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Showing posts from April, 2010

What is True Religion – Which Church Is Right?

By Rev. Doc Lowrey Jesus taught that the fruit bears witness of the tree that bore it, thus an individuals true belief is revealed by the developing, self-evident behaviors of each person. The same principle applies to a church, government or other organization; and by this key you may often be saved from deception and servitude. Matthew 7:12 "Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets." Here Jesus declares the one principle of behavior that underlies his entire system of religion, and serves as an unfailing litmus test of the authenticity of discipleship to Jesus, saving us all from falling into the clutches of pretenders, who would deceive, use and abuse us. Again from Matthew 7 15 Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. 16 Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? 17 Even so

Jesus was not a Jew – The Old Testament is Not of Jewish Origin

Here is a nice (occasionally not so nice – please excuse and ignore those parts) little exposition on the topic of Jews and Hebrews which sheds a lot of historical light on some of the statements of Jesus. I do not endorse what seems to be Mr. Comparet's dragging into todays arena and attempting to breathe life into a 2,000 year old bigotry, especially as I consider modern christianity to be just as apostate as he claims the Jews to historically be from Hebraism. I consider the value of Jesus' message to be what it says to each of us individually as a practical guide today, independent from it's purported sources, yet I do feel our understanding can be enriched by knowing the facts – one of them being that Jesus actually was not a Jew – a point critical to those who sought to add to and manipulate the words of Jesus as a propaganda tool (and for us to separate his true message from that later propaganda) – remembering that for him to be the Hebrew Messiah, he must be born

How To Get What You Want From Life

Everything single thing you require to achieve any end you desire came already built-in at your creation, only awaiting activation by your own sincere acts of (as Jesus said) asking, seeking and knocking. Jesus often instructed us to observe the instinctive behavior of children as an example of this process, but when we seek beyond basic survival need, conscious actions and understanding are required, though the mechanism for achieving our ends remains basically the same. Matthew 7 7 Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: 8 For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. And in Matthew 21 22 And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive. While Jesus explains that we are not immune from suffering, our pains must not dictate our behavior. Matthew 5 43 Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine en

Who Was Jesus and What Does It Mean To Be His Disciple?

By Rev. Doc Lowrey Allow me to extrapolate on this idea and first point out that although I consider myself a disciple of Jesus, he never taught anything unique to himself, but all that he taught he quoted from teachers of truth that came before him and who were familiar to his listeners, primarily Isaiah. Now days, many scholars question whether Isaiah was the actual author of much of the book ascribed to him and others have similar doubts about Jesus, even to the point of questioning whether Jesus was even an actual living character. To me, these issues simply do not matter. What does matter is the truths that are taught, not the person who taught them. In Jesus I find a simple, cohesive and self-evident exposition of the truths I need to grow spiritually and to be truly free, productive and self-realized. Jesus is a teacher central to my culture and upbringing and this enables me to more easily function with my beliefs within my own culture. I think it is much more valuab

The "Scholars' Translation" of the Gospel of Thomas

by Stephen Patterson and Marvin Meyer These are the secret sayings that the living Jesus spoke and Didymos Judas Thomas recorded. 1 And he said, "Whoever discovers the interpretation of these sayings will not taste death." 2 Jesus said, "Those who seek should not stop seeking until they find. When they find, they will be disturbed. When they are disturbed, they will marvel, and will reign over all. [And after they have reigned they will rest.]" 3 Jesus said, "If your leaders say to you, 'Look, the (Father's) kingdom is in the sky,' then the birds of the sky will precede you. If they say to you, 'It is in the sea,' then the fish will precede you. Rather, the kingdom is within you and it is outside you. When you know yourselves, then you will be known, and you will understand that you are children of the living Father. But if you do not know yourselves, then you live in poverty, and you are the poverty." 4 Jesus said, "Th

The people on the bus go up and down...

Rev. Kita Kazoo's Belief's I received an email the other day asking why I don't consider myself Christian. Here is my reply. I believe in God, but I don't believe in Jesus as my savior. I believe in the teachings of Jesus as taught in the bible, as long as they don’t conflict with the golden rule. I believe that the only way to worship God is to treat ALL of the creation with respect and love. (I believe in equal marriage rights for gays and that they aren't evil,just people who for some reason are attracted to their own sex. I believe they are a normal part of humanity.) I don't believe in sins in the traditional sense. I believe that sinning is putting something between you and your spiritual growth. Therefore, for each person sin is different. For example, some people can look at porn and be healthy about it and some sin. Some people eat healthy and some sin... In my opinion the worst sin is carrying hate and fear in your heart. I believe that we pay for our

Happiness

"If you want happiness for an hour -take a nap. If you want happiness for a day -go fishing. If you want happiness for a month -get married. If you want happiness for a year -inherit a fortune. If you want happiness for a lifetime -help others." Chinese Proverb