Category: Ethics

“You have not strengthened the weak; you have not healed the sick; you have not bound up the injured; you have not brought back the strays; you have not sought the lost, but with force and harshness you have ruled them” (Ezekiel 34:4).

Tens of millions of American Christians are embracing a charismatic movement known as the New Apostolic Reformation. It aims to eliminate the secular state. It is a powerful version of Christian nationalism, and it is deeply anti-Christian.

The New Apostolic Reformation wants to “force” fundamentalist Christianity on the American people, and ultimately the world. It wants to usher in the kingdom of God by force.

Apostles Never Ceased

It mistakenly thinks that the apostles died out. They did not. Their authority in the church was taken up by the bishops, and their ministry was taken up by the missionaries. Missionaries do what apostles used to. They’ve never ceased.

Dominionism

Two equally and dangerous ideas are found in the New Apostolic Reformation. The first is dominionism, which is the idea that Christians should take dominion over society. Why wait from Jesus to return, they believe we should take over the government now.

Of course, fundamentalist Islam believes a similar thing. They want to take over a nation and impose Shira law. But if Muslims tried to do that in the United States, Christians would be going crazy. But it’s okay for Christians do the same thing. I don’t think so.

Of course, dominionism is both anti-christian and ant–American. The American forefathers created this nation as a secular nation, separating church and state. Because they were smart enough to know the dangers of the marriage of religion and government. Christians today are not so smart.

Theocracy

The second dangerous idea is theocracy. It literally means a government ruled by God through his chosen ones. Of course, the New Apostolic Reformation believes that they are the chosen ones. They know what’s best for us. They are the anointed the elite, the master race.

If that doesn’t send chills down your spine, you clearly don’t remember the history of the Nazis. It is the same old lie that the devil has offered, not only to Jesus, but also to his followers (Matt. 4).

If you learn nothing from the history of the Roman Catholic Church, you should realize that power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. And once the New Apostolic Reformation apostles take over authority of the government, all other viewpoints will be persecuted.

Charismatic

I consider myself a Charismatic Christian. I believe that the gifts of the Spirit are still operative today. But I don’t believe that these gifts should ever be used in a governmental setting to rule over others. The gifts of the Spirit offer the edification of the body of Christ, not for governing other people. (1 Cor. 12)..

Having been in the Pentecostal and Charismatic movement for my entire Christian life, I can tell you that most confuse emotions with spirituality. What they claim is the Spirit of God is not. It is simply emotional highs.

They worked themselves up into an emotional state, and mistakenly think it’s a spiritual state. It is not. And if they were more educated in the mystics, they would know this. But they are not. Spirituality does not deal with emotions, it deals with awareness. Spirituality is about deepening and broadening one’s awareness of Reality.

Progressive Christianity

“As Progressive Christians we seek to distinguish ourselves from and denounce those who would use the name of Christ to take away the rights of LGBTQ+ people, immigrants, people of color, prisoners, Muslims, Jews, and others.

‘We denounce Christian nationalism, white supremacy, patriarchy, and all racism, xenophobia, misogyny, and hatred. We stand for democracy, diversity, equity and inclusion for all people everywhere.”[1]

References

1 Jay N. Forrest, “A Progressive Christian Declaration”.
https://progressivechristianity.us/

What to you is a good Christian? There are many different answers that a person can give, but I will give you mine.

A Good Christian?

To me a good Christian is one who is Christ-like. That is, he or she or they try to think, act, and speak like Christ would in the same situation.

What is a Christian?

A Christian, as I define the word, refers to a person who believes in the Lord Jesus Christ and follows his teachings.

I don’t believe you can really be a Christian if you don’t believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. And if you really believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, you will follow his teachings, or at least attempt to.

Exodus 20:1-17, as well as the text of Deuteronomy 5, are supposed to be the Ten Commandments. But look closer. It never numbers the commandments and never says there are only ten.

The Thirteen Commandments

There are more than ten imperative verbs, which indicate a commandment is being given. Let’s count the imperative verbs and see how many actual commandments there really are.

1. “You shall have no other gods before me.”
2.  “You shall not make for yourself an idol.”
3. “You shall not bow down to them or serve them.”
4. “You shall not make wrongful use of the name of the Lord your God.”
5. “Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy.”<
6. “You shall not do any work—you, your son or your daughter, your male or female slave, your livestock, or the alien resident in your towns.”
7. “Honor your father and your mother.”
8. “You shall not murder.”
9. “You shall not commit adultery.”
10. “You shall not steal.”
11. “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.”
12. “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house.”
13. “You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, male or female slave, ox, donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”

What about the Ten Commandments?

The only time that it is explicitly said that there are ten commandments is in Exodus 34:28. But if you read it, they are not the same commandments.

For example, one of the Ten Commandments here is “You shall keep the Festival of Unleavened Bread” (Exodus 34:18). Another is “You shall not offer the blood of my sacrifice with leaven” (Exodus 34:25). And yet another says, “The best of the first fruits of your ground you shall bring to the house of the Lord your God (Exodus 34:26).

So in the only place that it specifically mentioned that there are Ten Commandments, the list of commandments is different. And as you read it, you understand why this is called the Ritual Decalogue. It is written from the priestly perspective. Give us money, keep the Sabbath, don’t make idols, and make sure the sacrifice is done correctly.

But in Exodus 20, there really are at least 13 commandments, not ten. And different denominations try to combine them to get ten commandments in different ways.

Hear the commandments of God to his people:

I am the Lord your God who brought you out of bondage.
You shall have no other gods but me.
Amen. Lord have mercy.

You shall not make for yourself any idol.
Amen. Lord have mercy.

You shall not invoke with malice the Name of the Lord your God.
Amen. Lord have mercy.

Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy.
Amen. Lord have mercy.

Honor your father and your mother.
Amen. Lord have mercy.

You shall not commit murder.
Amen. Lord have mercy.

You shall not commit adultery.
Amen. Lord have mercy.

You shall not steal.
Amen. Lord have mercy.

You shall not be a false witness.
Amen. Lord have mercy.

You shall not covet anything that belongs to your neighbor.
Amen. Lord have mercy.

Source

Book of Common Prayer, 1979, page 350

St. Basil the Great was an early church father who served as Bishop of Caesarea in Cappadocia from 370 until his death in 379.

He is sometimes called the Protector of the Poor. Here is a powerful quote from one of his homilies:

“The bread which you do not use is the bread of the hungry; the garment hanging in your wardrobe is the garment of him who is naked; the shoes that you do not wear are the shoes of the one who is barefoot; the money that you keep locked away is the money of the poor; the acts of charity that you do not perform are so many injustices that you commit.”