Podcasts about Marcionism

Series: Signs & GloryTitle: “Would Jesus Cancel Me?"Subtitle: Scripture: John 7:53-8:11John 3:16-18; Matt 7:3-5Bottom line: Jesus meets us in our guilt not to condemn us, but to restore us to a new way of life.INTRODUCTIONCONTEXTSERMON OUTLINECONCLUSIONNOTESOUTLINESQUESTIONS TO CONSIDER DISCUSSION QUESTIONSMAIN REFERENCES USEDOpening prayer: Lord God, help us grow to be and do like Jesus, while abiding in him and leading others to do the same. INTRODUCTION"Cancel culture is a modern social phenomenon where individuals, organizations, or public figures are called out, boycotted, or publicly shamed—often on social media—for actions, statements, or behaviors that are considered offensive, harmful, or morally wrong.Here's a clear definition:Cancel culture refers to the practice of withdrawing support from someone—often publicly and collectively—due to something they've said or done that is viewed as objectionable or offensive, often without a process of forgiveness, dialogue, or restoration."-ChatGPT"(JK Rowling, author of Harry Potter) is a notable example of cancel culture targeting an individual recently:J.K. Rowling (Ongoing, Intensified 2020–2023)
, the author of the Harry Potter series, has faced sustained backlash for her comments on transgender issues, particularly since 2020. Her tweets and essays expressing concerns about the implications of transgender rights on women's spaces were labeled transphobic by critics, leading to widespread calls for boycotts of her books, films, and related media. Fans and organizations publicly distanced themselves, and some Harry Potter actors, like Daniel Radcliffe, openly opposed her views..." -Grok AIBlack Dot Analogy"The black dot analogy is a powerful metaphor often used to illustrate how people tend to focus on negative aspects or flaws—represented by a small black dot—while overlooking the broader, positive context--symbolized by a large white space surrounding it. It's frequently applied in discussions about judgment, perspective, and human behavior, particularly in the context of not judging others based on their worst moments or traits. Origins and Core ConceptThe black dot analogy often appears in motivational, psychological, and educational contexts. One common version...involves a classroom exercise where a professor presents students with a blank sheet of paper featuring a single black dot in the center. Students are asked to write about what they see, and invariably, they focus on the dot, ignoring the vast white space around it. The professor then explains that this mirrors how people fixate on small negatives in life—such as health issues, financial struggles, or personal failures—while neglecting the abundance of positive aspects, like relationships, opportunities, or blessings." -Grok AIThe Security Camera Moment"Imagine a moment you wouldn't want anyone to see—maybe you lost your temper, told a lie, or clicked on something you knew you shouldn't have. Now imagine that moment being played on a giant screen in the middle of your church, with everyone watching.That's what the woman caught in adultery was living. Her worst moment was dragged into the light, not in private, but publicly—before religious leaders, before a crowd, and before Jesus. But instead of condemnation, she encountered something completely unexpected: mercy." -Grok AI For our purposes today, cancel = condemn. When Jesus meets us in our guilt, he doesn't cancel or condemn us; he restores us to a new way to live.OUTLINE (input from ChatGPT)Bottom line: Jesus meets us in our guilt not to condemn us, but to restore us to a new way of life.Transition:If you look at John 8:1-11 in your bible, you may notice that it is in brackets, italics, or footnoted. In my bible, it's all in italics. I have wrestled all week with whether to preach this passage today or not. The reason is that this portion of John (8:1-11) is not in the earliest manuscripts. (that we have so far) It is in many manuscripts, however, it's not in the same place in those manuscripts. It's found in different places throughout the book of John. It's sometimes found in Luke as well. From this I draw 3 conclusions:It's probably not in the original book of John, meaning that I cannot consider it scripture for certain. Many of my commentaries just skip this passage with no comment. Others address it even though they do not see it as scripture. Other commentaries see value in it and address leaving this decision up to the reader. It very well could be a true event in the life of Jesus. I think this is a true account and that some who copied this down felt it was worthy of scripture. And maybe it is. But it doesn't meet the standard of what qualifies as scripture and not just history. (Add qualification of NT scripture here)It's worth our time to preach/teach it because it includes biblical principles and applications relevant to us and aligns with the rest of scripture. In other words, it's not going to take us somewhere we wouldn't otherwise go. The Bible Knowledge Commentary states, "It is probably a part of true oral tradition which was added to later Greek manuscripts by copyists." Blum, E. A. (1985). John. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 2, p. 303). Victor Books.1. The Setup: Grace Confronts a Trap (vv. 1–6a)The scribes and Pharisees bring a woman caught in adultery—not out of love for the law, but to trap Jesus.The law said such a sin was punishable by death (Lev. 20:10; Deut. 22:22), but this was clearly a setup:Where is the man?Why is this happening publicly in the temple?They use the woman's shame as a tool to undermine Jesus.Application: People still weaponize sin and shame to feel superior or to discredit others. But Jesus won't participate in that game.2. The Silence: Grace Slows the Fury (vv. 6b–8)Jesus bends down and writes on the ground. It's an intentional pause.It shifts attention away from the woman, lowers the emotional temperature, and gives space for reflection.His challenge—“Let him who is without sin cast the first stone”—puts judgment back where it belongs: in the hands of the truly holy.Matthew 7:3–5 (NIV)“Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye.”Application: Jesus slows the mob mentality. When we want to throw stones (even mental ones), Jesus reminds us to examine ourselves first.3. The Departure: Grace Exposes Everyone (vv. 9)One by one, they drop their stones and leave—starting with the oldest, perhaps because they had lived long enough to know their sin more clearly.Jesus' words don't just defend the woman—they shine a light on everyone present.Application: In the presence of Jesus, no one gets to act like they're righteous on their own.4. The Restoration: Grace Speaks a Better Word (vv. 10–11)“Where are they? Has no one condemned you?” “No one, Lord.”“Neither do I condemn you. Go, and from now on sin no more.”He doesn't ignore her sin—He lifts her from it. Grace first, then transformation.Application: Jesus is not soft on sin—He's strong on mercy. Grace doesn't excuse sin; it empowers change.Pastoral Notes/transition:This woman doesn't ask for forgiveness—Jesus simply gives it.The grace of Jesus doesn't depend on the eloquence of our repentance but on the fullness of His mercy.CONCLUSION "(Jesus) doesn't give her a license to keep sinning. He gives her a reason to stop." -M Carter"Is Jesus reversing the Mosaic system? No. He is placing His cross between that woman and her sin." -J. Vernon McGeeApplications:Jesus came to show us the way out from under our condemnation to mercy. Let God forgive you--and you yourself.Jesus is not soft on sin—He's strong on mercy. Let God find us quick to forgive instead of condemn or cancel.Grace doesn't excuse sin; it empowers change. Let God find us moving towards holy, pure living instead of compromised living.The Torn Report CardA student hides his report card from his parents—he's failed multiple classes and is ashamed. When the truth finally comes out, he expects anger, punishment, maybe rejection. But instead, his father gently says, “This doesn't change that you're my son. We're going to face this together. But we are going to face it.”That's the heart of Jesus in this story. He doesn't pretend our sin doesn't matter—but He makes sure we know: we don't face it alone, and we don't face it condemned.The Courtroom SurpriseImagine standing in court, guilty, and the judge reads the list of charges. The evidence is overwhelming. Then the judge steps down from the bench, walks toward you, and says, “I'll take your sentence.”That's what Jesus did—not just for the woman, but for each of us. He didn't just defend her; He bore her shame. He doesn't say, “You're not guilty.” He says, “I'll take the guilt.”Bottom line: Jesus meets us in our guilt not to condemn us, but to restore us to a new way of life.INVITATIONThe Dropped StonesPicture the sound that must've filled the temple courtyard that day—not just silence, but the clink and thud of stones hitting the ground one by one. That was the sound of people walking away from condemnation.And maybe today, that sound is what needs to happen in your own heart—not just dropping the stones you've been ready to throw at others, but dropping the ones you've been throwing at yourself.What about you?Peter puts it all in perspective in his first sermon:““Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah.” When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.”” ‭‭Acts‬ ‭2‬:‭36‬-‭39‬ ‭NIV‬‬How do we respond? Answer 2 questions:Take out a card or piece of paper right now. Write down the answer to these questions: What is God saying to me right now?What am I going to do about it? Write this down on a sheet of paper. What I hear you saying, Lord, is ___________________.[my name] is going to believe/do __________________________________________________ as a result.Finally, share this with your Home or Mission group this week when you gather as a testimony about what God is doing in your life. You don't have to get too specific to give him praise.Lord's Supper, 1 Cor 11:23-26 is good passage.Also, say something like, "Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again." (past, present, and future)PrayNOTES"She's been disgraced. Then Jesus covers her disgrace with his grace. He levels the playing field by quietly, making each man admit his own sin, and then instead of condemning her, he forgives her. Not only does he forgive her, but he also transforms her future. He doesn't give her a license to keep sinning. He gives her a reason to stop." -M Carter"Is Jesus reversing the Mosaic system? No. He is placing His cross between that woman and her sin. This One who is the Son of the virgin, who Himself was under a cloud all of His life, is going to the cross to pay the penalty for even the sin of this woman. He did not come into the world to condemn the wold. (John 3:17) He did not come to judge this woman. He came into the world to be a Savior!" -J. Vernon McGee"We must not misinterpret this event to mean that Jesus was 'easy on sin' or that he contradicted the law. For Jesus to forgive this woman meant that he had to one day die for her sins. Forgiveness is free, but it is not cheap. Furthermore, Jesus perfectly fulfilled the law so that no one could just accuse him of opposing his teachings or weakening its power by applying the law to the woman, and not to themselves. The Jewish leaders were violating both the letter and the spirit of the law--and they thought they were defending Moses!The law was given to reveal sin (Romans 3:20), and we must be condemned by the law before we can be cleansed by God's grace. Law and grace do not compete with each other; they complement each other. Nobody was ever saved by keeping the law, but nobody was ever saved by grace, who was not first convicted by the law. There must be conviction before they can be conversion.Nor is Christ's gracious forgiveness an excuse to sin. "Go, and sin, no more!" was our Lord's counsel... Certainly the experience of gracious forgiveness would motivate the penitent sinner to live a holy and obedient life to the glory of God." -W WiersbeBlack Dot Analogy"The black dot analogy is a powerful metaphor often used to illustrate how people tend to focus on negative aspects or flaws—represented by a small black dot—while overlooking the broader, positive context, symbolized by a large white space surrounding it. It's frequently applied in discussions about judgment, perspective, and human behavior, particularly in the context of not judging others based on their worst moments or traits. Below, I'll explore the analogy's origins, its applications, and its relevance to your original query about a post on X regarding not judging people by their worst moments.Origins and Core ConceptThe black dot analogy often appears in motivational, psychological, and educational contexts. One common version, as described in sources like the Rotary e-Club of Houston and Medium, involves a classroom exercise where a professor presents students with a blank sheet of paper featuring a single black dot in the center. Students are asked to write about what they see, and invariably, they focus on the dot, ignoring the vast white space around it. The professor then explains that this mirrors how people fixate on small negatives in life—such as health issues, financial struggles, or personal failures—while neglecting the abundance of positive aspects, like relationships, opportunities, or blessings." -Grok AINT Canon - who decided what books?The process of recognizing the New Testament canon unfolded gradually over several centuries. Here's a brief timeline of how and when this happened:1st Century (c. 45–100 AD)The New Testament books were being written (e.g., Paul's letters, the Gospels, Acts, Revelation).Some letters were already being shared and read in various churches (e.g., see 2 Peter 3:15–16, where Paul's letters are referred to as Scripture).2nd Century (100–200 AD)Many churches were using core texts like the four Gospels, Acts, and Paul's letters.Early church leaders (like Irenaeus, c. 180 AD) affirmed the authority of these writings.Heretical movements (e.g., Marcionism, which rejected the Old Testament and some NT books) forced the church to clarify which writings were truly apostolic and orthodox.3rd Century (200–300 AD)More consensus was forming, especially around most of the current New Testament books.Disputed books included Hebrews, James, 2 Peter, 2–3 John, Jude, and Revelation.Church fathers like Origen and Cyprian used most of the New Testament books but noted which were disputed.4th Century (300–400 AD)Athanasius' Easter Letter (367 AD): This was the first known list to include exactly the 27 books of the New Testament as we have today.Councils of Hippo (393 AD) and Carthage (397 AD): These regional church councils affirmed the same list.While these councils didn't “create” the canon, they recognized and confirmed what many churches were already using.By the 5th CenturyThe 27-book New Testament was widely accepted across the Christian world.The canon was functionally closed, and later councils reaffirmed the same set of writings.So, while the New Testament canon wasn't decided at one single moment, by the end of the 4th century, the list of 27 books was largely settled and universally recognized in the church. -ChatGPTFrom me to ChatGPT: Would you say then that they were decided using an “open source” or “wiki” method?That's a great analogy—and yes, to an extent, the formation of the New Testament canon functioned somewhat like an “open source” or “wiki” process, though with important differences.Here's how the comparison fits:✅ Collaborative Process (like open source/wiki)The canon wasn't determined by a single person or moment.Churches across different regions contributed to the process by using, preserving, copying, and teaching from certain texts.Early church leaders and communities evaluated writings based on shared criteria, and over time a consensus emerged.✅ Organic DevelopmentBooks were recognized as authoritative because they were already functioning as such in Christian worship and teaching—not simply declared authoritative from above.The canon grew from usage and recognition rather than being imposed arbitrarily.Books were recognized as authoritative because they were already functioning as such in Christian worship and teaching—not simply declared authoritative from above.The canon grew from usage and recognition rather than being imposed arbitrarily.✅ Community DiscernmentJust like open-source projects evolve through community review and refinement, the canon evolved through careful theological reflection, discussion, and testing against apostolic truth. -ChatGPTBut here's where the analogy has limits:❌ Not Unlimited or Constantly EditableUnlike a true wiki, the canon wasn't meant to be open-ended or perpetually editable. Once consensus was reached, it was closed and considered authoritative and complete.The church believed that God's revelation in Christ—and through the apostles—was once for all (cf. Jude 1:3), not ongoing in the way an open-source codebase might be.❌ Guided by Theology, Not Just ConsensusTheological and spiritual discernment—especially about apostolicity and inspiration—played a key role. It wasn't just a democratic vote or popularity contest. -ChatGPTSummary:"Yes, the canonization process had a lot in common with an “open source” or “wiki-style” model—distributed, collaborative, community-tested—but it was also guided by deep convictions about divine revelation and was ultimately closed to preserve the apostolic foundation of the faith.The Councils of Hippo (393) and Carthage (397) were the most decisive early church gatherings to affirm the full 27-book New Testament canon. They didn't invent the canon but codified what had already become widespread consensus in the life of the church." -ChatGPTOUTLINESee aboveQUESTIONS TO CONSIDERWhat do I want them to know? Why do I want them to know it?What do I want them to do?Why do I want them to do it?How do they do this?DISCUSSION QUESTIONSDiscovery Bible Study process: https://www.dbsguide.org/Read the passage together.Retell the story in your own words.Discovery the storyWhat does this story tell me about God?What does this story tell me about people?If this is really true, what should I do?What is God saying to you right now? (Write this down)What are you going to do about it? (Write this down)Who am I going to tell about this?Find our sermons, podcasts, discussion questions and notes at https://www.gracetoday.net/podcastAlternate Discussion Questions (by Jeff Vanderstelt): Based on this passage:Who is God?What has he done/is he doing/is he going to do?Who am I? (In light of 1 & 2)What do I do? (In light of who I am)How do I do it?Final Questions (Write this down)What is God saying to you right now? What are you going to do about it?MAIN REFERENCES USED“John,” by R. Kent Hughes, Preaching the Word Commentary, Edited by Kent HughesExalting Jesus in John, by Matt Carter & Josh WredbergThe Gospels & Epistles of John, FF BruceJohn, RC SproulJohn, KöstenbergerThe Gospel According to John, DA CarsonThe Light Has Come, Leslie Newbigin (TLHC)The Visual Word, Patrick Schreiner (TVW)“Look at the Book” by John Piper (LATB)“The Bible Knowledge Commentary” by Walvoord, Zuck (BKC)“The Bible Exposition Commentary” by Warren Wiersbe (BEC)Thru The Bible with J. Vernon McGee (TTB)Outline Bible, D Willmington (OB)NIV Study Bible (NIVSB) https://www.biblica.com/resources/scholar-notes/niv-study-bible/Chronological Life Application Study Bible (NLT)ESV Study Bible (ESVSB) https://www.esv.orgThe Bible Project https://bibleproject.comNicky Gumbel bible reading plan app or via YouVersionClaude.aiChatGPT AIGrok AIPerplexity AIGoogle Gemini AI

Step into the intense theological battleground of the first centuries of Christianity. The Battle for Orthodoxy explores the dramatic rise of early heresies that threatened to redefine the faith — and the courageous responses that helped shape the creeds we confess today. From Gnosticism and Marcionism to Arianism and Modalism, each episode unpacks the core errors, their cultural roots, and their lasting impact on the church's understanding of Scripture, Christ, and salvation. Whether you're a student of theology, a curious believer, or just love church history, this series offers a deep dive into the controversies that defined Christian orthodoxy — and why they still matter today.

Title: The Assignment: Protect and Provide Text: Acts 20:28-35 FCF: Church leaders often struggle understanding their assignment and fulfilling it. Prop: Because Elders must shepherd the flock well, they must protect and provide for themselves and the church. Scripture Intro: Turn in your bible to Acts chapter 20. In a moment we'll read from the Legacy Standard bible starting in verse 18 and going to verse 25. You can follow along in the pew bible or the version you prefer. Last week, Paul began his final exhortation to the Elders of Ephesus. He used his example to depict for them the kind of men who they must be to lead the church well in his absence. These qualities could be summarized in the primary trait of blamelessness. Paul makes it abundantly clear that if the Elders are not blameless, the Ephesian church will fail. Today Paul will continue his exhortation to them, this time issuing commands on what they must do. Let's take a look. Please stand with me to give honor to and focus on the reading of the Word of God. Invocation: Most loving and Gracious God. We come to You as the bride You came from heaven to seek. We come to You as the earthen jars You have placed Your treasure in. Though we are without worth, You have given us infinite value in what You spent to save and to predestine us for a most holy purpose. We are now citizens of the Kingdom of Light. I pray that You would shine Your light on us today and reveal to us our new purpose, which you purchased for us with the precious blood of Jesus Christ. Build our faith, strengthen us in Your Word of Grace today. We pray this in the name of The Word… Amen. Transition: Let us press on this morning to the text. We have much to discuss. I.) An Elder's role is to dutifully and diligently shepherd the flock, so we must protect ourselves and the flock from false teachers. (28-31) a. 28 - Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, i. Up to this point in his exhortation Paul has pointed to his own example which the Ephesian Elders observed while he was among them. ii. Although Paul does not overtly command them to imitate him, it is implied that he wished for his example to be a pattern they must follow. iii. Specifically, a pattern of character. iv. After this, Paul now turns to exhorting the Ephesian Elders directly. v. Paul's opening word in this section is the command to be on guard. vi. The word means to give attention to, to be alert to, to be concerned about, to devote or apply yourself to something. vii. What does Paul command these Elders to guard? viii. He actually points their guard toward two targets. ix. First, they are to guard themselves. Second, they are to guard all the flock. x. Of course, by “all the flock” Paul means all the church in Ephesus. Let no one slip through the cracks. Be on guard for everyone, yourselves included. b. among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, i. They are part of that flock in Ephesus. ii. They are sheep too. iii. So how did they get in the position they are in? Did Paul put them there? iv. Paul may have appointed them, and the congregation may have received them as Elders… v. But the primary agent in their becoming Elders is by the work of God the Spirit. vi. The Holy Spirit made or appointed them to this duty. vii. The character qualities and spiritual giftedness of each Elder serves as an assurance to the congregation that God's Spirit has appointed these men to their office. Their humility, their care, their teaching, their servant's heart has all authenticated the Spirit's appointment. viii. But what role has the Spirit appointed them to? What duty must they fulfill? ix. Paul uses a word that in other letters he uses interchangeably with Elder. x. He uses the word overseer. xi. The term Elder emphasizes the maturity of the man in the office and the term overseer emphasizes the responsibilities of the office the man holds. xii. To oversee means to watch over, direct, and be held accountable for those in your charge. xiii. So, we know who they are to guard and we know the relationship between themselves and those they guard, but what is the purpose of or the intended result of their guarding work? c. to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood. i. Again, Paul uses another word that is used interchangeably with Elder and Overseer. ii. It is the word Shepherd or Pastor. iii. Here it is used as a verbal infinitive adverb modifying the command to be on guard. It answers the question why the Elders must guard themselves and the church. iv. The goal of an Elder's oversight is to care for those in their charge. v. Not just spiritually but for their entire being, body and soul, including protection, provision, guidance and accountability. vi. As a shepherd would care for his sheep, so Elders/Overseers/Pastors are to shepherd the lambs which they lead. vii. Why? Why must they be cared for? viii. The first reason they must be cared for, is because they are precious to the Lord. ix. Notice the reason why. Christ purchased the church with His blood. x. Some false teachers today claim that we can determine our inherent worth by how much God was willing to spend to purchase us. Using this text as proof of that claim. xi. However, the bible also describes us as children of wrath, broken vessels, and leaky cisterns. In a sense, the bible communicates to us that we only have value when we can be used for what we were created to be used for. xii. God made us to be His image bearers. To reflect, represent, and worship Him forever. Sin has utterly destroyed all men's ability to do any of that. Meaning we are about as useful as a screen door on a submarine. xiii. Christ purchasing us with His blood should not communicate to us that we are inherently valuable. For to conclude this would be to contradict other parts of scripture. xiv. Instead, Christ purchasing us with His blood gives to us our infinite value because of what He spent on us to remake us into a new creation. xv. And to those who oversee and shepherd the redeemed of God – they had better take exceptional care of what Christ has purchased with His precious blood. xvi. Another reason that these Elders should guard this flock with the intent to shepherd them, is because there is a looming threat on the horizon. d. 29 - I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; 30 - and from among your own selves men will arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them. i. What a terrible revelation given to these Elders – but one they should not have been shocked to hear. ii. They must be diligent and on guard to shepherd Christ's church because as soon as Paul departs, false teachers will come and try to destroy what God has done. iii. How did Paul know this? Is he making a prophesy? iv. Friends, Paul has been dealing with this since day one. v. In the late 40s after completing his first missionary journey to southern Galatia, only a few months after he returned to Antioch of Syria, Paul had to send a letter to the churches there strongly correcting them for abandoning the gospel. vi. False teachers had come in among them and led them astray. The turn around on this was so quick that Paul wondered if they had been bewitched. “Has someone cast a spell on you?” he asked. vii. The same kinds of things have happened to him in several cities since. At some point a pattern emerges and prophesy becomes merely predictability. viii. And unfortunately the scriptures reveal to us that Paul was exactly correct. 1. In the 60s AD, from I and II Timothy, we find that Paul sends Timothy to Ephesus to right the ship and reestablish order there. Meaning that only a few years after Paul spoke these words to them, the church was under attack by false teaching. 2. And by the time John writes to the church in Ephesus in the 90s, only a little over 20 years after Paul was executed, they had left their first love. ix. Paul's warning is that these people will come in like ravenous wolves. They will rip and tear apart the unity and maturity of the church and will shipwreck the faith of the people. x. But perhaps one of the most blood curdling things Paul says here, is not only that false teachers will come from without, but even some of the ones standing before him, will rise up and speak wicked and crooked things and draw away people from the truth. xi. In I and II Timothy Paul calls out three men who had led to the shipwreck of the faith of many and were gangrenous to the church. He calls them out as Hymenaeus, Alexander, and Philetus. xii. What a sobering thought it is that very likely these three men are standing there listening to Paul say these very words. xiii. What are we to do if the threats are from without AND from within? e. 31 - Therefore, be watchful, remembering that night and day for a period of three years I did not cease to admonish each one with tears. i. Paul issues another command. ii. He says that because of this, because the church has been given infinite worth being purchased by Christ, because there are threats from without and within to destroy it – iii. They must remain alert. They must not only dutifully guard themselves and the church in order to shepherd these people but they must be vigilant in this task. They must be diligent. iv. Then Paul calls to their attention, again, his example. He labored night and day to continually admonish each of them with tears. v. Of course, Paul doesn't mean that he never slept. But Paul's point is that he worked hard. He labored long. He wasn't passive or lazy. He labored… to do what? Admonish everyone with tears. vi. He labored to counsel, exhort, rebuke, and instruct with great passion, pleading with all the church to follow Christ. f. Summary of the Point: Paul gives two commands in this passage, but those two commands are really describing what an Elder is to do. They must be on guard and be watchful. They must be dutiful and diligent. But neither of these commands mean much divorced from the primary aim of their duty and diligence. What is the goal of their guard and their watchfulness toward the church? It is to shepherd the flock of God. This is THE assignment of every Elder. But this assignment takes on two distinct flavors in Paul's exhortation. The first, which becomes our first application point, is to dutifully and diligently shepherd the flock by protecting ourselves (The Elders) and the flock (The rest of the church) from false teaching and false teachers. Paul makes it abundantly clear and with the luxury of hindsight we see the nauseating truth of it, that false teachers are everywhere. From without… and sadly… also from within. It is the assignment of every Elder – if they are to shepherd the flock of God well – to protect themselves and the flock of God from false teaching. Transition: But as I said, there are two particular flavors of this concept of diligently shepherding God's flock. Not only must the Elders protect themselves and the church from false teaching, they must also be providers. II.) An Elder's role is to dutifully and diligently shepherd the flock, so we must provide for ourselves and those who are weak. (32-35) a. 32 - And now I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, i. Paul now prepares them for the second aim of their assignment to shepherd the flock. ii. Again, he teaches them from two examples. The first is God Himself. iii. He begins by entrusting them or puts them into the care and protection of God. iv. God is ultimately going to keep His people safe. Paul knows this. This doesn't cancel his command to them to protect the flock. Instead, they should perceive God's sovereign hand using them to accomplish this purpose. v. What has God done to protect His people, including His undershepherds, from believing error? vi. He has given us The Word. And even though you do not see it, in my notes this is capitalized. vii. The word of God's grace is another way to say the gospel. But oftentimes New Testament writers when they say the gospel they mean far more than simply the fact that Christ was crucified for sinners. viii. In fact, all of Christ's words to us, all of the revelation of God through Christ to His people would constitute the good news. The Word of Grace. ix. The Word of God's grace is how God continues to give His riches to us because it is given through Christ's work both passively and actively. And Christ is The Word. x. Christ did not only come and die to purchase our pardon but also lived, obeyed God, and taught His disciples and His church. xi. The Word continues to be God's riches dispensed to His church via The Spirit inspired teachings of the apostles recorded in our New Testament. xii. God has given a marvelous gift to us in His Word in that we find all we need for life and godliness. We find all we need to be prepared to do everything that God has commanded us to do. xiii. Paul entrusts the futures of these Elders to God because he knows that God gives grace freely to His people when they need help, and He does this through His Word. xiv. Help to do what though? b. which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who have been sanctified. i. We know that for those who have received Christ by true faith, we cannot lose our salvation. Therefore, we will not fail to endure. ii. But we are also told in the scriptures that it is only those who grow and endure in their faith who will inherit the kingdom of God. iii. How do we harmonize these thoughts? iv. Quite simply, those who have true faith will grow and endure. v. Those who have true faith will take the warnings about enduring faith seriously and pursue any means to mature and perfect their faith so it endures. vi. And Paul here says that The Word of God's grace is the means by which we are built up and given an inheritance among those who have been sanctified. vii. We are continually sustained by feasting on The Word of God's grace. To not read, study, mediated, memorize, learn, and live out the commands of Jesus Christ, is to starve yourself and risk proving that your faith… is actually dead faith. viii. Again, The Word of God's grace is a gift freely given. And God has given us this Word of His grace to help us grow and endure and assure us of a clear conscience before Him. ix. This is God's example. God freely gives to help those who are weak. Like us. x. Let's move on to Paul's example. c. 33 - I have coveted no one's silver or gold or clothes. 34 - You yourselves know that these hands ministered to my own needs and to those who were with me. i. Paul's example is also of one who is not greedy for gain but is instead a servant to all providing for himself and those who ministered with him. ii. Now this is not to say that pastors and missionaries should not accept support from other believers. We know that Paul himself did accept monetary support from the church in Philippi while he was in Thessalonica. He mentions this in the book of Philippians. iii. So, Paul isn't giving these Elders the absolute statement of never being supported by the church. iv. Instead, he is targeting one key area which often destroys leaders. v. Covetousness. Greed. And seeing the flock of God as servants to them. vi. Paul's example is that he did not see each church member as a bank account or a means to make him rich. vii. Instead, he worked with his own hands to support himself and his companions in their missionary endeavors. viii. He continues… d. 35 - In everything I showed you that by laboring in this manner you must help the weak i. He did this so that he could be an example to them of what it means to labor hard and long and help those who are weak. ii. Paul isn't saying they can never be supported by the church… but he is saying that if they are to shepherd well, they must not only provide for themselves but also for those who are unable to provide for themselves. iii. The poor and the weak and the destitute among them. iv. This ought to be the goal of Elders. To not only provide for themselves but to be in a position financially to provide for others. v. Why? e. and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He Himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.'” i. Although we do not have this specific teaching of Jesus recorded for us in the scriptures, there is no doubt that Jesus said this at some point to Paul directly or to his disciples. ii. It is certainly something we can piece together from the rest of the teachings of Jesus. iii. It is certainly more blessed to give than to receive. iv. God should know – He is constantly depicted as a giver in the scriptures. v. In fact, the doctrine of God's independence or Aseity teaches us that God has no need of anything from His creation. There is nothing that we can give to Him that He needed. vi. Therefore, God is the ultimate giver because there is literally nothing we could ever do to “pay Him back” for all that He gives to us. vii. Paul should know that it is more blessed to give than to receive for he has given of himself for the sake of these Ephesians and did so for 3 years admonishing them night and day. He earned his own living and paid for his mission with very little help from others. He did not charge a fee to hear him but only took enough to provide for himself and to help those in need. viii. Paul's point is this. These Elders had freely received from him the gospel of God… so they must freely give of themselves and exercise servant leadership, providing even the financial needs of those who are desperate, and refuse the temptation to Lord over the congregation expecting to be served. f. Summary of the Point: Again, Paul's primary point is that the Assignment of an Elder is to dutifully and diligently shepherd the flock of God. The first aspect of shepherding well involves protecting the flock from false teaching. But because God has given all we have and we are simply blessed receivers of His grace, and because Paul's pattern was to provide for himself and those who were destitute, we conclude that another necessary component to shepherding the flock of God well is to be a giver and not a taker. Elders must diligently and dutifully provide for themselves and those who are destitute. In this sense they, who have richly received from God, must richly give to those who are weak. Elders must be servant leaders, positioning themselves in a way that they are neither needing financial aid, nor are they withholding help from those who are in need. Conclusion: So, what have we learned today CBC, and how then shall we live? Doctrinal Takeaway: As Paul addresses the Ephesian Elders, he has already shown them through his example the character qualities required to be an Elder. Today, he gives them their assignment as he goes off to Jerusalem never to see them again. Their assignment is to dutifully and diligently shepherd the flock of God. This command divides into two basic roles they must fill in order to shepherd well. The first arises from the impending threat of false teachers peddling other gospels which will shipwreck the faith of the flock and act like gangrene to the body of Christ. So, to shepherd dutifully and diligently means that we must protect ourselves and the flock from doctrinal error and those who teach them. The second role in shepherding well arises due to the threat of covetousness and greed which is so common among leaders. Failing such a role leads to the pervasive want of those who are destitute in the church. So, to shepherd dutifully and diligently means that we must provide for ourselves to the point that we have enough to give to those who are weak among us. But let us look deeply into these applications. There is quite a lot here and although the actions commanded are aimed at Elders, the key concepts necessitating those actions are profitable for all God's people to affirm. 1.) Mind Transformation: “What truth must we believe from this text?” or “What might we not naturally believe that we must believe because of what this text has said?” We must affirm that false teachers will continue to arise from without and within our church. a. Oh it could never happen here. We are just a small country church in a township without a major city in not quite the thumb area of a state that isn't even the most well-known peninsula in the USA. b. It could never happen to us. Right? Wrong. c. There are many churches in our area that get the gospel right. There are even a few who share our perspectives on the specifics of the gospel and several other secondary matters. d. But make no mistake, there are many churches in our area peddling a false gospel leading people to trust in themselves, their inherent goodness, and their own faith so that they can be healthy, wealthy, and earn their spot in heaven. e. Indeed, in our nation heresies abound. And not new heresies. There is nothing new under the sun. Arianism, Modalism, Partialism, Pelagianism, Sabellianism, Universalism, Gnosticism, Montanism, Marcionism, and many more all still exist in some form or another. f. And they don't just exist in the cultic offshoots of Christendom. My friends some of these heresies exist in churches that are minutes from us. They are preached from their pulpits. They are swooned over in small groups. g. And some teachings which have been part of the church orthodoxy for thousands of years are being chucked out the window by people who think they know the bible well enough to unceremoniously cancel what Theologians from hundreds of years ago bled and died to prove to be true. h. My friends, we must hold fast to the teachings which we have received from faithful witnesses which have been passed down through the ages for thousands of years. i. This is why it is absolutely imperative that we study the scriptures and have the scriptures be our final authority but that we also do not study the scriptures and have our interpretation of them be our only authority. j. The church is not comprised of several individuals! We are one body untied by one faith and one Lord in one baptism from the garden to now. Thus, the essential doctrines of our faith must be known by us and known well, including not only where we find it in the scriptures but also why the church arrived at these beliefs through the study of those scriptures. k. No one here is exempt. Everyone here is a theologian already. But no one is an island either. l. Once again, I advise that you read the books Know the Creeds and Councils and Know the Heretics. m. The ancient Creeds and Councils define for us what orthodox Christianity looks like and how the church has always interpreted key doctrines from the scriptures. Knowing the Heretics helps us to understand how the church engaged with those who did not agree on these ancient teachings of essential doctrines. n. Knowing both the creeds and councils and the heretics will provide for you some guardrails for what has always been taught in the church of Christ. And with these books and diligent study of the scriptures you will not fail to remain steadfast in the essential and ancient doctrines of the church. o. Incidentally I just ordered 10 more of each of these books and they should be here this week. I highly… HIGHLY recommend you read them – if you haven't already. And maybe read them again if its been a while. p. Why is this so important? Without drawing paranoia or undue suspicion on one another – we must keep in mind that the threat of false teachers is always present. Not just from without but also from within these very walls. q. The biggest antidote to this as a member of this congregation or even as an Elder is to remain humble and when you find yourself disagreeing with something, search the scriptures and assume you are the one out of bounds. And only when you cannot harmonize your view with what is being taught, should you approach the Elders and seek clarification or… even… correction. r. Unsurprisingly the greatest inoculation against false teaching is humility. 2.) Mind Transformation: “What truth must we believe from this text?” or “What might we not naturally believe that we must believe because of what this text has said?” We must affirm the church is valuable to God because He purchased it with the blood of Christ. a. You have often heard me teach against the self-esteem movement. b. You have often heard me criticize the modern overemphasis on the love of God to the point that some preachers make it seem that God would be really lucky to have us join Him. c. You have often heard me teach on the wretchedness and wickedness of natural man and how we are all enemies of God and hate His law and do not seek after Him naturally. d. All of this is true. All of this I will continue to preach until I die. e. But I want to make it very clear – dear children of God – that God has given every single one of us eternal and infinite value by redeeming us with the precious and priceless blood of His Son. f. For His bride Christ came and sought her. He found her prostituting herself to various gods and passions. She was a slave of Satan and her own lusts. g. But He found her and bought her with His death. He has granted her new life in His resurrection. He has made her new. h. The value God has given to His church is bound to His holy and eternal purpose for her. She will be glorified with the Son and she will reign with Him forevermore. i. My friends… God has lavished His love on us in that while we were yet sinners… Christ died for us. j. We are worth so much to God, because He gave us worth in His Son. We are no longer slaves… but sons and daughters. And if we are sons and daughters, we are heirs to the throne of God. We are a holy and royal priesthood. We are Princes and Princesses, unblemished Priests and Priestesses, and preaching Prophets and Prophetesses… why? Because we are His bride. k. He loves us so much. Not because we are loveable… but because He has poured into us His love. We love God because He loved us first. l. Oh the depth and the riches and the glory of the Love of God! His church is the apple of His eye… the reason He became a man, lived a sinless life, and suffered and died… we are His Holy Church. m. My friends, He is ours… but we are also His. We are His portion. We are His prize. We are His children. We are His bride. n. Oh the depth and the riches and the glory of the Love of God which He has lavished on His church! From heaven He sought us. Through death He bought us. Forever He loves us. o. Oh the depth and the riches and the glory of the Love of God which He has lavished on His church! 3.) Mind Transformation: “What truth must we believe from this text?” or “What might we not naturally believe that we must believe because of what this text has said?” We must affirm that the Word of God's Grace is able to grow our faith in maturity and endurance. a. God loves His church so much that He has supplied His Son not only to redeem us but to grow us and sustain us and to remake us into what He desires us to be. In this we walk worthy of the expensive name we have been given. b. The Word of His Grace continues to shape us, grow us, mold us, and strengthen us to endure to the end. c. The Word of God is powerful to destroy and rebuild to mold and purify. d. We are of great value to our King, which is exactly why He has not left us to fend for ourselves. He has given us the Word of His grace. e. Why oh why do you deprive yourself of the gift of God's Word? Do you enjoy starving yourself or feasting on that which will never satisfy? Do you enjoy feeding yourself at the pig trough when you could be dining on the fatted calf your heavenly Father has slain for you? f. Why do you like baby birds desire the prechewed and predigested food of books about the Word of God's grace when you could study the Word itself? g. My friends – it is time for you to take up the means that God has provided to grow you and make you strong and consume it daily! h. What have you to do with your time that is better than eating and drinking? Who among us today can go a week without water? How many among us have gone a week without food? i. Why then do you consume spiritual food only on Sunday, and only food that has been prepared for you. Food that is so large a meal that your stomach, being accustomed to short 2 minute devotions, cannot seem to linger over for more than 10 minutes before you have eaten your fill and thus drifted off to sleep. j. Do you not know the price God paid to give you the Word of His grace? k. Elders and church members alike… feast often and feast long on the meals arranged for you in the Word of God's grace. See how big and strong your faith becomes. See how humility becomes your default setting when day after day the Word strikes you down to the nothing that you are only to pick you up in the potential of His Spirit's plan for your life. 4.) Exhortation: “What actions should we take?” or “What is this passage specifically commanding us to do that we don't naturally do or aren't currently doing?” Elders must dutifully and diligently shepherd the flock of God by protecting ourselves and the assembly from doctrinal error. a. Elders we must lead the way in this. b. All that I have said so far is for everyone here… but we must lead the way. c. We cannot be prone to hobby horse doctrines, theological musings, endless discussions over genealogies and mythologies, or answering the questions of how many angels can dance on the head of a pin. d. My friends, we must devote ourselves to the rigorous study of the Word of God and the Creeds, confessions, and historical dogmas of the church to ensure that we do not stray to the left or the right. e. Why? f. Because where we go others are sure to follow. g. We must hold one another accountable. We must stay on guard for all teachings which could lead others astray from the truth and even for teachers rising up… even from among us… who must be corrected and if they will not be corrected, they must be silenced. h. We have been given the duty to shepherd this flock. To do so well, we must protect them from ravenous wolves. And some of them we may even know personally. i. We must be courageous and bold in this. 5.) Mind Transformation: “What truth must we believe from this text?” or “What might we not naturally believe that we must believe because of what this text has said?” We must affirm that God freely gives to His children all we need to be godly. a. God is the greatest example of a giver. b. God has given freely, without cost, without need of repayment, all we as His children need to be godly. c. God owns all of us, everything we have, everything we are… all of creation is His… yet He gives us life, hope, peace, repentance, godliness, faith, grace, and mercy. d. He gives out of His abundance. e. No one can outgive God. f. He has lavished His love on us, His people. g. Indeed, God even gives glory to us through Christ. h. Although the scriptures say that God will share His glory with no one… the scriptures also teach that God will glorify us in Christ. i. In fact, God is glorified by glorifying us in Christ. How? j. Because for all eternity we will live to declare the matchlessness of His grace to us in that He has lavished upon us all His riches at Christ's expense. k. God is the greatest example of a giver that there ever could be. 6.) Refutation: “What lies must we cast down” or “What do we naturally believe, or have been taught to believe, that this passage shows is false?” Elders must deny that the church exists to serve us. a. As no surprise then, men, if we are the undershepherds of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ… then we must be givers too. b. From heaven… He sought His church and bought them with His own blood. c. How could we EVER conclude that the church exists to serve us? d. They are not here for us… we are here for them. They are His precious bride, His children, His heirs. e. And so are we. f. Those who wish to be first, must be last. g. As Elders, we have desired this noble office… we have desired to be first among these people… h. But that means we must be last. i. We must be servants of all these dear ones whom Christ has purchased with His blood. j. Like God… like Paul… we must give of ourselves to them… until we are empty and extinguished. 7.) Mind Transformation: “What truth must we believe from this text?” or “What might we not naturally believe that we must believe because of what this text has said?” We must affirm that it is more blessed to give than to receive. a. But not just the Elders need to understand this principle. b. All of us must heed the words of our Lord. It is more blessed to give than to receive. c. Giving of our time, talents, abilities, strength, financial resources – is the heartbeat of the Triune God as He gave freely to save His church. d. We are blessed when we are holy as our heavenly Father is holy. e. When we are stingy, self-focused – we are only cursing ourselves. f. Our culture says take care of #1. And many today are keyboard activists standing up for the rights of those who are oppressed or hurting… but when it comes to actually DOING something to help… they have only excuses for not doing so. g. Let that not be said of us. Let us be generous first to the household of faith. Let us be generous to all whom the Lord purchased with His blood. Let us not allow even one among us who are truly His child to be poor and destitute. h. Let us intervene and meet the needs of those who cannot meet their own needs. And let us encourage and train them to go from needing help, to helping others. Why? i. Because it is more blessed to give than to receive. j. It is not God's will for you to remain a taker… because it is more blessed to give than to receive. If you must receive, do so without shame. But see to it that you seek to become a giver as soon as you are able. 8.) Exhortation: “What actions should we take?” or “What is this passage specifically commanding us to do that we don't naturally do or aren't currently doing?” Elders must dutifully and diligently shepherd the flock of God, by providing for ourselves and the destitute in the assembly. a. Men this leads once again to us leading by example. b. We must labor hard and not be lazy. c. We must devote ourselves to providing for all our own needs so that we may take our excess and give out of our abundance, like our heavenly Father does to us. d. It is very uncomfortable for me to say this you all as the vocational Elder here. I have to just voice that. I labor each week to bring the text of scripture to bear upon all of us – myself included. For this the church graciously supplies my needs, giving my family enough to be generous to others as well. e. But for you all my brothers, you earn your living via another job and then give of yourselves here by pure sacrifice. f. Nevertheless, the scriptures must be presented as they are. All of us must be providers to those who are destitute in our fellowship. g. As it stands at this moment, the Elders are not aware of any that are… but it is our job to ensure it stays that way men. Let me close with a prayer by the Puritan John Flavel Lord, cleanse our churches, and repair their walls, so they may become gardens of delight for Christ to walk in and take pleasure in. May her ministers be faithful and wise: faithful so they do not deceive others; wise so they do not deceive themselves. May their wisdom prevent deceivers imposing on them, and their faithfulness prevent them imposing on others. May their wisdom enable them to discern wholesome food for the flock and their faithfulness oblige them to distribute it. May our leaders be pure with spiritual aims and intentions; serving not their own honour and interest, but yours. May our leaders show sincerity, not appearing outwardly spiritual while being inwardly carnal. May our leaders be diligent, like men in harvest, like women in labour, like soldiers in battle, watching while others sleep. May our leaders lack favouritism, as those who will appear before an impartial God. May they take the same care, manifest the same love, show the same diligence to the poorest and weakest souls in their care as they do the rich, the great and the honourable. For all souls are rated the same in your book of life, and our Redeemer paid as much for one as the other. May their faithfulness fix their eyes on the right end, and may their wisdom direct them to the best means of attaining it. May they lay a good foundation of knowledge in our souls, choosing subjects that will meet our needs, shaping the language in which they address us, using their own affections to move us, being careful of their behaviour. Send them often to their knees to seek your blessing upon their labours, knowing that all their success entirely depends upon you. It is in Jesus' name we pray this… Amen. Benediction: May our God who called Abraham when he was but one, And blessed him and made him many, Show you the incomparable riches of his grace, That you might know you are His workmanship, To do good works, which God has prepared in advance for us to do. Until we meet again, go in peace.

⭐️In this episode Phylicia explores Marcionism's heretical views on the Old Testament, emphasizing the importance of understanding scripture in light of personal biases and promoting the Old Testament's foundational role in Christianity. Mentioned in this episode: ⭐️ 10 Myths About the Old Testament: https://everywomanatheologian.myflodesk.com/oldtest ⭐️ Join the Old Testament Course Waitlist: https://community.phyliciamasonheimer.com/join?invitation_token=14931948b3f388c349768e3c4ac1d1f4d84cfbe1-730df723-5cda-47be-b3cd-197ef4bdaff1 ⭐️ Beginning of the Canon series on Verity: https://zencastr.com/z/RP2eICgo ————————————————

Fr. Mike explores the formation of the canon of Scripture. He emphasizes the importance of contemplating and venerating all 73 books of both the New and Old Testaments given to us through Sacred Tradition. Together, with Fr. Mike, we further examine the definition of the canon of Scripture throughout history, spanning from the late 4th to the mid-15th century. Today's readings are Catechism paragraphs 120-127. This episode has been found to be in conformity with the Catechism by the Institute on the Catechism, under the Subcommittee on the Catechism, USCCB. For the complete reading plan, visit ascensionpress.com/ciy Please note: The Catechism of the Catholic Church contains adult themes that may not be suitable for children - parental discretion is advised.

Tim Davis speaking at the 11 o'clock service, in the series Heresies Ancient and Modern?

When we talk about “the Early Church” many people's minds immediately go to the first generation of Christianity, recorded in the Book of Acts and addressed in the New Testament. But what happened after that, and why does it matter for Christians living today? Matt Pursley is the Executive Pastor at Park Hill Church in San Diego, California. He has a Masters in Christian History, and in this episode, Matt and I discuss the First Council of Nicaea: what led to it and what it produced. We address many of the common misconceptions about Nicaea, and we discuss the early heresies of Marcionism, Gnosticism, and Arianism, and why it's important for Christians today to understand those heresies, and why they were rejected. Along the way we also talk about Jordan Peterson, who Matt says is a modern Marcionite, and how the errors of both liberalism and fundamentalism have a similar origin. Visit the Theology for the People website at nickcady.org --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/theologyforthepeople/support

After the last two inversions, things may seem a bit bleak. But the fall of one-third of the angels should not bring despair, despite the fact that God gives them leash to harass us - but just enough. (We should take note that they have been defeated already, yet the end must play out.) The existence of spirits and angelic beings (even fallen ones) does nothing to change the fact that the radically transcendent God created wholly out of love. And how do we know this? Because God praises all of his creation as “good.” When God said “Fiat lux” he was pleased. Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. And God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness.Notice that he did not say, “Let there be dark,” for nothing is the darkness. But the light is good, and light is also true and beautiful. Seven times in the first chapter of Genesis we read “And God saw that it was good.” In the last mention, a strong adverb is added:God saw everything that he had made, and indeed, it was very good.Note that God says “it was good” even after creating humans, in our pre-fallen state. Note that this declaration of humans being “good” is prior to the moment when he breathes a rational soul into humankind, but even after the Fall we are good, but compromised. We are bent but not broken. Even when our ejection from the Garden happens, the ground is cursed, not us. This is an important point to notice. Goodness in creation brings with it the language of hope, second chances, forgiveness, because all of us spiritually crippled and broken things are worth saving. In Japan, an art form called Kintsugi takes broken pottery and mends it with a golden filler or powder so that the item becomes serviceable again while maintaining its scars. After the restoration, the pottery looks more beautiful and even becomes more valuable than the original pot. The original pot was good, but the healed pot is better. Shattered, it seemed destined for the garbage heap. However, with this art form, what was perceived as garbage or as a lost-cause is mended and brought back to life, in a resurrection of sorts. What was originally good is glorified in the restoration. That is the plan of salvation. Don't let the Fall get you down, because the plan is greater than we understand. And that brings us to the inversion regarding goodness: all that God made is good. This is why sin is ridiculous. It destroys the good. Yet the good remains and will be restored if we understand this inversion. Cast out your cynicism and your glass-half-full thinking. Reject the notion that this world is intrinsically evil, for it was not made that way. By our sin, the pottery was shattered. Through the Paschal mystery we are repaired with golden seams. But in the meantime…Because we have the reality of sin, we look for answers outside of the most obvious place. And this causes us to forget: that all matter and spirit created by God was good from the start. It is only by turning away that we crack up and need restoration. Yet there is much hope in that restoration, too, for in the healing, our wounds will remain but be more glorious. Many errors about the goodness of creation has led both the Israelites and Christians and non-believers away from the right path. This often falls under an umbrella of “matter is bad” or “spirits are bad.” The error is simple. All of God's creation exudes goodness. It is sin that is bad, because it deforms and disorders that goodness. The one thing that God creates that he deems “not good” is when the man is alone, and therefore he creates woman. “Then the Lord God said, ‘It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper as his partner.'” Thus, the only thing that God created that was not good - human loneliness - was promptly addressed with the most wonderful creation of all: woman, and with her, he created another amazing gift called marriage. The Fall marred that relationship as well, for as we turned from God, we turned away from each other. Since the Fall, we have been looking for something to blame for the state we are in, and the list of errors in what to blame grows long. If we don't blame God, we blame something created. I would personally like to blame mosquitoes, but in the grand order of things, without mosquitoes many birds and bats would starve, and I like birds and bats. Even though mosquitoes ruin many summer evenings, they were created as good, because God said so. Many stand-ins for mosquitoes have been tried. With Pandora's Box the Greeks blamed the gods and woman for introducing evil. With the Manichaeans, matter was evil. In Christian history, there are thirty-one flavors of Gnostic heresies, with popular movements like Marcionism, Catharism, and Paulicianism. Most recently, the Woke movement of recent years has come up with a remarkably parallel set of doctrines to the Cathars, to the point that they seem somehow separated at birth despite being hundreds of years apart. All of these gnostic groups die an ugly death, because they are errors and forget that God is good, and creation is good. With all untruth, it eventually turns on itself, killing off the host. The “light versus dark” idea is not new. This mistake is ancient. The light/dark battle royale is called dualism, and here is the mistake: dualism declares that there are two equal forces in the universe in contention for power, and only those on the “right side of history” are the “good.” If you find Catholicism odd, look into the gnostic and dualist movements. You will find many strange ideas and no coherency, but a general theme of “matter is bad,” and that is not what God says. He says the opposite. He says matter is good, repeating it seven different times. In much of the “light vs. dark” errors, there is a misconception of God and the “war in heaven” idea included God himself. But there is no competitor with God, who is the highest good and source of all that is good. Any war in heaven that happened among the angels occurred as part of God's plan of salvation. Again, God is transcendent of all created things, even the angels. Thus, evil cannot touch God, because evil only happens in creation, which includes the created heavens. To use a metaphor, if an architect built a beautiful cathedral, and later a visitor entered the cathedral and spray painted the walls, that is not the architect's work. The graffiti vandal represents disorder from the goodness of the creation, but the spray paint came from the creature who used creation unwisely. Back to dualism: this idea often grows out of an imbalance in the world due to people causing disorder. We naturally fall into this state, and its called paganism. Paganism and modern political religion falls into this zero-sum game trap. The idea of competition comes from dualism, which is fundamentally a distrust in God and his plan for salvation. Here is something we don't like to admit: most Americans today are not Christians; they are gnostics and dualists without knowing it. We lionize competition and achievement, where failure is darkness. In other words, the Fall pushes us into continual competition, so that we do not cooperate with God's grace or each other for the common good. After all, God created all things and saw that it was good. No, it was very good. We forget this every day. It's good, yet something is off in creation, so we need to fix it. What could it be? What could be off? What is it that is un-good? That thing is called “me” but that's hard to look at. Blaming something else is the path of least resistance, but wide is the way that leads to destruction and many are those who follow it. This leads to a variety of conclusions about what is bad, or what went wrong, and so often the conclusion leads to something called “gnosis,” or secret knowledge. This secret knowledge tends to elevate the self over other people or groups. This secret knowledge pins the tail on a donkey to blame for all suffering. Gnosis behaves like a cancer cell, because gnosis takes many forms, and whatever group catches this disease always dies off in the end and becomes an obituary in history books. This is inevitable because the truth always bubbles up and continues on, like a cork in a stormy sea - no matter the weather or the waves, the truth cannot be sunk. For some of these errors, the secret knowledge looks at matter as the source of evil, sometimes all matter. Leaps of logic are made, such as: Life is pain, ergo “bodies are bad.” An extension of that is “sex is bad” which was the cry of the Puritans and Cathars. (FYI: Puritanism is an error, as is all of Calvinism). Often specific matter or bodies are the target, like women or men, or black people or white people. Sound absurd? That's because it is absurd. Sometimes there are specific groups, like Republicans or Democrats, capitalists or communists, that mark off the light versus dark and the group is responsible for all evil (depends on which side you are on). This blame and zero-sum game leads to a world lacking forgiveness. Conversely, the idea that all creation is good, but we are compromised, this leads to a world of forgiveness and redemptive suffering, which we'll discuss in a later inversion.When any cult of dualism arises - and it always does - there is an enemy that must be destroyed, for that is the root of darkness. Killing all the Jews and Catholic priests has been tried multiple times and didn't solve the problem of evil. Caesar killed a million Gauls and that didn't cure Rome. Currently, in the 21st century, one set of gnostic dualists say that the the enemies are whiteness, the patriarchy, pro-life groups, traditional Christians, and (the perennial pick) practicing Jews. Another set blames foreigners, economics, academic elites, and the progressive lobby. Unsurprisingly, the enemy of the dualists never takes the name of “my personal sin” or “the Fall” because the source of all evil is elsewhere. For dualists and gnostics, the evil comes externally, not from the human heart that resides in each of us. We were created good, but like a broken pot, we are scattered into pieces. Yet there is a way to be mended, and it is by the savior that heals, the great Konsugi artist named Jesus. We all seem to know there was an Eden, a perfect state, a heavenly existence, and we want to return to it. We can feel that creation's goodness is real without having ever been to the eternal paradise. Our confusion swirls around how to get back to the Garden. When we turn from God's goodness, we tend to believe that it is us who will restore the Garden, and somehow by our efforts we will get past the cherubim and the spinning fiery sword that blocks the way. To do so, we need to remove the un-good ideas or people or material that blocks the path. This attempt to boost our own way to heaven is flammable and the devil loves watching it happen, since the father of lies caused the Fall in the first place. Socialism and capitalism claimed to have the way to paradise, and both have created versions of hell on earth. The darkness in the human heart can be hard to admit, so we project it onto other created things, or the Creator himself if we have a poor understanding of God. St. Augustine and others did much battle to knock-down the Manichean dualist claim that all matter was bad. Many others throughout the centuries have had to defend God's holy name against a variety of similar heresies. The gnostics and dualists always come back, always with bad ideas, slightly different than before, which again makes them much like a mutating cancer cell that winds through time. However, this inversion is not about who is to blame. It is about goodness, truth, and light. First and foremost, we must understand that all matter and spirit was created good because it came from God's love. Another way to say it is that creation is ordered. Creation has a wisdom of its own, far beyond ours. The Catechism states:Because God creates through wisdom, his creation is ordered …Our human understanding, which shares in the light of the divine intellect, can understand what God tells us by means of his creation, though not without great effort and only in a spirit of humility and respect before the Creator and his work. Because creation comes forth from God's goodness, it shares in that goodness - "And God saw that it was good. . . very good”- for God willed creation as a gift addressed to man, an inheritance destined for and entrusted to him. On many occasions the Church has had to defend the goodness of creation, including that of the physical world. (CCC 299)This should not come as a shock for anyone that has witnessed a sunset, or watched seeds grow, or watched puppies play, or observed a baby being born, or caught sight of a red fox in the winter snow, or watched a monarch caterpillar emerge from its cocoon as a monarch butterfly. This should not come as a shock to anyone who has pondered the mathematical miracle of a shell on a beach, or felt the might of ocean waves against their legs on shifting sands, or visited a glacier, or hiked a mountain. This should come as no surprise to anyone who has caught a fish, or harvested apples, or has felt the sting after being too late in slapping a mosquito before the bite. There is order in creation. All modern science rests upon that assumption. Perhaps we've taken this for granted for too long. We need to recognize this wonder of intelligibility. Saint John Paul II said, “It is the one and the same God who establishes and guarantees the intelligibility and reasonableness of the natural order of things upon which scientists confidently depend.” (Fides et Ratio, 34)God created the integers and the angels, as well as the basic Legos we call carbon and hydrogen and helium - and all of this was good. Why was it good? Because it is reasonable. It is order out of nothing, out of emptiness, out of chaos. The watery void or the Big Empty is uninteresting, whereas the music of the spheres in the heavens makes sense. The soil cycle and weather cycle and Krebs cycle and tricycle: all of these make sense. As Einstein said, “The eternal mystery of the universe is its comprehensibility. The fact that it is comprehensible is a miracle.”In other words, nature is ordered by a wisdom far greater than our own, yet we can study it. Better still, because we are part of that good creation. God is the only thing not part of creation, because he is the sheer act of Being Itself. Thus, we should never worship creation or anything in it, because creatures are not the Creator. That means we should not worship the earth or the stars or celebrities or mascots or nations or corporations or ideas. On this ordered “goodness” the first universities were founded, as all truth leads to God, who created all things. The foundation of order in the universe coming from the Unmoved Mover provides the bedrock for all inquiry, and we are free to arrive at our own conclusions. In the Catholic manner of thinking, inquiry into the truth is right and just, and is based on the observed order of God's good work. The Catholic intellectual tradition and the contemporary university share two underlying convictions: that to be human is to desire to discover truth, and that the quest for truth is sparked by the expectation that the universe is intelligible. In the Catholic view, these convictions arise from belief in the union of the divine and human in Jesus Christ and the unity of all things in God. From this theological perspective, the Catholic intellectual tradition is based on two fundamental principles: first, that the search for truth in all aspects of life extends to the ultimate search for truth that animates faith; and, second, that faith is a catalyst for inquiry, as faith seeks to understand itself and its relationship to every dimension of life. Thus, the most probing questions in every discipline are never deemed to be in opposition to faith but are welcomed into the conversation on the conviction that ongoing discovery of the intelligibility of the universe will reveal more of the truth about God. The Catholic intellectual tradition can thrive only with the participation of all who seek the truth, including those whose inquiry leads them to question whether the search reveals purpose, meaning, or God, or to conclude that it does not. (from The Catholic Intellectual Tradition: A Conversation at Boston College)The ultimate truth is God, so all honest inquiry leads back to God. Hence, if we are to truly, honestly “follow the science,” it will lead us to God. But much of modern science leads away from God and every thirty years those erroneous papers are scuttled, because “the science” was actually disguised ideology, often with motives not unlike the gnostics and dualists. St. Paul tells us that “Satan disguises himself as an angel of light” which explains the confusion. Drawn to artificial light, we stray from the true God. This happens in our own moral behavior, in our pursuit of happiness, and even across entire nations. The intelligibility of creation, which is good, comes from God, who is love. He created out of love, not because he had to, or needed to. God does not compete with anything in creation, as he is the Creator. Just as Shakespeare cannot compete with Macbeth, God has no competitor that can even approach or fathom his glory. The closest beings to him, as handed down by tradition, are the Seraphim, the angels of the highest order (or choir), and yet there is zero chance of them overtaking God. In our much lower place, we can conclude that we know better than God, and that we can make his creation operate properly, when it is exactly our sin that disorders creation. This is the opposite of humility. Pope Francis wrote Laudato Si, or Care for our Common Home, which delved into details about the goodness of creation, rejecting all dualism and gnosticism, and putting it into terms of how the creation in Genesis and the Gospels clearly dovetail, particularly in the life of Jesus. Closing out this inversion, here are six paragraphs from Laudato Si. 84. Our insistence that each human being is an image of God should not make us overlook the fact that each creature has its own purpose. None is superfluous. The entire material universe speaks of God's love, his boundless affection for us. Soil, water, mountains: everything is, as it were, a caress of God. The history of our friendship with God is always linked to particular places which take on an intensely personal meaning; we all remember places, and revisiting those memories does us much good. Anyone who has grown up in the hills or used to sit by the spring to drink, or played outdoors in the neighbourhood square; going back to these places is a chance to recover something of their true selves.85. God has written a precious book, “whose letters are the multitude of created things present in the universe”.[54] The Canadian bishops rightly pointed out that no creature is excluded from this manifestation of God: “From panoramic vistas to the tiniest living form, nature is a constant source of wonder and awe. It is also a continuing revelation of the divine”.[55] The bishops of Japan, for their part, made a thought-provoking observation: “To sense each creature singing the hymn of its existence is to live joyfully in God's love and hope”.[56] This contemplation of creation allows us to discover in each thing a teaching which God wishes to hand on to us, since “for the believer, to contemplate creation is to hear a message, to listen to a paradoxical and silent voice”.[57] We can say that “alongside revelation properly so-called, contained in sacred Scripture, there is a divine manifestation in the blaze of the sun and the fall of night”.[58] Paying attention to this manifestation, we learn to see ourselves in relation to all other creatures: “I express myself in expressing the world; in my effort to decipher the sacredness of the world, I explore my own”.[59]86. The universe as a whole, in all its manifold relationships, shows forth the inexhaustible riches of God. Saint Thomas Aquinas wisely noted that multiplicity and variety “come from the intention of the first agent” who willed that “what was wanting to one in the representation of the divine goodness might be supplied by another”,[60] inasmuch as God's goodness “could not be represented fittingly by any one creature”.[61] Hence we need to grasp the variety of things in their multiple relationships.[62] We understand better the importance and meaning of each creature if we contemplate it within the entirety of God's plan. As the Catechism teaches: “God wills the interdependence of creatures. The sun and the moon, the cedar and the little flower, the eagle and the sparrow: the spectacle of their countless diversities and inequalities tells us that no creature is self-sufficient. Creatures exist only in dependence on each other, to complete each other, in the service of each other”.[63]…98. Jesus lived in full harmony with creation, and others were amazed: “What sort of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him?” (Mt 8:27). His appearance was not that of an ascetic set apart from the world, nor of an enemy to the pleasant things of life. Of himself he said: “The Son of Man came eating and drinking and they say, ‘Look, a glutton and a drunkard!'” (Mt 11:19). He was far removed from philosophies which despised the body, matter and the things of the world. Such unhealthy dualisms, nonetheless, left a mark on certain Christian thinkers in the course of history and disfigured the Gospel. Jesus worked with his hands, in daily contact with the matter created by God, to which he gave form by his craftsmanship. It is striking that most of his life was dedicated to this task in a simple life which awakened no admiration at all: “Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary?” (Mk 6:3). In this way he sanctified human labour and endowed it with a special significance for our development. As Saint John Paul II taught, “by enduring the toil of work in union with Christ crucified for us, man in a way collaborates with the Son of God for the redemption of humanity”.[79]99. In the Christian understanding of the world, the destiny of all creation is bound up with the mystery of Christ, present from the beginning: “All things have been created though him and for him” (Col 1:16).[80] The prologue of the Gospel of John (1:1-18) reveals Christ's creative work as the Divine Word (Logos). But then, unexpectedly, the prologue goes on to say that this same Word “became flesh” (Jn 1:14). One Person of the Trinity entered into the created cosmos, throwing in his lot with it, even to the cross. From the beginning of the world, but particularly through the incarnation, the mystery of Christ is at work in a hidden manner in the natural world as a whole, without thereby impinging on its autonomy.100. The New Testament does not only tell us of the earthly Jesus and his tangible and loving relationship with the world. It also shows him risen and glorious, present throughout creation by his universal Lordship: “For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross” (Col 1:19-20). This leads us to direct our gaze to the end of time, when the Son will deliver all things to the Father, so that “God may be everything to every one” (1 Cor 15:28). Thus, the creatures of this world no longer appear to us under merely natural guise because the risen One is mysteriously holding them to himself and directing them towards fullness as their end. The very flowers of the field and the birds which his human eyes contemplated and admired are now imbued with his radiant presence.And that includes the mosquitoes. Hard as it is for me to say, God bless the mosquito. Further reading:Why death and violence in God's good creation?Why God createsUCCSB's Care for CreationPope Francis: Laudato Si (Care for Our Common Home) This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit whydidpetersink.substack.com

Transcript Address: https://share.descript.com/view/mD2bkZXa9UOJoin us as Garry of the History in the Bible Podcast and Steve explore alternative historical scenarios within early Christianity, focusing on potential impacts if Marcionism or Manichaeism had predominated over orthodox Christianity. Garry and Steve delve into the history and principles of these movements, their potential to reshape Christian doctrine by excluding Judaic elements or integrating with other religions, and the socio-political consequences within the Roman Empire. In this conversation we also touch on the role of Constantine in legalizing Christianity, the influence of Arianism, and how different religious trajectories could have affected the spread of Islam in Europe.  00:00 Diving Into Speculative History: The Marcionite Scenario00:02 Exploring the Impact of Marcionism on Early Christianity00:20 The Rise and Fall of Marcion in Rome02:16 What If Marcionism Had Prevailed? 03:52 Transitioning to Dutch Influences on English04:50 Speculating on Marcionism's Potential Influence07:49 Introducing the Manichean Challenge to Christianity08:07 The Spread and Influence of Manichaeism09:47 Debating Manichaeism's Threat to Christianity17:58 Exploring the Potential of Arianism24:40 Concluding Thoughts on Religious Speculations  You can learn more about the History of Papacy and subscribe at all these great places: https://atozhistorypage.start.pageTo Subscribe: https://www.spreaker.com/show/history-of-the-papacy-podcast_1Email Us: steve@atozhistorypage.comSupport Us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/historyofthepapacyParthenon Podcast Network: parthenonpodcast.comThe History of the Papacy on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@atozhistoryHelp out the show by ordering these books from Amazon! https://smile.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/1MUPNYEU65NTFMusic Provided by:"Sonatina in C Minor" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)"Funeral March for Brass" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)"Crusade Heavy Perfect Loop" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Agnus Dei X - Bitter Suite Kevin MacLeaod (incomptech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

The last episode in the show. I give a big thank you to all my listeners, and a brief biographical sketch. Then I finish the series with three more speculations. First, what if Marcionism had become the orthodoxy of the imperial church incorporate? Second, could Manichaeism have swallowed up the church? And finally, could the church have survived and prospered had it not become the state religion of the Roman empire?

This week, we’re talking 10 historically wrong views of Jesus (and why we may be sympathetic to some of them). […] The post Pastor Rico Suave first appeared on Live From The Path.

A new MP3 sermon from Household of Faith in Christ is now available on SermonAudio with the following details: Title: 197: Sabbath, Marcionism, and Replacement Theology Subtitle: The Faith Debate Speaker: Troy Skinner Broadcaster: Household of Faith in Christ Event: Debate Date: 10/18/2022 Length: 94 min.

A new MP3 sermon from Household of Faith in Christ is now available on SermonAudio with the following details: Title: 197: Sabbath, Marcionism, and Replacement Theology Subtitle: The Faith Debate Speaker: Troy Skinner Broadcaster: Household of Faith in Christ Event: Debate Date: 10/18/2022 Length: 94 min.

A new MP3 sermon from Household of Faith in Christ is now available on SermonAudio with the following details: Title: 197: Sabbath, Marcionism, and Replacement Theology Subtitle: The Faith Debate Speaker: Troy Skinner Broadcaster: Household of Faith in Christ Event: Debate Date: 10/18/2022 Length: 94 min.

A new MP3 sermon from Household of Faith in Christ is now available on SermonAudio with the following details: Title: 197: Sabbath, Marcionism, and Replacement Theology Subtitle: The Faith Debate Speaker: Troy Skinner Broadcaster: Household of Faith in Christ Event: Debate Date: 10/18/2022 Length: 94 min.

A Christmasish reflection related to the concept of truth we've been unpacking throughout this season.  A huge thanks to Seth White for the awesome music! Thanks to Palmtoptiger17 for the beautiful logo: https://www.instagram.com/palmtoptiger17/ Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/thewayfourth/?modal=admin_todo_tour YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCTd3KlRte86eG9U40ncZ4XA?view_as=subscriber Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theway4th/  Kingdom Outpost: https://kingdomoutpost.org/ My Reading List Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/21940220.J_G_Elliot Propaganda Season Outline: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1xa4MhYMAg2Ohc5Nvya4g9MHxXWlxo6haT2Nj8Hlws8M/edit?usp=sharing  Episode Outline/Transcript: Blog version:  Thanks to our monthly supporters Laverne Miller Jesse Killion ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

Adult Bible Class led by Pastor Tinetti. Discussion of the heresy of Marcionism.

Cub Kuker Supernatural™ Podcast EP336 In this episode, I delve into the intriguing story of Marcion of Sinope, a significant figure in early Christianity with beliefs that sent shockwaves through the emerging early Christian community. Join me as we explore the life, beliefs, and impact of this enigmatic character. Marcion's beliefs were groundbreaking and highly controversial. He proposed a dualistic worldview, where he distinguished between two gods—an unknown God of love and mercy in the New Testament, and a “little-g” god of justice and judgment in the Old Testament. According to Marcion, the Old Testament was the work of a completely different deity.  Marcion's reasoning can still be clearly seen within our modern Bibles today by using a Strongs Greek/Hebrew concordance if you're willing to suspend disbelief and dig deeper into the roots of the original words. Marcion's rejection of the Old Testament and his selection of a unique Christian canon, featured only a subset of Paul's letters and a modified version of the Gospel of Luke, this led to a major schism in early Christianity. Major conflicts and debates that erupted within the Christian community as a result of his teachings. The impact of Marcionism on the development of Christian theology is polarizing even today, including his (often heretically viewed) formation of a New Testament canon. His controversial ideas prompted early Christian theologians to define the boundaries of orthodox doctrine and decide which texts were authoritative. Join me on this journey through the life and beliefs of Marcion of Sinope, a figure whose legacy, though ultimately marginalized in Christian history, left a lasting mark on the early Christian world and the shaping of the New Testament as we know it today.  Don't forget to like, subscribe, and share this video with fellow truth-seeking enthusiasts! *As always do your own research to formulate your own opinions that are based on authentic data from reputable sources. × I Create Vids About Supernatural Realms. Support Me For More!

Welcome to our first episode in our series we are calling "Your Dose of Heresy", where we learn what theology IS by learning what it is NOT.For those who my not know, a "heresy" is a formal denial or doubt of a core doctrine of the Christian faith as defined by one or more of the Christian churches. For our first episode we are tackling a heresy that, like all heresies, is still alive today. What sets this one apart, though, is that you probably know someone who holds to this heresy without even REALIZING it's heresy! (Who knows, YOU may even hold to it!) It's called Marcionism, and if you want to know more about it, take a listen! We're glad you're here, let's get into it :)

This episode overviews the Trinitarian heresies of Marcionism, Arianism, and others.

The word “Christianity” may need to go away for a while, like on a desert retreat. It needs to go off to a sweatlodge with St. Anthony of Egypt again so it can figure out what Jesus intended. Few Protestant denominations remain that teach what “Christianity” really entails or demands. The familiarity of it has bred contempt and complacency, which has led to extremely watered-down versions. This is exactly why St. Anthony and the Desert Fathers exited the culture in the third century. Even back then it had been diluted into a cheap BBQ lighter fluid instead of the 100% explosive ethanol it was on Pentecost. Today, it can be restored to be highly flammable once again, but it won't be done by being “cool” in the culture or by flopping around speaking in tongues or doing fake healings or by affirming sin or denying that the devil exists. It will be restored to it's original strange potency by the same old proven methods: prayer, fasting, and charity. But once again, like in the time of the Desert Fathers, the errors that led people away from proper worship and correct doctrine must be re-visited, because they have been allowed back in. All of them. It almost as if a busload of old heresies showed up at the pool, and barged right in without checking their floaties, food, weapons, and drugs at the door. Many of them don't even bother to wear a swimsuit, as modesty and ideas about sin are old-fashioned. Now the pool is in mayhem. Only a few lifeguards (in red hats) are shouting while others have joined in the orgy. Fortunately, the party is almost over, since it has become a pool no one wants to swim in. The newcomers and families who would like to swim take one look at the chaos and decide to stay home - after all, they can setup their own pool - who needs the community pool? Thus we have many trying to claim the main pool, and millions of little pools where people isolate in their own anti-social backyard. The heresies have stunk up the water to the point that the “Christian” pool is more like a swamp lagoon. Now it will require a lockdown for cleaning. After draining, it needs a full sandblasting before a refill. The intense, long battle against errors about who Jesus was, what Jesus said, and what he taught, waged over centuries, needs to be waged all over again. Today, it's not even clear that people understand the word heresy. And to be fair, it is an ugly word. “Heretic” combines two sounds that make Minnesotans like me shiver: “hair” and “tick.” This sounds like a burrowing insect at the base of my hairline. Where I live, ticks raise goosebumps on people more than snakes. Whenever I've discovered one engorged on a dog's belly, or see one climbing my shirt after a walk in the woods, it gives me a case of the heebie-jeebies. But perhaps this strange association is apt. A tick buried in skin kind of fits well with what heresy does. Because a tiny corruption like that caused by a tick lodging in your skin is much like how a heretical idea poisons and corrupts individuals or entire nations. Heresy is not unlike Lyme disease in that it often has a subtle entry point but leads to an insidious devastation of the body as it spreads. The idea of heresy is something people don't even like to talk about, but I think it needs to be. I doubt that the average Joe Christian has ever heard of Marcionism, or Pelagianism, or any other heresy, but many certainly speak those heresies openly. Ideas long ago denounced as un-Christian are mentioned as if they were orthodox in casual conversation. But this isn't surprising, given the past few centuries of rejecting all authority. Almost everyone now is their own Pope, so even if I mentioned the basics of a heresy, my listener would respond, “Who made you the Pope?” To which I would answer, “Do you see a funny hat on me? Long ago, after a big todo, the Church declared…” And that's exactly where the conversation would end, because the appeal to authority beyond the “Self” would outrage the listener. “The Church has entered the chat.” When that happens, the modern American, Protestant, public school brain exits the chat. It's over. Authority? Are you claiming authority? Are you kidding me? We have hundreds of years of literature and philosophy and theology crammed between our ears, where the only authority is in national power and the self. America itself is a rejection of old-world “authority.” But this continual march of rejecting authority has put the West in an odd state. Because once the highest authority of God and his Church was thrown out, and the Pope put in his corner in Vatican City, the nations must act as the moral authority. They have been doing this for about three centuries now. Mentioning the Church's authority leads to an automatic response. Like a trained bear that can dance, the hearer waltzes off stage on cue. Or, more likely today than ever, this “tamed” bear attacks and mauls the trainer. What's most interesting today is that in our rejection of authority, so few today are called to the priesthood, but nearly everyone is called to the pontificate. Worth noting here is that “pontiff” means bridge-builder. But with a billion mini-popes in the world, we end up having a lot of bridges to nowhere, because all of the bridges lead directly back to the self. This isn't just an issue among Protestants or agnostics, it's rampant within the Catholic Church, too. So many people don't know what the teaching of the Church is that you can hear the echoes of ancient errors every day, even among bishops. Imagine: a bishop that doesn't understand errors that have existed for thousands of years. You don't have to imagine it. This is happening all over Europe and the United States. This is the equivalent of an NFL coach not knowing what is a “first down,” or what a “nickel defense” is used for. Could you imagine a coach who worked for thirty years to reach the top, and then have it be revealed that he thought the game was soccer? No. This seems almost impossible, unless somehow you have cronyism or ideology (or both) interfering with the proper promotion of educated and competent bishops. And this of course is exactly what we have. The creep of heresy gets in like a tic. It's like Soviet Science or modern American sociology, where ideology has replaced the goal of seeking the Truth, the highest Truth. And it replays over and over in history. It's Plato versus the Sophists. It's Athanasius versus Arius. It's Augustine versus Pelagius. It's Marx versus Pope Leo XIII. Heresy is ideology that bleeds into faith and skews the right understanding of God, the Trinity, Jesus, the Sacraments, and the whole Church. And it always starts with the rejection of God, in some form, and the elevation of what a person wants. “Blessed are the heretics,” said Stanley Hauerwas. What he meant by this was that without those pushing errors, we wouldn't see the Truth so clearly. So luckily we have Marcion and Pelagius and Nestorius to illustrate the errors. Their ideas act like bugs on a windshield, where you don't need to stop until it gets really bad, and then you must pull over at the nearest service station and squeegee like a maniac with elbow grease to get the encrusted scum off. Sin works this way; sin is not a big deal, until it is. Until your sin is going to cause a major accident and maybe even kill you, you don't take action to fix the disorder. When you hear a bishop defending an old heresy, often with new words, that was called a heresy long ago, it leads to confusion for the team. Trust in leadership is undermined, especially when the waterboy understands the game better than the coach. You cannot have the offensive coordinator telling the running backs they must run backward from now on. If that ever happened in the NFL, a firing would surely occur. Yet we are not seeing the firings despite wild errors in “coaching” from those in charge in the Church. This is likely because the Church moves slowly, which is good, since they operate like the Ents in Lord of the Rings. Anything worth saying is worth taking a long time to say it. This is one of the great features of the Church so that they don't jump to conclusions. There is something called “The Peter Principle,” which has nothing to do with St. Peter or the Church, but simply states that people will be promoted in their career to one level higher than they should be, right to the point where they are incompetent. This doesn't apply to all bishops, obviously, just a few, but whenever you hear a high-ranking person espouse an idea that was jettisoned as an error many centuries ago, you have to scratch your head and wonder how or why God is working through this. But rest assured that God is doing just that. Errors about Christianity are ever-present in both the culture and the Church, and I suspect this has been the case since Peter finished his first speech on Pentecost, as surely strange interpretations began immediately. There are many bishops sticking to doctrine and the Truth, with Bishop Barron doing a beautiful job of articulating the faith, following in a long line of great articulators, like Saints Cyril, Maximus, Augustine, Thomas Aquinas, John Damascene, Newman, Sheen, and many, many others. Teaching Wednesday night religion class recently, a kid raised his hand and told me, “My dad says that Jesus is the good God, and the God of the Old Testament was the one that would squash you.” “Kid,” I said, “Your dad is a heretic.” Just kidding. I didn't say that. “Kid,” I said, “Have you ever heard of Marcion?” Just kidding. I didn't say that either. How many adults today have heard of Marcion? Who has ever heard of Marcion, or Menander, or the Cathars? Few today have heard of these old names except for geeky Catholics who know about the ecumenical councils where the early Church had to settle these disputes. These old heresies argued for exactly what this kid's dad was teaching. This idea springs up repeatedly, and if we haven't heard of Marcion, we've certainly heard of Nazi Germany, which was rife with Marcionism as an offshoot of its hatred and ethnic cleansing of the Jews. (Tip: Marcionism always goes hand in hand with anti-Old Testament thinking and makes a beeline toward anti-Jewish thoughts and behavior.) Any time that Catholicism lacks respect for the Jews, it is in error, and this is why the document known as Nostra Aetate was sorely needed, as a reminder that the Church “recalls that the Apostles, the Church's main-stay and pillars, as well as most of the early disciples who proclaimed Christ's Gospel to the world, sprang from the Jewish people.” I also must add here, that if Jesus is God, and you believe that as I do, then he inspired the entire Old Testament, including the parts that are confusing, and Jesus was a devout Jew, as were Mary and Joseph. So for any Catholic to misunderstand the intensely deep meaning of the Jewish roots of Christianity is to be like the sower's seed on the rocky path. If Jesus is God, and if Scripture is inspired by God, and all of the prophecies of the Messiah were foretold by God, and the story of the chosen people is God winning back the world, then throwing out the Old Testament seems a bad idea. The kid's father who taught Marcionism was doing the same thing that a writer like Dan Brown does in his novels (as wildly inaccurate in history and logic as they are). He finds an old heresy and dusts it off as something fresh and new. Then it's presented as a fact, as a new “orthodoxy” and then believers have to spend lots of time re-arguing what has already been argued and ruled upon. But this is one of the strengths of the Church, actually, in that it has a structure that can do this. We can all see the Protestants lack this authority to rule, which leads to heresy proliferating like a cytokine storm. Truly, if there is one weakness in the Eastern Orthodox churches, it's that they cannot resolve disputes like the Catholic Church can, because the Bishop of Rome can speak from the Chair of Peter, as Christ gave Peter the keys, which is to say, the authority. What's old is new, but none of the heresies are actually new. You can go read St. Irenaeus who wrote Against Heresies in the second century, and most heresies today were already in play. Over time, new errors have come about, and over the centuries others have written books to define these errors, and why they are errors, like St. Alphonsus Liguori with the History of Heresies. There are many. St. Hippolytus of Rome. Denzinger. Belloc. Fortunately, we don't have to go read all of these, we can just read the Catechism of the Catholic Church. It's the Reader's Digest condensed version of about a million pages and scrolls from Adam to Pope Francis. There's a reason these ideas come back to life, and it's because we default toward doubt, not faith. And faith is a gift. With the eyes of faith, the heresies are clear, as the scales fall away from our vision once we see Christ for who he really is, and that is God. Once you can see Jesus and hear the word of God, then it's clear why none of the heresies work in practice. This is why they don't stick. They come and go like an Old Navy shirt - sure, it feels good for a bit, but you can tell how cheap it is, and you'll throw it out after a few years. The heresies sound good when you first discover them. They seem to make sense. This is why it took me a while to figure out that everything that Dan Brown writes is actually a spoof comedy, not a drama. Because his send-ups of heresy as truth and adventures in bad history lessons made me re-arrange my video shelf so that The Da Vinci Code sits right next to Dumb and Dumber. When I need a light-hearted night to let loose, I can choose either movie. The reason heresy is declared and marked as incorrect is not about power and control. It's about what heresies do, and what they don't do. It's about how they misunderstand Jesus and salvation history. It's about a false way to know God. The reason heresies are declared is simple: they do not work. They do not work logically or spiritually. They do not work in the mind, in the soul, or in the body. This is the thing I've been saying in this entire series in talking about sales and practical application. There are many shiny things that seem real, but like advertising for bad products, those things wind up being a mirage in the desert. What works is not just that which sells. Consumers and voters may select bad choices. Mistakes play out over time, long after the sale was made. What becomes heresy is not based on popular opinion, but based on what happens when an error is chosen. There is perhaps nothing more vindicating in the Church's slowness than in its rejection of birth control and abortion, as both of these “cure-all” remedies of the techno-utopian evangelists have blown up spectacularly. What was supposed to solve divorce, unhappiness, and family issues has exploded in divorce, unhappiness, and family issues. What works is that which lasts and endures through the ages. What works isn't always what seems easy, but what works satisfies the intellect, the will, the body, and the soul. Virtue works. Chastity works. Humility works. Faith works. Hooking up with random sex partners and pretending it doesn't matter? That doesn't work. Shouting your abortion? That doesn't work. Believe in yourself instead of something higher? That doesn't work. Perception is reality? That doesn't work. All of these ideas run into the rock of life, the true test, where bad ideas run aground. But we forget this every generation, and we re-learn it in every generation. We forget the Truth because we want to be new and clever, but the bad ideas are always old and warmed-up leftovers. This is why someone like Jean-Paul Sartre can be celebrated for a hundred years for saying, “God is dead,” when he's just saying the same thing every middle-schooler has said since the beginning of time. But when you do so with a Ph.D. it seems to have weight, despite the long-winded argument being the result of never growing past high school rebellion. What happens then is that everyone else also stuck in that ninth-grade rejection of authority, claps their hands and says, “Brilliant!” because it satisfies their egos and excuses their sin. This is why the same heresies pop up and die over and over again because heresies are exactly like dandelions. Orthodoxy, however, is like a redwood tree. Hardwoods grow slowly, apparently weak as saplings, while the wild and fast-growing grasses spring up quickly. But what is apparently hale and hearty in spring dies in the autumn. The hardwoods always win in the end, because they are built to last through the seasons of life, and that includes the winter of suffering. To go back to the sports metaphor, Catholicism is a fourth-quarter faith. It's not for the first drive down the field, or for the halftime show. It's built for the last drive that wins the game. It's for the long haul, made to last, not for showing off and fading away. So, to bring this back to heresy and Marcion: you have to read about Marcion to understand why his idea of “the Old Testament God is not the same as the New Testament” is an error all by itself, and a very dangerous one at that because it twists scripture into a wildly different shape. In the early church, Tertullian and others took up the battle and won the argument, closing the door on Marcionism forever as an error in what the Church founded by Jesus believes. And it's not a “because I said so” argument and defense, it is well-reasoned and logical, and worth exploring. Many of the “Jesus as the dude” arguments are a form of Marcionism, just as much as anti-Semitism has a taproot in Marcionism. But if I don't stop here, this post will turn into a lengthy discussion on this particular heresy, so let's move forward. More to come in part 2. Perhaps a whole series on heresies is needed, but that may require a more focused mind than my own, like those who have already written books on it. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.whydidpetersink.com

Episode 2/6 in a series on Christian heresies. This episode considers Marcionism and Antisemitism. 

Ros Clarke joins Chris Moore and Lee Gatiss for a discussion of the ancient heresy of Marcionism and some of its contemporary forms.

Open Forum – Questions Covered: 05:55 – What was the timeline and details around the nativity of the Lord and their movement? 09:51 – If the bible wasn't put together until the 300's how can the early church claim that a heresy, such as Marcionism (140 AD), was against scripture? 15:54 – Is Mary the woman in Rev. 12 Mary? If so, she had child pains, so does that mean she was not sinless? 23:54 – Does Vatican II’s decree on ecumenism contradict tradition? 28:15 – How does one deliver the beauty of Catholicism? 44:56 – If Jesus flipped tables in the temple because of the money changers. How then, can we justify raffles, bingo, and casino nights at our churches? 49:43 – Can I receive communion at a Byzantine Catholic Church and is it licit for them to clean the spoons with just water? …

Kerby Anderson provides an overview of some ancient Christian heresies that are still being embraced today: legalism, gnosticism, mysticism, and marcionism.

Biblically-Accurate Angels Explained https://youtu.be/qr49JMym4_w Quantum Fields: The Real Building Blocks of the Universe – with David Tong https://youtu.be/zNVQfWC_evg In Our TimeTycho Brahe https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m001hnlf Marcionism https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marcionism Hagia Sophia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hagia_Sophia meu perfil no Post: https://post.news/renedepaula meu canal no Koo https://www.kooapp.com/profile/renedepaula meu mastodon: rené de paula jr (@renedepaula@c.im) https://c.im/@renedepaula meu “twitter” no telegram: https://t.me/renedepaulajr meu twitter http://twitter.com/renedepaula radinho ... Read more

Congressman Ted Lieu recently attempted to use the Bible and the words (or lack thereof) of Jesus to shame and humiliate his Republican colleagues' opposition to LGBTQ ideology. Lieu thinks he just dunked hard on Republicans and those who oppose the LGBTQ rainbow cult on biblical grounds. All he really did was demonstrate what happens when a God-hating pagan attempts to use the Bible to support his God-hating pagan beliefs. Christians should by no means be afraid of this line of argumentation. Link to tweet and video featuring Lieu: https://twitter.com/Acyn/status/1534571404271661056?s=20&t=KZ-EcMppkGNWtDraoDcLkA Link to Got Questions article on Marcionism: https://www.gotquestions.org/marcionism.html Subscribe to my podcast at https://anchor.fm/jason-modar Subscribe to my substack at https://jasonmodar.substack.com/ Twitter @jasonmodar --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app

Everyone loves the famous line of “Let he who is without sin cast the first stone.” Even better, today people love the line “Judge not, lest ye be judged.” That may be the motto of our era. These are some of the most popular lines from the Gospels and are used as often by non-believers as by believers. These lines can be interpreted to fit into almost any shape you like, and can be raised to affirm any faith or ideology. These lines, when cherry-picked as standalone zingers, behave kind of like what we do with chicken today in the grocery store. We shape these lines to fit our needs and wants. How are these lines like chicken? Well, in the past, we just cooked the whole chicken and broke it apart in the separate parts: chicken legs, wings, breasts, and thighs. Life was simple then. Now we mass produce the chicken and carve it up and pluck out the white meat and blend up the dark meat, and run it through machines and slicers and shapers until it looks nothing like the original chicken. We can shape and press chicken into any bun-fitting shape that we like. There's chicken patties, chicken strips, chicken nuggets, popcorn chicken, dinosaur shaped chicken, chicken in a can, chicken fries, and chicken burgers. There are even vegan chicken products that have no chicken whatsoever in them, yet are sold under the name of “chicken.” From this poor bird we have created The Island of Dr. Moreau in the frozen food aisle. We pick out the parts we want and make it fit our own yearnings. We want the bloodless version. If you think of the idea of “the Gospels” and are never disturbed at all, you are missing some major sections. You might be reading the Gospel like you shop the frozen food aisle. In the grocery store, we push our carts and listen to elevator music and pause in the air conditioning, all in complete comfort. We open a glass door and feel a blast of cold air to pick out a bag of dinosaur-shaped chicken nuggets, thinking how cute they are. But that product in the freezer has no resemblance to a chicken. It has sealed us off from all the realities of the life of a chicken. There is no feed, dung, or blood anywhere near our shopping centers. We don't see anything but the clean, happy ending of the cartoonish dinosaur nugget. There is no evidence of a chicken at all, let alone the sacrifice the chicken made. But the chicken is there, and the sacrifice was most certainly made. Few people read the words that come before or after the “don't judge me” parts of the biographies of Jesus. Why is that? Well, for one thing, it disrupts the comfort of feeling safe and nourished. There is no shortage of confusing and disturbing lines that came from the mouth of Jesus. For anyone that accuses believers of cherry-picking lines from the Bible to suit their beliefs, there is an equal amount of cherry-picking done to suit non-beliefs as well. For this latter group, the two lines about judgement are leveraged heavily in the ongoing effort to make Jesus into a non-miraculous, non-divine but cool hippy instead of the incarnation of the creator of the universe who took on our sins for the greatest sacrifice in history. For the life of me, I will never understand why any non-believer would care for anything said by a non-divine version of Jesus, since then he would be a lunatic and a fraud. Anyone who denies Jesus' divinity but is still quoting him as a moral teacher should ask themselves: “Why would you care what he said at all, if he's lying about his primary claim of being the messiah, of being God?” But let's continue. Let's look at these famous lines where Jesus told us not to be ‘judgey'. Let's go get stoned. Here's the cast of the scene: Jesus, a bunch of angry Pharisees, and the adulterous woman. When the Pharisees want to stone the woman who was caught in adultery (Jn 8:1-11), they try to corner Jesus on interpreting the law. They know that he is a follower of the law, that he is a devout Jew. Let me stop right here, since this is probably the main point people miss right out of the gate. The Holy Family of Mary and Joseph observed Jewish law with devotion. That is, they were devout. So was Jesus. Thus to understand Jesus at all requires understanding that he was very Jewish, and to be a devout Jew means understanding what “the law” means. This also means that to understand Jesus at all means you have to understand the Old Testament, the bloody and gritty parts of the Bible. This is the part of the Bible where the chicken was still on the farm, not in your freezer. The classic mistake people make, from Marcion in the second century to the Third Reich in the 20th century, is thinking that you can understand Jesus without diving into his Jewish heritage. Marcion wanted to get rid of the Old Testament just like many modern people do, and it's one of the oldest heresies we have to look back on for guidance. People have always tried to throw out the books of Genesis and Exodus and Leviticus and Deuteronomy. Why? Because they want to unhitch the train of Christianity from the Jews, but you can't. Even if Leviticus does sound like your angry old uncle who lacks spiritual bedside manner, you can't kick him out because he's part of the family. Without the whole family of books, hardly any of Jesus' life and teaching makes sense. Without the history that precedes his life and ministry, half of the Gospel of John would not make sense, and most the Gospel of Matthew would confuse the heck out of us. We need the whole, not just parts of it. You know, eventually if you eat enough dinosaur-shaped chicken nuggets, you start to wonder where the dinosaur came from, and once you start digging into the ingredient list and the supply-chain you will arrive back at the whole food: the chicken. You must have the whole, not just some industrial product in a shiny wrapper. “The Old Testament is an indispensable part of Sacred Scripture. Its books are divinely inspired and retain a permanent value, for the Old Covenant has never been revoked. Indeed, ‘the Old Testament was deliberately so oriented that it should prepare for and declare in prophecy the coming of Christ, redeemer of all men.' Christians venerate the Old Testament as true Word of God. The Church has always vigorously opposed the idea of rejecting the Old Testament under the pretext that the New has rendered it void (Marcionism). (CCC 121-123)So I haven't gotten very far yet on this story, and no where near the attempted stoning of the woman. But Jesus cannot be understood without the old books, nor can any part of this story. Moreover, this need for the old books doesn't only apply to Jesus, but how could anyone understand Peter or Paul or John or the various dudes named James without understanding the history of the Chosen people? You have to understand Adam and Abraham and Moses and David and Jeremiah all the way up to the Maccabees and all the rest of the Hebrews in between to get to any sense whatsoever of what is happening in the circle of Pharisees. If you just rush to find the line, “Let he who is without sin cast the first stone,” you have just gone for the dinosaur shaped chicken nugget and pretended that it spontaneously grew in the freezer via the debunked scientific “theory of spontaneous generation.” Nuggets come from somewhere, they don't just happen. (Ok, I'm unhitching from the chicken metaphor from here on out, so as not to beat a dead horse. I wanted to say horse-shaped chicken nugget, but I don't know if it has been invented yet.)Jesus stated that he came to “fulfill the law and the prophets,” which is a statement forgotten by those who want to carve the hippy version of Jesus away from the Old Testament laws of Moses. So what does “the law” mean? Jesus is talking about the Ten Commandments and the Torah. Now, I don't want to get into whether he is talking about natural law or specific ceremonial law or cultural law of the Hebrews, because that's more than I can handle. You need a Trent Horn or Jimmy Akin or Jim Blackburn to break all that down. In his ministry he corrects some of the old law, and does away with some. The good news is this: we know that Jesus perfects the Old Testament law. But while he makes these corrections, he still has immense respect for the old law. He also said, "Amen, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or the smallest part of a letter will pass from the law, until all things have taken place." Why did Jesus believe in the old law so much? How could he be so deeply dedicated to the old law? Talk about dramatic, too. He defends the old law so much that he says not only will every letter be fulfilled, but even the smallest part of each letter. I can think of one reason. There is one reason in particular, one primary reason that really sticks out to me. And it seems to be very clear, and make perfect sense once you consider it. It's because he made the law. He wrote the law. He's God. So yeah, he's down with the law. He's the author. Again, for anyone that forgets that Jesus is claiming to be God while reading the Gospels, these statements will make no sense. The chill teacher version of Jesus would not speak this way of the law, but the divine author of the law, who used human authors to record his will, would speak this way of the law. He gave the law to his chosen people. If he is God, then he certainly agrees to his own law, because he is the author. The mistake people make when reading about Hakuna Matata version of Jesus is that they have already rejected him as divine, and therefore nothing he says makes sense, because he is actually speaking as God himself. To read his words as a profound teacher makes little sense when he starts dropping lines like “I saw Satan fall like lightning.” Wait what? If he's just a dude with peaceful ideas, then he didn't witness Satan fall from the sky. Surely someone has already tried to fit that into their desire to legalize drugs. “Oh, that must mean that Jesus was on psychedelics.” No, he wasn't. He was high all right, but that's because he was the highest being, incarnated into the flesh to walk with us. Here's another question: how do you reconcile a purely human Jesus with a line like: “No one can come to me unless the father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up on the last day.” How is an entirely human Jesus going to raise anything up? And on what day? If he's not God and claims this power, then he's crazy or an arrogant liar. If he is God, then it makes sense but it's also terrifying. No wonder Jesus gets irritated with the people around him and says, "O faithless and perverse generation, how long will I be with you? How long will I endure you?" Sometimes I wonder if he would say that to me at least once a day. When I imagine Jesus living with me, it's a good mental exercise, because when I pour an oversized bowl of Kellogg's Raisin Bran from the MEGA-sized box, and then cut up a banana to throw on top, I just have to wonder - what would Jesus think of such a food spectacle? Worse, what would he say when I ate that bowl, and then poured a second bowl? I suspect he might say, “I never knew you…were such a pig.”So for everyone today that throws out the Old Testament and Ten Commandments, I wonder if they have not just seized on the most culturally shocking lines of the ancient texts and got stuck there. Some of the old books are difficult to read, without a doubt, and the cultural differences and scientific understanding of the universe creates a gap in understanding, but focusing on those things clouds the religious truth of the texts. To toss them out is to lose the whole backstory of Jesus' life and his purpose. Jesus does not sound like someone who rejects the past and the law when he says “not one letter of the law will pass away”? Further, he says not even one part of a letter of the law will pass away. Then he later says, “render unto Caesar what is Caesar's,” meaning we should follow the law of the land where we live, as long as it doesn't conflict with the law, the real law, the natural law, God's law, which is the Ten Commandments and those obvious laws which we can know in our conscience. If you do not read Jesus words as if it were God speaking, then you will get a very odd interpretation of what the Gospels mean. You will have to skip over many parts because they make no sense, and all of the miracles. You will have to throw out all of those completely if Jesus is not divine. If you read his words as the speech of an ordinary man with wisdom, you may just as well go to the airport bookstore and pick up a self-help book full of vanilla maxims on being yourself and pursuing happiness. You can stay in the comfort of ignoring the many times Jesus talks about separating the sheep from the goats, or the wheat from the chaff that will burn for eternity. Because if Jesus is not God but is only claiming to be, then it doesn't matter and your ego can run buck wild. But if he is God, then the only way to read the Gospels and make sense of them is with the understanding that he is speaking as God himself. It is precisely when you make this turn that you may experience fear of the Lord, which is a good thing because it means you are on the right track. The self-help gurus say something different than what our carpenter, who is God, tells us. He's saying something very different. As God he is showing and telling us in every word and action the exact opposite of the feel-good books on the airport bestseller cart. He does say, “Be yourself.” But he doesn't say it at all like the books of affirmation at the airport do. He said, “Surrender to me because you are a sinner. Then you can finally be your true self.” He also says (paraphrasing here into bro-speak): “Only I can save you because I am God. I'm not giving you some self-help tips here for kicks, but for eternal life, so take up your cross daily, crucify your ego, and follow me. Oh, and you will find happiness in me because I am God. But - fair warning - you will get mocked and possibly murdered if you do this thing correctly, and I'm about to show you what that looks like.” Jesus questioned few of the existing laws of his people, slicing only those ceremonial, cultural laws that strived for outward cleanliness. He only corrected the laws that needed correction, the ones that blocked the interior conversion of the heart, the rules that stifled mercy and humility. (For a great listen on this story, check out Tim Keller's podcast on “The Humility of Jesus.”)According to the law, adultery was illegal and stoning was the punishment. So the situation was this: the Pharisees have a woman in the middle of the circle. With rocks in hand, they put the question to Jesus on what should be done to her as a violator of the law of Moses. However, before he answers with his famous line, Jesus squats down and draws in the dirt with his finger. No one knows what he was drawing in the sand or dirt, or why he does it, although there is plenty of speculation. Perhaps he was doing something profound in the sand, or perhaps he was just bored with their games and like a nine-year-old shortstop drawing in the dirt during a boring baseball game he found something more interesting in shaping the sand. Regardless of what he drew in the sand, Jesus stands up and delivers the ultimate one-liner, the greatest microphone-drop in the history of life and literature, saying the famous line, “Let he who is without sin cast the first stone.” Then he bends down once again and draws in the dirt, again doodling like the detached young shortstop or writer of something profound and creative. Whatever the case, it causes the Pharisees' pride to crumble. Stunned, the men with rocks fall silent. They slowly fade away, leaving one by one. Hungry for blood and justice, they suddenly lose interest as the one-liner from Jesus seems to annihilate their motivation to kill the woman. Their goal of trapping Jesus in a legal argument snapped upon themselves. The comment seems to turn the mirror onto the men, showing them their own sin, and they drift away leaving the woman and Jesus in the center of the disappearing circle. This is often how God works in my own life, where something will happen that bothers me, gets me all wound up, and slowly, gradually, I come to realize that my perception of the problem is not exactly right and that I'm probably more prideful and lacking humility than the person I'm upset with. This whole “drawing his finger in the sand” is like a metaphor for God taking his time to correct us, stirring up our consciences, awakening us to our own flaws and failures. What a shame that I am so talented at seeing others' failures first before my own, as this talent does me little favor. Perhaps I should have pursued being a judge on American Idol or at the county fair or bodybuilding competitions, because I'm so keen on finding the flaw in others instead of myself. Perhaps I missed a career opportunity. Seeing my own flaws is a brutal process of introspection, and God does seem to walk me to that place. He lets me burn off the passions before showing me my own faults. Everyone takes this quote from Jesus and runs with it. This one gets mixed right in with his other comment about non-judgement. “Don't judge me,” we say. Or maybe, “Only God can judge me.” But I would argue that those who say those words don't understand what Jesus is saying. He's not saying we won't be judged. He's saying, if you have no sin, you can judge. But who has no sin? Only one person can say that, and it's Jesus. It's God. He is the one that can judge. In this case, he can judge the woman, but he's not judging her. Not yet, but he will. In these cases, he's always indicating that the judgement is not happening right now…but it will happen. Judgement is coming, but there is time yet. These lines are about mercy on living persons, but the final justice is 100% guaranteed for every person upon their last breath. His mercy does not affirm violations of the law, but rather corrects behavior and offers a second chance. That's why the last verse of this story is the most important of all. He tells her to “Go and sin no more.” The implication is that she did sin, but she has another chance. She's forgiven. This is the most important line in the story and has parallels to the story where Jesus heals the paralyzed man. In that story, Jesus considers what is more amazing: that he can make a paralyzed man pick up his mat and walk, or that he can forgive the sins of the same man. Obviously the medical miracle is amazing, but the claim that he can forgive sins jumps infinitely ahead in terms of wonder. The people who witness the event are more amazed at the medical healing, but truly the forgiveness of sins is far more profound and meaningful, which is what he's trying to convey to the people. This forgiveness brings up two questions. Who can forgive sins? Well, obviously only God can do that. A cool hippy cannot forgive your sins, and I know a few cool, aging hippies who still believe in peace, love, and dope but they cannot forgive sins. A drug user on psychedelics cannot forgive my sins. If one of these types told me that he forgave me for all the evil things I've done, I would buy them another beer (or whatever their drug of choice) because I would consider them already intoxicated. So why do non-believers and deniers of Jesus' divinity read these lines and consider that an ordinary man has any power to forgive sin? I think it's more likely that this forgiveness question is ignored, or glossed over, or not looked at very closely. Actually, I think many people do feel like Jesus is divine, but they don't want to think about it too closely, because once you really dive into the Gospels, or stare at the crucifix for a long time, you start to see your own sins and feel the need to change. In fact, this is why I feel that crucifixes should have the spent body of Jesus hanging in defeat, so that when you look upon it - and really look at it - you see your flaws in the wounds of Christ. A bare and clean cross doesn't deliver the message like a cross with the mangled body of Jesus fully exposed does, with his bloodied head, punctured hands and feet, the many cuts and bruises from the scourging, the scuffed joints from falling three times on the road to Calvary, and the gaping hole in his side by a spear that rammed into his heart. On that cross, the cross with the body, you can imagine how the sinless man squirmed and hung and suffocated under his own weight, while being jeered at and mocked for all his goodness, while he thirsted under the heat of the sun, for three hours, dehydrating and struggling to breathe. He had no sleep the night before and had been beaten and ripped apart with Roman whips. That is the cross I need to see, not the empty cross with no nails and no body. I do not want to see the “before” cross, I want to see the “after.” I don't want to see the cleaned up Disney version of the cross. The ugly cross is where the life of Christ makes sense and the mystery of his sacrifice can just begin to make sense to me. Then I can begin, just barely, to see how my own sins and fallen nature put him there in that horrible place, and somehow, strangely, how that awful sight shows the greatest act of humility and love the world has ever seen and becomes the ultimate example of how to live, and the ultimate symbol of hope for our souls. The second question is: how can he forgive her sins, or anyone else's sins? How can that be? What is happening? How can there be no consequences for breaking laws, when he says no part of the law, not one letter, nor a part of a single letter, will pass away? That's the question the Pharisees want answered, and in a clever way Jesus does answer it. He answers it by showing the men that judgment is not taking place that day, not by them. There is so much more to this story. For starters, did the woman commit adultery alone? No. That's not possible. So where is the man and why isn't he also in the center of the circle? Surely he too committed adultery. Shouldn't he also be stoned? Where is the man that committed the act with this woman? Why is she the only one being accused and tried for adultery? This is one of those moments where you can see Jesus treating the dignity of all people equally, woman or man. He cuts through the double-standard. He subverts the culture. Wait…is he…wait…what? Is he smashing the patriarchy? He is establishing some kind of equality in eternal judgement here, as Paul realized a few years later: “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free person, there is not male and female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” So there is that. But if you believe Jesus is God and he is speaking as God, and he speaks highly of the first and most famous patriarch, Abraham, and does the same about many of the others like Moses and Elijah and Jacob and Isaac, then he doesn't seem real keen on “smashing” them, since after all, he chose them. Next, who are the men that want to stone her? Jesus implies something incredible here: the men that want to stone her are adulterers themselves. At the very least they are guaranteed to be sinners of some kind, breakers of the law, and likely worthy of stoning as the fullness of the law prescribes. Should they be stoned themselves for the same crime, or for a different crime? I would bet they are guilty of it, just as most men today are guilty of it, nearly all of them as they pore over the porn in their phone and degrade the women in the images and then clear their browser history and then pretend they haven't committed adultery. I have been as guilty as any in that regard, as the websites beckon us, tempt us men, into easy-access lust and defile our marriages and relationships while we project our sin onto those performing the act on the screen, instead of looking at our own behavior. How many millions of men have partaken in looking at porn, only to go online afterward and lament the fallen morals of our society? The Pharisees are still encircling the woman today, as we sinners act as spotless as a lamb. We do this while the Lamb of God squirms in agony on the cross for our fallen hearts, to forgive us, to give us a second, third, seventh, and seventy-seventh chance. And what happens to the woman then? She is not condemned. But saying “Go and sin no more” implies that she was guilty of the accused act. I feel it's safe to assume the woman is forever changed after this moment, like so many others that Jesus comes into contact with, as he fundamentally re-plants them in rich soil. He rips out the roots of old ways out. But that redemption, that re-planting, comes with a huge caveat, one that I feel most people miss when they throw around the “Judge not, lest ye be judged” one-liner as if it were a shield. This redemption that Jesus preaches only happens in the Gospel stories to those that have the correct humility before God. He cures people who have faith. In some cases, he cures people but not all of them change their ways, such as the ten lepers that he cures and only one comes back to thank him. (A Samaritan, of all people!) The one leper comes back to him, and Jesus tell him: “Ten were cleansed, were they not? Where are the other nine? Has none but this foreigner returned to give thanks to God?” Then he said to him, “Stand up and go; your faith has saved you.”Faith has saved this one leper. What's the implication? His sins are forgiven. This implies the other nine may be healed from leprosy, but they are not changed. They have not changed. The other nine are back in the arcade of life, living without their physical malady, but afflicted with the spiritual malady, and not giving any thanks and honor to God. This is what happens when you make God a transactional being for redemption only when you think you need a lift. You cry out for help when you need it, but turn away as soon as you have what you want. That is where the judgment will come down, and this cleansing of the ten lepers states it pretty plainly, in my opinion. The change is what must happen. Without the change, the condemnation will come. Forgiveness entails expected duties that follow, otherwise there is a lack of understanding about what the forgiveness meant. Fortunately, we get repeat attempts here. God is well aware of our weaknesses, and I believe he wants us to know and embrace our own. If you don't know your weaknesses, how can you be prepared to fight off the temptations that will cause you to fall? Knowing my weaknesses becomes a great gift. Gifts and crosses come to us all, and sometimes the cross is the gift that awakens my faith. If we receive forgiveness, it must really be received, and not as a “Get out of jail free card.” The one unforgivable sin the Jesus alludes to is the rejection of the Holy Spirit, which is the rejection of God. So anyone that rejects God, inside their hearts, will not receive forgiveness. That sends a chill to me, as I often wonder about that. Obviously, nothing can be hidden from God, as we are an open book to God, and how easily our petty pride can rise up and knock us off course, tipping us right back to a subtle rejection of Jesus, making him into a personal redemption center where we go when we need to exchange our token prayers for forgiveness. Those who receive the Holy Spirit see their whole life change. Those that understand, change their ways out of joy. Those that do not understand, do not change. The “Judge not lest ye be judged” line is shortened by most people, to the detriment of the concept, as there is a key line that follows it elsewhere when he mentions the idea of “judge not.” In this story of the stoning, Jesus says nothing of judgment, as she appears to have a clean slate. “Go and sin no more.” Like the lepers, she is starting fresh, but as we saw in the ten lepers, only one is actually saved. Curing or forgiving should arouse faith in the healed or forgiven, but this doesn't always happen. But elsewhere Jesus does say “Stop judging, that you may not be judged.” (Mt 7:1-2) Everyone loves that line. But the very next line in Matthew after that is this: “For as you judge, so will you be judged, and the measure with which you measure will be measured out to you.” I've never heard anyone add this part when quoting this line: “measure for measure will you be judged.” We just say the first part because it makes a good comeback, and then allows us to agree to disagree, or more likely just permits us to make up whatever rules we like. “Judge not” alone allows our own pride and disobedience to continue un-chastised and unchanged, but it doesn't account for the next words that Jesus says, because a judgement is coming, in full measure, and that includes our choices that we make. So even if you, or a co-worker, a friend, a schoolmate, or a relative doesn't get to have the final word on judgement in this world, someone or something does in the next. So who is doing that judging? Is it the cool hippy Jesus? No. This is the fiery Jesus, speaking as God. We forget about this Jesus, who killed the fig tree for not producing fruit. We forget about this God-man who said, “The son of man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all evildoers, and throw them into the furnace of fire; there men will weep and gnash their teeth.” (Mt 13:40-42)In fact, if you don't believe in God, nor believe in Jesus as God, but you read the line “so will you be judged,” who exactly do you think Jesus is talking about as doing the measuring? For those that do not believe, but who quote these lines, how can this idea of cosmic judgement still mean anything? Yet these lines resonate, because even when reminded of the measure for measure, non-believers nod. Even while claiming atheism and disbelief in heaven or hell, people still want some kind of ultimate payback or justice. An infiltration of “karma” seems to have wafted into the room, but it doesn't fit into Christianity. Judgement is to karma as an apple is to an orange. Jesus shares no concept of karma. He's talking about a final judgement, and he will direct you to heaven or hell. He mentioned hell many times. He mentions it all over the place, and souls are going there. Does that sound like the cool hippy allowing us to do whatever you want? Does anyone remember a verse that says: “That's cool; get drunk, trash the place, lie, cheat, steal, be prideful, commit adultery, have random hookups. Do whatever you want, it's all good, I'll just save you at the end.” No, there's nothing like that. Maybe that will turn up in the next version of the Dead Sea Scrolls that is found in a cave in Qumran, but I wouldn't hold my breath. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.whydidpetersink.com

Marcionism and Gnosticism

On the 38th episode of All Heart with Paul Cardall, former atheist and cold case expert Jay Warner Wallace shares his experience as a homicide detective investigating the evidence for Jesus of Nazareth outside of the Bible and inside the text of the Bible. Jim, a popular Christian who uses forensic apologetics believes there are many different versions of the victim (Jesus). He explains how he was able to use his expertise to unveil the true Jesus reported in the Bible and historians. Using a term he coined as "cold case christianity" Jim discusses how to get results long after witnesses are gone. Having a large Mormon family, Jim began investigating Mormonism as part of his journey from being an atheist to a believing Christian who would later have a christian worldview. Using his experience he discovered Mormon founder Joseph Smith was not a prophet and The Book of Mormon does not meet the forensic test of truth. All Heart host Paul, a former Mormon, also with a Christian worldview shares his personal insight into learning the differences in the doctrine of grace. Jay reveals why the doctrine of grace is important in knowing the victim that was crucified and said to come back to life. Jesus spent 40 days with disciples teaching them the doctrine they needed to know to establish the Lord's church.  GUEST: J. Warner Wallace, Homicide Detective, Christian Apologist HOST: Paul Cardall, Dove Award Winning Musician / Producer  J. WARNER WALLACE J. Warner Wallace is a Dateline featured cold-case homicide detective, popular national speaker and best-selling author. He continues to consult on cold-case investigations while serving as a Senior Fellow at the Colson Center for Christian Worldview. He is also an adjunct professor of apologetics at Talbot School of Theology (Biola University) and Southern Evangelical Seminary, and a faculty member at Summit Ministries. J. Warner became a Christ-follower at the age of thirty-five after investigating the claims of the New Testament gospels using his skill set as a detective. He eventually earned a Master's Degree in Theological Studies from Gateway Seminary. J. Warner's professional investigative work has received national recognition; his cases have been featured more than any other detective on NBC's Dateline, and his work has also appeared on CourtTV and Fox News. J. Warner's book, Cold-Case Christianity, provides readers with ten principles of cold case investigations and utilizes these principles to examine the reliability of the gospel eyewitness accounts. In God's Crime Scene, he investigates eight pieces of evidence in the universe to make the case for God's existence. WEBSITE: https://coldcasechristianity.com/ FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/j.warnerwallace INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/jwarnerwallace/ TWITTER: https://twitter.com/jwarnerwallace YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVFe7xhG6rl0ruoMQCJDtnw  ABOUT PAUL CARDALL Steinway & Sons considers Paul Cardall one of today's most prolific pianists. Born with half a heart, the Dove Award Winning artist has endured a lifetime of complex surgeries that culminated in a heart transplant in his 30s. As a teenager, Paul discovered he had a gift of composing for piano without any formal training. “Playing the piano healed my heart and it's been my life's work to use music to heal other hearts,” the pianist told Forbes Magazine. With more than 3 billion lifetime streams and 11 No. 1 Billboard chart debuts, the pianist and entrepreneur recently founded All Heart Publishing, an independent record label patterned after Stone Angel Music, another company he founded in 1999. The Stone Angel catalog and artist roster, both sold to Anthem Entertainment in 2018. Cardall's holiday album, Christmas, was awarded the Gospel Music Association's prestigious Dove Award for Instrumental Album of the Year. Over the years, Cardall has collaborated with many prestigious performers including Grammy winning artist CeCe Winans, Thompson Square, Tyler Glenn (Neon Tees), David Archuleta, Ty Herndon, Kristen Chenowith, and Rachael Yamagata. He recently founded All Heart Publishing, an independent record. Forbes Magazine reported the pianist as saying, "Music has helped healed my heart and it's my life mission to use music to heal your heart." He is the host of the popular podcast, “All Heart with Paul Cardall” and lives in Nashville, TN. WEBSITE: http://www.paulcardall.com FACEBOOK: http://www.facebook.com/paulcardall TWITTER: http://www.twitter.com/paulcardall INSTAGRAM: http://www.instagram.com/paulcardall

Matthew 1 -- Problem with Marcionism, Modalsim/Sabellianism

Matthew 1 -- Problem with Marcionism, Modalsim/Sabellianism

This month we look at five questions that were submitted during a Q&A on Instagram. In this episode, we will be addressing the question of if God changed between the Old Testament and the New Testament. Though we don't mention it in the episode this is one of the old heresies called Marcionism. It holds that some parts of the New Testament but denying Christ's corporality and humanity and condemn the Creator God of the Old Testament.

Wide-ranging discussion with Darren Kelama, Outreach Director for the Marcionite Christian Church and host of FirstNews on FBN. Topics include Marcionism, the Tor Onion network, censorship, Wikipedia and the Covid scam. Free Though Podcast: https://anchor.fm/free-thought Marcionite Christian Church: https://www.marcionitechurch.org --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/firstbiblenetwork/message

Avi and Stephen discuss the early history of Christianity, from Jews Who Believe In Jesus, to the Council of Nicea, with stops in Marcionism, Arianism and Roman life.

OT and NT

We continue our conversation with Josh Lewis. Today, our host, Todd Barham talks with Josh Lewis, the host of The Remnant Radio, about dangerous emerging doctrines. Today Josh introduces Todd to the ideas of Neo-Marcionism and Neo-Gnosticism and they are affecting the American church today. info@advancement.cc www.advancement.cc www.theremnantradio.com  

In this episode Dr. Florin Curta takes into a fascinating and controversial topic and that is the origins and history of the Bogomils and Bogomilism that originated and spread rapidly in the Medieval Balkans. Before starting off Dr. Curta takes us into an introduction to Gnosticism and different Gnostic Sects and beliefs such as the Paulicianism, Manichaeism, Marcionism and etc, to set the foundation for this episode and different responses to these sects and those that came after. We explore the persecution of the Paulicians under the Byzantine Empire and how their forced resettlement in places like the Balkans and the rushed Christianization of Bulgarian society could have actually created the groundwork for the rise of the Bogomils. We discuss what their enemies thought of them including "The Treatise Against the Bogomils" and correspondence between the royal family and the church. We talk about what they actually believed such as that God had two sons... Satan and Jesus. That Satan created all matter including human flesh in which contained trapped souls which is one of the reasons Bogomils didn't believe in engaging in sexuality or eating meat. Lastly, we discuss... what happened to them? Are Stećci Medieval tombstones a testament to who they were? And are the Bogomils and the famous Cathars connected and if so.. then how? Support Dr. Florin Curta at the links below! Previous talk on the Origins and History of the Slavs. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3lBSm87304Q His latest book titled "The Long Sixth Century in Eastern Europe." https://brill.com/view/title/59822 Another important work by him titled "Eastern Europe in the Middle Ages (500-1300) (2 vols.)" https://brill.com/view/title/34623?language=en Purchase his other books : https://www.amazon.com/Florin-Curta/e/B001HD1RW4%3Fref=dbs_a_mng_rwt_scns_share Academia : https://florida.academia.edu/FlorinCurta --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/antiquity-middlages/support

In this episode of 'Passages,' Joshua and Caleb are joined by Dr. Michael Horton and Dr. Fred Sanders to discuss some of the backstories behind the article in the Nicene Creed that we says the One God is the "maker of heaven and earth, of all things visible and invisible." Listen in to hear commentary on Gnosticism, Marcionism, and Tertullian. To support those who made Passages, please consider donating to Mere Orthodoxy. Joshua Heavin serves as the lead writer and host of Passages, while Caleb Wait serves as the lead producer and co-host. Original music by Aaron Feeney, who welcomes inquires. Follow Passages and Joshua and Caleb on Twitter for more news and updates about the show. Disclaimer: the first musical track in this episode is not original to the 'Passages' production crew.

Another major heresy that the first century church, and even later generations, needed to deal with was Gnosticism. Two major forms of Gnosticism were Marcionism, and Docetism. Gene shares some history, talks about major Gnostic figures such as Marcion the first arch-heretic, major themes, and echoes of Gnosticism today.

How long can the Christian Faith survive in recognizable form in a Church context where the work of theology is held in suspicion and the priority of divine authorship of Holy Scripture plays little to no role in biblical interpretation? Is there not a true sense in which the frontlines of the Church's spiritual warfare today is in the library? The heart of the challenge facing the church in the UK may be approached by one or the other side of the current state of affairs. On one side is a challenge to Christian theology. There is among self-professed evangelicals in the UK (and of course in many other countries in the West) a palpable suspicion of serious theological study and thinking. The roots of this suspicion are predictably complex, but the fact that serious theological study was for a long time linked with university contexts where higher critical and atheistic rejections of orthodoxy prevailed and matters of Christian piety were ignored, does certainly account for a lot of the rather curious absence of theology in British churches and in the work of ministers--even in how ministry is understood. Theology is assumed by many to be at odds with warm piety, evangelism and mission, and biblical Christianity, and so it is held in suspicion. On the other side is the challenge to orthodox biblical hermeneutics posed by a thoroughgoing biblicism which is quite unbiblical. Again the critical work of the universities is a factor here as critical rejection of the Bible as inspired Holy Scripture provoked evangelical reactions that prioritized, ironically, the very human authorship and intention which lead those higher critics to reject orthodox theology. Alongside this phenomena, and related to it, is a transformation of the rules of Christian reading of Scripture including a very narrow and modernist set of criteria by which we are supposed to evaluate the legitimacy of typological, figural, or allegorical and spiritual senses of biblical texts. Lost in that transformation, and that new way of understanding what qualifies as biblical, is the very reading of Scripture that yielded the key tenets of orthodox Christianity including the Trinity, the person and work of Jesus Christ, the nature of the Gospel, and more. For this reason--among many others--the trajectory of anti-intellectualism and naive modernism in British evangelical circles warrants the greatest possible concern about the prospects for a recognizable Christian faith in this former bulwark of orthodoxy. Socinianism, Marcionism, and other classic heresies seem to be crouching at the door--if not halfway through it already. How might we think about the nature of, and background to, this urgent state of affairs where Christian faith and gospel seem empty of any theological concern or content and we have a Bible that is treated much as a book but not as Holy Scripture? To discuss this and more Greystone President and Fellow in Scripture and Theology, Dr. Mark A. Garcia, is joined with Greystone Fellows, Dr. Garry Williams and Dr. Robert Letham. Dr. Robert Letham is Greystone Fellow in Theology and History and professor of Systematic and Historical Theology at Union School of Theology. Dr. Garry Williams is Greystone Fellow in Theology and History and director of the Pastor's Academy in London. Drs. Garcia, Letham, and Williams have extensive experience teaching and writing theology in the UK, and are therefore keenly aware of the challenges facing the church in that context.

Today we talk about Ignatius of Antioch, three early church heresies (Marcionism, Gnosticism, and Montanism), and Justin Martyr's First Apology. Get new episodes sent to your email at https://sdcason.com/subscribe --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/shalonecason1/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/shalonecason1/support

Marcionism and Modern Marcionism____________________________________________________________________________________Donate (Paypal)https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=GC2Z86XHHG4X6___________________________________________________________________________________Exclusive Content (Patreon)https://www.patreon.com/TheRemnantRadio__________________________________________________________________________________We're social! Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheRemnantRadioInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/theremnantradio/

As traditionally the oldest form of Christianity, along with the ancient or first millennial Eastern Orthodox Church, the non-Chalcedonian or Oriental Churches, and the Church of the East,[1] the history of the Catholic Church is integral to the history of Christianity as a whole. It is also, according to church historian, Mark A. Noll, the "world's oldest continuously functioning international institution."[2] This article covers a period of just under two thousand years Over time, schisms have disrupted the unity of Christianity. The major divisions occurred in c.144 with Marcionism,[3] 318 with Arianism, 451 with the Oriental Orthodox, 1054 to 1449 (see East-West Schism) during which time the Orthodox Churches of the East parted ways with the Western Church over doctrinal issues (see the filioque) and papal primacy, and in 1517 with the Protestant Reformation, of which there were many divisions, resulting in over 200 denominations. This Church has been the driving force behind some of the major events of world history including the Christianization of Western and Central Europe and Latin America, the spreading of literacy and the foundation of the universities, hospitals, the Western tradition of monasticism, the development of art and music, literature, architecture, contributions to the scientific method, just war theory and trial by jury. It has played a powerful role in global affairs, including the Reconquista, the Crusades, the Inquisition, the Investiture Controversy, the establishment of the Holy Roman Empire, and the Fall of Communism in Eastern Europe in the late 20th century. Subscribe at https://sdcason.com/subscribe --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/shalonecason1/message

In some ways the archheretic himself, this early heretic spurred the church on to formalize the canon of Scripture. What can Marcion and Marcionism teach us about the function heresy often pays in history? Tune in to the final heretics of history episode to find out!   Do you want to follow us? Find us on: Email: doxologypodcast@gmail.com Twitter: @doxologypodcast Instagram: @doxologypodcast   Do you want to receive our weekly newsletter to remain up to date on the latest Doxology Podcast news? Sign up here: https://mailchi.mp/0e7b881f95d9/doxologypodnewsletter

Pastors Sean and Josh are joined by Pastor Lawson Harlow of Mercy Hill to discuss Marcionism. Marcion is one of the most notorious heretical teachers in Christian history, yet Marcionism is far from dead in contemporary culture. Music from https://filmmusic.io"Wholesome" by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com)License: CC BY (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

Marcionism and Modern MarcionismIf you are not familiar with Marcion, he is best known for his work on the text and canon of the Bible. He rejected the OT as a Christian book and collected the earliest known Christian canon, composed of an abbreviated version of Luke's Gospel and ten edited Pauline epistles (lacking the Pastorals). He presented his theological views in the Antitheses, in which he set out contradictions between the OT and the NT. His works do not survive, so his positions must be reconstructed from the refutations made by his opponents, the fullest of which is Tertullian's five books Against Marcion.Marcion was convinced that Paul was the only true apostle and that the original twelve, by ‘Judaizing', became false apostles. Galatians was placed first in his collection of Paul's letters. The opening words of the Antitheses, ‘O wealth of riches! rapture, power, amazement! seeing that there can be nothing to say about it, or to imagine about it, or to compare to it!' expresses his wonder before the Pauline gospel of grace. From Paul, Marcion deduced an exaggerated contrast between law and gospel. In agreement with his contemporary Aquila of Pontus, he practiced a literal interpretation of Scripture, rejecting all allegory. Marcion went far beyond Paul in concluding that there are two Gods: the God of the OT, the Creator, who is a God of law and justice and who predicted the Jewish Messiah; and the previously unknown God of the NT, the Father of Jesus Christ, who is a God of mercy and salvation.Unfortunately, these teachings live on in the body of Christ today. Sections of scripture, books of scripture, and at times entire testaments of scripture are looked at as inferior, uninspired, or in some extreme cases even considered fallible. So we discuss historic Marcionism so that we can have the discernment to detect the modern nuance of modern Marcionism. ___________________________________________________________________Study Guidehttps://theremnantradio.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/marcion-Today-Study-.pdf___________________________________________________________________________________Donate (Paypal)https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=GC2Z86XHHG4X6___________________________________________________________________________________Exclusive Content (Patreon)https://www.patreon.com/TheRemnantRadio__________________________________________________________________________________We're social! Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheRemnantRadioInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/theremnantradio/__________________________________________________________________________________Even When: by StoneBridge Worshiphttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B-rHSNgP-9EEven When Spotify Linkhttps://open.spotify.com/track/0V2UX6VBCMSHqYJpjxBJT7

This is episode 65 of the Logos Institute Podcast. In it Joanna Leidenhag and I (Jonathan Rutledge) interview Professor Douglas Campbell(Duke Divinity School) about his recent book, Pauline Dogmatics: The Triumph of God's Love (Eerdmans). In this portion, we turn to a discussion of Professor Campbell's relational ontology, his inclusive understanding of Romans 9-11, and his advice for not being like Marcion. If you've enjoyed listening to this interview, please see other content from our guest: Douglas Campbell 1. Faculty Page - https://divinity.duke.edu/faculty/douglas-campbell 2. Personal Blog - https://www.douglascampbell.me/blog/welcome To learn more about the Logos Institute, visit our webpage at logos.wp.st-andrews.ac.uk. And don't forget to follow us on our blog where we post content from friends of the Institute at blogos.wp.st-andrews.ac.uk. You can also find us on Twitter (@LogosInst) and Facebook: www.facebook.com/TheologyStAs/?fb…Oc4Pz4P0qkCrfO_w

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A common objection to the validity of Christian truth claims is that it took a rather long time to create the canon of Scripture (i.e., the authoritative list of books to be read in the Churches).   In this episode, we briefly review the practical and unseen factors that were behind the creation of this authoritative list. We discuss such basic aspects as the price of manuscripts, the difficulty of obtaining writing materials and the need for intra-church communication—factors that are often left unconsidered by those who quickly dismiss Christian truth claims because it took the Church a long time to create this list.   Early Christian communities faced many challenges beyond the task of determining which books ought to be included in its authoritative list. From answering claims about the Church’s relationship to Judaism in the Church’s conflict with Marcionism to defining the Church’s relationship to the state, early Christian leaders had to figure out answers to these questions in ways that would satisfy their audiences. In the midst of these pressing concerns, the resolution of the canon had to wait.   In addition to these pressing tasks, to name just a few, resolving the question of the canon of Scripture was an enormous undertaking. The task involved nothing short of creating an authoritative list from dozens of books written over hundreds of years in different languages. The leaders of the Church had to evaluate the contents of these documents, the contents of which have continued to exercise the minds of scholars to this day.   Join us this week as we review some of the major challenges that faced the church in compiling this list that we now call the canon of Scripture. To access the show, navigate to your podcast player of choice or download our free app on the iOS or Android stores.   To access the show, navigate to your podcast player of choice or our free app on the iOS or Android stores. To comment on this show or provide feedback, please navigate to https://catholicheritageshow.com/episode168 The Catholic Heritage is devoted to helping Catholic Christians better understand the history, teachings and culture of their Catholic faith so that they can better love and serve Christ, the Church and their neighbors. Dr. Erik Estrada is a Catholic scholar who holds a Ph.D. from the University of Notre Dame and specializes in the history of Christianity and historical theology. He also completed a licentiate (S.T.L) in theology and patristic science at the Augustinianum Patristic Institute in Rome and a S.T.B. at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas. If you would like to provide feedback to the show, of if you have any inquiries, you can contact him at feedback@catholicheritageshow.com. iOS or Android App of the CH Show iOS App of CHS Android App of CHS Newsletter Sign-up for the CH Show To sign up for our podcast’s community newsletter, please navigate to: https://catholicheritageshow.com/podcastnewsletter/ To place your name on the waiting list for our future learning site, please navigate to: https://catholicheritage.institute/   Follow the Catholic Heritage Show on Social Media:   The Main Catholic Heritage Website: https://catholicheritage.co The Show’s Website: https://catholicheritageshow.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/catholic.heritage.show/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Catholic-Heritage-Show-202869793834233/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/cathheritagshow YouTube Channel   Review our Podcast iTunes (click iTunes > Ratings and Reviews > Write a Review) and Stitcher   How to Connect with Us Comment on the show below Ask a Question via Speakpipe Email via Contact Form in the Footer of the Site (audio files welcome)   YouTube   How Were the New Testament Books Chosen? Old Age of a Book - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5IuYpa_DOkg   What is the Canon of Scripture - Canon is a List of Books -https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rV9Uc26oPZM   How Were the New Testament Books Chosen? Apostolic Origin of a Book - https://youtu.be/2EARsghZhK8   Criteria for NT Canon Point to Church Authority - https://youtu.be/OYSAemeIiNY   Criteria for Determining New Testament Canon Used by Early Church - https://youtu.be/jSI9jponGUk   Why is the Canon of Scripture Important? - https://youtu.be/xGhDSpSvnkw  

A conversation about Baptists, Charismatic Christianity, Deconstruction, Marcionism, Augustine and Notes from the Tilt-A-Whirl.

Church History gives us valuable windows into applying the biblical worldview. In episode two of a series on early Church history, Dr. Cory Barnes discusses the early heresies of Gnosticism and Marcionism and how elements of both beliefs still persist in the contemporary church.

We've all wrestled with one part of the Bible or another. Our response is usually ignore it, reject it, or swallow our pride and adjust our life to reflect it. Sean discusses the first two options: reject it or ignore it. This principle of humanity exercising its authority to determine what parts of Scripture we keep or toss is the foundation of the ancient heresy of Marcionism. Sean will show us that just as 2 Timothy 3:16 states, "all of Scripture is God-breathed".

Why do Catholics need to return to the Old Testament? What is Marcionism and why did the Church reject it? How should we understand the book of Genesis? Chris Plance joins the show to discuss these questions and more as we discuss his forthcoming book Kingdom by Creation. The Classical Theism Podcast aims to defend Catholic Christian ideas in conversation. With the help of various guests, I defend three pillars of the Catholic Christian worldview: (1) the God of classical theism exists, (2) Jesus is our Messiah and Lord, and (3) He founded the Catholic Church. We place a strong emphasis on the first pillar, defending classical theism, drawing upon the work of Thomistic philosopher Dr. Edward Feser and many others. John DeRosa www.classicaltheism.com/support

Sunday Febuary 23, 2020 Christ uncovered many mysteries of the past, while He also gave us more that remain uncovered. In trying to unravel the further ones some have distorted them. If you can't untie the knot you shouldn't cut it. Leave it tied and accept that which is revealed on both sides, and without detriment or deprecation to the other. Just one to two generations after the apostles we see several false doctrines that are created from the further mysteries encountered by the revelation of Christ. Gnosticism, the belief in created agents by God, demiurges and angels of which Jesus was one, offering the path to God through some ultimate knowledge or mystery. Arianism, the belief that Jesus was the Savior, but was created and had always been less than God. Marcionism (around 150... for full notes: http://www.cgtruth.org/index.php?proc=msg&sf=vw&tid=2189

It's back to the old format this week as Seth introduces us to two martyrs, Sts. Sebastian and Agnes, Christine brings back the Heresy of the Week by giving an overview of Marcionism in both ancient and modern form, and Erica addresses the mystery of suffering from the point of view of both Ethicist and Mother.Also mentioned: Fetishizing of suffering, weirdly erotic Latin poetry about young girl martyrs, St. Godelieve, Domestic Abuse, Murder, St. Francis DeSales, Practical Devotion, Quarterback Aaron Rogers, The Old Testament, The Demiurge, the Pauline Epistles, Erica's son, Chocolate Chip Cookies, Existentialism, Albert Camus, William Golding, Abuse, "Offering it up," and the terrible sadistic habit of enabling mortal sin by glorifying unnecessary suffering.

First episode with a discussion of the Scarlet Thread of Scripture.  Starting with Luke 24 and the revelation of Jesus throughout the Old Testament, we then addressed the historical heresy of Marcion and his continued heretical legacy today. That understanding was then applied to the modern Marcionism of the LGBTQ movement and their attempt to undermine the historical understanding and exegesis of the Bible.

In part 3 of "The Problem of Evil", we'll explore the first two centuries of church history where Gnosticism and Marcionism provided a challenging alternative to genuine Christianity. One of the significant appeals of these movements was how they answered the problem of evil and explained the causations for suffering. In the face of these challenges and the threat of martyrdom, early church leaders like Clement, Ignatius, Polycarp, Justin Martyr, and Irenaeus provided crucial responses to these challenges and key insights into how early Christians understood the root causes of evil and unjust suffering. To Subscribe on Apple Podcasts:https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/deep-talks-exploring-theology-and-meaning-making/id1401730159 To become a Deep Talks Patreon member and support this podcast go to:https://www.patreon.com/deeptalkstheologypodcast Connect on with Paul Anleitner on Twitter at:https://twitter.com/PaulAnleitner

In this episode we continue to talk about the Romance of Orthodoxy. We talk about Marcionism, a heresy that claims the God of the Hebrew Bible is fundamentally different than the God revealed in Jesus Christ. We find a surprising modern example of the position in renowned theologian David Bentley Hart. We consider a recent exchange he had with First Things contributor Peter Leithart.

Two thousand years of Christian Theology in just 20 minutes (or Not)! Basically, Abbey finds a rabbit hole in trying to simplify theology and Shannon goes along for the ride. That is until she finds another romance novel!Guitalele's Happy Place by Stefan Kartenberg (c) copyright 2017 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/JeffSpeed68/56194 Ft: Kara Square (mindmapthat)

Quotations from "Gay daughter sent bishop back to Scriptures"By Bishop Richard WilkeAug. 21, 2019 | WINFIELD, Kansas (UM News)That is why the current divide in our United Methodist Church over homosexuality breaks my heart. I have given my life to revitalizing the church and bringing people to Christ. I want to say that allowing this issue to separate us seems incomprehensible....The young woman before us that night wanted to be loved and accepted, but she wasn't a troubled, tortured soul. She was happy and whole, and Julia and I believed that her sexual orientation was how God had made her.Still, I knew I had some work to do. I needed to reconcile my commitment to scriptural authority with loving and accepting my daughter. There is a reason many Bibles use red letters to set Jesus' words apart: The color highlights their importance relative to the surrounding text.Remember, too, that Jesus is the Word made flesh. He is Lord, even of the Bible!Neither Jews nor Christians obey the Holiness Code today. Christians eat shrimp because Jesus said, “It is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but it is what comes out of the mouth that defiles.”But Jesus and his ministry concern me most. Time and again, he deliberately focused on the marginalized. He healed the crippled, the demon-possessed and the sick. He performed miracles in the synagogue, although religious leaders scolded him that the labor and healing violated the Sabbath. A desperate woman, bleeding for years, an outcast, touched the hem of Jesus' cloak and was healed. Our Lord forgave the prostitute who wept at his feet. He cured a Roman soldier's servant, though the Jews despised the oppressive Roman occupation.Samaritans were even more detested than the Romans. Yet Jesus upended all convention when he cast a “good Samaritan” as the hero of his parable.The hatred and condemnation of others all seems to be the very opposite to both the action and the teachings of Jesus. He laid the groundwork for the church to accept Gentiles when he said, “I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold.”Again and again Jesus placed kindness and acceptance over custom and social norms. “Love one another,” he commanded, “as I have loved you.” He also emphasized hospitality: “When you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame and the blind. And you will be blessed.”If we are to be Christ followers, how can we reject the LGBT community in light of Jesus' ministry?Nothing in my 70 years of ministry would lead me to believe that The United Methodist Church would or should divide over these few misunderstood passages of Scripture. I am offering this message because, I believe that Jesus is Lord of the Bible, and all of his teachings direct us to create a loving and inclusive community of faith. I ask for your prayers for the church. Lift your voice in affirmation of our great tradition and help us to find a way forward to heal, and not divide.https://www.umnews.org/en/news/bishop-gay-daughter-sent-him-back-to-scriptures?fbclid=IwAR2kRrkJC9TCitWUA2O1sIH5s7eE0plP_K36XquWzIjPNj_P_FSwEpyFzsw#.XWPOforP1mF.facebook Marcionism:http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/09645c.htmAppeal to Pity:https://www.logicallyfallacious.com/tools/lp/Bo/LogicalFallacies/39/Appeal-to-PityConflating the Jewish civic, ritual, and moral laws:“We must therefore distinguish three kinds of precept in the Old Law; viz. ‘moral' precepts, which are dictated by the natural law; ‘Ceremonial' precepts, which are determinations of the Divine worship; and ‘judicial' precepts, which are determinations of the justice to be maintained among men.”Summa Theologica, Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274)What is the difference between the three types of law found in the Mosaic Covenant?Moral Law – this is law which reflects God's character and his design of this world. Examples of this law would include but are not limited to commands regarding murder, children honoring and obeying their parents, adultery, covetousness and theft.Ceremonial Law – this was a brand-new set of laws that God gave to Moses that were specifically for the nation of Israel as a theocracy. These laws dealt with the qualifications for priests, requirements for how and when to perform sacrifices, cleanliness laws, dietary laws, festival laws and tithing laws.Civil(Judicial) Law – All nations must have civil laws to help deal with disputes between their citizens as well as to enforce the morals of the people. While not all of the Mosaic civil laws dealt with moral issues, a great deal of the Civil laws for Israel did in fact deal with how to punish or make restitution for violation of God's moral laws. So, when we examine the Old Testament to search for the moral law of God – we must look for moral laws that stand alone as well as civil laws which prescribe punishment and restitution for breaking God's moral laws.( https://biblicalgenderroles.com/what-is-the-distinction-between-the-moral-ceremonial-and-civil-laws-of-the-old-testament/ )Wesely's quadrilateral – Scripture, Tradition, Reason, and Experience.“The resulting four components or "sides" of the quadrilateral are (1) Scripture, (2) tradition, (3) reason, and (4) experience. For United Methodists, Scripture is considered the primary source and standard for Christian doctrine. Tradition is experience and the witness of development and growth of the faith through the past centuries and in many nations and cultures. Experience is the individual's understanding and appropriating of the faith in the light of his or her own life. Through reason the individual Christian brings to bear on the Christian faith discerning and cogent thought. These four elements taken together bring the individual Christian to a mature and fulfilling understanding of the Christian faith and the required response of worship and service.”http://www.umc.org/what-we-believe/wesleyan-quadrilateral The Catechism of the Catholic Church 2357Chastity and homosexuality2357 Homosexuality refers to relations between men or between women who experience an exclusive or predominant sexual attraction toward persons of the same sex. It has taken a great variety of forms through the centuries and in different cultures. Its psychological genesis remains largely unexplained. Basing itself on Sacred Scripture, which presents homosexual acts as acts of grave depravity,140 tradition has always declared that "homosexual acts are intrinsically disordered."141 They are contrary to the natural law. They close the sexual act to the gift of life. They do not proceed from a genuine affective and sexual complementarity. Under no circumstances can they be approved.( http://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__P85.HTM )

03/09/19 Saturday 1pm ET/12pm CTRL/11am MTN/10am Pac Call in and listen, share comments or ask questions at 1-347-934-0379 or join us for the live video stream and subscribe on our you tube channel at: rtmp://a.rtmp.youtube.com/live2 or visit our channel page here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-719ZD-n9p6xNMsB_UGt-g?view_as=subscriber The podcast link will be for this program at: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/healingxoutreach/2019/03/09/hxo-talks-a-you-tube-live-stream-event--is-the-old-testament-god-the-devil Agustin "Gus" Astacio is a former third generation Jehovah's Witness now ordained minister and Christian apologist who is discussing the rise of ancient Marcionism in the modern era also known as the Satan is Yahweh movement. He will answer questons such as: Does Jehovah really mean "he who causes evil?" Did Jesus believe the OT God Yahweh was the devil? Is the ancient practice of blood sacrifices satanic? Was thew OT corrupted by the Devil and a deceiver of Moses? Does the violence in the OT prove that the OT God Yahweh was not a God of love? Who did Jesus call "His Father?"

One of the creeping heresies of our day is the issue of Marcionism, which tends to be either overlooked or subtly promoted across theological lines, from Protestants to Catholics to so-called "Orthodox." The heresiarch Marcion is the father of pitting Paul and his supposed gnostic writings against the "mean God" of the Law and Prophets. This talk will also be relevant to the countless gnostics and Neo-pagans who constantly challenge my work. I'll also be taking superhchat Q n A about objections and apparent contradictions.

One of the creeping heresies of our day is the issue of Marcionism, which tends to be either overlooked or subtly promoted across theological lines, from Protestants to Catholics to so-called "Orthodox." The heresiarch Marcion is the father of pitting Paul and his supposed gnostic writings against the "mean God" of the Law and Prophets. This talk will also be relevant to the countless gnostics and Neo-pagans who constantly challenge my work. I'll also be taking superhchat Q n A about objections and apparent contradictions.

Modern-day MarcionismSeries: Learners' Exchange 2018 Speaker: Kiara FalkLearners' ExchangeDate: 28th October 2018

Speaker or Performer: Caleb Petersen Date of Delivery: October 21, 2018 Points of Reform for the Modern ChurchFrom Denominationalism back to the 5-Fold ModelAn Ever-Increasing Revelation of Jesus The New CovenantDeeper Understanding of the Bible its Application TodayHopeful Victorious EschatologyEffective Strategies to Accomplish the Great CommissionWomen in Ministry Women in GeneralTrue Unity Between ChristiansLove Affection Between ChristiansWhat Loving the World Actually Looks LikeWholeness Selfcare*new 95 theses*DenominationalismWe vered from the original model. Why?After apostles died, Platonian (Greek) philosophy took over:Marcionism: the God of Jesus was a different God from the God of the Old Testament.Montanism: relied on prophetic revelations from the Holy Spirit.Adoptionism: Jesus was not born the Son of God, but was adopted at his baptism, resurrection or ascension.Docetism: Jesus was pure spirit and his physical form an illusion.Sabellianism: the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are three modes of the one God and not the three separate persons of the Trinity.Arianism: Jesus, as the Son, was subordinate to God the Father.Gnosticism: “having knowledge”Derived from interpreting the Biblical text through Platonian (Greek) philosophy.Dualism: All matter is evil, and the non-material, spirit-realm is good.Asceticism: Severe self-discipline and avoidance of all forms of indulgence.Anit-Cosmism: There is an unknowable God, who gave rise to many lesser spirit beings called Aeons. One evil, lower spirit being is the creator who made the universe.High Christology: Jesus’ divinity is real, but a divine being would never subject Himself to a material existence, so Jesus’ humanity isn’t real.No human Jesus, no blood. No blood, no atonement for sin.To achieve salvation, one needs to get in touch with secret knowledge called gnosis.Inverse Exegesis: In biblical exegesis, the opposite of exegesis (to draw out) is eisegesis (to draw in), in the sense of an eisegetic commentator importing or drawing in his or her own purely subjective interpretations into the text, unsupported by the text itself.Wiki: “After the second century, a decline set in, but Gnosticism persisted throughout the centuries as an undercurrent of western culture, re-manifesting with the Renaissance as Western esotericism (mysticism), taking prominence with modern spirituality.”Kris Vallotton on Denominationalism“In my encounter, the Lord said He is going to pour out revelation on this generation that has been held in the vault of heaven for eons of ages. However, if He pours it out on denominationalism then it would rip the wine skin.Why? The nature of revelation is that you have a new idea, and new ideas are not welcome in a wineskin where you have to agree (denominationalism).I’m not talking about denominations; I’m talking about denominationalism. It doesn’t matter what it says over the door of your church, it just matters what you say over the door of your heart.The denominational spirit is just as alive in some apostolic networks as it is in many churches with a denomination.In denominationalism, church leaders preach don’t preach to inspire, they preach to convince. Why? Because when you inspire people, you’re causing them to think, which causes them to have an idea and therefore causes them to have an opinion.Denominationalism doesn’t like opinions because they could lead to disagreements, and under this spirit, disagreement causes splits and division!In denominationalism disagreement is seen as disloyalty. Therefore, there is no freedom for disagreement. Beyond that, how much you value someone is seen by how much you agree with them! What a controlling mess!I’d love to suggest that you have permission to love anyone, whether they agree with you or not. This will keep you out of manipulating people into agreeing with you.What’s the overall point? We need a new wineskin!https://krisvallotton.com/gods-answer-church-splits/Go to seminary - got a degree - now i’m a pastorGift-based authorityThe best performer is the leaderWhat happens when someone out-performs me?I have to sabotage their growthThis creates a culture of fear, jealousy, competitionIn Apostleships, greatness is celebrated because there is no fear of losing my place, there’s no jealousy that someone else got more recognition than me, and there’s no competing for a titleWhy?Apostleships look like familyIn a healthy family, acceptance is guaranteed, and titles don’t mean anythingGod sent me to this family, only God can remove meWhat if something goes wrong?are there bad families?Does that mean the family structure is wrong?You have many teachers, but you don’t have many fathersWe see each other no longer after the fleshIf you receive a prophet in the name of a prophet, you receive a prophets reward5-Fold ModelEphesians 4:11-16 AMP 11 And [His gifts to the church were varied and] He Himself appointed some as apostles [special messengers, representatives], some as prophets [who speak a new message from God to the people], some as evangelists [who spread the good news of salvation], and some as pastors and teachers [to shepherd and guide and instruct], 12 [and He did this] to fully equip and perfect the saints (God’s people) for works of service, to build up the body of Christ [the church]; 13 until we all reach oneness in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God, [growing spiritually] to become a mature believer, reaching to the measure of the fullness of Christ [manifesting His spiritual completeness and exercising our spiritual gifts in unity]. 14 So that we are no longer children [spiritually immature], tossed back and forth [like ships on a stormy sea] and carried about by every wind of [shifting] doctrine, by the cunning and trickery of [unscrupulous] men, by the deceitful scheming of people ready to do anything [for personal profit]. 15 But speaking the truth in love [in all things—both our speech and our lives expressing His truth], let us grow up in all things into Him [following His example] who is the Head—Christ. 16 From Him the whole body [the church, in all its various parts], joined and knitted firmly together by what every joint supplies, when each part is working properly, causes the body to grow and mature, building itself up in [unselfish] love.“His gifts to the church”What were the gifts that were given?Look back to verse 77 Yet grace [God’s undeserved favor] was given to each one of us [not indiscriminately, but in different ways] in proportion to the measure of Christ’s [rich and abundant] gift.What are these gifts designed to do?12 [and He did this] to fully equip and perfect the saints (God’s people) for works of service, to build up the body of Christ [the church]“Equip perfect for the works of service” → strategy technique“Build up the body” → strength stamina13 until we all reach oneness in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God, [growing spiritually] to become a mature believer, reaching to the measure of the fullness of Christ [manifesting His spiritual completeness and exercising our spiritual gifts in unity].“Reach oneness in the faith knowledge of Jesus” → unity around faith in Jesus what He’s done for us (not doctrine)“To become a mature believer, reaching the measure of the fullness of Christ” → personal growth wholeness14 So that we are no longer children [spiritually immature], tossed back and forth [like ships on a stormy sea] and carried about by every wind of [shifting] doctrine, by the cunning and trickery of [unscrupulous] men, by the deceitful scheming of people ready to do anything [for personal profit].“No longer children.. carried about by every wind of doctrine” → self-control (clear confident boundaries), wisdom (healthy discernment), responsibility (owning your “I _______”)What will be the effect of these 5 things?16 From Him the whole body [the church, in all its various parts], joined and knitted firmly together by what every joint supplies, when each part is working properly, causes the body to grow and mature, building itself up in [unselfish] love.“By what every joint supplies” → we each will have our own supply to offer to the rest of the body“When each part is working properly, it causes the body to grow and mature, building itself up in love” → a healthy body means a healthy growth system, immune system, reproductive system“This love (Greek: agape) is not so much a matter of emotion as it is of doing things for the benefit of another person, that is, having an unselfish concern for another and a willingness to seek the best for another.”THIS IS FAMILYAlignment UnityRomans 12:4-6 MSG In this way we are like the various parts of a human body. Each part gets its meaning from the body as a whole, not the other way around. The body we’re talking about is Christ’s body of chosen people. Each of us finds our meaning and function as a part of his body. But as a chopped-off finger or cut-off toe we wouldn’t amount to much, would we? So since we find ourselves fashioned into all these excellently formed and marvelously functioning parts in Christ’s body, let’s just go ahead and be what we were made to be, without enviously or pridefully comparing ourselves with each other, or trying to be something we aren’t.So what are these gifts what should I receive from them?11 And [His gifts to the church were varied and] He Himself appointed some as apostles [special messengers, representatives], some as prophets [who speak a new message from God to the people], some as evangelists [who spread the good news of salvation], and some as pastors and teachers [to shepherd and guide and instruct]Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists, Pastors, Teachers5 natural senses → 5 spiritual senses“Just as you use your natural senses to be consciously aware of this earthly existence, each of these gifts equip your spiritual senses to be consciously aware of your spiritual existence, in order that you would come back into wholeness, grow into maturity, effectively carry out the mission of bringing heaven to earth.”ApostleWhat is?Wiki: An apostle, in its most literal sense, is an emissary, from Greek apóstolos, literally one who is sent off, from the verb apostéllein, to send off. The purpose of such sending off is usually to convey a message, and thus messenger is a common alternative translation; other common translations include ambassador and envoy.“Apostles are sent from one place to another place in order to make the place where they were sent look like the place they came from.” - Kris Vallotton“When in Rome, you do as the Romans do.”Apostles are concerned with transformation of culture locally with the whole world into the culture of heaven.Apostles are ambassadors that bring an envoy of heaven everywhere they go. This envoy is there to spiritually transition that region into the kingdom of heaven.They do this by conquering culturizing. If a kingdom has already been set up that doesn’t look like heaven, they conquer it by enforcing their jurisdiction over principalities, and then implement a cultural transformation so that “When in the Kingdom, you do as the King does.”Fear: authority = controlTruth: authority = responsibility to serve empowering self-controlBut how will we get stuff done if no one is in control?Leadership is still not controlling a person, it’s leading them. If they don’t want to follow, they don’t have to.But that much freedom is kind of scary because we can’t predict it! Someone could just leave at any moment! That makes us feel vulnerable and uncomfortable!Well, God is into the love business. And love means empowering free choice.Where is your trust? In God or a person?Do you fully trust Jesus is the healer of the brokenhearted? (Luke 4:18)In 1 Corinthians 12:28, it says “He appointed: first apostles.” They are the first, which means they are the bottom.Luke 22:24-27 AMP 24 Now a dispute also arose among them as to which of them was regarded to be the greatest. 25 Jesus said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles have absolute power and lord it over them; and those in authority over them are called ‘Benefactors.’ 26 But it is not to be this way with you; on the contrary, the one who is the greatest among you must become like the youngest [and least privileged], and the [one who is the] leader, like the servant. 27 For who is the greater, the one who reclines at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who reclines at the table? But I am among you as the one who serves.They are the soil from which we all grow.They often get stepped on overlooked.1 Corinthians 12:23 and as for those parts of the body which we consider less honorable, these we treat with greater honorThe less honorable, the more we honor.Apostles train us how to send and be sent in order to affect the culture around us.Expect to be equipped by this office with:A view of the “blueprints” for bringing heaven to earth transforming cultureA connectedness with the local body of Christ to the body as a wholeAn empowerment to reign in life like Jesus didLeadership skillsHow to maintain a personal corporate visionHow to win: steadfastness persistenceUnrelenting drive to see the kingdom of God manifest on the earth← HONOR THE GIFT → ProphetWhat is?The role of a prophet under the Old Covenant was to keep the nation of Israel accountable to keep their covenant faithfulness to God. They were the intermediaries between God and the people. → they’re between us GodIn the New Covenant, the role of the prophet has changed. We no longer need a middle man between us and God. This is what is meant in Matthew 5:17 when Jesus said He came to fulfill the Law the Prophets. Through Jesus we all have direct access to God.So what is the prophet’s role now?Prophets, now, show us how to communicate with God for ourselves the people around us. → they’re behind usProphets train us how to prophesy how to receive prophecy.Expect to be equipped by this office with:A deep sense of connectedness to GodA heightened awareness of the spiritualInsight foresightA desire for the mysteries of GodExpanding of the imaginative, pictorial, metaphoric parts of your mindHow to prophesy in a way that brings edification, encouragement, comfortHow to operate in your spiritual gifts: Word of Wisdom, Word of Knowledge, Gift of Faith, Gift of Healing, Gift of Miracles, Gift of Prophecy, Distinguishing of Spirits, Gift of Tongues, Gift of Interpretation← HONOR THE GIFT → EvangelistWhat is?Evangelists are the zealous advocates of the Great Commission in Matthew 28:18-20 “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you”Evangelists remind us of the “Go” in Gospel.They keep us from making Christianity “an exclusive club with a strict membership acceptance”They are the arms, hands, legs, feet, continually showing us how to reach out further than is comfortable to boldly go where no one has gone before. *Star Trek music starts playing here*Evangelists train us with effective strategies to reach the world around us.Expect to be equipped by this office with:Radical love for JesusRadical love for peopleHope for the prodigals to come homeBoldnessPassionCompassionFervorFaith-full-nessUnderstanding of the authority given to us through JesusConnecting new Christians to the rest of the body← HONOR THE GIFT → PastorWhat is?Wiki: “The word ‘pastor’ derives from the Latin noun pastor which means ‘shepherd’ and is derived from the verb pascere – ‘to lead to pasture, set to grazing, cause to eat’.”Pastors keep us connected to the heart of God.Pastors impart the heart of the shepherd that left the 99 to care for the 1.They show us how to be both sheep shepherd by connecting us to the Great Shepherd.They are focussed on keeping the body healthy strong; functioning as intended.Pastors are also the co-advocates for the Great Commission Matthew 28:19-20 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”Pastors train us how to pastor how to be pastored.Expect to be equipped by this office with:A deep and intimate personal connection with the aspects of GodA tender, compassionate, affectionate love for peopleMarital family relationship healthHealthy interpersonal relationshipsPersonal wholeness skillsGeneral life skillsHow to be a discipleHow to discipleCelebration of symbolic acts (baptism, communion, etc.)← HONOR THE GIFT → TeacherWhat is?Teachers keep us connected to the mind of God.They remind us of His ultimate brilliance wisdom, and that He has shared His mind with us.1 Corinthians 2:9-12, 16 9 but just as it is written, “Things which eye has not seen and ear has not heard, And which have not entered the heart of man, All that God has prepared for those who love Him.” 10 For to us God revealed them through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God. 11 For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so the thoughts of God no one knows except the Spirit of God. 12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things freely given to us by God16 For who has known the mind of the Lord, that he will instruct Him? But we have the mind of Christ.Teachers remind us to keep a fervent passion for the Word of God.*LoL* A teacher will probably recommend you read Proverbs.Teachers train us how to think, not what to think.Teachers train us how to learn how to teach.Expect to be equipped from this office with:Awe wonder for the way God thinksDesire to see what no one has seen hear what no one has heardA drive to see the things God has prepared for us manifest on the earthWisdom, understanding, knowledge.Insight hindsight.Clarity peace in your mind.An ever-increasing love for the Word.← HONOR THE GIFT →

This week on Armed Lutheran Radio we learn about the word “Marcionism,” a 2nd Century gnostic heresy taught by Marcion of Sinope. Marcion suggested that the God of the Old Testament and the God of the New Testament are different gods. One is violent and cruel, the other loving and forgiving. That heresy survives today at Clackamass United Church of Christ where Rev. Adam Erickson hates the story of Noah and the flood because the “God character” in that story is nothing like Jesus. THIS EPISODE IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY COOK'S HOLSTERS. AMERICAN MADE CUSTOM HOLSTERS WITH A 100% SATISFACTION GUARANTEE. www.CooksHolsters.com Links of Interest Patheos.com – Sermon: Swimming through the Flood – Guns, Violence, and US Politics CARM.org – What is Marcionism? GunMag Warehouse – Need more Magazines? Find out what gun magazines we have for you! Shop ModernSpartanSystems.com for the best cleaning, lubrication, and accuracy products for firearms. Everyday Cigar Deals Get Regular Refills Coffee Subscriptions at the Dunkin' Donuts Shop Now! Legal Plans Starting at $24.95/month. Shop LegalShield Today! Shop Firearms and Guns at Palmetto State Armory.  Aaron Israel of Fundamental Defense Would you know what to do if you or someone with you got bitten by a snake? If you like to hike or go camping, knowing what to do should be part of your personal defense strategy. Ballistic Minute with Sergeant Bill There's a sickness sweeping the competitive shooting world. Gear Acquisition Syndrome or G.A.S. Mia's Motivations with Mia Anstine Muzzle breaks can be a great addition to your rifle. Clinging to God and Guns Pastor Bennett is back from vacation and he and Lloyd are looking at a smug Marcionite who hates the Biblical Story of the flood because our world is already too violent with all the school shootings so we don’t need stories about God being violent. Prayer of the Week Let Your merciful ears, O Lord, be open to the prayers of Your humble servants; and that they may obtain their petitions, make them to ask such things as shall please You; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord. Amen. Our Closing Theme A rockin' rendition of A Mighty Fortress is Our God, performed just for Armed Lutheran Radio by Kenny Gates. Thank you to our Reformation Gun Club members! Bryan P., David H., David W., Gordon L., Jackie R., James M., John N., Kalroy, Tyler C., Frank S., Vince W., Harold U., Douglas R., Lucas A., Dave V., Robert M., Russell W., and Marc L.

How are we to understand the forgiving and compassionate ministry of Jesus against the backdrop of Torah and some of the harsh punishments demanded by God of sinners? An answer offered by Marcion of Sinope (2nd cent.) was simply that there exits 2 deities - essentially a harsh God of the Hebrews and a more compassionate God of Jesus. And while most of us would quickly reject Marcionism when presented this way, it turns out many of our views of salvation - and indeed our worship - are quite Marcionite! The texts for this sermon are: Lev. 24:10-23 (NRSV), Matt. 5:38-48 (NRSV) and Rom. 7:4-25 (NRSV).   Want to support the podcast?  CLICK HERE for ways to help! Want to connect?  You can send e-mail here. Or find me on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Jesse and Tony discuss Marcionism, a second century heresy that involves rejecting parts of the… ListenTRB 089 Marcionism The post TRB 089 Marcionism appeared first on Society of Reformed Podcasters.

Jesse and Tony discuss Marcionism, a second century heresy that involves rejecting parts of the Bible. They also connect it to contemporary problems in the… ListenTRB 089 Marcionism

In this “podclass” we’re going to see why Marcionism is the most prolific heresy today. Marcion was a second century heretic who taught that the God of the Old Testament was a different God from the New Testament. The section of St. Alphonsus Liguori’s book can be found here. Scroll down to #8 to read … Continue reading Heresy Podclass 2: The Second Century →

Scripture Readings: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/020418.cfm

We are joined by Dr. Andreas J. Köstenberger, Senior Research Professor of New Testament and Biblical Theology at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, for a detailed discussion on the important book he co-authored with Dr. Michael J. Kruger, The Heresy of Orthodoxy. Subtitled "How contemporary culture's fascination with diversity has reshaped our understanding of early Christianity", The Heresy of Orthodoxy deconstructs the fashionable trend—both in academia and popular culture—to view early Christianity as essentially a diverse collection of irreconcilable theologies, and through historical reasoning cogently argues for the priority of normative Christianity. (For show notes please visit http://themindrenewed.com)

We are joined by Dr. Andreas J. Köstenberger, Senior Research Professor of New Testament and Biblical Theology at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, for a detailed discussion on the important book he co-authored with Dr. Michael J. Kruger, The Heresy of Orthodoxy. Subtitled "How contemporary culture's fascination with diversity has reshaped our understanding of early Christianity", The Heresy of Orthodoxy deconstructs the fashionable trend—both in academia and popular culture—to view early Christianity as essentially a diverse collection of irreconcilable theologies, and through historical reasoning cogently argues for the priority of normative Christianity. (For show notes please visit http://themindrenewed.com)

The first time I attended an Orthodox service, two arrogant young men told me how they fled to Orthodoxy because they thought the Bible was full of errors. In the last ten years since, I have seen nothing but compromise and caving by many leaders, largely due to the funders of the seminaries. Although I don’t know if Fr. Stephen Freeman was indirectly responding to my gnostic talk (where I mentioned him in passing) in his latest article, his conflation of hermeneutics with textual issues is a consistent one and illustrates a continuing prevalence amongst many so-called Orthodox. In our day, especially among the Ameridox, we see the tendency to deride, misinterpret and discount the Law and Prophets and their historicity based on false assumptions, ignorance, heresy and modernism. In the case of Fr. Stephen Freeman, he believes that somehow Orthodoxy allows him to not worry about the historical veracity of the text and that this is “patristic.” It is not biblical, patristic or Orthodox.I left a brief paragraph response and link to my Inerrancy article and he deleted the comment, meaning he is not willing to engage in a debate on the topic – probably because he cannot answer the objection. As a result, not only will I make that point, but will follow with this 2 hour video completely refuting his flawed position. Fr. Stephen Freeman is a test case of the (sadly) many examples of Marcionite-tainted leaders (across denominations) who think “allegorization” means being a-historical. Ironically, St. Irenaeus’ Book III and IV of Against Heresies laboriously attempt to argue against Marcionism on the basis of the historicity of the Old Testament (a quote he misuses)! And not only St. Irenaeus, but all the fathers teach inerrancy and uphold the veracity of the history recorded. See my old article on inerrancy here, and my article on how typology is based on historicity here.Individuals who attend universities and have their faith challenged or destroyed on the basis of higher criticism or New Age nonsense are often oblivious to the fact their universities are in some cases funded by Satanists. In the case of Duke University, the heirs themselves claim their family were Satanists. It’s not rocket science why Duke University promotes Satanic anti-christian doctrines – and it’s not “fundamentalism.” As I point out in my talk, “fundamentalism” historically means anything in the Apostle’s Creed like miracles or Virgin Birth – but Fr. Freeman conflates this with textual interpretation and “literalism.” I don’t cite this to say Fr. Freeman is any occultist, but that he and many like him who attend such schools rarely look to who the schools’ wealthy donors may be and what philosophy they may want to inculcate.Of course, in the minds of many of these modern prelates and so-called leaders, there is no devil and Satanism doesn’t exist – and the Rockefellers had no plans or designs with ecumenism, either, even though their authorized biography says they did. Take note and watch to see if Fr. Stephen Freeman responds to me with an ad homimen or “nutball” dismissal (as if this site and channel don’t garner far more traffic than his) and you’ll know he has no response. For those who will say I am being presumptuous, he shouldn’t have deleted my comment (below) for no reason:“If this was an attempt at responding to my criticisms, you have misunderstood the point. The question is about higher criticism and the historicity of the texts and how the New Testament interprets the Old. So a textual issue and the veracity of the texts is different issue from hermeneutics. You have confined the issue to hermeneutics of “literal” versus typological – which is not even in debate, as everyone interprets the texts in some form, based on their nature – prophetic, historiographical, poetic, etc. In the Middle Ages, both East and West, it was normative to use the four-fold sense, and if you’re aware of that, your response misses the mark. Furthermore, even the Alexandrian School of allegorization retains the validity of the literal sense except in the case of Origen. For the Great Hierarchs or St Athanasius, you will not find a rejection of the historicity of the texts – this is why they consistently say the texts are infallible, inerrant and authoritative. You will never find St. Maximos denying the historicity of the texts or their general validity. In St. Paul’s allegory in Galatians 4 the allegory is *based* on the historicity of Hagar and Sarah – not on their non-existence. Anyone familiar with the medieval fourfold sense would know this.”

The heresy known as Marcionism is based on the belief that the character and teachings of Jesus do not fit with the God of the Old Testament. If wrath, anger, and ruthlessness are evident in the actions of God in the Old Testament, surely this God cannot be the same as Jesus, who lived and spoke of love, kindness and mercy? This session uncovers why we need the Old Testament, and how the whole Bible reveals the same God to us.  

The heresy known as Marcionism is based on the belief that the character and teachings of Jesus do not fit with the God of the Old Testament. If wrath, anger, and ruthlessness are evident in the actions of God in the Old Testament, surely this God cannot be the same as Jesus, who lived and spoke of love, kindness and mercy? This session uncovers why we need the Old Testament, and how the whole Bible reveals the same God to us.