Theology By Implication

We live in a day and age where consequences are swept under the rug and implications of certain positions are not scrutinized to the point where we reach a core understanding of a person's beliefs. Many of you know I wrote a blog talking about Nominal Christians (Christians in name only) and how they are disrupting the effectiveness of The Gospel by attempting to maintain 2 or more contradictory beliefs and actions. But I never explained in full how they are doing this, hence why I decided to write this blog post about the implications of certain theological positions and what they mean to a Christian. Let's dive in!

1) I'M A CHRISTIANS AND I SUPPORT HOMOSEXUALITY.
This is unfortunately a common one in this day and age where "tolerance" and "anti-bullying" propaganda is being used to instill fear in Christians who would ever think to raise an issue about homosexuality, and in a like manner the media conducts a dog and pony show of Gay supporting "Christians" in order to make Gay opposing Christians appear to be on the wrong side of the issue. This is effective because the Gay supporting "Christians" are clearly people who have a limited understanding of what the scriptures teach on this issue. Also, these people are famous "Christians" who have previously expressed their faith in other areas. The most recent example that comes to mind is Carrie Underwood, a noted Country singer who released a song called "Jesus Take The Wheel" a few years back, and then came out in support of homosexuality. Basing her support on her Christian faith.

Am I discussing Mrs. Underwood because she has a different view than mine ? Of course not, MANY people have a different view on this subject. So why am I discussing Mrs. Underwood? Because she holds to TWO completely contradictory views and does not understand the implication of doing so. So allow me to explain. Levi 18:1-24 lays out the blueprint on acceptable sexuality as GOD INTENDED! Specifically, Levi 18:22;

^"22 You shall not lie with a male as one lies with a female; it is an abomination."

These are RULES that GOD HIMSELF established, after all, if you are a Christian then you believe as I do that God is the creator of sex and therefore can dictate how and with whom it is to be performed. Let's go to Jesus and hear His take on the situation, Matt 19:4-6;

^"4 And He answered and said, “Have you not read that He who created them from the beginning made them male and female, ⁵ and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? ⁶ So they are no longer two, but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate.”

Clearly Jesus used gender specific terms MALE AND FEMALE, FATHER AND MOTHER. Jesus used gender specific terms and applied them to a blueprint that was laid out FROM THE BEGINNING. Jesus was NOT using an arbitrary standard, Jesus said that MALE AND FEMALE was established from the start. Clearly Jesus was not in favor of homosexuality since He did not preamble His words by including men and men, women and women. Jesus went directly to the beginning of humanity and said MALE AND FEMALE, there were NO other variations.

Christians believe that Jesus is God in The Flesh (John 14:8-11, John 8:58, Heb 1:3, Col 2:9, Tit 2:13) therefore Jesus would not disagree with what God laid down in Levi 18:1-24. For anyone else that would be the end of the discussion...unfortunately not now. Because there are people who will stay say (rather foolishly) that, "Jesus never said anything about homosexuality.". And they will think that this somehow helps their case when in reality it hurts their case to the point of making it INCREDIBLY in valid. Let's ignore the fact that I just showed that Jesus implicitly taught against Homosexuality and subscribed to the ideology that Jesus would have to point blank say "Homosexuality is wrong", which He did not do. Let's subscribe to that ideology. Well, if Gay supporting "Christians" want to use that argument, then Jesus never said point blank that Bestiality is wrong, or incest or pedophilia. So if they need Jesus to point blank say something is wrong for it to be wrong...well they're kinda up that creek who's name cannot be said if you catch my drift.

Finally let's look at what Jesus' handpicked disciples believed. Clearly Jesus wouldn't leave men in charge of His ministry if He wasn't certain these men understood the core of His teachings. So let's look at what Paul has to say about homosexuality. Romans 1:24-27;

"²⁴ Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them. ²⁵ For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.²⁶ For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural, ²⁷ and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error."

Yes, so clearly Jesus left disciples who agreed with God's view of sexuality.

So what are the implications of being a Gay supporting Christians?

1. You believe that God cannot dictate how and with whom sex is to be performed, despite the fact that He created it.
2. You don't take The Bible seriously because you openly ignoring explicit and implicit teachings in regards to homosexuality. 
3. You affirm something that neither God nor His disciples affirm, therefore implying that your judgment is more sound than both parties or implying that you believe that God is wrong.
4. If you believe that God is wrong, then by implication you don't believe God is omniscient, as He says He is 1 John 3:20.
5. If you believe that God is not omniscient (which by implication) you do not, then you clearly do not believe in the Biblical view of God.
6. If you don't believe in the Biblical view of God then you are NOT a Christian.
7. If you are not a Christian then why do you profess to being one?

Keep in mind that these implications ONLY apply to those who call themselves Christian, Atheists and other religious factions need not apply. Also keep in mind that these implications have implications as well, if you can openly ignore explicit and implicit teachings of The Bible in regards to homosexuality, then you can openly ignore explicit and implicit teachings of The Bible in regards to other areas. Therefore making you what I call a "Buffet Christian" (ie, picking and choosing what you believe and what you don't believe). Also if you're one of those Gay supporting "Christians" who use the argument "Jesus never said anything about homosexuality." that comes with implications as well

1. You believe it's possible for Jesus and God to disagree, despite the fact that they are one in the same. 
2. You are ignoring implicit teachings of Jesus in regards to homosexuality which means that according to your argument since Jesus never explicitly said anything against bestiality, pedophilia and incest those behaviors are perfectly acceptable as well.
3. If you don't think that these behaviors are acceptable, then how does your view on homosexuality differ, if it only requires Jesus explicit disapproval for it to be wrong?
4. If you think that these behaviors are acceptable, then how can you affirm something that God said explicitly was wrong?
5. If you think that any of these behaviors are acceptable, then by implication you are saying your judgement is more sound than God or that God is wrong.
6. If you believe that God is wrong, then by implication you don't believe God is omniscient, as He says He is 1 John 3:20.
7. If you believe that God is not omniscient (which by implication) you do not, then you clearly do not believe in the Biblical view of God.
8. If you don't believe in the Biblical view of God then you are NOT a Christian.
9. If you are not a Christian then why do you profess to being one?

 And there are a slew of other implications that come from such a statement but the end result is always the same, you cannot be a Christian and hold to a view that contradicts God. It's impossible and I think I expressed that as clearly as I possible can.

2) CHRISTIANS AREN'T SUPPOSED TO JUDGE PEOPLE.
This one makes me laugh because the very statement it's self is a contradiction but we're going to ignore that and deal with the statement. Nominal Christians subscribe to an ideology that Jesus was all about Love, and while that isn't entirely untrue, the view of Love that Jesus had is SO radically different from the view Nominal Christians have that Nominal Christians end up subscribing to The Barney School Of Love. Christians are called to Love all with the respect that all men are created in the image of God and therefore deserve respect Gen 1:26-27, Matt 22:39, John 13:34. However this is a general love that we have all humanity. The Love that we must express as Christians is first and foremost a love for our God, Deut 11:1, Matt 22:36-37. If we Love our God, above all others then we would adhere to the command He gave us, specifically the last command He gave us before He left this earth, "The Great Commission" Matt 28:18-20.

^"18 And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. ¹⁹ Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

If we as Christians are to follow this command and teach people to follow all that Jesus had commanded us, we are going to have to say certain things are right and certain things are wrong, long story short we are going to have to pass judgment on people, on actions and on beliefs. Unfortunately in this day and age, judgement is a dirty word and no one wants to judge anyone else. After all, didn't Jesus say "Judge not lest ye be judged" ? WRONG!! Jesus said the same standard you use to judge someone else can and will be used to judge you! Ergo, if I said the name Fletcher is a stupid name because I think it's stupid, ANYONE named Fletcher can turn around and say my name is stupid as well. 

HOWEVER if there was an English professor who could not spell and had no idea of sentence structure, calling him a horrible English professor is a judgement, yes but it's based on the standard of having a basic understanding of English. Long story short, Christians are CALLED to judge people BASED ON THE WORD OF GOD! This is exactly what I'm doing in this article, there are people who call themselves Christians and I am judging them based on Biblical standards of what Christianity is and seeing how well they hold up. I am not judging them based on how good of a Christian I am, because I am (THANKFULLY) NOT an example of Christianity, Jesus is! We all fall short of that standard (Romans 3:23) but some of us are blatant hypocrites and those are the people I write for.

We live in a society surrounded by many different faiths and we as Christians are called to shed light on the truth of The Gospel and preach it to those who need to hear it. How can we do so effectively if we don't make it clear that their beliefs are wrong? We HAVE to pass judgment. But we must do so in a manner that is befitting a Christian:

^"8 If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men."- Romans 12:18

"¹⁴ Pursue peace with all men, and the sanctification without which no one will see the Lord." -Hebrews 12:14

Therefore we can call attention to the wrongness of their beliefs through discussions in the form of debate and an open dialogue. Paul often engaged the Greeks in a discussion of their beliefs in opposition of Christian beliefs but did so in a manner that was not disrespectful. Which brings me to another statement. All too often you hear people say the following thing; "Everyone has their own beliefs and we should be respectful.". But what does it actually mean to be respectful?

Nominal Christians are under the ideology that "being respectful" means not saying negative about anyone's beliefs and holding each one true to their respective parties (in layman's terms, their beliefs are just as true as ours are), which is only partially respectful. As a Christian I not only believe my beliefs are true I believe them to be correct. If you call yourself a Christian and yet don't believe that, then I wonder why you're a Christian in the first place. But I digress. Because I believe my beliefs are true and correct, I believe any variation of such to be false and wrong. Therefore I don't hold Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Zoroastrianism, Paganism and anything on the same level as Christianity. I acknowledge that their followers believe them to be true, but that is ultimately where I stop.

So when I engage anyone of a different faith, I don't attack them as a person and call them stupid and foolish ect. ect. nor do I believe such. Rather I discuss the core bases of their beliefs as opposed to Christian beliefs. This is respectful and peaceful. It's true that many won't like the fact that I think their beliefs are false and wrong, but I am honest about my position and am willing to defend it and I cannot do so without passing judgment.

As a Christian we are called to pass judgment on people based on their actions according to The Word of God and no other standard when it comes to theological matters. For secular issues as the previously mentioned English professor example, the judgment was truthful and based on a standard. Not even Jesus HIMSELF used His own authority (despite the fact that He very well could) when talking to the masses Jesus ALWAYS went to The Scriptures to support His words and we as Christians are called to do the same. Therefore ALL Christians should believe such things as homosexuality, abortion, per-marital sex and so on are wrong, NOT because of their standard but because of what GOD SAID!

So what are the implications of a "Christian" who thinks it's wrong for us to judge others?

1.  How can you call yourself a Christian if you won't call "wrong" the things God called wrong?
2. Do you disagree that they're wrong?
3. If yes, then you are saying that God is wrong.
4. If you believe in a God that is wrong you don't believe in God as explained in Christianity.
5. If you don't believe in God as explained in Christianity, you are NOT a Christian.
6. If no, then why are you not affirming what God commands you to?
7. Do you think you're not able to make such a judgment? Very true, you are not only God is, you are merely affirming what God said.
8. Unless you think that God isn't a sufficient enough standard to make such a judgment.
9. If not then clearly you hold some other judgment above God's making something greater than God.
10. Ergo, if you believe that something is greater than God than you don't believe in God as explained in Christianity.
11. How can you distinguish your faith from other faiths if you refuse to call another faith wrong?
12. If you believe your faith is correct, then doesn't that make other faiths wrong?
13. If yes, then why wouldn't you say so?
14. If no, then why do you follow a faith that you don't believe is right?
15. If you don't believe your faith is right then why have it?
16. If you have no reason to have your faith then you have no faith.
17. If you have no faith then you are NOT a Christian.

Once again these comes with a slew of other implications but the result is ALWAYS the same, you can't be a Christian if you're unwilling to distinguish yourself from other faiths, actions and explain why you're doing so and that requires passing judgment on others. Just make sure the judgment you pass is based on Christ.

3) I'M A CHRISTIANS BUT I DON'T LET IT EFFECT HOW I LIVE. 
 If you subscribe to ANY sort of ideology, that ideology is going to influence EVERY SINGLE decision you make. Atheists make decisions towards the benefit of atheism, Muslims makes decisions towards the benefit of Islam, Homosexuals make decisions towards the benefit of Homosexuals, The NAACP USED TO make decisions towards the benefit of Black People...but unfortunately they don't (a little black humor for you, no pun intended). The point I'm trying to make is clear, everyone seeks to maintain a constant influence of their ideology. People will marry people with similar interests and belief structures. So whenever I hear a Nominal Christian make such a statement I have to roll my eyes and question how seriously they take their "faith".

With it being close to November, Election Day, MANY ideas are on the table and whatever a person holds the most important to them will lead them to vote for which ever candidate endorses that ideology. Racist voters will vote against Obama solely because he's Black as will some who will vote for him for the same reason. Others will vote for Obama because they believe he will revitalize the economy. Others won't vote for Romeny because they believe he will ruin the economy. Some are voting for Abortion, some are voting for gay marriage and so on so forth. Whatever and whoever they're voting for their ideology leads them to make such a decision.

Sadly Nominal Christians make it clear that their "Christianity" in NO WAY effects what they do, because Nominal Christians support such immoral behaviors as Abortion and Homosexuality in DIRECT contradiction of what they claim they believe, all under the idea that they should abandon their faith when they get to the voting booth. Which is sad because NO ONE ELSE IS ASKED TO DO THAT BUT CHRISTIANS! We live a country that says "FREEDOM OF RELIGION" not "Freedom FROM Religion", therefore EVERYONE of EVERY FAITH is allowed to express their religious view in civil ways. There is NOTHING more civil than a democratic process in which people are allowed to cast their vote expressing their ideology. It's what makes America, America.

Every single person adheres to an ideology that guides their thinking. As a Christian, I am morally opposed to abortion, homosexuality and every other evil God declared to be, and will not support a candidate that endorsed such things regardless of how good they might be for the economy, mainly because the economy is NOT my main focus.

So what are the implications of your faith not effecting the way you live?

1. Why have faith if it has no impact on anything you do?
2. Do you know why you have the faith you have?
3. If yes, then what purpose does it serve?
4. If it serves a purpose that is personal to you then it does effect you.
5. So how can it effect you if it doesn't effect your decision making?
6. Why shouldn't it effect your decision making if it effects you personally?
7. If no, then you should figure out why you have it or abandon it.
8. Why claim a faith if you do not express it?

In the words of James 2:14-26;

"¹⁴ What use is it, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but he has no works? Can that faith save him? ¹⁵ If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, ¹⁶ and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and be filled,” and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that? ¹⁷ Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself.
¹⁸ But someone may well say, “You have faith and I have works; show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works.” ¹⁹ You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder. ²⁰ But are you willing to recognize, you foolish fellow, that faith without works is useless? ²¹ Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up Isaac his son on the altar? ²² You see that faith was working with his works, and as a result of the works, faith was perfected; ²³ and the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “And Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness,” and he was called the friend of God. ²⁴ You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone. ²⁵ In the same way, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way? ²⁶ For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead."

The Bible urges us to express our faith through works. NOT THAT WORKS SAVE US! We are NOT saved by our good works, we are save by grace through faith in Christ ALONE! But if we have faith, we will have works to accompany that faith. And if you have faith, your faith will be expressed in the works you do, not by charitable giving and so on, but by verbal expression of your faith in opposition to other faiths or confirmation amongst believers.

4) WE ALL WORSHIP THE SAME GOD, JUST BY A DIFFERENT NAME.
 This is the BIGGEST sign of a Nominal Christian. The ideology that all Gods are same is a MAJOR Pagan idea of early Gnosticism. But the very idea that God is the same as Allah (Islam), Elohim (Mormonism), Jehova (Jehova's Witnesses), The Supreme Consciousness (Christians Scientists) and so on is BEYOND laughable. For starters I should say that God do indeed have MANY names including Allah, Jehova, Elohim and so on, but for the sake of this article I'll refer to God by the most common name Yahweh, as use the other names such as Allah, Jehova, Elohim and so on as the names of the deities of the religions I previously established. Anyone who says "We all worship the same God just by a different name" CLEARLY has NO clue what they're talking about. Yahweh is a VERY unique God from every other god. Allow me to explain.

Yahweh is the creator of all things (Isa 44:24) and the ONLY God that ever is, was and will be (Isa 43:10-12). Yahweh is eternal and therefore has ALWAYS existed and will ALWAYS exist and never came into existence (Isa 57:15, 1 Tim 1:17). Yahweh is omniscient (1 John 3:20) , omnipresent (Psa 139:7-12), and omnipotent (Jer 32:17, 27). Incarnated Himself in the personage of Jesus Christ (Phil 2:6, John 8:24). Died for our sins (Heb 10:12) Is the 1st person of The Trinity, which is 3 eternal persons existing in the being of God (Matt 28:19, 2 Cor 13:14). Is perfect and therefore CANNOT sin (James 1:13)

Elohim, in Mormonism is NOT the only god that ever is, was and will be;

"Hence, the doctrine of a plurality of Gods is as prominent in the Bible as any other doctrine. It is all over the face of the Bible . . . Paul says there are Gods many and Lords many . . . but to us there is but one God--that is pertaining to us; and he is in all and through all,". "In the beginning, the head of the Gods called a council of the Gods; and they came together and concocted a plan to create the world and people it," . -Joseph Smith  (History of the Church, vol. 6, p. 474) and (Journal of Discourses, vol. 6, p. 5)

Elohim previously had a god of his own and was once a man;

"God himself was once as we are now, and is an exalted Man, and sits enthroned in yonder heavens...I say, if you were to see him to-day, you would see him like a man in form -- like yourselves, in all the person, image, and very form as a man....it is necessary that we should understand the character and being of God, and how he came to be so; for I am going to tell you how God came to be God. We have imagined and supposed that God was God from all eternity,  I will refute that idea, and will take away and do away the veil, so that you may see....and that he was once a man like us; yea, that God himself the Father of us all, dwelt on an earth the same as Jesus Christ himself did."- Joseph Smith (Journal of Discourses, vol. 6, p. 3)

Since Elohim was MADE a god he is NOT eternal. Since he was given the power to be a god he cannot be omnipotent, nor can he be omniscient:

"God himself is increasing and progressing in knowledge, power, and dominion, and will do so, worlds without end," - Brigham Young (Journal of Discourses, vol. 6, p. 120).

;nor can he be omnipresent. Let's keep in mind that Elohim also failed at given his prophets accurate prophesies. So in what way is he similar to Yahweh? Let's look at Allah, the god of Islam who is the closets to buy Yahweh but there are some glaring issues that makes him VERY different. For starters Allah is NOT a trinity (5:73), keep in mind that The Quran teaches Muslims that The Trinity is 3 separate Gods which is NOT what Christians believe, therefore by implication Allah is NOT omnipotent (6:61-62) if he can't explain the core beliefs of an opposing religion clearly. Furthermore, and this is a MAJOR ONE, Allah is a liar!

Muslims do not believe Jesus was crucified, they believe that Allah made someone (believed to be Judas) look like Jesus and he was crucified in Jesus' stead (4:157-158). Since the ENTIRE crux of Christianity is built on the Death, Burial and Resurrection of Jesus (1 Cor 15:14-19). By doing what he's done, Allah, by implication caused the SINGLE GREATEST RELIGIOUS DIVIDE IN THE HISTORY OF MANKIND BUILT ON A LIE THAT HE TOLD! Basically, if Jesus never died and was never resurrected, then why did Allah make it appear as such by making a Jesus look-a-like get crucified? By doing so, Allah is the direct cause of Christianity, which I think is funny to create your own enemies based on a lie. Yahweh merely allows people to believe lies (Romans 1:25) but He doesn't lie. Lastly let's look at Jehova.

Jehova is once again similar to Yahweh but is not quite Yahweh. Jehova is NOT a Trinity, Jesus was merely an angel and Satan's brother (blasphemy much?). The implications of this are VAST, if Jesus is not God in the flesh and merely an angel then how is His sacrifice sufficient to redeem all of mankind? The Christian View of Jesus' is that His sacrifice is sufficient because He IS GOD HIMSELF, and therefore by believing in His death, burial and resurrection for your sins is the ONLY WAY to salvation (1 Peter 2:24, 1 John 2:2 and John 14:6). Jehova's Witnesses believe that in order to achieve salvation one must perform good works, which as I've already explained earlier one is not saved by works. The implication is that Jesus died for your sins BUT you have to finish His work. Which is false, Jesus upon dying on the cross said very plainly "IT IS FINISHED!" .

So what are the implications by saying we worship the same god by a different name?

1. You're implying that God is not clear about how He desires to be worshiped.
2. You're implying God is not clear about who He is. 
3. You're implying that God is not different from other gods.
4. If you aware that God is different from other gods then why say He's the same?
5. Do you actually believe He is?
6. If yes, then you are not a Christian.
7. If no, then why say it?

We're never going to get ANYWHERE if we're not willing to examine the implications of statements we make. My fingers are tired and I'm hungry. Peace in Christ you guys!