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Friday, March 17, 2023

Biblical Math VS Trinitarian Math

Biblical Math: 1 + 0 = 1

"one": the lowest cardinal number; half of two.

Now, let's use ONE in a biblical sentence:

"Now there is ONE God and ONE Mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus."

"You believe that God is ONE. You do well; the demons also believe, and shutter."

"Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is ONE!"

+++


Trinitarian Math: 1 + 1 + 1 = 1

"three": equivalent to the sum of one and two; one more than two yet three equals one.

Interchangeable with

"trinity": a group of three people or things, but three equals one.

A few other helpful terms to understand Trinitarian Math:

"mystery": something that is difficult or impossible to understand or explain.

"conundrum": a confusing and difficult problem or question.

"illogical": lacking sense or clear, sound reasoning.

"inconsistent": the formal name for a mathematical equation with no solution.

Now, let's use three/trinity in a biblical sentence:

The is no biblical sentence containing the word trinity. Trinitarians say that a trinity is inferred in the biblical texts- a biblical mathematical inference, so, 
let's use THREE in a biblically inferred sentence:

"Jim, Joe and Jesse were the three finalists in the math contest. He won."

Thus, the Trinitarian 1 + 1 + 1 = 1 is determined by a mysterious conundrum of illogical and inconsistent Biblical inference.

One final definition:
Webster defines trinity (noun) as: a group of three closely related persons or things, therefore a group is a thing or an it, not a person.

Conclusion: Trinitarian math would conclude that God is God, Jesus is God, and Holy Spirit is God. 
God + God + God = One God
...a group numerically consisting of three Gods which equate, mysteriously, to one God.

Recommended Reading: 

"Whether you are returning to school, studying for an adult numeracy test, helping your kids with homework, seeking the confidence that a firm maths foundation provides in everyday encounters, or trying to understand Trinitarian equations such as 1+1+1=1, Basic Maths For Dummies, UK Edition, provides the content you need to improve your basic maths skills and prevent years of psychotherapy."





The Gospel According to Saint Trinitarian

Assuming the part where Jesus is fully God... 


YHWY, The Most High God, planned and prophesied for Himself to send Himself to Earth as his own son; agreeing with Himself, He volunteered Himself to His self to offer Himself in obedience to His self. Then, He impregnated a woman with Himself in order to become His Son - who was really just Himself - who prayed to Himself and begged Himself not to let Himself be crucified, before finally forsaking Himself and obeying Himself unto death to prove His loyalty to Himself. While dead, He resurrected Himself so that He could return to Himself to sit at His own right hand, and to serve as a mediator between mankind and Himself. With Satan's forces defeated in the end, He turns His kingdom back over to Himself, ruling alongside Himself forever. (Author unknown. Edits by Nathan Lee Lewis)

(And the other Himself, God the Holy Spirit, did stuff too and He, Himself, who is really just the other Selves, is somewhere at the end as well.)

Monday, February 20, 2023

To Be Deep In History Is To Cease To Be Orthodox

 The church of the first three centuries: or, notices of the lives and opinions of the early fathers, with special reference to the Doctrine of the Trinity; : Lamson, Alvan, 1792-1864 : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive




Rape and the Holy Man - Part Two - Appeal of a Mother

Carol Stevens, the mother of the 15-year-old girl allegedly raped by Father Matthew Williams of Bristol, Virginia, sent this message to the ROCOR priest soon after becoming aware of the situation. She e-mailed the letter to JTO Editor, Nathan Lee Lewis, with the description:

"original reprimand to Matthew and Elizabeth. Forgive the grammar, I was still working night shift and home schooling."

[Editor's Note: The letter has undergone minor edits for grammar. punctuation and clarity. Paragraph breaks are Editor's discretion. Some names have been omitted for privacy and some content, unrelated to the event, has been omitted.]

"I have been trying to reach you over the past few days. [I] know that you now have a growing family and a growing church.[T]hat is why [I] thought you had been too busy to contact us or send things for the children on their name days. [Y]ou now have a sizable; family of your own. [A]nd [I] want to respect that. [B]ut the outrageous allegations of something really obscure keep popping up, never letting me rest. [T]his is something that keeps surfacing that has kept me in the dark for a long time. [A]nd what a way to find out -from my older children in front of my younger ones when [I] was supposed to be going to church [ ] last December,  and then, again, surrounding the event of [sibling's] graduation from homeschool highschool, when a lot of the family came together. [O]nly this time [I] was able to confirm the truth with [victim-daughter].

[I]t seems that you took advantage of [Daughter] when she was only 15 on one of her visits to help Elizabeth [Editor's Note: Elizabeth is Father Matthew's wife] with your children. Or maybe it happened more? [T]his was all common knowledge to the [my] older sons and daughters  --but hidden from me--because [Daughter] had confided in one of her older sisters, who was in turn outraged. [Y]ou don't realize what a great disturbance you have caused in my family. [W]hat a great breach of faith and trust. [T]here is nothing that could ever restitute what damage you have done to not only [Daughter], but to my children, the ones you were supposed to be godfather to. [I]t is an awesome task trying to raise children for Christ in this world of so many distractions and then with a spouse who is not always reasonable or supportive.[I]n the eyes of the older children who aren't faithful, the church has egg all over its face..and they doubt the credibility of all [I] have tried to accomplish at the [C]hurch of the [A]nnunciation all of these years. [Editor's Note: Carol and her family were members of Church of the Annunciation in Liberty, Tennessee, where the late Father Gregory Williams was a priest. Father Gregory Williams was Father Matthew Williams' father] 

[E]very vigil, every lit candle, every painstaking moment of schooling at home--all but thrown to the wind because of great indiscretion. [T]his is damage done more on an eternal scale. [I]ts repercussions so uncertain. [D]id you think that [Daughter] would live untroubled and never confide in anyone? [A]nd that [I] would never find out? [W]hat about your own sons and daughters? [W]ould [you] like for them to reap such devastation as you have caused us? [...] of so many distractions. [F]inding out about this right at the time when my youngest are coming of age is a great mocking of all that [I] have tried to teach them these years at the [C]hurch of the [A]nnunciation.  [I]t has disgraced the church in the eyes of my older children and has brought great reproach. [D]id you think that [Daughter] would never confide in anyone and that no one would get hurt?  [T]hat [I} would not eventually find out. [E]ven if [I] wanted to ignore this and forget the past[,] my older children are after me to check into this. [Daughter] doesn't want to drag this out so that she continues to be haunted by it. [S]he has had a lot of anxiety over this as a freshman and sophomore in college. [S]he allegedly tried to talk with another priest and a bishop and was told to keep quiet. [W]hat kind of a hierarchy is that?

[I] don't care if she were starry eyed and had a crush on you. [T]his kind of act [typo ommitted] constitutes statutory rape. [S]omething men go to prison for and are marked as sex offenders. [S]he was a minor.  [Sibling] and [Sibling] couldn[']t figure out at first why all of the sobbing and confusion.  [T]hey thought she had just slipped out of your house with a [17-year-old] boy [A]nd felt guilt. [T]hat is why [I] called you a few months back. You really did lie to me. [content omitted] [...] [Y]ou were the portrait of piety. [A]nd where was your wife to protect my little girl from all of this? [W]hy did [I] think [I]could trust you?  [I] don't necessarily want to bring such woe upon your children as you have [d]one to my own, but you need to know and own up to your actions. [Sibling] has blamed himself. [T]o what extent did this occur? [N]ow [I] see the reason for the silence and why [Daughter] didn't want to go to your parish for [P]ascha year before last and why you never called her. 

[N]ow [I] can say that two of my [grandchildren] were indirectly damaged because of this parish. [content omitted- allegations of sexual misconduct by a sibling of Father Matthew] [...] and you have to know that your actions hurt others lives and now as an officer of the orthodox faith how much more. [N]ow [Daughter]. [W]hen only 15 or even younger. [S]he was very troubled and unstable and had a nervous breakdown... and eventually stopped caring about church and the faith.  [W]hy should she if the people in the church are equal to those at large? [content omited] [...] [Daughter] may never set foot in the [O]rthodox church again. [S]he continued to sing in the cleros until 18 and then visited some after she moved to [city]. [I] was so proud to look at her when she was 18 one [P]ascha, when she was still living at home and attending [university] with [sibling]. [S]he was the picture of beauty and an honor student..what seemed to me a shining maid with her lovely veiling.  [L]ittle did [I] know of her troubled condition. 

[Y]ou need to face up to how your actions can hurt others [...]  [content omitted]  [...] [T]here are very few men of integrity to teach the young generation about God.  [I] thought you were different[.] [I] thought you were the makings of one with a beautiful wife at your side..an officer of the orthodox church. [W]hat about you.? You have confirmed in your own God children that God doesn[']t matter in the face of temptation. [Y]ou should never have been left alone with my [Daughter]. For this you deserve a great flogging.  And you can ignore all of my messages to call.  I would like an explanation from your wife and from you.  You can ignore me, but that [won't] make the reality disappear that you have done this to us. 

[J]ulianna"   [Editor's Note: Julianna is Carol's Steven's baptismal name]

On Muslims and Buddhists--Salvation Without Redemption?!

I recently heard in person a ROCOR Orthodox Bishop say in a homily, "Will a Muslim and a Buddhist be in heaven? Yes." He said that although their path is outside the church, God would judge them by their "conscience" and works. He did offer the caveat that the Orthodox church is the best way to become Holy...but others can attain that stature elsewhere. 

I engaged a priest in a subsequent discourse concerning the Bishop's words. The priest was also present at the Bishop's homily. I sought to glean clarification as to what the Bishop meant. Had he been misheard? Had I been the only one to hear what he said? Was this just an "English as a second language" issue. Even though the priest proposed that the Bishop was just teaching us not to judge others, he also said that the Bishop's words had "raised a few eyebrows." Looking at the literal meaning of the Bishop's words, it was difficult for anyone not to raise two eyebrows.

On the matter of the Bishop's words, I proposed this to the priest: CAN God receive a Muslim or Buddhist (who denies the Lordship of Christ and the ONLY path to Heaven through the shed blood and resurrection of Jesus) into heaven? Yes, He "CAN". But, does He? NO! This is not about the ability of God or of any man telling God what He can and cannot do. That is a Red Herring. To only use Old Testament - Old Covenant (of the law) references of the grace of God toward non-beleivers to suggest that God allows non-believers into heaven, belies the fact that the New Covenant of Grace is through the death, burial and resurrection of Christ, and is now the ONLY path offered to all who BELIEVE. Yes, God extended his grace in different measures in the OLD Testament Covenant, but as far as I know, Cyrus the Great was the only one that God called "Blessed", and that was for his defense and protection of God's Hebrew people. Of course, it is possible that God will honor that man and bless him with eternal life, but where, in all of the Covenant of Grace, can we find one non-believer, especially those that are by their confession Christ deniers, who are given the grace to enter the Kingdom of God outside the confession of the only Christ, just because they do good things by their own "conscience"? Did not the Christ tell us of the Sheep and Goats and the destiny of each? 

“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left..."

This is why I asked the priest as I did, "The Bishop said, "Will a Muslim and a Buddhist be in heaven? Yes." He said that although their path is outside the church, God would judge them by their "conscience" and works...that the Orthodox church is the best way to become Holy...but others can attain that stature elsewhere. Did I hear and understand him correctly? Does he believe that there is a way to heaven outside the acceptance of Jesus Christ and Him crucified?" 

As a doctrine, as the Orthodox faith, there is only One Lord. One Faith. One Baptism and this is the faith:

"Brothers, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for the Israelites is for their salvation. For I testify about them that they are zealous for God, but not on the basis of knowledge. Because they were ignorant of God’s righteousness and sought to establish their own [Muslims- Buddhists], they did not submit to God’s righteousness. For Christ is the end of the law, to bring righteousness to everyone who believes.
For concerning the righteousness that is by the law, Moses writes: “The man who does these things will live by them. But the righteousness that is by faith says: “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’(that is, to bring Christ down) or, ‘Who will descend into the Abyss?’ (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead).”
But what does it say? “The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart, that is, the word of faith we are proclaiming: that if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with your heart you believe and are justified, and with your mouth you confess and are saved.
It is just as the Scripture says: “Anyone who believes in Him will never be put to shame. For there is no difference between Jew and Greek: The same Lord is Lord of all, and gives richly to all who call on Him, for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

Anyone, be they Bishop or an Angel at the right hand of God who suggests that a Muslim or Buddhist's "conscience" or by inference, their righteous works, may gain him favor with God and entry into then Kingdom of God, void of the confessed Lordship of Jesus the Christ, is preaching the antithesis of the Christian Faith. If such were true then the blood of Jesus is made void and the words of Christ Jesus must be edited to read, 

"I am the a way, the a truth, and the a life and no man a lot of men comes to the Father but by me."

The priest initially said, "focus of your [my] question is a bit off as it pertains to the point of what he was saying." I asked him how that was so. He offered that the Bishop was just teaching us not to judge others. The priest also suggested that, in any case, there was a positive side to the event, that it would get us talking about salvation. I hoped with him that this incident may get us all talking about salvation, but I suggested that, if I, and as he seemed to suggest, others were concerned about what they heard, the conversation may focus on the heresy of a Bishop. I cannot nor should any parishioner or clergy commemorate or follow a Bishop who espouses a heresy of that order. It should be a deal-breaker and certainly is for me. 

If the Bishop was misunderstood and he issues a clarification, I hope it will include the whole of the topic of Salvation which includes the doctrine of Redemption. This seems to be the confusion of the matter regarding how salvation is applied to the Muslim or the Buddhist or to any other outside the Kingdom of God.

Father Michael Pomazonsky, in his book Orthodox Dogmatic Theology (Translated and edited by Hieromonk Seraphim Rose), answers this question quite sufficiently:

"In the preaching of the Apostles, especially worthy of attention is the fact that they precisely teach us to distinguish between the truth of the salvation of mankind as a whole, which has already been accomplished, and another truth-- the necessity for a personal reception and assimilation of the gift of salvation on the part of the faithful, and the fact that this latter salvation depends upon each one himself. Ye are saved through faith, and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God, writes the Apostle Paul (Eph. 2:8); but also teaches, Work out your salvation with fear and trembling (Phil. 2:12).
Man's salvation consists in the acquirement of eternal life in God, in the Kingdom of Heaven. But nothing unclean can enter the Kingdom of God (cf. Eph. 5:5; Apoc. 21:27). God is Light, and there is no darkness in Him, and those who enter the Kingdom of God must themselves be sons of the Light. Therefore, entrance into it necessarily requires purity of soul, a garment of holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord (Heb. 12:14)."

Presumably, there are Muslims and Buddhists who have been redeemed but they became so by personally coming to Christ Jesus and therefore are former Muslins and former Buddhists and are now "sons of the Light." That is how they enter the Kingdom of Heaven, not through having a good conscience. 

Definition of conscience: the sense or consciousness of the moral goodness or blameworthiness of one's own conduct, intentions, or character together with a feeling of obligation to do right or be good.

"There is none good, no not one."

Saturday, April 30, 2022

Boycott All Disney Products


If someone were to walk up to you on the street and ask for money to support the sexual indoctrination of your kindergarten through 3rd grade children in their schools, would you donate? No? Then, why would you donate in secret by funding Disney? Have nothing to do with the Disney Corp or its products.