[This is the 3rd of the series ‘Discourse: Sinaite/Christian; if you have not read the earlier installments, please do so to understand what is being discussed here. We believe that sharing exchanges we have with Christian friends is informative and help our readers understand two opposing perspectives. We believe that for one to exercise free will and free choice, at least two alternatives should always be presented. If we have known only one claim to Truth all our lives and are confronted with another claim, it is our duty to ourselves and to the God we love to examine both or all sides and only then exercise our freedom of choice. We submit that faith is not blind, or should not be; that for us to trust anything at all, we should investigate and find out as much as we can possibly know before settling into a decision. If we have known only one side all our lives, this website provides an alternative to that side, for Sinaites have come from that one side, already know what it stands for and represents, yet have chosen to leave it and move on. To make such an unpopular choice and one that will mean isolation from former colleagues, even family, and friends, is only arrived at by a firm conviction that one has finally confronted Truth, and the True God. The Sinaite involved in this discourse is BAN@S6K.]
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Dear [Christian Friends],
Thank you that we could remain friends inspite of our differing spiritual convictions . I would never be where I am today, loving the WORD OF YHWH without you having shared the Scriptures with me 36 years ago! I was not even seeking God then. With all the Roman Catholic dogmas and doctrines the nuns have drilled in me, all of which I accepted and believed in, I was then smug in my faith, thinking that I knew it all.
With the teaching and nurturing I got from you, I then realized that I really did not know everything. And you know the steps [my husband] and I took. We enrolled at the Asian Theological Seminary to know more and to dig deeper in our search for truth that we even got our master’s degrees.
The past years have been a continuing effort for growth in my spiritual life, accepting the fact that I do not know it all. From 2003, I got exposed to an in-depth study of the Hebrew Scriptures, and a whole new world of what God has revealed was thrust into my being. The faith I have is not new, it is the same faith of Abraham, thousands of years ago. The TRUTH that says there is ONE GOD is still true today. GOD has never changed his declaration.
To quote a few of HIS declarations:
Hear O Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is One.
So, said the Lord, the King of Israel and his Redeemer the Lord of Hosts, “I am the first and I am the last, and beside Me there is no God.”
“You are My witnesses,” declares the Lord, “and My servant whom I have chosen, so that you may know and believe Me and understand that I am He. Before Me, no other god was formed, nor will there be one after Me. I, even I, am the Lord, and besides Me, there is no SAVIOUR.
The issue we want resolved is SALVATION, and it all boils down to Jesus. He is your Lord and Saviour.
For me, SALVATION is total faith and obedience to YHWH as declared in the Hebrew Scriptures. First and foremost, God and no one else provides the means of reconciliation and fellowship as attested by:
And my people upon whom My Name is proclaimed, humble themselves and pray and seek My Presence and repent of their evil ways —I will hear from heaven and forgive their sins and heal the land.
[This negates any claim of forgiveness through the death of anyone.]
The means of personal reconciliation with God are always at hand as proclaimed by:
Rescue me from blood guilt, O God, God of my salvation, let my tongue sing joyously of Your righteousness. For You do not desire a sacrifice, else I would give it; a burnt offering You do not want. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a heart broken and humbled, O God, You will not despise. Jeremiah 29:13 says, You will seek Me and find Me, if you search for Me with all your hearts.
For I desire kindness and not sacrifice and knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.
The Christian’s proclamation “There is no salvation except in receiving Jesus as Lord and Saviour” has no basis in the Hebrew Scriptures. Its origin lies in the New Testament and has no bearing in the spiritual life of a true believer in the One True God. Through repentance, prayer, fasting and doing what is right, the Scriptures teach that everyone has the ability to return to God directly.
In response to your questions:
Q. Are all the Christian theologians, thinkers, and apologists in error in embracing the gospel of Jesus Christ?
A. This is really what is bafflles me.
- Could it be that they come from the presupposition that the NT is Canon?
- Accepted it as the word of God?
- Never bothered to delve into how it all came about?
- Never investigated its historicity?
- Accepted the fact that the disciples of Jesus wrote it even if the earliest gospel was written late into 1st century? Both Matthew (80 CE) and Luke (90 CE) using text from “Q,” Mark and their own unique traditions.
- Did they even considered that it was only in the year 325 CE, when Constantine convened the Council of Nicea to settle disputes in the Church, that the council proclaimed Jesus from man to God in the flesh, changed the Sabbath from Saturday to Sunday, and the Passover was changed to Easter?
Among the nearly 200 gospels circulating in the first 300 years of this era, the Catholic Church canonized only four.
In his book “Answering Christianity’s Most Puzzling Questions” Christian apologist, Richard Sisson states:
“In fact, after the death of Jesus a whole flood of books that claimed to be inspired appeared . . . . Disputes over which ones were true were so intense that the debate continued for centuries. Finally in the 4th century, a group of church leaders called a council and took a vote. The 66 books that comprised our cherished bible were declared to be Scripture by a vote of 568 to accept and 563 to reject”.
Is the canonization of Scripture a political exercise? I am wondering if the the Spirit of God had any part in it at all, given the fact that the early church fathers all believed it is they who hold the truth, that the New Testament, they declared as canon is the word of God and the Old Testament simply validates what the New Testament says. The Old Testament is the foundation of our faith. It should validate what the New Testament declares.
Paul and the writers of all four canonical gospels described the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus, as they understood it had happened. There is a consensus, acknowledged among academic Christian theologians that: The gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John were not written by Jesus’ disciples but by a person or persons whose names are unknown. Neither Paul nor any of the gospel writers had been eyewitnesses to Jesus’ ministry or death.
The gospels record the beliefs and memories of various Christian groups as they had evolved at the time they were written. There is no evidence of the authorship of the apostles or the disciples of the writings, increasing the embarrassment from the silence of history concerning the foundation of Christianity.
With regard to Paul, the most successful missionary that ever lived, the founding father of the early church, confessed to using deception and lies to make converts:
If through my lies, God’s truth abounds to His glory, why am I still being condemned as a sinner?
In every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Jesus is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice.
The veracity of everything that Paul stated and wrote is called into question by the fact that these quotes are found in the books he himself had written. Who was Paul? He never even met Jesus, except in a vision. From his account in Galatians 1:16-17 he went to Arabia presumably to meditate or study and then on to Damascus and after 3 years, went to Jerusalem, stayed with the apostles for 15 days and after this, knew more about Jesus than all his disciples. From a logical standpoint, the apostles should know more theology about Jesus than Paul.
With regard to your second question:
is Christianity a hoax?
Truth should be 100% true. Counterfeit is counterfeit.
Your third question:
Should we inform the missionaries who take risks that they waste their time and efforts on behalf of Jesus Christ?
I have no doubt missionaries are sincere and zealous for the cause they take. God knows what is in their hearts, and will deal with them in His loving way. If they search hard enough and seek the Lord, He will reveal Himself to them.
In this day and age, everything is available for all of us to investigate and search for truth. We have no excuse not to know. I believe that faith in God must be justified by knowledge in the veracity and witness of HIS revealed Word throughout the ages. This faith gives all of us the subjective TRUST which gives us eyes to see and hearts to believe that YHWH guides us in believing that what HE says in the Hebrew Scriptures is true.
Your 4th question: answered above.
Your 5th question:
Were all the fervent prayers in the name of Jesus Christ offered up on my behalf by my beloved friends and family of no avail?
I cannot limit GOD. HE alone knows our hearts and answers prayers for HIS own reasons. In my case, it has awakened a thirst and a yearning to know HIM more, and I am grateful for all the prayers offered in my behalf.
Thank you [names withheld] for your concern and love for us. You will forever be special to me. I have all the confidence our loving God and Father will deal with us in HIS GLORIOUS and COMPASSIONATE WAY. All our love to you and your family.
Next: Discourse: Christian to Sinaite – 4
BAN@S6K
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