Hands On Posted March 23, 2022 Group: Royal Member Followers: 5 Topic Count: 12 Topics Per Day: 0.01 Content Count: 227 Content Per Day: 0.12 Reputation: 126 Days Won: 0 Joined: 12/13/2018 Status: Offline Share Posted March 23, 2022 HymanTony.pdf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
choir loft Posted March 30, 2022 Group: Diamond Member Followers: 6 Topic Count: 69 Topics Per Day: 0.02 Content Count: 1,209 Content Per Day: 0.38 Reputation: 329 Days Won: 0 Joined: 08/23/2015 Status: Offline Birthday: 10/10/1947 Share Posted March 30, 2022 (edited) If by Old Testament you mean ancient Israel, then the reader needs to be advised the political system of the time was a Theocracy. Today's system in the State of Israel is a republic. Most nations are ruled by a republic including those that only have one approved political party. According to Merriam-Webster definitions a Theocracy - is government by a state by immediate divine guidance or by official who are regarded as divinely guided. Theocratic government was rejected by the people of Europe during the Reformation period. Politics in ancient Israel may be studied in the book of Esther. A king ruled with absolute authority and no one could approach the throne without an appointment. One risked death without an appointment. On the other hand, in the modern republic of America, no one can approach the president without an appointment. If one attempts to enter without an appointment one can be shot. This is fundamentally the same as the situation in the book of Esther. Some presidents act as though they are god's gift to the country. This has generally been referred to as the Royal Presidency. Some are better at acting presidential than others. Politics in America has suffered a reversal of roles/definitions in recent years. In the words of black activists; top is bottom, left is right, right is left and the rest is inside out. Most citizens, even black ones, are quite confused as to the use of political labels. If perception is reality then the Democratic party is now conservative and the Republican party is liberal. This is a total reversal of political roles as once perceived in America. Allow me to illustrate; THEN The Republican party was once labeled conservative because it supported business interests and intrusive regulatory government. The Democratic party was once labeled liberal because it supported the working man and his family values. Government was trusted. NOW Today the Republican party is perceived as supporting the working man and his family values - liberal. Today the Democratic party is perceived as conservative because it supports intrusive regulatory government. Politics as usual? Big business and its cadre of oligarchs rules all the major policy of both parties. Both parties are guilty of financial irresponsibility and mismanagement. Nobody trusts the government. Nobody pays the slightest attention to Biblical political standards - such as refraining from charging loan interest, respecting God and those who worship Him, restricting employers in their treatment of employees and respecting the right of children to live. Prayer is illegal except in houses of worship or one's home (with exceptions). We have debauched our culture our government and our faith. Instead of faith in God we teach our young to have faith in the conduct of those who prey upon them. that's me, hollering from the choir loft... Edited March 30, 2022 by choir loft Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hands On Posted March 31, 2022 Group: Royal Member Followers: 5 Topic Count: 12 Topics Per Day: 0.01 Content Count: 227 Content Per Day: 0.12 Reputation: 126 Days Won: 0 Joined: 12/13/2018 Status: Offline Author Share Posted March 31, 2022 Thanks for the respons , I believe we just have to accept the fact as "Christians" under the New Covenant, that it is the same God who dealt with Israel and Judah, who made compromises before their respective downfalls , Israel under Assyria 722/721 B.C. and exile in Babylon, in the case with Judah 587 B.C.Governments world over might come up with all types of self-help schemes testing the will of God ;but alas "6.For I the Lord do not change, therefore you ' O children of Jacob, are not consumed 7.From the days of your fathers you have turned aside from my statutes and have not kept them."(E.S.V.Mal.3:6-7).The crucial aspect here as see it , is not Christianity, in many instances also sliding towards "you have turned aside from my statutes and have not kept them". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
choir loft Posted April 4, 2022 Group: Diamond Member Followers: 6 Topic Count: 69 Topics Per Day: 0.02 Content Count: 1,209 Content Per Day: 0.38 Reputation: 329 Days Won: 0 Joined: 08/23/2015 Status: Offline Birthday: 10/10/1947 Share Posted April 4, 2022 (edited) On 3/31/2022 at 11:03 AM, Hands On said: Thanks for the respons , I believe we just have to accept the fact as "Christians" under the New Covenant, that it is the same God who dealt with Israel and Judah, who made compromises before their respective downfalls , Israel under Assyria 722/721 B.C. and exile in Babylon, in the case with Judah 587 B.C.Governments world over might come up with all types of self-help schemes testing the will of God ;but alas "6.For I the Lord do not change, therefore you ' O children of Jacob, are not consumed 7.From the days of your fathers you have turned aside from my statutes and have not kept them."(E.S.V.Mal.3:6-7).The crucial aspect here as see it , is not Christianity, in many instances also sliding towards "you have turned aside from my statutes and have not kept them". I don't quite understand your last sentence..... "The crucial aspect here as see it , is not Christianity, in many instances also sliding towards "you have turned aside from my statutes and have not kept them"." AS I SEE IT, and as admitted by many on this as well as other forums, is that statutes or THE LAW has been vehemently REJECTED by the American church. Speak or write of LAW anywhere among today's Christians and you will almost always start a verbal fist fight. NO ONE CAN BE SAVED APART FROM THE LAW. How's that for a declaration of war? It doesn't contradict Biblical context at all, but many who admit only to hyper-destructive GRACE will adamantly oppose it. Christendom has cut itself off from its Biblical roots, meaning Christ. As a result it is shriveling at an ever increasing pace. Nobody wants to admit it, though. THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A LICENSE TO SIN. In the year 2010, PEW & Gallup polls recorded that 50% of Americans attended Protestant worship services on a regular basis - defined as once a month. At the time it was projected that if the trend continued the number would decline to 10% by the year 2050. In March 2022, PEW released new figures. The numbers now show that only 16% of Americans attend a Protestant worship service on a regular basis. Numbers don't lie and those numbers indicate the 'trend' is increasing in speed and severity. (Many people stopped attending during the COVID crisis. They got used to remaining away from church and never returned.) Meanwhile our daily news reiterates stories of violence of all sorts and types on our city streets. We hear and read stories about corruption of government officials both local and Federal. We hear and read disturbing stories about the disintegration of Christian culture, which is in the throes of cultural death. Those who love their children and want them raised in a safe and disciplined environment DARE NOT send them to a public school. "It hurts to think." - Attitude of the average American High School student today. Several major Protestant denominations have issued public statements by leadership that they - do NOT hold the Bible as the exclusive Word of God. One in particular has even denied Jesus Christ and the salvation that He alone can provide to mankind. Only a few denominations have refused to yield to the corrupting and morally abhorrent agenda of the Gay Authority. (2 Tim 2:3) Something is very wrong, especially with our leadership. Most congregations refuse to acknowledge the problem, believing their leadership has attained the untouchable status of a sort of Protestant papacy. Like prophets of old, theologians (replaced today by opportunistic motivational speakers/writers) once predicted and warned of the decline of the church in America - and what will happen to our communities and nation as it worsens. Today only one option remains - REPENT. Failure to repent will only result in a need to carry firearms in public. In many churches today even the ushers carry concealed firearms. (I have personally been asked by our congregational leader to serve in this manner.) What does it take to accept a sober and realistic view of the current situation? We won't get it by denying the LAW. We need to embrace the LAW - as revealed and fulfilled in Christ Jesus. If Christians don't proclaim the One who carried the cross - we will all have to carry guns. The day has arrived. It is time to REPENT. that's me, hollering from the choir loft... Edited April 4, 2022 by choir loft Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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