Salvation: How it works!

This post was inspired by watching the following video, and engaging in the comment section:


CHRISTIANITY / THEOLOGY / SALVATION

2024-03-29 Good Friday, originally published
2024-12-15 Sunday, revised

"But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees with his reply, they met together to question him again.  One of them, an expert in religious law, tried to trap him with this question: “Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the law of Moses?”

"Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment.  A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.”

- Matthew 22:34-40, New Living Translation, 2nd Edition


The bad news is that Christianity is definitely a religion where it's really all about "what you know” and “who you know”; then applying that knowledge to your life. 

The good news is that the knowledge you need to get saved is unbelievably simple and straightforward, literally a child can understand it. It's us adults with our hurts, pains and betrayals that have a hard time with the Christian message, and then we go off and build ultra-complicated religions to make it even more difficult on ourselves. 

Here, at last, is a complete and total listing of all the propositional knowledge you need to know to be saved and go to heaven: 
1. Love God first and foremost. 
2. Love other people as best as you can. 

That's it.  Those are all the propositional truths you need to know to go to heaven.  

Of course there are a lot of other "truths" out there in Christianity, on a wide assortment of subjects.  But the most basic truth of all is that of the love of God, it is the foundation upon which all other stand. 

You may be asking yourself who is this “dod" that we speak of? Well, He is Love and Being itself. All other beings proceed from Him, because he's creative and loves making things. In a very real and tangible way, everything we see, feel taste and touch, is God expressing himself to us, out of his love for us.  

We can take Jesus' response to the Pharisees, and boil it down to just two essential axioms you need in order to get saved: 
1. God is love. 
2. God is being itself, and the cause of all beings. 

Hence, we have to love God, because God is love. And we have to love everyone else (to the best of our abilities), because all these other beings we experience, as well as ourselves, all came from God, and are a very real part of God. 

The crucifixion of Jesus is nothing more than the proof of the first axiom: God saying to us "Hey, I love you all so much, I'm willing to die for you to prove it!" The resurrection is the proof of the second axiom: God is being itself (i.e. "existence") and hence he can never be destroyed, because as every child who has ever read a comic book knows, you can't kill a god. Normally, axioms are beyond needing proof, but not in God's economy. He's the mathematician who can prove his own axioms. 

Does that mean that we, who are expressions of God's own existence, can never be truly destroyed or wiped out?  Yes it does.  Death is not the end of us, just a transition point where we go back to where we came from...or not.  You see, whether or not you get to go back to the source of all things, depends entirely on whether or not there is any true love for God and man in your life.  People who prefer to be angry, bitter, resentful, and unforgiving do not get to go back to the source of all things.  Rather, there is a special holding place for them, and it's a place you would rather not be, if you can avoid it, which, of course, you can.   

You need not concern yourself with Noah and flood, the Garden of Eden, or a young earth hypothesis, in order to be saved, but you can contemplate those things if you like: those stories have tremendous wisdom embedded in them.   Yet the only real concern for each and every soul on this planet, is whether or not there is any love and compassion for God and others.   

Here is hard part: you have to put into practice the first and second propositions whether you feel like it or not, and stay with them until your miserable little life on this God forsaken planet comes to a complete end. Then, you finally get to meet the Big Guy himself, and see just how creative he truly is. I hear he's a real wiz with math, but more importantly, he is ultimate love.   

To make this 'Game of Life' a lot more interesting, God did, in fact, introduce malevolent entities into this world, for no other reason than to give you a choice. The simple truth is, you cannot choose to love, if you don't have a choice not to love. Hence, the wonderful world of binaries and dualities that surround us like a big ocean, are far more necessary and essential to our existence than any of us realize. Hence, the mystery of "free will", which is nothing more than the ability to choose between "A" and "B". If we are only ever given "A", and never "B", then there's nothing for us to choose, is there? And there would be no free will. But there is, embedded in us, the ability to choose, think of it as God's logic gate. It's both a gift, and a curse, because our eternity depends on making the right choice.  

Satan is the guy who given the choice to choose between "A" and "B", will always go with "B" no matter what. Angels always go with "A" no matter what. Only us puny humans have the built-in ability to look at the A/B switch and choose, and we can fiddle with that switch as much as we want. A, B, B, A, A, A, B, A, B, B, B, B, B, A, A, etc, etc. But to be saved, you really need to keep that A/B switch on “A” and then don’t touch the dial. But what if you do touch the dial, and switch it to “B”? Well, then you repent, say you're sorry, then set the switch back to “A” and leave it there.  It's really no more complicated than that.  

Sorry about all the confusion created by religion. It sucks, there's no doubt about it. So just do what I do: ignore it all, and I mean all of it, and just focus on the fundamentals, and you'll be just fine. 

There is no real argument that can cause force someone to cross the line to salvation. You either choose to love, or not. If you don't want to pursue love to its fullest conclusion, that's perfectly fine, you don't have to. The choice, is up to you, and no one else can force you to make it. Just be willing to forgive those who constantly make the wrong choice.

So what about reading the bible, going to church, listening to Christian music, and all of that stuff?   Those things are good, if and only if, they help you to be a more loving and compassionate person, otherwise, they are perfectly worthless.  While that may seem rather harsh, the Bible is filled is filled of examples and reminders that outward religious acts do not bring salvation.   Paul goes to great lengths in his epistles to warn us of this error. 

What about all those people in the Bible who God kills and destroys for disobedience and sin?  Doesn't that make him some sort of big meany?  No it does not.   

Yes, God does, in fact, kill people in the Bible in multiple instances, but he always tells us why he is doing it, and the reasons why can be boiled down to just two things:
1. The people God killed didn't love Him.
2. The people God killed didn't love each other.  

If the level of hate and disobedience gets to be too extreme, God does step in, and take control.  It's rare, but it does happen.  A loving, kind, compassionate God is not going to let hate and anger overwhelm his world.   

To fully and completely understand the Bible, you must first understand God's unwavering commitment to love.   If we want to be with Him for eternity, then we must make love the priority in our lives as well. 

"If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.  If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God’s secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn’t love others, I would be nothing.  If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn’t love others, I would have gained nothing."

- Paul the Apostle, 1 Corinthians 13:1-3, New Living Translation, 2nd Edition

To be saved, you must choose to love, and God himself must be that which you love the most.  A theology of salvation based on anything other than love is a waste of time.    

All you need is love.   


- Pseudo Boethius 




Can you feel what’s coming?

CHRISTIANITY / PROPHECY / CHRISTA ELISHA

Christa was given a very severe word from God for the American church.  Use your own discernment and see what you think of this message.  Whether or not you think she is a prophet, she is making a lot of sense in what's she's saying.  Christa posted this message on March 26, 2024.  

Yes, there are still young AMERICAN girls who want to be nuns!

CHRISTIANITY / CONTEMPLATIVES / NUNS

I give to you the testimony of Mary Faustina "Tina" Gorham.  She has a very special announcement that we all need to hear: she is becoming a nun!  She enters the convent on June 27, 2024. 


So who are "The Benedictine Daughters of Devine Will", the order that Mary Faustina has decided to join???  They are an order that seems to be inspired by Catholic mystic Luisa Piccarreta, who had an AMAZING revelation about God's divine will.   The Mother Superior: Mother Garbrielle, is an incredible woman, and she explains what's involved in the teachings about The Divine Will.  Very interesting stuff!  


“Because they don’t believe in God.”

CHRISTIANITY / THEOLOGY / UNBELIEF

Just saw this following excerpt in a newsletter I subscribe to.  

The author talks about a simple conversation he had with a Catholic priest after the Catholic abuse crisis began to surface:  

"In my case, the anguish I felt over the abuse scandal, and the way the institutional Catholic Church reacted to it, was more than I could handle. I guess a lot of this has to do with the kind of man I am, and my own history. Whatever. The point I want to make in this particular discussion is that when Catholics see their priests, and even their Pope, behaving in certain ways, especially with the liturgy, it signals to some of them that these men don’t really believe in Catholicism. As a matter of fact, I remember in the first year of the scandal, asking a Catholic priest friend of mine how on earth the bishops could have done what they did, with all the cover-ups and the punishing of victims and families. I’ll never forget where we were walking on the street in New York when he answered: “Because they don’t believe in God.” "

I've seen scandals and abuses by church leaders, government leaders, people in private industry, and just about everywhere else during my life.  Yet it especially hurts when you see it in the church, regardless of which denomination.  Church officials preying on children, or involved in illicit affairs of all kinds.  This is not just a problem amongst Catholics, but amongst the entire Christian world: Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant.   

So why does this evil stuff keep happening in the church?  Because many of our "Christian" leaders really don't believe in the stuff they are selling to us.  Even as a child, I was very much aware of this hypocrisy, and wondered seriously if the whole "God" thing was just a another clever ruse like the "Santa Claus" narrative: just a story we were told to keep us in line, to keep us docile, to keep us from chopping off the heads of the idiots who were running the country.  

Well, as an adult, it's obvious to me that there are, in fact, many in leadership in Christianity as a whole, who really don't believe in God.  But they get a paycheck from their denomination for pretending there is, so they keep at it, because it's a living, after all. 

There are also some really good priests, pastors and leaders in the various denominations who know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that there are leaders, if not a whole bunch of leaders, in their denominations who are, in fact, corrupt.  But they can't say an honest word about it, because if they do, they will be cast out like yesterday's garbage, without a dollar to show for it.  So they keep quiet, as their livelihood depends upon it.  

Hence, since the mid 1960's to this very day, we have seen one of the greatest decline in Christianity in world history, in Western Civilization.  Church historians have compared this current epoch to the famous Arian heresy of 300 AD.   But, at least with the Arian heresy, everyone stayed in church, unless they were excommunicated!   But today's crisis in Christianity is much worse, because the church in the West is losing people quickly, not because of a single heresy, but due to a lack of faith in God that is evident everywhere in the developed world.  If there is a heresy that is at the core of this crisis, it would be modernism, which made atheism intellectually respectable for the first time in history.   

So, here we are, in the 21st century, and never in the history of Western Civilization has Christianity looked so horrid and ragged as it does right now, and things seem to be just getting worst. 

Is there any hope that things will get better?  Not really.   Our only hope, is the return of Jesus to earth, and using his Second Coming as a means of cleansing the church.  Anything short of that, and we are doomed. 

  



Does God hate certain people? Well, according to the Bible, he certainly does.


CHRISTIANITY / THEOLOGY / HATE


Here's a Psalm for your consideration:

Psalm 5 - (New Living Translation)

For the choir director: A psalm of David, to be accompanied by the flute.

1    O Lord, hear me as I pray;
      pay attention to my groaning.

2   Listen to my cry for help, my King and my God,
     for I pray to no one but you.

3   Listen to my voice in the morning, Lord.
     Each morning I bring my requests to you and wait expectantly.

4  O God, you take no pleasure in wickedness;
    you cannot tolerate the sins of the wicked.

5  Therefore, the proud may not stand in your presence,
    for you hate all who do evil.

6  You will destroy those who tell lies.
    The Lord detests murderers and deceivers.

7   Because of your unfailing love, I can enter your house;
     I will worship at your Temple with deepest awe.

8   Lead me in the right path, O Lord,
     or my enemies will conquer me.
     Make your way plain for me to follow.

9   My enemies cannot speak a truthful word.
     Their deepest desire is to destroy others.
     Their talk is foul, like the stench from an open grave.
     Their tongues are filled with flattery.

10  O God, declare them guilty.
      Let them be caught in their own traps.
      Drive them away because of their many sins,
      for they have rebelled against you.

11   But let all who take refuge in you rejoice;
      let them sing joyful praises forever.
      Spread your protection over them,
      that all who love your name may be filled with joy.

12  For you bless the godly, O Lord;   
      you surround them with your shield of love.


Yes, there are those who God hates, especially those who murder and tell lies.  

It's interesting to note that telling lies are equated to murder here, which is bad news for those who think they are good, because they've never murdered anyone.  Well, have you never told a lie?  Have you never deceived anyone?  While it's not explicitly stated in this Psalm, there are many other places in the Bible where words themselves are equated with murder and evil.   

In the modern day "woke" culture, you will often hear the phrase "silence is violence"!   But in the Bible, angry speech is violence.  Even Jesus, when falsely accused, kept mostly silent.  

There are, of course, many instances in the Bible where prophets, including Jesus himself, speak very forcefully about the evil happening in Jewish society.  Almost always, those prophets where treated badly, and even killed, like Jesus himself was, because people don't like it when prophets speak truthfully about the evil people are engaged in.  

You can fool people constantly, but you can never, ever fool God, as he sees what's truly in your heart.   You can kill all the prophets you like, but that won't keep God silent.  

The take-away is this: we all need to be people who speak the truth, even when it hurts.   This world is filled with lies and liars who constantly lie to us about all sorts of things.  In a world like that, the most revolutionary thing you can do is take a stand for the truth.  

- Pseudo Boethius