And therein lies the problem with some of these “Church communities”, they are almost gnostic in their requirement for secret knowledge of scripture.
Almost? Mark especially, and I, have been harping about this. There is a whole crop of Gnostics masqueraduing as "Christians." I suppose, each new generation succumbs to the irresistble egotistic appeal inherent in this heresy.
And therein lies the problem with some of these “Church communities”, they are almost gnostic in their requirement for secret knowledge of scripture.
It appears that
The RC edifices
That WHEN an RC edifice believer is involved, it MUST be HOLY SPIRIT operating.
But when a NON-RC edifice is involved, it MUST be gnosticism.
I'm certain Holy Spirit is underwhelmed with such labeling.
I have no trouble believing that the RC priest upthread characterized as 'reading folks mail' during confession did so by Holy Spirit.
I have known a number of people in my life who've done so. Pastor Julia Coleman of Phoenix operates in gifts of Holy Spirit in a similar fashion. She's a precious elderly wirey black lady--full of love yet often minces no words. And, by God's Grace, on more than a few occasions, I've functioned in a similar fashion in counseling and other situations. Holy Spirit has been an incaluably constructive redemptive Agent in such situations--many times saving many hours of work.
I'll not be holding my breath waiting for comparable graciousness from the RC edifice side about Prottys full of Holy Spirit authentically operating in such giftedness. The RC edifice construction on spiritual pseudo-reality is
Their rules or the highway.
Their rules or hell.
Their fantasies or perdition.
Their politics or aposticism.
Their dogma or "error."
Their RUBBER HISTORIES or "lies" [which being interpreted = TRUTH uncomfortable to the magicsterical politicians].
Their RUBBER BIBLES or 'inaccurate translations/language/copying/versions' according to the magicsterical politicians.
Their RUBBER DICTIONARIES or 'lies,' 'inaccurate linguistic terms.'
Welllll, quite a number of us are underwhelmed with the RC edifice double standard. We don't find the God of the UnRubberized Bible to be a God of double standards.
I have persistently been rather egalitarian in talking about the idolatries of all religious groups. Such a stance of mine has been wholesale ignored by the RC edifice reps.
I've noted as above that I've known a number of RC folks to be authentic believers operating in the love and Spirit of The Lord Jesus. Such a perspective and conviction has been wholesale ignored by the RC edifice reps.
My fiercest satire--actually--virtually all of my satire and stimilar writing styles have been IN RESPONSE to outrageousness on the side of the RC reps hereon. That's been conveniently wholesale ignored.
Thankfully, God knows and understands and is keeping His own score, His way, according to His priorities. I can rest comfortably in that every night.
Both RC edifice and Protty camps reside wholesale in extremely different RELIGIOUS worlds and therefore, largely in different spiritual worlds according to their own very distorted, selective perception constructions on reality.
It is clear to me, from Scripture and my own exprience, that the Protty construction accounts for the largest number of factual data points and the RC edifice construction on reality displays the largest number of UNBIBLICAL, UNTRUE, IDOLATROUS, BLASPHEMOUS data points.
Of course the RC edifice magicsterical and reps are not going to roll over and play dead on such matters any more than we on the Protty side are going to.
Probably within a scant few years, God will have moved the sweep of history forward so dramatically and starkly differently that none of the above will matter very significantly because:
1. THOSE WHO TRULY LOVE GOD AND LOVE ALL GOD LOVES WILL HAVE MOVED ON BEYOND SUCH WATER PISTOL FIGHTS.
2. More urgent priorities of survival and miraculous ministry as very directed agents of Holy Spirit will consume all believer's waking moments.
3. The laws of concern will NOT be ARE YOU A KOSHER RC MAGICSTERICAL REP MARCHING STRICTLY TO ROME'S CONSTRUCTION ON REALITY AD NAUSEAUM VS A STRICTLY CALVINIST, PENTECOSTAL, . . . REP MARCHING STRICTLY TO THAT CONSTRUCTION ON REALITY AD NAUSEAUM.
4. The laws of concern will be DO YOU LOVE GOD OVERWHELMINGLY ABOVE ALL ELSE; ARE YOU IN HIS LOVING SERVICE ONLY, TOTALLY, ABOVE ALL ELSE? Nothing else will matter.
5. Holy Spirit will instantly vet individuals coming in and out of one's local arena of association. Those insensitive (i.e. deaf or hard of hearing to the still small voice of The Lord) to such Holy Spirit vetting will be at a decided disadvantage and many will leave this life prematurely with less fruit than they otherwise could have had.
6. Until then, some of us will continue to engage in the dubious activity of water pistol fights (since the more graphic phrasing is verbotten on the Rel forum). From time to time, some of us will have MORE loving, spiritual, altruistic goals than we will have at other times. Some of us will be more ego driven, turf driven, pride driven than at other times. Some of us will pat ourselves and our cohorts on the back for being smart enough to have fallen into God's graciousness about facts and truth than we will at other times. Some lurkers will learn a lot of truth. Some will walk away shaking their heads at the idea that ANY of us are Christian. Some will be thrilled that their team scored some "points" and some will be outraged at the 'points' and style of the other side.
The sadistic abuse accusation is an interesting one. Perhaps it deserves it's own thread some time. But for now, a few comments.
1. The RC edifice has been as fiercely abusive in spots as the Protty side has ever been.
2. I wish someone else were saying the following . . . but it tends to appear . . . that the major outrage that the RC edifice side has in terms of fierce, satirical etc. styles and posts . . . is that . . . the RC edifice side has had a lot of trouble raising up reps of sufficient starkly vivid fierce fiesty cleverness to routinely counter that from the Protty side. So, the best thing they can do is to label all such as SADISTIC ABUSE. Very tidy. Very powerful. Very silly hogwash.
3. No side has a monopoly on abusive words in this arena. No side has a monopoly on harshness. No side has a monopoly on saintliness. No side has a monopoly on 100% of absolute Truth.
4. God Himself has made certain of that. WE ALL SEE THROUGH THE GLASS DARKLY. EVERY INDIVIDUAL AND EVERY GROUP.
5. God will not have vain glorious pontificators vaunting themselves above the station He has assigned for them . . . nor above all other groups. Not His script.
6. He is gleaning, sieving, sifting out the folks who LOVE HIM OVERWHELMINGLY ABOVE ALL ELSE AND WHO FROM THAT LOVE, FIERCELY LOVE THOSE HE DIRECTS THEM TO LOVE--more or less all He brings across their paths.
7. When HE IS DONE, there will be NO other groups. There will be NO "I'm of Appolos!" "I'm of Paul!" "I'm of Jesus Christ!" CHRIST'S UNITY OF BLOOD BROTHERHOOD IN HIS BLOOD AND IN HIS SPIRIT !!!!WILL REIGN!!!! OVER ALL OTHER CONSIDERATIONS AND DISTINCTIVES which, will then, have been washed away as chaff or become decorative embellishments in inconsequential but attractive 'facets of the diamond' sorts of ways.
8. ALL reps of ALL magicstericals who cling to the distinctives of their group's magicsterical pontifications as their salvation and raison d'etra . . . will be left out in the cold . . . without oil . . . without an argument . . . without a leg to stand on . . . without hope.
This warning from The Lord is for all of us.
***And therein lies the problem with some of these “Church communities”, they are almost gnostic in their requirement for secret knowledge of scripture.***
Not ‘almost’.
We have all read posts here from those who claim to possess the indwelling Spirit because they KNOW. And from that KNOWLEDGE, they are able to understand Scripture, the will of God, their own righteousness and the unrighteousness of others. Their knowledge and actions are correct and when they come into conflict with the knowledge and actions of others, then the others are wrong, even when the others claim the same justification of the indwelling Holy Spirit.
I don't know of any "requirement for secret knowledge of Scripture" in Bible-believing churches. The Scriptures are open to all men. We're not the ones who chained the Bible to an altar.
God's election is His own business. Why He gives faith in His Son to some and not to others is for God to know alone.
But the Bible tells us Christ came to cast the light of truth into all the dark corners of the world, especially into those dusty, dank crevices where men think their "good works" will save them.
Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God. For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned." -- 1 Corinthians 2:7-14
"Now to him that is of power to stablish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began, But now is made manifest, and by the scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, made known to all nations for the obedience of faith: To God only wise, be glory through Jesus Christ for ever. Amen." -- Romans 16:25-27
"Jesus answered him, I spake openly to the world; I ever taught in the synagogue, and in the temple, whither the Jews always resort; and in secret have I said nothing." -- John 18:20"But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory:
Now you may not understand the Bible, but that's not the same thing as saying the Bible is incapable of being understood...by those whom God has given eyes to see and ears to hear.