Ideals Exalted In Our Imaginations

THE PLATONIC TWIST

Before I continue, I had a friend comment on my last writing about the ‘Gospel of Nike’.

They lovingly said:

“Sounds an awful lot like “Go into all the world and make disciples of all nations” to me.

be careful to make the distinction between generic situations that affect all believers, and specific revelation God gives you about specific things…”

This is true. But let me clarify: there is nothing wrong going out to preach the gospel to the whole world. Fifty years ago there was NO exaltation of ‘revival’ either. If they happened they happened. However, due to the platonic leaven in the body of Christ, these ‘ideals’ are more exalted sometimes then Jesus – and many of us have seen the confusing contradiction in these meetings questioning what is more exalted.

There is one more thing I need to let people know what I am doing with these types of ‘false gospel’ articles – I am being contradictory. I need to say this again as I did in my final post of “The Hebrew Gospel to a Greek Church (Part 6)”:

“What I am about to do now is not an Hebraic thing, rather a Grecian category, listing the things that I have personally seen manifest in different ministries around the world.”

I feel also compelled to stress this again which is of the Hebraic world view:

“The Hebraic world view would say that they are one and the same thing but expressed differently – that being the lie.”

If we observe the names of certain church movements and doctrines, they seemingly reveal these specific types of ‘gospels’ but also demonstrate how they are all specifically intertwined together in one big mess.

The above interwoven knowledge, power, money, etc gospel results in a Platonic clash. The Platonic wishes to purify and exalt knowledge itself and does not want to see power or beauty associated with it. Beauty often is not associated with intelligence. Strength or power wishes to remain separate from any form of intelligence and believes practical is more pure than brain power. It’s the classic (oddbodz) game of brains beats beauty, beauty beats beast/power, beast/power beats brain.

But the Hebraic world view embraces this understanding to be various manifestations of the one lie. Therefore there is no clash in the Hebraic world view on this issue.

If you’re a bit confuse with what I’ve said above, try this example below:

• “Hades was having sexual relations with Proserpina. Adonis was exercising his own intelligence. Eros was becoming stronger and winning over Apollos.”

Let me explain what I just said in the previous sentence that reveals the Platonic clash:

• “Hades was having Aphrodites with Proserpina. Adonis was exercising his own Athena. Eros was becoming Atlas and Nike’ing over Apollos.”

The platonic thinking manifest in these stories of the ideal person of these broken categories CLASH!

Under the Hebraic world-view they are all one and the same thing but expressed differently – the Lie. Or what Paul calls it – delusion/ deception.

In briefly addressing this, I would now like to look at another stronghold/ false gospel/ entity.

This next one is an interesting one.

The Gospel Of Nike

THE FALSE GOSPEL OF REVIVAL

You’re probably thinking the brand Nike, right?

It’s an interesting name for a brand don’t you think? Let’s see if we can find Nikes origin. Let’s go back to ancient Greece.

Nike means ‘victory’. Victory was seen in the Olympian games. Victory was also a god. Nike is seen engaged in raising a trophy, or in battle inscribing the victory of the conqueror on a shield.

So we have the Greek god Nike who personifies Victory.

She is a winged goddess, often seen flying above the head of the victor. Nike translated across to the Roman religion is Victoria. She is also portrayed in greek art as a divine charioteer rewarding those on the battle field with reward, glory and fame.

She is also the god of Strength and Speed. (Strength, speed and winner obviously being associated with today’s brand.)

She is often portrayed in Greek painting, sculpture, statue and currency.

Just as Eros and Aphrodite’s were one and the same (Gods of sex), so too are Atlas and Nike.

PERSONAL ENCOUNTER WITH SPIRIT

I remember clearly about three years ago a bit of hype was coming out of America and was hitting Australian shores. There was word that ‘revival’ was coming to Sydney. This made me feel uneasy and with a bunch of close friends we prayed about this. If this was to be God, so be it – if it wasn’t – may it be rebuked. We felt sure God was doing something and if it was revival, we’d embrace it.

I don’t know why I prayed this – but I felt lead to pray against a competitive spirit as I suddenly imagined myself BEING THE FIRST to bring revival to Sydney Australia, seeing God use me mightily in the Manly Corso leadin thousands to Jesus.

I observed my vanity and self-elevation and was disgusted with myself. If this revival came, I wanted to be FIRST!

I felt that I wouldn’t be the only person feeling the pressure to be the first to bring a revival to Sydney – I liked the pride, glory and ownership that would come with it. I don’t think I had have ever felt like that before. As a result, I shared what I just experienced and prayed a rebuke against a ‘spirit of competition’ that would want to work that way in the church.

Not long after that prayer meeting, I started meeting off Christian’s who started calling themselves ‘Revivalists’. Going to and hearing big name preachers speak at Hillsong and C3 conferences, Sunday nights and in various other churches – I noted the elitism of certain churches being the first to bring revival to Sydney for the city.

One preacher specifically went to a small church and said revival was coming first to the local church – those humble to do Gods work in the community.

That same ‘preacher’ then went to a mega-church and then told that mega-church they were going to be first. Both churches shouted ‘amens!’, both churches were flattered, both churches – at that time could not see at the time this could not be true.

I’ve heard preachers say, ‘God will be using this church to bring revival’, ‘God will be using the small local churches to bring revival to this great nation’, ‘God will pour out His Spirit in ways unimaginable to this congregation. He will makes nations come and partake in the glory in this place’. I observed these STRONG preachers were from America.

These ‘outpourings’ would be a QUICKENING move of God to bring radical change in the church and the community and all would see God move with STRENGTH and power. From this anointing, (the definition of this word at this time being associated with oil quickening the process), God was going to bring this church into glory and bring other churches to be apart of this revival.

Nike is seen carrying a palm or a wreath. Symbols of reward and flattery for the victor Do you see the similarities with Nike – this manifestation of the corrupt platonic thinking?

This revival gospel is Nike’s Gospel!

Paul never once preached revival – he preached dedication to Christ and seeking first the prize. James preached the importance of holding on, defending and contending the faith. Jesus continually warned to NOT be deceived by flattery, vain words, self-glory and pride.

The Gospel of Nike offers a so called revival of God-Speed, Power and things that brings glory and fame to the church. And many churches today want to be seen as that church WITH THAT GLORY! Beware of this gospel!

It offers revival but it takes our eyes off the prize. Anyone see that happen to any significant ‘revival’ in the past few years?

Because of Nike, I’ve added a new False Gospel/God entry.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

THE COMPETITIVE GOSPEL

Names: Anointing Doctrine, Triumphalist Theology, Latter Rain, Kingdom Now, Dominion Theology, Manifest Sons Of God Theology, Revivalists, House Of God Doctrine, Bridal Paradigm, [Biblical Character] Generation, [Biblical Character] Army, City Takers

Works: promises and flatters a church that they are the specific carriers of revival, or that they will be the FIRST to bring a revival of glory to the city and the nations, promoting a very Competitive Jesus.

Greek God Gospel: The Gospel of Nike/Atlas

Outcome: COMPETITION

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The last thing we need in the body of Christ is to compete against other ministries. With the peddling of the Nike Gospel, this is what I believe we are seeing in the church today, and it is fragmenting and dividing church against church.

I’m sick of seeing division in the body of Christ because ministries are trying to be the first to be the most impacting to the nations. As a result, they are hoping they may receive some kind of recognition by God through their works – a revival or glory to set themselves apart from the rest.

Whether they be so-called religiously dead or stock-standard or common ministries – they desire to be more set apart and be more noticed by God, noticed by other ministries and last of all, the actual community or city itself.

EXAMINING THE GOD ATLAS – NIKES HUSBAND

I want to look briefly at the Greek god Atlas. People often have the misconception that Atlas carried the earth on his shoulders/back. Creepily enough, the truth of Greek mythology reveals that he carried the weight of the heavens upon his shoulders/back.

The unhealthy focus of revival in the church also places upon the back of saints, the burden and deluded conviction that it is meant to be US that is to bring a revival fire to the world.

It’s true we carry the Spirit of God within in us and we are part of a heavenly Kingdom. But there is an unnecessary burden that some people choose to carry in the church, the ‘heavens’ demanding God to have them opened for revival’s sake. This has convinced some in the church that a work is needed for God to bring revival or to a mighty work. As a result, Christians – like Jews of old, are doing odd rituals to get God to send revival or do a new thing.

This is wickedness.

They hold nights of repentance, events for interceding for cities, weeks of fasting and praying. They do other odd works they think is required of them by God. They are trying to force God, or finally make God reward them by opening the heavens and bestowing a spirit of revival so they can spread this revival across the atla- I mean world FIRST.

Some ‘thing’ has convinced us it is our job to carry the heaven’s on behalf of God to the nations. A pastor I know once spoke of how guilty he felt for not bringing the Kingdom of Heaven or gospel to Africa. He then taught how God knows what He is doing. He exposed the twisted idea that their is an unhealthy ‘ideal’ (the platonic ideal) for Christians to do world missionary work because it is the Christian ideal thing to do. And if you don’t, you’re not fulfilling heaven’s cry to spread God further. (You’re a Christian and you haven’t done missionary work? Better get on the fields then!)

I have felt this heavenly oppression. I have shaken off it’s oppressive weight. This isn’t God. He let me know it wasn’t Him. It was a sickening ideal that was driving me, guilting me, shaming me that I was not being responsible enough in my Christian walk. How dare I not be going into all the nations of the world, bringing the Kingdom of Heaven to desperate tribes and people!

Have you not felt this unrealistic burden and oppression?

Ask God if this is him or spiritual oppression!

THE FINAL WORD

Now to quickly expose the lie of this Nike/Atlas gospel: Christ is our Victor and Victory but shows no favouritism to His church – His grace and favour are poured out onto to all those who believe in Him. The anointing doctrine is a lie. (Hopefully I wont forget to do an article on this soon). The Holy Spirit is a person, not an oil or a ‘speed’. The Spirit leads and points us to Christ to deal with us.

Revival should never be the church’s focus – God, His message and us walking in accordance to this message and obedience to His Spirit, is essential to the mission of the church.

Competition cares about winning and being set apart, bragging of it’s strength, speed and accomplishments. Jesus moves at his pace one heart at a time. He boasts of His greatness through our weakness, vulnerability and foolishness – and it’s in living this way that exposes the demonic doctrine of Nike. I pray that you hold onto the true gospel and reject the demonic gospels that plague the church of today.

Testing The Platonic ‘Jesus’

A JESUS OF LIGHT

Following on my previous post, a friend of mine had an experience with ‘Jesus’. What do you think of this experience?

“What was there was a plethora of colors that defied description, colors so bright it hurt my eyes to stare at them. Then I saw HIM, in the midst of the rainbows; it was Him, Jesus standing over me, glowing like the sun. I tried to get up but I was “glued” to the floor unable to move at all. He knelt down beside me and placed his hand on my forehead like he was brushing back my hair; his touch sent electric shocks through my being but his hands touch was cool to my skin, his touch brought such “peace”.

He look down into my eyes as I lay there, I have never seen such love or acceptance in anyone’s eyes in all my life. He leaned down and kissed me on my forehead, then did the most astonishing thing one could ever imagine. “He kissed me on my lips” and I saw him chuckle as he leaned back. I was so shaken tears ran like rivers down my cheeks, I was ecstatic.

I then cried out Lord, why did you do that? Is that ok? I mean I am a guy and well I don’t understand? He looked at me with the gentlest look I have ever seen and this is what he said: **** I am going to keep kissing you until you get it”.

MY CONCERNS

I asked him to test his experience. He’s convinced that it was truly Jesus. But this is what leaped out at me:

1. Sensational LIGHT and COLOUR played a role in revealing this ‘Jesus’.

“What was there was a plethora of colors that defied description, colors so bright it hurt my eyes to stare at them. Then I saw HIM, in the midst of the rainbows; it was Him, Jesus standing over me, glowing like the sun.”

2. My friend was bound and was not in control of this experience.

“I tried to get up but I was “glued” to the floor unable to move at all.”

3. This ‘Jesus’ did something that was quite unacceptable against my friend who remained glued to the floor.

“He leaned down and kissed me on my forehead, then did the most astonishing thing one could ever imagine. “He kissed me on my lips”

4. The ‘Jesus’ chuckled to see my friend shaken, in tears and placed him in an ecstatic or confused state.

“and I saw him chuckle as he leaned back. I was so shaken tears ran like rivers down my cheeks, I was ecstatic. I then cried out Lord, why did you do that? Is that ok? I mean I am a guy and well I don’t understand?“

He assumed it was Jesus. I hope it was. But I have a serious niggling feeling about this encounter. I wrote to him about his experience about this:

“Before I even read this I felt uncertain about this piece. You see seeing the rainbow disturbed me – I don’t know why. When I read this Jesus that you saw having a face like the sun, I thought of the Greek Sun God Apollos. A god who had sexual relationships between both men and women, also represented by the serpent who had gifts of healing, prophecy, signs and wonders.

Then when you said he kissed you on the forehead, then on the lips, I really felt not right about this seducing spirit that I believe you had an encounter with.

Hey ****! I love you man. I do not want to undermine the relationship you have with God. That relationship is sacred. But please test the spirits. You reacted to this ‘Jesus’s’ reaction. Spirits/ demons do masquerade as angels of light…

… Love you man. I would not say this if I didn’t love you. Thanks for your honest experiences.”

Do you think I had a right to be concerned? Do you think this is a Jesus of the bible? Do you think I’m right to say ‘Apollos’? Was I out of line? How can we tell if the experience we have with ‘Jesus’ is from the real one or not?

When I generally have an encounter with Jesus, scriptures from left right and center come upon me as a proof this Jesus is the real one. Sometimes when I am not sure, I ask for clarification

This is something we should all consider.

Jake

The Hebrew Gospel to a Greek Church (Part 6)

OUR GREEK CHURCH TODAY

Very dangerous doctrines are coming into the church these days that side with hedonism/humanism. These delight our ears but compromise us entering into creation to fully embrace what God has in store for us.

We are seeing the platonic mindset now manifesting in varieties of ways in different churches this day because it has not been recognized. Hedonism came in long ago, but it’s presence is felt with the idea that the church now has the ‘Midas Touch’ and caught the ‘Nike Fever’. However, from 1942 onwards, this stream of mindset was becoming more evident in mainstream ministry.

What I am about to do now is not an Hebraic thing, rather a Grecian category, listing the things that I have personally seen manifest in different ministries around the world. By playing with the Grecian mindset, we can almost lay out the current church messages and gospels like this:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

THE SEX GOSPEL

Names: Bridal Paradigmers, Soakers, Song of Song Lovers, Bonk-bonky’s, The Crackheads, etc.

Works: woo’s the church to have intimacy, sexual intercourse and pleasure with a Sexual Jesus. (Testimony’s have been given of women being ‘ravished’ by a supernatural force from behind. Look up the testimony’s that Andrew Strom has recorded from those coming out of the IHOP Movement. Also look up Brandon Barthrop’s sermons in how we as Christians are so-called ‘the Divine Sperm’.)

Greek God Gospel: The Gospel of Eros/ Aphrodite’s

Outcome: SEX is worshiped.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

THE PROSPERITY GOSPEL

Names: Prosperity/ Word Of Faith/ Name It and Claim It/ Blab It and Grab It Movement

Works: encourages church to look at prosperity, outcome driven objectives for material gain. Of course capitalistic. Teachings reveal a Rich Jesus.

Greek God Gospel: The Gospel of Tyche

Outcome: MONEY is worshiped.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

THE POWER GOSPEL*

Names: Word Of Faith Movement, Dominion Now Theology, Triumphalist Teaching

Works: demands the church to demand God acts on His Word for one’s gain. (Power Jesus.)

Greek God Gospel: The Gospel of Apollo*

Outcome: POWER is worshiped.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

THE PLEASURE GOSPEL

Names: Seeker-Sensitive

Works: urges the church to please everyone so a Pleasure Jesus may bring fame to ministry. Results in everyone get along and never saying no to error.

Greek God Gospel: The Gospel of Hermes

Outcome: FAME is worshiped.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

THE VANITY GOSPEL

Names: Latter Rain, [Biblical Character] Generation, [Biblical Character] Army

Works: hastens church to impress God/ world with all it has to offer. Represents a Vain Jesus.

Greek God Gospel: The Gospel of Adonis

Outcome: PRIDE is worshiped.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

THE SOUL GOSPEL

Names: IHOP, Bridal Paradigm, New Mystics, Kingdom Now, MSOG, Soul Power

Works: exalts and glorifies emotion/experience and human soul in worship. Worship from soul. Also promotes soul power in worship. Often soul having relations with a very Emotionally Unstable Jesus.

Greek God Gospel: The Gospel of Psyche

Outcome: HYPE is worshiped.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

THE EXPERIENTIAL GOSPEL

Names: Drunken Glory Movement, Slosh Fest, New Mystics, Ghost Toking, New Wine, Wine Barrel, Crack House,

Works: Spirit encourages people to imitate a stupefied, drunk, stoned or Trippy Jesus for hedonistic, ecstatic or experiential sake.

Greek God Gospel: The Gospel of Dionysus/Bacchus

Outcome: ABUSIVE SUBSTANCE is worshiped.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

THE SENSATIONAL GOSPEL

Names: Ekstasis, Kundalini

Works: Represents a Sensational Jesus.

Greek God Gospel: The Gospel of Pan

Outcome: MUSIC is worshiped.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

NEW! NEW! NEW!

THE COMPETITIVE GOSPEL

Names: Anointing Doctrine, Triumphalist Theology, Latter Rain, Kingdom Now, Dominion Theology, Manifest Sons Of God Theology, Revivalists, House Of God Doctrine, Bridal Paradigm, [Biblical Character] Generation, [Biblical Character] Army, City Takers

Works: promises and flatters a church that they are the specific carriers of revival, or that they will be the FIRST to bring a revival of glory to the city and the nations, promoting a very Competitive Jesus.

Greek God Gospel: The Gospel of Nike/Atlas

Outcome: COMPETITION

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

*The God of Apollo plays a role as desirably Godly and powerful deity – sometimes in role that matches Zeus. He is represented by the sun, the snake and moves in healing, prophecy, signs and wonders. He has sexual relations with both men and women. He had his own oracles too.

I know the above seems a bit Spiritist but it’s creepy how it all the ancient Greek demons/ gods seem to be parading as certain types of Jesus’ in the church today. The Hebraic world view would say that they are one and the same thing but expressed differently – that being the lie.

The letter of 2Corinthians seems to address the issue of god’s/demons parading themselves before men as angels of light and men as servants of righteousness. (2Cor 11:1-15) In contrast to this letter Paul boasts about his sufferings and encourages us to suffer for the things unseen in this world (2Cor 2:14-17; 4:7-18; 6:3-11; 8:21; 12:9-12; 11:16-33).

To combat the humanistic hedonistic mindset in the church he says of his testimony:

2Cor 12:9-12 “But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”

This would be quite an offence to the Greco-roman church that would have had their ears want to conform to possible Greek gospels of pleasure.

Paul expresses himself to be on parade like the ‘Super Apostle’s’ as well BUT as a conquered fool and war prisoner of Jesus Christ, all for the glory of God (2Cor 2:14-17). He says we are all in this publicly humiliating spectacle (2Cor 2:14)! Paul seems to suggest that sometimes we need to get uncomfortable for Christ’s sake! The final church in revelation was so blinded by their pride, riches, reputation and triumphant glory that Jesus said that they were naked and had rejected him. If Paul tells us to imitate him the way he imitates Christ, are we not prepared to get uncomfortable for the true gospel’s sake and warn our brothers and sisters in the church what’s happening?

The lie (hedonism/humanism) is platonic. The more you know the Truth, the more you’ll see how the lie will tempt you away from a life of true gain. To hold on to the Hebraic Gospel keeps the Greek God’s of the Greek church at bay.

Through the eyes of the living Word, you will see the church quite differently. You will be more willing in your obedience to live a life of persecution for Him. May the Lamb that was slain receive the reward of His suffering. May our focus not be the pursuit of happiness, but the pursuit of what God wants us to do right now.

Think Hebraic, not Platonic!

Until next time…

Jake Elliot

(Note: I’ve read into this stuff before. Wikipedia was used in area’s in where I forgot information that I did know. I’ve put a bit of wiki in area’s that I’ve known to be true on the matters I’ve addressed in the area’s “Humanism To Hedonism To Platonic”)

The Hebrew Gospel to a Greek Church (Part 5)

PLEASURE SEEKING GRECIAN FAITH

To pursue pleasure and happiness is to turn them into a god. Is it any wonder, the Greeks had Gods and monsters of happiness and pleasure?

Dionysus (M) and Euterpe (FM) were the Greek gods of pleasure.

Aphrodites (FM) and Eros (M) (aka Cupid), were the gods of sex.

Eros’ daughter was Hedone (aka Voluptas), who was the goddess of sensual pleasure. (Now you know where the word hedonist comes from).

Hedone’s mother was Psyche, the goddess of the soul.

Psyche was the deification of the human soul. She was often depicted with the butterfly or had the wings of a butterfly. She also to be the most beautiful of the greek gods. Rather vainly she boasted of her beauty to be greater than Aphrodites. The legend goes that Eros fell in love with Psyche, married her and made her a God by Zeus.

Bacchus the god of wine.

Hermes was considered a phallic God, his offspring being Pan, Hermaphrodite, Priapus, Tyche and supposedly Eros.

Tyche (or Fortuna) was the goddess of prosperity.

Pan was the God of fertility, his name meaning ‘to pasture’. He was known for his sensual music, arousing passions, sexuality, inspiration or panic. Pan also had sexual relations to nymphs (female spirits) and had a love relationship with Daphnis, son of Hermes (incest?).

The last four were made through Aphrodite. Through Priapus, Hermes’ phallic origins lived on. Apollo, who was the most beautiful Greek god, had sexual relationships with both men and women.

Another interesting Greek God is Adonis. Bare in mind that the Greeks took what ever God they wanted from other faiths and made them there own. It is said, his origins came from Sumeria, being linked to Baal. He is portrayed as an extremely attractive, youthful male and associated with vanity and bodily obsession.

There were the Charities (aka the Graces, Beauties or Favours); goddesses of grace, beauty, adornment, mirth, festivity, dance and song. Other so-called charities enjoyed other pleasures of life including play, amusement, banqueting, floral decoration, happiness, rest and relaxation. Beside the charity, other monsters made up for sexual pleasure were creatures like the fawn, nymph and siren, just to name a few.

In observing the Greek culture and their explorations and fantasies that came of their faiths, we can note these similarities in today’s culture. Greek way of thinking have made the West the way it is today – church included! Is it no wonder we are now starting to see a return to the Grecian way in secular culture (anyone see Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief?).

We can also see these kind of entities enter the church. Surely you’ve observed the  manifestations of different Jesus’ emerging; certain paradigms and gospels that promote the ways and lifestyles of the Greeks and their god’s.

Their god’s were demons as Paul stated:

1 Corinthians 10:20-21 No, but the sacrifices of pagans are offered to demons, not to God, and I do not want you to be participants with demons. You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons too; you cannot have a part in both the Lord’s table and the table of demons.

We need to accept that what we stand for is going to hurt us and that our convictions will get in the way of pleasure and happiness. This will bring pain, persecution and suffering. This is not so we can feel nobly religious in desiring to write a future novel expressing our righteous pain.

No! This is so we may know Christ more powerfully in both His and our weaknesses through such obedient suffering.

In examining Greek mythology, we can see through their exploration of their hedonistic religion what the church is embracing.

The Hebrew Gospel to a Greek Church (Part 4)

THE THWAITE’S THOUGHTS

Jim Thwaites also touches on this:

“Saints in every nation are being challenged to be reconciled to the original inhabitants of their lands. In this process there is a growing restoration of the body of Christ to the land or, to use another term, to the creation. Romans 8 says that the creation cries out for the sons to come. To this day the cry from deep within every thing and every heart is sounding out to the body of Christ to give it’s answer.

We are being called back from rationalism and a spirituality that is set over and against much of life, to strongly engage the creation that is our inheritance.

The Hebrew worldview resides at the very core of our heritage as the body of Christ. It is the over-reaching and indigenous nature of it’s vision of life and creation that can ignite and fulfill the created purpose within every tribe and nation. Its sight and its sound will enable the body of Christ to see into and call forth the blessing of every land in answer to the cry of a waiting creation.

It can make a way for the already emerging church to fully live and work with impact in a postmodern era.” - Jim Thwaites, Church Beyond the Congregation, pg 6

Hedonism is simply a subtle compromise in our spiritual walk and I think this is something that a lot of Christian’s are getting over. It gets us no where and leaves us dissatisfied. Thwaites observes that the Hebraic world view breaks us away from rationalism and spirituality ‘that is set over and against much of life’. Even though his book addresses the platonic world view, it is safe to see that hedonism is apart of that platonic lie.

To those really born of God, we know there is more for us to step into. We know there are greater riches in this life for us to obtain with God rather than accepting surface trinkets, plastic approvals and golden words from celebrity Christianity. We can enjoy the occasional fine wine if God blesses us with such, but when it comes down to our relationship with God, is our reputation and status more important than our relationship with God and what we believe he has moved us to do?

When we elevate ourselves to obtain happiness through wealth, status, popularity and reputation, we don’t feel real anyways. It is important we DO NOT compromise by denying the truth in us. May the Spirit not grieve beneath our skin. The justification that pleasure and happiness is something worth pursuing in this life is a lie. They will come naturally but are not states we are to remain in.

The Hebrew Gospel to a Greek Church (Part 3)

IN THE BIBLE

It was an issue Paul addressed against the Corinthian church. This was hedonism. Hedonism mixed with Gnosticism. Both Hedonism and Gnosticism manifest from the platonic agenda. What always opposes the platonic agenda is the gospel and this is what Paul emphasizes to the church in Corinth. But too often, both the platonic agenda and the gospel are fused together when the preacher does not know the gospel FULLY. This reveals that the platonic mindset is a spiritual stronghold on many Christian’s lives.

Paul said:

1Cor 15:1-11 Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.

For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve. After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born.

For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me. Whether, then, it was I or they, this is what we preach, and this is what you believed. (NIV)

This opening of Paul’s address to this issue does sound allot like the youtube video we just saw above. Paul sees himself as the least deserving of all. But through God’s grace he sees himself been given the privilege to reveal God’s glory through his life of suffering and labour. We will not look into his argument, but he does say to the Corinthian’s:

1Cor 15:30-33 For that matter, why do I live dangerously as I do, running such risks that I am in peril every hour? I assure you by the pride which I have in you in your fellowship and union with Christ Jesus our Lord, that I die daily I face death every day and die to self. What do I gain if, merely from the human point of view, I fought with [wild] beasts at Ephesus? If the dead are not raised [at all], let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we will be dead. Do not be so deceived and misled! Evil companionships (communion, associations) corrupt and deprave good manners and morals and character.

The two Moravian’s and the love for the slaves were like Paul and his love for the Corinthians. The Moravian’s were used as an example just as Paul is to us, for he tells us to imitate him the way he imitates Christ. But in the above passages, Paul shows how extremely opposite he is to the rich Corinthian church. Paul says to them to not be deceived and mislead for a good reason. Their understanding of ‘the end’, was a very similar view of humanism’s ‘the end’. It seems that Paul is ridiculing their views on the absence of resurrection because it was convenient for them – they could live a life of happiness now.

Paul’s ridicule was expressed in, “What do I gain if, merely from the human point of view, I fought with [wild] beasts at Ephesus? If the dead are not raised [at all], let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we will be dead.”

The Hebrew Gospel to a Greek Church (Part 2)

HUMANISM TO HEDONISM TO PLATONISM

Humanism isn’t new. It can be traced back to the platonic agenda. The sixth-century BCE pantheists Thales of Miletus and Xenophanes of Colophon prepared the way for later Greek humanist thought. Xenophanes chose not to recognise the gods of his time. Instead Xenophanes reserved the divine for the principle of unity in the universe. The later philosopher Anaxagoras later was often described as the “first freethinker”. He contributed to the development of science as a method of understanding the universe – thus spiritual and nature were separated due to the platonic agenda.

As a result Greeks were the first thinkers to recognize that nature is available to be studied separately from any alleged supernatural realm. Pericles, who was a pupil of Anaxagoras, influenced the beginnings of democracy, freedom of thought, and the exposure of superstitions. Later, both Protagoras and Democritus both supported a-gnosticism and a spiritual morality not based on the supernatural.

Later, Epicurus became known for his definitive views of the problem of evil, lack of belief in the afterlife, and human-centered approaches to ‘eudemonia. Scholar Ackrill, J.L says of eudemonia:

“Etymologically, it consists of the word “eu” (“good” or “well being”) and “daimōn” (“spirit” or “minor deity” used by extension to mean one’s lot or fortune) … popular usage of the term happiness refers to a state of mind, related to joy or pleasure, eudaimonia rarely has such connotations, and the less subjective “human flourishing” is often preferred as a translation.” - Ackrill, J.L. (1981) Aristotle the Philosopher. Oxford: Oxford University Press

I know people say Wikipedia is not to be trusted, but it does better than me explaining:

“Eudaimonia”, is a central concept in ancient Greek ethics… Some philosophers believe eudaimonia… is the highest human good, and are concerned with saying just how to achieve it. Eudaimonia is often translated into English as “happiness”. But “happiness” is more correlated a subjective state or overall measure of such states as an assessment of the quality of one’s life, whereas eudaimonia refers to an objectively desirable life. Bad events that do not contribute to one’s experience of happiness, do affect one’s eudaimonia, so eudaimonia is not synonymous with happiness in this sense, either.

A moral theory which links virtue (arete) and happiness (eudaimonia) specifying the relation between these two concepts is one of the central preoccupations of ancient ethics, and a subject of much disagreement.”

I encourage you to look into this yourself. Going back to Epicurus, his view was hedonistic in origin. For the sake of me spending too much time, wiki once again does a good job in putting the right words in my mouth:

“Hedonism is the view that pleasure is the only intrinsic good and that pain is the only intrinsic bad. An object, experience or state of affairs is intrinsically valuable if it is good simply because of what it is. Intrinsic value is to be contrasted with instrumental value. An object, experience or state of affairs is instrumentally valuable if it serves as a means to what is intrinsically valuable.

To see this, consider the following example. Suppose you spend your days and nights in an office, working at not entirely pleasant activities, such as entering data into a computer, and this, all for money. Someone asks: “why do you want the money?,” and you answer: “So, I can buy an apartment overlooking the Mediterranean, and a red Ferrari.” This answer expresses the point that money is instrumentally valuable because it is a means to getting your apartment and red Ferrari. The value of making money is dependent on the value of commodities. It is instrumentally valuable: valuable only because of what one obtains by means of it.

Epicurus identifies the eudaimon life with the life of pleasure. He understands eudaimonia as a more or less continuous experience of pleasure, and also, freedom from pain and distress. But it is important to notice that Epicurus does not advocate that one pursue any and every pleasure.

Rather, he recommends a policy whereby pleasures are maximized “in the long run.” In other words, Epicuric claims that some pleasures are not worth having because they lead to greater pains, and some pains are worthwhile when they lead to greater pleasures. The best strategy for attaining a maximal amount of pleasure overall is not to seek instant gratification but to work out a sensible long term policy.

Ancient Greek ethics is eudaimonist because it links virtue and eudaimonia, where eudaimonia refers to an individual’s (objective) well being. Epicurus’ doctrine can be considered eudaimonist since Epicurus argues that a life of pleasure will coincide with a life of virtue. He believes that we do and ought to seek virtue because virtue brings pleasure. Epicurus’ basic doctrine is that a life of virtue is the life which generates the most amount of pleasure, and it is for this reason that we ought to be virtuous. This thesis—the eudaimon life is the pleasurable life—is not a tautology as “eudaimonia is the good life” would be: rather, it is the substantive and controversial claim that a life of pleasure and absence of pain is what eudaimonia consists in… Epicurus holds that virtue is the means to achieve happiness… According to Epicurus, virtue is only instrumentally related to happiness.”

Back on the topic of humanism, I will now take another note from Wiki as Jim Thwaites observes how Greek thought does enter the church in his own books:

“… Humanist scholars increasingly turned to the study of Neoplatonism and Hermeticism, hoping to bridge the differences between the Greek and Roman Churches, and even between Christianity itself and the non-Christian world. The refugees brought with them Greek manuscripts, not only of Plato and Aristotle, but also of the Christian Gospels, previously unavailable in the Latin West.

After 1517, when the new invention of printing made these texts widely available, the Dutch humanist Erasmus, who had studied Greek at the Venetian printing house of Aldus Manutius, began a philological analysis of the Gospels in the spirit of Valla, comparing the Greek originals with their Latin translations with a view to correcting errors and discrepancies in the latter.

Erasmus, along with the French humanist Jacques Lefèvre d’Étaples, began issuing new translations, laying the groundwork for the Protestant Reformation. Henceforth Renaissance humanism, particularly in the German North, became concerned with religion, while Italian and French humanism concentrated increasingly on scholarship and philology addressed to a narrow audience of specialists, studiously avoiding topics that might offend despotic rulers or which might be seen as corrosive of faith… The re-discovery of ancient manuscripts brought a more profound and accurate knowledge of ancient philosophical schools such as Epicureanism, and Neoplatonism, whose Pagan wisdom the humanists, like the Church fathers of old, tended, at least initially, to consider as deriving from divine revelation and thus adaptable to a life of Christian virtue.”

I encourage you to read more of this article when you get the time: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humanism

But can we now see how humanism is linked to hedonism to platonic thinking in the church? With the platonic agenda of dividing things spiritual from things natural, pleasure from pain, perfect from corruptible, do we not see that hedonistic thought is commonly based with the things on the divine in Christian church culture?

“Come church this Sunday for a wonderful God encounter and worship experience! Be touched by God! Be apart of a great move of the Spirit! Daddy likes to entertain His children! God gives good gifts! Ask and you shall receive!” The emphasis is on the results, prosperity, pleasure, experiences, entertainment, feeling good, living in joy, happiness, blessing, wealth, riches, bliss and drunkenness. We hear people saying “Get high on the most high! Get stoned in His presence! Get drunk on the new wine! He is manifesting in glory! The glory-clouds, gold dust, gem stones, manna, angel feathers, angel orbs, portals, open heavens are manifesting at our meetings!”

I am not here to share on what my views on pleasure is, I’m hear to expose what I’m seeing that is not new under the sun. The church has gone extremely pagan in pagan thought. More Greek in Greek thinking. It’s from the Platonic agenda that atheism came strongly about in the west. And now we are seeing a strong move of the church going into apostasy.

This humanistic thought-life is what Paul seemed to address in the bible.

The Hebrew Gospel to a Greek Church (Part 1)

THE REVIVAL HYMN

Tom Muller wrote an interesting article on Humanism in the church, inspired by a youtube video entitled the ‘Revival Hymn’. His comments at the end of his note were provoking:

“The difference is that on one hand we have somebody who’s trembling because he’s gonna be hurt in hell. And he has no sense of the enormity of his guilt and no sense of the enormity of his crimes and no sense of his insult against Deity. He’s only trembling because his skin is about to be singed.” – Tom Muller

Now this could have been the revival hymn he was talking about:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rc58_06wZmA

Or the longer version here that he saw (I tend to think it was this one):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ec5dJHtMTSg

In the second youtube video, a collage of speakers say the following (14:06):

“Would I be out of line in order to talk to you for a little while about utilitarian religion? An expedient Christianity? And the question that you are going to ask yourself is: “Is God an end or is He a means?” You have to decide very early in your Christian life whether you are viewing God as an end or a means. A more challenging question than this text, “What is your life?”

The philosophy of the day became humanism and you can define humanism this way: Humanism, is the philosophical statement that declares the end of all being is the happiness of man. The reason for existence is man’s happiness. Now according to humanism salvation is simply a matter of getting all the happiness you can out of life. This group of my people the fundamentalists that say: “We believe in the inspiration of the Bible. We believe in the deity of Jesus Christ. We believe in hell, we believe in heaven. We believe in the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ.”

And remember the atmosphere is that of humanism. Humanism says the chief end of being is the happiness of man. And so it wasn’t long until we had this, the fundamentalist knew each other because they said “We believe these things.” They were men for the most part that had met God. But you see it wasn’t long until having said “These are the things that establish us as fundamentalists”, the second generation said “This is how we become a fundamentalist:

“Believe in the inspiration of the Bible. Believe in the deity of Jesus Christ. Believe in the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ and thereby become a fundamentalist.”

And so it wasn’t long until it got to our generation where the whole plan of salvation was to give intellectual assent to a few statements of doctrine.

And a person was considered a Christian because he could say ‘Uh huh’, at four or five places that he was asked to. And if he knew where to say ‘Uh huh’, someone would pat him on the back, shake his hand, smile broadly and say: Brother, you’re saved.”

At what cost?And so it had gotten down to the place where salvation was nothing more than an assent to a scheme or a formula. And the end of this salvation was the happiness of man because humanism had penetrated.

And so if you were to analyse the fundamentalism in contrast to liberalism of a hundred years ago, as it developed, it’d be like this: the liberal says the end of religion is to make man happy while he’s alive. And the fundamentalist says the end of religion is to make man happy when he dies… We are still paddling on the edge of the ocean of the possibilities of grace…

… Until we find something like this: Accept Jesus so you can got to Heaven, you don’t want to go to that old, filthy, nasty, burning hell when there’s a beautiful Heaven up there. Now come to Jesus so that you can go to Heaven.”

And the appeal could be as much to selfishness as a couple of men sitting in a coffee shop deciding they are going to rob a bank to get something for nothing.

Becomes so subtle… it goes everywhere.

What is it?In essence it is this: that this philosophical postulate at the end of all being is the happiness of man, has been a sort of covered with evangelical terms and Biblical doctrine until God reigns in Heaven for the happiness of man, Jesus Christ was incarnate for the happiness of man, all the angels exist in the – everything is for the happiness of man! And I submit to you that this is un-Christian!

Christianity says, “The end of all being is the glory of God.” Humanism says, “the end of all being is the happiness of man.”

This is the betrayal of the ages and it’s the betrayal in which we live and I don’t see how God can revive it, until we come back to Christianity.

Isn’t man happy? And God intend to make you happy? But as a byproduct and not a prime product.”

Following the above dialogue, someone give their testimony in Africa (which is powerful), then the video moves on talking about the state of hedonism in the church.

Some very provocative statements are made by Ravenhill.

“If Jesus came back, he wouldn’t cleanse the temple, he would cleanse the pulpit… We are in grave danger when we let our accomplishments become the ground of our confidence. Oh boy, how we want to be esteemed. How we want to be respected, how people should realize what precious gifts of the Spirit I’ve given. You know why they don’t? Because they stink with pride, that’s why!”

The dialogue goes on to talk a bit about what Wesley left behind – his legacy, but dieing to be worth about thirty dollars. Another speaker then says:

“… But oh I know so many people that are trying to know the fullness of God, so that they can use God…”

It goes on to talk about the tale of two Moravian’s and the Moravian call, “May the Lamb that was slain receive the reward of His suffering”.

This is a truly wonderful youtube video – but be mindful of some error and platonic idealism hidden with in the hype and triumphant sounds. The issues raised in this youtube video are 100% related to this blog (for once you see how the platonic agenda works, you can see how it manifest itself through what was said through history and among the things taught in this video).

The Landscape Of The Mind

I remember driving to C3 College last year. While in the car, God said something profound to me (word in season):

“People can only see what they know/think/believe.”

I didn’t think that much of what God said until he gave me a vision.

A pastor, father and a banker were heading off to a small town. When they walked over a hill, reached the top and surveyed their destination, they all saw different things.

*The banker saw a place to set up business and go well financially.

*The father saw a place where he can raise his family peacefully.

*The pastor saw a place he can plant a church, growing people up spiritually.

This helped me understand why communication fails. This is because we do not see where the other person is coming from because of different perceptions. No one wants to be religious, but too often we become it because we don’t see it. We try hard so hard not to be religious that we find that’s exactly what we become.

If we’re not seeing why this cycle of religion (or season of works and burn-out) keep coming against us again and again, then there must be something we’re not getting. Our blindness is obviously not a physical thing but a spiritual one that is to do with our mind.

Jim Thwaites writes:

“Whether we plan it or not, whether we like it or not, we are being moved by divine providence and cultural necessity into a new landscape. This is what dying is for and this is what the renewal is about…

My conviction is that the postmodern period gives the Christian and the church the ability to come out from under centuries of Greek influence and take hold of the worldview God intended us to have all along. That worldview is the one God intended us to have all along. The worldview is the one given by God to the Hebrew people. It is the vision of life carried forward by Jesus and Paul and it formed the foundation and set the context for all that they said and did.

The Greek worldview divided the spiritual realm from the created realm; the Hebrew worldview unites them. The Greek vision of reality has made the church something separate from much the saints’ life and work; the Hebrew worldview brings these back together under one divine strategy and eternal purpose. The Greek paradigm has confused our understanding of the way in which God comes to, and exists in, our world; the Hebrew vision clears a way through that will enable the revelation of God to engage every facet and dimension of our life in creation. The Hebrew vision of life has the ability to accomplish this. It has the clear vision we need if we are to seek change come at this critical time.

This transition, if it is to be successful, will involve us in a re-evalutation of our present congregation-focused approach to church life. This, I believe, is long overdue. In spite of all the changes we have seen in our society in the past 30 to 40 years we, as saints, still remain focused on the building, the meetings and the programmes we call ‘church’.” - Jim Thwaites, The Church Landscape, Church Beyond the Congregation, pg. 4-5

With the above quote, it seems the gospel is revealed through the bible specifically in relation to the good news that Jesus and Paul preached and taught. In the church of today, has it come to the point we don’t know the gospel the way we should to keep us free from religion, works and burn-out?

This may explain why so many Christian’s seem to be blinded to religion by accident. If we are not aware in how we think, that there could lie the problem. I believe this is where the problem lies in religious Christianity. With the help of the gospel and the Holy Spirit, I believe he can expose the lie before we swallow it.

If we are fighting against fallen religion with fallen thinking, is it no wonder we are defeated?

Thoughts?

Jake Elliot