The Gospel of Prosperity, what to expect

I really hate to put names to people, so I am just going to say this, there is a very famous pastor, whose Church is in Texas. His teachings regard the idea that God will grant anything to us, such as a great parking spot, a great seat in a bus, a green light in traffic, a great seat in the airplane and so on and so forth... I mean that is pretty nice to say, but the question is, is that the truth? The pastor would defend himself by saying that God has said in the Gospels that he will do anything we ask him in his name.

OK, so look at this then, I dare you now to ask in Jesus' name that a big bag of gold falls in your backyard, so big that you will never need to move a finger in your life to live the most luxurious life in the world (even better than Bill Gates), see if he grants you that... Oh, it didn't happen? I guess therefore that you do not have enough faith, or you are not worthy of God's time...

The question is though, is the previous idea true? Does it mean that whenever you get stuck in traffic, whenever you are stuck between two loud people in a plane, or if you are fired from your job you are not in God's favor? Does that mean that the people that go bankrupt, those who are not prosperous are being punished by God?

I do not think so and I believe you should think that way either! First of all let's go over the idea of God helping us. Going by the the pastor's idea we can ask God to do our work for us, drive our kids to school, drive us to work, get us a bigger wage, get us a nice reward for doing nothing, file our taxes... and the list goes on and on and on... That would be nice right? Well, the idea is, that is not going to happen anytime soon. The light in which that statement from God should be seen upon is that God will do extraordinary things to save us, such as die, fight the devil in hell and then resurrect to be with us again, just so we can be saved. God will do extraordinary things to save us from life threatening situations, such as get us stuck in traffic so we do not get hit by a reckless driver driving up there (talk about not being in God's favor) That is how God helps us. If we pray to God to save one of our beloved ones He will grant it, if we ask Him to to give us a pot o'gold... that's not going to happen...

Therefore, I would advice you to quit asking God to give you a nice parking spot, don't listen to what certain people say, just use your common sense, if God could do all those things for us, why would we have so many martirs who gave their lives for Chrisitanity?

Darwinism and Christianity

I think it is smart to say there is a God who created our Universe. And I mean "smart" as in stating a theory that CAN be scientifically proven. But first, let us see what Darwinism is. According to Charles Darwin, our Universe was created by several colossal chucks of matter crushing together, in an explosion that created all the planets and stars of our world. Then, from the high temperatures H (hydrogen) combined with C (carbon) and O (oxygen) that created organic matter (from which our cells are made of). And then, after all the trouble of having all kind of animals

come out, these animals come to the eternal war that only the fittest, the most qualified, the best can win. And that's how we come today...

Now, way this does not make sense. First things first, let us ask the question, where did this chucks of matter come from? Given the idea that the most basic rule of chemistry is that matter can neither be created nor destroyed (without an omnipotent intervention), these chucks could not just have "appeared." So some scientists say that they came from a previous universe, but still, where did that Universe come from? Besides, as Einstein concluded with his theory of relativity, the Universe is expanding, and therefore it would be scientifically impossible that as much as more than two of these chucks would be pushed in the same place... Then, accepting that part, there is no way one can accept the part about the creation of life. Yes, it is possible to create the substance that makes up our cells, but not to store the information on them... like for example, it is possible to create the substance that creates the hardware of the computer, but that doesn't mean it comes with the information stored on it, otherwise all sand would be hardware (sand is made out of SiO2, which is the substance used to make computer hardware) and besides that, the idea of an eternal war is just crazy. If it is so, then why do we criticize Hitler, Hussein, and all the others for being violent, let us Americans, being supposedly the best in the world just kill everybody else and reign forever? Do you think that is humane, because I certainly don't. Tell me therefore, is Darwinism right?

Now let us look at why Christianism is much better. But first, if you have read the Bible carefully you would see there are two creation stories, therefore we must understand that the Bible does not have the record of the creation of the world, and the creation stories are written by two different people, and that I will cover in some other post, but the idea is that what the creation stories tell us is that though they might not be an account of the Universe's creation, they do emphasize the idea that God in a way started and guided the process. So the idea is, what do you want to believe, given again, that the brightest person walking in this planet concluded that some stronger form of existence (a.k.a. God) must have triggered the creation of the world.

God Bless America!

Recently, I believe we have all heard in the news ministers saying, "God Damn America!" and as well in a episode of tyra there was a woman, claiming to be a "Holy" woman, who said that God hates America and that that was why he let 9/11 happen. I am sorry but I have to interfere! Because none of them are true... 

First of all, the minister (I keep forgetting his name) who said "God Damn America!" Shame on him and shame on everybody hearing it that day! That minister just blasphemed in the middle of the Church and nobody got up and stood against him! Saying God  damns anything is an abomination! It uses God's name in vain and it is a lie... God does not damn anything, He is not like a human, who hates some and loves others, He loves everyone of us and everything we do. He would not hate or damn any country, the work of His children, as any father would not dare to do the same thing with his son's work, no matter how ugly it looks to him or to other people! Whether the minister thinks God should bless America or not, that is his problem, and he will be judged for what he said by God, but it is our responsibility as Christians to, as publicly as we can, deny that quote, for the simple fact that it is stupid and it is a lie. As I said before, it is a blasphemy, and if you have read the book of Job, you will better understand why. In that book, God explains to Job that He is not the person behind his disgraces! Nor his country, but the devil himself. So let us not blame the US for racism, but let us blame KKK and other Satanist societies who practiced it. I assure you, God loves the US and every other country in the world, for the simple fact that they are creations of His sons and daughters!

Now let us go over the idea of God hating the US. GOD DOES NOT HATE!!! Anybody that thinks different is a liar and a fool and has just said a blasphemy! Let's get it straight once and for all, as John says God IS love! And I am telling you, God, being love, hates? Does that sound right to you? I don't think so! Tell me what you think!

Jesus the Evil?

The list of blasphemies just keeps getting more and more... Now people accuse Jesus of killing one of his friends when He was a child by pushing him off the roof... In the History channel today in 3/15/2008 there wash a show called "Banned from the Bible" where they say that according to Thomas' Gospel, Jesus makes sparrows out of clay and is then accused by His teacher (who is this guy???) of work during the Sabbath, and Joseph stops him, so Jesus order the sparrows to fly away and hurt people. Then one other time Jesus kills one of his playmates by pushing him off from the roof, and then He lies to all the other people that he fell by himself, then he raises his friend from death and threatens him not to tell anybody that He was the one pushing him. He is called awful, he is called evil. But at 8, Jesus changes... He then becomes good. The author says that He finally understood he had to use His powers for good. Now, what does this mean?

First of all, this is one of the many attempts to bring down the Church. I personally believe this is related to the Arianism Theory(read my other post, not to be confused with Aryanism). Jesus is therefore just a powerful human, but He is human, and as human He has tasted sin. There is where the Church comes to a problem. How could the omnipotent God, he who as i quoted in the Arianism post has lived before Abraham, not know that He needs to use His power for good.... Please tell me your opinion, because I don't see how anybody is supposed to believe this... and tell me, can sparrows really hurt people??? Please, when you hear things similar to these, do not believe them, as Paul said on his letter to the Galatians, if there is an angel that is teaching you any other gospel than that of the Lord Jesus Christ, then damned be that angel for all eternity! Just so you know, there are ten gospels written, however only four were accepted by the Church. Thomas' Gospel for apparent reasons... Mary (Magdalen)'s Gospel because she became a gnostic (a heretic group that was not accepted by the Church) and others because they were too many inconstancies in them. One Gospel that was really debated was the Gospel of James.

James was Jesus' brother. Now, let us get things straight, by brother I mean cousin... James was Jesus "brother" because he was one of the sons Joseph had had with other wives (he was a widow...) in Israel however, since they supposedly came from the same father (Joseph) they would be considered brothers. On the other side Jesus would not mind to call him brother. Now, his Gospel was totally about Mary, his "stepmother." He talks about her birth and her life story, and ends with the nativity story. And though he was not really "wrong" about his events, his Gospel cannot be considered a gospel... Gospels are the words of Jesus who offer live guidance for Christians, while James' Gospel would be just a mere biography of Mary's life. So though it is accepted by the Church, it is not considered a Gospel and it is therefore not included in the Bible.

Arianism and Heresy

I have recently discovered a site (www.arian-catholic.org) which talks about the infamous idea of Arius, a heretic of the 3rd century AD. HIs idea was that Jesus was a great man, probably the greatest man that ever existed, but not God. Now, this comes back to the idea of reading the Bible properly. Arius' theory was based on citations from the Bible that show events where Jesus prays to His Father. He therefore presented an idea to take off Jesus from being a "God" and make him the greatest saint of the Church. That would mean that basic events that were super-important to the Christian life, such as the Resurrection of Christ. For having such "revolutionary ideas" Arius was anathematized and exiled from the Byzantine Empire. He finally found refuge in Alexandria, where he supposedly resumed his work as a priest.

Be very careful of this theories for they look as if they are perfect on the outside, but contain may flaws on the inside. The idea behind the theory was to break down the Holy Trinity. If we

 take of the Trinity and the Resurrection from Christianity, there is no more Christianity, meaning that the Byzantine Empire would have no official religion, meaning that it would have n

ot lived as much as it did. This was not a try to destroy Christianity, it was a political try as well. To this day we don't know who he worked for but whoever it was, it certainly wasn't God.

The idea of a Trinity is very difficult to understand to this day. However, we have saints of the Church that have given us easy explanations, as well as science. A very well known explanation is that of St. Spiridon, Patriarch of Tremithous. By giving a very simple explanation of how a piece of clay showed the truth of Trinity (being made out of the fire of the sun, the clay, and the water). He presented his explanation in the Ecumenical Council of Nikea, the same place where Arius presented his theory. On the longer run, Spiridon was proved right and today he is honored by both the Orthodox and the Catholic Church.

As you can see from the icon, St. Spiridon (in the center) shows the piece of clay to Arius (the other man dressed in black) and therefore silences him. The clay is shown as if it had been "chopped" into the three components creating it, fire, water, and clay. However, we do not need to go back so far in time to prove the authenticity of the Trinity. I am not talking figurativily when I say we are living proof of the Trinity. Just look at the human body, it is created from three elements, every organic substance is. They are all made from variations of C (carbon), H (hydrogen), and O (oxygen). As you can see in the picture on the left, the structure of glucose (sugar) is a proof as well. OH is a simpler form to present O-H. C, H, and O are all three different substances, different properties, each can live by itself, however only the three of them create our beloved sugar! That is how simple it is to understand the Trinity.

Now let us go on and see some instances of the Bible that prove the theory of the Church that Jesus and God are one:

"I tell you the truth," Jesus answered, "before Abraham was born, I am!" At this, they picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus hid himself, slipping away from the temple grounds." (John 4: 58-59). If Jesus was born before Abraham and was but 3o years old, how could he have been a man, how would he have survived???? If there is any Arianist reading, please send me your explanation in the comments.

 7Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 7If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him."

 8Philip said, "Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us."

 9Jesus answered: "Don't you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, 'Show us the Father'? 10Don't you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you are not just my own. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work. 11Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves. 12I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. 13And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. 14You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it. (John 14: 7-14)

As you can clearly see, Jesus and the Father are one! So how do they contradict the this quote, very easily, by saying Saint John the Gospel writer is a heretic... and the list doesn't end there... They accuse the familiar prayer of Mary. "Hail Mary, mother of God*, pray from us sinners now and in the hour of our death." They say it should have been Mother of Jesus, not Mother of God. So they call St. Sebastian who wrote it a heretic. It is so easy isn't it, every proof against them is written from heretics, while only they are perfect... 

The Bible

We have all heard many quotes in our lives, but there is only one I will never forget. It was told to me by my Theology teacher. He said to our class, "Jesus is dead, as long as WE don't look for him in the pages of this book (the Bible in his hands) and look for him as if he is alive!"

This has lead me to a very deep meditation. Really, we all hate Pilate and the High Priests, but the truth is, are we not the same as them? How many times have we refused Jesus in our hearts? How many times have we kicked him out? Pilate only crucified Jesus once, but how many times have we crucifie

d him, how many times have we killed him?

I believe that the first step to reach the risen Jesus this season, approaching to Easter, is to read the Bible properly. We are used to reading the Bible literarily, and that is so wrong. The Bible is sacred text that is passed down to our world by the Holy Spirit. However, it is not perfect. It has come down together with the social construct of the time, with inconstancies, and designed for different messages depending from the Gospel writer. We can say that Jesus is "trapped" inside the Bible in the robes of a rabbi. We all know however that his potential is so much bigger. It takes work to "release" Jesus from these robes and put him into our model world. Jesus is waiting for us to do that.

Once we have done that, we are on our way to become better Christians. It is a challenge for us all, not just for you, for me as well, because I am a sinner as well, everybody is. If we need advice, who would we refer to? I believe the best we could get. Well, we can have the best councilor of all time. All we need to do is just read the Bible more often. But not read as we read a normal book, just to pass time, but live what we are reading, and try to apply the message to our own life. Only then will we have freed Jesus from his robes and have truly accepted him. Only then will we accept Jesus in our heart and stop crucifying Him. Only then can Jesus break free from the chains we put around him, and truly live in our heart. It is very important that we do this as soon as possible!

So leave out whatever you are reading right now, grab the Holy Bible and read! Another quote from my teacher

is, "Even if you read the same verse all of your life, there will always a different message to discover." Does this mean we should do that? Of course not, but that should be a point of reference for all the people that say, "Oh, I read the Bible, no need to do it again." I telling you, just try it for once, and you will see.

Finally, I want to clear a very common misconception about Jesus. We see Jesus today as a good man, and that is right, however we must understand Jesus was not the kind of guy going around hugging children healing people, saving everybody, just like a Mega-Santa. Jesus did do all that, but that was when he wasn't "in action." Jesus was a rebel. He stood up and and spoke for what he believed, and that got people scared. He proclaimed himself Son of God, and King of Israel, and given that he had a strong personality and was loved by the people, the Romans, the High Priests and the Pharisees were scared to death by him. He was criticized and hated more than he was loved. When we read the Bible we should have clear in our minds that we are reading the words of a rebel, of a strong leader that was unafraid to tell the truth, of a person whose Kingdom would be the very opposite of Roman rule, and boy did that scare the Romans, the High Priests, and the Pharisees. So much they hated Jesus that they needed to shut him up. However, each and every one of their tries was unsuccessful. So they finally tried to get rid of him by killing him, that is how much he got in their nerve! And as well all know, that too failed. Jesus resurrected and was alive once again, we today are living proof of how miserably they failed. Believe me when I say it, if Jesus would have lived in our time, we would most probably be one of the people that hated him. I mean just think about it, here is a guy, son of a carpenter (we would think) from Galilee (the most ignorant part of Israel) how comes and talks about this kingdom he is going to build. He comes to your Church and the only thing he does is get in a fight with your priest, then he criticizes everybody;s life and finally claim to be the Son of God. I mean, who would want to be around this guy... That is how much he was hated, and it was up to that point that He tells his disciples not to fear that the world hates them, because the world hates Him, because He is not from this world, if he were from this world, the world would love him. That shows that some people saw Jesus as if he came from another planet... That is why the apostles are so dear to us! They chose to follow this guy to death, this guy that anybody would deem crazy if we didn't know He were Jesus... So think about that, try to see Jesus as He is, not as you imagine Him to be.