Excerpt From Newsletter
Satan has put some incredible twists on the Christian message over the past two thousand years, but none has been more fantastic than the plethora of absolute goofiness that has come out over the past century and a half. More than a few zealous airheads have attracted a sizeable following preaching Satan’s lies, but none more so than the ultimate spin doctors who are now proffering the spiritually bankrupt notion that it doesn’t matter what you believe, it only matters that you have at some point in your life “professed Christ,” or “accepted Jesus.” (See “Satan’s Fools Are Satan’s Tools,” The Voice of Elijah®, April 1994.)
At the peril of sounding downright heretical to some, let me ask a pointed question: Exactly what must a person believe to be saved? Now I realize that question is today quickly becoming irrelevant as more and more “Christians” are content to identify the essentials of Christianity with such nebulous notions as a superficial expression of love and concern for others. That inanity may be the norm today, but just because the masses believe it doesn’t mean it is true. First of all, it shifts the focus of Christianity from the objective realm of doctrinal beliefs into the subjective realm of personal feelings. That, in turn, leads to the inevitable conclusion that the Truth of Christianity is whatever a loving, caring individual chooses to believe it is.
Correct me if I’ve missed the point, but I do seem to recall my mother and father taught me the difference between the truth and a lie quite some time ago—nearly half a century ago, as a matter of fact. While I may have been slow, I certainly wasn’t stupid. I can readily attest to the fact that honesty is always the best policy for a small boy who can’t be sure how much his parents know about his involvement in certain prohibited activities. I discovered early on that truth can sometimes provide an escape from punishment. A lie makes it unavoidable.
“The Politics of Nicæa: Constantine and the Church,” The Voice of Elijah®, January 1995, p. 1
Newsletter Details
| Contribution of | $6.00 |
|---|---|
| Pages | 20 |
| Author | Larry Dee Harper |
| Language | English |
Related Information
Did You Mean That Literally?
This article makes the point that nobody in the Protestant wing of the Church today bothers to refer to any source earlier than the Protestant Reformers. Those who do normally stop at Thomas Aquinas (ca. 1225–1274). The Reformers themselves did not appeal to any source earlier than Augustine (A.D. 354–430). Should anyone take the time to read earlier sources with an open mind, they would find that the literal theory of interpretation—as it is held today—was totally unknown to the Early Church Fathers. The Fathers prior to Origen (ca. A.D. 200) understood their mission was to hand down The Apostolic Teaching just as Jesus Christ delivered it to the Apostles. Those after Origen were busily engaged in “doing theology.”
The Way, The Truth, The Life
This seminar examines the history of The Truth of the Word of God that the Prophets concealed in the Hebrew Scriptures, which is The Way by which The Life is attained. It explains what Jesus had in mind when He said, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life” (John 14:6). Subjects discussed are:
- The Way: The Mystery of Scripture
- The Truth: God’s Gift of Knowledge
- The Life: Founded on a Knowledge of the Truth
The Truth is Available
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