ease my torment for a short while. It was in this state that I discovered the works of Aleister Crowley and the grimoires known as the Keys of Solomon.
"As a side note, during this time I grew increasingly sinful in all ways. I increasingly inflicted harm on myself (when I couldn't get my abusive girlfriend to do it for me), and I discovered those perversions that congregate on the internet. I grew physically more violent, at one point choking someone who slighted me. If I could have found drugs, I know I would gladly have partaken in those as well. Suffice it to say, I was increasing daily in sin.
"After only a cursory reading of the vile texts I acquired, I began to openly seek a demonic entity to guide and empower me. I offered my blood to the first entity that responded (given from a shallowly slit wrist) and promised him access to my flesh if I could share in his powers. With the aid of this and other spirits, I cast spells not found in my books or on the internet, for by my sacrifice of flesh and indulgence in vileness that I would never speak aloud I was given the desires of my heart.
"This is the state, more or less, in which I entered high school. Many things happened that I am still loathe to recall, but I found myself in home school for a semester. One night in October (if memory serves), I sat down to conjure a spirit to teach me and take me on an astral journey (which I do not believe I have ever suffered, thanks be to God). For some reason unknown to me, I decided to conjure an angel, and naturally I gravitated toward Gabriel.
I prepared my ritual in my customary way, then I sat down and cast my protections, with one addition: I invoked the name of the Most High, who to some sects of the craft is known as "He who must not be named". Immediately, I fell to the ground on my face and was unable to move, for the LORD spoke to me. I was filled with bitterness and gnashed my teeth as my sins of the past few years were laid out before me by God, the shadow of whose passing causes the earth to shake and the mountains to tremble. For the space of over an hour I was rebuked by the Scripture, as His words came to me by the Holy Spirit, teaching me all that I had done and how expressly it was forbidden. In my agony, I cried out to Jesus for forgiveness, that he should spare me the wrath that I now feared above all things in heaven and on earth.
"Then came the peace that passes all understanding, as the mightily incensed God granted me mercy, forgiving all my sins and granting to me anew the Holy Spirit, that comforter and counselor promised by Christ to his children. That day many spirits were driven from me, I am assured, for since that day I have never once been so tormented as I was before.
"Thanks be to the LORD God of Israel, and to our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the Holy Spirit that he should deliver a wretch such as myself. Blessed be the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, who is even now my High Priest and my mediator before the Father."
- Robert Beisert, on this day, at this time
Rebooting the Blog
Back by popular demand! For those who may not know, I continued commentary on Shane Claiborne throughout the 2010-2011 school year in person and on my Facebook page, because there is just too much to say about the guy. There is so little good in his teaching that it is easier to dig through a compost pile and find a diamond mine than to find profitable teaching. He's mostly a socialist pagan hipster who calls himself a Christian.
I'm going to shift my focus from now on to a few simpler tasks:
Stay tuned! I'm hoping to update at least three times a week (if I don't, remind me).
I'm going to shift my focus from now on to a few simpler tasks:
- A defense of the Byzantine text of the New Testament, translated into English most excellently in the Authorized Version of 1611 (using the spelling revisions of 1749)
- Exposition of my reading of the Scriptures
- Testimony to the power of Jesus Christ
- Philosophy as it relates to truths in the Scriptures
Stay tuned! I'm hoping to update at least three times a week (if I don't, remind me).
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