Sin. Most people don't even know what it is. For some, smoking and drinking is sin. For others, it's a part of their religion. I constantly hear supposed Christians professing that they are sinners, and daily ask for their forgiveness. That was the Old Testament way of doing things, and the churches have perpetuated it despite professing to be followers of the New Testament. In the New Covenant, the laws of God are written into our hearts and minds. Our 'sins' are forgiven, once for all time, and going forward God sees no sin in us. If God sees no sin in me, I certainly am not going to go looking for it. And if I don't see any sin in me, than why would I keep on begging forgiveness? That really isn't what God wants. That's sacrifice. If you stay in this mode, you can't grow, you can't learn. As a Christian, it's time to accept God's gift and move on, accept that He has made you pure.
The eastern religions have a great philosophy about this. Yin/Yang, accepting that the good and bad parts of yourselves make up the whole. We tend to look at our weaknesses as bad things and try to get rid of them, or pretend they aren't there. I personally like Popeye's philosophy,
"I am who I am." When Jesus was preaching, he accepted pretty much everybody who came to him, even the Roman soldiers. The only time he really got upset was with the moneylenders and vendors at the temples. Those temples are symbollic for the real temple, in each of us. The vendors selling their sacrificial animals to me represent those influences around us who would have us constantly offering up offerings, repentance, and keep us under the old system of law. Nothing that goes on in this life is anything more than a shadow of the reality. The churches, the temples, they are not the real dwelling places of God. We are. They are symbols of our inner being, our relationship with God. And Jesus has entered our most holy of holies and become the High Priest, and made us Holy.
So I get pretty upset when I hear somebody trying to berate me into feeling bad for not doing enough, not being holy enough, not being perfect enough. That is literally the job of the accuser, and I recognize that as somebody who doesn't know or understand God, but who's own ego is in control. They think they know something I don't, but I know I'm past them on the learning curve. It's the baby Christians who want to save the world and tell everyone that they're going to hell. As someone who's been there and back, I can tell you they're misguided and full of judgement, which in my opinion is real sin.
YOU can learn directly from God.
If you're religion is confusing to you, there's a reason. Get a red letter Bible, and read the words of Jesus to the priests and preachers of His day. Then understand this: There's no difference between them and the priests and preachers of our day. Why would there be? Just as there was in His day, there are some with good intent, but even they are learning from a corrupted system. Want the truth? Throw out everything you've learned from them, pick up the Bible, and read it for yourself. Not by chapter and verse as you were taught. Particularly in the New Testament, read the way they were written, as letters. And unless you're well versed in Old English, get a modern translation. One you can read and understand. Stick to the New Testament at first, so as not to be overwhelmed. And know this, it isn't the word of God the way you were taught. It's the word of God as understood by those who wrote it. Try to understand it from the point of view of those it was written to...we were taught to read it as if it was written to us!
The problem with that is, those the New Testament was written to were going through the transition from one Covenant to another. They were awaiting an event in their time. To learn about that event, one needs to consult historians, such as Josephus and his account of it in "Wars of the Jews."
The problem with that is, those the New Testament was written to were going through the transition from one Covenant to another. They were awaiting an event in their time. To learn about that event, one needs to consult historians, such as Josephus and his account of it in "Wars of the Jews."
Questioning the established theologies. The church teaches the law, just as it did when Jesus railed against it in His day. A discussion on the freedoms He gave us, and why true followers might want to operate on the outside. The truth is out there, but where?
Monday, November 2, 2009
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