The Unjust War on the Righteous
As part of an undeniable war on Christianity, New York City is set to evict 17,000 churchgoers who use schools as a place of worship. (As if eliminating any reference to Christmas was not bad enough.)
Despite the fact that Christians donate billions to charity (far more than their secular counterparts), spend countless hours helping the less fortunate, and espouse a message of unconditional love, there is an unjust war being waged on this righteous, good-intentioned majority.
In 12 days, more than 60 congregations in New York City will be thrown out of their Sunday worship sites. After a 16-year battle with the city, they appear to be at the losing end, forced to re-locate or, worse, close their doors permanently.
The battle began in 1995. At the time, the city allowed for groups to rent space in public schools as long as they were “pertaining to the welfare of the community.” Labor union gatherings, filming sessions for the show Law & Order, and Alcoholics Anonymous meetings were all permitted to take place in public schools. But the notable exception was the exclusion of “religious worship services.”
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Unless the reigning status of secular humanism is changed expect much more of this and soon. Its all about standing for your rights and know who really supports your cause before you vote.
-decarlisle"undeniable war on Christianity"? I deny it completely!
"After a 16-year battle with the city, they appear to be at the losing end, forced to re-locate or, worse, close their doors permanently."
It sounds like they don't have any doors to close??
When I was about 10 our church met in the junior high school. This was temporary until we came up with enough money to build a church.
-davesThe "WORD OF GOD tells us that we will come to this point in history, where good is called evil and evil is called good. It describes us in Matthew 24, Mark 13 and in Luke 21, the world is describe exactly as it is today, as the last days of existence of the world as it stands, today.
-MyrtlelinderWho is calling good evil? Who is calling evil good?
Not that it pertains so much to this article but I keep trying to show people that Government involvement in religion is very bad. You are welcome to disagree with me Mrytle but please do not think that I am evil.
-davesI don't know about the rest of you who call yourselves "Christian", but this one is listening for the sound of the trumpet and watching for the cloud in the Eastern sky.
-PeggyYou must get very excited when they play taps on the tv.
-Jeff DixonPeggy, I don't think you will have long to wait!! I am hoping and looking, every day. We can not go on like this much longer!!!
-MyrtlelinderWhy are you hoping and how are you suffering?
-davesPeople have been claiming that Jesus will be returning very shortly for over 2,000 years, ever since Jesus falsely said he would return in the lifetime of his disciples. He was wrong then. Everyone else has been wrong since then. People will continue to be wrong.
-Jeff DixonI had already said this before: You need to go and reread the Scriptures, because this isn't what Jesus sai.
-Michael G.It seems that every generation of Christians believes that the end of the world and the return of Jesus will happen during their lifetimes. The first prediction of this sort that I can find is from Saint Paul himself, in his letters, in 1st Thessalonians Chapter 4, when he predicts the prompt return of Jesus at a time when "…we also … are still alive." All you have to do is ask a Christian if Jesus will return during their lifetimes. People are taught by their priests and pastors that Jesus is "coming quickly", and that they should be prepared, because he might pop up at any moment.
If Jesus said he would be returning "quickly", and he said that 2000 years ago, what exactly is going on here? Do we have any information as to when the writers of the New Testament foretold the return of Jesus? Actually, we have very good information on that. We have nearly precise information. There is scriptural evidence that those who wrote about Jesus intended for him to come back during the lifetimes of those who first followed him. That's right… in the First Century.
-Jeff DixonFirst, let us look at the gospel of Mark, chapter 13. (When I reference the gospels, I will refer to them as "Mark" and "Matthew", even though these labels were attached to those texts by the Early Church– the books are actually anonymous and no one knows who the true authors are). In this chapter, Jesus speaks of a "tribulation", nation rising against nation, earthquakes, and the coming of false Christs and false prophets, the stars falling from the sky, and the coming of the Son of Man "in the clouds with great power and glory". Then, in verse 30, he tells when this will happen. "Verily I say unto you, that this generation shall not pass, till all these things be done."
Second, let us look at Matthew (copied from Mark), which contains the same story. The same earthquakes, false prophets, darkening sun, falling stars, etc., and the return of the Son of Man, "coming in the clouds with of heaven with power and great glory." And then in verse 34, he says when to look for all of this commotion: "Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled." Pretty conclusive.
Now, there is a rebuttal to this interpretation. It can be found, among other places, in some evangelistic bibles as a footnote in Matthew and Mark.
"The word "Generation", though commonly used in scripture to those living at one time, could not mean here those who are alive at the time of Christ, as none of these things, i.e. the worldwide preaching of the kingdom, the tribulation, the return of the Lord in visible glory, and the regathering of the elect– occurred then. The expression "this generation" here may mean the future generation which will endure the tribulation and see the signs. Or it may be used in the sense of race or family, meaning the nation of Israel or the Christians will be preserved until these things take place."
This apologist basically says: "It can't mean those living at the time of Jesus, because he would not have said that". They say that "this generation" means the generation that's alive during the tribulations. Let us take a good look at this "explanation". First, the claim that generation could mean race, family, or the nation or tribe of Israel.
-Jeff DixonWhat are the Greek words for Nation, Tribe, Family and Generation? Generation is "genea", the root of genealogy. "Family" is "patria". "Tribe" is "phule". "Nation" is "ethnos", as in ethnic. Next, we need to look up these words as they appear in the New Testament, and cross-reference the Greek words with the English words. I have done this. Every single occurrence for Nation that I looked up gave the word "ethnos". Every single occurrence for Generation that I looked up gave the word "genea". When the writers meant nation, they wrote ethnos. When they meant generation, they wrote genea. They were apparently very clear in this. They never used "patria" or "phule" in any of these instances. To prove his case, the evangelistic writer who wrote the "explanation" above must find one instance of the word nation translated from the Greek word genea. Furthermore, if the word genea could have been translated as nation, then why wouldn't the translators have written it as nation? It would certainly have made more sense, if that's what they intended, and they could have prevented a major theological problem. But that's not what they wrote.
So, the rationalization that the bible writers meant "the Nation of Israel" falls to the ground. But what about the other "explanation" that is sometimes offered, that Jesus was speaking about those people who would be witnessing the tribulations in future times? Did he mean that that future generation would not pass until all those things came to be?
This rationalization fails as well. In the first place, Jesus does not say "that generation", he says "this generation". But in fairness, this is could be related to translation. Some have argued, ala Thomas Paine, that this sort of situation (the inability to accurately translate one language into another), is proof that the "Word of God" could never exist in print. Then again, the translation could be perfectly accurate. This is a thing that we can never know, however, since no original version of any of the gospels exist.
But there is more positive proof than this. Jesus makes it clear that he is speaking about the current generation of people. In Matthew 24:4 when the disciples asked Jesus about the end of the world, he "answered and said unto THEM", "Take heed that no man deceive you… ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars… Ye shall see the abomination… etc." He is clearly replying to them, telling them what they shall see. He says that THEY shall see these things. Read it for yourself. Then he concludes by saying: "THIS generation shall not pass" until he comes again. The evidence can be found in Mark chapter 13, starting from verse 5 onward. It is clear that he is speaking to his apostles, answering their inquiry. To say otherwise is to be dishonest.
And yet there is something even stronger than this. The same story is related in Matthew chapter 16. Yet this time, Jesus does not use the word "generation". He again describes how he will come in the glory of his father, with his angels, to judge men according to their works. Then he concludes by saying "Verily I say unto you, There be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom."
-Jeff DixonThat is the final nail in the coffin. Matt. 16:28 says there were some men standing there next to Jesus who will see his second coming, and it is totally clear that in Matthew 24:34 and Mark 13:30, Jesus believed the end of the world would come during the lifetimes of his apostles. Jesus says so himself. He thought that he was going to be returning in the First Century. He said: "The time is fulfilled, and the Kingdom of God is at hand." (Mark 1:15) Similar statements are to be found in Mark 9:1; 13:30; Matthew 10:23; 23:29-36; and Luke 12:49-50. Jesus' title of "Messiah" literally translated means "inaugurator of the end".
-Jeff DixonIt is clear. There is no reason to doubt that the author of Mark wrote what he intended to write. Christian scholars claim that the book of Mark was written around the year 60 C.E., 35 years after the alleged death of Jesus, and well within the lifetimes of any of his followers. Whoever wrote the text believed that the Messiah would return during his lifetime. And as Matthew was constructed from Mark some decades later, whoever wrote Matthew simply copied this same information.
In this case, the bible itself provides ample evidence that Jesus was supposed to return in the First Century, some 1900 years ago. If he did, no one noticed. But, I don't expect that this proof will make a dent in most Christians. But I thought that I would point it out. The end of the world will not come anytime soon. Jesus will not "come quickly". No. What will happen is that you will continue to live, and work– the world will continue to go on, past 2012, then 2010, then 2025, and so on, until you grow old and pass away. When you get to be old, at the end of your life, think of my writings. Remember that I told you so. You will never see the end of the world.
-Jeff DixonThe Church in America has been too cozy with the culture and the coming persecution will be a shock to those who were fooled into believing that the USA is a Christian nation. This cozyness with the culture has caused Christians in the USA to be weak and flabby in their faith and theology. I suspect that many will fall away once the true cost of being a Christian is realized. The life of a Christian is not supposed to be easy and an easy life is the sign of an uncommitted Christian.
-BobseeksProtectio trahit subjectionem.
-Steve