RESEARCH MATERIAL FOR APE

[manape]

And so, the indictment is brought but, what is the charge?
America’s Christians are charged with vanity!

They have ears to hear but they do not hear.
They have eyes to see but, they do not see.

Sometimeman, the church God is changing begins with one person at at time. We have seen the vanity. We have heard gospel of works, religion, legalism, rituals, church on Sunday and not on Monday, a thousand rules, and we are tired. Enough is enough. We come to Him and Jesus gives us rest. He is our Sabbath. We blindly followed the preacher, but our eyes were not on Jesus. We opened our eyes and we see the paid-pastor- preacher is not a portal to god. He is a teacher and minister just like us. We are connected to God though Christ, not a man-priest. We are not modern-day Luddites who want to tear down the machines of the church, we just want to help Jesus build this living, breathing, organic church. Know you not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost?

Paul Vieira wrote a book called, Jesus has left the building. So, how would I define "the building"? Well, you might be dealing with and institutional understanding of the church if you maintain of accept the following ideas about "church". (Vieira in the first chapter)

• it's somewhere you go
  
• it happens on a special day of the week
  
• you have a professional to tell you what to do
  
• there exists a hierarchical command structure
  
• meetings come before people
  
• it has committees
  
• it has programs
  
• it has corporate vision
  
• it has a corporate name
  
• it segregates itself from other believers
  
• it is more concerned with structure than content
  
• quality is sacrificed for quantity
  

Please don't misunderstand me. I am not against structure. However, are the structures we customarily call "church" appropriately designated?

Sometimeman, I don't have a problem with worship on Saturday, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. The "church" is not some place you go on Saturday or Sunday. We are HIS church and HE is our SABBATH. Worship on the SABBATH 24 hours/7 days a week. We should not judge those who cannot buy expensive coats. We are his real church, not someplace you go to be seen dressed in you Saturday or Sunday best. Our fine clothes are like filthy rags to him. Put your expensive torn coat on the cross, sometimeman. Jesus is not in the building when the people are gone. He is in our mist. We are HIS church.

It is not about killing spiders and snakes of other religions. Jesus had no denomination or religion. During his ministry, he had no church building or shrine built for him. During his ministry, he communicated with people. He established relationships. Did Jesus go to church? Yes, he went to preach there because that was where the people were, but he also met the people at the well, in the streets, on the roads, or where ever they were. The church is a living breathing entity. It is the body of Jesus.

Like Paul Vieira, My journey over the last several years has taken me from and organized expression of Christianity to an organic one. Organic can also refer to something being clean of any synthetic chemicals of injective additives. This is what we mean when we say organic food. It is clean, simple, healthy, and close to nature. Unfortunately, many of our churches cannot be described this way. They have been injected with synthetic material, man-made toxic compounds of the carnal nature.

[manape]

You will remember the Sabbath. Try it Ape I guarantee he keeps his word. He will, "keep you from falling" and present you spotless.

Jesus is the Sabbath, sometimeman and I am mindful of him ALL days of the week. He has kept me from falling, and when I stumble, he helps me to walk. He presents me spotless. My coat is on the cross and it is spotless and white as snow. My coat is not the one I wear to be seen as spotless before men. It is torn, tattered, and unclean in the site of God. I was blind and naked in the site of God. He has given me a gift of a new coat that is clean in the site of God. I am good because of Him. My goodness will not get me into his Kingdom, but His goodness will take me there. My goodness is only filthy rags to Him. For all have sinned and come short of the Glory of God.

[sometimeman]

Read the promise Ape. It says, "six days shalt thou work". Your ideas of "remembering the Sabbath" is not in accord with what is written.
Just take it literal Ape. It's plain enough.

It identifies the One True God. Time has not been lost. The calendar is correct. From John Chapter 1 verses 1,2,3 and 10 we read:
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made … He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth”

Ape, just think about this, if you believe that, “without him was not any thing made that was made”, that means you believe he made the seventh day Sabbath. While by contrast, history declares Catholicism adopted the first day counterfeit Sabbath

[manape]

Yes, I understand the 4 th Commandment.
The LORD blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.

How do you remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy, sometime man?

Where do you go to church on the Sabbath? Most of the churches l know of lock Jesus out of the building on Saturday.

What do you do with the 6th Commandment that says, "You shall not murder." Saying that we should kill 2-million people who believe in Islam sure sounds like murder to me.

Jesus came to save humanity; not to kill us, sometimeman. What do you want to do with the others who believe in false gods? I don't think your solution of extermination will solve the problem.

[manape]

Pordon my Baptist upbringing, sometimeman.

The Sabbath is from Friday sunset to Saturday sunset (Gen 1:5) and God applies this to the Sabbath (Lev 23:32). How do we begin, sometimeman?

Genesis 1:5 (New International Version)
New International Version (NIV)

5 God called the light "day," and the darkness he called "night." And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.

Leviticus 23:32 (New International Version)
New International Version (NIV)

Should we obseve the sabbath on the 9th of the month? Is it one day per month or each saturday of the week?

32 It is a sabbath of rest for you, and you must deny yourselves. From the evening of the ninth day of the month until the following evening you are to observe your sabbath."

[manape]

Sometimeman, here are the works you can't do on Saturday:

www.jewfaq.org/shabbat.htm

Melachah generally refers to the kind of work that is creative, or that exercises control or dominion over your environment. The word may be related to "melekh" (king; Mem-Lamed-Kaf). The quintessential example of melachah is the work of creating the universe, which G-d ceased from on the seventh day. Note that G-d's work did not require a great physical effort: he spoke, and it was done.

The word melachah is rarely used in scripture outside of the context of Shabbat and holiday restrictions. The only other repeated use of the word is in the discussion of the building of the sanctuary and its vessels in the wilderness. Exodus Ch. 31, 35-38. Notably, the Shabbat restrictions are reiterated during this discussion (Ex. 31:13), thus we can infer that the work of creating the sanctuary had to be stopped for Shabbat. From this, the rabbis concluded that the work prohibited on Shabbat is the same as the work of creating the sanctuary. They found 39 categories of forbidden acts, all of which are types of work that were needed to build the sanctuary:

Sowing
Plowing
Reaping
Binding sheaves
Threshing
Winnowing
Selecting
Grinding
Sifting
Kneading
Baking
Shearing wool
Washing wool
Beating wool
Dyeing wool
Spinning
Weaving
Making two loops
Weaving two threads
Separating two threads
Tying
Untying
Sewing two stitches
Tearing
Trapping
Slaughtering
Flaying
Salting meat
Curing hide
Scraping hide
Cutting hide up
Writing two letters
Erasing two letters
Building
Tearing a building down
Extinguishing a fire
Kindling a fire
Hitting with a hammer
Taking an object from the private domain to the public, or transporting an object in the public domain.
(Mishnah Shabbat, 7:2)

All of these tasks are prohibited, as well as any task that operates by the same principle or has the same purpose. In addition, the rabbis have prohibited handling any implement that is intended to perform one of the above purposes (for example, a hammer, a pencil or a match) unless the tool is needed for a permitted purpose (using a hammer to crack nuts when nothing else is available) or needs to be moved to do something permitted (moving a pencil that is sitting on a prayer book), or in certain other limited circumstances. Objects that may not be handled on Shabbat are referred to as "muktzeh," which means, "that which is set aside," because you set it aside (and don't use it unnecessarily) on Shabbat.

The rabbis have also prohibited travel, buying and selling, and other weekday tasks that would interfere with the spirit of Shabbat. The use of electricity is prohibited because it serves the same function as fire or some of the other prohibitions, or because it is technically considered to be "fire."

The issue of the use of an automobile on Shabbat, so often argued by non-observant Jews, is not really an issue at all for observant Jews. The automobile is powered by an internal combustion engine, which operates by burning gasoline and oil, a clear violation of the Torah prohibition against kindling a fire. In addition, the movement of the car would constitute transporting an object in the public domain, another violation of a Torah prohibition, and in all likelihood the car would be used to travel a distance greater than that permitted by rabbinical prohibitions. For all these reasons, and many more, the use of an automobile on Shabbat is clearly not permitted.

[manape]

Here is A Typical Shabbat from Judism 101:
At about 2PM or 3PM on Friday afternoon, observant Jews leave the office to begin Shabbat preparations. The mood is much like preparing for the arrival of a special, beloved guest: the house is cleaned, the family bathes and dresses up, the best dishes and tableware are set, a festive meal is prepared. In addition, everything that cannot be done during Shabbat must be set up in advance: lights and appliances must be set (or timers placed on them, if the household does so), the light bulb in the refrigerator must be removed or unscrewed, so it does not turn on when you open it, and preparations for the remaining Shabbat meals must be made.

Shabbat, like all Jewish days, begins at sunset, because in the story of creation in Genesis Ch. 1, you will notice that it says, "And there was evening, and there was morning, one day." From this, we infer that a day begins with evening, that is, sunset. For the precise time when Shabbat begins and ends in your area, consult the list of candle lighting times provided by the Orthodox Union, by Chabad or by any Jewish calendar.

Shabbat candles are lit and a blessing is recited no later than eighteen minutes before sunset. This ritual, performed by the woman of the house, officially marks the beginning of Shabbat. Two candles are lit, representing the two commandments: zakhor (remember) and shamor (observe), discussed above.

The family then attends a brief evening service (45 minutes - that's brief by Jewish standards - see Jewish Liturgy).

After services, the family comes home for a festive, leisurely dinner. Before dinner, the man of the house recites Kiddush, a prayer over wine sanctifying Shabbat. The usual prayer for eating bread is recited over two loaves of challah, a sweet, eggy bread shaped in a braid. The family then eats dinner. Although there are no specific requirements or customs regarding what to eat, meals are generally stewed or slow cooked items, because of the prohibition against cooking during Shabbat. (Things that are mostly cooked before Shabbat and then reheated or kept warm are OK).

After dinner, the birkat ha-mazon (grace after meals) is recited. Although this is done every day, on Shabbat, it is done in a leisurely manner with many upbeat tunes.

By the time all of this is completed, it may be 9PM or later. The family has an hour or two to talk or study Torah, and then go to sleep.

The next morning Shabbat services begin around 9AM and continue until about noon. After services, the family says kiddush again and has another leisurely, festive meal. A typical afternoon meal is cholent, a very slowly cooked stew. My recipe is below. By the time birkat ha-mazon is done, it is about 2PM. The family studies Torah for a while, talks, takes an afternoon walk, plays some checkers, or engages in other leisure activities. A short afternoon nap is not uncommon. It is traditional to have a third meal before Shabbat is over. This is usually a light meal in the late afternoon.

Shabbat ends at nightfall, when three stars are visible, approximately 40 minutes after sunset. At the conclusion of Shabbat, the family performs a concluding ritual called Havdalah (separation, division). Blessings are recited over wine, spices and candles. Then a blessing is recited regarding the division between the sacred and the secular, between Shabbat and the working days, etc. For details, see Havdalah Home Ritual.

As you can see, Shabbat is a very full day when it is properly observed, and very relaxing. You really don't miss being unable to turn on the TV, drive a car or go shopping.

[manape]

Recipe for Cholent
Cholent is a traditional Shabbat dish, because it is designed to be cooked very slowly. It can be started before Shabbat and is ready to eat for lunch the next day. The name "cholent" supposedly comes from the French words "chaud lent" meaning "hot slow." If French seems like a strange source for the name of a traditional Jewish dish, keep in mind that many of the ancestors of Ashkenazic Jews traveled from Israel to Germany and Russia by way of France.

2 pounds fatty meat (I use stewing beef, but brisket is more common)
2 cups dry beans (navy beans, great northern beans, pintos, limas are typical choices).
1 cup barley
6 medium potatoes
2 medium onions
2 tablespoons flour
3 tablespoons oil
garlic, pepper and paprika to taste
water to cover
Soak the beans and barley until they are thoroughly softened. Sprinkle the flour and spices on the meat and brown it lightly in the oil. Cut up the potatoes into large chunks. Slice the onions. Put everything into a Dutch oven and cover with water. Bring to a boil on the stove top, then put in the oven at 250 degrees before Shabbat begins. Check it in the morning, to make sure there is enough water to keep it from burning but not enough to make it soggy. Other than that, leave it alone. By lunch time Shabbat afternoon, it is ready to eat.

[manape]

I'm really having problems with not being able to drive my car on the Sabbath. I guess I'll have to stay home. I guess that is okay. The doors to the churches are locked anyway. Cholent sounds good.

My Baptist neighbors are sure going to have a problem with me mowing the lawn on Sunday. I guess I'll do it when they go to church. I guess I'll have to invite the ones who don't go to church on any day over to the house on Saturday.

Worshiping on the Sabbath is a good thing. When my Baptist daddy ask me, "why don't I go to church, I can say I've been there and done that on Saturday." I was brought up not to work on Sunday, dancing because it might be confused with sex, and playing cards because it could be confused with gambling. Well, I get to tell him he is going to church on the wrong day.

Thanks, Sometimeman. I'm feeling good about Sabbath-keeping.

[manape]

Sometimeman, the Jewish Sabbath seems to be very restrictive. I'm not trying to be funny, but can you drive a car on Saturday?

How do you celebrate the Sabbath?

[sometimeman]

OK Ape .
I forget what I’m dealing with. I want to say it’s your fault that you don’t understand but, then again, perhaps it is I, Perhaps I lack the skill? So, I'll give it a go. Perhaps God’s spirit will help you. Here’s my take on the Sabbath.

Man got put out of the garden and had to work so he could live. i.e., “cursed be the ground for thy sake” No more free ride. No free lunch.

The Sabbath promise. “six days shall thou work” but,---- the seventh day is the Sabbath. In it thou shall not do any work, thou, nor thy man servant, nor thou maid servant nor the stranger that is within thy gates.

This one thing, the Sabbath, identifies the creator God and our relationship to him. It is a very deep thing Ape. Your reasoning lacks substance. You have to trust God enough to let him take care of you Ape. You have to come to an understanding of “work”.

Work is what you do to get ahead, Its what you do to get by. It doesn’t have to involve muscles. Some folks make a living with their brain. They plot and they plan. They call and they e-mail.
They scheme and make deals. This “getting ahead” is what you stop for the duration of Sabbath Ape. One turn of the earth. You stop. Just cut loose, quit peddling and let the world coast one round. It will Ape. God keeps it turning, we don’t.

And then stupidity says, your neighbors house is on fire but you can’t help put it out because you “work” as a fireman and it is Sabbath. That is a complete lack of understanding but, if you take a second look, it could lead you to a deeper understanding of your relationship with God.

You see Ape the Sabbath is about motives. It’s about WHY you do what you do. Are you glad you got called in to fight the fire because you could use the overtime for your boat payment or are you glad for the opportunity to help your friends, help your neighbor?. It is in your brain. It is a relationship thing Ape

The Sabbath doesn’t have to involve ANYTHING physical Ape. Have you never read where Paul says, “I had not known sin except the law said thou shall not covet”. Coveting is something that takes place between your ears Ape. It is a mental thing Ape. It happens in your mind. Failure to honor the God of creation, your savior, your redeemer, can be mental thing. Remember the snake on the pole? Such a simple thing. A simple request. Just look and live.

Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the sabbath, to observe the sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant. It is a sign between me and the children of Israel for ever: for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed.
KJV Exodus 31:16-17

The seventh day Sabbath is only for the Jews. Not so! Not so at all Ape. Or as Paul would say, “Brethren I would not have you to be ignorant”. Do you think God has two plans of salvation? One plan for the Jews, and another plan for the Gentiles?

Don’t you believe your bible?
Have you never read:

“For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him”. Romans 10:12
-or-
“Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ…And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise”. KJV Galatians 3:16, 29

-or-

“One Lord, one faith, one baptism” KJV Ephesians 4:5

Circumstances may change, but the Word of the Lord does not change:
Concerning thy testimonies, I have known of old that thou hast founded them for ever. (Psalm 119:152)

The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away: But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. (1 Peter 1:24,25)

Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.
(Hebrews 13:8)

God hasn’t changed. He expects us to remember. Why do you insist on forgetting?

[shortcircuit]

To each his own, I know that my God will not send me to hell because I don't go to church on the right day. He and I will discuss that when I meet him. I'm pretty much staying out of the argument other than the occasional comment, I made my decisions about what I believe years ago and most people here know that I'm pretty hardheaded and not likely to change. And sometimeman, I saw in the other thread where you said you wouldn't comment on my 100 names for God out of respect for me. I want you to know that really means alot to me but you're not going to hurt my feelings if you disagree with me. I think that it's great that you and ape are having this discussion, you two get along alot better here than you do in the Liemar Paris thread.

[sometimeman]

The Legacy of Cyrus Schofield

d


Monday, October 15, 2007
Christians be aware!

[blogger note: I decided this week to focus on articles about Dispensationlism and how it has affected Americas Foreign policy by subverting American Christianity.]


By Marcus Salek

I am not a Theologian, but I grew up attending Congregational Churches in America and most of my adult live, before I moved back to Europe. American Christian Fundamentalism does NOT appear to resemble the teaching of Jesus Christ. Far from it, it looks more like a mixture of the Zionist Racism and "Jesus Magic" ---- that is, turning Christ into some magic cult figure whose sole purpose is to make you feel good.

If Christ would be alive today, he would not be advocating Armageddon or hate for your fellow man, or that we should Nuke Iran to protect Israel. He was known as the Prince of Peace.I doubt if 300 years ago, people were going up and down the streets warning us the end of the world is coming. It's really an American thing that really got going when Pastors started preaching from the Schofield [NIV] Bible with Biblical interpretations written in the notes . Ask yourself. Why would God create this magnificent place called Earth full of life if he just wanted to destroy it all, including the Animals, and all living beings?

Cyrus Schofield has subverted modern Christianity and Christian Fundamentalists must share the responsibility for promoting US foreign policy that suits there religious doctrine. They must share the responsibility for the millions of dead people in IRAQ and Palestine.

Lets not repeat the the era of the Crusades, a two-hundred year war, which pitted European Christian forces against Western Asian Muslim armies. If America truly wants a peaceful world, lets not invade Iran and provide another opportunity for Muslim scholars to point to the glaring disparity between Jesus, the prophet of peace, and the barbaric conduct of his so-called followers.I suggest to the followers of dispensationalism to stop promoting Nuclear war as the fulfillment of some prophecy. It is not your job. Leave it to God, not man. And, Please find a new church before its too late for us all.

Be aware of false profits.
Be aware of Modern Dispensationalism and the NIV Schofield Study Bible - A interpretation written by Cyrus Schofield, a con-man from Kansas.
Be aware of John Hagee Ministries
Be aware of The Council for National Policy (CNP) a Christian front organization for the New World Order.
Be aware of Pat Robinson who advocates Assignation of Chavez and says its Gods will that Israeli murders Palestinians.
Be aware of Christian evangelism that supports war or hate or uses "warfare" in their sermons
Be aware of the Christian run Military organizations like Blackwater which was started by a Christian Fundalmentalist. (so much for brotherly love)
Be aware of any publication of Moody Bible Institute.
Be aware of any program sponcered by the Dallas Theological Seminary.
Be aware of any Pastor who uses the "I" word more than once in any sermon. He is a egoist.
Be aware of any Religion that is active in American politics. It violates the American constitution and separation of Church and State. The more Americas leaders profess to be Christian or "God like" the more war and death America's seem to promote.

Stop being stupid. Start thinking for yourself.

If you are believe your are a Christian, start following the teachings of Christ, not some blabbering pastor who espouses hate for other human beings and death and destruction of the world as a Biblical prophecy.

For one year, sent your weekly Church offering to help the Children of Iraq and Palestine that you helped invade by supporting the Armageddon religion, dispensationalism ,and bringing to power the Bush Administration based on meaningless issues.

Review for yourselves the teachings of the Muslim Religion so Ministers or Politicians don't trick you into believing is something different from what it really in order to promote their wars and military agendas.

We should be invading nations with love, not death and destruction. We should be teaching others by example, not by threats of eternal damnation.

If you don't get the message of Jesus, stop calling yourselves Christians. Find another name for yourselves, its false advertising.

[shortcircuit]

What is false profits sometimeman? Whoever wrote what you posted above should consider reading this: Jeremiah 14:14
Then the LORD said to me, "The prophets are prophesying lies in my name. I have not sent them or appointed them or spoken to them. They are prophesying to you false visions, divinations, idolatries and the delusions of their own minds.

[shortcircuit]

blog.beliefnet.com/conversationswithgod/


New Names for God?
Sunday is Message Day on the blog. Monday through Friday we look at contemporary events and day-to-day occurrences at the intersection of Life and the New Spirituality…but on Sunday, we reserve this space for a specific teaching derived from the material in Conversations with God

This week’s message: New Names for God

I have been asked many times by members of the media if I could capture the one message God wishes to send to the world in a single sentence. I have always accepted this challenge gladly, because I believe that I can put what God is saying to the world into five words.
“You’ve got me all wrong.”

This is the single most important message of Conversations with God, and once we embrace this message, we can open the door to all the wonderful explorations that naturally follow. Yet if we are unwilling to embrace or accept that we are mistaken about God, there is nothing further to discuss.

What the world now needs is the courage to acknowledge is that there may be some new interpretations of this experience that we call Divinity that could be just as valid as our ancient ones.

The Conversations with God books, for instance, suggest that there are at least seven words that could be used interchangeably with the word “God” without materially altering ultimate meaning. These words are:

Love
Life
Joy
Peace
Freedom
Change
You (Me, Us)

The first four of these present no problem, because they create no conflict with our present thinking. The last three are challenging, because they shift us into new paradigms, invite us to confront new concepts, force us to acknowledge that we may not have finished all the thinking there is to do about God.

This week I invite you to do just that: think -- really think -- about these new ways of looking at God. Check in with yourself to see how your conceptual framework about life would shift if you thought these words were truly interchangeable with the word "God."