Copyright 2013 PJ Stassen
All Rights Reserved
The truth would become more
popular if it were not always stating ugly facts.
-
Henry S. Haskins b.1875.
So
you thought that scientists cannot lie, cheat or never perpetrate any (academic) fraud? Well, read all about the scandalous 'computer-generated nonsense and gibberish’ produced by (so-called) scientists in prestigious journals that have now been exposed and are in the process of being
removed/withdrawn (or denounced) from those (affected) journals. See links below:
This thing called TRUTH is the most strangest thing: Jesus of Nazareth referred to Satan as the Father of Lies since he had been a murderer
and liar from the beginning. Many people
wonder why Satan is not concerned about his anticipated lot, for instance, why does he not
heed the warnings of the Bible (in the Book of Revelation etc.) and repent? The problem is that he cannot believe the TRUTH
… it falls outside his frame of reference, completely. He, the author of the original lie, can only believe
lies, work with lies … he will probably also perish because of lies. He simply does not, cannot, believe the Holy Scriptures
foretelling his coming demise.
People today are inclined to do the same thing ... some refuse to believe
the TRUTH (the LIGHT) and prefer to believe the LIE (DARKNESS) instead. Children of God, admittedly not perfect, love the LIGHT (TRUTH) and are drawn to
the LIGHT (TRUTH) like moths to a lamp. They march to the drum of TRUTH (LIGHT), however challenging, however difficult. Children
of Satan apparently love the DARKNESS (the LIE) and are drawn toward the LIE (DARKNESS) like
maggots to the unsavoury darkness and damp of the gutter. Irrespective of what some try to teach about so-called 'pre-destination', LIFE ultimately is about CHOICES made by humans as free moral agents.
If we are created in the image of God, let's not insult the Creator by intimating, suggesting or teaching people that they are semi-human, soulless, mindless 'androids' devoid of any personal discretionary power. I know of no book by Calvin where the personal discretionary choices of believers and their moral responsibility to choose between LIGHT and DARKNESS were ever denied, even if those discretionary powers were given only to grant humans the 'dignity of causality', as so beautifully explained by the scientist-mathematician and Christian philosopher, Blaise Pascal, when he elaborates on the facility of prayer. Not that we believers have anything to boast about, mind you, for the very faith with which we believe the Gospel today originally was a gift from God, anyway. Whether we accept or decline that gift, however, still remains the personal choice of the individual.
Jesus of Nazareth is not called the Author and Finisher (Perfecter) of our faith for nothing:
Hebrews 12:2 looking unto Jesus the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising shame, and hath sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. (ASV, www.e-sword.net).
During His ministry on Earth Jesus of Nazareth made a serious issue of TRUTH versus the LIE, and that day when He stood before Pontius Pilate and Pilate asked: "What is truth?" Jesus could only stand there and stare at him, speechless (as if wanting to say: "Where were you all these years when I was engaged in my mission, healing people, feeding people, teaching people ...?"). No wonder He did not reply to Herod when Herod started interrogating Him ... after all, when John The Baptist warned Herod in all holy TRUTH that he was living in sin with his brother's wife, Herod had him decapitated; he had the voice of the Holy Spirit (TRUTH) silenced ... forever.
Jesus also reprimanded the Pharisees and scribes severely:
If we are created in the image of God, let's not insult the Creator by intimating, suggesting or teaching people that they are semi-human, soulless, mindless 'androids' devoid of any personal discretionary power. I know of no book by Calvin where the personal discretionary choices of believers and their moral responsibility to choose between LIGHT and DARKNESS were ever denied, even if those discretionary powers were given only to grant humans the 'dignity of causality', as so beautifully explained by the scientist-mathematician and Christian philosopher, Blaise Pascal, when he elaborates on the facility of prayer. Not that we believers have anything to boast about, mind you, for the very faith with which we believe the Gospel today originally was a gift from God, anyway. Whether we accept or decline that gift, however, still remains the personal choice of the individual.
Ephesians 1:15 For this cause I also, having heard of the faith in the Lord Jesus which is among you, and the love which ye show toward all the saints,
Ephesians 2:8 for by grace have ye been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; (ASV, www.e-sword.net).
Jesus of Nazareth is not called the Author and Finisher (Perfecter) of our faith for nothing:
Hebrews 12:2 looking unto Jesus the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising shame, and hath sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. (ASV, www.e-sword.net).
During His ministry on Earth Jesus of Nazareth made a serious issue of TRUTH versus the LIE, and that day when He stood before Pontius Pilate and Pilate asked: "What is truth?" Jesus could only stand there and stare at him, speechless (as if wanting to say: "Where were you all these years when I was engaged in my mission, healing people, feeding people, teaching people ...?"). No wonder He did not reply to Herod when Herod started interrogating Him ... after all, when John The Baptist warned Herod in all holy TRUTH that he was living in sin with his brother's wife, Herod had him decapitated; he had the voice of the Holy Spirit (TRUTH) silenced ... forever.
Jesus also reprimanded the Pharisees and scribes severely:
Ye are of your father the devil,
and the lusts of your father it is your will to do. He was a murderer from the
beginning, and standeth not in the truth, because there is no truth in him.
When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the
father thereof. (John 8:44 ASV, www.e-sword.net).
Today the Ecclesia, the worldwide Church of Christ comprising all born-again
Christian-believers (not a particular denomination) is being besieged by all
and diverse kinds of religious cults and alternative (different) 'gospels' that threaten the
integrity of the pure Gospel-message as was delivered by the apostles:
·
Some believe in other ‘holy books’ besides or
in lieu of the Bible (Islam, Mormonism, Hinduism, Buddhism, Shintoism
etc.), while others pervert the Bible only to publish their own version of the
Bible to fit their pernicious doctrines (Watchtower
Bible Society's 'New World Translation', 'Thomas Jefferson Bible' etc.). Some dabble in the occult and witchcraft while others prefer to worship and venerate their dead forefathers and ancestral spirits, the ultimate insult to one's intelligence.
·
Some believe that humans are being monitored
and herded like laboratory-rats by alien masters from remote galaxies in the Universe (Scientology, UFO-ology etc.), while others believe
that the path to ‘enlightenment’ can only be found in transcendental meditation, labyrinth-walk etc. (Indian
and Tibetan mystics, swamis, fakirs, yogis & gurus, etc.).
·
Some believe that humans have ‘evolved’ from
earlier, primitive life-forms, primates etc. (Darwin's Atheism-Evolutionism), while others believe that the answer lies in
discarding the Bible as it stands and pursuing the highly fashionable Gnosticism instead, i.e. the ancient (mystery) manuscripts that,
among others, erroneously (supposedly) depict Jesus as an adulterer and husband of Mary Magdalene etc., as made popular by such writers of fiction
(!) as Frank Yerby and Dan Brown and encouraged by coloured-bead counting movements like the Jesus Seminar (USA) and in South Africa, 'Die Nuwe Hervormers' (The New Reformers).
·
Some believe that one’s salvation lies in membership with secret societies like Freemasonry and Rosicrucianism, while others swear by Nazism, Fascism, Bolshevism, hedonism, communism, paganism and
the Illuminati etc. Some eventually get really sick and tired of all this pseudo-religious and pseudo-philosophical mumbo jumbo and embark on a grand quest for the real truth ... at the nearest psychic, clairvoyant, spiritualist medium or fortune-teller! (Million-dollar question: Where were these 'gifted' guys when we needed them to prevent the 9/11 tragedy at the World Trade Centre?).
The problem is that, if the reader does not have an affinity for TRUTH, harbours all kinds of (unconfessed) sin and refuses to come to Jesus Christ (the LIGHT), he might fall prey to all these lies and consider it ‘gospel truth’ in lieu of the real Gospel as delivered by the apostles. To 'play it safe', some actually believe in nothing and stand for nothing ... only to later fall for anything, hence all these strange, foreign ‘isms’ that have probably been invented for one reason only … to evade the responsibility and injunction for us to repent and accept Jesus Christ as Lord.
Imagine the spiritual darkness and confusion in a country such as South Africa where muti-murders are still the order of the day, ritualistic satanic-killings abound and the indigenous peoples of Africa still 'consult' and 'invoke' the spirits of their long-dead forefathers in connection with romance, marriage-issues and even to win the lottery or the Soccer World Cup. During the Soccer World Cup of 2010 (hosted by South Africa) the national team had witchdoctors ('sangomas') invoke their ancestral spirits in a quest to help them win the World Cup. That year the team of the host nation (South Africa) was the poorest performing team of any FIFA World Cup host in the World Cup in the history of the sport. Clearly the ancestral spirits do not like soccer.
It is common knowledge that at Marikana, where 35 striking miners were shot dead ('massacred') by the police, the spirits of ancestral forefathers were invoked for protection and muti was procured from sangomas to make those miners invincible to the bullets of the police's guns. Again, inexplicably, the ancestral spirits were on the police's side. Honestly, what will you do when hundreds (if not thousands) of hysterical wildcat-strikers come at you armed to the teeth with assegais (African spears), machetes, pangas (African machetes), knobkerres (African clubs), knives and sharpened spoons (not even stainless steel!): Take down their names, addresses and telephone numbers? Wallop them with a rolled-up newspaper?
Unbelief in the Providence of God and the bona fides of Jesus Christ breeds social lawlessness, fear, confusion, hatred, envy, violence, murder, robbery, theft (on the micro-level) and (on the macro-level) communism, socialism, dictatorships and despotic governments. In His earthly days Jesus has warned:
John 3:12 If I told you earthly things and ye believe not, how shall ye believe if I tell you heavenly things?
Imagine the spiritual darkness and confusion in a country such as South Africa where muti-murders are still the order of the day, ritualistic satanic-killings abound and the indigenous peoples of Africa still 'consult' and 'invoke' the spirits of their long-dead forefathers in connection with romance, marriage-issues and even to win the lottery or the Soccer World Cup. During the Soccer World Cup of 2010 (hosted by South Africa) the national team had witchdoctors ('sangomas') invoke their ancestral spirits in a quest to help them win the World Cup. That year the team of the host nation (South Africa) was the poorest performing team of any FIFA World Cup host in the World Cup in the history of the sport. Clearly the ancestral spirits do not like soccer.
It is common knowledge that at Marikana, where 35 striking miners were shot dead ('massacred') by the police, the spirits of ancestral forefathers were invoked for protection and muti was procured from sangomas to make those miners invincible to the bullets of the police's guns. Again, inexplicably, the ancestral spirits were on the police's side. Honestly, what will you do when hundreds (if not thousands) of hysterical wildcat-strikers come at you armed to the teeth with assegais (African spears), machetes, pangas (African machetes), knobkerres (African clubs), knives and sharpened spoons (not even stainless steel!): Take down their names, addresses and telephone numbers? Wallop them with a rolled-up newspaper?
Unbelief in the Providence of God and the bona fides of Jesus Christ breeds social lawlessness, fear, confusion, hatred, envy, violence, murder, robbery, theft (on the micro-level) and (on the macro-level) communism, socialism, dictatorships and despotic governments. In His earthly days Jesus has warned:
John 3:12 If I told you earthly things and ye believe not, how shall ye believe if I tell you heavenly things?
John 8:24 I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die
in your sins: for except ye believe that I am he, ye shall die in your
sins.
If any reader has a hard time believing Jesus, maybe such a reader has a hard time believing any TRUTH of any kind at all? Read the Gospel of John and if that does not ring true in the heart of an honest enquirer I have almost no hope for that person but the GRACE of God to open such a person's spiritual eyes (John 3:3: "Ye must be born again!"). People believe and follow foreign, false religions and philosophies because they believe the LIE; they believe not what Jesus say because Jesus 'say the TRUTH'.
John 8:45 But because I say the truth, ye believe me not. (ASV, www.e-sword.net).
John 3:3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except one be born anew, he cannot see the kingdom of God. (ASV, www.e-sword.net).).
Paul warned against the scourge of ‘different gospels’ parading as the 'genuine article', i.e. the one true Gospel as delivered by the apostles:
John 8:45 But because I say the truth, ye believe me not. (ASV, www.e-sword.net).
John 3:3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except one be born anew, he cannot see the kingdom of God. (ASV, www.e-sword.net).).
Galatians 1:6 I marvel that ye are so quickly removing from
him that called you in the grace of Christ unto a different gospel;
Galatians 1:7 which is not another gospel only there
are some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ.
Galatians 1:8 But though we, or an angel from heaven,
should preach unto you any gospel other than that which we preached unto you,
let him be anathema.
Galatians 1:9 As we have said before, so say I now again,
if any man preacheth unto you any gospel other than that which ye received, let
him be anathema. (ASV, www.e-sword.net).
Agrippa's famous last words (he never became a Christian as far as we can ascertain):
Acts 26:28 And Agrippa said unto Paul, With but little persuasion thou wouldest fain make me a Christian. (ASV, www.e-sword.net).
(Philip P. Bliss, 1838-1876)
“Almost persuaded” now to believe;
“Almost persuaded” Christ to receive:
Seems now some soul to say,
“Go, Spirit, go Thy way,
Some more convenient day
On Thee I’ll call.”
“Almost persuaded”, come, come today;
“Almost persuaded” turn not away:
Jesus invites you here,
Angels are ling’ring near,
Prayers rise from hearts so dear,
O wand’rer, come.
“Almost persuaded”, harvest is past!
“Almost persuaded”, doom comes at last!
“Almost” can not avail,
“Almost” is but to fail!
Sad, sad, bitter wail,
“Almost” but lost.
eLiterature/eLiteratuur:
3.
eBook:
'Bertrand Russell Revisited: Rebuttal Of Bertrand
Russell's 'Why I Am Not A Christian''(ENGLISH)
11. eTracts, Christian (Free,
Downloadable): Free, downloadable Christian eTracts for free
distribution (ENGLISH)
12. eTraktate, Christelik (Gratis,
Aflaaibaar): Gratis, aflaaibare Christelike Traktate vir gratis
verspreiding (AFRIKAANS)
Bibliography
1.
Andrews,
Allen (1969) Quotations For Speakers And Writers. Newnes Books. Hamlyn Publishing Group Ltd. London.
2.
Peterson,
John W. (1966) Great
Hymns Of The Faith. ‘Almost Persuaded’.
Singspiration Inc. Zondervan
Publishing House. Grand Rapids,
Michigan.
