bundydude wrote:
Lets face it, christianity is the one and only true way...hmmm....And nothing I could say would have any merit. Besides, it's their job to knock on my door and inform me of my evil ways, to shout at me as I walk down the street and to judge me without even knowing me...Nice religion! Sorry if I'm coming off as somewhat disturbed by this...I am.
Alot of Christians tend to forget a few things...
1) The word "Gospel" means "Good News". We are to share the GOOD NEWS with others. Some may justify it as, good news, that you can be saved from a fiery hell (although a literal hell is a metaphor clearly) but starting off with a finger in someone's face, and a "You are going to hell!!!!" is not a "good newsy" way of striking up a conversation, to share good news with someone.
2) More often than not, when Jesus used harsh and condemning language, he used it on the people OF HIS OWN RELIGION. The religionists, the Pharisees, who were lofty and PROUD of themselves: "I know the truth and you don't! You're going to hell and I'm not!!!"
Especially that last one.
If only a good percentage of these fundamentalists, would realize how ALIKE they are, to the Pharisees. They think God really cares more about single sins, than He does about a person's life, and heart and soul, but THEY ARE WRONG!
What did Jesus do when they brought the adulterous woman to Him?
He turned it on the crowd first:
"He who is without sin, throw the first stone!"
And Jesus just drew on the ground, calm and undisturbed. When He looked back up, He said:
"Woman, where are thy accussers? Does no one condemn you?"
And she responded "No, they have all left"
And what does Jesus say? Here it comes...
"
NEITHER DO I ACCUSE THEE"
And He tells her to "Go and sin no more."
Look at that exchange for a moment. It is not that God is completely unconcerned about "acts of sin" of course not, Jesus DOES tell the woman "Go and sin no more"
But it is like a parent with a child, when they have committed an offense and you have some compassion on them in spite of it "Son, why on Earth did you do that? Look at me... Don't ever do that again, ok?"
What we should recognize is the value placed on sin, by religionists as contrasted by God, when expressed through the New Testament.
Jesus was MORE CONCERNED about the woman's accussers, who wanted to stone her to death for the sin of adultery she was caught in, than He was over the woman's sin itself.
They were within the law. But Jesus was wanting to direct them to a HIGHER LAW, then the one they SAW WRITTEN in their sacred writings. Jesus wanted to bring them toward the LAW OF LOVE.
And Jesus was MAGNIFICENT "INTELLECTUALLY" as well, like He always was, when the religionists tried to TRAP Him. That is why they brought the woman to Jesus in the first place, was to TRAP Him. They thought that He would either have to tell them "Let her go" (cause He had been preaching love and forgiveness) and in that case, they could accuse him of not following the RULES of CHURCH (wink to Paul) and they thought the only other option, was that He agreed with them, that the law MUST be OBEYED, and He would have to tell the people to stone her to death since it was GOD'S LAW after all, commanding this. In that case, they could then accuse Jesus of not really being loving and forgiving after all, they would be proving to the people... "See? Why do you need this Jesus? He is all talk. When it comes down to it, He will follow the law, just as our accepted leaders do now!"
But they didn't count on Jesus' brilliance.
He accomplished what He wanted... Forgiveness of the woman. Saving her life. And He did this WITHOUT them being able to stone Jesus to death for NOT following the law.
He simply told them:
"He who is without sin, throw the first stone."
BRILLIANT!!!!
He did not tell them to STONE THE WOMAN.
He did not tell them DO NOT stone the woman.
He put it back on them, basically saying "You are correct, stoning her is the law, so whoever is without sin, please, you be the one to throw the first stone at her."
Now, if anyone were to throw a stone at her, he would be proclaiming himself to be perfect, before the crowd, and without sin himself. No one would do that. And they went away from the scene, one by one, until none were left, but Jesus and the woman.
How beautiful a story this is. How clever a response from Jesus, to PROTECT this woman from the religionists, but also, how sad, that the religionists of today, read this story and cannot see themselves in it, while they PROUDLY uphold meaningless rules, believing this pleases God. They would have been the ones back then, demanding for Jesus to stone the woman, because sin just OUTRAGES them so much.
It seems to outrage them, MORE than it outrages God, if Jesus attitudes and actions in the Bible are an indication.
.
Oh, and the RPCNA is an exclusive ps/instrument only denomination too.
