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Many Ways or One Way?

Rosemarie Buxton of Episcopal Divinity School wrote in response to Professor Stephen Prothero’s book (God is Not One: The Eight Rival Religions That Run the World–and Why Their Differences Matter) and his article (Separate Truths) in the Boston Globe on April 25, 2010:

According to Karen Armstrong, the difficulties arise when one religion sets itself apart as the one religion and chooses to do anything to defend itself, a sin that many religions have been guilty of throughout history.

Coming from the pen of a Christian Divinity school graduate, i am very disappointed at the above statement.

Mankind is but one-kind. And so is creation-kind. Can an offspring say that he has two fathers or two mothers? That is not only vulgar but also foolish. That there is but one God, the creator of heaven and earth transcends any sort of debate.

Now, there are a lot of injustices that are going unpunished by the government(s). The socio, economic, political, environmental crisis we are seeing today is testimony of that fact. Justice is not being meted out to all. That is why the Bible stresses on the Day of Judgment, when the Lord of lords and the King of kings will be seated on the throne and render justice to the nations.

Now for this justice to be rendered with equity, there needs to be one law that is self-evident and transcends all other laws. This Law is the Law of Agape Love that Jesus kept and “exceeded the righteousness of the Pharisees” of His time and went and sat at the right hand side of God to judge the world.

“Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for His friends” ~ Lord Jesus Christ (John 15:13). How much more “self-evident” and transcendent can you get.

To say that there are other ways or back-doors to God is an affront to the living God who is Jehovah Jireh–the One who provided this Way–an excruciating death for His son the Lord Jesus Christ only in order to fulfill the transcendent AND self-evident truth in John 15:13 as stated above. If there were indeed other ways then God was a stupid fool to take His son through this excruciating death. So excruciating that the Lord’s sweat turned into blood well before He was going to be crucified because He knew what kind of pain He will have to suffer.

So, i believe, after the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Bhagavad Gita’s reference namely:

“As the different streams having their sources in different places all mingle their water in the sea, so, O Lord, the different paths which men take, through different tendencies, various though they appear, crooked or straight, all lead to Thee!”

and

“Whosoever comes to Me, through whatsoever form, I reach him; all men are struggling through paths that in the end lead to Me.”

apply to the Lord Jesus Christ Himself–all streams have to end up with Him. In other words, at the Judgment Seat of Christ!

For more on these lines, please read this article especially tailored for an Agnostic or one who is secular: http://truthunleashed.org/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=20

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The Doctrine of the Devils!

Charles Stanley says on Eternal Security: “You Can Be Sure” (Part 2, Tape #4, RH190):

“When you are born again by the grace of Almighty God,…It doesn’t make any difference how wicked and how vile you act.”

Charles Stanley in his audio tape #3, MH190:

“You can sin like the devil down here and… you won’t lose your salvation.”

Here’s his position in his own words:

Covered by Grace: Free to Sin?
By Charles F. Stanley

The gospel of God’s grace–His full provision for man’s sin–is frequently perverted and attacked by nonbelievers. Most false religions deny the free gift of salvation and embrace good works instead.

Another attack on the doctrine of grace comes from within the body of Christ. Some caution that such good news can lead to a lifestyle of sin. They think grace leads people to say, “I am saved no matter what, so why does it matter how I live?”

The apostle Paul anticipates this when he asks, “What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase?” (Rom. 6:1).

The answer is no. Paul responds to the question in the very next verse: “May it never be! How shall we who died to sin still live in it?” (Rom. 6:2). The implication is that it is unthinkable for a Christian to be comfortable continuing in sin. Sin does not stay dormant. It grows. It enslaves. For those in Christ, sin cannot destroy relationship with God, but it will surely damage their testimony and fellowship with Him.

In Romans 6:1, the prefix of the Greek word translated “increase” means super. So the verse really says, “As sin comes, grace comes in a greater way.” In other words, sin may overflow a bit, but grace is like a flood–it is always more than enough, no matter how great the transgression. Sin reached the top of Mt. Sinai, but grace reaches to heavens.

But we do not have license to sin. Abundant grace spurs us to obedience.

(Source: StudyLight Forums)

If you read Romans 6:2 more closely however, you will notice that Paul was not saying here that grace will be so great that it will snuff out any sin, as Dr. Stanley sees it. Rather, Paul sees this (repeated sinning) as an abuse of grace and is startled at the very thought of it. He sees such willful sin as something that must be “rejected with the greatest abhorrence” (Matthew Henry). We must respond to such temptation of Satan like how Jesus responded. “Go Satan!” said Jesus (Matthew 4:10). The reason being: Abused grace/mercy will beget the greatest wrath.

Of course for some, abundant grace spurs them to obedience and encourages them to be more careful hereafter. If man is asked to forgive 490 times then God will forgive us even more number of times. But there is a catch here. As God keeps forgiving us, if we begin to take his grace and discipline “lightly” or despise prophetic utterances or counsel, then that is the end of us. Our conscience begins to get “seared as with a hot iron” (1 Timothy 4:2) and we will no longer hear the promptings of the Holy Spirit. We will not only grieve (Ephesians 4:30) the Holy Spirit but also quench Him (1 Thessalonians 5:19). And it is written, “if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him” (Romans 8:9). They may have a name that they are alive, but they are dead (Revelation 3:1).

So those of you who are singing the Devil’s lullaby: “Thou shalt surely not die.” Stop it right now! Heel!

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China’s methods of subverting USA and INDIA

China made Toy GunThere is an insidious attack by the Chinese–it appears–to subvert India and other non-communist states. A case in point is how the Chinese toy industry is used to sabotage Gun-Control that states like India enjoy today.

I was shocked when i saw this gun in my son’s possession. He bought it by himself in a nearby shop for INR 30 (USD 0.75). It turned out to be a toy gun. I had to explain to him at length how when someone sees this in his possession, they might act in self defense and hurt him. My blood brother Sudeep Motupalli Rao from San Francisco was also with us on a conference to tell him that it is a slippery slope to the real thing. Very soon he would want to use the real guns to get back at someone he does not like. He told him how guns are designed to not merely hurt a person but to kill a life which has survived fifty, seventy years through the world system.

In the United States, it is mandated now to make Toy Guns with a color to reveal that they are toys.  But China, he said, has other ways that are also “insidious.” For instance, jewelery used to contain Lead but when the government banned import of Lead based Jewelery, China is exporting Jewelery that contains Cadmium, which is more dangerous than Lead. Sudeep holds a Masters in Chemical Engineering with a PhD in Environmental Engineering.

Coupled with this insidious attack through the toy industry, China through the Olympic committee  gave India the only Gold medal. Now every kid should imitate Bindra–the sole model for them.

Whether China is deliberately doing this sort of thing is everyone’s guess. China could very well be a puppet in the hands of a much greater force, namely the MNCs. What remains however, is that we are battling against principalities in the heavenly realms to safeguard our neighborhoods.

The first world where most of the MNCs have their headquarters know very well that it is the Standard of Living that determines free flow of human capital back to its roots. They saw the devaluation of the American Dream in the World Trade Center attack. They now want to rub off the same thing on other countries as well especially on vulnerable countries like India where the person who has a voice at all, wears merely handloom clothing, which in their eyes lacks sophistication and therefore an easy target. Khadi served to make India self-reliant during freedom struggle. But in the global economy which is dominated by services, India has to show its clout. I recommend Sherwanis for the Indian political figures and IFS officers rather than the demoted handloom dress code.

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A Dichotomy for ChurchState?

Pope Benedict XVI’s encyclical Deus Caritas Est (“God is Love”) of 2006 teaches that justice is the defining concern of the state and the central concern of politics, and not of the church, which has charity as its central social concern. The laity has the specific responsibility of pursuing social justice in civil society. The church’s active role in social justice should be to inform the debate, using reason and natural law, and also by providing moral and spiritual formation for those involved in politics. (Source: Social Justice, Wikipedia)

Rick Warren of Saddleback Church in California quotes Martin Luther King Jr. as saying: “The church must be reminded that it is not the master or the servant of the state, but rather the conscience of the state.”

I respectfully disagree with them. First off, because Justice (which is attributed to the state) and Charity (which is attributed to the Church) are poles apart. Therefore, in order that there be no compromise on either (justice or love), both should operate in a single system—the ChurchState. In other words, in a single Court officiated by a single Judge, where there will always be a strong tension between both the Defender (charitable) and the Prosecutor (condemning). A church that settles for polemics remains a babe.

This very Court, in the absence of a neutral Judge (being that he is nominated and impeached at will by the state today), is in the hands of Media private enterprise, which can sway any side with money power. We should not give ourselves into such a resignation.