Loaves 'n Fishes Weblog

Betrayal, Bigotry and Conventionality

Wed, 29 Nov 2006 16:24:00 GMT

Four things from my meditation this week:

- - - - - - - -

Betrayal- by H.H. Cholmondeley

Still as of old
Men by themselves are priced -
For thirty pieces Judas sold
Himself, not Christ

- - - - - - - -

Bigot - by Eleanor Slater

Though you be scholarly, beware
The bigotry of doubt.
Some people take a strange delight
In blowing candles out.

- - - - - - - -

Conventionality - by Eloise Hackett

Men wrap themselves in smug cocoons
Of dogmas they believe are wise,
And look askance at one who sees
In worms potential butterflies.

- - - - - - - -

Gone With the Wind - by Malcolm Muggeridge

"We look back upon history, and what do we see? Empires rising and falling. Revolutions and Counterrevolutions. Wealth accumulated and wealth disbursed. Shakespeare has written of the rise and fall of great ones, that ebb and flow with the moon. I look back upon my own fellow countrymen, once upon a time dominating a quarter of the world, most of them convinced, in the words of what is still a popular song, that the God who made them mighty, shall make them mightier yet.

I've heard a crazed, cracked Austrian announce to the world the establishment of a Reich that would last a thousand years. I have seen an Italian clown say he was going to stop and restart the calendar with his own ascension to power. I've heard a murderous Georgian brigand in the Kremlin, acclaimed by the intellectual elite of the world as wiser than Solomon, more humane than Marcus Aurelius, more enlightened than Ashoka.

I have seen America, wealthier and in terms of military weaponry, more powerful than the rest of the world put together, so that had the American people so desired, they could have outdone a Caesar, or an Alexander in the range and scale of their conquests.

All in one lifetime, all in one lifetime, all gone. Gone with the wind. England part of a tiny island off the coast of Europe, threatened with dismemberment and even bankruptcy. Hitler and Mussolini dead, remembered only in infamy. Stalin a forbidden name in the regime he helped found and dominate for some three decades. America haunted by fears of running our of those precious fluids that keeps their motorways roaring, and the smog settling, with troubled memories of a disastrous campaign in Vietnam, and the victories of the Don Quixotes of the media as they charged the windmills of Watergate. All in one lifetime, all in one lifetime, all gone. Gone with the wind."

[Ravi Zacharias adds this last line:]

Behind the debris of these solemn supermen, and self-styled imperial diplomatists, there stands the gigantic figure of one, because of whom, by whom, in whom and through whom alone, mankind may still have peace: The person of Jesus Christ.

Wanted: Men for a Hazardous Journey

Thu, 02 Nov 2006 16:33:00 GMT

"WANTED: MEN FOR HAZARDOUS JOURNEY.
SMALL WAGES, BITTER COLD,
LONG MONTHS OF COMPLETE DARKNESS,
CONSTANT DANGER, SAFE RETURN DOUBTFUL.
HONOR AND RECOGNITION IN CASE OF SUCCESS."

When this ad was placed in that London newspaper back in 1912, by Ernest Shackleton (1874-1922, the British Antarctic explorer), nearly 30 men signed up. Shackleton was on the hunt for recruits for his 1914 Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition; including a possible attempt to reach the South Pole. However during this particular trek, Shakleton and his men never reached the South Pole, and instead were faced with some of the most horrifying and ghastly hardships in sub-zero temperatures. But the astounding fact, and to make a long story short, is that all of Shackleton's men came back alive.

Jesus makes a similar call to you and me, if you'll excuse the secular origin of the story:

"And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it. For what is a man advantaged, if he gain the whole world, and lose himself, or be cast away? For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he shall come in his own glory, and in his Father's, and of the holy angels." - Luke 9:23-26

The Call rings clear and true. Men are wanted for a perilous journey. The wages are small and meager. There will be bitter cold, and long months of obscurity and gloom. There will be constant danger (2 Tim. 3:12). The world will persecute you. It is obligatory. In other words, Jesus can't promise you an easy, painless, care-free life. No assurance in given that He will inhibit the trials and storms of your life. He only promises us one thing: and that is to shield us. Jesus Christ promises that He will facilitate us on this journey heavenward; on this perilous journey. And that is really the only reality of any significance; no matter how monumental the circumstances.

The Guessage

Mon, 14 Aug 2006 21:19:00 GMT

I've always wondered how God's Word squared with Eugene Peterson's words in The Message. Let's find out.

"And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart. And I will be found of you, saith the LORD" (Jer. 29:13-14)

Number one, I don't wish to pass judgment towards Peterson. I don't know the authenticity of his spiritual condition. I never met him, nor have I a yearning to do so. But what I do want is that the populace abroad would know the truth. Jesus said that in the last days, deception and perfidication would exponentiate.

"Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved." (2 Thes. 2:9-10)

The Eternal God has never, in the past, attuned Himself to the tastes of mere men. Why should He start now? The true God must be sought on His terms alone. God never uses flesh-appealing gimmicks to try to attract and lure naïve youth. He never uses icons, candles, or other rituals to create an aura of "sacredness" and "inviolability" around a seemingly innocent gospel. The true seeker must come to God in repentance and cry out to Him for their soul.

Is Eugene Peterson accurate in declaring his book a valid "version of the Bible." "The Bible as it was intended to be" [God's needs our help?] "A new approach to Scripture" [from Catholic mystic tradition?] "The NRSV: Most Accepted" [accepted by whom?] "Most Accurate" [by what measure?] "Most Ecumenical" [Bingo!!]

The Message mirrors the "higher criticism" movement in which intellectuals question the authorship and authenticity of Scripture portions, particularly prophetic passages. It is interesting to note that The Message and The Renovare Study Bible are both published by Zondervan. The NIV is also owned by Zondervan. The big fish, HaperCollins ate little fish Zondervan some years ago, and so The Message is owned by HaperCollins. My curiosity was also spiked when I learned that HaperCollins also publishes The Satanic Bible by Anton La Vey, and various other pro-homosexual media. HarperCollins is a subsidiary of Rupert Murdoch's "The News Corporation" which owns Twentieth Century Fox and Fox Broadcasting. Fox Broadcasting produces some very immoral, anti-family television shows. Murdoch also owns a whole slew of daily newspapers; 18 of some of the largest ones in the world. In the U.K. alone, Murdoch owns 40% of the national press. Murdoch - to whom Pat Robertson sold the Family Channel (paid for by CBN donors) for $1.9 billion - was knighted by the Pope after donating $10 million for a new Catholic cathedral in Los Angeles. And Rick Warren claims to be Murdoch's pastor. His communications empire is worth about $30 billion. Murdoch's net worth is about $5.5 billion. In 1985, Murdoch renounced his Australian citizenship and became a U.S. citizen in order to comply with U.S. laws that prohibited non-citizens from owning a monopoly of U.S television stations. In terms of his global reach and his diversity of interests, he is the most powerful media tycoon in the history of the world. [Read More]

And so, I wonder if my concerns are justified about The Message. I wonder if my apprehension is justified when Eugene Peterson is yoked with the largest media cartel. Or maybe it's just me ...

But the following examples - a few among many - show that The Message dilutes the power of, and even changes the very words of God. My purpose, as I've stated before, is not to tear anyone down. I'm not pointing fingers at anyone. And I realize that, when we see the faults of others, we have to capability to harbor the same things ourselves. But, we do need to love the Truth, so as to be saved. From sin. From self. And from Satan. May God help us.

- - - -

KJV: "In the beginning was the Word...."(Jn 1:1)

THE MESSAGE: "The Word was first...." [first? There is no first or second in the Godhead.]

- - - -

KJV: "Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God." (Jn 3:5)

THE MESSAGE: "Unless a person submits to this original creation–the 'wind hovering over the water' creation, the invisible moving the visible, a baptism into a new life–it's not possible to enter God's kingdom." [Original creation? God has been created? "Baptism into a new life"? Does that mean to be "born again"?]

- - - -

KJV: "...that the world through him might be saved."(Jn 3:17)

THE MESSAGE: "He came to help, to put the world right again." [Help?! Political, social action? Jesus said that He didn't come to bring socialistic peace (Matt. 10:34)]

- - - -

KJV: "He that cometh from above is above all...." (Jn 3:31)

THE MESSAGE: "The One who comes from above is head and shoulders over other messengers from God." [Head and Shoulders? What, are we talking about shampoo? No, God is infinitely above everything; I don't see Peterson's point.]

- - - -

KJV: "...the wrath of God abideth on him." (Jn 3:36)

THE MESSAGE: "All he experiences of God is darkness; and an angry darkness at that." [In God there is "no darkness," nor is wrath mere darkness.]

- - - -

KJV: "...shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life." (Jn 5:24)

THE MESSAGE: "...is no longer condemned to be an outsider. This person has taken a giant step from the world of the dead to the world of the living." [Outsider? No, I don't think so. Giant step by man's strength? No, it is not I who live, but Jesus Christ within me.]

- - - -

KJV: "...ye shall...die in your sins: whither I go, ye cannot come." (Jn 8:21)

THE MESSAGE: "...you're missing God in this and are headed for a dead end." ["Missing God" instead of "die in your sins?" Dead end?]

- - - -

KJV: "...ye are of this world; I am not of this world...." (Jn 8:23)

THE MESSAGE: "You're tied down to the mundane; I'm in touch with what is beyond your horizons." [Mundane is not the biblical meaning of this world. Beyond your horizons? "In touch"?]

- - - -

KJV: "I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth...." (Rom1:16)

THE MESSAGE: "It's news I'm most proud to proclaim, this extraordinary Message of God's powerful plan to rescue everyone who trusts him." [Proud? God condemned all pride. Gospel, Christ, and salvation are not mentioned.]

- - - -

KJV: "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good report." (Heb 11:1).

THE MESSAGE: "...faith, is the firm foundation under everything that makes life worth living...what distinguished our ancestors, set them above the crowd." [Changed meaning completely.]

- - - -

KJV: "But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus...." (1Pt 5:10)

THE MESSAGE: "It won't be long before this generous God who has great plans for us in Christ—eternal and glorious plans they are!—will have you put together and on your feet...." ["Put together and on your feet" in this life instead of eternal glory?]

- - - -

KJV: "He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches." (Rv 3:22)

THE MESSAGE: "Listen...to the Wind Words blowing through the churches." [The Holy Spirit speaks 'Wind Words'? Maybe if you're dabbling in some narcotic.]

Clinging to an Antebellum Epoch

Mon, 31 Jul 2006 18:44:00 GMT

I'm in a John Greenleaf Whittier rut. Perhaps you noticed.

Being the Quaker that he was, John Whittier was an ardent abolitionist. In fact, I think he penned the first formal document in America that suggested the elimination of slavery. Moreover, so graphic were his poems and essays in describing American slavery, that little eyes and ears have no business reading them. This being said, I have chosen one of his more tame poems for this blog.

While I am not in total agreement with Whittier, on his views of political action, and activism, etc., I do think that his message rings true today. Alas, too many Christians are austerely unfamiliar with the harsh reality of slavery.

In a publication of L. F. Tasistro (Random Shots and Southern Breezes) is a description of a slave auction at New Orleans, at which the auctioneer recommended the woman on the stand as "A GOOD CHRISTIAN!" It was not uncommon to see advertisements of slaves for sale, in which they were described as pious or as members of the church. In one advertisement a slave was noted as "a Baptist preacher." This was the inspiration for Whittier's 1843 poem, in which he acquaints his readers with a slave auction in a country of so-called Christians as opposed to a Muslim country. If some parents think this poem too graphic, please feel free to edit it.

THE CHRISTIAN SLAVE

A CHRISTIAN! going, gone!
Who bids for God's own image? for his grace,
Which that poor victim of the market-place
Hath in her suffering won?

My God! can such things be?
Hast Thou not said that whatsoe'er is done
Unto Thy weakest and Thy humblest one
Is even done to Thee?

In that sad victim, then,
Child of Thy pitying love, I see Thee stand;
Once more the jest-word of a mocking band,
Bound, sold, and scourged again!

A Christian up for sale!
Wet with her blood your whips, o'er task her frame,
Make her life loathsome with your wrong and shame,
Her patience shall not fail!

A heathen hand might deal
Back on your heads the gathered wrong of years:
But her low, broken prayer and nightly tears,
Ye neither heed nor feel.

Con well thy lesson o'er,
Thou prudent teacher, tell the toiling slave
No dangerous tale of Him who came to save
The outcast and the poor.

But wisely shut the ray
Of God's free Gospel from her simple heart,
And to her darkened mind alone impart
One stern command, Obey!
One stern command: OBEY!
ONE STERN COMMAND: OBEY!

So shalt thou deftly raise
The market price of human flesh; and while
On thee, their pampered guest, the planters smile,
Thy church shall praise.

Grave, reverend men shall tell
From Northern pulpits how thy work was blest,
While in that vile South Sodom first and best,
Thy poor disciples sell.

Oh, shame! the Moslem thrall,
Who, with his master, to the Prophet kneels,
While turning to the sacred Kebla feels
His fetters break and fall.

Cheers for the turbaned Bey
Of robber-peopled Tunis! he hath torn
The dark slave-dungeons open, and hath borne
Their inmates into day:

But our poor slave in vain
Turns to the Christian shrine his aching eyes;
Its rites will only swell his market price,
And rivet on his chain.

God of all right! how long
Shall priestly robbers at Thine altar stand,
Lifting in prayer to Thee, the bloody hand
And haughty brow of wrong?

Take Such Pains

Sat, 08 Jul 2006 17:39:00 GMT

[Dirk Willems saved the life of a man who was hunting him down like an animal.]

"I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.” – Ghandi

In another instance, once upon a time, an Indian evangelist was approached by a Hindu man. The Hindu said to the evangelist: “You Christians! You make such extraordinary claims, but you live such ordinary lives!”

Do Christians in America or anywhere make claims that we don’t live up to? Is the bar too high that we can’t reach it? Is Christ really alive within us? Or are we masquerading? What made the early Christians so fervent? So zealous? What made Christianity something worthy to die over? Who gave them the strength to endure? Who caused them to be faithful, even until death? Is our “ordinary” life actually doing harm to the Gospel of Christ?

Lord Jesus, bring us out into the light, and expose us. Some day we’ll realize how worthy you really are to receive all that Glory. And we’ll be so glad we didn’t touch it, while we were here on earth.

- - - -

"Do you then take such pains to seek souls? Well then, go into the city, to every place, to the drunkards, whoremongers, swearers... these are still your brethren; go and seek their souls; Christ has found mine." - Hans van Overdam

"I am ready any way, to put off this flesh, whether in the fire or in the water, before the hall of justice or here in this fire (the fire on the hearth); it is not big enough, make it bigger." - Joos Kindt

"I cannot thank and praise the Lord sufficiently, that He so comforts me in my tribulation, and that my mind is still fixed to fear the Lord with all my heart all the days of my life, according to my weak ability." - Clement Hendrickss

"Here I forsake wife and children, house and home, body and life, for the faith and the divine truth." - George Raeck

"Wake up, and give heed; you certainly see it is not in human power what the Lord enables us to do, that we can leave our dear children, yea, joyfully resign our lives, for the honor of God." - Claesken

"The thiefcatcher following him broke through [the ice], when Dirk Willems, perceiving that the former was in danger of his life, quickly returned..." - from the story of Dirk Willems

"Behold, my children, this way has no retreats; there are also no byways, that lie on the right hand of the left... If you do what I write, you will see me again in great glory..." - Maeyken van Deventer

All quotes from the Martyr's Mirror

The Brewing of Soma

Tue, 04 Jul 2006 18:49:00 GMT

by John Greenleaf Whittier (picture taken 11/25/1885)

My note: Do you think “The Toronto Blessing” is something new? If so, you are mistaken. Countless religious groups, down through the centuries have been trying to reach God by performing irrational exploits. Whittier was a Quaker, and he likened the transcendental affects of “soma” which is similar to cocaine, to people trying to get a spiritual “high” through barking like dogs and various analogous practices. Originally published in “The Pennsylvania Pilgrim” in 1872. The last portion of this poem was made into a popular hymn.

The fagots blazed, the caldron's smoke
Up through the green wood curled;
"Bring honey from the hollow oak,
Bring milky sap," the brewers spoke,
In the childhood of the world.

And brewed they well or brewed they ill,
The priests thrust in their rods,
First tasted, and then drank their fill,
And shouted, with one voice and will,
"Behold the drink of gods!"

They drank, and lo! in heart and brain
A new, glad life began;
The gray of hair grew young again,
The sick man laughed away his pain,
The cripple leaped and ran.

"Drink, mortals, what the gods have sent,
Forget your long annoy."
So sang the priests. From tent to tent
The Soma's sacred madness went,
A storm of drunken joy.

Then knew each rapt inebriate
A winged and glorious birth,
Soared upward, with strange joy elate,
Beat, with dazed head, Varuna's gate,
And, sobered, sank to earth.

The land with Soma's praises rang;
On Gihon's banks of shade
Its hymns the dusky maidens sang;
In joy of life or mortal pang
All men to Soma prayed.

The morning twilight of the race
Sends down these matin psalms;
And still with wondering eyes we trace
The simple prayers to Soma's grace,
That Vedic verse embalms.

As in the child-world's early year,
Each after age has striven
By music, incense, vigils drear,
And trance, to bring the skies more near,
Or lift men up to heaven!

Some fever of the blood and brain,
Some self-exalting spell,
The scourger's keen delight of pain,
The Dervish dance, the Orphic strain,
The wild-haired Bacchant's yell, -

The desert's hair-grown hermit sunk
The saner brute below;
The naked Santon, hashish-drunk,
The cloister madness of the monk,
The fakir's torture-show!

And yet the past comes round again,
And new doth old fulfil;
In sensual transports wild as vain
We brew in many a Christian fane
The heathen Soma still!

Dear Lord and Father of mankind,
Forgive our foolish ways!
Reclothe us in our rightful mind,
In purer lives Thy service find,
In deeper reverence, praise.

In simple trust like theirs who heard
Beside the Syrian sea
The gracious calling of the Lord,
Let us, like them, without a word,
Rise up and follow Thee.

O Sabbath rest by Galilee!
O calm of hills above,
Where Jesus knelt to share with Thee
The silence of eternity
Interpreted by love!

With that deep hush subduing all
Our words and works that drown
The tender whisper of Thy call,
As noiseless let Thy blessing fall
As fell Thy manna down.

Drop Thy still dews of quietness,
Till all our strivings cease;
Take from our souls the strain and stress,
And let our ordered lives confess
The beauty of Thy peace.

Breathe through the heats of our desire
Thy coolness and Thy balm;
Let sense be dumb, let flesh retire;
Speak through the earthquake, wind, and fire,
O still, small voice of calm!

Undercover Clergy

Wed, 21 Jun 2006 17:40:00 GMT

S: Tell me, Preacher. What in the world are you doing in our neighborhood?

P: No, first things first. A glass of schnapps to open the meal and the heart. (Drinks a schnapps.) Well, to be brief, I am out here on behalf of the Temperance Society.

S: Ah, now I see why you had to have a glass of schnapps, for if you had not asked for one, I certainly would not have been able to have offered you a schnapps.

P: Please don’t misunderstand me. I have by no means joined the Temperance Society. Anything but! I will drink a second glass in honor of the Temperance Society. I always drink a second glass in honor of the Temperance Society. (They clink their glasses, both drink and say: Long live the Temperance Society!) Now to the business at hand. You see, it is well known that I have an extraordinary speaking ability. The Temperance Society became aware of my talents and in the interest of the Society it decided not to let them go to waste. To put it briefly, I have been called and installed as “Pastor” to the Temperance Society. That I do not fully subscribe to the Temperance Society’s explicit aims is understood. Yet, the Temperance Society Board is of the opinion, “What does it matter if the pastor drinks a schnapps or two? What does it matter as long as by using his gifts he is able to win scores of members for the Society?”

S: The Society is right about that. Even the strictest teetotaler knows that every such glass of schnapps for the pastor is well utilized, presupposing that you do get members for the Society.

P: So you agree. I, of course, am completely convinced it is right, and if I had not already done it I would drink another schnapps in honor of the Temperance Society. To go on with my story, I have made an agreement with the Society, whose activity involves diet, that I have my diet: four schnapps every day, two glasses of punch, and an extra glass for every one who signs up as a member. It all goes on the expense account. Just as I believe they are satisfied with me, so I am also satisfied with it. I really don’t want to make any alteration or to leave. I even grieve to think of leaving a congregation which I love and esteem and which loves and esteems me in return.

S: You have become a “pastor” and somebody of influence in this world. Maybe you can tell me one more thing. I have often imaged myself as a pastor. It must be easy to stand and preach the very opposite of what you are doing – after all, you certainly cannot feel what you are saying.

P: Why do you say that? I can assure you – and every one of my many listeners is able to testify – that I sometimes am so moved that I can scarcely talk. In the first place, I think of the four schnapps, the two glasses of punch, an extra glass, and also the fact that I am successful in the world and have a good living – isn’t that moving! Next I think of my useful and beneficial activity. While I stand there speaking I look at the people I am talking to and can read their eyes: there sits one who as sure as my name is Pastor H. will go right out of this meeting and sign up as a member. I can get so emotional over this that I sometimes start to cry, and this has such a powerful effect that I can see on his neighbor’s face that he is going to do the same. Now, if that isn’t moving then I don’t know what is. If I were a saint do you think I would be able to produce such an effect? The people would quickly lose interest. Am I right?

S: Perhaps. But isn’t it untrue to call yourself a pastor?

P: Not at all. If a person can proclaim the teaching that we should not aspire after earthly honor, esteem, wealth – if a person can proclaim this in such a way that he convinces people to live their lives accordingly, does it make any difference if he himself does just the opposite? Or isn’t this the best proof of his extraordinary talent for speaking, of his being truly a great orator, the fact that although he doesn’t exactly do what he preaches he still has such an enormous influence?

S: But doesn’t it ever happen that people complain that you are not a member? Don’t you get reproached for it?

P: Yes, of course, but I dismiss it. I explain it as a conflict of personalities, of style. Anyway, it is my job to preach, and one should stick to the subject of what I am teaching. That slays them.

- Søren Kierkegaard, in Søren Kierkegaard’s Journals and Papers, ed. and trans. Howard V. Hong and Edna H. Hong. 7 volumes., Vol. III, pp. 433–435

Love Alone

Sat, 03 Jun 2006 16:05:00 GMT

"It is love alone that is pleasing to God. He that cannot show love, will not stand in the sight of God. He that would be a heir of Christ is taught that he must be merciful. Christ never accused anyone in the same way that the false teachers do, from which it is evident that they do not have the love of Christ, nor understand His word. They that accuse, strike out and argue cannot be Christians."

- Felix Mantz (1526), early Anabaptist leader; from The Martyr’s Mirror, page 415

The Book of Judas

Fri, 19 May 2006 14:01:00 GMT

We need to be careful of what we dig up from the sands of Ethiopia. I could probably find a lot of strange things too, simply by probing my back yard. Old dogs bones, old human bones, a TIME ® magazine from 1942, whatever. In my quest for the real Jesus, I increasingly marvel how people want ANYTHING other than the real Jesus. They want idols, they want transubstantiation, they want relics, and they want strange books that they pull from the sand. Anything other than the true Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Most of us know about this latest "find" that has created heaps of controversy. This being said, I don’t want to get into all the gory details which you can find somewhere else.

This book has been carbon-dated to be around 1890 years old or something like; which somehow automatically canonizes it. And we all know that the carbon-dating method of dating things is very unreliable, etc. A friend of mine once told me that some scientists dated a living, breathing clam to be 6000 years old, using the carbon-dating method. No comment on that one.

Anyway, like I said, folks want anything other than the true Gospel. Give me bizarre books, pulled from the sand, but don’t push me out into the Light so that my sin will be exposed.

Another friend told me that, with the Book of Judas being added to the phony apocrypha collection of the Book of Thomas, the Book of Mormon, these guys will have an entire New Testament before long!

Let us light a candle, rather than curse the darkness.

Sidestepping his faults and flaws for a second, read what Johann Christoph Arnold wrote about this:

"The writers of this text, and those who promote it today, seem to forget that humankind is burdened with sin and that only through repentance can new life be found. All four Gospels start with repentance and then offer the gift of forgiveness and new life. All four Gospels tell of the great commission, where Jesus tells his disciples to "go into the whole world to preach repentance and to
baptize people in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit." This is "The Good News." No discovery of alternate, even historical texts will change the fact that Jesus is our Lord and Master."

Source: http://www.plough.com/articles/gospelofjudas.html

Yours in the Lord,

~ Loaves

Who is Mark Bullen/Living Faith CF?

Mon, 01 May 2006 14:15:00 GMT

Mark Bullen is a dear brother living in the rolling hills of North-Central Missouri. Bro. Mark has a similar burden for the historical Anabaptist position on Divorce and Remarriage. <strike>The church he attends is Living Faith Christian Fellowship. Begun in the late 1990s, Living Faith has developed an active tape/tract/book ministry. They are worshipping together regularly, and warmly welcome visitors.</strike> I feature Bro. Mark’s book on Divorce and Remarriage here:
http://loaves.witnesstoday.org/articles/0100/

A German translation of this book is in progress.

For more information please visit their website:
http://www.thefaithoncedelivered.org

The "Perfect" Church

Sat, 15 Apr 2006 21:11:00 GMT

People ask me if I am looking for the “perfect Church.”

I say: “Yes, I am, aren’t you?”

They say: “No, why?”

I say “It’s because it’s God’s perfect will for me that makes it perfect, regardless of whether the church is perfect or not (and none are)”

If I am in the will of God, I will, indeed, find the “perfect church.” It’s God’s will for me. And that is what makes it perfect.

Now I don’t believe in entire sanctification. However, I do believe that perfection should be our goal, albeit I believe it can never be obtained in this life. Our goal is to be as Christ-like as we possibly can.

But there is an asterisk. It says that Christ is the vine, we are the branches. Any spiritual strength that we have comes from Jesus. Let us never forget that.

What I’m looking for in a Church:

A Church that is dependant on Jesus every second of every day
A Church that falls on their face before God each day
A Church that strives to follow wherever He leads
A Church that won’t compromise, even if it will cost them their lives
A Church that is “Holy” and set apart for God’s usage
A Church that is made up of devoted Christians, not of stone and brick

Yours in Jesus,

Loaves

Love is Like Fire

Fri, 31 Mar 2006 13:22:00 GMT

Love is like fire –
When it is first kindled in a man,
small troubles and temptations smother
and hinder it; but when it really burns,
having kindled the man's eagerness for God,
the more temptations and tribulations meet it,
the more it flares, until it overcomes and consumes
all injustice and wickedness.

- Peter Riedemann (1506-1556)

Who is Tomas Shank?

Wed, 29 Mar 2006 17:30:00 GMT

I get a lot of responses from people who want to know who Tomas (Tom) Shank is. Tomas Shank is a dear brother who is currently involved in missionary work in Mexico: http://www.montanasat.net/rickv/mexicotrip.html. He and I have similar burdens regarding the historic Anabaptist position on D/R. His email address: tomshank@juno.com is no longer working, so please don’t email him. I know of a man who is in correspondence with Tom Shank, and I would be glad to forward your message to this man, who will then forward the message to Bro. Tom.

Bro. Tom is also the editor of “Let Her be Veiled” (http://charityministries.org/tapeministry/book-veiled.cfm), which is a wonderful exegesis regarding the woman’s veiling. I encourage everyone to read it.

Concerning Tom Shank’s article on Divorce and Remarriage which I feature http://loaves.witnesstoday.org/dr/, was only a small piece of an entire book written back in the 1980s.

Grace to you.

My Anabaptist Vision

Wed, 29 Mar 2006 09:05:00 GMT

I esteem the Anabaptists very highly, but for what reason? Why do I pour over their writings? Why are my beliefs closely matched to theirs?

Was it the group of people that that name is attached to? No. Ethnic background? No. Way they lived? No. Dressed? No.

Or was it that they served God? Or was it that they resembled a bit of Jesus Christ. Yes! Amen?

For a time, God used the Anabaptists of the 16th and 17th centuries, mightily to put all others to shame. They were beaten. Were martyred. We killed. They stood out in the face opposition. And they resembled Christ. Because they believed in a Person.

They were outcasts in society. So was Christ.
They were killed by "religious" people. So was Christ.
Their words were met with hostility. So was Christ's.
They spoke out against wrongdoing. So did Christ.
They caused people to squirm. So did Christ. The testimony of their death brought people to their knees. So did Christ.
Their home was not of this world. Neither was Christ's.
They didn't take up the sword. Neither did Christ.
They were raised into Glory. So was Christ. They were "different" from the ordinary people. So was Christ.
The term "Anabaptist" was originally used in a derogatory
fashion. "Christian" was originally used in a derogatory fashion.
And yet, they were approachable. So was Christ.
They didn't compromise. Neither did Christ.
They weren't ashamed of Christ. Neither was Christ ashamed of them.
They have mansions in heaven. So does Christ.
They will live with Christ forever. And Christ with them.

And so, this is what Anabaptism means to me. The name "Anabaptist," I associate with the Christians that recovered some of the New Testament ideal in a world of confusion.

That same call goes out to you and me, brothers and sisters. Let's come out of the world, and recover the New Testament ideal. Let's recover the real thing. And not something artificial. Not something counterfeit.

And I will be bold, if I may. The "Anabaptist Church" down through the centuries eventually became prone to common maladies that plague institutionalized religion. They began to codify. They began to shun those who didn't believe exactly the way they did. They bought into the works of Daniel Kauffman in the 1900s and now what do we have? We have Amish who frequent bars. We have Church of the Brethren who allow worldly pursuits. We have liberal Mennonites who are bringing in the praise music, and paying women to pastor the church.

I by no means want to bash these folks. I by no means wish to judge them. They are simply misled. But just look at how far they fell from the vibrant faith of their forefathers of the 16th and 17th centuries! How far they have slid into nominalism. How deep they have sunk into lukewarm-ness. Almost beyond help!!

My goal is not to look at what is called "Anabaptism" today, but what was used in derogatory fashion in the 16th and 17th centuries. The "Anabaptism" that people died over.

May God be glorified.

Loaves and Fishes