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The thing is I am not doing anything for myself just as an individual person, on this forum I am trying to watch and observe how other people interact and justify their own types of religious or philosophical positions with each other and compare them (probably pretty similar to what you are doing as well, it seems to be more about learning from each other or comprehending things based on what is shared rather than directly teaching each other)
I developed an interest in what people believe why they believe and also what is the meaning of Holy Scripture a long time ago and can’t just switch that off
And I also have my own very simple personal faith in God which hasn’t and can’t change ….
Do you understand what I mean? This is how I see we need to be able to separate our own individual intellectual/emotional ‘self’ from the systemic while still retaining understanding that those systemic positions and authorities have their own societal relevance and relationships by design
Oakback I’m interested in what you think about how mystic is judging the system
It seems to me that this is about how there is an interaction that happens as the individuals join the various systems, and they naturally bring in the new with themselves when they join and then they leave to set up a new type of organisation taking some of the doctrines with them
I think this is what happened at the time of the Protestant/reformation- there is 2 sides or 2 types of motive, as we see in the names applied to what was happening societallyat that time
It is not nearly as black and white (but on another level it definitely is as black and white) as mystic is making out as there are many different types of religious organisations and communities and some are definitely more lenient and tolerant, some are more harsh and critical
It seems that this is part of the processing that needs to happen between the rulers above and the people below them
Was it you or CCC that made a comment about a week ago about how the RCC sanctifies the pagan beliefs within its body - this seems related in some way I think
It was probably CCC
I believe the Word is alive and active in our lives.
And reveals itself to humanity in various ways.
Many of us share an appreciation with mysticism. Much of modern christendom understandably does not.
I appreciate both, notwithstanding the possible errors in private revelation.
Spiritual discernment requires humility and community IMHO.
This topic is quite timely, as I've been thinking about bouncing some of my thoughts off a dyed in the wool old school evangelical I greatly admire. He knows the same Jesus I know, and he is a Christian rock, a beacon in the fog. And certainly not a mystic. A Jesuit would do as well.
I believe the Word is alive and active in our lives.
And reveals itself to humanity in various ways.
Many of us share an appreciation with mysticism. Much of modern christendom understandably does not.
I appreciate both, notwithstanding the possible errors in private revelation.
Spiritual discernment requires humility and community IMHO.
This topic is quite timely, as I've been thinking about bouncing some of my thoughts off a dyed in the wool old school evangelical I greatly admire. He knows the same Jesus I know, and he is a Christian rock, a beacon in the fog. And certainly not a mystic. A Jesuit would do as well.
Thanks oakback
Yep, it’s definitely not one size fits all
And I definitely agree with you on spiritual discernment requiring humility and community
I have never met a worshipper of Molech or anyone doing child sacrifices (the most distinctive feature of the worship of Molech). What are you on about?
And that exactly is how strong is the delusions of this world - to so easily give up life in trade for ease.
We have been in 'the last days' going on about 2000 years now,
though Molech worship did seem to return/go mainstream around 1960's or so and we're now seeing the fruits of that.
Quote:
Originally Posted by mordant
I have never met a worshipper of Molech or anyone doing child sacrifices (the most distinctive feature of the worship of Molech). What are you on about?
Quote:
Originally Posted by CCCyou
And that exactly is how strong is the delusions of this world - to so easily give up life in trade for ease.
People will probably be able to relate more if you use language they can actually understand rather than tossing out the term “Molech” ….how does it relate to the 1960’s?
Moloch, also spelled Molech, a Canaanite deity associated in biblical sources with the practice of child sacrifice. The name derives from combining the consonants of the Hebrew melech (“king”) with the vowels of boshet (“shame”), the latter often being used in the Old Testament as a variant name for the popular god Baal (“Lord”).
In the Hebrew Bible, Moloch is presented as a foreign deity who was at times illegitimately given a place in Israel’s worship as a result of the syncretistic policies of certain apostate kings. The laws given to Moses by God expressly forbade the Jews to do what was done in Egypt or in Canaan. “You shall not give any of your children to devote them by fire to Moloch, and so profane the name of your God” (Leviticus 18:21). Yet kings such as Ahaz (2 Kings 16:3) and Manasseh (2 Kings 21:6), having been influenced by the Assyrians, are reported to have worshipped Moloch at the hilled site of Topheth, outside the walls of Jerusalem. This site flourished under Manasseh’s son King Amon but was destroyed during the reign of Josiah, the reformer. “And he defiled Topheth, which is in the valley of the sons of Hinnom, that no one might burn his son or his daughter as an offering to Moloch” (2 Kings 23:10).
Christianity does not follow Jesus or His brothers the prophets.
No, not at all
Well so.e is love and charity and without geunine love, there is nothing, but, love charity and bringing a sinner back to respect of moses covers the multitudes and and and and the office of and sins., in total love, there is no law.
People will probably be able to relate more if you use language they can actually understand rather than tossing out the term “Molech” ….how does it relate to the 1960’s?
In Biblical Times, each nation was defined by its religion. Each religion had its own nation. Religion = nation. A closer Biblical Times definition of a nation is a brotherhood of religious people in a location.
Quote:
One In Seven Christian Minorities Under Threat In 2022
On January 19, 2022, Open Doors, an international NGO advocating on behalf of persecuted Christians, released their annual World Watch List. The World Watch List assesses 50 countries where Christians face the most severe types of persecution. The newly published data reveals significant changes in the situation of Christian minorities around the world.
According to the research, the persecution of Christians has reached the highest levels since the World Watch List began nearly 30 years ago. “Across 76 countries, more than 360 million Christians suffer high levels of persecution and discrimination for their faith – an increase of 20 million since last year.” 312 million Christians live in the top 50 countries alone. One in every seven Christians live under at least high levels of persecution or discrimination for their faith.
The 50 Countries Where It’s Most Dangerous to Follow Jesus in 2021
Every day, 13 Christians worldwide are killed because of their faith.
Every day, 12 churches or Christian buildings are attacked.
And every day, 12 Christians are unjustly arrested or imprisoned, and another 5 are abducted.
So reports the 2021 World Watch List (WWL), the latest annual accounting from Open Doors of the top 50 countries where Christians are the most persecuted for following Jesus.
“You might think the[list] is all about oppression. … But the[list] is really all about resilience,” stated David Curry, president and CEO of Open Doors USA, introducing the report released today.
“The numbers of God’s people who are suffering should mean the Church is dying—that Christians are keeping quiet, losing their faith, and turning away from one another,” he stated. “But that’s not what’s happening. Instead, in living color, we see the words of God recorded in the prophet Isaiah: ‘I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert’” (Isa. 43:19, ESV).
The listed nations contain 309 million Christians living in places with very high or extreme levels of persecution, up from 260 million in last year’s list.
Another 31 million could be added from the 24 nations that fall just outside the top 50—such as Cuba, Sri Lanka, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE)—for a ratio of 1 in 8 Christians worldwide facing persecution. This includes 1 in 6 believers in Africa and 2 out of 5 in Asia.
Last year, 45 nations scored high enough to register “very high” persecution levels on Open Doors’s 84-question matrix. This year, for the first time in 29 years of tracking, all 50 qualified—as did 4 more nations that fell just outside the cutoff.
Open Doors identified three main trends driving last year’s increase:
“COVID-19 acted as a catalyst for religious persecution through relief discrimination, forced conversion, and as justification for increasing surveillance and censorship.”
“Extremist attacks opportunistically spread further throughout Sub-Saharan Africa, from Nigeria and Cameroon to Burkina Faso, Mali, and beyond.”
“Chinese censorship systems continue to propagate and spread to emerging surveillance states.”
Open Doors has monitored Christian persecution worldwide since 1992. North Korea has ranked No. 1 for 20 years, since 2002 when the watch list began.
The 2021 version tracks the time period from November 1, 2019 to October 31, 2020, and is compiled from grassroots reports by Open Doors workers in more than 60 countries.
“We are not just talking to religious leaders,” said Curry, at the livestream launch of this year’s list. “We’re hearing firsthand from those experiencing persecution, and we only report what we can document.”
Where It’s Hardest to Follow Jesus:
1. North Korea
2. Afghanistan
3. Somalia
4. Libya
5. Pakistan
6. Eritrea
7. Yemen
8. Iran
9. Nigeria
10. India
Where Christians Face the Most Violence:
1. Pakistan
2. Nigeria
3. Democratic Republic of Congo
4. Mozambique
5. Cameroon
6. Central African Republic
7. India
8. Mali
9. South Sudan
10. Ethiopia
Christians are the victims in 80 per cent of acts of religious discrimination, despite only accounting for 30 per cent of the global population, a conference in Washington heard on Tuesday (5 December).
The statistics, from the International Society for Human Rights, were presented at the 3rd International Conference on Religious Freedom – an annual event initiated by Pope Francis and Patriarch Bartholomew of the Eastern Orthodox Church in 2014 to highlight the situation of Christians in the Middle East.
“Freedom of thought and belief are underpinning of the most innovative and vibrant economies in human history,” US Secretary of Commerce, Wilbur Ross, told the conference. “That is at least partially why it is troubling to see a resurgence in the persecution of Christians in recent years.”
Meanwhile, Coptic Bishop Angaelos from the UK, said ahead of the conference that Christian persecution is underestimated. “It is time for us to stand and work together… It is an epidemic spreading through the world and it affects everyone,” he said.
His comments echoed those of Patriarch Kirill of the Russian Orthodox Church and the Archbishop of Canterbury, who in November used the very same word – “epidemic” – when calling for robust safeguards against extremist ideology.
In a statement, they wrote: “In many countries of the Middle East and Africa there is persecution of Christians, manifested in mass killings, the barbaric destruction of churches, the desecration of holy sites and the expulsion of millions of people from their homes.”
Yes but in america,Christians are hated for their hypocrisy...not for speaking actual truth. I do not label myself a Christian,though I quietly follow that doctrine...but yes speaking the truth and being punished for it definitely seems to be true.
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