I saw recently on this site an article purporting the Gospel of Judas as fact. It is important for Christians to recognize that the person making these wild theory accusations is supporting a one world religion, prophesied in the Bible. The link is here:
The Gospel of Judas is a Gnostic gospel, which has been thoroughly debunked already. The Gnostics opposed Christianity in its early foundational period and tried to "clean up" the record of some of the more reviled Biblical characters, including Judas. This of course is nothing but heresy to Christians who understand that Jesus Christ did not need Judas to betray Him, Judas took his own path.
Here are some links regarding this Gnostic Gospel, designed only to cast doubt into the world that Christ is trying to save:
Further, the writer of the article confuses the terms Sheol and Gehenna. It is important for proponents of this one world-everything is love-religion to eliminate the existence of hell. Without hell, there is no condemnation for sin. That is what the world wants, the ability to do things they know are morally wrong, and not have to be concerned about the consequences. Here is a link to the Jack Van Impe website:
Go to "search" and type in "Sheol". The newsletter from July of this year will provide you with a clearer understanding of the difference between Sheol and Gehenna.
The notion of the Gospel of Seth is so inaccurate it barely deserves a response, except that the false doctrine purported in the article was so damaging. To surmise that Jesus Christ was laughing on a hill somewhere because the wrong person was crucified is one of the most evil things I have ever heard. Then he must have what? Disappeared and ran off to France so he could make novels with Dan Brown and Leonardo Da Vinci? Please. To take away the crucifixion of Christ is to deny Him His deity and His sacrifice. It is the blood of Christ which takes away the sin of the world, not a Gnostic gospel written hundreds of years after the fact.
Do not be deceived. In the last days there will be many who will be led astray. God's people suffer for a lack of knowledge. I urge anyone who is on the fence regarding Christianity to read Lee Stroebal's "The Case for Christ" and decide for yourself.
Christianity is about Christ and His teachings. Do not think that it is about man. I have written before about the modern day representatives of Christianity and how they do not represent Christ either. People like Jerry Falwell advocating the death of Muslims in the name of our Lord and Savior or Pat Robertson advocating the assassination of Hugo Chavez are just as wrong as people who lend credence to the Gospel of Judas. This "gospel" is more indicative of how a heretical sect felt hundreds of years after Christ walked the earth then an accurate representation of what occurred when our Savior was here. The people who sometimes represent Christ are not doing His will, but that does not eviscerate the message. God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son. That is the true heart of Christianity. The writer of the article in question bemoans that, "the fate of life on Earth depends upon our setting the record straight right now!"
I agree. Jesus Christ died for our sins. He was crucified as history reports. He did not run away to France, marry Mary Magdalene, have children, or laugh at someone else being crucified instead of Him. The Gnostics were a people who opposed the Christian church in its foundational period and in doing so proposed false gospels to undermine the church and the life of Jesus Christ. The Gospel of Judas is actually mentioned by an early Christian figure and dismissed as the heresy it was then, and is today. Please keep in mind that we are talking hundreds of years after Christ walked the earth. Hell does exist. It is the Gehenna referred to by the writer. Sheol was a place for departed souls, until judgment comes. It is the Rikers Island to the State Penitentiary, for illustration. Advocates of a one-world religion want to homogenize all religions and strip them of their core beliefs. It is Biblical and has been prophesied. In order to do this, they must ridicule those beliefs which make them uncomfortable. Without hell, there is no condemnation for sin. It allows man to usurp God. It places man's judgment as the final arbiter.
The conflict the writer must have missed is that she kept dismissing the entire Bible, "except for the Ten Commandments." This is what is wrong with modern-day, new age religion. It takes parts of the Bible it likes, and dismisses that which makes it uneasy. According to the writer, God gave Israel the Ten Commandments, and then disappeared and has never been heard from since. Yet in the same rationale, the writer denies the existence of hell. Why would God provide His creation with a guideline for morality and not provide a consequence for immorality?
The wars today have more to do with avarice then they do with religion. Do not be deceived. God is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. The fate of your life depends not on what I say. It depends not on what the writer of the article debasing Christ has to say. The fate of your life has to do with what is in your heart and if you have Christ in you. Do not confuse the wiles of men, with the will of God.
Anthony Wade, a contributing writer to opednews.com, is dedicated to educating the populace to the lies and abuses of the government. He is a 41-year-old independent writer from New York with political commentary articles seen on multiple websites. A Christian progressive and professional Rehabilitation Counselor working with the poor and disabled, Mr. Wade believes that you can have faith and hold elected officials accountable for lies and excess.
I do not believe in any Gods but I do find it disturbing when sacredness of religions, especially such powerful like Christianity or Islam are disrupted by 'idle hands and idle heads.' We have those frauds in abundance lately. I thus concur with Anthony (if the support of an atheist means anything to him:) that robbing Christ of his Deity by ' pawing' Him is a spiritual crime. I would say that whenever Christ is mentioned a divine respect is in order first and foremost.
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Mark Sashine (50 articles, 19 quicklinks, 244 diaries, 3453 comments)
on Saturday, August 26, 2006 at 1:49:56 PM
.....then you don't have to be a 'Believer'. I know that much about you by now! You'd make any God proud! (a 'real' one, that is!) It doesn't sound to me like Christ was a big believer in the Bible either....the Bible holds the truth about people, and that it does a really good job with....now and then....how little has changed! Great History...combination Psychology text. And of course, even Jesus had his doubts. All he really had to go on is 'Belief' himself. That always surprises me, and yet I understand. He held the best of 'God' himself...and that is really the whole point...the internalized God. ( And that is hardly 'religious' in nature) If people only stopped 'believing' long enough to look at what's in front of them, or comes their way.....there would be a lot more of you, and.....perhaps, me. All I know about God...and it's quite a lot.....I have seen with my own eyes. Once you know something, you cannot at the same time have beliefs about it.
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Katrin R. (3 articles, 0 quicklinks, 11 diaries, 514 comments)
on Tuesday, September 5, 2006 at 11:46:50 PM
I have more respect for someone who does not believe the Bible, then someone who takes portions of it and dismisses that which makes them uneasy. I do not think you are right in your non-belief, but i do not judge you. You think i am mistaken and i think you are.
I pray that one day you realize who God is and who He can be in your life. Not what man has said, but what Christ has said.
Your comments are appreciated.
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Anthony Wade (146 articles, 2 quicklinks, 44 diaries, 511 comments)
on Saturday, August 26, 2006 at 3:12:51 PM
Anthony Wade replies to Panurg: "I do not think you are right in your non-belief, but i do not judge you."
Anthony, There is something wrong with this statement. Can you say OXYMORON!?! What part of "I do not think you are right" is not a type of judgement? Or do you just consider that statement to be a righteous assumption?
Alright, now I will let you defend yourself all you want...you seem to be doing a lot of that lately (note: this article). And I won't be responding to any of the jiberish you lash back with because your comment speaks for itself.
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Mark Olson (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 8 comments)
on Saturday, August 26, 2006 at 5:16:00 PM
The Bible was written by men for men to beat other men over the head with "righteouness." And a "hell" of a lot of people have died terrible deaths in the process. I truly believe it would be a better world if more got busy living than worrying about what happens to them after they die.
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Amanda Lang (22 articles, 13575 quicklinks, 431 diaries, 577 comments)
on Saturday, August 26, 2006 at 3:59:07 PM
...I don't know how anyone can miss the 'hell' and 'heaven'...and all inbetween...right here on earth. Isn't it so obvious that life and death belong together?
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Katrin R. (3 articles, 0 quicklinks, 11 diaries, 514 comments)
on Tuesday, September 5, 2006 at 11:52:51 PM
While i can understand your revulsion over what man has done with Christ and God, it is a shame that you choose to ignore the message because of the messenger.
The truth is you can have both faith, and avoid the pitfalls of man, by believing the message while testing the messenger. Be well.
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Anthony Wade (146 articles, 2 quicklinks, 44 diaries, 511 comments)
on Saturday, August 26, 2006 at 5:07:09 PM
Anthony, I dont' appreciate your message. Why can't that be enough? Why must I incessantly listen to religious messages and messengers when I don't want to? I'm concerned about a lot more dangers in this life than your after-life or mine.
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Amanda Lang (22 articles, 13575 quicklinks, 431 diaries, 577 comments)
on Saturday, August 26, 2006 at 5:31:55 PM
I would like to copy here one of my comments on religion. This one once resulted in a lot of controversy but I still think I have some point.
Among other big relgions Chrstianity differs due to an interesting aspect that only it can be considered as 'human'. All other religions, with all respect are formal and in all fairness can exist even if the sensual life would be non- human (say, octopuses). Only Christianity is inherently human: God, in His Holy Trinity had his son Jesus to become a man, go through life from being born, endure life, die on the Cross and resurrect. Such God is not formal- He is right here, with you and He requests your love. None other Gods request love. They want obedience, following rituals, sacrifices, certain way of approach, nothing more. Jesus Christ demands love as the first and foremost sign of Faith and as love is only human quality, Jesus Christ is the only human God, up close and personal: Hope, Love, Faith. Christianity is a Crowning Achievement of the Human Culture and if in the future the Humanity is challenged to show its contribution to the Galactic civilization- we will be proud to present the two: The Wheel and Christianity.
But being like that Christianity can become the most horrible delusion in the wrong hands. Love is the most tough emotion and it is impossible to love involuntarily. Due to the incapablity of love hypocrisy takes over and those who accept hypocrisy as the surrogate instead of true love are true infidels. The US 'PseudoChristians' are very much like that. They are in reality sects, not real, they create a curved mirror and look into it. Their hypocricy killes Jesus every day. But it has nothing to do with the glorious and powerful message of real Christianity which we all, whether faithful or not have to respect and cherish.
Having said all that I would like to mention that it is not a very good idea to consider that anyone of us can 'untie the Gordian Knot of Christianity'. There are things in this life which are bigger than all of us. We have to respect Christianity as we respect the Ocean, the Nature, the people as they are. Any effort to demean it is unproductive. But we will do it a service through showing the true face of those who pollute it by hate, stupidity and hypocricy. That would be much more useful, I should say.
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Mark Sashine (50 articles, 19 quicklinks, 244 diaries, 3453 comments)
on Saturday, August 26, 2006 at 5:35:43 PM
Still, I would much prefer hearing about Christian acts much more than Christian recruitment. I respect everyone's faith and their right to have it. And my right to not. Keep it out of schools, out of government, and out of politics. I do want my tax dollar near religion. I don't want politicians beating me over the head with it using it as a calibration tool to measure my level of patriotism. Is this simple thing too much to ask?
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Amanda Lang (22 articles, 13575 quicklinks, 431 diaries, 577 comments)
on Saturday, August 26, 2006 at 6:15:09 PM
....it's all over psychiatry and psychology too....those are treated as religions by the 'religious'. The crime is, that they are not.....they are real sciences.
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Katrin R. (3 articles, 0 quicklinks, 11 diaries, 514 comments)
on Wednesday, September 6, 2006 at 12:16:26 AM
....it's not that big...yes, big, but no bigger or more complicated than the body and the mind. Of course they are huge. But we make it so much bigger and thereby falser than it really is. You do not 'get it' through and by more education. It's actually so very simple...so human....so non-religious. But I admit, when you see souls the size I have seen....they look very much like a cathedral...the light alone...so, a least other's have seen what must be visible to more people than just myself. It's not 'mysterious'......it's as amazing as the birth of a child...and most importantly, I have seen the greatest 'spirit and humanity' show through the eyes of dogs. And no, i don't believe what i am saying..of course I don't...do you think I am nuts..why would I believe such a thing. I trust my eyesight...myself..what I know. I would be the last one to believe that. I am as far away from religious as you can get...and so is Christ.
Don't you all get it, that reality is so much bigger than any crazy belief, or fiction, or our tiny, limited and restricted intelligence? The ocean is real...you can see it......do I need to understand all about it. No!
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Katrin R. (3 articles, 0 quicklinks, 11 diaries, 514 comments)
on Wednesday, September 6, 2006 at 12:13:10 AM
"I respect everyone's faith and their right to have it."
"Anthony, I dont' appreciate your message. Why can't that be enough?"
I said nothing confrontational to you. I expressed my feelings in response to a message you posted in a thread from an article i wrote. I agree with you that politicians should not be hitting people over the head with their religion. One of the bad raps Christianity has earned over the centuries is that Christians think that it is their imperative to shove Christ down the throats of the non-Christians, instead of showing them the love of Christ. As Christians we ought to believe what the Bible teaches us. Christ and the Gospel is the only thing that brings salvation. All we can do is lead them to Christ and we are to do that first by living in His teachings and showing His love. Too many Christians feel that somehow it is THEY that provide the salvation. While we believe in moral finality, too often we come off as being morally superior, when in reality we are not better than anyone else. The only thing that separates us is that we have Christ in us and are saved through His grace.
I pray again that you realize that what happens when this life ends is infinitely more important then what happens in this earthly frame. Again, that is MY belief. If i feel that you need Christ to go to heaven, and i do not tell you such, then all i am telling you is to go to hell. I cannot do that. But i try to be respectful, so i hope you can be as well.
Blessings
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Anthony Wade (146 articles, 2 quicklinks, 44 diaries, 511 comments)
on Saturday, August 26, 2006 at 10:42:23 PM
1) Then explain the contradiction in your two statements.
2) I am sorry, did i write an article somewhere demanding you receive Christ? In fact, i have never read such an article, by all means, provide me a link.
3) To pretend that atheists are not politically active in denouncing Christianity is not accurate.
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Anthony Wade (146 articles, 2 quicklinks, 44 diaries, 511 comments)
on Sunday, August 27, 2006 at 7:53:54 AM
I do not see contradiction in my statements. I reject the idea that for you to be saved, you must save me. I have been offered membership in your religion numerous times and have graciously declined. Get your salvation however you can...just leave me out of it. I do not want to be a member of your religious sect. I grew up in it. Rejected then, reject it now.
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Amanda Lang (22 articles, 13575 quicklinks, 431 diaries, 577 comments)
on Sunday, August 27, 2006 at 12:22:30 PM
The bible (new testament) was written, not by Jesus, not by his disciples but by non eye witnesses, sometimes long after the fact. The probability of inaccuracies is many times multiplied by the fact that much of what is written down was influenced by the times and politics of the particular era in which the writer was living.
I do not criticise belief, I do not criticise those whose belief systems include an all powerful creator but I have nothing but contempt for those who think that, because their faith is unassailable, they have the right to influence all the rest of us. This is the ultimate curse of organised religion.
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ardee D. (6 articles, 4 quicklinks, 1 diaries, 2377 comments)
on Sunday, August 27, 2006 at 12:32:02 PM
Ardee, again you are about as open minded about the Bible as you are about Israel's right to exist. There is more evidence by far that the books in the Bible which bear the names of the writers and the letters of Paul were written by those men than there is evidence that Homer lived let alone wrote "The Iliad" or "The Odessey." Do your homework. Go to ebay, buy a forty dollar book for a fifteen dollars, Josh McDowell's "The New Evidence That Demands a Verdict." If you can find it, purchase Will Pennys paperback, "The Bible: Myth or Message." Until you have read at least one of those two, you know nothing about Biblical Criticism or Christian Apologetics. You can buy McDowell's book at any Christian books store. It is probably the most read book on Christian Apologetics ever written.
I do not doubt for one minute that Mohammed wrote the Koran and received the Koran from his god, Allah. It does not mean that I would follow one line of Koran in any way. I am aware that Koran has been edited, but the one Muslims accept is very close to the original Koran.
Phil.
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pratliff94 (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 962 comments)
on Monday, August 28, 2006 at 9:01:20 PM
While you suggest I read a list of prejudicial and biased literature I note that you are incapable of rational discourse on this subject. It has been long known, long taught and long written that most of the bible is simply second and third hand and that much of it is political in nature. Your denials of the obvious do not in any way alter the facts.
By the by, your attempts at insult fall far short of truth or my actual beliefs. I understand your impulsive need to diminish the beliefs of those with whom you disagree, as undoubtedly your foundations are shaky and probably you are aware of this. Thus you must pin all on "faith" and never fail to insult those who question in the slightest your shaky belief system.
Please point to one posting of mine wherein I questioned the right of Israel to exist. Because I criticise the actions of that nation in no way implies my hope for their destruction. You right wing morons always leap to your own intellectual destruction, probably because, at heart, your system is so anti-intellectual.
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ardee D. (6 articles, 4 quicklinks, 1 diaries, 2377 comments)
on Tuesday, August 29, 2006 at 7:15:12 AM
In the end of the 17th Century the French dramatist Molliers had staged a play 'Tartuff or Hypocrite'. A main character in that play was a total goon, a ruthless crook, a fornicator and a deceiver who promoted all what he did with constant references to Jesus, Bible and Sacred texts (Catholic, of course, at that time). That Tartuff became a reference point for defining the way to disgrace any religion by hypocricy and malice. Guess what- most of our US so-called ' Christians' in their behavior resemble that Tartuff down to the letter. But due to the strange phenomena of the promotion of ignorance in the US people here they never studied Molliers at school (like I did in Russia as a separate course), neither literary references are considered as important influence factors in discussions. Like if someone says that Pat Robertson is a US Tartuff, that might be dismissed as a 'French Prank'. But guess what: exactly like Tartuff took advantage of the ignorance, shallowness and lack of education of the people he deceived, our Pseudo- Christians are taking advantage of the same qualities of the US people. Even one- eyed is a King in the land of the blind is their motto. But we see the things clearly, right? So I urge everyone to remember that it is not the true religion that promotes ignorance but it is ignorance that works in cahoots with the pseudoreligion. In fact, the Tartuffs in the US are( and I am not kidding ) the satanists, the servants of the Devil and want us dead. As such they are even worse than the one described by Molliers.
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Mark Sashine (50 articles, 19 quicklinks, 244 diaries, 3453 comments)
on Sunday, August 27, 2006 at 2:43:56 PM
I never said i have to save you in order for me to be saved. I think it is dangerous to lump all Christians into the Falwell/Hagee/Robertson camp just because they have a louder microphone
Be well.
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Anthony Wade (146 articles, 2 quicklinks, 44 diaries, 511 comments)
on Sunday, August 27, 2006 at 5:26:25 PM
