William
Finck vs. the Paul-bashers |
A
Response to the Lies of H. Graber and C. Douglas Concerning the Apostle
Paul |
William R. Finck, Jr. |
|
This paper is adapted from a
series which originally ran in Clifton Emahisers Watchmans Teaching Letter, #s 89 through 108, from September of
2005 through April of 2007. While having been edited as little as possible,
some corrections and small additions have been made, and other changes were
necessary in order to adapt the context to this single-document format. Yet
readers of Cliftons WTL shall surely
recognize the material in its new presentation. I had written the original
articles while sitting in prison, at the Elkton Federal Correctional
Institution, In October, 2005, and February, 2006, for the most part. Now that I have been released (this October
24th), own a computer, and am able to do my own word processing, I can more
readily adapt my material for both traditional formats and also for the
internet. It was Clifton who, from
before last year, suggested that the compilation of these articles into a
single publication may be a good starting point for the continuation of my work
in Biblical studies upon my release. I
am, of course, most indebted to Clifton for all of his support and the
assistance which he has given me in my endeavors.
There are many in Christian
Israel Identity who have been engaged in
Paul-bashing, a very unfortunate situation, and especially since it can be
fully demonstrated that Paul of Tarsus was indeed the very first teacher of
Israel Identity - while of course he himself did not call it by that name -
instead referring only to his mission to the nations. The Greek word meaning
nations is quite errantly mistranslated Gentiles in most current Bible
publications. It is the mistranslation
of Pauls epistles which have been the primary cause of the misunderstandings
which have in turn led to Paul-bashing by many Israel Identity adherents. For that reason, when I set out to translate
the New Testament, which I also accomplished while sitting in prison, I started
with Paul. Soon my entire New Testament
shall be - Yahweh willing - freely available on the internet. It is imperative that sound doctrine begin
with good translations, and cannot be built upon the mistakes of others,
especially those who have been influenced by the enemies of Yahweh our
God. It is quite unfortunate that men
such as H. Graber and C. Douglas must even be addressed. For their own writings
reveal such men to be little but unlearned buffoons. However these buffoons
have followers, among whom are many men and women in
Israel Identity who should know better, but have instead been quick with their
tongues, while being negligent in their studies attacking that which they
dont truly understand rather than spending the time and effort required for
learning the details. Among them are
people whom I know personally, and whom, if for reasons other than their
scholarship, I have or have had great respect for. Prayerfully, perhaps they shall one day
accept correction.
-William
Finck, Binghamton NY, 16th November 2008
Articles:
OPEN LETTER RESPONDING TO H. GRABER
<A> H. Grabers Humanism
Yahshua Christ as Shepherd and Bishop of souls
<B> Extant physical descriptions of Paul of Tarsus are the work of early forgers; Graber quotes such forgers vicariously
Graber asserts that there are conflicts between Paul and the gospels, i.e. Romans 12 and Matthew 7, but offers nothing concrete
<C> Prophecy and the mark of inspiration; in Luke (21:5-24); in Paul (Rom. 16.20)
<C-2> Mention, or want of mention, of Paul by other NT writers
Peters attestation of Paul
Frequency of Pauls name in his epistles and Acts compared to that of other apostles, and of Yahshua Christ
Paul is the only other apostle mentioned by Peter
<D> Pauls race and national identity
Paul a Pharisee; had a classical education
Judaean religious sects and politics
Classical writings: and Hebrew sources; cited by Paul
<E> Lying: and Paul, Romans 3:7 examined
)4V$@8@l (diabolos) defined
jews: undermine by infiltrating
<F> Pauls mission to the Nations of Israel; Acts 13:46 discussed
Light of
the World, Shemesh defined; the gospel: a light to the Nations, Luke 2:32
discussed
I §2<0 (ta
ethnΓ, the nations),
defined and discussed; contrasted to 8"`l (laos, people) , et alii; composition of synagogue attendance In Greek
world
Judaean
vs. jew, no blanket rejection of Judaeans by Paul
Paul did
not [magnify] himself
putting
himself on the same level with Jesus Christ , Gal. 4:14 defended and explained in
light of Matt. 10:40
<G> Judaean vs. jew
(Romans chapter 9, et alii), Grabers confusion
Gospel:
preached to Judah first (Zech. 12:7, etc.)
Pauls mission, contrasted to that of Yahshua Christ
jews: undermine by infiltrating, Gal. 2:4, Acts 20:29 and Jude 4
<H> Pauls mission to the Nations of Israel: Gen. 17:6, 35:11, Matt. 15:24 et alii, was not to Gentiles
zW2<@l (ethnos, gentilis, nation), defined and discussed
Pauls gospel: that of Yahshua
Christ; to Israel
Endurance of Pauls work compared to
other apostles
<I> Genealogies, myths and fables: Pauls warnings against, i.e. 1 Tim. 1:4, Tit. 3:9; in classics, i.e. Hesiods Theogony
Importance of history, archaeology, language to Biblical studies
Paul and importance of race: 1 Tim. 1:2, Tit. 1:4
Pauls warnings against strivings about the law and anti-Talmudism
<J> Paul and the law: Graber attacks and contorts Pauls positions, Rom. 3:31
The Law: Yahshua Christ to fulfill the law and the prophets: explained at length from Old Testament prophecy concerning the law and lost Israel; letter of vs. spirit of; yoke of Levitical law, Matt. 11:30; and prophecy concerning lost Israel in fulfillment Rom. 2:14-15 explained; children of Satan condemned by; ordinances, prescribed rituals are works of the law
Paul and the law: statements concerning works, justification, doers of the law, consistency with other apostles shown by comparisons of scripture; letter of vs. spirit of
<J-2> Pauls use of various versions of scripture in quotes of Old Testament; Graber criticizes Paul on Habakkuk 2:4
Masoretic Text, Septuagint, Aramaic Targums, paraphrase in New Testament quotes of Old Testament, Habakkuk 2:4 in particular
<K> Yahshua Christ: distinguished as a son of Yahweh, Rom. 1:4 translated and discussed, ΟD\.T (horizά), defined
<L> Spirituality vs. carnality
Yahshua Christ: Yahweh in the flesh, i.e. Col. 2:9; knowing personally, or in the flesh, 2 Cor. 5:15-19
Body as a vessel for the spirit, a temple
<M> Pauls gospel: that of Yahshua Christ; use of pronouns when making references to, Grabers accusations reveal his own hypocrisy
<N> Here Graber repeats an argument found also in section <F>, where I have explained Pauls statement in Gal. 4:14: ye received me even as Christ Jesus, in light of Matt. 10:40
<O> Pauls gospel: that of Yahshua Christ; the cursing of non-believers, Gal. 1:6-9, 2 Pet. 2:14-15 et alii
Peters attestation of Paul
<P> Pauls Road to Damascus event: only mentioned in Acts in the N.T.
Pauls acceptance by Peter and James
Peters attestation of Paul
<Q> Out-of-body experiences, visions and revelations, the world of mystery according to Graber, 2 Cor. 12:1-8, Rev. 4:1 discussed
Heaven: paradise, the third and seventh heavens, other mysteries, 2 Cor. 12:1-8, 1 Enoch discussed
<R> Graber cites from a list of Paul-bashers, betraying the jewish and communist sources of anti-Paulism, namely Michael Grant, Joachim Prince and George Bernard Shaw
Use of jewish terms by an author betrays a jewish influence of the authors perspective on Biblical topics
Fabian Socialism and One World Government
The dragon of superstition and the actual dragon race
<S> Roman Catholic Church: no valid connection to any New Testament figure; Paul, Luke, Timothy, Gamaliel, Aquila, Priscilla, Clement, etc. were not catholic; history of, Justinian and Constantine
Celtic Church: connected to original Christian assemblies at Rome
<S-2> Graber misquotes Eusebius 6:19 and lies about the subject of the passage in question, Paul is not the subject of Eusebius 6:19!
Eusebius, quoting Porphyry at 6:19, exposes Porphyry as a liar and reveals that Porphyry was slandering Origen
<T> Paul: all things to all men, meaning that he was able to speak to people on their own terms, 1 Cor. 9:20-22 discussed; ability to save men, in context with James 5:19-20
Yahshua Christ: Author of salvation
<U> Mark: spurious endings to gospel not part of Pauline conspiracy
John: interpolations in writings, ignored by Graber
Pauls mission to the Nations of Israel
Graber repeats various arguments from past sections, illustrated and referenced here
<V> Pauls gospel: of the Kingdom; found with Luke
Missing Pauline epistles
Paul and the law
Pauls message the same as Israel Identity
The law: yoke of the Levitical law, Acts 15:10; enforcement of, for Christians, 1 Cor. 5:9-13, Rev. 22:15
Pauls position on the role of women in society, gleaned for his epistles
jewish control over ideas debated in a liberal-feminist society is naturally anti-Christian, and so anti-Paulist
Pauls relationship with various women consistent with both the Bible and ancient Greek, Roman, and Hebrew society (Euripides, Strabo, Diodorus Siculus, Proverbs, Isaiah all cited)
A RESPONSE TO CLAYTON DOUGLAS ANTI-PAUL ARTICLES, PUBLISHED IN HIS FREE AMERICAN NEWSMAGAZINE
Proper attitude for Christians to have towards Edomite-jews
Judaism is a corruption of Hebrewism; Christianity is true Hebrewism, epistle of Ignatius cited
The Bible and the veracity of ancient manuscripts: copyists errors, corruptions and interpolations; ancient papyri and verification
The inspiration of Scripture in its original form
Greek and Hebrew the original languages of Scripture; New Testament written entirely in Greek; Use of Greek in ancient Judaea
New Testament quotes of Old Testament from Greek Septuagint version.
Non-canonical books: Enoch, Gospel of Thomas, et alii
Nag Hammadi scrolls, Gnostic documents, forgeries
Nicaea and choosing of books for canon
King James authorized version and apocrypha
Douglas lack of expertise in subject hes writing about
Douglas and universalism; Christianity is exclusivist
Why Yahshua Christ spoke in parables: Christianity is exclusivist
The lost sheep and the nations of Christian Europe
Anti-Paulism, or Paul-bashing, is a jewish conception
Anti-Christian aims of the anti-Paulists
Gnostics, the New Testament, Gnostic forgeries
Nietzsche, Christianity, and Nationalism
<1> Douglas quotes from jewish magicians, beginning a trend
<2> Authority of government, Rom. 13 (see also section <8>)
<3> Yahshua: the given name of Christ, form and legitimacy of name
Immanuel: a title, defined and explained
Familiar and proper names in the New Testament
Yahshua Christ: founder of Christianity, testimony of Josephus
Old Testament prophecy and Christianity for lost Israel
Pauls mission to the Nations of Israel
Paul loved by ancient Keltic Church
<4> Douglas follows the jews, maintains jewish positions on the Bible
Gospel, or biography?
Coming of Christ in prophecy
<5> Quantitative authorship of the New Testament: estimates for each writer
<6> Douglas accuses Paul of paganizing the teachings of Christ, but offers nothing specific
Yahshua Christ, apostles: N.T. authorship, contributions by
Qualifications of a prophet, Isaiah 41:21-29: met by Paul (i.e. Rom. 16:20), Luke (21:20-24)
<7> Pauls education uniquely qualified him for his mission
Pauls mission to the Nations of Israel: first teacher of Israel Identity, proofs in epistles discussed at length, with examples from Rom. 1 & 2 Cor, et alii
Gal. 3:15-16 explained; Eph. 3:1-9 translated and explained
Nietzsches failures
<8> Pauls epistles consistent with the gospels; Apparent contradictions caused by poor translations; epistles consistent with Old Testament
Authority of government: Romans 13:1-8 translated and explained; Prophecy and reasons explaining why the children of Israel should be subject to temporal governments, and duration of same as foretold in the Old Testament and in the Revelation (see also section <41>)
Yahshua Christ: and Roman authority; to return in a Second Advent, as foretold by Paul and the gospel writers (see also section <38>)
<9> Douglas cites three critics of Paul: John Spong, Thomas Hardy and Thomas Jefferson
Spong,
John: and the Episcopal Church; and homosexuality; DF,<@6@\J0l (arsenokoitκs, sodomy or homosexuality)
defined; Paul on homosexuality; and Joachim Prince; and Newark, N.J.; and
what sort of man could Spong be?
Jefferson,
Thomas: Bible scholarship of; The Jefferson Bible and its worthlessness in
understanding Christianity
Hardy,
Thomas: a novelist
Intellectualism in the Information Age
<10> Paul: Names of, Saul and Paul; with Sergius Paulus, Roman proconsul, on Cypress (Acts 13)
Roman names: family and gens names
<11> Judaean religious sects, Pharisees, Sadducees, and Essenes: descriptions of, by Josephus; and Judaean politics; beginnings of the sect of the Pharisees; Essenes and race; Pharisee, defined; proselytism in Judaea; the sects as political parties
<12> Roman-era geographical districts: Syria, Phoenicia and Palestine
Pauls Roman citizenship
Tarsus: Pauls citizenship in; founding of: by Assyrians; later by Argives; Strabos description of, as a center of learning
Cilicia: settled by Phoenicians
Turkish conquest of Mesopotamia, Anatolia in 11th century
Armenia: once White, overrun by aliens; and the Sacae, Sacasene; the two Iberias
Pauls family and the sect of the Pharisees, his race and lineage (see also section <40>)
<13> Edomite-jew conspiracy against Christ: Douglas invents a role for Paul; Douglas invents two separate characters from one Judas Iscariot
Paul not a Roman soldier
Douglas false notions of some missing scrolls of the teachings of Christ
Douglas use of strange names for Yahshua Christ
Scholarly sources and appropriate citations
<14> Pharisees: their influence over the economy and politics of Judaea; counterpart sect of the Sadducees; and Sadducees, Republicans and Democrats, analogies to modern American politics
Paul not a Roman soldier; his early actions against Christianity
Edomite-jew conspiracy against Christ: Douglas expands his invented role for Paul
The Temple guards in Jerusalem: private army of the high priests
<15> Pauls Road to Damascus event
Yahshua Christs post-resurrection appearances to the disciples, 1 Cor. 15:3-6 discussed
<16> Pauls Road to Damascus event: Acts 9:7 and 22:9 complimentary once properly translated
The sect of the Nazarenes, Acts 24:5, the jewish name for Christianity
<17> Paul: names of; not a Roman soldier
Edomite-jew conspiracy against Christ: Douglas expands his invented role for Paul; the so-called scrolls of the teachings of Christ
Pauls acceptance among apostles, at Antioch
Scholarly citing of sources in writing on the Bible or in history
Christian assemblies founded by Paul, as listed by Douglas
<18> Paul and the law
Christianity embraces the law, rejects legalism, rejects the works of the law the rituals prescribed by ordinances
Yahshua Christ: to fulfill the law and the prophets; prophecy concerning the law and lost Israel (revisiting arguments presented in section <J>)
Anti-Paulists followers of the Pharisees proven
Christian assemblies founded by Paul were recognized and authenticated by both Peter and by Yahshua Christ in the Revelation, namely those at Ephesus and Laodicea (see also sections <17> and <35>)
Council of Nicaea not attended by Pharisees or jews
Persecution of Christians until time of Constantine
Romish church and Justinian
<19> Persecutions of Paul and Barnabbas by jews throughout the Greek world
Edomite-jews behind all persecutions of Christians, Tertullian cited
<20> Attestations of truth, or denials of lying, in Scripture
Pauls poor eyesight
<21> Paul: not a Khazar; not a zionist; not a homosexual
Khazars, a short history
Zionism defined; and Rom. 16:20, 2 Thes. 2
Homosexuality discussed; latent defined
<22> z+(6D"J,\" (egkrateia, self-control), defined
and discussed: Rom. 7:18 and 1 Cor. 9:27: covetousness, consumerism, sexual
lust, hormones, the ego, etc. (see also section <26>)
<23> Douglas quotes John Spong, suggesting that Paul was a homosexual
Modern liberalism: and the undermining of western civilization; some of the tactics of; )4V$@8@l (diabolos, devil or [false] accuser) defined; Thomas Jefferson used as an example, defended against charge of fornication
Paul: the liberals problems with Paul of Tarsus; his stand against homosexuality and all sexual deviancy; jews and sexual deviants allies against Paul and Christianity
Homosexuality:
Rom. 1:26-32, 1 Cor. 6:9-10, 1 Tim. 1:9-11 all translated; DF,<@6@\J0l
(arsenokoitκs, sodomy or homosexuality) defined; Paul
on marriage: Heb. 13:4, 1 Tim. 3:1-13
Spong, John: a liberal, dishonestly attempts to undermine Paul;
with C. Douglas, his false testimony and the penalty of death under the law for
false witnesses
Pauls thorn in the flesh was his poor eyesight
Spong, John: a lover of homosexuals and aliens; Clifton Emahisers summary listing of Spongs literature
<24> Pauls position on the role of women in society (see also the article PAUL WAS NOT A MISOGYNIST!)
Status of women in early Germany
<25> Douglas hypocrisy with the jewish problem
Christian Israel: all of the children of Yahweh are one in Christ, Gal. 3:28 explained and defended; the Body of Christ, 1 Cor. 12
<26> Self-control: need for against temptation (see also section <22>)
Adamic Man: the law and carnality vs. spirituality, Rom. 7:14-15 explained and defended; the two natures of Adamic Man; controlling moral authority of spirit in Adamic race, which the other races lack
<27> Paul: all things to all men. 1 Cor. 9:20-22 discussed
Douglas quotes from jewish magicians
<28> Douglas follows the jews, as his positions on Scripture demonstrate
The communion ritual and Pauls examples
Bread and wine and the Body and Blood of Christ
<29> AVFP" (Pascha, Passover), and Easter
The Romish church: and adoption of pagan festivals; and consumption of pork, or swine
Pork, or swine: Greek consideration of, as unclean; never recommended to be eaten by Paul
<30> Passover and Easter
Douglas follows the jews, Christ lost forever
<31> Peters attestation of Paul
Warnings concerning false prophets
Douglas cites 2 Pet. 2:1, yet ignores 2 Pet. 3:15-16
Douglas follows the jews, and a list of other misfits
<32> Edomite-jew conspiracy against Christ: Douglas continues to expand his invented role for Paul
Paul merely a youth
at the stoning of Stephen, not a leader; <,"<\"l (neanias, youth) defined and
explained
Yahshua Christ: designated no successor; requires no successors
Peter: position as an apostle: BXJD@l and BXJD" (petros and petra, stone and rock)
defined and explained; the most stubborn of the disciples
<33> Douglas confusion concerning gospel; claims made about supposed warnings concerning churches
Yahshua Christ: His messages to the seven churches found in Revelation chapters 2 and 3
<34> Apostles: appointment of by Yahshua Christ; attempt by, to replace Judas Iscariot, Yahshuas selection of Paul instead
<35> Pauls Road to Damascus event
Pauls acceptance among apostles, at Antioch
Christian assemblies founded by Paul were recognized and authenticated by both Peter and by Yahshua Christ in the Revelation, namely those at Ephesus and Laodicea (see also sections <17> and <18>)
<36> Pauls model for Christian community, and ancient society; election of leaders in and management of a Christian assembly
Baptism ritual, origins of
<37A> Douglas false notions of some missing scrolls of the teachings of Christ
<37B> Douglas follows the jews, hypocritically accuses Paul of being a humanist
Paul and the law: Pauls idea of faith included both lawfulness and the performance of good works, Eph. 2:8-10 translated and discussed; upheld obedience to the law, Rom. 1:5, 3:31; perception of faith and works contrasted to that of James; his admonishments for the need for good works: Acts 26:20, 1 Tim. 2:9-10, 5:25, 6:17-18, 2 Tim. 3:16-17, Tit. 3:8, Rom. 2:5-9 and 1 Cor. 3:11-15 all translated and discussed in support of his position; rituals, the :works of the law explained
Israel, sin and forgiveness, salvation
OVD4l (charis, favor) defined and explained in the context of the promises to Abraham and Rom. 11:26; favor granted to Israel exclusively
<38> Yahshua Christ: Pauls perception of His Second Advent; and gospel testimony of; and Rev. 22:12, Rom. 2:5-9 (see also section <8>)
<39> Pauls early actions against Christianity: voting at executions, Acts 22:4-5 and 26:9-10
The deeds of lawful government, and the guilt of individual men who obey the government
Douglas follows the jews, accuses Paul of Bolshevism
<40> Douglas enlists quotes from Jackie Patru, who in turn quotes the jew Marcus Eli Ravage in opposition to Paul: again, Douglas follows the jews!
jews: and race; are devils (John 8:31-47)
Pauls race and lineage (see also section <12>)
<41> Authority of government: Romans 13:1-8 translated and explained; Prophecy and reasons explaining why the children of Israel should be subject to temporal governments, and duration of same as foretold in the Old Testament and in the Revelation (see also section <8>)
<42> Nietzsche, Friedriche: Douglas cites in opposition to Paul; is discredited as a historian, as a classicist, and as a valid critic of Christianity
Rome: immorality and decadence in; and Christianity; in the prophecies of Daniel
Hades, Hell, Niflheim, Tartaros, Sheol; Heaven, Olympus, Valhalla: in the Bible and European mythology
<43> Douglas accuses Paul of being the Liar, et alii, of the Dead Sea Scrolls, and invents much other information concerning the scrolls
Qumran sect: name is a proper identification for the keepers of the Dead Sea Scrolls, since they were probably not written by Essenes
Contents and categorization of the Dead Sea Scrolls
Josephus description of the Essenes
Communal societies in the ancient world, an example from Diodorus Siculus: the Qumran sect not truly communal
Plinys supposed Essene city, and the contradictory testimony of Josephus
Qumran sect: the War Scroll and apocalyptic beliefs of; not Christian, apparently ignorant of Christianity; are not Pharisees or Sadducees
Voluminosity of the Dead Sea Scrolls, most people will never read them
Methods of publication of the Dead Sea Scrolls
The Liar of the Dead Sea Scrolls: identification of, from the scrolls themselves; proof that it could not possibly have been Paul of Tarsus
The Teacher of Righteousness of the Dead Sea Scrolls: does not refer to Yahshua Christ, or to any other historical figure, as citations from the scrolls prove
Dead Sea Scrolls: access to restricted by the jews; history of the maintenance of; early publications of
<44> Israel, sin, cleansing of sin by Yahweh God, examples from prophecy
Douglas follows the jews: denies primary tenets of Christianity
<45> Cause and effect and Matt. 6:19-21, Gal. 6:7-8
<46> Israel, the crucifixion of Christ, redemption of imprisoned souls from the false accusations of Satan; Israels marriage relationship with Yahweh: divorce, redemption and remarriage, relationship of Old and New Covenants
<47> Man defined as Adamic White Man: Rom. 5:14-21, 8:28-39
The law: and obedience, James 2:10
<48> Paul and the law: obedience, faith and works, revisited
Pauls testimony of value of the words of Christ, 1 Tim. 6:3-6
Failure of modern organized religion in respect to the Biblical law
Douglas follows the jews: Anti-Paulism another in an age-old series of attempts to destroy Christianity
<49A> Paul and the law: the Levitical law and the New Covenant; attitude of Christians towards the law, Rom. 3:31; the 10 Commandments; legalism of the Pharisees and Acts 15:10
<49B> Israel, sin and forgiveness, Rom. 3, Heb. 6:4-6, et alii (see also section <37B>)
<49C> %8"Fn0:\" (blasphκmia, blasphemy), defined
Paul
and the law: its fulfillment in Christ
<50> The crucifixion of Yahshua Christ: in prophecy: Luke 24:13-35 and Acts 17:11
Israel: differentiated from the Edomite-jews
Douglas follows the jews: does not understand Scripture
Empirical truths in Israel Identity
<51> Edomite-jews: behind all disorder recorded in the New Testament; behind all persecutions of Christians; propensity for rioting
Douglas follows the jews, and defends their wrongdoing
<52> Douglas hypocrisy concerning dialogue, effort required to respond to his articles
<53A> Pauls early actions against Christianity: Douglas embellishes the historical account
<53B> Edomite-jew conspiracy against Christ: Douglas continues to expand an invented role for Paul
<54> Pauls Road to Damascus event: the 3 years which followed
Paul: did not deceive assemblies, did not profit monetarily from gospel: 2 Cor. 12:16 translated and explained; followed Christ, and encouraged his followers to do the same, 1 Cor. 11:1
Both Paul and John addressed their followers as their children
<55A> Israel, sin and atonement under the Old Covenant; the crucifixion of Christ as atonement under the New Covenant: Gal. 2:20 explained (see also section <55C>)
<55B> Edomite-jew conspiracy against Christ: Douglas continues to expand an invented role for Paul
Sadducees the leading persecutors of Christians, joined by the Pharisees
<55C> Israel and separatism: 2 Cor. 6:16 explained
Body as a vessel for the Spirit: Gal. 2:20 further explained (see also section <55A>)
Pauls relationship with the other apostles
Saint defined
<56A> Pauls relationship with James: no contention between them
<56B> Pauls relationship with James: Douglas abuses statements in James epistle in order to contrive some supposed debate between James and Paul
Douglas false patriotism, illiteracy
<57> Paul: did not steal from churches; did not profit monetarily from gospel, but at times supported by certain assemblies, 2 Cor. 11:7-9 translated and explained
<58> Paul and the law: faith, works and judgement, self-control and 1 Cor. 9:27 discussed, Tit. 3:8 and James 2:20 shown to concur; the Judgement Seat of Christ, 2 Cor. 5:10
<59> Paul and the law: faith, works and salvation, revisited
Douglas likened to Chaim Weizmann at Nuremberg trials
Pauls early actions against Christianity: his remorse and many apologies for his deeds fully profiled; deeds not equivalent to murder when performed under lawful government auspices
Chronology: of Pauls arrest in Jerusalem; of some of his epistles
<60> Dead Sea Scrolls: Habakkuk 2:5 and the prophecys interpretation as found in the Pesher, discussed at length; Habakkuk 2:5-8 explained; relationship of the name Saul to the root of the Hebrew word sheol, which is shaal
<61A> Paul not a Roman soldier
Pauls early actions against Christianity
<61B> Paul and the stoning of Stephen
<62> Paul in Damascus, Acts 9:22, FL(Pb<T (sugchuno, to confound) defined
Douglas
distinguishes between Judaeans and jews, for the first time in these articles
<63> Paul: initial trepidation of apostles to accept; acceptance of, Acts 9:22-31; at Antioch, Acts 14; and at Jerusalem, Acts 15
<64> Damascus: name never used to describe Qumran, as Douglas claims; city mentioned in Genesis, Genesis Apocryphon; not Qumran, but a city in Syria, mentioned at Acts 26:11, 20, 2 Cor. 11:32; Damascus Document: copies found in Cairo, Egypt, and also among the Dead Sea Scrolls
<65> Douglas: preoccupied with magicians and revolutionaries; accuses Pauls message of being Romanized, contrary to ancient records
Pauls execution
Yahshua Christ: had no anti-Roman teachings; Pontius Pilate found no guilt in
<66> Pauls relationship with James: Douglas continues to contrive some supposed debate between James and Paul, without citations
James: apparently a Judaizer, Acts 20:21-24 discussed
The one stick prophecy of Ezek. 37:15-28 explained
<67> Douglas accuses Paul of being the Liar, et alii, of the Dead Sea Scrolls (see also section <43>)
Qumran sect: not Nazirites, Dead Sea Scrolls and Num. 6 compared
Apostles and disciples of Christ not Nazirites
The sect of the Nazarenes, Acts 24:5, the jewish name for Christianity
Paul and the law, revisited
<68> The Liar of the Dead Sea Scrolls: Douglas invents various and more superfluous names for this figure
Qumran Sect: not Christian, proven from scrolls
<69> Douglas use of the term goyim
Douglas follows the jews, in the terms which he uses
<70A> Paul and the law: Douglas completely
misportrays Pauls epistles: frequency in which Paul quotes the Old Testament
Pauls epistles: do not wholly represent the gospel which he preached; missing epistles; quotes of Old Testament found in
Pauls gospel: not found in his epistles; of the kingdom; found with Luke
<70B> Paul: did not profit monetarily from gospel; humility and fallibility; infallibility of Old Testament, gospel of Yahshua Christ; admitted fallibility of his own advice; proved himself through works (Acts 14, 19, 28)
<71> Douglas follows the jews, denying the sacrifice of Christ
Yahshua Christ: mission of Yahweh God as Christ in prophecy; the term Immanuel defined; crucifixion of Christ, and reasons for it, in prophecy; as sacrificial lamb, in gospel; body and blood of, in gospel
<72> Paul and the law: revisited again
Douglas follows the jews and miscreants, and is thereby confused concerning Christianity
<73> Warnings of false apostles: by Paul; in the Revelation in support of Paul; by Peter, Peters warnings compared to those of Paul
Douglas follows the jews, becomes a Judaizer
<74> Paul: did not profit monetarily from gospel: 2 Cor. 8:16-21 translated and explained
Paul and the doctrine of predestination, Gal. 1:15 and other examples from Scripture
<75> Paul and the law: the dietary laws and clean, unclean meats, Romans 14 and 1 Cor. 10 explained; pork, or swine, not classified as food, also shunned by many Greeks and pagan Greek temples as being unclean, Strabo cited
<76> Paul and relationship with James: Douglas continues to expand the contrived debate
<77A> Douglas attributes Matt. 7:1-6 to Paul, rejecting the pericope as a Paulinism, later using this same gospel and chapter to support arguments against Paul (for which see section <84>)
<77B> Paul and the law, revisited again: Douglas continually recycles the same arguments throughout his articles
<77C> Douglas quotes from Matt. 5:17-20 in support of his absurd argument concerning Paul and anti-nomianism
Douglas follows the jews, betrayed by his use of Hebrew terms
<78> Paul and relationship with James: Douglas continues to expand the contrived debate, quoting Stephens words found at Acts 7:51-56, and asserting that the words belong to James, and are in reference to Paul!
Douglas follows the jews, seeks to corrupt Christianity
<79A> Paul and relationship with James: Douglas continues to expand the contrived debate, misquotes The Recognitions of Clement; wrongly accuses Paul in the death of James, refuted from historical sources and the chronology of Pauls ministry
<79B> The deaths of James the lesser and James the greater: Douglas wrongly blames the Pharisees, is refuted by both history and Scripture
<80> Paul did not profit monetarily from gospel, necessarily revisited again because Douglas constantly repeats himself
<81A> Paul on Malta: the Maltese honor him as a god, compared to the similar incident with Paul and Barnabbas at Lystra (Acts 14:11-12); Herod Agrippa I, his fate when esteemed as a god by the people, attested in Acts and by Josephus .139
Malta: economic position and history of the island, Diodorus Siculus cited ..139
<81B> Douglas misquotes Scripture to support his perverted view of the use of the term gods
The children of Yahweh as gods: John 10:34, Deut. 14:1, and the 82nd Psalm discussed
Paul on Malta: the serpent in the bundle of sticks
<82> Pauls mission to the nations of Israel: Eph. 2:14 explained
Paul and the law: JX8@H (telos, fulfillment) defined; Rom. 10:4 explained
<83> Paul and the law: on obedience, Rom. 6:16 & 19 translated, explained and com- pared to Matt. 6:24; <@:\" (anomia, lawlessness) defined
<84> Paul and the law: the Edomite-jew as the man of lawlessness, 2 Thes. 2:3-4 & 3:2 translated and explained
Douglas follows the jews, and covers for their wrongdoing
Douglas quotes Matt. 7:21-23 as the words of Christ, but had previously claimed that Matt. 7:1-6 were the words of Paul (see section <77A>)!
<85> Paul and the law: faith and works, revisited again
Judeo-Christianity an oxymoron
<86> Douglas repeats many of his slanders against Paul, all already addressed here; Douglas further abuses the Dead Sea Scrolls in another attempt to slander Paul
Douglas follows the jews, while at the same time he imagines himself to be defending Christianity
MISCONCEPTIONS CONCERNING PAUL AND THE CHURCH
Roman (or often here, Romish) church and the second beast of the Revelation; the two beasts of the Revelation and the punishment of Israel
Roman church bureaucracy modeled on ancient Roman Empire both politically and religiously
Activities
of early Christian assemblies, in contrast to Roman church rituals
Yahshua
Christ the only head over Christian assemblies: needs no successor or
substitute; no popery or vicarship licensed by Scripture
The
children of Israel are the anointed and the ¦668,F\": Col. 1:24 translate and explained
Simon
Peter: BXJD@H
(petros,
stone) defined and explained; Peters commission not above that of the other
apostles, Matt. 16:19, 18:18
Romish
church claim to succession of popes from Peter and Paul is invalid; Romish temple
built on a graveyard; invalid assertion of authority over assemblies of the
oikoumenκ
Assemblies
at Rome not addressed in the Revelation
GL<,D(`H (sunergos, fellow-worker), defined and explained; Paul had
colleagues, not subordinates
Lack
of a formal church hierarchy in New Testament
Pauls
epistles read by and equally accessible to all
Paul left
no successor, i.e. Acts 20:17-28; individual ¦B\F6@B@4 (episkopoi, over-seers) left with
the charge of each assembly
Paul
refused to rule over assemblies, i.e. 2 Cor. 1:24; each individual assembly
autonomous
z+B\F6@B@H (episkopos, overseer), defined and
explained along with related verbs
AD,F$bJ,D@H (presbuteros, elder), related words, defined and explained
)4V6@<@H (diakonos, minister or servant), and related words defined and
explained
Structure of a
Christian assembly outlined by Pauls epistles and in Acts also verified by
language and statements found with James and Peter
)4V6@<@H, minister, functions of, and limitations for women
Ultimate
authority for assembly is Scripture; only authority over assembly is Scripture
Function of
assembly in judgement of criminal and legal matters; rejection of secular
authority in dispute settlement; 1 Cor. 5:12-13 translated and explained; 1 Cor.
6:1-11 translated and explained
Secular authorities
unrighteous, must be rejected, but also obeyed
Authority of
Scripture over assembly
Compensation of
officers serving the assembly
Officers serving
assembly must be married, other required qualifications, 1 Tim. 3:1-13
translated
Romish church
organization and sacramentalism are vestiges of Babylonian paganism, desired to
retain control over people
Proper structure of a
Christian assembly and historical experience with bygone models
Tax exemption and
government control over churches; mystery Babylon vs. true Christianity
<END>
OPEN LETTER RESPONDING TO H. GRABER
In the autumn of 2003, a dear friend of mine sent me a copy of the December 1985, vol. II, #12, Kingdom Courier by one H. Graber, 5393 Carleton Rd., Mariposa, CA 95338. This document is a reflection of most of the trash being printed nowadays and even in Israel Identity circles to discredit Paul of Tarsus. My friend is, unfortunately, deceived by people such as H. Graber, Scott Nelson, and others, into rejecting the excellent and legitimate writings of Paul, for none other than a want of understanding. In November of 2003 I wrote a lengthy response to Grabers document, and both are reproduced below in their entirety, except that my response, originally in the form of a personal letter, has been edited somewhat for general consumption and for the format here. In my letter dated 19th Nov. 03, I stated:
Dear Friend, Greetings! Today I am writing you to respond to some of the statements in the December, 1985 Kingdom Courier you sent me, the article being entitled The Gospel Of Jesus Christ! Versus The Doctrine Of The Apostle Paul! And I must say, if the so-called Dr. H. Graber truly wanted to seek the truth and insure [his] eternal destiny as he so boldly states, Im sure he has found a destiny other than he hoped to attain: for his work is weighed in the balance, and found wanting. This letter will demonstrate that Mr. Graber is a liar, and a fraud. I am not going to address every aspect of Grabers eight page document, though I will discuss many of his statements, and certainly more of it than would be sufficient to support my claims concerning his character and scholarship. So that you may more easily follow my answers to Grabers statements, I will include a marked copy of his document with my letter, and the marks will correspond to those which will precede my several responses, i.e. <A>, <B> etc.
[So that the reader will not become confused, all of Grabers remarks will be in italics, and the article being addressed has been divided into marked sections presenting first Grabers statements followed by my responses, which are from necessity slightly different than my original responses to my friend]:
<Section A> H. Graber states:
Indeed
I am aware of the controversy this message will percipitate [sic], but if there
is one iota of TRUTH in this exposition, then I propose that the professed
Christian must establish justification for the discrepencies [sic] between the
Gospel of Jesus Christ, and the doctrine of the apostle Paul! It is not my
purpose to generate controversy, but, rather to seek the truth and insure my
eternal destiny. If we manufacture any justification for the doctrine of the
apostle Paul, then we must concede that Jesus Christ erred in the presentation
of His Gospel, while He walked this earth. Or we must acknowledge that Jesus
Christ changed His Divine Plan after His resurrection and ascention [sic], and
this premise must then acknowledge that Paul was spiritually inspired of God,
to document his divergent doctrine.
I shall be eternally greatfull [sic] to Dr. W. G. Finlay of
South Africa, for his expose [sic. exposι] of this matter, which inspired me to
verify his presentation in both scriptures and secular history. It will be
impossible for me to present all the details of this picture of betrayal in
this short treatise, but I shall endeavor to present the fundamental basis for
this message, to serve as a rational guide for any sincere Christian to expand
upon by their own research and study.
In
reply to section <A>: To begin, I will quote a statement of
Grabers from the end of his original
document (page 8, paragraph 9): ...
we are all indavidually [sic], the captains of our own destiny! This statement alone exposes Graber as a
humanist, and not a Christian, and also as a hypocrite, for in the following
paragraph Graber claims: I shall
glean my spiritual sustenance from Matthew, John, Peter and James ... yet who does Peter say is the Shepherd
and Bishop of our souls, but Yahshua Christ (1 Peter 2:25)? We are not the captains
of our own destiny; we are purchased by Yahweh, and our lives are not our own!
Paul teaches this (Eph. 1:14, 1 Cor. 6:20, 7:23) as does Peter (2 Peter 2:1),
which is the meaning of redemption in the first place (i.e. Isa. 43:1)! So who
is a liar, but H. Graber? Pretending to be a teacher in Israel, he doeth the work of Yahweh deceitfully (Jer. 48:10) and conceives and utters from the heart words of falsehood (Isa. 59:13). But there is much more!
<Section B> H. Graber states: The
book, The Great Lion of God by Taylor Caldwell, gives one a preview
of Saul of Tarsus as a Pharisee, depicting a totally perverse and reprobate
Jew, steeped in the traditions of Judaism. Further, he is depicted as a [sic.]
short, stocky, and of strong stature, with a very unpleasant countenance. This
is the character that admits his zealousness in killing Christians, (Gal.
1:13-14, Acts 22:4). Here I would like to ask you to read the words of Jesus
Christ in His Sermon on the Mount, in Matt. 7:1-29, and then read Pauls (Sermon on the Mount?), in Rom.
12:1-21. Certainly the divergent doctrine of Paul is evident in this comparison.
In
reply to section <B>: Last year [2002] I wrote to the original
recipient of this letter, in response to an anti-Paul document he had sent to
me, which discussed the alleged description of Paul echoed here by Graber
above, and quoted from a book by Taylor Caldwell. For those interested, they
will find that this alleged physical description of Paul is derived from the
writings of a second century forger of scripture, one who contrived the
so-called Acts of Paul and Thecla in
order to pollute Christianity with his false doctrines. Now all of this was
evident in an encyclopedia article which this same person had sent to me, and
which information is readily available (see, for instance, Word Pictures in the New Testament by A. Robertson at 2 Cor.
10:10-11). This spurious description of Paul was repeated in another forgery
using the name of Lucian in the fourth century. Because such a description of
Paul is used by multiple forgers, and enemies of the truth and of Christianity,
I would safely confer that the truth concerning Pauls appearance is quite the opposite of what the forgers would
have us believe! The authors of these alleged physical descriptions of Paul are
discredited as frauds and forgers. Any historian is only as good as his
sources. If H. Graber and T. Caldwell want to promote the works of a liar, then
they themselves are become liars in doing so! I asked this person to also
please refer to my discussion of this topic from our past correspondence, if he
still had it, and which I regret not having available as I write this.
In
this paragraph Graber also condemns Pauls
words at Romans 12, in comparison with Matthew 7. He makes no specific
statements, however, (what a wonderful scholar)
and Im not going to stab at shadows,
except to say that I find no fault at all in Pauls discourse here, in comparison with the entire Sermon on the Mount of our Redeemer, which begins at Matthew
5, and includes Matthew 6! By comparing apples and oranges, and removing words
from their contexts, Graber exposes himself as an underminer and dissembler.
<Section C> H. Graber states: Now
let us consider the purported Divine commission of apostleship bestowed upon
Saul/Paul, as documented by the professed apostle Luke, in Acts chapter 9.
There is NO evidence in scriptures or secular history of this miraculous event,
except THE CLAIM OF PAUL HIMSELF! as documented by his companion Luke, in the
book of Acts. Here let us consider the authors of the New Testement [sic]
books. We know that Jesus Christ commissioned His Disciples to perform His
commands, and Jesus personally selected Matthew, Peter, John, James, Phillip
[sic.], Bartholomew, Simon, Thaddaeus, Andrew, Thomas and Judas Iscariot, a
devil, and Jesus knew it. Of these twelve, only four wrote books that we have
in the New Testement [sic.], Matthew, John, Peter, and James, a total of (9)
books, all authored between AD 63 and AD 96, except Matthew, which is dated AD
37. These are the works of the Disciples of Jesus Christ. NOW, let us consider
the books written by professed apostles in the New Testement [sic.], ALL
authored between AD 54 and AD 69. These books (17) total, were all authored by
Mark, Luke, and Paul, with Paul being the author of (14) of them. Here we note
what seems an enigma to me. If Paul was this great man of God, that he is
expounded to be by all professed Christianity (except a few) today, Why was his
name mentioned only (1) time (by Peter) in all the works of the Disciples, who
wrote during the time, and much later than Paul? <Section C-2>
Conversly [sic], why did Paul not mention Matthew even ONE TIME in his works,
considering that he was the author of the Gospel of Jesus Christ? Paul mentions
John (1) time, Peter (5) times, and James (4) times in all of his prolific
writings. HOWEVER, when we consider the three professed apostles, Mark, Luke,
and Paul, we find that Mark did not mention Paul even one time, but Luke, Pauls companion, mentioned Pauls name (133) times, and Paul mentions his
own name (30) times. By way of observation, it appears like Luke is the Publicity
Agent (Hollywood style) for Paul. I believe here we have two professed apostles
that seem to be working hand in glove, to promote a new star on the horizon of
Christianity. I believe that the following exposition will support this
contention.
In
reply to section <C>: In response to this paragraph I will make only a general
statement in support of both Luke and Paul. The mark of an inspired writer of
the words of Yahweh is the revelation of prophecy later fulfilled. Lukes gospel contains prophecy that, although
the same general sketch of the forthcoming destruction of Jerusalem was also
painted by Matthew (24) and Mark (13), Luke (here I speak of Luke 21:5 to
21:24) states some things in a different way than his colleagues. One may walk
through Josephus Wars, the history of the destruction of
Jerusalem, and see that Lukes
version, which states some things more specifically than the other two (i.e.
21:20) was fulfilled exactly as Luke
wrote it. There are many other writings in Luke (and in Acts) which only a
man inspired of Yahweh could possibly write. However, men like Graber, who are
of false and deceitful hearts, do not have the capacity to recognize such
things. There are also many prophetic statements made by Paul, among them
Romans 16:20, of which a proper study would reveal that Paul also was inspired
by Yahweh!
Now
here, and at <Section C-2>, Graber makes some very insidious
statements and questions. For instance, he demands to know why Matthew never
mentioned Paul. It doesnt seem to
matter to Graber that Matthews
gospel ends its account before the first Pentecost, mentioned at Acts 2, long before Pauls involvement in Christianity. Is Graber a fool, or a
purposeful deceiver? His question is the equivalent of asking why Matthew didnt mention the birth of Constantine or the
founding of these United States! Then Graber admits that Paul was mentioned by
Peter, and then regardless of Peters
testimony of Paul, Graber claims to ...
glean his spiritual sustenance from ... Peter ...! H. Graber: liar and hypocrite! Graber states we find that Mark did not mention Paul
even one time, yet again, Marks gospel ends long before Pauls involvement! My friend and
correspondent, you and I met in 1998. Would you mention me in a narrative of
your life, if your narrative closed with 1995? Of course not! A child should
notice Grabers duplicity here! Now
Graber raises a lot of smoke, claiming that Luke mentioned Pauls name
(133) times yet he fails to state
(or rather admit) that not one of these mentions are in the gospel of
Luke! Here it should be evident: H. Graber is a deceiver and a liar!
In
the one short letter we have of his, James does not mention Paul, but James
does not mention any of his other contemporaries either! Who is a liar, but H.
Graber? In two letters, the only other apostle Peter mentions is
Paul! Here Grabers own arguments
proved just the opposite of what Graber intends! And proved that Graber is a
liar! John mentions none of his colleagues in his three epistles, and of course
he wouldnt mention Paul by name in
his gospel, for the same reason given above. Jude mentions only James, his
brother, surely to prevent us from confusing himself with the other New
Testament men with the name z3@b*"l (there were three). So who is a liar, but H. Graber? And a
fool!
We
have 14 of Pauls epistles. Of these,
four are very long, and the other ten are nearly all as long, or longer, than
any of the seven epistles we have written by other apostles. For sake of
comparison, Pauls epistles consume
179 pages in the NA27, where the other seven epistles consume but 44 pages.
Paul mentions his own name 30 times in letters written on a personal basis
(Grabers count) from Paul to various
assemblies, approximately once per six pages of text. James mentions his own
name once, Peter his own name twice, and Jude mentions his own name once, for a
total of about one per 10 pages, but only because the humble John does not
mention his own name! Hopefully you see how inane this argument is. It adds up
to one thing: Graber is an idiot!
The
Book of Acts is basically an account of those deeds of Peter and Paul written
by Luke. Peters name occurs 58 times
in Acts, Pauls 133 (as Graber
states) to which I must add 23 mentions as Saul. This should not be considered excessive,
since Luke spent much more time with Paul than he did with Peter. Now to be
fair, the gospel of Matthew is basically an account of the deeds of Yahshua
Christ, and His name (Yahshua) appears in Matthew approximately 152 times, and
in John 240 times (according to the Moulton-Geden
concordance). Now Matthew contains 87 pages of Greek text in the NA27, and
John 74, but Acts 89. So Pauls name
is certainly not mentioned excessively. Therefore, let no man attempt to fool
you with such deceptions. Paul mentions His name (Yahshua) approximately 230
times! H. Graber is a liar!
<Section D> H. Graber states: Who
is the professed apostle Paul? In scriptures Paul tells us that he is an
Israelite, (Rom. 11:1). Then he tells us that he IS a Pharisee, (Phil.
3:5). Luke tells us that Paul is a Jew, (Acts 21:39, & 22:3). History tells
us that after the Babylonian captivity of the House of Judah, only a small
remnant returned to Jerusalem, which were mostly Jews and not Israelites. Jesus
warned His people concerning the LIE that even today has blinded the world. We
read in Rev. 2:9, & 3:9, I know
the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews (Judeans) and are not, but are
the synagogue of Satan. So one must
ask the question, Was Paul a Jew (Yehuwdaiy), or an Israelite? We know that in
secular life, Paul was a rabid Jew, Pharisee, and Lawyer, and we are told that
he was steeped in the principles of judaism! Also he was an avid student of the
Philosophers of his days at the University, such as Plato and Socrates.
In
reply to section <D>:
Here Graber engages in deception by purposefully confusing the context in which
certain terms are used. Where Paul says he is an Israelite (of the tribe of
Benjamin), he lies not, identifying himself by race. Where Paul says he is a
Judaean (right, in the original Greek, neither Paul nor Luke, nor any other
Biblical writer, use the term jew, as Graber so idiotically alleges), or
where Luke calls Paul a Judaean, they lie not, but are using the term to
describe Pauls national identity, in
terms understood in the Greco-Roman world, even though Paul was born at Tarsus
and therefore also a Roman citizen. In a similar manner, I may elect to call
myself an American (my citizenship), a Saxon or Celto-Saxon (my race) or even a
German (the land my fathers came from). Would I be lying? Of course not, and
neither is Paul, or Luke! H. Graber is the only liar here!
Paul
was a Pharisee. Does that make him evil, as Graber implies? Nicodemus was a
Pharisee, was he evil? Joseph of Arimathea was on the council, the Sanhedrin!
He was not evil! There were many good Pharisees, and many bad. Todays equivalents are Republicans, and there
are many of them, too, good and bad. (Democrats are more like the Sadducees.)
Graber, the liar, uses Pharisee as a scare-word, and it surely should
not be used in such a manner. It was a political party, and if you wanted any
sort of voice in the community, you joined one of the parties. Was Paul a
lawyer? Certainly not! He was a tentmaker by trade (Acts 18:3) and nowhere does
it state that he was a lawyer. Pharisee, scribe and lawyer were all quite
different things. Just read Matthew 23. H. Graber? He is a liar!
Was
Paul learned in the learning of the Greeks? Yes! And this should be a source of
pride to Identity students, since most of the Greeks were Israelites. It is
also a source of refutation to the jews, who today would want you to believe
that Judaea was isolated from Greco-Roman language, culture and learning: a
huge lie. A separate and lengthy topic, I could surely write a twofold paper,
first illustrating parallels in ancient Greek and Old Testament literature, and
secondly on the New Testament parallels with ancient Greek literature. Paul
quotes Aratus, Euripides, Epimenides, Menander, and uses illustrations derived
from Homer, Pythagoras, and others. As I said, most of the Greeks were
Israelites. Of course, I suspect H. Graber may not be!
<Section E> H. Graber states: Now
let us consider specific Pauline doctrine that is divergent from the Gospel of
Jesus Christ:
LIES: We read in Rom.
3:17, For if the truth of God hath
more abounded through my lie unto his glory; why yet am I also judged as a
sinner? Here Paul is justifying
lies, if they serve a moral purpose. This sounds like the anti-christian Platos philosophy from The Republic quote, Such a dangerous weapon as falsehood may
not be employed by any but rulers, and then only for great and good purposes. Is this what Paul is saying in Rom. 3:7?
The Gospel of Jesus Christ tells us in 1 John. 2:27, But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you,
and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you
of all things, and is the truth, and is no lie, and even as it
hath taught you, ye shall abide in him.
If Paul was indeed anointed of Jesus Christ, how could he lie?
In
reply to section <E>:
I must ask, how did Mr. Graber become Dr.,
not having any basic reading skills? You can read Romans 3:7 from the A.V., as
Graber does, yet here it is from my own translation: Indeed if the truth of Yahweh were increased by my lie for His
honor, why then am I still judged as wrongful?
Is Paul here promoting lying, as Graber claims? Certainly not! Paul is saying
that to lie, even if one believes that he is helping or honoring Yahweh by
lying, is still sinful! Who is a liar, but Mr. Graber? Paul lies not!
The
definition of *4V$@8@l, one of the words
translated devil in the A.V., is accuser, and more
fully is one who throws up (*4"-$@8@l is literally by
a throw) false accusations, hence in my translations I write False
Accuser. This alone best describes H. Graber, for I have already shown this is
his device, several times over. )4V$@8@l is the word for ALL of the critics of Paul, whose actual
goal is to undermine Christianity, while calling themselves Christians! This,
reader, is their second oldest trick. They undermined Judaea by calling
themselves Judah. They undermined America by calling themselves Americans.
Today they divide Christian Identity, being called One-Seedliners! The ignorant among us, which are usually
the majority, fall time and again to these devices.
With this in mind, I
will yet take the time to dissect H. Grabers
false accusations, if for nothing else but that hopefully by this I may help
strengthen the knowledge and awareness of a few, that they be able to quench all the fiery darts of
the wicked such as Graber and Scott
Nelson, his fellow liar.
<Section F> H. Graber states: THE MESSIAH: We read, concerning Paul in Acts 13:46-47, Then Paul and Barnabas waxed bold, and
said, It was neccessary [sic.] that the word of God should first have been
spoken to you: (meaning the Jews) but seeing ye put it from you, and judge
yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles. For so
hath the Lord commanded us, saying, I have set thee to be a light of the
Gentiles, that thou shouldest be for salvation unto the ends of the earth. If the apostle Paul is to be for
salvation unto the ends of the earth, that means that Jesus Christ has
abdicated His Messiahship! If we are to believe these scriptures, and the
apostle Paul, then Paul is our Messiah. Paul further magnifies himself in Gal.
4:14, And my temptation which was in
my flesh ye despised not, nor rejected; but received me as an angel of God,
even Jesus Christ. What arrogance!
Paul putting himself on the same level with Jesus Christ. We read the words of
Jesus in John 4:25-26, The woman
saith unto him, I know that Messias cometh, which is called Christ: when he is
come, he will tell us all things. Jesus saith unto her, I that speak unto thee
am he. Who do you accept as the
MESSIAH, Jesus Christ or the apostle Paul?
In
reply to section <F>:
I have been thinking to write a paper for some time now concerning all of the
mistranslation and misconception in and of the book of Acts. [NOTE:
Since writing this, I have completed an
entire and original translation of Lukes work, both Acts of the Apostles and
the Gospel of Luke, with over 2500 footnotes and several appendices WRF]. When I do, Acts 13:46-47 will certainly be
one of the pericopes discussed. At Acts 13:47 Paul quotes Isaiah (see Isaiah 42:6,
49:6 and 51:4), whose prophecy is surely related to the promises found at 1
Kings 11:36 (and 2 Chron. 21:7) and which Paul certainly understood knowing
the prophecy better than Mr. Graber that he had a part in fulfilling (see
Acts 26:17-18). Every message needs a messenger. If one claims to know where
lost Israel was at the time of Christ, one must accept Paul as that messenger,
for no one else delivered Yahshuas
message to the Nations (not the Gentiles),
but Paul! The Gauls, Greeks, Romans and Spaniards that Paul visited, along with
the Scythians and others he mentioned, were all Israelites, and Paul knew it.
We
are the light of the world (Matt. 5:14-16). We are the children of Light (John
12:36, 1 John 1:5-7). Shemesh, or sun in Hebrew, also means people of Shem in Hebrew. This is not an accident. Peter also knew the prophets comparison of the Word to light (2 Pet.
1:19), but was not the writer that Paul evidently was. Luke (2:32) knew the
source of the light, and surely Paul did too, though in the A.V. Luke 2:32 is
poorly translated, for the Nations (not Gentiles)
and the glory of Israel are in the Greek both one and the same. If Graber
understands not the prophecy concerning the light of the gospel, it is only
because there is no light in him (John 11:10)!
Now
to discuss Acts 13:46. Paul gives this discourse in Pisidian Antioch, which
contained a colony of Romans (Strabo 12.18.4), amidst a land settled throughout
history by Phrygians (who were Thracians according to Strabo and others, hence
descendants of Japheth Gen. 10:2), Pisidians (a people which Strabo relates
to the Leleges and Cilicians, Strabo 12.7.3, who in turn are shown to be
related to the Trojans and had Trojan kings, Strabo 13.1.7, 13.1.51, 13.3.1 et
al., and in turn the Cilicians are related to the Phoenicians by Rawlinson in
his edition of Herodotus, from comments Herodotus made; Israelites all!), and
later the area was overrun by the Keltic-Israelite Galatians, and later
colonized by Greeks as well as Romans. So enough background on the environs of
Pisidian Antioch, a multi-cultural region, but consisting entirely of Adamic
cultures. When Paul first addressed these people he states (13:16) Men of Israel, and ye that fear God, a
device which indicates the presence of non-Israelite Adamites (compare Peter at
Acts 2:14) and his entire address is for and about Israelites. See also Acts
13:26, where by no means is Paul attempting to change the original commission
(Matt. 15:24).
Now
at Acts 13:46, after the Judaeans (not the jews, which is not in the original Greek
anywhere, although today we call the non-believing Judaeans, racially
Canaanites and Edomites, by the name of jew)
rejected Pauls message, Paul says ... lo, we turn to J §2<0
and I will discuss the Greek words J §2<0 in a moment.
First,
it should be obvious that Pauls
scope here is local. This is not, as the catholics would have you think, a
sudden and general rejection by Paul of Judaeans everywhere; God having changed
His mind and His people. Oh the deception! By no means should Acts 13:46 be
cross-referenced, as so many fools do, to Matthew 21:43. Instead, Matthew 21:43
should be cross-referenced to Micah 4:7-8 and to Daniel 2:44, which the
catholics usually neglect to do, not having the Truth! Pauls rejection of Judaeans here applies only
to those Judaeans at the time and place (the synagogue at Pisidian Antioch) in
which Paul makes the statement. This is obvious, since days later at Iconium,
75 miles east of Antioch Paul visits another synagogue (Acts 14:1) and a great multitude of the Judaeans and also
of the Greeks believed. Here it is
proven: anyone who follows the catholic (meaning universalist) theology is a fool, and anyone who
parrots it is a liar! H. Graber is a fool and a liar!
Now for the words J §2<0 in this passage: Anyone who ever reads the Greek word §2<@l, of which §2<0 is plural, and utters the made-up catholic word gentile, is a moron! Let us look at the secular definition of §2<@l as given by Liddell & Scott: a number of people accustomed to live together, a company, a body of men ... of animals, swarms, flocks ... after Homer, a nation, people ... in the N.T. the nations ... Now not always can this word be translated nations. See Acts 8:9 and Romans 10:19 in the A.V., where §2<@l is translated people. Compare Mark 11:17 to its source at Isaiah 56:7, where the A.V. should have translated the word people, but did not. There are other examples of this, and many more in the Septuagint. Here the A.V. should have rendered this part of Acts 13:46 lo, we turn to the people, and left behind in the Greek would be the diversity of the synagogue audience, Thracians, Kelts, Greeks, Romans and Judaeans, but all Adamites, which Pauls use of J §2<0 surely indicates. Other Greek words meaning people or multitude among which are 8"`l, *:@l, B82@l, 8Zl or ΠP8@l, simply would not have the same precise meaning. Graber is ignorant, and his ignorance is accomplice to his lies.
To continue by examining another part of this paragraph at <F>, I will discuss Grabers lies concerning Galatians 4:14. Quoting my own translation of this verse: And of my trial in the flesh you did not despise or loathe, but as a messenger of Yahweh you accepted me, like Yahshua Christ. It may be proven (start by reading 4:15) that Pauls trial in the flesh was his failed eyesight (see also Gal. 6:11), and he was here commending the Galatians for treating him respectably, even though he had such a disability. Paul is not elevating himself to the position of Christ, but rather is commending the Galatians for abiding by the words of Christ, expressed at Matthew 10:40: He that receiveth you receiveth me! Paul is being fair in his assessment. Is Mr. Graber? Who is a liar, but H. Graber? It is obvious that Graber does not know his Scripture yet makes many accusations. The jews did the same thing to Christ!
<Section G> H. Graber states: WORD OF GOD FIRST TO THE JEWS: In the above scriptures, Acts 13:46-47, Paul says that it was neccessary [sic.] that the word of God should first be preached to the Jews (Yehuwdiy). (Here we must understand that the words Jew and Israel are not synonymous.) We read in I Cor. 9:20, And unto the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might gain the Jews; We have no evidence in the Bible that Jesus Christ ever done [sic.] this, to the contrary, Jesus said, speaking of the Jews in Matt. 13:10-13, And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables? He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given. For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not; from him shall be taken away even that he hath. Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand. Also in Matt. [sic. 13:] 34-35, All these things spake Jesus unto the multitude in parables; and without a parable spake he not unto them: That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, saying, I will utter things which have been kept secret from the foundations of the world. Does this sound like Jesus Christ was trying to gain the Yehuwdiy (Jews)? Of course not, Jesus knew that the Jews are the children of the devil as He tells us in John 8:44. We read in Jude: 4, For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ. Certainly Jesus Christ knew who the Yehuwdiy are, and I believe that the learned Paul did too.
In reply to section <G>: There is much deception on Grabers part here! First Graber continues, in good catholic tradition, to confuse the Greek word z3@L*"Γ@l, or properly Judaean, with the term Jew. Then, because Graber himself is confused, he accuses Paul of wanting to preach to Canaanites and Edomites! Now, Paul explains thoroughly the difference between Jacob and Esau (see Romans 9:1-13), and is very aware of those children of Cain masquerading as Judah (Acts 13:6-10, 19:13, 2 Thes. 2). Why does Graber not criticize John, who recorded our Redeemer as saying: Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of (Jδ< z3@L*"\T<) the Judaeans (where the A.V. has of the Jews). Does Graber hold John to a different standard than Luke? Seemingly! Does Graber expect that the same word has some mysteriously different meaning if uttered by Yahshua rather than Paul? Surely! Who is a liar, but Mr. Graber?
I could write at length on why Paul felt that he had to bring the gospel to those Israelites (who at that time were calling themselves Judaeans) under the law first, who were mostly of true Judah and Benjamin, and then to those lost Israelites, the Nations of Genesis 17:6 and 35:11, though that is far beyond the scope of my purpose here. To read 1 Kings 11:36 and Zech. 12:7 should be sufficient for the time being.
[KJV 1 Kings 11:36 And unto his son will I give one tribe, that David my
servant may have a light alway before me in Jerusalem, the city which I have
chosen me to put my name there.
KJV Zechariah 12:7 The LORD also
shall save the tents of Judah first, that the glory of the house of David and
the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem do not magnify themselves against
Judah.]
To address Grabers duplicity in the paragraph marked <G> of his twisted document: Paul spoke amongst the dispersion of Israel, lost and Judaean alike, in plain language. Yahshua spoke amongst the Judaeans of Palestine in parables. Pauls mission was to live long enough to adequately spread the message of Redemption among lost Israel. Yahshua Christs mission was to announce that same gospel which Paul spread, He being its originator, and then to die at the hands of His enemies, and to live again, accomplishing our Redemption. Two different missions require two different methods. Paul also used many parables and analogies in his letters, which surely Graber and his ilk do not understand, because if they did they wouldnt be critical of Paul!
Graber quotes Jude 4: For certain men crept in unawares ... yet ignores the nearly identical words of Paul at Gal. 2:4 And that because of false brethren unawares brought in ... and Acts 20:29: ... after my departing [from Asia Minor] shall grievous wolves enter in among you ... Who is a deceiver, but H. Graber? And a liar too!
<Section H> H. Graber states: THE GENTILES: We note that Paul tells us in Acts 13:46-47, that, the Lord commanded us saying, I have set thee to be a light of the Gentiles, And we also read in Rom. 11:13, For I speak to you Gentiles, inasmuch as I am the apostle of the Gentiles, I magnify mine office: Let us also read Rom. 15:16, That I should be the minister of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles, ministering the gospel of God, that the offering up of the Gentiles might be acceptable, being sanctified by the Holy Ghost. There is no place in scriptures or secular history that tells us where Paul received this authority, except by his own claim and that of his companion Luke, who was a gentile. NOW, let us read what Jesus had to say in this matter. We read, Jesus commanding His Disciples, in Matt. 10:5-6, These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not: But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. (The white caucasian [sic], anglo-saxon [sic], celtic [sic], germanic [sic, should be capitalized] people of the world, the TRUE Israelites of the Bible!) We also read in Matt. 15:24, But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Very clearly, by the words of Jesus Himself, He tells us that He did not come for the Gentiles. WHY? Because Jesus came for salvation for His children that had the original sin imputed upon them, and thereby had become prisoners of Satan after death. The original sin was only imputed upon the seed of Adam, and not upon the Gentiles or Jews! I am sure the learned apostle Paul knew this. SO WHO ARE YOU GOING TO BELIEVE, JESUS OR THE PROFFESSED [sic.] APOSTLE PAUL?
In reply to section <H>: Here is Grabers biggest and most obvious lie! First, Graber criticizes Paul for going to so-called Gentiles a word that no true scholar should even use, and then Graber admits that the True Israelites of the Bible are the white Caucasian, Anglo-Saxon, Celtic, Germanic people of the world [though he must have missed or slept through his third-grade school-classes on the days when he would have been taught that these words should be capitalized.] Well, here Graber is right, but fails to mention that Paul wrote to the Galatians, better written Gauls (see my Galatians translation and the accompanying notes), and also mentioned the Scythians. It is the Galatians (synonymous with Kelts) and Scythians who are the parent races of all the Anglo-Saxon, Celtic, Germanic people, as is demonstrated by history. But Paul also went throughout Asia Minor, in his time inhabited mostly by Trojans, Phoenicians, Romans, Danaan and Dorian Greeks, all Israelites who left Israel during the 1,000 years between the sojourn in Egypt and the Assyrian deportations, and also by Thracian and Ionian Japhethites and Kelts (Galatians). And Paul also went to Greece, inhabited by Phoenicians, Danaan and Dorian Greeks (all Israelites) and Ionian Greeks (Javan, son of Japheth), and Paul went to Italy, inhabited by those same Greeks and Phoenicians and Trojan-Romans, and Paul desired to go to Spain, inhabited by Phoenicians, Tartessians (Japhethites) and Kelts (deported Israel), and except for these tribes of Japheth (see Genesis 9:27) and the Semitic Lydians of Asia Minor (from whom were also the Etruscans of Italy), all of the people Paul went to and wrote to were also Israelites and all took part and have a share in the promises to Jacob, Isaac and Abraham. Only since Pauls time have these southern European nations been invaded and mongrelized. When Paul was there as archaeology fully proves they were all white Caucasian nations. H. Graber, again: a liar and a deceiver! I wonder, does the H stand for Hymie, or Huckster? Paul never uttered the silly non-word gentiles! Rather, Paul used only the Greek words J §2<0 (ta ethnκ) the nations, and knew that he was going to those same nations of Genesis 17:6 and 35:11, which nearly every one of his epistles proves in multiple ways.
I call gentile a non-word because in our language it is just that: not an English word. Rather, gentile was borrowed from the Latin language, and assigned a corrupted meaning, Non-Jew, which it never bore in Latin! The English translators chose the Latin gentilis, gentile, for their corrupt translation of the original Greek word §2<@l (ethnos, nation) because Jerome, when he made the Latin Vulgate, used the word gentilis to translate §2<@l into Latin. Jerome, however, may well have had more wisdom than the later English translators, since gentilis is defined family, hereditary; tribal; national ... clansman, kinsman by The New College Latin & English Dictionary, and describes a people with some degree of relationship to each other. The Junior Classic Latin Dictionary published by Wilcox & Follett Company in 1945 defines gentilis: of the same clan or race, surely a word consistent with all scripture (Amos 3:2, Matt. 15:24 et al.) and nothing like the corrupted catholic interpretation of the word! To be honest, §2<@l must be translated into a like English term when translating the Greek scriptures into English, and no borrowed and corrupted third-language term should be used, especially when that words true sense is ignored completely!
Now if Paul did not bring the gospel of Yahshua Christ to the promised nations of Jacob Israel (with books and parchments i.e. 2 Tim. 4:13), then who did, the other apostles? If so, where are their letters, besides the seven brief epistles which we have? Although surely they all had their own function to perform, and I criticize them not, it was Paul whose work was best remembered and preserved, and it was Paul who risked his neck in Anatolia, Thrace, Macedon, Greece and Rome, and his writings are still reaching out to the Israel-nations of today. Paul went nowhere but unto where history separately tells us the Israel-sheep were! There was no Paul in Egypt, China, India, Arabia or Ethiopia, places much safer and out of the way of jewish persecution, and far better to pollute Christianity if that were ones mission. Anyone who criticizes Paul is a liar! H. Graber is a liar!
<Section I> H. Graber states: GENEAOLOGY [sic.]: The apostle Paul tells us in I Tim. I:4, Neither give heed to fables and endless geneaologies [sic], which minister questions rather than godly edifying which is in faith: so do. Again we read in Titus 3:9, But avoid foolish questions, and geneaologies [sic], and contentions, and strivings about the law; for they are unprofitable and vain. IF this be true, why did Almighty God give us the examples in the Old Testement [sic], and why was the geneaology [sic] of Jesus Christ documented in Matthew chapter I, reckoning Jesus Christ back to Adam? Did Jesus ever tell us that geneaologies [sic] were vain? The Old Testement [sic] gives us (12) times that the children of God were reckoned by geneaology [sic], and purged of any and all adulterated seed. Read Ezra 2:62, These sought their register among those that were reckoned by geneaology [sic], but they were not found: therefore were they, as polluted, put from the priesthood. People that do not understand IDENTITY, cannot comprehend this truth.
In reply to section <I>: On to this next paragraph (which was originally on page 3 in Grabers polluted document), and Pauls exhortations to Titus and Timothy concerning fables and endless genealogies (1 Tim. 1:4) and foolish questions and genealogies (Titus 3:9), these were NOT, as Graber the deceiver insinuates, admonitions by Paul to forgo or ignore concerns over ones racial purity. To the contrary, Paul calls Titus a purely bred child according to the common belief (Titus 1:4, my translation) which is all Titus had to go by, his being Greek (a lost Israelite) and no true genealogical records being in his possession! Paul also addressed Timothy as a purely bred child in faith (1 Tim. 1:2, my translation) and Timothy being half-Greek and half-Judaean (Acts 16:1) the average Greek or Judaean, being ignorant of Greek roots, may have considered him a bastard.
To comprehend Pauls admonitions concerning genealogies, we must understand that Paul is writing to Greeks, men schooled in Greek thought and literature, and is writing on Greek terms (which is what he is explaining at 1 Cor. 9:20-21 and which Graber understands not, that Paul being educated in both Judaism and Greek literature, had the ability to speak to each on their own terms!) If anyone has read Homer, Hesiod, and the many other Greek poets and playwrights, and otherwise respectable Historians such as Strabo, Herodotus and Diodorus Siculus who often repeat such fables, only then can one comprehend and appreciate the Greek idea of genealogy, and Pauls admonitions here. Paul is certainly not condemning the likes of Esdras, and the Levitical record keepers of ancient Israel, but rather he is condemning Hesiod and the likes of his Theogony, and the many similar works which account for the races of men in various genealogies where those races are said to have descended from various pagan gods and goddesses such as Zeus, Apollo, Athena, Heracles, etc. Such accounts were quite intricate, repeated by poet and historian alike, and absolutely vain.
Who, then, can comprehend the Bible without understanding these things? Nobody! To properly understand the Bible, one must study language, history and archaeology, and the other literature of the periods of the Bible. Not to do so is to be susceptible to the lies of men such as H. Graber and Scott Nelson!
As for contentions and strivings about the law Paul warns Titus not to get caught up in the same such deceit which we find in the Talmud, a reflection of thought in Judaism of the period, and a perverted web of deceit and evil indeed! It is obvious that Graber, by his criticism of the statement, cannot or is not willing to distinguish between strivings about the law and the law itself! Graber is as deceitful as those who wrote the Talmud!
This closes the sixteenth page of (my original handwritten) comments which by now I hope you agree have entirely discredited Mr. Graber. Yet Im just coming to the bottom of page 3 of his document, I have 5 pages to address yet, and address them I will, even if I must write twice sixteen pages again. I only hope the reader will be able to share this with others, who may be weak in the faith, and caught up in Grabers deceit, and that they benefit somewhat by it. I also hope the reader will see through these empty and vain attacks upon the Truth which are engineered by Graber and his ilk. Anyone with only a surface knowledge of the Scripture is easily taken away by purveyors of deceit. A great difference there is, between hard study and casual reading, and then the source materials one uses make a world of difference also.
<Section J> H. Graber states: THE LAW: The doctrine of the professed apostle Paul very emphatically negates the Laws of God. BY WHAT AUTHORITY? We read in Rom. 1:17, For therein is righeousness [sic] of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, the just shall live by faith. (Not the law) <Section J-2> Here we need to point out how Paul many times misquotes the Prophets of the Old Testement [sic]. <Section J continued> This is quoted from Hab. 2:4, which reads, the just shall live by his faith. Again Paul says in Rom. 6:14, For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace. Certainly we can understand this, because the law was not given to the Gentiles, but neither did Jesus Christ offer salvation to the Gentiles, because they do not need it, for the original sin was not imputed upon them. Eph. 2:15, Having abolished in his flesh the enemity [sic], even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; Rom. 4:15-16, Because the law worketh wrath: for where no law is there is no transgression. Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham; who is the father of us all. Paul is telling us that if we repeal the laws of God, then there can be no sin. That is the same as if we repealed all criminal law, then we would have no crime! WHAT DOES JESUS TELL US CONCERNING THE LAW OF GOD? Jesus tells us in Matt, 5:17-18, Think not that I am come to destroy, but to fulfil [sic.]. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. (emphasis added) Has heaven and earth passed, or did Jesus change His mind? We also read in John 14:15, If ye love me, keep my commandments, And again, in I John 2:4, He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. WHO DO YOU BELIEVE, JESUS OR THE PROFESSED APOSTLE PAUL? Paul tells us over and over again that the law was negated by the cross. If that is true, Why did Jesus Christ not give us one word of evidence that this is so?
In reply to section <J>: Beginning with the first few lines of the paragraph (which occupied the last three lines of page 3, and continued into page 4 of Grabers original document), Graber makes a treacherous attack upon Pauls views concerning the law. Graber states that Paul very emphatically negates the Laws of God, which is a vile lie, for Paul clearly states at Romans 3:31 (from the A.V.): Do we make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea we establish the law. Graber is very short of understanding, and so that you may see what I speak of here, I will take the time to explain a few things concerning the law under the New Covenant.
First, as can be witnessed by history, the Levitical laws in the Pentateuch, based upon but not a perfect image of Yahwehs law (i.e. Matt. 19:8) certainly had their purpose, and still do: for we see today the greater part of the enemies of Yahweh, the seed of the serpent, have trapped themselves in the Old Testament law and not having the Faith of the Anointed they have voluntarily condemned themselves! Both Paul and James, as you will see, make allusions to this. Both jew and muslim claim to believe and accept the Old Testament, and all (and they are nearly all descendants of Cain) are condemned by it!
Now it is certain that Yahshua Christ came not to destroy, but to fulfill, both the law and the prophets. Now, let us see just what the prophets say concerning the New Covenant, which all agree that Yahshua Christ, Yahweh Himself, compacted with the children of Israel:
Jer. 31:31-33: Behold, the days come, saith Yahweh, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers ... which my covenant they brake ... But this shall be the covenant that I will make ... I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts ...
Isa. 51:7: Hearken unto me, ye that know righteousness, the people in whose heart is my law ...
Jer. 32:39-40: And I will give them one heart, and one way ... And I will make an everlasting covenant with them ... I will put my fear in their hearts ...
Ezek. 11:19-20: And I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you; and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them an heart of flesh: That they may walk in my statutes, and keep mine ordinances ...
Deut. 30:6: And Yahweh thy God will circumcise thine heart, and the heart of thy seed ...
Jer. 4:4: Circumcise yourselves to Yahweh, and take away the foreskins of your heart ...
Now it should be evident, that if the laws of Yahweh were to be written in our hearts [a promise made only to Israel] then there is no longer a need for the written Levitical law, for the matters of the Law, encapsulated in the 10 commandments which Yahweh Himself illustrated (i.e. Mark 10, Luke 18), are common sense to OUR RACE! Paul explains these things in Hebrews 7, and in Romans 7:6 and 2:29 where he explains that we keep the law in spirit, and not in letter. The jews pretend to keep the law in letter, yet their Talmud is filled with many devices of reasoning and vile ways to get around the law! Know that even in modern litigation according to the laws of man, that courts often cite the difference between the letter of the law and the spirit of the law and realize that Paul is explaining that same thing here to the Romans.
So it should be obvious, that the removal of the yoke of the Levitical law is a matter of prophecy along with the New Covenant [Yahshua says For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light, Matt. 11:30] and Paul explains this very thing over and over, but using different methods for Romans and Hebrews, since they have different perspectives. Where Paul writes at Romans 2:14-15 For when the Nations, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law ... which show the work of the law written in their hearts is Paul not demonstrating that the Romans themselves a part of lost Israel are indeed Israelites to whom such a promise was made? Compare this to the words of the prophets quoted above! And where Paul tells the Corinthians at 2 Corinthians 3:2-3 Ye are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read of all men: manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshly tables of the heart. Is Paul not showing the fulfillment of the words of the prophets: that the New Covenant was being brought to Israel, whom the Dorian Greeks also descended from (as I can demonstrate in history and archaeology)? Read Pauls quote of Jer. 31:33 to the Hebrews at 10:16. If one studies prophecy, one must come to the conclusion that the children of Israel are NOT bound to the written law, yet they should seek to obey it voluntarily. This is what Paul explains. The children of Satan have bound themselves to the written law, and never being able to fulfill it, they have condemned themselves!
Now this I can go further to demonstrate, but what I have written here should be sufficient. The children of Israel following the law in Spirit, and not in letter (the written law), is in itself a fulfillment of the law and the prophets, which Christ came to accomplish, and did! To deny such is to deny Him. Paul does not deny Christ: H. Graber does! Yet I will discuss a few more things concerning Paul and the law.
At Colossians 2:14 Paul states that the ordinances, not the entire law, were nailed to the cross. These are all of the rituals, sacrifices, oblations and such. Daniel 9:27 prophecies that when Yahshua confirms the covenant, the sacrifices and the oblation [He shall cause] to cease. These are what Paul calls elsewhere the works of the law, which in Ferrar Fentons translation (and in my own) you will find translated the rituals of the law, which are precisely what Paul means. That these were done away with are also a matter of the law and the prophets, and it was NOT written on our hearts to continue them! Of course, the catholics have a schedule of rituals that they have substituted, none with any foundation in Scripture (not even water baptism!). So enough of this, now we will see that James and Paul agree on the law!
An examination of the epistle of James, compared to Pauls epistles, demonstrates that James and Paul were in complete cohesion regarding the law, and so was Peter. Here I will demonstrate such.
Romans 2:13 (see 2:14-15 quoted above): For not the hearers of the law are just before Yahweh, but the doers of the law shall be justified.
James 1:22-24: But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was.
Galatians 2:4: And that because of false brethren unawares brought in, who came in privily to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ ...
Galatians 5:1: Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.
Galatians 5:13-14: For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh [i.e., to follow lust], but by love serve one another. For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
1 Peter 2:15-16: For so is the will of Yahweh, that with well doing ye may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men: As free, and not using your liberty for a cloke of maliciousness, but as the servants of Yahweh.
2 Peter 2:1, 19: But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying Yahweh that bought them ... While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage.
James 1:25: But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.
James 2:10: For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.
Romans 2:25: For circumcision verily profiteth, if thou keep the law: but if thou be a breaker of the law, thy circumcision is made uncircumcision.
Galatians 5:2-3: Behold ... if ye be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing ... every man that is circumcised ... he is a debtor to do the whole law.
James 2:12: There is a problem with
the A.V. translation of this verse. The word :X88@<J,l
is treated as a Substantive and translated they
that shall be, which is only
necessitated if the word were preceded by an Article, which it is not. Also,
the A.V. places an Article before law which does not exist in the Greek, hence
here is my own translation: Thusly you speak, and thusly you do: as
going to be judged by a law of liberty.
Romans 14:10: But why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.
James 4:11-12: Speak not evil one of another, brethren. He that speaketh evil of his brother, and judgeth his brother, speaketh evil of the law, and judgeth the law: but if thou judge the law, thou art not a doer of the law, but a judge. There is one lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy: who art thou that judgest another?
So with this it must be evident, Paul taught liberty from the letter of the Old Testament law, and to follow it in deed and in Spirit, and these same things were foretold by the prophets, and also taught by James and by Peter! And who can read this, then deny such? Now compare Lukes account of James and Peters opinions concerning Pauls teaching and the law at Acts 15, and now that you see that this by no means conflicts with Pauls epistles, with James or Peters epistles, with the prophets, or with the gospels, what may one say? Surely Paul said much more concerning the law, and it should be examined, but none of it is with fault. Paul may only be attacked in ignorance, or by those caught up in the deceit and devices of Yahwehs enemies: among whom I count H. Graber, and Scott Nelson!
Now we shall go on to review the statement which H. Graber made at <Section J>: THE LAW: The doctrine of the professed apostle Paul very emphatically negates the Laws of God. BY WHAT AUTHORITY? We read in Rom. 1:17, For therein is righeousness [sic] of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, the just shall live by faith. (Not the law) ... <Section J-2>
In reply to section <J-2>: Among other things in this paragraph, discussed above at <J>, Paul is accused by Graber of many times misquoting the Old Testament, a blatant lie once one sees that: (a) the majority of Pauls quotes agree with the Septuagint rather than the A.V. (b) often Paul is simply paraphrasing rather than quoting (c) quote marks were not used in Greek, they belong to modern translators (d) the Old testament texts have not come down to us in perfect form, some New Testament quotes disagree with both the Masoretic Text and the Septuagint, and some of those do agree instead with the Aramaic Targums! (e) these circumstances exist in every New Testament book, not only in Paul (or Luke or Mark). Here Grabers duplicity is quite obvious, for he is a liar and a fraud! The LXX version of Habakkuk 2:4 (by Brenton, and a fair rendering of the LXX Greek): ... but the just shall live by my [Yahwehs] faith. Who is a deceiver, but H. Graber? There is not any contradiction between Paul and Yahshua Christ, whom Paul follows!
<Section K> H. Graber states: DIVERGENT PAULINE DOCTRINE: Let us document some more of the apostle Pauls confusing and contradictory doctrine. Paul tells us in Rom. 1:4, And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead: (emphasis added) Here Paul tells us that Jesus was not the Son of God untill [sic] he qualified himself by the spirit of holiness, and after His resurrection. Matthew tells us that Jesus was born the Son of God, by the virgin Mary, WHO DO YOU BELIEVE, MATTHEW OR PAUL?
In reply to section <K>: Romans 1:4 is a difficult verse to translate, and here in this paragraph (which was the second paragraph on page 4 of his original document), Graber criticizes Paul only by the bad translation of this verse in the A.V. In April of 2000, translating Romans, I rendered 1:4: Who has been distinguished as a son of Yahweh in the ability through the sanctity of the Spirit to rise up from the dead; Yahshua Christ our prince, and I stand by the sense of that translation today. The Greek verb D\.T (horizo) may by no means be translated declare as the A.V. has done here, the word meaning to mark out or bound, ... fig. to appoint, decree, specify ... Paul is indicating that the resurrection of Christ made the assertion that Christ is the Son of Yahweh an indisputable fact, i.e. He was the Son of God, and resurrection was the first device Paul uses to present that fact to the Romans. As usual, Grabers condemnation of Paul is shown to be vanity.
<Section L> H. Graber states: Paul tells us in II Cor. 5:15-19, And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again. Wherefore henceforth know no man after the flesh: yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more. (emphasis added) Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the words of reconciliation. Here Paul completely removes Jesus Christ from recognition, by saying, now that Jesus has accomplished this miracle on the cross, we know him no more, and we are now reconciled to God. Paul does not acknowledge that Jesus Christ and God are one and the same being. John 10:30, I and the Father are one. John 14:9, he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; WHAT PAUL IS SAYING IS, THAT NOW THAT JESUS TASK IS FINISHED, NOW WE SHOULD LOOK TO GOD.
In reply to
section <L>:
At 2 Corinthians 5:15-19 Paul explains that we should not live after
(i.e. according to or in relation to) the flesh, but after the Spirit instead.
In other words, we should seek the spiritual rewards of life and not the carnal
ones. We should seek to know Yahweh spiritually, and not as a man (Christ) even
if any who had read Pauls letter had
known him in that manner (were among those in Palestine who had seen Him).
Graber says Paul does not
acknowledge that Jesus Christ and God are one and the same being, a blatant lie! Graber had just quoted
Paul as saying that God was in Christ, the exact equivalent of such an
acknowledgment! Paul explains elsewhere (and quotes the Old Testament doing so)
that the body is just a vessel (i.e. or also a temple) for the Spirit, the real us
so to speak. Does Graber have no understanding whatsoever? Paul says of Christ For in Him dwells all the fullness of the
Divinity bodily (Colossians 2:9, my
translation), surely acknowledging that Yahshua and Yahweh are one. Who is a
liar, but H. Graber?
<Section M> H. Graber states: Paul tells us in Rom. 2:16,
In the day when God shall judge the
secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to My gospel. (emphasis added) BY WHOSE GOSPEL? Here
Paul admits that he is not preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom, but rather his
own gospel.
In reply to
section <M>:
In this fourth paragraph (on page 4 of Grabers
original document), we have an argument four times as childish as those which
precede! Paul says at Romans 2:16 ...
according to my gospel, and that is
without dispute, and Paul also calls this same gospel which he describes to the
Romans: of God (1:1), of His son (1:9), of
Christ (1:16), of peace
(10:15, quoting Isaiah, and at 10:16 Isaiah is quoted as saying Yahweh, who hath believed OUR report? (Isa. 53:1, emphasis mine), of
God again at 15:16, of Christ
again at 15:19 and 15:29, my gospel again at 16:25, and simply the gospel
at 1:15, 10:16, 11:28 and 15:20. So have we here five different gospels? Certainly
not! But it is one gospel which Paul presents. And surely Graber points no
finger at Isaiah for claiming a share of it (Isaiah 53:1 is quoted at Romans
10:16 and by John at 12:38)! Oh the hypocrisy! Here, as in the previous
paragraph discussed above, Graber is throwing everything including the kitchen
sink onto the pile of counts with which he creates an indictment against Paul,
hoping to make something stick, just like a government prosecutor, and a
typical False Accuser indeed! Paul is preaching the gospel of the Kingdom, and
doing so to the Kingdom people!
<Section N> H. Graber states: Paul tells us in Gal. 4:14, And my temptation which was in my flesh ye
despised not, nor rejected; but received me even as an angel of God, even as
Christ Jesus. WHAT ARROGANCE! Paul
puts himself on a pedestal, equal with Jesus Christ!
In reply to
section <N>:
Grabers lies here in this paragraph
are a repeat from the fifth paragraph of his original Kingdom Couriers second
page, here designated <F>, in my reply.
Graber repeats himself in an attempt to magnify Pauls supposed arrogance, but only magnifies his own ignorance!
<Section O> H. Graber states: Paul tells us in Gal. 1:6-9,
I marvel that ye are so soon removed
from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: (meaning
the gospel of Paul) Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you,
and would pervert the gospel of Christ. But though we, or an angel from heaven,
preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let
him be accursed. As we said before, so say I now again, if any man preach any
other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed. Paul claims that his doctrine is
infallable [sic], and the Galations [sic] must accept it or be accursed. IS THE
GOSPEL OF PAUL THE SAME AS THE GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST?
In reply to
section <O>:
This last paragraph on page 4 from Grabers
paper (which runs into the beginning of page 5 of his original document),
discusses Galatians 1:6-9. Graber claims that Paul is forcing his own gospel,
and not Christs, upon the Galatians.
Paul says differently at 1:7, assuring that this gospel he preaches is the
gospel of Christ. As I hope to have demonstrated over the past 25 hand written
pages of this response to Graber, it may be a wiser choice to believe Paul,
indeed! Is it proper to curse or consider cursed those who would deny the
gospel of Christ? Of course it is! Peter calls those who have forsaken the right way cursed children (2 Pet. 2:14-15). Christ
Himself says of the goats depart
from me, ye cursed (Matt. 25:41).
Was Pauls doctrine infallible? An
honest study of Pauls letters reveal
no fault on Pauls part when compared
with the four gospels, though in places Pauls
mere humanness is surely revealed, and as Paul at times himself admits. Pauls letters are NOT his gospel (which is
surely found with Luke), but rather are an explanation of the various questions
posed by the various Christian assemblies, an exposition of various topics from
Scripture, and an application of Scripture to some of the problems of the time.
Remember that Peter himself had full respect for Pauls writings (2 Peter 3:15-16), something that Graber, who so
proudly gleans his spiritual
sustenance from ... Peter, yet doesnt seem to comprehend! H. Graber,
hypocrite, liar, dissembler, and, I suspect, kike!
<Section P> H. Graber states: CONCERNING THE APOSTLE PAUL,
we read the words of Luke, Pauls
constant companion during their ministry, in Acts chapter 9, telling us of the
miraculous conversion of Saul of Tarsus, where he purportedly received his
commission as an apostle of Jesus Christ. The problem with this scenario is
that there is absolutely no evidence of this event, except THE WORDS OF PAUL
HIMSELF, via his Publicity Agent. This event is presented again in the 22nd and
27th chapters of Acts. There is no other Bible record of this event, and not a
word to be found in secular history, except the claim of Paul himself. We know
that Jesus selected His twelve Disciples, and commissioned them to preach the
Gospel of the Kingdom, but Jesus did not select, or do we have any record of
Him commissioning any of the professed apostles. Even as Luke and Paul profess
to be apostles of Christ, I likewise make that claim. Am I telling the truth?
Are Luke and Paul telling us the truth? Jesus Christ tells us in Matt. 7:16, Ye shall know them by their fruits. And again in I John 4:1, BELOVED, believe not every spirit, but try
the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out
into the world.
In reply to
section <P>:
In this second paragraph on page 5 of Grabers
original document, Graber states that there is no evidence of Pauls Road to Damascus event outside of the
Bible, which of course is true yet there is no evidence of or mention of many
things Biblical outside of the Bible, Grabers
argument here is inane. The event would not be mentioned outside of Acts for
the same reasons that Paul was not mentioned in the gospels or catholic letters
except for 2 Peter, which I address at <C> in this response. Returning to 2
Peter, by saying the things which Peter said of Paul, we may assuredly infer
that Peter accepted Pauls accounts,
including that of the Road to Damascus event. That James accepted Pauls person also infers such. So here Graber
offers a different approach to the same argument which fails him in paragraph
four on page 1 of his original document. And who is the liar, but H. Graber?
<Section Q> H. Graber states: Paul seems to have been
obsessed with the world of mystery. First we are told of his mysterious
conversion, and then we read in II Cor. 12:1-8, It is not expedient for me doubtless to glory. I will come to
visions and revelations of the Lord. I knew a man in Christ above fourteen
years ago, (whether in the body, I cannot tell; or whether out of the body, I
cannot tell: God knoweth;) such an one caught up to the third heaven. And I
knew such a man, (whether in the body, or out of the body, I cannot tell: God
knoweth;) How that he was caught up into paradise, and heard unspeakable words,
which is not lawful for man to utter.
The mysterious claim of Paul having a connection with some entity of the third
heaven, means he was not in communication with Jesus Christ, Who is sitting on
the right hand of God, which is the seventh heaven. (The Book of Enoch) To the
contrary, we find that the third heaven is described as between corruptibility and incorruptibility, with the Northern side manifesting magic making, enchantments and devilish
witchcrafts, In light of what we
have presented thus far, I ask the question, Was Paul motivated and inspired by
the Spirit of Jesus Christ?
In reply to
section <Q>:
I will try to keep this brief. It is clear in the Revelation that John had the
same type of out-of-body experience which Paul describes here, as
it is mentioned at Rev. 4:1. If Graber does not understand such, it certainly
is not Pauls fault. Pauls account in 2 Corinthians 12 does NOT
necessarily conflict with the account in Enoch which Graber presents here
(which I find not in my Charles edition of 1 Enoch, Graber may be referencing
the Enoch found in The Lost Books of the
Bible and the Forgotten Books of Eden).
It amazes me that
Graber would argue that Jesus Christ
... is sitting on the right hand of God, which is the seventh heaven as if He could not move from that
position these 2,000 earth years if He so willed! Does Graber think his readers
are idiots, to even utter such a ridiculous argument? Additionally, Paul
mentions several different mysteries in his letters, yet is hardly obsessed
with anything but the truth, being the revelation of each of those mysteries
(i.e. the revealing of the Edomite-Canaanite-jews as the children of Satan: 2
Thes. 2:3-8, 1 Cor, 2:6-8; or the fact that Israel is favored simply because of
genetic reasons: Eph. 1:3-9; et al.) A mystery is basically something not fully
understood. It is apparent to me that the entire Bible is a mystery to H.
Graber, and he realizes it not!
<Section R> H. Graber states: THE RECORD OF SECULAR AUTHORS : Now I shall document a few
quotes from secular authors, concerning the professed apostle Paul.
From
Paul the Man by Michael Grant, quote, Far
from claiming to have known Jesus personally, when he was alive, he (Paul) is
asserting a knowledge about him (Jesus) superior in quality to anything that
mere eye witnesses of his life on earth could ever claim for themselves, (such
as Matthew, John, Peter, or James) for he had not been among their number, and
was anxious to assert superiority over them. He does not therefore think of
himself as a disciple of the historic Jesus, as indeed he had not been, but a
man commissioned by Him after His death, and events, and a timeing [sic] which
relegated the actual details of His teaching during His former earthly life to
comparative unimportance in Pauls
eyes,
From
Paul the Man by Michael Grant, quote, What
is most surprising of all those familiar with modern ideas of Christianity, is
to discover that Paul, although he recognized that Jesus had come to earth in
human form, believed that He had never been the Messiah in His lifetime, but
only became this when He was declared the Son of God. He was proclaimed the Son
of God by a mighty act, in which He rose from the dead. (Ref. Rom. 1:4)
From
Androcles and the Lion by George Bernard Shaw, quote, Howbeit, Paul succeeded in stealing the image
of Christ crucified for the figurehead of his salvationist vessel, with its [sic] Adam poseing [sic] as the natural
man. Its [sic] doctrine of original
sin and its [sic] damnation
avoidable only by faith in the sacrafice [sic] on the cross. In fact, no sooner
had Jesus knocked over the dragon of superstition, then Paul boldly set it on it's [sic] legs again in the name of Jesus. (Ref. Acts 13:46-47, Gal. 4:14, Rom.
4:5)
From
Paul the Man by Michael Grant, quote, True,
Paul denies that he is actually identifying the Torah with sinfulness, is the
law identical with sin? Of course not! Never the less [sic] he goes much
farther with his criticism of the law, apparantly [sic] than Jesus ever did,
and by so doing, he denies the need, or importance of the only ethical code the
Jews posessed [sic]. Indeed he is actually declaring, that this code does more
harm than good. True that impression is contradicted, seemingly by careful
moral direction which he offers in other passages. Yet his discription [sic] of
the Jewish law remains on record. To justify this sensational rejection, he
brings forth other points as well. One of them calculates to appeal directly to
those versed in Jewish tradition, that Abraham who was the traditional founder
of Israel and its [sic] monotheism,
and was regarded as the righteous man. Managed perfectly well to win the good
will of God, before the Mosaic law ever existed. So the law cannot be regarded
as indispensible [sic] for the purpose, and its
[sic] demotion is merely a return to the original covenant granted by God to
Moses ancestor Abraham, but
frustrated by subsequent generations.
(Ref. Rom. 4:15-16, Rom. 4:1-5)
From
Paul the Man by Michael Grant, quote, The
faith which Paul himself came to hold, and desired others to hold with him,
was, faith in the crucifiction [sic] and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and the
consequences of those events for mankind. This was by far the most important
part of his beliefs and preachings and teachings, and it means that they scarcly
[sic] be compared at all with those of Jesus. For even if Jesus in His last
days came to foresee His own violent death as in some way redemptive, this idea
had not manifestly stood in the forefront of His ministry, which through His
career had centered on the dawning and shortly to be consumated [sic] Kingdom
of God. It was scarcly [sic] surprising then, that Paul showed so little
interest in Jesus life. For what the
two men preached was quite different, and the Christianity we have today is
largely Pauls creation. (Ref. Gal. 1:6-9, Rom. 2:16)
From
Dr. Joachim Prince, President of the
American Jewish Congress, quote, Saul
of Tarsus is the real founder of the Christian Church, and the true archetect
[sic] of christian [sic] theology. Conciously [sic] or unconciously [sic]
Paul worked to establish the church in Rome and not Jerusalem. Suffice it to
say, there is much history to support the claim, that it was not Peter that
established the Roman Catholic Church, but rather the PROFESSED APOSTLE PAUL. [Bold emphasis mine.]
In reply to
section <R>:
From the fourth paragraph of page 5 to the third of page 6 of Grabers original Kingdom Courier publication, Graber supplies what he calls The Record of Secular Authors concerning Paul of Tarsus (as if his narrow
selection met so wide an objective), choosing quotes from Michael Grant, George
Bernard Shaw, and Joachim Prince.
From Michael
Grant, Graber offers a statement concerning Romans 1:4, much like that which
Graber offered as his own on page 4, paragraph 2 of his publication (which I
addressed previously at <K> of this reply).
Grant refers to the Books of Moses as the Torah and to the Levitical Law as the Jewish law,
makes the same mistake as judaized-churchianity by regarding Paul as having
rejected the law, and draws false conclusions from his ill-guided perspectives.
It is clear to me that Michael Grant is writing from a mainstream jewish
perspective, even if he is not a jew himself (though I do not discount that
possibility). To this I might ask, Can
a devil open the eyes of the blind?
Speaking of which,
Joachim Prince (who Graber quotes at page 6, paragraph 3 of his Kingdom Courier) certainly is a devil!
Why is Graber quoting jews concerning Christianity? Can Graber be a Christian,
while honoring the opinions of Satan? This alone exposes Graber as a fraud,
respecting the lies of the anti-christ! For there is NO TRUTH in them (John 8:44, 1 John 4:3)! Yet here Graber offers
still more deceit.
In the last
paragraph on page 5 of my copy of his document, Graber quotes George Bernard
Shaw concerning Paul. I will address Shaws
statement below. First, note that in the fourth paragraph of page 7 of his
(original) document (found here at <Section T> below) Graber accuses Paul of being a
socialist and a humanist, and of seeding a One
World Government. Now I have already
exposed Grabers own humanism on page
1 of this hand written reply, [see <A> above], however
let us check out Mr. Shaw, from the
American Heritage College Dictionary: Shaw,
George Bernard ... Irish born British playwright and critic who was a founder
of the Fabian Society ... and that
society?: Fabian ... 2. Of, relating
to, or being a member of the Fabian Society, which was committed to gradual
means of spreading socialist principles ...
Oh the deceit! Graber, accusing Paul of being an evil, short, swarthy, jew,
quotes such people as he attacks Paul. Graber, accusing Paul of being a
socialist, at the same time quotes socialists! Graber, accusing Paul of being a
humanist, is himself exposed as holding humanist beliefs! No wonder Paul said
in Romans: On which account you are
inexcusable, O man, all who judge, since by your judging another you are
condemning yourself: indeed you practice the things which are judged. So I must ask again, who is a liar, but
H. (Huckster?, Hymie?) Graber?
Now as for the
content of Shaws quoted remark, (to
which Graber adds a reference, citing three of Pauls verses which have nothing to do with that content,) Shaw
claims that Yahshua Knocked over the
dragon of superstition.
Superstition! Now we who are bearers of the Truth know that Yahshua Christ
exposed a walking, talking, genetic dragon, Satan, the children of the accuser
(John 8:44, Matt. 13:37-43. Luke 11:39-52 et al.), and Paul followed Yahshua
Christs example, for which see Acts
13:8-10, 19:13, 20:28-30, Romans 9:1-13, 16:20, 2 Cor. 6:14-18, 2 Thes. 2:3-12
and 1 Tim 6:3-4 (my own translations of Paul are much clearer than the A.V.
especially at Rom. 9 and 2 Thes 2). Paul of Tarsus was clearly an ambassador of
Yahshua Christ, Yahweh Himself! Who is H. Graber an ambassador of? The
Socialist, Shaw? The jew, Joachim Prince? The just as good, if-not-a-jew,
Michael Grant? These are the men that
Graber follows, and has a high regard for!!!
<Section S> H. Graber states: In light of all this
information, we can conclude from scriptures and secular history, that Paul worked
in concert with many to establish the Catholic Church. Among them of course,
his companion, the professed apostle Luke, Clement I, Barnabas, Silas, Judas
Barsabas, Timothy, Justus, Gallio, Pricilla [sic] and Aquila, Gaius,
Aristarchus, Alexander, and Gamaliel.
The
historic information on many of these characters is sketchy, but I shall
endeavor to present what I can find, in order to present the scenario
surrounding the apostle Paul, and his professed apostleship for Jesus Christ.
The information is taken from divers sources, such as the Encyclopedia
Americana, The Harvard Classics, The Bible, and related documentation.
LUKE, Eustabius [sic
Eusebius] states that Luke was born at Antioch, and Paul seems to imply that he
was a Gentile. There has been much discussion on the question as to the
existance [sic] in Luke of a Jewish or of a Gentile bias. Those
who find it markedly Jewish in tone, incline to distrust the tradition
ascribing its [sic] composition to
the Gentile physician; those who regard it as the Pauline gospel, naturally
find it easier to associate it with the companion of the apostle to the
Gentiles. I believe that if Luke was
a Gentile, that he would have an affinity for Paul, because it was Paul that
proclaimed salvation for the Gentiles. Even today we see this same affinity of
the Gentiles to the Jewish Pied Pipers of equal
opportunity, human rights, anti-discrimination, etc. etc..
TIMOTHEUS, He is listed as a disciple of St. Paul, and not of Jesus
Christ. He was born of a Gentile father and a Jewish mother.
GAMALIEL, He was a Jewish lawyer, President of the Sanhedrin under
the corrupt reigns of Tiberius, Caligula, and Claudius.
ALEXANDER, Supporter of the doctrine of Paul and his endeavors in
establishing the Catholic Church, and later became a Pope of the church.
ALL
the other close associates are listed as either Jew or Gentile, some of them
noted for their adherance [sic] to Platonism, which seems to agree with the
apostle Pauls doctrine. We also note
that Paul spent much time in synagogues, contrary to the ministry of Jesus
Christ and His Disciples. We should also mention that another character that
supported the apostle Paul, was Clement, who also later became a Pope, Clement
I.
<Section S-2>: Speaking of Paul and the people
surrounding Paul, we read in Eustabius [sic Eusebius] #6 [sic 6.19 from
Eusebius, The History Of the Church, translation by G. A. Williamson, published
by Penguin Books © 1965, revisions 1989, pages 195-196. Why doesnt Graber properly identify his source?], In their eagerness to find, not a way to
reject depravity [sic the depravity] in [sic of] the Jewish scriptures, but a
means to explain [sic of explaining] it away, they resorted to interpretations
which cannot be reconciled or harmonized with scriptures, and which provides
[sic provide] not so much a defence of the original authors, as a foolsome [sic
fulsome, which means offensive]
advertisement for the interpretors [sic interpreters]. Inigmas [sic Enigmas] is the pompous name they have given [sic
they give] to the perfectly plain statements of Moses, gloryfying [sic
glorifying] them as oracles full of hidden mysteries, and bewitching the
critical factor [sic faculty] by their extravagent [sic extravagant] nonsense. [My
God! - Cant H. Graber read? C.A.E.]
It
is my understanding from the foregoing research, that indeed it depicts a
scenario of betrayal. I ask myself, How can such a man as the professed apostle
Paul, indeed be an apostle of Jesus Christ, in light of what his doctrine
expounds, and what historians have to say of him? How can I justify Pauls hand in the creation of the Roman
Catholic Church nothing more or less than an extention [sic extension] of
Babylonian Judaism. (The Two Babylons, by Alexander Hislop.) Jewish influence
in the Roman Catholic Church is historically evident from its [sic] earliest foundations. The Jewish
Pierleoni family had (3) Popes on the Throne. Gregory VI (John Pierleoni), who
bought the Throne for 6000 pounds sterling. Gregory VII (Hildabrandt [sic
Hildebrand] Pierleoni), and Anacletus II (Pietro Pierleoni). It was the Roman
Catholic Church that sent a group of Monks from Italy to Jerusalem, to
establish the monestary [sic] of The
Order of Zion, which I believe is
today manifest in the Learned Elders
of Zion. These are the forces of
evil in the world today that are bent upon establishing a Zionist One World Government.
In reply to
section <S>:
I am not going to specifically address most of Grabers poorly documented slanderous remarks concerning certain New
Testament figures here. Some of them have already been addressed in various
places in the preceding pages, directly or indirectly. I will say that Graber
is but a blasphemer and slanderer, and it is evident that his true intent is to
subvert and to undermine, hurling accusations and being ignorant of the Truth!
One thing that I
will comment upon concerning these nine paragraphs, from the fourth of page 6
through the third of page 7 of Grabers
original document, is his very tenuous (a word from the Greek verb J,\<T, to stretch)
claim that the Romish catholic church was founded by Paul of Tarsus along with
these named New Testament figures. This is a blatant lie! For all of the early
Christians at Rome, from Paul and the British Christians of the family of
Caradoc, and several of the first bishops of Rome and their followers with
them, were persecuted and slain by the Romans, at the behest of the jews. There
is absolutely no connection between the Romish church which began its
development in Byzantium at the time of Constantine, and more notably the later
emperor Justinian, and the True Christian assemblies at Rome in the first
century, which were related to those of not only the Mediterranean regions, but
of Ireland and Britain which are known as the Celtic Church. George Jowett, E.
Raymond Capt, and Clifton Emahiser have gone to great lengths to demonstrate
this. And who in Israel Identity is ignorant of this, but H. Graber? To pin the
pope
label onto Paul, Linus, Clement or Alexander is to join in league with the
Romish catholics and their blasphemies, which Graber does here. The people who
had ultimately made the Romish catholic church the fraud that it is are the
same people who slew the early Christians (including Paul), who also crucified
Yahshua, and slew the prophets: and Im
not accusing Romans, but jews! Read the martyrologies and early church fathers
such as Tertullian!
Now it will be necessary to backtrack to where H. Graber had just
misused a quote from Eusebius The
History Of the Church, translation by G. A. Williamson, published by
Penguin Books © 1965, revisions 1989, pages 195-196, where he didnt properly identify his source. Clifton Emahiser
had three sources for Eusebius work and was fortunate to have had the edition
from which H. Graber quoted from, which he so badly copied, making numerous
errors, and which reads from Grabers
Kingdom Courier thusly <Section S-2>:
In their eagerness to find, not a way to reject depravity [sic the depravity] in [sic of] the Jewish scriptures, but a means to explain [sic of explaining] it away, they resorted to interpretations which cannot be reconciled or harmonized with scriptures, and which provides [sic provide] not so much a defence of the original authors, as a foolsome [sic fulsome, which means offensive] advertisement for the interpretors [sic interpreters]. Inigmas [sic Enigmas] is the pompous name they have given [sic they give] to the perfectly plain statements of Moses, gloryfying [sic glorifying] them as oracles full of hidden mysteries, and bewitching the critical factor [sic faculty] by their extravagent [sic extravagant] nonsense. [My God! - Cant H. Graber read? C.A.E.]
In reply to section <S-2>: Here is either a purposely deceitful act on Grabers part, or one of the most idiotic instances in the history of scholarship. Graber has taken a paragraph from Eusebius, and has claimed that these are the very words of the church historian speaking of Paul, when in fact Graber quotes a known liar whom most of the early church fathers condemned as such. Yes, the paragraph Graber cites is found in Eusebius, even though Graber could not cite it properly. It is apparent that Graber does not check out the context in which a passage is written, but chooses only a few short lines which he can force to fit his theory, no matter how nefarious the source might be. Yet checking the source itself, perhaps something Graber may have hoped that no one would do, we find the following:
The words Graber quotes are not Eusebius, but a quote by Eusebius of an early anti-Christian writer and perverter of the truth named Porphyry.
Porphyry was not even speaking of Paul, but of another early Christian writer named Origen, who lived from about 185-245 A.D.
Eusebius considered Porphyry, who Graber is actually quoting, to be but a liar! Graber, the liar, relies upon liars, and lies about Eusebius too!
In
order to demonstrate this fully, a larger portion of this same chapter of
Eusebius, 6.19, from the same edition misused by Graber, that of G. A.
Williamson at pages 195-196, but including the surrounding text (exposing Grabers misapplication of his source) is
faithfully reproduced here. In this passage, Eusebius is discussing Origen (and
indirectly Porphyry), not Paul:
19. Testimony to his [Origens]
success in these endeavours is paid by the Greek philosophers who flourished in
his time, in whose writings I have found many references to him. Sometimes they
dedicated their works to him, sometimes they submitted their own labours to
him, as to a master, for criticism. Far more significant is the case of Porphyry, who in my own time settled in
Sicily and in an attempt to traduce the Holy Scriptures published a long
treatise attacking us, in which he refers to those who have interpreted them.
He finds it quite impossible to bring any damaging accusation against our
doctrines, so for lack of arguments he turns to abuse and traduces the
interpreters. His special target is Origen, whom he claims to have known as a
young man and attempts to traduce, little knowing that he is actually
commending him. When he cannot help it,
he tells the truth; when he thinks he will not be found out, he tells lies.
Sometimes he accuses him as a Christian, sometimes he enlarges on his addiction
to philosophic studies. Listen to his actual words [Here is a correct reading
of the passage H. Graber garbled]:
In their eagerness to find, not a way
to reject the depravity of the Jewish [sic Israelite] Scriptures, but a means
of explaining it away, they resorted to interpretations which cannot be
reconciled or harmonized with those scriptures, and which provide not so much a
defence of the original authors as a fulsome advertisement for the
interpreters. Enigmas is the pompous name they give to the
perfectly plain statements of Moses, glorifying them as oracles full of hidden
mysteries, and bewitching the critical faculty by their extravagant nonsense
... This absurd method must be attributed to a man whom I met while I was still
quite young, who enjoyed a great reputation and thanks to the works he has left
behind him, enjoys it still. I refer to
Origen, whose fame among teachers of these theories is wide- spread. [emphasis mine, ellipsis in original]
Thus,
it is quite evident from this full
disclosure that Grabers source
implies quite the opposite that he would like his readers to believe. Not only
that, but this reference which Graber cites in Eusebius has absolutely nothing
to do with the apostle Paul! The bottom line is: Graber has taken the words of
a known liar and presented them as being the truth, and out of context at that.
Graber is either hopelessly ignorant, or an accomplished con-artist. Take your
pick.
<Section T> H. Graber states: I
believe that contrary to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the apostle Paul teaches a
doctrind [sic] of socialism and humanism, which establish the foundations for a
One World Government. Paul himself tells us in Heb. 13:8, Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and
today, and forever. If Paul indeed
believes this, how does he justify his divergent doctrine from the Gospel of
Jesus Christ? Paul tells us in I Cor. 9:20-22, And unto the Jew I become [sic became] as a Jew, that I might
gain the Jews; to them that are under the law, that I might gain them that are
without law. To them that are without law, as without law, (being not without
law to God, but under the law to Christ,) that I might gain them that are
without law. To the weak become I as weak, that I might gain the weak: I am
made all things to all men, that I might by all means save some. This is an all inclusive position for
any one to take. This includes compromise, this includes ignorant arrogance,
for how can a mere man be ALL things to ALL men? And again Paul
speaks of saving people: ONLY JESUS CHRIST CAN AND DID DO THAT!
In
reply to section <T>:
I have already addressed most of Grabers
statements in these final paragraphs (from the fourth on page 7 to the end of
page 8 of his publication as originally formatted), so I am not going to repeat
myself, yet there are a few things left to address.
In
the closing lines of the fourth paragraph on page 7 of his original document,
Graber criticizes Pauls remarks at 1
Cor. 9:20-22 (where basically Paul is only explaining that he tries to speak to
people on their own terms, not with the pretense of superiority and authority
that the jew rabbis and their catholic followers do), and Graber accuses Paul
of ignorant arrogance and states that again Paul speaks of saving people: ONLY JESUS CHRIST CAN AND
DID DO THAT! And here it can be
demonstrated that Graber lies again! It is obvious to me that Graber, while
claiming to glean his spiritual
sustenance from ... James surely hasnt read James! Let us read James 5:19-20
from the A.V.: Brethren, if any of
you do err from the truth, and one
convert him, Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error
of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins. (The emphasis is mine, of course).
Who is a liar, but H. Graber? Why does he criticize Paul, and not James for
making such a similar statement? While it is evident that Yahshua Christ,
Yahweh Himself, is the author of our salvation, as Paul attests at 1 Thes. 5:9,
2 Tim. 2:10, Titus 2:11, and especially at Hebrews 2:10 and 5:9, it is also
clear that the workman is worthy of
his meat (Matt. 10:10), and that the
children of Israel share in the fruits of their labors, which many parables
illustrate (i.e. Matt. 20:1-16, 25:14-30). Graber, like the jews which Yahshua
reproved time and again, claims to know the Scripture, but is consistently
reproved by Scripture.
<Section U> H. Graber states: When
we consider the books of the New Testement [sic], written by Luke and Paul, and
recognizing that the book of Mark was also tampered with by an unknown scribe,
then one comes to consider these works as a conspiracy to subvert Christianity.
We know that in the last chapter of Mark, verses 9-20 were not in the original
transcript of the apostle Mark, and when you consider these added verses, we
see that they do not harmonize with the first eight verses, and are the first
indication that Christianity was to be a universal religion, quote, and preach the gospel to every creature. I believe that this was part of the
betrayal, to justify Pauls claim
that he was commissioned to go to the Gentiles. We know that Jesus Christ never
commanded His Disciples to go to the Gentiles, or for that matter to every
creature. He commanded to only go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel! And
Jesus told His Disciples in Matt. 10:23, But
when they persecute you in this city, flee ye into another: for verily I say
unto you, Ye shall not have gone over the cities of Israel, till the Son of man
be come. From this we can conclude,
that as of this moment, not ALL Israelites have yet received the Gospel of
Jesus Christ.
In conclusion, allow me to simply sum up the gist of this exposition,
The Gospel of Jesus Christ versus The Doctrine of the Apostle Paul. I believe I
have presented sufficient evidence, that there is a great discrepency [sic]
between the Doctrine of Jesus, and the doctrine of Paul.
In
reply to section <U>:
Mark cannot be blamed that the end of his gospel was lost, or maybe never even
completed. And Mark certainly cannot be blamed that long after his death
certain men (there are three spurious endings extant to Marks gospel, not just one) attempted to pollute his gospel by
supplying their own endings. Marks
gospel is sound and there is no valid reason to reject it once the spurious
ending is removed. Johns gospel was
added to (for John 7:53 through 8:11 is surely a late interpolation) and so was
one of his epistles (the end of 1 John 5:7 and the beginning of 5:8), and we
certainly dont want to reject those
for such reason! Now if Graber does not seem to reject Marks gospel in this last paragraph of
section <U>, he certainly did
in the last paragraph on page 1, (or here at section <C>),
even calling Mark a professed
apostle, as he also calls Luke and
Paul, as if they were not worthy of the title. H. Graber is little but a lying
duplicitous hypocrite!
Graber
also insists here, and at the top of page 8 (the second paragraph [of his
original document] there), that Paul brought the gospel to gentiles.
An examination of Pauls letters, of
Lukes gospel, and of the Acts clearly
shows that Paul only brought the gospel to those nations (Gen. 17:6, 35:11)
which were colonized by Israelites of the Old Kingdom, or founded by Israelites
of the Assyrian deportations. This message is obfuscated in many places by all mainstream
translations, which is the reason for my own work in Paul in the first place. I
will begin an article highlighting certain mistranslations and misconceptions
in Luke and Acts sometime this winter. Luke 1:67-80 alone vindicates his
gospel, for Luke knew perfectly well that the New Covenant applied only to the
true Israelites. Note also Luke 1:54-55.
Language
in Romans proves that Paul knew that the Romans were Israelites. Language in 1
Corinthians proves that Paul knew that the Dorian Greeks were Israelites.
Language in Colossians proves likewise! History and archaeology support these
claims fully. Galatians and Scythians and the Iberians of Spain are also
Israelites, Paul knew it, and he went to them, just as he was supposed to! H.
Graber is not only a liar, but a man of little understanding! Paul did not go
to gentiles, but to Israel! It can even be demonstrated, or rather should be
evident to one who studies, that at Acts 17 Paul even treats the Japhethite
Athenians differently!
Graber
continues:
1. Jesus said, go not to the Gentiles, but rather
go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Paul proclamed [sic] himself the
apostle to the Gentiles, and compromised in the Jewish synagogues. [see Fincks
comments at <U> and <H>]
2. Jesus said that He was the Messiah, and He and the Father
are one. Paul claims messiahship for himself, and does not attribute this
recognition to Jesus untill [sic] after the resurrection. [see Fincks
comments at <L>]
3. Jesus was reckoned by geneaology [sic], the same as all
the seed of Adam, throughout the Old Testement [sic], many times. Paul negates
the reckoning by geneaology [sic]. [See the comments at <I>]
4. Jesus said, not one jot or tittle of the law would pass,
even untill [sic] heaven and earth shall pass. Paul negates the Commandments,
Statutes, and Judgments of God, by the stroke of his pen, upon the cross. [See the comments
at <J>]
5. Jesus instructed His Disciples to preach the Gospel of
the Kingdom. Paul teaches and preaches a gospel of salvation, an event that was
finished on the cross for all true Israelites. Paul tells us many times
that he is preaching his own gospel. [See the comments at <V>, <M> & <O>]
6. Jesus gave us many scriptures, admonishing us not to lie.
Paul admits to lieing [sic], if and when it serves his purpose. [See the comments
at <E>]
7. There is NO evidence given by the words of Jesus Christ,
or His Disciples, concerning the miraculous conversion of Saul of Tarsus, and
certainly there was ample opportunity to do so. [see Fincks
comments at <P>] Therefore, we have only the words of Paul himself, that have established him as The Great Lion of God. (Here we should be aware of the
historic promotion by Jews, and Gentiles, that catapulted Paul into prominance
[sic].)
In
reply to Graber at #5 <V>:
Here Graber accused Paul of not following the command of Yahshua to preach the gospel of the Kingdom. As I said at <O> of my reply, Pauls letters are NOT his gospel, which is surely
found in Luke. We dont even have all
of Pauls letters (i.e. 1 Cor. 5:9),
but probably only a small percentage of what he wrote. Nearly everyone Ive ever read who criticizes Paul seems to
neglect these facts.
Now
at Acts 19:8, Luke says that Paul in Ephesus ...
spake boldly for the space of three months, disputing and persuading the things
concerning the kingdom of God. See
Acts 20:25, 28:23 and 28:31. See then Romans 14:17, 1 Cor. 4:20, 6:9-10, 15:24,
50, Gal. 5:21, Eph. 5:5, Col. 1:13 and 4:11, 1 Thes. 2:12, 2 Thes. 1:5, 2 Tim.
4:1, 18, and Heb. 1:8 and 12:28! So who is a liar, but H. Graber?
Do
we look forward to the establishment of Yahwehs
law? So did Paul (Romans 3:31). Do we look forward to the destruction of Yahwehs enemies? So did Paul (Romans 16:20). Do
we assert a knowledge of the identification of the lost sheep which
Yahshua Christ established a New Covenant with? So did Paul (Romans 1:25, 1:31,
4:16-18, 1 Cor. 10:1-13, Eph. 1:4, Col. 1:20-21, etc.) Do we look forward to
His return and the fulfillment of the establishment of His Kingdom? So did Paul
(2 Tim. 4:1). Is this not the hope of Israel? Of course it is, which is also
Pauls hope (Acts 28:20)! Notice that
Paul said Israel, not Israel
and the Gentiles (to borrow a phrase
from Clifton Emahiser). Dont blame
Paul that some deceiver read J §2<0
1550 years after Paul wrote, and translated gentiles rather than nations!
As
for the law, all good Christians should seek to follow the laws of Yahweh! But
remember that James opinions of the
law which must have come from Yahweh Himself, and the prophets agree also
is fully cohesive with Pauls
opinions. We being Israelites of the Faith are not going to be judged by the
law. But our enemies the jews (and arabs) will be! Although the written law is
good and is holy (Rom. 7:12) and we seek to establish it, desiring to be
obedient (Rom. 3:31), do not put a
yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able
to bear (Acts 15:10). Note Matt.
11:25-30. We are to separate ourselves from unrepentant lawbreakers (i.e. 1
Cor. 5:9-13, Rev. 22:15 et al.)
If
I have not demonstrated that H. Graber is a liar and a fraud, manifold, then
explain such to me. I will resign from writing anything of this sort again. If
I have uttered a lie and attempt to deceive, explain it to me. I will resign
from writing anything of this sort again. No liar should ever be allowed to be
a teacher, and escape condemnation.
Either
I am a liar, or H. Graber is a liar. There is nothing in between. He is a
deceiver, or I am a deceiver. There is no compromise. There are many opinions
in the world, but only one Truth. If I have built upon a foundation of sand,
prove it before me, and I will resign from building. Yet if H. Graber is found
to be a liar, I adjure the reader: Study again Lukes gospel, Acts, and Pauls
letters, and in a new light make a new determination. I also adjure such a one:
please share my reply to Graber with anyone also who may have read H. Grabers document from his misnamed Kingdom Courier, December, 1985, that
they may have the opportunity to see his many lies. Even share it with Mr.
Graber himself, if indeed he still lives, his document being just short of 20
years old.
With
this I will close, only reiterating one thing: that those who criticize Paul of
Tarsus and question the validity of his ministry seek only the ultimate
division and destruction of Christianity itself. Do not be deceived by their
devices!
Graber
closes his Kingdom Courier, December,
1985 thusly: This subject deserves a volume of documentation, and I hope such
research and writting [sic] shall be forthcoming. In light of what has been
presented in this bulletin, it becomes an indavidual [sic] readers [sic] option
to accept or reject the obvious disputatious evidence presented herein. You may
elect to put your head in a pile of sand, and hope it will go away. Finally, we
are all indavidually [sic], the captains of our own eternal destiny! [See
the comments at <A>]
For myself, I shall reject Mark 16:9-20, and ALL of the
works of the professed apostles Luke and Paul! I shall glean my spiritual
sustenance from Matthew, John, Peter, and James, the SURE Disciples of Jesus
Christ, and this will remove for me, all the confusion and contradiction I
encounter between the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and the doctrine of the professed
apostle Paul! [Again, see the
comments at <A>]
This
ends the critical response to the entity calling itself Kingdom Courier, and its Executive
Director and Publisher Dr. H. Graber,
5393 Carleton Road, Mariposa, CA 95338.
I last spoke to the original recipient of this letter concerning its
contents in December 2003. At that time my friend only stated it was good,
and that he would pass it on to one of the other anti-Paulist Israel Identity
pastors in his congregation, who will also go unnamed here. Yet sadly, my
friend continues in the camp of the anti-Paulists to this day. It is now July
of 2005, and despite my pleas and my challenges, which are duplicated here, I
have never been answered by my friend or by those whom he shared it with.
Rather, my friend ceased sending me any more of the anti-Paul material which he
or his congregation still produce and circulate! To me this is a sad situation,
but a perfect example of a peoples
willingness to believe a lie, rather than undertake the more difficult journey
necessary in order to arrive at the truth. For my part, I shall not become
exasperated, but rather hope to continue that I may more fully manifest the
folly of all those who speak against Paul of Tarsus.
[H. Graber was a close follower of W. G.
Finlay from South Africa, and on his audio tape #87, Finlay identified the
source of his conviction. Finlay based his Paul-bashing tenets on a book Popes From The Ghetto by Dr. Joachim
Prince, president of the American Jewish
Congress, and chairman of the Conference Of Presidents of Major Jewish
Organizations. Finlay also
referred to Prince as The learned rabbi, who still serves in the
Temple Beni-Abram of Newark in New Jersey.
Finlay further stated:
Dr. Prince, who in common with most
theologians both Christian and Jewish, claims that Saul of Tarsus was the real
founder of the Christian Church, and the true architect of Christian theology.
He prefaces his work, which provides the documentary evidence, indicating that
three popes during the Middle Ages were Jewish, was a very illuminating
statement. He wrote, Early Christianity, which should be called Jesusdom for
it is still intimately connected with Jesus of Nazareth, and not with the
Church, or with a set of doctrines is a religion of the last days of mankind.
Now, this statement, when placed side by side with what Dr. Prince had to say
about Paul being the founder of the Christian Church ... Questions: Were we
not instructed by Christ Himself, beware
of the leaven of the Pharisees, Matt. 16:6? Were we not told that those
who did not believe Christ are Anti-Christs? And that there is no truth in
them? And that they are of the synagogue of Satan? Thus, anti-Paulists are
hypnotized by the Jews. Clifton A. Emahiser]
PAUL
WAS NOT A MISOGYNIST!
Many
today accuse Paul of Tarsus of misogyny (hatred of women), and no doubt because
of some of Pauls remarks concerning the
place of women in Christian society. It does not surprise me that in todays liberal feminist society, where even
ideas generally perceived as being moderate or centrist are actually skewed far
to the left, that this is a prevailing view amongst the jew-controlled,
jew-media dominated jew-led and fed masses of the populace. That feminism is a
jewish cause and a primary jewish-led movement is easily demonstrated in the
identities of its leaders, such as Emma Goldman, Betty Friedan, Gloria Steinem,
Bella Abzug, et al., and also by their own testimony, which is published
regularly by their media outlets. For instance in the Wall Street Journal, in an article entitled How Do You Mark 350 Years in America? by Naomi Schaefer Riley,
which ran on p. W13 on Sept. 9, 2005, it is boasted that ... there is much to be gained from
studying Jewish life in America after the mass migrations from Eastern Europe.
Jews were among the most prominent voices pushing for liberalized immigration
policies, a strong labor movement and rights for women ... Nor were Jewish
efforts always on behalf of other Jews. The end of [an exhibit at the Center
for Jewish History in New York] the exhibit explores Jewish participation in
the civil-rights movement. Paul was
certainly at odds with jewish thinking! What we see as a problem (we being aware Saxons), the jews see as an
accomplishment, and take full credit for it!
The
New Testament accounts show beyond doubt that Paul could not have been a
misogynist, a hater of women, and here I shall endeavor to elucidate such in a
simple manner; for it is plainly nothing which needs to be examined too deeply.
In Acts 16, Paul along with Timothy, Silas, and surely Luke
who wrote the account, are at Neapolis in Macedonia where they congregated by a
river for prayer, and spoke at length to women there who did likewise. There a
certain woman Lydia, and her household, were apparently the first Greeks of
Europe to become Christians (lost Israelites returning to Yahweh, as Paul
teaches in all his epistles). This woman later assisted Paul and his
companions, after the brief imprisonment at Philippi (Acts 16:40).
At Berea, as at many other places, Paul preached to honorable women as well as to men (Acts 17:12).
Of the converts at Athens, a women named Damaris merited
particular mention (Acts 17:34).
Paul met Aquila and Priscilla at Corinth, and every time the
couple is mentioned it is obvious that the woman is respected by Paul every bit
as much as her husband, and is even mentioned before him in most places where
the two are mentioned (Acts 18:1, et al.).
Paul entrusted a woman, Phoebe, to bear his epistle to Rome,
and recommended her highly to the Christian assemblies there, also praising her
for her assistance to him (Rom. 16:1-2).
Of the people Paul specifically greeted in his epistle to
the Romans, many were women, including Priscilla, Mary, Persis, Tryphaena,
Tryphosa, the mother of Rufus (and Paul) and the sister of Nerea. Some of these
were further lauded for their labor in the faith or for their having assisted
Paul in some way.
Other women mentioned are Chloe at 1 Cor. 1:11, and the text
there infers that she is head of a household, and so probably a widow and a
woman of means; Euodia and Syntyche at Php.
4:2; Nympha at Col. 4:5 (although the A.V. and some early mss. have Nymphas
as a man) and Apphia at Phm 2.
Furthermore, in Pauls
letters to Timothy, he spoke especially well of Lois and Eunice, Timothys mother and grandmother, and must have
known them personally (2 Tim. 1:5.) Paul also sent Timothy greetings from
Priscilla, and from Claudia whom history shows is the wife of Rufus, and whom
Paul is staying with at Rome when he wrote Timothy (2 Tim. 4:19, 21).
All
of this shows that Paul certainly had all due respect for women in general, and
had warm and Christian relationships with many of them.
The
opinions which are formulated in and acted on by society today are not correct
simply because a majority of people here are persuaded by them. Christianity is
not a democratic institution, but rather a Theocratic one. A womans place was to be subject to her husband,
as with Paul (1 Cor. 11:3; Eph. 5:23; Col. 3:18), also with Peter (1 Pet.
3:1-5) and so with Yahweh (Gen. 3:16). A womans
place was to keep the household, as it was in Greek society (i.e. Euripides Alcestis
304 ff., Electra 54 ff.) and so with
Paul (Titus 2:5), and so in the Old Testament, i.e. Proverbs chapter 31. Those
who doubt the validity of Pauls
instruction here contend not with Paul, but with the entire Bible!
Paul
instructs that a woman is never to have authority over a man (i.e. 1 Tim 2:12),
and in the Old Testament at Isa. 3:12 we see that it was a reproach for women
to rule over men in that time also. Whether it was the noble Deborah, or the
wicked Athaliah, doesnt matter.
Neither situation says much of the men of those times. Hillary Clinton,
Margaret Thatcher, Janet Reno, Diane Feinstein, et al. are certainly a reproach
to all Saxon men today, along with the millions of women who have forsaken
childbearing and normal household life for love of lucre and status. Those who
feel otherwise contend not against Paul, but against Yahweh! And Judi Nipps and
Nellie Babbs are among their number.
Only
men participated in the democracy of Athens. Women were excluded from
politics, did not speak publicly, and as Euripides character Aethra in his Suppliant
Women says at lines 40-41 It is
proper for women, if they are wise, to do everything through their men. So Pauls
admonition to women, not to speak in the assembly but to learn and inquire by
their husbands (1 Cor. 14:34-35), was surely not a novel contrivance, but
already a part of Hellenistic culture! In fact, Athenian life was stricter yet:
For in Euripides Hecuba at lines 974-75 the title
character states that custom ...
ordains that women shall not look directly at men. The word translated custom in the Loeb Library edition of Euripides
is <`:@l, law everywhere in the New Testament. Pauls admonition against women wandering from house to house ... idle ...
tattlers ... busybodies, speaking things they ought not was a normal concern long before Paul wrote such words, and in
Euripides Andromache lines 930-953, the poet through his character Hermione
expressed very similar concerns.
I
have cited Euripides here, having his writings at hand and having recently read
them, yet may refer to a plethora of Greek writers, even those closer to Pauls own time, to show that Paul was not
being novel to the Greeks concerning treatment of women. Strabo, speaking of
the Cantabrians of Iberia and some of their customs, where women have influence
over their kinsmen, says: The custom
involves, in fact, a sort of woman-rule but this is not at all a mark of
civilisation (Strabo 3.4.18, Loeb
Library edition). Diodorus Siculus, speaking of the mythical Amazons, says The men, however, like our married women,
spent their days about the house, carrying out the orders which were given them
by their wives; and they took no part in military campaigns or in office or in
the exercise of free citizenship in the affairs of the community by virtue of
which they might become presumptuous and rise up against the women, and so of
course in reality, in the Greek world women kept the home, having no voice in
the community, nor role in government. The very role described in Proverbs 31!
As
in the book of Numbers, so in Matthew (14:21, 15:38), women were not counted.
It is not that women do not count, Yahweh forbid! Yet the womans role in a proper Christian society is
clearly defined, and Paul explains that role properly. Pity those who doubt the
truth of such matters. Nothing Paul says is contrary to Old Testament
instruction or practice. Can the anti-Paulists make such a claim for
themselves?
A RESPONSE TO CLAYTON DOUGLAS
ANTI-PAUL ARTICLES, PUBLISHED IN HIS FREE AMERICAN NEWSMAGAZINE
This past summer while Clifton was preparing the Open Letter in Response to H. Graber for publication in his Watchmans Teaching Letters (which has been reproduced above), one of his readers sent him a couple of articles found in Free American Newsmagazine, which much like the trash Graber had produced, were written to attack and discredit Paul of Tarsus. These articles were published in the December, 2003 and January, 2004 issues, and written by Clayton R. Douglas, the magazines publisher. For the purpose of responding to them properly, the articles shall be fully and faithfully reproduced here. First, however, I shall respond to some of the statements made by Douglas in his December, 2003 Publishers Corner, in which he prepares his readers for his subsequent Paul-bashing articles, but which I shall not fully address.
Douglas lays the foundation for his statements by criticizing the jews as a race, where surely his intentions are good, yet I dont see much point in debating any of the jews themselves on the topic, which he describes doing. It may be less frustrating and more productive to simply beat ones head against the proverbial wall. Christ set a good example for us in this regard, for when the Edomite-jew Herod questioned Him at length concerning many things, He answered him nothing (Luke 23:9). Ditto before the Edomite high priests who questioned Him (Matt. 26:62-63, Mark 14:60-61). Why argue with the jews concerning good and evil? How could they, being evil, say anything good (Matt. 12:34)? Douglas goes on to refer to the fact that Judeo-Christianity is almost an oxymoron, and he would have been correct if he had only omitted the almost! Ignatius, the Christian bishop who wrote circa 110 A.D. (according to Thayer) said in his Epistle to the Magnesians at 3:11 (as found in The Lost Books of the Bible and the Forgotten Books of Eden): It is absurd to name Yahshua Christ, and to Judaize. For the Christian Religion did not embrace the Jewish, but the Jewish the Christian.... Surely Ignatius understood that the Old Testament religion of our (we Saxons and Kelts and related peoples) Hebrew fathers was nothing more or less than Christianity before Christ. Judaism is a corrupted version of the Old Testament laws of Moses, adopted by pretenders and charlatans claiming to be something they arent, as Paul explains in Romans 9 and 2 Thes. 2, chapters poorly translated by blind, judaized exegetes.
From here Douglas goes on to attack the position assumed by many mainstream sects, that the Bible as we have it is infallible. Again, Douglas is pretty much on target, but as we will see later, some of his reasoning is wrong. First, basically there is nothing seriously wrong with many of the Greek manuscripts handed down to us through the ages. Copyists errors have occurred in many places, yet the vast majority of them are minor and of little consequence. In other places in some manuscripts synonyms were substituted, often only to replace archaic words with more common ones, or because of preferred variations in regional dialect. Nearly all of these are of no consequence. In some manuscripts difficult or poorly understood sentences were altered, and sometimes this presents a problem, but nowhere are the major tenets of the true Christian faith seriously challenged when the oldest, most reliable manuscripts are followed. More dangerously, spurious additions were made in several places, especially in Mark and John but many smaller ones in Luke, Johns epistles, and elsewhere, many of which made it into the King James Version and persist in more modern versions. Yet because many old manuscripts do not have most of these additions, and more so because archaeologists have more recently discovered many ancient papyri dating from the second through the fifth centuries to which we can compare our copies of ancient manuscripts, the errors and additions made in the texts can be detected, for the most part, and can be corrected or removed. The most glaring, and the lengthiest, examples of such spurious additions to the New Testament texts are found at Mark 16:9-20 and John 7:53-8:11.
Yet for one who studies at length and in depth, it is fully evident that the consistency of the Word and the revelation of its prophecies are the best signs we have that while not today found as perfect as in its original form the books of the Bible (excluding Esther) surely were the inspired Word of Yahweh our God when they were written. Our biggest obstacle to understanding them is translation, and that all of the popular and published New Testament translations have been very poorly done, or at least contain a large quantity of serious errors, is highly demonstrable. And it is not only vague and subjective matters of exegesis (interpretation) that I would contend over, but also many issues of vocabulary and grammar, things which arent so fuzzily subjective.
To his credit, Douglas states that While I believe that the Bible is a valuable, historically accurate document, as accurate as is possible for something done by the hand of man, it is not, for me, the end all and be all it is to mind-molded Christians. This, if by Bible he intends the modern published editions, certainly is true. Yet the greater truths of the Christian faith surely can be revealed through a proper and thorough study of our ancient manuscripts together with history, prophecy, archaeology and language.
Yet Douglas fails where further on he states, There have been numerous translations, from Aramaic to Greek to Latin to Hebrew and finally to English and back again. The jews of today contend that Aramaic was the primary language of Judaea, and that the N.T. books at least many of them were somehow originally written in Aramaic. Both of these contentions are false. While it is apparent that most, if not nearly all, of the Judaeans of the Roman period were bilingual, Greek was the primary language for many, if not for the majority. The inscriptions of the period demonstrate this fully, and even the coins of Herod bore only Greek inscriptions, and even synagogues bore Greek inscriptions where corresponding Aramaic or Hebrew ones are not found (See Biblical Archaeology Review, July-August 2003 pp. 25 and 36). The consistency of all early Greek mss., and the internal textual evidence show that they were all, even Matthew, John, and Pauls epistle to the Hebrews, originally written in Greek. The provenance of the earliest Aramaic (or Syriac) manuscripts known shows that they were translated from Greek into Aramaic, contrary to the claims of todays jews. For brief discussions of this see the introduction to the Nestle-Aland Novum Testamentum Graece, 27th edition (hereinafter simply the NA27), on pages 65-68. Aside from all of this, most of the Old Testament quotes found in the four Gospels and in Paul were taken from the Greek Old Testament, the Septuagint (LXX), and not from any Hebrew or Aramaic version. Although some quotes do more closely resemble translations from those versions, these are but few. The bottom line is that the entire New Testament was originally written in Greek, and our most ancient manuscripts and papyri, while not perfect, must be awfully close to the original accounts.
Then Douglas fails again where he says of the Bible It has been edited, with many books left out, those writings in Thomas and Enoch banned from the sight of the masses ... and goes on to criticize the King James Version. First, not all of the apocryphal or pseudepigraphal books (books which were for one reason or another omitted from the accepted canon at the Council of Nicaea in the 4th century) are worthy of equal credit. Each must be evaluated separately, and it certainly would be wise to do so before criticizing or promoting any of them! While the book commonly known as 1 Enoch contains text which is quoted at length by Jude, alluded to with certainty by Peter, and is quoted or alluded to often elsewhere in the New Testament (for which see the NA27 appendix Loci Citati Vel Allegati, pp. 804-805), it certainly seems that the lost Greek version (or perhaps a Hebrew version), of which some fragments still exist, should have been considered canonical. Yet I would not rely upon or promote with confidence the version from the Ethiopic which we have today, although versions of Enoch which may be more reliable were found among the Dead Sea Scrolls.
But the so-called Gospel of Thomas, along with certain other documents discovered at Nag Hammadi, is nothing but one of those forgeries perpetrated in order to corrupt Christianity by the jewish sect of the Gnostics who were originally based at Alexandria. Failing miserably in the second and third centuries, the Gnostics have had much more success deceiving people today. And clowns such as the novelist Dan Brown have reaped millions by capitalizing on such deception, perpetuating ancient blasphemies.
Yet good or bad, none of these books were ever banned from the sight of the masses! Rather, as also happened to a good many valuable history books, once interest was lost in a book, for whatever reason, scribes simply stopped copying them. Because paper decays, books that fell out of popular favor (in other words, lost commercial viability) or which the organized church was not particularly interested in, simply and gradually vanished. While the King James Version originally contained 14 apocryphal books (not all of them deserving of merit) which were later removed and published only separately, the compilers of that version were certainly not responsible for errors made in the 4th century, at Nicaea, 1200 years beforehand.
Douglas also states: I,
personally, have never felt the need or the desire to attend church. Something
about the people there struck me as hypocritical and judgmental. Nor I am [sic]
a dedicated Bible scholar. I believe that a true knowledge of God is available
for EVERYONE, from within, not from tangled, mangled teachings of various sects.
Now first, for one who isnt a dedicated Bible scholar, and for one who obviously isnt a very good amateur historian, since he has events of the 4th century (decisions made at the Council of Nicaea) and the 17th century (publication of the King James Bible) confounded, Douglas surely goes out on a limb, because he is about to spend nearly 13 pages of his publication slamming Paul of Tarsus with all sorts of false accusations, amidst many other poorly conceived ideas and inaccurate statements. Now what sort of man would, as Douglas clearly does, announce an ignorance of something, and something so important as the Bible, and then spend so much time tearing apart large parts of it with such strong criticisms? If your thoughts contain something like Only an idiot!, then they are much like my own. Of course there are many subjects and events which I would have to profess an ignorance of, or have only a surface knowledge concerning. I dare not write about any of them, and especially with scathing criticism of the parties involved.
Yet Douglas is guilty of a far greater error, for he criticizes the development of Christianity, and goes on to say that he believes EVERYONE (his own emphasis) has available to them a true knowledge of God. Is such a statement true? Certainly Not! And it shows that Douglas is no true Christian, whether or not he claims to be. A Catholic, a Baptist, a Methodist or a Hindu may make such a statement, but no true Christian can.
Why did Christ speak in parables? To exclude certain people from obtaining a true knowledge of God! It is also quite evident that:
There are people on this earth whom Christ does not know, regardless of whether or not those people claim to believe Him (i.e. Matt. 25:12, Luke 13:24-28).
He came only for the lost sheep (Ezekiel chapter 34, Jeremiah chapter 50) of the house (i.e., family, Amos 3:2) of Israel (i.e. Matt. 10:6; 15:24; Luke 1:33, 54-55, 68-80).
No man may know Yahweh, God the Father, unless the Son (Yahshua Christ) allows it (i.e. Matt. 11:27, Luke 10:22). Paul certainly knew this, for at Hebrews 1:6, speaking of Christ, he quoted the Septuagint version of Deut. 32:43 (which is supported over the Masoretic Text by the Dead Sea Scrolls), of which the Greek says All the messengers of God must worship Him. So much for the false messengers of Islam, Hinduism, Judaism, and all of the other pagan and godless cults!
The sheep are nations, as explained at Matt. 25:32 (where the word is §2<@l, in plural ethnicities), a parable consistent with that found at Matt. 13:47-50, where the good kind of fish (kind meaning race, (X<@l) are saved, and all the bad kinds destroyed. As Abraham was promised, his descendants became many nations, yet are all the same race. As Christ professes, no one may know Yahweh our God except through Him, and He admits only the sheep! See John chapters 10, 5:17-47, and 6:31-58. Those goats and wolves have no hope to see Yahweh, and face only eternal destruction.
So how can Douglas claim that EVERYONE may know God? If Douglas claims to be a Christian, and as Paul instructs us a Christian is one who consents to wholesome words: the words of our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Tim. 6:3 paraphrased A.V.), hed better stop and consider these things. With certainty both Christ, and Paul, taught that NOT everyone could be a Christian. Yet if Douglas would purport not to be a Christian, then hes at fault to a greater degree, attacking something that he not only lacks expertise in, but denies having any part of!
It is universalistic thinking such as Douglas that has allowed our Saxon nations to be infiltrated by jews and overrun with heathen aliens in the first place. Douglas should consider this also, and perhaps spend more of his time studying something that Paul of Tarsus very well knew: that the identity of the sheep nations descended from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, wrongly called Gentiles by all modern Judaized theologians and Bible translators, is certainly none but the true white Saxon, Keltic and related peoples of today!
This error alone, meaning Douglas universalism, should be enough to demonstrate that Douglas is not qualified to say much of anything concerning either the ancient history of our Caucasian race, or of Christianity and the Bible. Yet I shall complete a full critique of Douglas remarks concerning Paul of Tarsus, not merely because Douglas made them, but because like Graber, Douglas remarks represent a great part of the trash scholarship and blatant misconception being used in an attempt to further soil Christianity today, and little of it is new, but has now been echoed by jews and Christ-haters for over 1900 years! And like Graber, it may also be evident that the primary sources for the trash Douglas spews here are indeed jewish. Anti-Paulism is a jewish conception. And if they succeed in getting Christians to disregard Paul, then Luke and Mark shall follow immediately, and then theyll set their sights on John! Certain jews have already begun campaigning against John. In the same manner, jewish Gnostics in the second century took Matthews gospel and shredded it, called it the gospel of the Hebrews, and disregarded the rest of what we call the New Testament. To that they began to add their forgeries and fairy tales, such as Thomas and Mary Magdalene. Graber and Douglas follow in their footsteps!
Douglas Publishers Corner goes on to make many blanket criticisms of Paul, calling him forerunner to the Zionists we deal with today, which is an absolute lie, and connecting him to the Catholic church, another lie. These and other fallacies shall be addressed later on when Douglas articles are addressed. But first, one last thing here I shall discuss. Douglas quotes a lengthy criticism of Friedrich Nietzsche concerning, and criticizing, Paul of Tarsus. Now it is likely that Nietzsche was a man of some intelligence, but he was also a critic of Christianity in general. He was also a critic of nationalism. I consider nationalism, true nationalism which is based upon ethnic (not geographic) identity, to be the political expression of one of those laws which Yahshua our God has written on our hearts: that we were to be a separate people, and not commit adultery. Yet his most famous and well-remembered quote is this bit of blasphemy: God is dead. No wonder the anti-Paulist jews love him. Jews too, are enemies of Christ, of Yahweh, of Paul, and of Nationalism! No wonder too, that Nietzsche ended up in an insane asylum in 1889, at the age of 45. I would not consider such a man to be a valid authority on Christianity at all. Where he claims that Paul was the first Christian, he denies not only Christ, but all of the prophets! These are the sorts of men whom the anti-Paulists always seem to follow. And how many they manage to deceive! What follows shall be a reproduction and criticism of Douglas articles written against Paul of Tarsus. To avoid confusion, all of Douglas original text shall appear in italics and all of the responses in normal type.
<Section #1> Clay Douglas states: The
Seduction: Judeo-Christianity OR Pauline Christianity? Saul of Tarsus: Paul. A
different view. A magical effect
is like a seduction. Both are built through careful details planted in the mind
of the subject. Sol Stein
You will know them by their
fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes, nor figs from thistles, are
they? Even so, every good tree bears good fruit; but the bad tree bears bad
fruit. A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good
fruit, Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the
fire. So then, you will know them by their fruits. (Esu lmmanuel)
In reply to section <#1>: It is fitting that Douglas opens this diatribe against Paul with a quote about deception from one who should know: a jew! Paul himself warned us against the jew deceivers (i.e. Acts 13:10; 20:29 et al.), yet the Anti-Paulists embrace the jews and their writings! This has already been demonstrated in these pages concerning H. Graber, and shall also be concerning Clay Douglas. Douglas quotes Matt. 7:16-20 here, and the name he attributes the statement to, Esu Immanuel, shall be treated shortly.
<Section #2> Clay Douglas cites Paul: Let every person render obedience to the governing authorities; for there is no authority except from God, and those in authority are divinely constituted... (Paul) (Romans 13, 1).
In reply to section <#2>: Any serious student of Daniel and the Revelation should realize that Paul is entirely correct in his statements at Romans chapter 13. This too will be discussed shortly, for first Douglas comments on the topic shall be presented.
<Section #3> Clay Douglas states: Jesus Christ (real name:
Immanuel or Esu; it was Saul who changed Immanuels name) did not found Christianity. Paul did.
In reply to section <#3>: Anyone who has read my pamphlet Yahshua to Jesus: Evolution of a Name has seen all of the linguistic evidence presented showing the various forms of Christs given name, Yahshua (Yashu, z30F@Ψl, Iesus, Yesu), in the Hebrew, Greek, Latin and English languages. Yet I cant imagine from which of the pits of hell Douglas retrieved the corruption Esu, and so cant even comment on it since Ive never seen it in any manuscript, lexicon or ancient document. Someone, probably some jew, must have tricked Douglas into using it, because it surely is a farce!
The title Immanuel however, has somewhat more credibility. Matthew 1:23, quoting from Isaiah 7:14, states: Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel, which being interpreted is, God is with us. But at Matt. 1:21 the messenger had commanded to Joseph: thou shalt call His name Yahshua (z30F@Ψl). At Luke 1:31 we see that His mother, Mary, received the same instruction, where she was told that she shalt call His name Yahshua (z30F@Ψl). Now a discerning mind may see one difference here immediately. For the messenger told His parents: You shall call His name Yahshua, and so Yahshua was His given name. Then the messenger said They shall call his name Immanuel, stating a prophecy, that the people at some later point would call him such. Immanuel is Hebrew (Strongs #6005) for with us is God, which is exactly what the people did later say of Him, Paul included! But that doesnt mean that His name was not Yahshua! Simon was called Peter by Christ, and so later he was either Simon, Peter, Kephas (the Hebrew equivalent of Peter), or Simon Peter, and by his own pen! Being called Peter doesnt mean that he somehow lost the name Simon. The same for Joses, who by the apostles was surnamed Barnabas (Acts 4:36), or James and John, whom Christ surnamed them Boanerges (Mark 3:17), and there are yet other examples of this, but already it should be explained sufficiently.
Yet Douglas insists: it was Saul who changed Immanuels name! Did Paul of Tarsus write Matthew 1:21? Mark 1:1 states: The beginning of the gospel of Yahshua Christ ..., did Paul write that? Did Paul write Luke 1:31? Okay, Douglas may retort that Luke was Pauls cohort, but what about John? What does Johns gospel call Him? This is a ridiculous exercise, but necessary! The name z30F@Ψl appears in Johns gospel alone, referring to Christ, over 240 times. The Revelation, written over 30 years after Paul of Tarsus was killed, written by John, opens: The Revelation of Yahshua (z30F@Ψl) Christ ...! What does all this add up to? One thing: Clay Douglas is an idiot! For Douglas errantly states, as it shall be quoted below: Paul ... wrote almost two-thirds of the New Testament. Tell me Mr. Douglas, which one-third do you believe Paul did not write, and Ill wager that we find the name z30F@Ψl OD4FJ`l, Yahshua Christ, mentioned quite often there also as He is the central figure. And since we have discovered through archaeology several papyri containing portions of both Matthew and John which are with certainty dated to the second century A.D. (see the Introduction to the NA27, page 58 comparing the dates from the appendix at pp. 684-688 for the papyri cited), it could not be that some later church could have changed all these names in our New Testament books! The name Yahshua Christ appears at James 1:1, 1 Peter 1:1, 2 Peter 1:1, 1 John 1:3, 2 John 3 and Jude 1. Was this Pauls doing also, Mr. Douglas? Only one people have endeavored to destroy the name of Yahshua Christ from the beginning, Mr. Douglas: the Canaanite-Edomite jews. And you are their proselyte!
Douglas states that Paul, not Yahshua Christ, founded Christianity. The historian Josephus, writing not long after 70 A.D. at Antiquities 18:3:3, tells us that ... Jesus (z30F@Ψl, Yahshua), a wise man ... was [the] Christ ... and the tribe of Christians, so named from him, are not extinct at this day. Josephus never mentioned Paul, and was a follower of those who persecuted Paul (those of Acts chapters 21-26). Did Paul write this also, Mr. Douglas?
In order for the Old Testament prophecies concerning the repentance of (genetic) Israel (who are not the jews) to be fulfilled, and the return of (genetic) Israel (not the jews) to Yahweh, which the Book of Hosea and most of Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel are all about, the gospel of Yahshua Christ had to succeed in Europe. Peter went to Babylon (1 Peter 5:13, it is only a conjecture that he meant Rome metaphorically), and his first epistle was addressed only to those Israelites of Anatolia (Asia Minor). James remained in Jerusalem, and John made it to Ephesus (and was exiled at Patmos for a time, an island off the coast of Anatolia), a Greek city of Anatolia, only late in his life. Surely there were Israelites of many tribes: Greeks, Kelts, Romans, Parthians and others, in these areas. Yet the bulk of lost Israel was in Europe, or soon to be there (i.e. during the mass migrations of the 4th and 5th centuries).
While we have stories of apostles in Ireland and Spain at an early time, we have no substantial and contemporary (i.e. 1st or 2nd century) writings from the Irish or the Spanish to prove so. But with surety we know that Paul brought the gospel to Europe, initiating the fulfillment of the prophecies. And the Irish Celtic Church, which developed independently of the Romish Church and was never under Romes authority until the English sold it out to Rome in the 12th century, cherished a deep love of the Bible, and from the Epistles of St. Paul developed their theology. (The Celtic Church In Britain, Leslie Hardinge). That Douglas does not understand these things is not Pauls fault. Perhaps it shall soon be evident that there is much more which Douglas does not understand!
<Section #4> Clay Douglas states: Paul crafted Christianity as
we know it today. In reality, we learn little about Immanuels actual life on earth, his experiences
and his teachings from the Scriptures. Astonishingly, Jesus did not really
create the basis for Christianity. As a matter of fact, Immanuel/Jesus warned
his followers NOT to organize a formal church network from His teachings; but -
rather - encouraged them to pray in .small informal groups. Most of
the New Testament doesnt even
concern the historical Jesus, while the main influence AND focus is the Apostle
Paul. It was Paul of Tarsus who renamed Immanuel Jesus Christ
(although Immanuel had consistently cautioned all of His followers not to be
fooled by those who would falsify His name and call Him Jesus the MESSIAH -
that He was not the Messiah come to save anyone!
In reply to section <#4>: So few words, yet so many lies! Im beginning to wonder whether someone swapped Clay Douglas Bible with a copy of the Talmud, and he hasnt yet noticed it! Where else could Douglas get these statements from, and why doesnt he make citations? Likely because he CANT make citations, and is inventing his own philosophy! And under the slightest scrutiny it shall disintegrate, just like fragile Clay (pun intended). Where did Christ warn his followers NOT to organize a formal church network? Not that Im advocating one, but I only want to know where the warning is, along with His encouragement only to pray in small informal groups. The schematic for Christian community proposed by Paul is nothing like what the catholic church became. Paul proposed no formal mega-church with popes, bishops, nuns, and the like. This was the work of later oppressors. The catholic church as we know it didnt begin to take shape until the 6th century A.D., and cant be blamed on Paul! Paul only proposed that each individual community govern itself, with the elders appointing an overseer (supervisor or bishop) who would answer to them and manage the day to day affairs of widows, ministers (be they teachers or doing other services) and the like. Evidently Douglas hasnt read Paul very closely, as these things are evident throughout his epistles. Neither does Douglas know history! For even Eusebius in his church history complained of how certain 4th century bishops of Rome were attempting to usurp authority over the other bishops, of churches Paul helped found, and they resisted any such thing! Only an ignoramus would blame Paul for the overbearing church organizations of the later centuries.
Douglas complains that from the scripture we learn little about Immanuels actual life on earth. Was this Pauls fault? What does Douglas want? Jesus: the miniseries? Jesus goes to high school? The Jesus diet? Thats in Leviticus 11 and Deuteronomy 14! Matthew, Mark, Luke and John wrote exactly what they thought necessary for us to have. Certain first and second century jews had a complaint similar to Douglas, and began to manufacture fairy tales to substitute for what they thought was lacking! Some of these are found in The Lost Books of the Bible and the Forgotten Books of Eden. Should Paul answer to Douglas for not founding a first century version of People Magazine? More is known about the life of Christ than about most men of the first century, yet I believe that whatever Douglas had, he would not be satisfied with for he hasnt even read what he does have! This is readily evident!
Douglas also complained that we learn little about ... his teachings
from the Scriptures and then goes on
to say that Christ did not accept that He was Jesus
the Messiah, and that He was not the Messiah come to save
anyone! Incredible! Here it is, and
it cant be any plainer. Clayton Douglas is no better than a jew by
his own admission: for he denies not only Paul but the entire New Testament,
and has adopted fully the position of the jews!!!
First there is Daniel 9 and the vision of the 70 weeks. If we understand the chronology of Ezra and Nehemiah, 483 years may be counted from the rebuilding of Jerusalem, and we would arrive at 28 A.D., the fifteenth year of Tiberius Caesar and the beginning of Christs ministry: the coming of Messiah the Prince of Daniel 9:25, who was Yahshua Christ, who was cut off 3 ½ years later at Passover, in the middle of the 70th week (483=69x7, a day being a year in prophecy). So Douglas denies Daniel.
Then there is John. At John 1:41 the apostle puts these words down, as having come from the mouth of Andrew: We have found the Messiah, and says: which is, being interpreted, the Christ. At John 4:25-26 the apostle records the following exchange between a woman of Samaria and Yahshua Christ: The woman saith unto him, I know that Messiah cometh, which is called Christ: when he is come, he will tell us all things. Yahshua saith unto her, I that speak unto thee am he. And so, Douglas denies John!
Then there is Matthew 1:21: And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Yahshua (which means Yahweh, Savior): for he shall save his people from their sins. While Douglas professes Matt. 1:23 out of one side of his mouth, he denies Matthew 1:21 out of the other side of his mouth! Now either Douglas is a purposeful deceiver, or a blithering idiot: take your pick! Unless, of course, you would choose to believe that Paul wrote Daniel, John and Matthew too.
While we shall continue to address Clayton R. Douglas article The Seduction: Judeo-Christian OR Pauline Christianity? from the December 2003 issue of his Free American Newsmagazine. I hope to have already pointed out that, while rejecting Paul, in reality Douglas has also rejected much of the rest of the Bible, although he pretends to acknowledge those parts of it which evidently suit his own distorted views. While pretending to be a Christian, most of Douglas claims concerning the Bible may get a warm reception from readers of The Trumpet or The Jerusalem Post. Yet because much of Douglas audience is Christian, and many of them Israel Identity, his oblique misinterpretations must be addressed.
<Section #5> Clay Douglas states: Did you know that Paul/Saul of Tarsus wrote almost two-thirds of the New Testament? Ill bet you didnt.
In reply to section <#5>: Well, Clayton, you are right, I didnt know that! Having read the Bible for so many years, I never even imagined it! So wed better see just how accurate this statement is. The NA27 contains only Greek text, and the Greek footnotes which display textual variations among mss., without wasting any space explaining anything. Its methods are well defined and the scholars task is to use them properly, so its text is pretty much evenly distributed across 680 pages. Of the 680 pages of Greek text, 87 of them are the gospel of Matthew, or 12.79%. 62 are Marks, or 9.11%. Works attributed to John, his gospel, epistles, and the Revelation, consume 136 pages, or 20%. Already that adds up to 41.90%, so already Douglas statement is in error. No wonder I didnt know that! The epistles of James, Peter and Jude together occupy 30 pages, or 4.41%. The parts written by Luke, both his gospel and Acts, occupy 186 pages, or 27.35%. Pauls epistles, and there is no doubt in my mind that Hebrews was written by Paul, occupy 179 pages, or 26.32% of the NA27 version of the New Testament. A far cry from two-thirds! Even lumping Paul and Luke together, as H. Graber would, we arent anywhere near two-thirds! How many other times would Douglas state a blatant lie, and looking at you in the eye say Did you know that ...? Ill bet you didnt!
<Section #6> Clay Douglas states: Paul/Saul never met Jesus
in the flesh; he only claimed some strange vision and proceeded to then
pagenize [sic] the teachings of Jesus, until he created Pauline Christianity.
Because there are no known writings from Jesus, the actual Apostles, or anyone
that actually knew Him in the flesh (other then [sic] perhaps James), most of
what He taught is lost forever. Why? More on this topic later.
In reply to section <#6>: While it is no new revelation that Paul ... never met Jesus in the flesh, Paul certainly did not pagenize [sic] the teachings of Yahshua Christ! A detailed examination of Pauls writing would reveal that none of it would be found contrary to either the Old Testament or the recorded words of Yahshua Christ. Yet since Douglas makes only blanket allegations, and offers no specific examples with which to support his blasphemy, I can only respond with general statements. Why doesnt Douglas offer specifics? Probably because he hasnt researched anything for himself, but like the hare-brained remark that Paul ... wrote almost two-thirds of the New Testament, he is only parroting some dissembler, or more likely, some jew.
Of course, we do not have any writing from Yahshua. Even in the Old Testament, Moses wrote the laws, and prophets wrote down the designs of our Father and Creator. So also in the New Testament era did He select men to record what He wanted us to know. Yet that there are no known writings from ... the actual Apostles is another odd statement from someone who would claim to be a Christian! What of not only James, but of Simon Peter? What of Jude, the servant of Yahshua Christ, and brother of James? What of Matthew, and especially John? Which, Mr. Clayton R. Douglas, of these ten gospels and epistles were NOT written by the original Apostles? Douglas condemns not only Paul, but the entire New Testament, just like the pagans and the jews! The mark of a prophet, or anyone who claims to be writing in the name of Yahweh (and so Yahshua Christ), is spelled out in Isaiah chapter 41, vv. 21-29. All of the New Testament writers have in some way met this criteria: and especially Paul, yet no jew could possibly understand that! If the prophecy stands the test of time and is revealed (i.e. Romans 16:20, or Luke 21:20-24), then its writer is true, and if the writer is true, woe to the man who would not heed that writer! Remember what happened to those in the days of Hezekiah, who respected not the words of Jeremiah. Now it can be demonstrated that a great deal of the Revelation of Yahshua Christ, which John recorded, has already happened: 2000 years of history written in advance. If Douglas had studied the writings of John in unison with history, he may have arrived at a similar conclusion. Rather, Douglas studies the writings of jews, magicians and charlatans, and so is only able to make idiotic hare-brained remarks! Will all of the scoffers of today go unpunished?
<Section #7> Clay Douglas states: Of personal knowledge of
Jesus, Paul had none! The philosophies and theologies that he created were of
his own conception, and those colored by his education as a Pharisee in a
Hellenistic world, and the pagan religions which surrounded him. His own
writings evidence these influences.
In reply to section <#7>: Here again Douglas spews truths mixed with half-truths and makes blanket allegations while offering no specific instances of error or wrongdoing. Paul, educated in both Judaism (which he later realized was but a corrupted form of the Hebrew religion of his fathers) and in Classical Greek learning, was in a unique position to fulfill the task which Yahweh required: to bring the gospel to the lost Israelites of Europe. Only a man who could speak both to Judaeans from a Judaean perspective, and to Greeks from a Greek perspective, had the capability to perform such a task!
Paul was the first teacher of what we today call Israel Identity. I must profess that unless one studies the classics, one is not properly qualified to teach Israel Identity today! This I realized seven years ago, and today I am quite happy that I did, and thankful to Yahweh for it! Without a knowledge of the Greek and Roman myths, one cannot convince either Greeks or Romans that they are lost Israelites, among those nations descended from Abraham (Genesis 15:5-6; 17:4-6; 35:10-11), as Paul certainly did! Paul must have told the Romans that they were part of lost Israel, evidence of which is at Rom. 1:23, 24, 25, 26, 31, 32; 9:25-33; 11:13-33; and 16:20, though it is not always easily seen in the blind, judaized, modern translations. Paul explains to the Dorian Greek Corinthians that they descended from the Israelites, i.e. 1 Corinthians chapter 10, and references this often with Old Testament quotes such as that at 2 Cor. 6:16-17. Who was Jeremiah talking about at 31:31-33, or Isaiah at 52:11, but Israel? No one but Israel! And Paul certainly knew it! Likewise Paul tells the Ephesians, descendants of the Israelites, that they ... had at that time been apart from Christ, having been alienated from the civic life of Israel ... (Eph. 2:12), and the Colossians, also descendants of the Israelites, that ... you at one time being alienated and odious in thought by wicked deeds, yet now He has reconciled ... (Col. 1:21-22). These translations are my own because the judaized published translations distort Pauls words terribly, not having any such understanding as Paul did! Therefore, all those taking part in discrediting Paul are doing Yahweh and His Kingdom a very horrible disservice. How could one be alienated from something, unless he had a part in it in the first place? How could one be reconciled to something he knew not beforetime? Both the Colossians and the Ephesians were Israelites, and Paul knew it, and both the Old Testament and the Greek classics reveal it to be so. No classical education? No means by which to prove Israels migrations! And Paul certainly would not have pursued non-Israelites, except with one exception which he explains: his visit to the Japhethite Ionians of Athens. It should be becoming clear that it would have been quite difficult for the other eleven apostles to fill Pauls shoes.
How could Paul tell the Galatians, who were Hellenized Kelts with Greeks and Romans among them, that while the covenants of Yahweh could not be amended, they were included in it because they, not the Edomite-Jews or the Ishmaelite-Arabs, were offspring of Abraham and Jacob (Gal. 3:15-18)? That they were children of Isaac (Gal. 4:28) and of the promise! Only because Paul learned from the classical historians such as Herodotus, Strabo and Diodorus Siculus that the Kelts were indeed the Israelites of the Assyrian deportations, as were the Scythians which Paul mentioned! No classical education? No connection of history to Biblical prophecy, and so none of the revelations of Israel Identity, the very mystery which Paul mentions at Ephesians 3:1-9, which I have translated:
1 For this cause I, Paul, captive of Christ Yahshua on behalf of you of the Nations, 2 if indeed you have heard of the management of the family of the favor of Yahweh which has been given to me in regard to you, 3 seeing that by a revelation the mystery was made known to me (just as I had briefly written before, 4 besides which reading you are able to perceive my understanding in the mystery of the Anointed,) 5 which in other generations had not been made known to the sons of men, as it is now revealed in His holy ambassadors and prophets by the Spirit, 6 those Nations which are joint heirs and a joint body and partners of the promise in Christ Yahshua, through the good message 7 of which I have become a servant in accordance with the gift of the favor of Yahweh which has been given to me, in accordance with the operation of His power. 8 To me, the least of all saints, has been given this favor, to announce the good message to the Nations - the unsearchable riches of the Anointed, 9 and to enlighten all concerning the management of the household of the mystery which was concealed from the ages by Yahweh, by whom all things are being established.
The Prophecy? That Israelites were to become many nations. The mystery? Where they were! To them, and to them only, did Paul deliver the gospel! Without a classical education, Paul never could have accomplished such a task. No wonder that today the jews and their proselytes despise classical education, and have succeeded in removing it from our educational system. Even most Humanities departments in todays universities are but a parody of those of ages past. Friedrich Nietzsche, much to his discredit, was a professor of the classics at Basel, Switzerland, yet realizing none of this he chose instead to despise Paul and belittle Christianity! Clayton Douglas is his disciple.
<Section #8> Clay Douglas states: Pauls writings clearly contradict Jesus teachings. Over and over again. The above reference (l) is
just one of numerous examples. Jesus was an often-violent
reactionary revolutionary. Jesus/lmmanuel NEVER TAUGHT SUBMISSION TO,
ANYONE EXCEPT TO God. So, why is Paul teaching Christians that governmental
authority is divinely constituted?
Again, Jesus could be quite
angry and violent when fighting the
good fight. Let us remember his
anger when he chased the merchants from the temple, or when he openly condemned
the religious leaders of the time, the Pharisees and the scribes. Heres the advice He gave before being
arrested; ...and he who has no
sword, sell your coat and buy one ... they said; Lord, look, here are two
swords. He said to them: it is enough.
(Luke 22, 36 to 38).
Jesus was - therefore - not
against changes, but he had chosen to bring these in as non-violent a way as
possible, through the persuasion of individuals and action of the masses. But,
Jesus did not rule against violence either. When he removed the moneychangers
from the religious place, it was with extreme violence. So, why did Paul
advocate unquestioning obedience to authority, submission and non-violence?
Paul cunningly taught early Christians to wait
for the new Messiah rather than to
fight back against governmental authority even though that same authority sought
to enslave them. Pauls very same
message of docility in the face of grave danger cripples Christians today.
In reply to section <#8>: Pauls writings do not contradict the teachings of Yahshua Christ at all! They may contradict Clayton Douglas perception of Yahshuas teaching, and at times the poor translations found in all published editions of the Bible make it seem as though there are contradictions, as this happens even in the gospels, such as at Luke 16:9, an often mistranslated, poorly understood verse. But Paul certainly does not contradict Yahshua, or the Old Testament, once the Greek is studied by someone who has a thorough knowledge of the Old Testament prophecy, of ancient history, and so of Israel Identity, which these other things lead to as Truth. Now Douglas cites Romans 13:1 as an example of Pauls contradiction. Is Paul truly contradicting Yahshua here? This we shall see!
Romans 13:1-8, as I have translated it, reads: 1 Every soul must be subject to more powerful authorities. Since there is no authority except from Yahweh, then those who are, by Yahweh are they appointed. 2 Consequently, one opposing the authority has opposed the ordinance of Yahweh, and they who are in opposition will themselves receive judgment. 3 For rulers are not a terror to good work, but to evil. Now do you desire to not be fearful of the authority? Practice good, and you will have approval from it; 4 A servant of Yahweh is to you for good. But if you practice evil, be fearful; for not without purpose will he bear the sword, indeed a servant of Yahweh is an avenger with wrath to he who has practiced evil. 5 On which account to be subordinate is a necessity, not only because of indignation, but also because of conscience. 6 For this reason also you pay tribute; they are ministers of Yahweh, obstinately persisting in this same thing. 7 Therefore render to all debts: to whom tribute, tribute; to whom taxes, taxes; to whom reverence, reverence; to whom dignity, dignity. 8 You owe to no one anything, except to love one another: for he who loves another has fulfilled the law.
Not only Douglas, but many other well-intended people claiming to be Christians yet not knowing scripture despise these words of Pauls. Here we shall see that they are just! First, no one denies that Yahshua Christ said Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill (Matt. 5:17). He also said, speaking of temporal government: Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesars; and unto Yahweh the things that are Yahwehs (Matt. 22:21). Therefore, since it is Christs clearly stated intention that the prophets, as well as the law, should be fulfilled, it certainly would be appropriate here to examine just what the prophets say concerning temporal governments.
In Leviticus chapter 26 the children of Israel were told what to expect if they were obedient to Yahweh and His covenants, and what to expect if they were disobedient, which we know that they were. One of the consequences of disobedience was seven times of punishment. A prophetic time, as can be demonstrated and as we have often done elsewhere, is 360 years. Seven times is therefore 2520 years. By most of the better students of Biblical prophecy, it has been stated that this 2520 years of punishment began as the Israelites, along with most of Judah too, were taken into captivity by the Assyrians. Adam Rutherford, Wesley Swift, Bertrand Comparet, Clifton Emahiser and surely many others have all elucidated as much.
In 1 Samuel chapter 8, it is recorded that the children of Israel rejected Yahweh as their King, and demanded a temporal king, which Yahweh thus permitted. Now if Clayton Douglas is upset with temporal governments, here it should be obvious: he has none but his own grandfathers to blame for the situation! And so this is the predicament we are all in.
Some time after the children of Israel were taken away by the Assyrians, Daniel the prophet was given to recording several visions for us. One tells us, as we have interpreted it, that the Babylonian system will be with us for seven times, or 2520 years, from the time of Nebuchadnezzar. This is found in Daniel chapter 4 and was discussed at length by Clifton Emahiser in his Watchmans Teaching Letter #61 and elsewhere. It is beyond the scope of my purpose here to explain all of the details at length, which surely would take some time. In Daniel chapter 2 the prophet is given a vision of four great empires which would succeed one another, and then a fifth which would break in pieces all of the first four, and itself would last forever.
Daniel chapter 7 is a vision much like that in Daniel chapter 2, although it goes further forward in time. A study of Daniel 7, along with Revelation chapter 13, reveals when compared to history that men would be subject to two different periods of subjection, each lasting 3½ times, or 1260 years, for a total of 2520 years. It is evident that the first period was the same as that covered by Daniels four empires, and the second was the temporal power of the papacy. This is discussed at length in Bertrand L. Comparets 14 Lessons On The Book of Revelation which Clifton Emahiser publishes, and in my own notes there, things which are simply too involved to reproduce here but which have also been elucidated to some degree by many other Israel Identity writers, such as Howard Rand and Wesley Swift.
It may be evident that the original seven times of punishment began several centuries earlier than the seven times of the Babylonian order, the mystery Babylon of Revelation, forewarned in Daniel 4. And so for several centuries in this modern age the children of Israel have been allowed to experiment in this liberal age of self- government, the so-called Western Democracies, yet in truth mystery Babylon and the princes of this world are still actually in control. I, a simple and humble man, not wanting to sound like so many fools have, dare venture to say that the fall of mystery Babylon and the culmination of this age must be awfully close.
So it is evident from the prophets: temporal governments were indeed decreed by Yahweh, the children of Israel brought such upon themselves, and Paul of Tarsus certainly knew it, and so expressed as much in Romans chapter 13! To Clayton Douglas I can only offer the advice of the wise but often maligned, and for no good reason Gamaliel, who said: But if it be of Yahweh, ye cannot overthrow it; lest haply ye be found even to fight against Yahweh. (Acts 5:39). Not even the Edomite jews present disputed such advice (Acts 5:40)! Not at the immediate time anyway.
Yahshua Christ did not resist Roman authority, as Douglas so foolishly claims here. If Yahshua had, He surely would have been found resisting His Own plan as outlined in the ancient prophets, and which we are reassured of in His Revelation as given to John. And so Pauls advice to Christians in Romans 13 is certainly sound, and Douglas should heed it. Also, the Caesars of Rome were of the Julian family and descended from Judah-Zerah through royal princes, therefore they held the sceptre of Judah themselves, which Yahweh decreed, a story too long to include here, and again from the classics.
It is not docility that has hurt Christians. For Christians have fought against and defeated the armies of aliens (Heb. 11:34) at the prescribed times again and again. It is not the act of rendering to Caesar the things which are Caesars that hurts Christians, though our fathers were warned by Samuel of how much a temporal king would take from us. What hurts Christians today most is that they take the things that belong to Yahweh, and instead of rendering them to Yahweh they render them to Babylon! All those who spend their money on organized sports, which makes heroes out of all sorts of beasts and which makes them millionaires to boot, renders to Babylon the things which are Yahwehs. All those who spend their money on the jew-produced propaganda which streams forth from Hollywood, New York and yes, Nashville too, renders to Babylon the things which are Yahwehs. All those who claim to love their brother, but purchase goods manufactured by aliens in foreign lands truly hate their brother! All those who would hire an alien, or who would shop at a store owned or operated by aliens hate their brother! All of these things and more hurt Christians. Paul told Christians to Love without acting; abhorring wickedness, cleaving to goodness: brotherly love affectioned towards one another; in honor preferring one another with diligence, not hesitating (Rom. 12:10-11). How could Christians claim to love one another, yet spend all their money on cheap made-in-China products at Wal-Mart? How does that brother whom you claim to love feed his family, because you saved a dollar? All of these things and more hurt Christians.
Douglas scoffs at Paul because Paul cunningly taught early Christians to wait for the new Messiah. But was Paul alone teaching thusly? What of Matthew 24:36-44, where Christ is said to be discussing His return, the coming of the Son of man, at some unrevealed future date? This same discourse is related by Mark (13:32-37) and by Luke (21:25-28). What of John 21:23 and Christs promise to return there? What of Revelation 22, verses 6 to 20, written over 30 years after Paul was killed and 60 years after the crucifixion, which foretell the return of Christ? Why doesnt Douglas scoff at Matthew, Mark, Luke and John? They taught the same things which Paul did! Yet Douglas quotes Matthew and Luke in his article as authorities! Here we have the same situation which Yahshua Christ encountered among the Pharisees, who claiming to know the scriptures were time and again reproved by scripture! Clayton Douglas: follower of jews and Pharisees! Clayton Douglas: Hypocrite big time!
<Section #9> Clay Douglas states: Bishop John S. Spong
(Episcopal Bishop of Newark): Pauls words are not the Words of God. They
are the words of Paul - a vast difference!
Thomas Jefferson: Paul was the first
corrupter of the doctrines of Jesus.
Thomas Hardy: The new testament was
less a Christiad than a Pauliad.
In reply to section <#9>: Douglas goes on to cite three apparent critics of Paul. John S. Spong, Episcopal Bishop of Newark, is of the same city from whence the jew rabbi Joachim Prince hails. You will remember Prince from the foregoing address of H. Grabers article, above in section <R> on pp. 21-22 and in the closing remarks on pp. 29-30, for Graber cited Prince often. No doubt both Spong and Prince attended the same ecumenical councils, sleeping together metaphorically if not otherwise! Spongs words lead me to wonder just which part of Pauls writings Spong disagrees with. The Episcopal church has recently garnered much media attention when one of its dioceses elevated an openly homosexual minister to the position of bishop. But that isnt so great of a sin compared to this: that the organization had a homosexual minister, which it must have long known about since he was openly homosexual, in the first place! And for Spong to be a bishop in an organization that admits homosexuals as ministers makes him a willing accomplice and an approver of such behavior!
Now Paul wrote of homosexuality that they practicing such things are worthy of death, not only they who cause them, but also they approving of those committing them (Rom. 1:32). Paul also wrote: Do not be led astray: neither fornicators (race mixers) ... nor adulterers ... nor homosexuals ... shall inherit the Kingdom of Yahweh (1 Cor. 6:9-11), where the Greek word is DF,<@6@\J0l (733) and means nothing but homosexual in all secular Greek writing! Paul used the word again at 1 Tim. 1:9-10: Knowing this, that the law is not laid down for righteous, but for lawless ... fornicating, homosexual ... men. Surely in the case of homosexuals Paul had Leviticus 20:13 in mind, which states: If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them. Yet Spong must approve of such behavior if only by simply maintaining his position rather than separating his flock from such sinners!
And about Spongs flock! Newark N.J. is about three miles from where I grew up in Jersey City. The two are separated by a few miles of highway and a bridge over Newark Bay. This entire region is densely populated, being in the shadow of New York City, and is the epitome of ethnic diversity in the entire country. But Newark itself is not very ethnically diverse, because except for the Ironbound section of the city, which in the 1970s was becoming more and more Portuguese and less and less white and Italian, Newark and its western suburbs of Hillside, Irvington and East Orange are virtually all black! Newark, site of large and violent black riots in 1968, where the National Guard was called in to restore order, was in the 1970s and 1980s well over 60% black, maybe 70%, and nearly all of the non-blacks were Catholic Italians and Portuguese! I can honestly state that in the 1980s one may have had a very difficult time finding a real white family in Newark. Spongs flock may have consisted of many goats and wolves, but I cant imagine where hed find any sheep with which to fill his pews! With all of this I can only wonder: what sort of man could Spong be?
Now Thomas Jefferson is a man to be admired for many things, and especially for his opposition to the central bank crowd. Yet I do not admire his Bible scholarship. While a pious man, Jefferson saw no use in most of the Bible, and so attempted to create his own version. Doing so he discarded the books of Moses, the books of the prophets and the historical books. In fact, he also discarded much of the gospel accounts and other New Testament scriptures, not only Paul.
With the Jefferson Bible, we would have no law, no Leviticus 20:13 by which to know the truth concerning homosexuals, no Daniel 2 or 7 and no 1 Samuel 8 by which to learn about the reason why we have temporal government, no Messianic prophecies, no Isaiah or Jeremiah, no history, no way to discover the truths of our own Identity or the rest of the Adamic race, no background by which to understand the life of Christ, no context! Because the Jefferson Bible contains little but words of Christ separated from the gospels, and the Psalms, we wouldnt know much from it at all! While of course the words of Christ are important, their context both historical and immediate is just as important! Neither would we be able to understand Christs references to the law and the prophets, because we wouldnt have them. We surely would be lost then! Since Jefferson had no use for the law and the prophets, surely not understanding much of them, it does not surprise me that he disregarded or criticized Paul, for surely he also misunderstood Paul. Yet it is obvious that he is no authority on the subject, and neither is Clayton Douglas!
Thomas Hardy was a novelist, and probably not a very good mathematician. As Douglas attempted to credit Paul with almost two-thirds of the New Testament, Hardy attempts likewise. As I said, Thomas Hardy was a novelist. That should be sufficient a reply.
It is no great thing, that in todays information age where we have managed to preserve the writings or opinions of thousands and thousands of intellectuals and pseudo-intellectuals, one is able to find a few who are critical of someone such as Paul of Tarsus. One may find many more recognizable names who would criticize Thomas Jefferson! Yet that alone wouldnt give them credibility in any given topic, because their names are recognizable and because they were opinionated. Paul himself told us to prove all things. Using scripture as our ruler, concerning Romans 13 Paul of Tarsus is shown to be true, whereas Clayton Douglas has failed. Would Douglas admit his error?
Now we shall proceed with Clayton Douglas article, The Seduction: Judeo-Christianity OR Pauline Christianity? Saul of Tarsus: Paul. A different view., and all of his ignorant, ill-begotten and unwarranted criticisms of the apostle Paul. While Douglas offered a quote from the novelist, Thomas Hardy, as we continue through Douglas article, it may become evident that Douglas has taken to writing fictions of his own, where he makes all sorts of false assertions, and he offers no citations whatsoever with which to support his phony history.
<Section #10> Clay Douglas states: Who
Is Saul of Tarsus? That is Pauls original name. Shortly after Saul
claimed he had his vision of Jesus, he changed his name to Paul.
Why? Did Paul seek to re-create himself for benevolent purposes? Or, was Paul
deceiving everyone and his namechange was simply one of many indicators in
support of this? You decide.
In reply to section <#10>: Contrary to the opinions of those critics who often jump to such false conclusions, the truth is that Paul of Tarsus never changed his name at any time during the period of his life covered by Lukes account in Acts or by his own epistles. Luke wrote the Acts account, not Paul. Luke calls him Saul 15 times in Acts chapters 7 through 13, and in Acts 13 Luke begins to refer to him as Paul, and so throughout the rest of Acts. Luke tells us: ... Saulos, who also is Paulos ..., which only indicates that Paul already had two names. Yet, for some reason Luke does not explain, Luke called him Saul until he related the account of their engagement with another man of the same name: Sergius Paulus, a Roman proconsul. Paul in Greek is everywhere A"Ψ8@l (Strongs #3972), the same as Paulus the proconsul.
It is notable that Paul and Barnabas had ready access to a man of such rank as a Roman proconsul, which is nearly the equivalent of being governor of a state, but not elected. Rather, proconsuls were appointed by the Roman Senate for a term of two years. So it may be that Luke simply took this occasion to use the name Paul in order to show us that Paul indeed had some prior acquaintance with the man. It was not uncommon in Rome for a man to adopt the name of a benefactor. The historian Josephus took the surname Flavius in honor of the Roman general who became emperor and was his benefactor: Titus Flavius Sabinus Vespasianus, popularly known only as Vespasian. It was normal for Romans to have three or four names, but to use only one commonly. One of a Romans names would be that of his gens, or family, which in the case of the Roman emperors Vespasian, Titus and Domitian was Flavia. Flavius is literally of Flavia in Latin, and so Josephus adopted the name Josephus of Flavia, or Flavius Josephus.
As discussed earlier in this response, several New Testament figures had multiple names, and now it should be also evident that it was normal for Roman men to have more than one name. To criticize Paul for something Luke wrote is ridiculous, yet upon examination it is also plain that there is nothing wrong with Lukes writing! It may even be that Luke was unaware of Sauls full name until their encounter with Sergius Paulus, and from that time Luke, who was the one doing the writing, chose to call him by Paul rather than Saul. While this may all be pushed aside as conjecture, it surely is more plausible than the absolutely false conjecture that Paul changed his name!
<Section #11> Clay Douglas states: Paul publicly claimed to be
a Pharisee of the Pharisees. He also claimed to be the son of a
Pharisee. Additionally, Paul said that he was of
the Tribe of Benjamin. Whichever
account you believe to be true does not make a difference. In either case, he
is a liar. If Paul was a Pharisee, he would have been of authentic
Edomite/Canannite [sic] stock. ... The family bloodline of Benjamin was Shemite
(non-Jewish). It was a (Saxon) Israelite Tribe from the family bloodline of
Issac [sic] through the paternal line of Israel. You can be one but not the
other. Pharisees, or the ruling Jewish (Edomite) religious and governmental
entity at that time in history, did not recruit from Israelite tribes. It was a supremacist clan, i.e. Edomite
tribe only. If Paul was truly a
Benjamite (Southern Tribes, Isaac/Israel), then he was lying when he claimed to
be a (former) Pharisee.
In reply to section <#11>: Oh the lies which Douglas spouts here, and the audacity he has to call Paul a liar at the same time! Yet he offers not one ancient citation or an iota of historic evidence with which to support his claims! Not one! Such is the method of a novelist, and not of a historian. The slightest examination proves to a rational mind that Clayton Douglas is a liar, and not Paul. The historian Flavius Josephus discusses the three sects among the Judaeans at this time in the days of the high priest Jonathan, the same man found at 1 Maccabees 12:1 ff., which were the Pharisees, the Sadducees, and the Essenes, at Antiquities 13:5:9 (13:171-173). This is some years before the recorded conquest of the Edomites by the Judaeans, recorded at Antiquities 13:9:1 (13:254-258), which was done by the later high priest Hyrcanus. In Antiquities 13:10 (13:270 ff.) Josephus mentions the Pharisees and their general opposition to Hyrcanus at length. So it is apparent that the sect of the Pharisees was prominent in Judaea long before any Edomites had the chance to gain political influence there, a situation which did not fully develop until after 80 B.C.!
In Josephus description of these three sects in Wars 2:8:2 (2:119-121) only the Essenes are described as racial separatists, being a Judaean by birth a requirement for membership, and not the Pharisees or Sadducees. In his autobiographical Life at 1:1 (1-6), Josephus records his own genealogy and shows that he was a Levite. Josephus then tells us that he was an Essene for a time (Life 2, 10-12), but settled upon following the Pharisees. There were other good Pharisees mentioned in the New Testament, such as Gamaliel and Nicodemus. Nicodemus was certainly no Edomite! See the accounts concerning him at John 3:1 ff.; 7:50 (where he is recorded as defending Christ before the high priests who wanted to kill Him); and at 19:39, where John tells us that he assisted Joseph of Arimathea (who was on the council, the sanhedrin, and who was likely also a Pharisee) with the body of Yahshua after the crucifixion. Here it should be absolutely apparent that Clayton Douglas, flippantly spouting accusations and offering no proof to back them up, is a liar!
While the word Pharisee surely does come from a Hebrew word which means to separate, the word was used only in the sense of religious, and not racial, separatism. Strong defines Pharisee in his Greek dictionary a separatist, i.e. exclusively religious (see #5330). This surely is obvious since the sect existed before the Edomites were absorbed into Judaea and Judaism! Christ condemned the Pharisees for traveling sea and land to make one proselyte, hardly necessary to find a willing Edomite! The Talmud attests that the Pharisees were converting people of all races into Judaism at the earliest times, for which see John Lightfoots A Commentary on the New Testament from the Talmud and Hebraica, volume 2, pp. 55-63. Clayton Douglas? He is a liar! There is no doubt, from the historical record, that one may have been both a Pharisee and of the tribe of Benjamin. The Pharisees were only one of several religious sects, and it was quite normal for an ambitious young man who wanted to have a voice in the governance of his nation to join one of those sects. While today we live in a so-called secular society, the sects in Judaea were not much different functionally than the political parties of today.
<Section #12> Clay Douglas states: ... Paul/Saul was a Roman citizen who was born around the turn of the century 2000 years ago in Tarsus, Cilicia. The country of Cilicia was located at the northeastern corner of the Mediterranean Sea. Cilicia and the adjoining nations of Syria and Phoenicia on the eastern end of the Mediterranean Sea were all under the rule of the Roman Empire. The remaining country which bordered the Sea on the east was Palestine, which joined Phoenicia on the south. Palestine was also under the rule of Rome. Rome, very nicely, controlled all of her acquired territory by using native puppet kings who were subservient to Rome. Saul was well educated and highly trained as a Roman citizen, though he was an Turco-Armenian by birth. He and his family were well known Pharisees of Tarsus. He spoke several languages as well as Latin, the language of the empire. Early in his life he became a Roman soldier, and because of his nationality, he was placed in Jerusalem as a key person to both understand and help control the native Palestinians.
In reply to section <#12>: While Douglas has some of his geography right, Syria and Phoenicia were never properly nations, but only geographical entities demarcated for the purpose of governmental administration, separated by the natural boundary of the Lebanon Mountains. A nation is properly composed of a single people of a common race, history, government and language and is not but a mere geographical or geopolitical unit. A government ruling diverse peoples is an empire, and this is true even when the peoples governed are of the same general race, as with the German Reichs, or empires. Palestine was a loose geographic term and never used to designate any particular province.
Tarsus, in Cilicia, according to Strabo in his Geography was originally built by the Assyrians, and he cites an inscription in Assyrian letters which stated as much (14.5.9). Strabo explains that the city which occupied the site in Greco-Roman times was founded by Argives (14.5.12), and while this is shrouded in myth, there is no doubt from Strabos account that Tarsus is a Greek city. The Geographer states at 14.5.13: The people at Tarsus have devoted themselves so eagerly, not only to philosophy, but also to the whole round of education in general, that they have surpassed Athens, Alexandria, or any other place that can be named where there have been schools and lectures of philosophers. But it is so different from other cities that there the men who are fond of learning are all natives, and foreigners are not inclined to sojourn there; neither do these natives stay there, but they complete their education abroad, and when they have completed it they are pleased to live abroad, and but a few go back home ... Further, the city of Tarsus has all kinds of schools of rhetoric; and in general it not only has a flourishing population but also is most powerful, thus keeping up the reputation of the mother-city [Tarsus]. Is it no wonder that Paul had such an excellent classical education, and called himself a citizen of no mean city (Acts 21:39)?
Now Cilicia itself was originally colonized by the Phoenicians, and those of Cilicia originally called themselves Hypachaeans, according to Herodotus (7.91). Now it should be no surprise that these people should take well to Greek culture and learning, since in Homers time Greece itself was said to be colonized largely by Phoenicians, along with the Danaans (tribe of Dan) said to come from Egypt, and Homer called those people Achaeans. As George Rawlinson notes in his edition of Herodotus, The Cilicians were undoubtedly a kindred race to the Phoenicians, meaning the ancient Phoenicians, which, as can certainly be established, were indeed the northern tribes of Israel.
Strabo wrote before 25 A.D., the year in which he is believed to have died, and only a few years before Paul. To call Paul of Tarsus a Turco-Armenian by birth is utterly ridiculous, since the Turks, an eastern Asiatic tribe of obscure origins, did not appear in or west of Mesopotamia for another thousand or so years! The Turks, invading from further Asia, conquered Baghdad in 1055 A.D., and invaded Asia Minor in 1071 A.D. This major gaffe alone exposes Douglas absolute ignorance of history, which he is by no means qualified to write about.
Armenia too, until the invasions of Arabs, Turks and Mongols, was a land inhabited by the white races. Where Herodotus tells us that the Scythians conquered all of Asia (1.104), Strabo identifies them geographically with Greater Armenia, (11.13.5). A large part of Armenia was called Sacasene, named for the Sacae who dwelt there (11.8.4). Herodotus affirms that the Sacae were indeed the Scythians (7.64), as does Strabo (7.3.9), who goes on to describe Iberia, the country north of Armenia, and says that the Iberians are both neighbors and kinsmen of the Scythians (11.3.3). Surely the Israelites who were deported by the Assyrians had called one of their first lands Iberia, just as the Israelite Phoenicians who settled old Spain had first called that land Iberia, because Iberi is Hebrews in Hebrew, whom they all were! So again, Douglas ignorance is wholly manifest. How many other false impressions and historical untruths does he spout forth daily?
Douglas states that early in Pauls life he became a Roman soldier, and because of his nationality, he was placed in Jerusalem, and here he becomes a novelist, for not one iota of historical evidence is cited to support such a claim! And in fact, Douglas only knows that Pauls family were well known Pharisees of Tarsus by guessing the well known part, and by Pauls own statements in Acts 23:6. Why does Douglas choose to believe only some of Pauls statements, and of those only the ones he can use against him! Just like a government prosecutor, Clayton Douglas is a liar and a hypocrite! Surely Paul was a Pharisee, and the son of a Pharisee (Acts 23:6), and an Israelite of the tribe of Benjamin (Php. 3:5) just as Josephus was a Pharisee, and an Israelite of the tribe of Levi.
<Section #13> Clay Douglas states: ... Saul and his Roman troops closely followed the developments of the (new Christian) cult led by Esu (Jesus) Immanuel in Palestine. Esu Immanuel had several close disciples who assisted in his work. One, Judas Ischarioth had become disloyal to the teaching of Immanuel and he followed only his desires. He secretly gathered up among the listeners of Immanuel gold, silver and copper in his moneybag, so that he could idly indulge in his life style. Juda lharioth, whose father was Simeon Iharioth the Pharisee, observed what Judas was doing and informed Esu Immanuel of this, hoping to be paid well for this information. Immanuel thanked him but did not pay him. Being a man of greed for gold, silver and other possessions, Juda Iharioth became very angry and sought revenge. Saul of Tarsus was a friend of Simeon lharioth, and when Saul learned of this incident between Simeons son, Juda and Esu lmmanuel, he reportedly arranged for the theft of the scrolls of the teachings of Esu, which had been written and kept by Judas Iscarioth (have you ever wondered why there is such little real information in the New Testament about the life and the teachings of Jesus Christ?). Judas Iharioth was paid 70 pieces of silver to steal the writings and another 30 pieces of silver to identify Esu Immanuel at night at his capture with a kiss a sign of mockery to his enemy. Saul was reportedly - personally responsible for the plan and gave assistance in the capture, arrest, trial and crucifixion of Esu Immanuel. Saul truly believed that the christian cult leader, Esu Immanuel, had been destroyed forever. As Esu Immanuel Sananda had said Saul of Tarsus was his greatest enemy during his life in Palestine (and even through all of history down to this present day.) Let me explain how this came to be. Saul made it his business to know about any cult or new teaching or idea that might challenge the rule of Rome over the Palestinians. To do this, Paul/Saul worked closely with the religious leaders of the day, the Jewish Pharisees. (Many scholars have challenged Judas alleged role in the capture of Esu; claiming that Judas was used as Saul and Simons Lee Harvey Oswald in the murder conspiracy plot.)
In reply to section <#13>: Here we have a fantastic story which is a novel a fictional prose narrative and nothing more! None of the claims made here can be substantiated in the New Testament, or in Josephus or any other history, and so unless Douglas can tell us and show us where he got this story from, then he must have made it all up! Douglas whines that there is ... little real information in the New Testament about the life and teachings of Jesus Christ, which by itself is a mischaracterization, and so he goes on to invent his own story!
Saul had Roman troops under his command, which is a lie. While it is certainly evident that Paul had some office or capacity in the service of Judaea, the province was in some degree autonomous when it came to the handling of internal affairs, and the affairs of the Judaean people. There is no indication at all that Paul was acting as a Roman, and if he were he would have been found in violation of Roman law.
Douglas takes the name of one single man, Judas Iscariot, in the N.T. Greek everywhere z3@b*"l and either z3F6"D4f2 or z3F6"D4fJ0l (Iskarioth or Iskariotes), two different forms of the same word due to the use of two different grammatical conventions employed in transliteration from Hebrew to Greek, for the word is from the Hebrew terms for Ish (man) and Kerioth (i.e. Jer. 48:24, 41), and he splits him into two different names and people! Douglas takes one man, Judas Iscariot, and produces two men: Judas Ischarioth and Juda Iharioth. Just like the recent announcements by the cult which calls itself the Raelians which turned out to be a fraud, likewise Douglas attempt to clone the traitor Judas finagles a fraud.
Earlier (see the section <#6>) Douglas claimed that Paul/Saul never met Jesus in the flesh, that none of the New Testament writers actually knew Him [Christ] in the flesh and says (section <#7>) Of personal knowledge of Jesus, Paul had none! But here Douglas states that Saul was reportedly personally responsible for the plan and gave assistance in the capture, arrest, trial and crucifixion of Esu Immanuel ... As Esu Immanuel Sananda had said of Saul of Tarsus was his greatest enemy during his life in Palestine ... and also that Saul made it his business to know about any cult or new teaching that might challenge the rule of Rome ... To do this, Paul/Saul worked closely with the religious leaders of the day .... So which is it, Mr. Douglas? Did Paul know Christ or not? And from whence is this name Sananda, and the statements which you have attributed to Christ here? From where did any of this information come? I must conjecture, that there are only two possible sources for any of this information, which I could possibly imagine. The first would be the Talmud. No wonder Douglas doesnt reveal his sources! The second would be Douglas own twisted mind, and so he has written a novel, but cant so much as keep his plot straight! Paul knew Christ in the flesh, or he did not know Him! Both conditions cant be true, except of course, in the contorted fantasizing of Clayton Douglas!
Here Douglas claims that there existed scrolls of the teachings of Christ, which I shall also address below. However, earlier Douglas stated there are no known writings from Jesus, the actual Apostles, or anyone that actually knew Him ... for which see section <#6> on page 41. Is it not absolutely obvious that Douglas writing is full of double-speak and conflicts? Is Douglas not aware of this? Or is he just a blatant liar? If Douglas knows that scrolls of the teachings of Christ existed, how could there be no known writings from Christ?
When one uses terms which arent generally known, or which cant be found in a dictionary or lexicon, such as Esu or Sananda, one should define the terms and also identify their sources. To do so is scholarly. One not doing so may be perceived as creating fictions! Clayton Douglas has created fictions here. When one relates historical events, to cite sources which attest to those events is scholarly, and is necessary when the events arent generally known. Clayton Douglas claims to be a revealer of truths here, to an audience which he anticipates would not previously have heard such claims, and cites not one of his sources! Clayton Douglas has only spouted lies here. He is a novelist, one who writes fictional narratives: either he reveals the witnesses who attest to the events which he describes, or he made it up all by himself! Note that Douglas account is peppered with phrases such as some scholars think and many scholars have challenged, as if that alone made his statements authoritative. Who are some scholars, and why do they think as Douglas purports?
There are other obviously false statements of Douglas here, yet it would be fruitless to debate any of their merits. Without any substantiation for his fantastic claims, Douglas is a novelist. Who can debate history with someone such as Douglas, who invents his own version at leisure? How can one debate a fiction?
<Section #14> Clay Douglas states: ... The Edomite (Jewish) Pharisees were the dominant force controlling the economy and religious thought of the area. To identify with these leaders and to gather the information he needed, he joined their ranks. As a Roman citizen and soldier he held international power over people, and as a Pharisee, he held local power over the Palestinians. With this blending of authority the Pharisees used Saul to their advantage. Saul was encouraged to move swiftly against Esu Immanuel and his followers, who taught Truth to the people. He traveled to various cities to hunt them down and to arrest or to kill them. Paul/Saul tortured and murdered thousands of innocents, many of them mere children.
In reply to section <#14>: Now there is no doubt that the Pharisees had a great deal of influence, even dominating the religious and political spheres in Judaea, but they did not have total control of it. And certainly the Pharisees did not control the economy, for the Romans did that! We see throughout the New Testament how the Pharisees despised the publicans, who were Roman-appointed tax collectors. We also see that the Sadducees held doctrines which differed greatly from the Pharisees, and also had a strong political voice (Acts 4:1 ff., 23:6-8). At least two Sadducees even became high priests. One is recorded at Acts 5:17, which was not long after the crucifixion. The other Josephus tells us about, saying of one Ananus the younger, he was also of the sect of the Sadducees, at Antiq. 20:9:1 (20:199). This was during the procuratorship of Albinus about 63 A.D., shortly after Paul was sent in bonds to Rome, and right around the time that James was murdered. The family of Herod being Edomites (as Josephus histories attests in several places), substantiates why the Edomites of the Pharisees were favored and appointed to high office, and at Christs time on earth, Edomites had control of the priest- hood. Yet it has already been demonstrated here (section <#11>) that not all of the Pharisees were Edomites! Our current political situation parallels that of first century Judaea to an astonishing degree. While not all Republicans are jews, the jews surely are over-represented at the top of the political hierarchy, and especially in this current administration, where most of the so-called neo-cons (former socialists who suddenly became conservative, a huge deception and a lie) are also jews. And while not all Democrats are jews, the jews are surely over-represented at the top of the political hierarchy there too! While jews claim to be only 3% of the population (though I suspect their actual number to be at least twice that) they make up at least 20% of the Supreme Court, and I count at least 16 U.S. Senators of jewish descent. Douglas misconstrued version of history would prevent one from noticing these parallels, these repetitious patterns. The Edomite jews took over Roman Judaea the same discreet way they did 19th century England and 20th century America.
If Paul of Tarsus were a Roman soldier he would have been attached to a Roman legion and he would have taken his orders from a Roman tribune or a Roman centurion. He certainly would not have needed or sought orders from the high priest at Jerusalem (i.e. Acts 9:2) to do anything which a Roman soldier may have lawfully done! It would even have been considered treasonous for a Roman soldier to take such orders from a foreign (non-Roman) authority. Rome was a strictly disciplined society, with strict laws governing the behavior of citizens and soldiers alike. By no means could a Roman soldier take upon himself to persecute the people of a Roman province. The authority had to come from elsewhere.
Often appearing in the New Testament is the phrase the captain of the temple (Acts 4:1; 5:24) or also the captain with the officers (John 18:12, Acts 5:26). This word captain is the Greek word for general, FJD"J0(`l (4755), and of the temple in Jerusalem Liddell & Scott say of the word in their Greek-English Lexicon: 4. An officer who had the custody of the Temple at Jerusalem. That the high priests used this captain and his temple-guards, officers in the N.T., as their own private army is evident in the New Testament at Luke 22:52, John 18:12, and Acts 5:24-26, where it is seen that they had their own prison. From here alone did Paul acquire the authority which he needed to persecute the Judaean Christians, for the Romans afforded their provinces a great degree of autonomy in the governance of their own people. Roman soldiers had no such authority, unless it came from the Roman government, which Douglas has not one bit of evidence, again, with which to support his claims.
Neither does Douglas have any evidence to support his claim that Paul persecuted thousands of people, for the New Testament accounts give no specific number, unless he read such a number in the Talmud. Douglas, writing a novel, neednt cite any sources for his statements! Neither does Douglas document his claim that many of them were mere children, which the New Testament account contradicts. Like a government prosecutor and a satanic jewish false accuser, Douglas just piles up the charges against Paul, offering no documentation, no proof, no witnesses, and many contradictions! The government awes juries with stature and authority. Who shall Clayton Douglas likewise deceive?
<Section #15> Clay Douglas states: Paul/Saul claimed that he
had a vision in which the crucified Jesus came to him (along with 500 other
witnesses). As a result of this strange experience, Saul convinced others that
he was now a disciple of the Master Teacher, Esu ...
In reply to section <#15>: Now I am absolutely convinced of one thing: Clayton Douglas is ignorant of many things, and probably because he simply cant read! When this paper was first published, in Watchmans Teaching Letter #92, Clifton Emahiser inserted a remark on page 1, where H. Graber badly misquoted Eusebius, concerning Grabers reading skills, saying My God! - Cant H. Graber read? It is evident to me that all Paul- bashers are blind as bats! Here Douglas says that Paul claimed 500 witnesses had seen Pauls vision on the road to Damascus. Did Paul claim that 500 witnesses had seen his vision? The only place in all of Pauls writing which mentions five hundred is at 1 Corinthians 15:6. Just look under five in Strongs Concordance to find out as much. Now let us read 1 Cor. 15:3-6 from the A.V. to see what Paul meant:
3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; 4 And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures: 5 And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve: 6 After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep.
Nothing about Damascus, nothing about Pauls vision. He only relates here to the Corinthians what he himself had been told, that which I also received, about the events surrounding Christs resurrection and appearance to the disciples, for which see Matt. 28:9-20; Luke 24:13-53 and John 20:11-21:35 for partial accounts. If Clayton Douglas can read, then hes a mere liar, take your pick!
Here we shall continue to address Clayton Douglas article The Seduction: Judeo-Christianity Or Pauline Christianity? Saul of Tarsus: Paul. A different view. Hopefully I have already long established that Douglas different view of Paul has been seen through some awfully distorted lenses. Yet Douglas distortions must be addressed because his article, like H. Grabers, is very well representative of the trash being circulated by Paul-bashers everywhere. It was obvious that much of H. Grabers material was drawn from jewish sources, and as I have shown (see section <#7>) that Paul of Tarsus taught what we today call Israel Identity, and he also exposed the jews as Edomites (Romans 9), why wouldnt they (the jews) want to hate him? Why wouldnt they want to trick us into disregarding him? It is also obvious that much of Clayton Douglas thinking also follows jewish lines. Douglas, following the jews, believes that the gospels were originally written in Aramaic, which is a downright lie: they were originally written in Greek. Douglas uses judaized appellations for Christ, such as Esu and Sananda. And although I didnt address it specifically, Douglas even defends the one apostle who was a jew, whom Christ Himself identified as a devil and a traitor, as if he may have been but some innocent pawn (see section <#13>)! Douglas, like the jews, denies that Yahshua Christ was the Messiah (section <#4>)! Douglas penchant for jewish thought shall be further evident as we proceed, but here I would like to put all Paul-bashers everywhere on notice: reexamine your thinking, because you are all mere puppets and proselytes of and for the jews, therefore aiding and abetting them in their satanic agenda!
<Section #16> Clay Douglas states: Pauls own words bring us a sense of his strange experience. First,
Paul/Saul said there were people with him who heard the voice and saw the
bright light.
Now as he journeyed he
approached Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven flashed about him. And he
fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? And he said, Who
are you, Lord? And he said, l am Jesus, whom you are persecuting; but
rise and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do. The men who
were traveling with him .stood speechless, hearing the voice but
seeing no one (Acts 9:3-19; [sic
3-7] RSV)
But, then, later Pauls experience changes according to his
own words:
Now those who were with me
saw the light but did not hear the voice of the one who was speaking to me.
(Acts 22:9-13; RSV)
This time the
witnesses hear no voice, but they do see the light. But hold on Pauls experience changes yet again.
When Paul addresses King
Agrippa, the witnesses hear nothing, they see nothing, and the vision becomes
Pauls alone.
At midday, O King, I saw on the way a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, shining round me and those who journeyed with me. And when we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me in the Hebrew language..." (Acts 26:13-14; RSV)
...
Pauls vision continues to mutate subtly. By the end of the
metamorphosis, Paul has become Al Pacino the megastar in his newly developing
screenplay.
...
By the time of Galatians, Pauls
authority has grown beyond measure. He is now an apostle, and he
proclaims his standing as, Nazarite, one chosen before his birth as a Prophet
of God. No one may challenge his position, no one may challenge his authority,
Paul has taken it beyond the realm of man into an arena which no one dare
question.
In reply to
section <#16>:
A critic may read two different versions of the Sermon on the Mount, given
at Matt. chapters 5-7 and Luke chapter 6, and claim fraud because the records
arent identical. Yet rather we have
two different note-takers, each recording individually the parts which
impressed him most, and so we have two different accounts of the same sermon.
Not having the technology that we have today, even in manual writing, such was
a tedious process to the ancients, and so unlike today, precise accounts of
speeches unwritten beforehand are very rare. There is historical evidence that
various forms of shorthand were used in the Roman Senate about this time, yet
we can hardly expect that of the pastoral folk of Galilee.
Paul gives three
accounts of the Road to Damascus event, the last given many years after
the first. Can we expect them to be the same, word for word? Of course not!
Over the years, different aspects of an event are more lasting in the memory,
while other details fade into oblivion. And each time Paul relates the event,
it is someone else (here either Luke or someone Luke obtained the record from)
who is recording it! Is the recorder really reporting everything which Paul
said on each of the three occasions? Or is it more likely that, as was
customary at the time, only a synopsis was given in each of the three records?
Of course each record is only a synopsis, and we should not force a higher
standard upon Paul than we would upon any other ancient writer, and the same
goes for Luke. Luke, the typically exacting historian (see Luke 3:1), certainly
saw no conflict in the three accounts, and may well have rectified one if he
did, having every opportunity to do so since he wrote them!
Yet comparing the
A.V. or the R.S.V. translations of Acts 9:7 and 22:9, I can see where there
would be a cause for concern regarding the validity of the account, for there
does seem to be an irreconcilable discrepancy there: in English. It is commonly professed by most people in various
factions of what we term Israel
Identity, that there are many errant
translations found in the A.V. and other versions of the Bible. While Douglas
cites the R.S.V. here, referring to Acts 9:7 and 22:9, that version does
virtually no better than the A.V. in many respects, for Acts 22:9 is poorly
translated in both. I have checked other versions of Acts 22:9, such as the New Living Translation, and they are
worse still! It can be demonstrated time and again that theologians have
written what they think the Greek says, and just as often what they think that
the Greek should say, and claim to
be offering fair translations! Because all of our Bible versions are so
polluted, to one extent or another, one shouldnt
dare to judge any Bible passage critically unless one can, as Paul attests, prove all things, making trial of them for ones
self!
The first half of
Acts 22:9, which I have translated And
they who were with me surely beheld the light,
is not an issue here. The second half, which I have translated but for the voice they did not understand
that being spoken to me, is in the
NA27 Greek: J¬< *₯ NT<¬< @Ϋ6 ³6@LF"<
J@Ψ 8"8@Ψ<J`l :@4, and is consistent among all ancient mss.
*₯, but,
marks the beginning of a new clause here, being a conjunctive Particle with
adversative force. It is always placed as the second word in the clause, and so
follows the Article JZ< here.
J¬< NT<¬<, the voice,
in the Accusative Case which marks it as the direct object of the verb here. I
have supplied for, just as with the Genitive Case of
or from often must be supplied, or to or with with the Dative Case. NT<Z (phonκ, 5456) may have been written sound here, and such
is evident since it was translated as such in the A.V. at Matt. 24:31; John
3:8; 1 Cor. 14:7, 8; Rev. 1:15; 9:9 (twice) and 18:22.
@Ϋ6 is the negative
Particle, not here. It precedes that which it negates.
³6@LF"< is a 3rd person
plural form of 6@bT, to
hear ... to hearken ... to listen to, give ear to ... to obey ... to hear and
understand (Liddell &
Scott), and this last sense is used often in the N.T. For instance, where
Christ is attributed as saying at Matt. 13:9 Who
hath ears to hear, let him hear, the
verb is 6@bT both times it says hear. Yet it is clear from the context that
everyone present heard His words physically, and certainly they all had physical
ears, yet there were probably many present who did not understand what He said.
The same verb is repeated twice again in Matt. 13:13, accompanied with another
word which does literally mean understand, and so the physical acts of hearing,
and hearing with understanding, may be both represented by the same word, lest
how could one hearing ... hear not?
Now if Luke wanted
to write, or if Paul wanted to say, that the men present with him physically heard not the voice, he may well have stopped right here, for he has said enough!
By continuing, Paul explicitly reveals his intended meaning.
J@Ψ 8"8@Ψ<J`l is a Participle
form, Imperfect tense, of the verb "8XT, to
speak or to talk. With the Article it is a
Substantive, a group of words used as a noun. The form of both the Participle
and the Article here is either Masculine or Neuter, yet there is no personal
pronoun present, i.e. him in the A.V. or the one who in the
R.S.V., and the writer or speaker may easily have included one if he wanted to
explicitly state as much. Rather, the phrase may just as properly, and perhaps
more so for want of the personal pronoun, be written that being spoken.
:@4, the last word is
to me.
And so the way in
which I have rendered this verse is quite proper, and there is no conflict with Pauls earlier statement at Acts 9:7. Indeed
the men with him heard the voice, or the sound (NT<Z), but did not
hear with understanding what the sound had said!
Yet Douglas
creates conflict even when none can be detected! For he says: When
Paul addresses king [sic] Agrippa, the witnesses hear nothing, they see
nothing, and the vision becomes Pauls
alone, yet no such thing is
found at Acts 26! The simple truth is that Paul did not relate, or maybe he did
but Luke did not record, what those with him saw or heard, because to repeat it
here was not important! So again, like a government prosecutor, Douglas
manufactures charges hoping to further impress or awe the jury into favoring
his indictment.
Douglas also
states that Paul proclaims his standing as, Nazirite [sic], one chosen before his
birth as a Prophet of God.
First, did Paul do such a thing? The
words Nazarite or Nazarene appear nowhere in the A.V. in Pauls letters, or in the Acts, except at Acts
24:5, and this is the same word that pertaining to Christ also appears at Acts
2:22; 3:6; 4:10; 6:14; 22:8 and 26:9 and is translated of Nazareth at those
places in the A.V. The Strongs
number for the word is 3480, but under Nazareth Strong misidentified many of the entries
there with #3478, and the sources I am using here instead are the Nestle-Aland Novum Testamentum Graece, 27th edition,
and the Moulton-Geden Concordance To The
Greek Testament. Except for Acts 24:5, the word appears in Acts only in
reference to Christ (in the A.V. of
Nazareth), and nowhere do these words appear in any of Pauls epistles, not even Galatians, which
Douglas clearly suggests. Why is Douglas lying?
Because the sect of the Nazarenes
is mentioned at Acts 24:5, let us examine that verse, from the A.V.: For we have found this man a pestilent fellow, and a mover of sedition among all the Jews throughout the
world, and a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes. So we find that in the one place that the word is used of
Paul, it is used by the jews accusing him before the procurator Felix. Now
Douglas joins the jews and accuses Paul again!
Yet it can be
further determined that there was indeed a sect by this name, and that they
were persecuted by the jews. For writing about Herod Agrippa I (who ruled Judaea
under the Romans until he died in 44 A.D.) in the days of Claudius Caesar
(emperor, 41-54 A.D.), and so some time before Paul was brought to Felix
(procurator in Judaea from 52 to 56 A.D.), Josephus states at Antiquities 19.6.1 (19:292-294): He also came to Jerusalem and offered all
the sacrifices that belonged to him, and omitted nothing which the law
required; on which account he ordained that many of the Nazirites [sic] should
have their heads shorn. A footnote
in my copy of The King James Study
Bible, Thomas Nelson Inc., at Acts
24:5 correctly states that The Jews would not call the believers
Christians, the people of the Christ (Messiah). They used other terms like the sect of the Nazarenes. This
nickname was derived from [that of] Jesus
hometown of Nazareth [emphasis in
original, brackets mine].
The Nazarites or
Nazarenes of New Testament times were followers of Christ, as identified by the
non-believing jews of Judaea. While prophetically Christs being raised in Nazareth, that He may be called a Nazarite,
has a symbolic connection to the Nazarites of the Old Testament (see Matt.
2:23), in reality being a follower of Christ, a Nazarite in New
Testament times, is not the same as being an Old Testament Nazarite (see Num.
6:1-21), as Douglas infers above. So again, where Douglas condemns Paul, an
investigation of his accusations clears Pauls
good name fully, and it is Douglas who is condemned instead!
<Section #17> Clay Douglas states: ... Saul promptly changed
his name to Paul to disguise himself as a deserter from the Roman army, and to
fool other disciples of Esu, who had been his enemies. Though he had access to
Esus original scrolls stolen from
Judas Iscarioth, ... Paul twisted purposefully twisted [sic] these teachings of
Truth ... Paul began traveling from place to place, proclaiming the teachings
of Esu. Even Esus closest followers
were fooled into believing what the new
missionary taught. Through financial
assistance of his Pharisee friends in Jerusalem, Paul set out on his first missionary
journey, teaching his twisted version of Esus
new teachings of truth. During his life he made three major
missionary journeys through the countries bordering the east and north shores
of the Mediterranean Sea, even as far east [sic west] as Italy. Everywhere he
traveled, Paul established groups of believers he called churches. Those more
commonly known churches were Jerusalem, Ephesus, Antioch, Corinth, Colassae
[sic], Thessalonica, Philippi, Laodicea, Galatia, Athens, and Rome.
In reply to section <#17>: It is evident that Paul did not change his name, as explained in section <#10> of this response. It is also a certainty that Paul was never in the Roman army, for which see sections <#12> and <#13> of this response. Now furthermore I must ask, what sort of man would desert an army after committing a series of infamous deeds, change his name to hide his desertion, as Douglas so forthrightly alleges, yet go around admitting that he was the perpetrator of the very deeds he is hiding from? Oh, Pauls admissions are recorded at Acts 22:4-5, 26:11, and he admits it in his own hand at Gal. 1:13 and 23 and at 1 Tim. 1:12-13. His actions were admitted indirectly at Acts 9, described at Acts 8, and it is explained that the Christians knew who he was and of his conversion in Acts 9. Those same Christians treated him respectfully at Acts 15! And they surely knew who he was, lest Douglas expects us to think of them as idiots, as he obviously thinks his own readers are. How can a man be fleeing from what he is at the same time admitting? And while he spoke many languages and had the capacity to travel, he stayed in Judaea! Why wouldnt those who disputed with him at Antioch not simply turn him in to the Roman authorities if he were a deserter, rather than send him to let him plead his case to the Christian elders at Jerusalem? And when he prevailed he returned to Antioch, and was accepted! (Acts 15). The plot to Douglas novel makes no sense at all, and its Douglas story which contains all sorts of conflicts and discrepancies, not Pauls! If Douglas believes that anyone who has actually studied the Bible and history could accept any of his garbage, he must be an idiot!
Yet Douglas script becomes even more fantastic. While I ignored some of his sub-plots when responding at section <#13>, I wont ignore them here: he [Paul] had access to Esus original scrolls stolen from Judas Iscarioth. Now if Yahshua Christ, Esu as Douglas calls Him, had original scrolls, how does Douglas have this information? Where is their existence recorded? Why didnt Matthew mention them? or James, or Mark, or Peter? Why didnt John, who lived at least 30 years after Paul was killed, tell us about them? Why didnt Jude tell us about them? Because they never existed! If Douglas could tell us something material concerning any such writings, he would have already, but he cant, so he didnt! Either he is inventing such scrolls to suit his own purpose, or he repeats someone elses lies because it suits his purpose! Clayton Douglas, I challenge you: offer substantial evidence from antiquity concerning the existence of these scrolls! Or, you are a liar! Or is your source perhaps some unprovable passage found in the Talmud or Gnostic gospels? And no wonder you havent already revealed it! Yet if you choose to withhold it, you are a liar: an inventor of tales!
Nearly every one of my claims concerning ancient history are accompanied by a reference to some ancient writer (i.e. Strabo) and a number referring to book, chapter and paragraph (i.e. 11.3.3 for the relationship of the Iberians to the Scythians). Now with some writers I dont name a work, because only one work from each has survived, i.e. Herodotus Histories or Strabos Geography. Where I cite a writer who has more than one book surviving, I name it, i.e. Josephus Antiquities or Wars. All of this should be self-evident, being normal scholarly practice, and often my writing cites articles in archaeology magazines or more recent books as sources for my contentions. I would stake my reputation upon one thing, that if you would go to a decent library you would find some translation of Strabo, Josephus, Herodotus, Euripides, or whoever (and they are all currently published by Harvard University Press and others), and find the section which I cite, and that I have quoted or paraphrased it accurately. Clayton Douglas makes many, many statements which would be new to many readers, and he cites no one at all. If he isnt getting his unique account of history from somewhere, he can only be inventing it!
Furthermore, notice above, that Douglas does acknowledge the generally recognized fact that it was Paul of Tarsus who traveled throughout the Roman world establishing Christian assemblies, where Douglas states: Paul established groups of believers he called churches. Those more commonly known churches were Jerusalem, Ephesus, Antioch, Corinth, Colassae [sic], Thessalonica, Philippi, Laodicea, Galatia, Athens, and Rome. This admission will be referred to in Pauls defense later in this exposition.
<Section #18> Clay Douglas states: ... Paul avoided many of the
Laws of God. Indeed, most of the time, Paul made Gods Laws of no effect. In other words, he simply neutralized
them. For example, Paul taught the escaping of personal responsibility by
believing in salvation from ones
sins through Gods Son
dying as a ransom for ones sins. The
idea of a rapture probably began with Paul, the waiting
for Jesus Christ to return in the clouds and the
snatching up of his faithful believers and taking them to heaven
to live happily ever after. Pauls
writings of lies were so widely accepted that by 323 AD at the Council of Nicea
the Pharisees placed many of them into the Cannonized
[sic] Bible of the day. Some of
these writings today are known as Romans, I and II Corinthians,
Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and I and II Thessalonians.
These writings were letters of instructions to the churches which Paul
had established at various locations during his missionary travels.
In reply to section <#18>: It is so easy to be shown a passage or two, take them out of context, and use them to write a blanket condemnation of any writer, not only Paul, which is precisely what Douglas has done here. It is clear to me that either Douglas cant read (and that has already been established here, in section <#15> explicitly), or at least Douglas hasnt read Paul completely. On page 13 above, in my response to the Paul-bashing H. Graber at section <J>, I have covered similar accusations against Paul concerning the law at length. It is clear that Paul said that we do not make void the law through faith, but rather as Christians we seek to establish the law. We do not seek to establish the legalism of the Pharisees, which Christ condemned and which has encompassed us again today in all of the modern governmental regulations (i.e. IRS, OSHA, EPA, DOE, ATF, etc. ad nauseum), nor do we seek to reestablish the Levitical ordinances of purification ritual and sacrifices, which as a matter of prophecy were done away with, the works of the law nailed to the cross. Rather we seek to establish the law which, as prophesied, Yahweh has inscribed on the hearts of the children of Israel, encompassed in the ten commandments and the warnings against fornication (race-mixing), and the admonition to be a separate people: all things which the jews have campaigned against unceasingly since we allowed them to dwell among us! Illustrating these things above in section <J>, I cited Romans 3:31; Deut. 30:6; Isa 51:7; Jer. 4:4; 31:31- 33; 32:39-40; and Ezek. 11:19-20. Then further on in that section, continuing the same response, it is shown that Pauls position on the law does not conflict in any way with the positions of James or Peter in their epistles. Doing this I compared Romans 2:13-15, 25; 14:10; Gal. 2:4; 5:1-3, 13-14; James 1:22-25; 2:10, 12; 4:11-12; 1 Pet. 2:15-16 and 2 Pet 2:1, 19. Anyone who condemns Pauls position on the law does so in ignorance, not knowing what is written in the law itself, or in the prophets.
Christ intends to fulfill both the law and the prophets, as the Paul-bashers love to point out (Matt. 5:17), and these writings of the prophets which tell us that under the New Covenant the children of Israel would follow the law of Yahweh having been inscribed not with ink but with the Spirit of the living Yahweh; not on tablets of stone, but on fleshly tablets of heart (2 Cor. 3:3) are certainly a part of what Christ came to fulfill, and so we find that the actions of Paul are one with the intentions of Christ! Douglas chides Paul for being a Pharisee, yet Douglas follows the Pharisees! For the Pharisees being legalists, couldnt bear to part with the traditions of the elders, which Christ condemned (Matt. 15, Mark 7), and their presumed expertise in all the matters of Mosaic Law, and so the Pharisees condemned Paul for wanting to do away with those things (i.e. Acts 18:12-15; 21:20-26; 21:28 et al.), just as the Paul-bashers do today. Here it is proven! The Paul-bashers, accusing Paul of evil for being a Pharisee, themselves are followers of the Pharisees! And that Paul was following the true way of Christ is evident, for we see that the same charges which the jews had leveled against Paul they had also leveled against the martyr Stephen! (Acts 6:13). So the Paul-bashers are followers of the jews, and Paul was a follower of Christ, believing all things which are written in the law and the prophets (Acts 24:14). Why dont the Paul-bashers believe everything written in the prophets? Because they follow the jews, who claimed to know the scripture, yet time and again they were reproved by scripture! (Matt. 21:42; 22:49).
Clayton Douglas has, and properly, credited Paul of Tarsus with the founding of the churches (properly assemblies) of several places throughout the Greco-Roman world, which he lists at section <#17> though I didnt fully address the issue there. Here, Clayton Douglas properly credits Paul with having written letters to several of those assemblies, letters still with us today. Among the assemblies which Paul is credited as having founded are those at Ephesus and Laodicea. While there is no surviving epistle of Paul to the Laodiceans, they are given mention at Colossians 2:1 and 4:13-16. Can we tell, from the Bible, that the assemblies at Ephesus and Laodicea were valid Christian assemblies? No one else is recorded in any place as having founded Christian assemblies in these cities! It is to be noticed that Peter wrote to the assemblies of Asia, and all these places, Ephesus, Laodicea and Colossae, were in the Roman province of Anatolia called Asia. Yet there is more than this.
In the Revelation of Yahshua Christ as recorded by John, there is a message to the assembly at Ephesus, which Paul founded. They were admonished for having left their first love, which must have been the form of Christianity which Paul brought to them, since Paul founded the assembly! So Yahshua Christ Himself testifies of the good work of Paul by His very message to this assembly. Now while the Ephesians were also praised for having rejected false apostles, this cant mean Paul, because Paul was the first founder of the assembly, and Paul warned the Ephesians of this same thing prior to his arrest in Jerusalem (Acts 20:17-38). This message to the assembly at Ephesus is at Revelation 2:1-7. There is also a message for the assembly at Laodicea at Revelation 3:14-22. Since only Paul founded these assemblies, as Douglas admits, then the very fact alone that Yahshua Christ considers these assemblies recognizes the validity of their founding and existence as a part of His purpose! And so Pauls work was good, and Christian! Clayton Douglas and the rest of the Paul-bashers are blind for not seeing these things, their eyes beset with the thorns of the Canaanites (Num 33:55; Josh. 23:13; Jdgs. 3:2), the jews of today.
Were there Pharisees at the Council of Nicaea? Christians were persecuted throughout Roman history, from the days of Claudius and Nero right up to the days of Diocletian, who persecuted Christians heavily, and who was emperor until 305 A.D. The danger of persecution did not end until the rule of Constantine was fully secured in 324 A.D., and this is apparent even though his edict of Milan in 313 A.D. made Christianity lawful. Pagans hostile to Christianity succeeded to the throne even after Constantine, though it was not again persecuted. While it cannot be proven one way or another that Nicaea was void of men of Canaanite stock, nor can it be disproven, it is very unlikely that any learned jew (i.e., a Pharisee) would have infiltrated Christianity and risked his life for it. The men who attended Nicaea were Christian bishops recently come out from the underground from across the empire! That judaizers, legalists who like the Pharisees would bind men to the Mosaic law and rituals, were despised is apparent in the writings of early Christians such as Eusebius. It is not likely that any of the men at Nicaea were jews, or Pharisees.
While the men at Nicaea were not perfect, we certainly cannot blame Paul, who died over 260 years prior, for any of their mistakes! And we certainly cant blame Paul for the Romish catholic church, or even the men at Nicaea, since that beast didnt begin to take its shape until the time of Justinian in 528 A.D. Yet that the letters of Paul were universally accepted by the men at Nicaea, who had endured so many persecutions in the face of the jews and the Pagans, and that Paul was also accepted by the Celtic Church, which had existed long before Nicaea and was a totally separate entity from the assemblies of the Mediterranean regions, is absolutely indisputable evidence that Pauls mission and epistles and teachings were valid and ordained by Yahweh.
<Section #19> Clay Douglas states: ... Paul tells much about
his persecutions and trials during these missionary years. He claimed he was
beaten, arrested, and placed in prison many times. Finally, in Rome, Paul was
arrested and put into prison. He died in Rome nearly blind and while under
house arrest. While reading these tales of Pauls
travels the reader is enticed to feel sorry for Paul and angry at his
persecutors. This is all part of the Lie.
In reply to section <#19>: Paul and Barnabas were persecuted by jews at Pisidian Antioch in Anatolia (Acts 13:50), at Iconium (Acts 14:2), and at Lystra (Acts 14:19). Paul was likewise pursued in Thessalonica (Acts 17:4-9) and at Berea (17:13-14). Paul was also persecuted by jews in Corinth (Acts 18:17) and by silversmiths at Ephesus who appear to be pagan Greeks, but not necessarily (Acts 18:24-41). Throughout these accounts the jews always enlisted the common people to their cause by some device, just as Douglas does in his article! The jews (Judaeans in Jerusalem who rejected Christ, which all Edomites did though many of these may yet have been blind Israelites) seized Paul in Jerusalem and beat him, and plotted and attempted to kill him (Acts 21-23), and jews testified against him before the Roman authorities (Acts 24-25). We have an unbroken tradition, from Acts 6 down through all the early church writers such as Tertullian (Apology 21.18, 21.25), that the jews were behind the persecutions of all Christians, and of course that of Christ Himself! When Clayton Douglas talks about Pauls persecutions, and scoffs at them saying this is all part of the Lie, who is Clayton Douglas defending? The jews! Clayton Douglas, follower of the jews, defender of the jews, champion of the jews! No wonder he attempts to let Judas the traitor off as some poor unsuspecting patsy (see his comments at section <#13>)! Im beginning to wonder whether theres a yarmulke under his motorcycle helmet! (Douglas dons such a helmet in a photo of himself on page 5 of his December, 2003 Free American Newsmagazine).
As we continue to address Clayton Douglas article The Seduction: Judeo-Christianity Or Pauline Christianity? Saul of Tarsus: Paul. A different view, I do hope that up to this point where Douglas article has been addressed, his deceit has already been exposed, and his lies and his fraud are fully exhibited. Yet all of Douglas articles about Paul must be addressed, as all of H. Grabers article was addressed, for an exhibition to Paul-bashers everywhere, that their assertions are vain, and based upon nothing but lies and misunderstandings, and that Paul of Tarsus was a true and noble man, an Israelite fulfilling the tasks which were given him to do. While I have not mentioned it until now, the irony of Douglas title to his first Paul-bashing article, published in the December 2003 issue of his Free American Newsmagazine, has certainly not escaped me. Douglas would on one hand criticize the jews, and on the other use jewish sources to bash Paul. Then Douglas would offer Judeo-Christianity as an alternative in place of Paul, as if somehow judaism and Christianity could ever be compatible with one another in the first place! And he does this even though he himself admitted the fact that Judeo-Christianity is almost an oxymoron, which Ive already discussed here on p. 33, in the introduction to these Douglas articles. This is only further confirmation that Clayton Douglas is not a clear thinker, since his statements are full of conflicting thoughts, and his ideas consistently clash with one another. For my part, I will esteem the teachings of Paul, and reject not only Judeo-Christianity, but all the attacks by the jews against Truth.
<Section #20> Clay Douglas states: THE LIES. In Pauls letters (and teachings), he
passionately reminds people over and over again that he is NOT a liar and that
he does not lie. The God and Father of the Lord Jesus, he who is blessed
forever, knows that I do not lie. (Il Corinthians. 11:31-33). In what I am
writing to you, before God, I do not lie! (Galatians 1:15-20) For this I was
appointed, a preacher and apostle (I am telling the truth, l am not lying), a
teacher of the gentiles in faith and truth (1 Timothy 2:7). I am speaking the
truth in Christ, I am not lying; my conscience bears witness in the Holy Spirit
that I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. For I could wish
that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my
brethren, my kinsmen by race (Romans 9:1-3).
So, is Paul lying...or not? If it is a lie, and you accuse me of lying,
I will be forced to respond with a denial because a lie cannot and will not
speak for itself. The things that motivated me to lie will motivate me to deny
my lie. Then, feeling the weakness of my position, I look for something more!
What more can I do? I must call forth a witness, so that you have not only my
testimony, but also that of another. The scripture plainly states that
everything is established at the mouth of two or three witnesses. You may have
me pegged for a liar, but perhaps you will believe someone else. But on whom
can I call on such short notice? To be effective, I must have a witness now!
Not only so, but my witness must be a person of undisputed veracity, for it
will not do to call on a reputed liar. Whose testimony would you accept immediately
without question? Who? Who? Who? Ah! There is only one person right for my task
... God in heaven!
So, who is Pauls witness? (It is) understand that Pauls denials do
not constitute proof that he was lying. Many have denied in an off the cuff
manner when accused of lying, even though they were truthful. Children react
this way when they accuse one another, and they frequently call on some higher
authority to witness for them: If you dont believe me, ask my dad. They,
being children, dont think of the implications of denial, although they would
understand them if they paused to reflect before responding. They may even
establish a habit of denial that persists into adulthood and there continue to
deny through force of habit. Perhaps we have all done it. But we are not
dealing here with children or with flippant responses in face-to-face
encounters. Paul was writing letters under circumstances that should have
provided opportunity for reflection. I visualize him in the home of some
disciple, or in prison late at night after all others have retired, sitting
before the dim light of a flickering oil lamp and carefully measuring his
words.
In reply to section <#20>: Here Douglas addresses first century literature, which Pauls letters are, and criticizes it through the distorted lens of twentieth century psychobabble. Because Paul emphatically states that he is telling the truth, or that he is not lying, then Douglas would have one believe that he must be lying. Douglas statements here are a classic example of jewish double think, and as we shall see a little later on in Douglas article, of what he has the audacity here to accuse Paul, he practices himself!
Yahweh Himself is recorded as saying through the psalmist Once have I sworn by my holiness that I will not lie unto David. His seed shall endure for ever, and his throne as the sun before me (Psa. 89:35-36). So according to Douglas twisted logic, Yahweh Himself, by denying that He lied, should be considered a liar! Nay, for Paul proclaims to us, let Yahweh be true, but every man a liar! If Clayton Douglas assertions are not jewish psychobabble, then he is a mere hypocrite, for holding Paul to a higher standard than Yahweh. Here it is clear that Douglas judgment is far from being just.
Douglas also makes much of Pauls own appeals to Yahweh, accusing Paul of childish tactics, where he attributes to Paul the attitude: If you dont believe me, ask my dad. Unlike the scoffer Douglas, there was a time when men took such public appeals to Yahweh seriously, and there are many men who still do. At one time men understood that blasphemy and impiety, along with other sins, were followed by judgment. The English word crisis is nothing more than a transliteration of the Greek word 6D\F4l (2920), which means judgment. There are still some men around who understand this.
We should examine the words of Paul at Galatians 1:15-20 in light of the statements of Yahshua Christ at John 5:19-38, where Yahshua asserts that He is True, and that it is Yahweh the Father who bears witness of Him. Yahshua Christ also uttered assertions that He was telling the truth in His statements, as recorded at Luke 4:25; 9:27; 12:44; 21:3; John 8:31-32, 40, 45-47; 14:6 and 18:37. Was Yahshua Christ lying? Certainly not! And neither was Paul, whom we should measure with the same standard. But since Clayton Douglas does not measure Paul with the same standard, then if he isnt employing jewish psychobabble, hes merely a hypocrite! My assertion would be that both elements are true.
Furthermore, Douglas admitted that Paul was in Rome nearly blind ... while under house arrest (see section <#19> on p. 64 ), yet here envisions Paul alone, writing by candlelight late at night. Yet how could this be? It is true that Paul was nearly blind, which shall soon be discussed here at length. And so Paul never wrote alone, for someone else always did the actual writing for him. Sufficient evidence of this is found at Romans 16:22; 1 Cor. 16:21; Gal. 6:11; Col. 4:18 and 2 Thess. 3:17. Can Clay Douglas get any of his story straight?
<Section #21> Clay Douglas states: The Truth of the matter is that Paul/Saul was a Pharisee, known today
as a Khazarian Zionist. From the beginning of time their philosophy and
life-style has never changed. They use anyone and everyone for their purposes
as set forth in the Protocols of Zion. Paul was no exception. Paul WAS
persecuted, but - reportedly - not for the reasons you think. Many sources
claim that Paul/Saul was a latent homosexual.
In reply to section <#21>: With this short paragraph, Douglas once again openly displays his shameful lack of knowledge both of Scripture and of history. This last irrational diatribe to come from the pen of Douglas demonstrates he has not the ability to comprehend what he reads, and the reader should thus take caution when reading anything of Douglas.
Was Paul a Khazar? The Khazars were at one time an Adamic people, who dwelt north and east of the Caspian Sea (modern Kazakhstan), far removed from Pauls world both in time and place. The later Khazar monuments show an admixture with the Hittite, for which see Clifton Emahisers Watchman Teaching Letter #56, p. 3, col. A., par. 4. They were converted to Judaism beginning in the seventh century A.D., centuries after Pauls death. By no means may Paul be associated with these people. Was Paul a Zionist? The American Heritage College Dictionary defines zionism: A Jewish movement that arose in the late 19th century in response to growing Anti-Semitism [sic] and sought to reestablish a Jewish homeland in Palestine and that now concerns itself with the survival and development of the state of Israel [sic]. Can Paul be blamed for these policies? Certainly not! Rather, he taught that the Edomite-jews in Judaea were the enemy, and that they were destined to be destroyed (Rom. 9:1-13, 21-23), that the enemy had taken over the temple (2 Thess. 2), and that the Romans were to participate in their destruction (Rom. 16:20), hardly a zionist position! The statements in the New Testament records concerning Paul of Tarsus are consistently opposed to Clayton Douglas claims concerning him. One can only wonder whether Douglas ever actually sat and read the book.
Yet most vile are Douglas claims concerning Pauls sexuality: Many sources claim that Paul/Saul was a latent homosexual. Note his use of the term many sources, as if that alone made his statement authoritative. Note also the use of the term latent, of which the basic definition, again from The American Heritage College Dictionary, is: 1. Present or potential but not evident or active. I must say, all men have such potential! And so in reality the term is meaningless. Yet the dictionary continues: 2. Pathology In a dormant or hidden stage ... 4. Psychology Present in the unconscious mind but not consciously expressed. In truth latent homosexual is a term invented by those same purveyors of psychobabble, who seek to have such behavior to be considered normal, and who slander all men with that and other artificial terms such as homophobic if one dares to speak out against such deviancy. Was Paul a latent, or any other type, of homosexual? Certainly not! Yet this, along with Douglas source for such a slanderous remark, will be discussed further below, after we finish hearing from Douglas on the issue. First, Douglas intermixes several other topics with this vile claim, and they also must be addressed.
<Section #22> Clay Douglas states: Nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. I can will what is
right, but I cannot do it. - Romans 7:18 (Paul of Tarsus). While Pauls impact
on the world is clear, the issue of his sexuality is not. He was responsible
for two of the three New Testament texts specifically interpreted in the modern
period as condemnation of homosexuality, and for the only reference in the
Bible taken to refer explicitly to lesbianism. He was an intense, passionate
man filled with tremendous self-loathing. Read some of his words: I pummel my body and subdue it lest after
preaching to others. [sic] I myself should be disqualified. - I Corinthians
9:27.
In reply to section <#22>: It is clear from the record: Paul taught that self-control over ones lusts and emotions was a necessity (i.e. Acts 24:25, where ¦(6DVJ,4", 1466, which means self-control, was translated temperance in the A.V. The word also appears at Gal. 5:23, and twice at 2 Pet. 1:6). Anyone whos ever read Deuteronomy should know that such self-control was necessary to practice in Old Testament times also! And not only sexual self-control, but also self-control over other facets of general behavior, such as alcohol consumption and public conversation. Yet aside from the lures of drugs or alcohol, which most if not all of us have experienced to one extent or another during our lives, there is the lure of covetousness, or lust, not only for money or property but also for the opposite sex, which we are tempted with daily. The desire for security in our finances leads us to excess, reflected by the stock market bubbles of the 1920s and 1990s, manifestations of the evils of lust and greed. Our egos cause us to furnish our lives with all sorts of toys and unnecessary items, and the gross consumerism of western society today leads to our downfall (cf. Ezek. 27, Rev. 18). Yet worse than these things is sexual lust, and sexual lust of any sort! We are bombarded with sexual images daily and from many directions. The same hormones which drive us to marry and have children are triggered by our minds when we succumb to these images, and can cause us to lust. Any man who denies such must be a eunuch! All of these invitations to sin which are available today were also available in the first century, although they werent as technologically advanced, and these Paul warned about consistently. Where Paul uses himself as an example, at Romans 7:13-25 or at 1 Corinthians 9:19-27, both of which Douglas quotes from here, he is only explaining just how difficult it is even for him to control all of these lusts. We have all, without exception, experienced these lusts! How many of us have gone to the lengths which Paul did, to maintain self-control and suppress them? The issue of Pauls sexuality should not even be called into question here, and it is slanderous to do so. Pauls statements here address things which we have all experienced, once we read them in context, and have nothing at all to do with sexual deviancy, homosexuality, as the blasphemous Douglas is suggesting, and in the next section of his article continues to suggest, enlisting the help of his icon Bishop Spong!
<Section #23> Clay Douglas states: Bishop John Spong had closely analyzed Pauls life and writings. Spong believes Pauls fiery manner of writing was his method of dealing with his own homosexuality. There is much, as Anglican Bishop of Newark John Spong has pointed out, which leads one to suspect Paul might have been queer in some way. The fact he was never married, unusual for a Jew of his time, his companionship with a series of younger men, especially St. Timothy, his mention of an unnamed thorn in the flesh, and, possibly, his disdain for some types of exploitative homosexual relationship in his period, all raise questions which cannot be answered it must be admitted, about his sexuality.
In reply to section <#23>: It is apparent that Douglas has developed many of his ideas about Paul and Christianity from Bishop John Spong. Shortly we shall examine what sort of man this John Spong is, since it is evident that Clayton Douglas is more than a casual reader of Spongs many uncouth works. I must say now, once the truly pious men amongst the Paul-bashers read what we have to present about Spong, surely theyll want to reevaluate many of their positions! But first the immediate issues raised here by Douglas must be dealt with.
The
liberal (note Isa. 32:5) bloc in this and other western nations, which is
actually a motley coalition of deviants, various minority groups, and ignorant
do-goody Whites, all led by the communist jews, have long been attacking not
only Christianity but all of the pillars and icons of Western civilization. One
of their common tactics is to portray a corrupt and decadent portrait of one of
our heroes, usually with little or no solid evidence, slandering that hero as
some sort of deviant or hypocrite. In that manner, once the masses are
convinced by the media, their own decadent behavior is eventually accepted and
absorbed into the public perception of normal. While this is only one method
of their attacks on us, it is effective. It is more than a coincidence that the
word devil in the N.T. in Greek is often *4V$@8@l
(1228), which means in truth false
accuser. They did this recently with Thomas Jefferson by claiming that he
fathered a child by a negress. In truth, they knew that the DNA evidence
pointed to only one of several dozen possible male Jeffersons of the era as the
culprit, but that didnt stop them because they wanted it to be Thomas. In
reality, the historical evidence points instead to his carousing brother
Randolph Jefferson, but the media blitz is long over, the icon is soiled, and
the masses will never hear the evidence. Thomas wasnt perfect, but he was no
miscegenist. The desired result is only that once enough great White men can be
shown to have been miscegenists, why should it remain taboo for the rest of us?
Ditto for homosexuality and other deviant practices. This is just one tactic of
the communists culture war against our race, brought to us by deviants and
jews, the so-called intelligentsia.
These vile liberals have a problem with Paul, because Paul made it absolutely, unequivocally clear that sexual deviancy and Christianity have nothing in common, thus being impossible to accept together. And if the deviants cannot be Christians, how can they then corrupt Christianity? Although theyve tried for centuries, never could they destroy it from without! So in this modern age theyve put forth polluted translations of Scripture, perverting and corrupting the text more and more with each new edition, in order to blur the lines of righteousness and the vision of the readers, circumventing the Truth. Then they destroy the reputation of the writers so that once the truth does come out, it isnt received with credibility in the minds of the masses! Paul, foremost defender of the gospel of Christ, is in this day the foremost target of the jews and the deviants, and all Paul-bashers are their accomplices, wittingly or unwittingly!
Here are Pauls remarks from his epistles in reference to deviant sexual behavior, which I shall take from my own translation of Paul because I believe that I have rendered the Greek as clearly as possible, which is especially important in these instances:
Romans 1:26-32: 26 Therefore Yahweh handed them over to a state of disgrace, for both their females exchanged their natural intimacy for that contrary to nature, 27 and likewise the males have given up the natural intimacy of the female, inflamed in their desires for one another, males with males perpetrating shamefulness, and their wandering necessitates the reward they are receiving among themselves. 28 And just as they do not think it fit to have Yahweh in their knowledge, Yahweh handed them over to a reprobate mind, to do things not fitting; 29 being filled with all injustice, fornication, greediness, wickedness; full of envy, murder, strife, treachery, malignity, slanderers, 30 loud talkers, haters of Yahweh, insolent, arrogant, pretentious, contrivers of evil, disobedient to parents, 31 void of understanding, covenant breakers, heartless, merciless; 32 such as these who knowing the judgments of Yahweh, that they practicing such things are worthy of death, not only they who cause them, but also they approving of those committing them. (The parallels with the apostasy and deviancy of this present time are not coincidental.)
1 Cor. 6:9-10: 9 Or do you not know that the unjust will not inherit the kingdom of Yahweh? Do not be led astray: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminates, nor homosexuals, 10 nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor railers, nor rapacious shall inherit the kingdom of Yahweh.
1 Tim. 1:9-11: 9 Knowing this, that law is not laid down for righteous, but for lawless and unruly, impious and wrongful, unholy and profane, patricidal and matricidal, murderous, 10 fornicating, homosexual, kidnapping, lying, falsely swearing men, along with anything else which is contrary to sound instruction 11 according to the good message of the honor of the Blessed Yahweh, which I have been entrusted with.
In both cases in which it appears, the word homosexual is from the Greek DF,<@6@\J0l (733), used in this same manner throughout Classical writings. The 9th edition of the Liddell & Scott Greek English Lexicon succinctly defines the word sodomite. It should also be evident, that the law which Paul referred to at 1 Tim. 1:9 is certainly the Old Testament law, whereby he clearly demonstrated an obeisance to its principles.
While it shall soon be demonstrated that John Spong certainly is a member of the jewish-liberal bloc seeking to corrupt forever our race and civilization, first his remarks above concerning Paul must be addressed. Douglas states that Spong believes Pauls fiery manner of writing was his method of dealing with his own homosexuality. This is clearly unprovable, undocumentable psychobabble contrived to be false support for further untrue accusations. It is typical jew calumny. As for Pauls not marrying, he explains the reasons for such himself at 1 Cor. 9:1-23, not wanting to have any hindrance in the task to which he was assigned: the spreading of the gospel of Christ. How many men have sacrificed carnal desires, wife and family, for God and country and other noble pursuits? Were they all homosexuals? Certainly not! And neither was Paul! Yet I shall resort to another comparison with Yahshua Christ, for neither did He marry! Not accusing Christ, which would certainly be blasphemous, Douglas and Spong are mere hypocrites instead. Marriage is valuable in every way wrote Paul (Heb. 13:4), and advised Timothy that bishops and ministers must be married, and have faithful children, since if they couldnt govern their own families well then they certainly werent qualified to govern the household of Yahweh (1 Tim. 3:1-13).
Again, Douglas and Spong accuse Paul of having companionship with a series of younger men, thereby throwing a blanket accusation of homosexuality over all of the associates of Paul! Calumny indeed! In the laws of Yahweh, which Paul certainly invoked, as quoted above, If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman ... they shall surely be put to death (Lev. 20:13, cf. Lev. 18:22; Deut. 23:17), and it is also written that ... if the witness be a false witness, and hath testified falsely against his brother; Then ye shall do unto him, as he had thought to have done unto his brother..., or in other words, if one makes a false accusation for which the penalty is death, the accuser suffers the penalty instead! I pray that Yahweh grants Douglas and Spong the rewards of their labors, and quickly! Let all the followers of Douglas and Spong consider this, and beware! And again I must say that Yahshua Christ Himself chose out many young men to be His apostles. Douglas and Spong wouldnt dare accuse Him! So instead, they are again revealed to be hypocrites!
As for Douglas and Spongs contention concerning Pauls unnamed thorn in the flesh, first we must ask, was it truly unnamed? Surely the jews and liberals would like us to think it was unnamed, so that they can use it as another false support for their attacks on Christianity. Paul mentions his thorn in the flesh at 2 Cor. 12:7. This again is from my own translation:
7 And in order that I would not be exalted in the excellence of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh has been given to me, an adverse messenger, that it would strike me in order that I would not be exalted. 8 Three times I have exhorted the Prince concerning this, that it may depart from me, 9 and He told me, My favor is enough for you; since the power is perfected in weakness (2 Cor. 12:7-9).
In weakness, not in sodomy! Paul didnt necessarily have to tell the Corinthians what his thorn in the flesh was, for they probably already knew. Paul had spent some time in Corinth (Acts 18) and had written them not only once before (1 Cor.), but at least twice (see 1 Cor. 5:9, 2 Cor. 7:8), and at least one of his letters to them is lost. Yet we must examine something Paul wrote to the Galatians after he had visited them:
13 Now you know that in sickness of the flesh I had announced the good message to you earlier, 14 and of my trial in my flesh you did not despise or loathe, but as a messenger of Yahweh you accepted me, like Yahshua Christ. 15 Then what is your blessing? I testify to you that, if possible, your eyes being extracted you would have given them to me. (Gal. 4:13-15).
Now any honest man, or even a child, can see that Pauls thorn in the flesh was nothing more than his failed eyesight! To make anything more of it is not only dishonest, but purposely slanderous! Spong and his disciple, Clayton Douglas, are both guilty of such deceit!
Writing above, on pages 47-48 in Section 9, while addressing Douglas first quote in his article from Bishop Spong, I wondered: what sort of man could Spong be? That was back on October 23rd of last year (2005 this section was first written in February, 2006). Shortly thereafter I was able to obtain some information concerning Spong, and Clifton Emahiser has collected more since then. How little I suspected, that Spong is a much more vile man than I could have imagined back in October! Here it is fitting to divert from our response to Clayton Douglas articles to discuss Bishop Spong himself, whom Douglas must have read in depth, and of whom Douglas is a disciple. Once we see from his own mouth that John Spong is a lover of negroes and homosexuals that he is no true Christian but rather a full-blown member of the jewish-led liberal Communist deviant minority bloc who are hell-bent upon destroying our White race and civilization, then the motives of Spong, and perhaps Douglas also, shall become fully manifest. I strongly urge all Paul-bashers everywhere to fully contemplate this review of the life and works of John Spong, which we will begin with some comments and biographical information compiled by Clifton:
In an effort to find all the origins of the phenomenon known today as Anti-Paulism, it has led in many unusual directions. We first observed that Paul-bashing was nothing new, for there were many Anti-Paulists during Pauls own time. The one common characteristic surrounding the attempted refuting of Pauls writings in all periods of time since Paul is that it appears to have its origin from the bad-fig Judaeans of Rev. 2:9 & 3:9 whom we term as Jews today. In pursuit of the Jewish connection to this Paul-bashing, which is gaining epidemic proportions, we find that W. G. Finlay from South Africa, a ravenous Paul-basher, based his flawed assumptions on a book Popes From The Ghetto by Dr. Joachim Prince, president of the American Jewish Congress, and chairman of the Conference Of Presidents of Major Jewish Organizations. Finlay also referred to Prince as The learned rabbi, who still serves in the Temple Beni-Abram of Newark in New Jersey.
As we shall see, this is not the only connection associated with Paul-bashing and Newark, New Jersey. Not that that should be a bad reflection in any way upon any of the good citizens of Adamic-culture from that state. Clayton Douglas Paul-bashing articles in the December 2003 and January 2004 issues of his Free American News- magazine state: Bishop John S. Spong (Episcopal Bishop of Newark): Pauls words are not the Words of God. They are the words of Paul - a vast difference! Thus, we have one Paul-basher in the person of Clayton Douglas quoting another Paul-basher in the person of Bishop John S. Spong. It is paramount, therefore, to investigate the tenets of this Bishop John S. Spong from Newark, New Jersey, which we will now examine. To fully investigate this Bishop Spong will be no short task. Anyone who would like to verify what is about to be revealed here can go to the web site:
www.dioceseofnewark.org/jsspong/jssbiog.html
At this web site one will find a biography of John Shelby Spong, and from that biography one can decide if it is advisable and proper to be associated with such an evil person. One will find at this web site that John Shelby Spong is a member of the House of Bishops of the Episcopal Church in the United States. No insignificant position, and a vast realm of influence!
Spong was born 1931 at Charlotte, NC; where he also attended public school; graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 1952, and received his Master of Divinity from the Protestant Episcopal Theological Seminary in Virginia in 1955, which later conferred on him, along with St. Pauls College, honorary Doctor of Divinity degrees. He then served as rector of St. Josephs Church in Durham, NC, 1955-1957; rector of Calvary Parish, Tarboro, NC, 1957-1965; rector of St. Johns Church at Lynchburg, VA, 1965-1969; rector of St. Pauls Church, Richmond, VA, 1969-1976; consecrated bishop June 12, 1976. Spongs influence has touched a wide variety of official authority serving on committees and commissions. He was editor of The North Carolina Churchman; president of the Standing Committee; three times deputy to the General Convention; he has been president of the New Jersey Council of Churches; consultant, Episcopal Radio & Television Foundation; consultant, Standing Liturgical Commission; member, Overseas Review Committee of the national church; elected 1973 to six-year term Executive Council, next highest governing body under the General Convention; appointed by Presiding Bishop Edmond Browning to serve on the Standing Commission on Human Affairs and Health; serves on the House of Bishops Theology Committee; elected Quatercentenary Scholar, Emmanuel College, Cambridge University, 1991; guest lecturer, Oxford University, United Kingdom, 1993. Also, Spong takes an active interest in sports, including play-by-play radio announcer for stations in Tarboro, NC and Lynchburg, VA for the three major sports; also serving as sports editor for the Daily Southerner at Tarboro.
In addition to the above web site, one might also check the web sites:
www.dioceseofnewark.org/jsspong/reform.html
www.dioceseofnewark.org/antiracistmothers.html
newark.rutgers.edu/~Icrew/spong_cv.html
www.dioceseofnewark.org/jsspong/profile.html
[End of Cliftons compilation of Spongs biographical information.]
Here we have interrupted our address of Clayton Douglas article The Seduction: Judeo-Christianity OR Pauline Christianity? Saul of Tarsus: Paul. A different view in order to investigate the life and works of the so-called Bishop, John S. Spong. Since Douglas quotes Spong repeatedly in his criticism of Paul. Douglas must have read Spongs extensive works with a more than casual interest in the Bishops opinions, because he speaks of Spong with great respect in his article and repeats Spongs conclusions with avid conviction.
In sections <A> through <V> above, on pages 1 through 26, while discussing the anti-Paulism of H. Graber it was seen that Grabers primary sources for his opinions were the Socialist George Bernard Shaw and the jew Joachim Prince. Here it may well be made evident that John S. Spong is much more dangerous than these, for Spong is an embracer of negroes and homosexuals, a lover of the anti-christ jews, and a hater of nationalism and patriotism, all while claiming to be a Christian, and a bishop! But we shall let Spong testify to the truth of these things by himself. We are often told that one shouldnt judge a book by its cover, yet just as often one can find all thats needed to know simply by reading its title!
At the end of section <#23> above, we gave a summary of Spongs academic credentials and vocational positions, condensed from the website:
www.dioceseofnewark.org/jsspong/jssbiog.html
At another website, newark.rutgers.edu/~lcrew/spong_cv.html, one can find a summary of Spongs
credentials plus a list of books and articles which Spong has authored, and
this partial list of their titles should tell us much about his work: Dialogue: In Search of Jewish-Christian
Understanding (Co-authored with Rabbi Jack D. Spiro); Beyond Moralism: A Contemporary View of the Ten Commandments
co-authored with Denise G. Haines, Archdeacon; Living in Sin? A Bishop Rethinks Human Sexuality; Rescuing the Bible from Fundamentalism: A
Bishop Rethinks the Meaning of Scripture; Born of a Woman: A Bishop Rethinks the Birth of Jesus; Resurrection: Myth or Reality? A Bishops
Search of the Origins of Christianity; Liberating
the Gospels: Reading the Bible with Jewish Eyes; Why Christianity Must Change
Or Die: A Bishop Speaks To Believers In Exile.
Some of the individual articles
written by Spong include: The Christian Need for Judaism The Christian Century; Breaking Definitions The Integrater [sic]; Sexual Stereotypes in the Life of the
Church Ecumenical Trends;
Understanding the Gay Reality The
Christian Century; Sexual Ethics: No Longer a Matter of Black and White The Episcopalian; Changing Patterns of
Sexuality The Living Church; The
Bible and Sexual Ethics The Living
Church; Americas Survival Depends on Patriotisms Death American Values; Bishop, Please Tell
My Congregation I Was Gay The Church
Times, London; No Outcasts Update,
Presbyterians for Lesbian/Gay Concerns, New Brunswick, NJ; A Dialog on
Christian Sexual Ethics with John R. W. Stott, Crux; Christian Symbols and Jewish Midrash The Human Quest; Most Biblical Interpretation Illogical The Human Quest; Judas Iscariot - A
Creation of Prejudice? The Human Quest;
A Call for a New Reformation The Fourth
R; The Powerless Christ The Witness.
By the titles of Spongs books and articles alone, it should be unequivocally clear that the statements I have made about him are true. Bishop Spong is surely a member of the jewish-liberal bloc seeking to destroy our nation from within, and Clayton Douglas is his disciple! Paul-bashers everywhere beware: you have all been following the pied piper of deceit big time!
Some of Spongs national television appearances include: Good Morning America, ABC; The Today Show, ABC; This Morning, CBS; Firing Line with Wm Buckley - 3 times; The Phil Donahue Show; Politically Incorrect with Bill Maher - 4 times; Firing Line, Debate with Pat Buchanan; Religion Today with Bob Abernathy; McNeil/Lehrer News Hour - 2 times; Larry King Live - 3 times; The OReilly Factor with Bill OReilly - 2 times; The Tom Snyder Show - 2 times; The John Ankerberg Show; The Oprah Winfrey Show; Nightline, ABC - 2 times; Town Hall, CNN.
Clayton Douglas reveres Bishop
Spong, but seemingly the jewish-controlled media establishment loves him even
more, and it is no surprise to me considering his views. We also find from this
website that Spong lectured at Harvard University in 2000, and was Humanist of
the Year, 1999, although we are not told which organization bestowed that
honor (or rather, placed that curse)
upon him. Clearly Spong is no Christian by any stretch of the
imagination.
Spong wrote The Christian Need for Judaism, yet the early Christian bishop Ignatius knew better, for he wrote that It is absurd to name Yahshua Christ, and to Judaize. For the Christian Religion did not embrace the Jewish, but the Jewish the Christian (see page 33, at the beginning of this response to Douglas article). Hebrewism was nothing more than Christianity before Christ. Christianity is Hebrewism after its fulfilled promise of Christs coming. Judaism is only an offshoot, a corruption, of Hebrewism! The Apostle John refers to the jews as nothing but antichrists: 1 John 2:18, 22; 4:3; 2 John 7. The last thing Christianity needs is Judaism! Except that Adam himself chose to know good and evil.
Spong wrote that ... Christianity Must Change Or Die ..., and No Outcasts which was for a homosexual publication. In contrast, Paul wrote Yahshua Christ: the same yesterday, and today, and for the ages (Heb. 13:8). Compare Psalms 111:7-9; 119:89; Isa. 40:8; 55:10-11; Mal.3:6; Matt. 24:35; Mark 13:31 and 1 Pet. 1:25. Paul also wrote of a sexual deviant, quoting and/or alluding to Deut. 13:5; 17:7, 12; 19:19; 21:21; 22:21, 24 and 24:7: And you are inflated, and rather you have not mourned, in order that he who did this deed would be taken from your midst ... But presently I have written to you not to associate with any brother if he is being designated a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or abusive, or drunken, or rapacious; not even to eat with such a wretch. What is it to me to judge those outside? Not at all should you judge those within you. But those outside Yahweh judges; you will expel the wicked from amongst yourselves. (1 Cor. 5:2, 11-13). Surely Paul teaches that there shall be outcasts, as we have seen from Rom. 1:26-32; 1 Cor. 6:9-10 and 1 Tim. 1:9-11, all discussed here on pp. 69-70 in section <23>, and that homosexuals shall be among those outcasts (cf. Rev. 22:15). Who is in compliance with the laws of Yahweh, Spong or Paul? Who is in compliance with the will of Yahshua Christ, Spong or Paul?
The liberals and the jews with their followers wrongly accuse Paul of somehow doing away with all of the laws of Yahweh (as if a mere man could possibly do such a thing), which they themselves refuse to heed, and certainly do not understand. The Old Testament lays before the children of Israel and no one else certain blessings if they are obedient to Yahweh (Lev. 26:3-13; Deut. 7:12-26; 28:1-14), and certain consequences if they are disobedient to Yahweh (Lev. 26:14-46; Deut. 6:10-25; 28:16-58). Paul certainly did not lay this aside (i.e. Rom 3:31; 1 Cor. 10:1-11; Gal. 6:7). Spong embraces homosexuals and aliens, things we were taught to keep ourselves clean from (Jer. 31:31-33; Isa. 52:11; 2 Cor. 6:14-18), and when life doesnt go as he thinks it should, he writes articles such as The Powerless Christ. Blasphemy indeed! Liberals and Humanists seek to conform God to their image. True Israelite-Christians know that our Adamic race was created in the image of Yahweh our God (Gen. 1:26-28; 5:3; 9:6; Rom. 8:28-39; Col. 3:1-10 et al.), and we are obliged to act accordingly! Liberals and Humanists refuse to admit that there may be a penalty for their abhorrent, deviant behavior, and John Spong goes to great lengths to convince all men of that same denial. Clayton Douglas is his disciple!
Spong, who couldnt possibly get around Pauls clear condemnations of sexual deviancy, employs Freudian psychobabble and uses Pauls statements out of context in a vain slanderous attempt to discredit Paul, attempting thereby to nullify those condemnations! The treacherous plot should be clear to anyone with a modicum of spiritual discernment. Yet Clayton Douglas fell for it wholeheartedly. Clayton Douglas, publisher of Free American Newsmagazine makes himself a disciple of John Spong, lover of homosexuals and aliens, author of Americas Survival Depends on Patriotisms Death. Oh, the irony is nearly too great to bear! Is Clayton Douglas deceived, a deceiver, or just stupid?
A summary of Spongs career and personal life can be found in the article Profile of a Bishop: John Shelby Spong by Ellen Barrett, found at:
www.dioceseofnewark.org/jsspong/profile.html
The following paragraphs are based upon information found in the article:
Apparently Spong was not a homosexual, at least openly. He married university classmate Joan Ketner, who was trained as a zoologist and worked for the C. I. A., acting as the breadwinner while Spong attended the seminary. Joan stopped working just before the birth of their first child, the first of three daughters, but rebelled against the claustrophobic nature of her expected role ... not content as a housewife and mother. Joan developed an unspecified mental illness some time around 1973, and from around 1983 she had all but cut herself off from outside contact, and refused treatment for a cancer she developed. During these years Spong grew ever closer to his teenagers, becoming a mother as well as a father to them ... He also turned more and more to study and writing as a solace and a way to put order into the chaos of his domestic life.
Yet evidently study and writing werent the only things which Spong turned to while his wife, who died in 1988, was ill. For In that loneliness was also born the beginning of his conviction that God was right, It is not good for a human being to be alone. Evidently, about the time of Joans death, this would lead him to affirm the relationships of homosexuals as well as those of heterosexual people living in non- traditional arrangements.
So there it is evident, that during his wifes illness and the resulting loneliness which he is apparently weakened by, John Spong has some sort of Homosexual Epiphany so profound that he begins a campaign to normalize such deviant behavior and force it onto his church. Sure, in our Bibles the saying is attributed to Yahweh that it is not good that the man should be alone (Gen. 2:18), yet Yahwehs response to the situation was to create a woman! We are advised by Christ: He which made them at the beginning made them male and female. Who is Spong to insist that Christianity be corrupted in order to satisfy some perverted, deviant lust? How is Spong so egotistically arrogant to even think that Christianity could somehow be changed? Placing a honey label on a jar of dung doesnt do anything to change the dung! Remember Pauls words at Hebrews 13:8!
Returning to the aforementioned article, Spongs involvement in the policies of his church toward homosexuals began in 1982, when his wife had already been sick for about 9 years, and the General Convention resolved that the church should begin serious study of changing patterns of family life. Spong must have seen this as a green light for his own base ambitions, since Three or four years later, the Bishop [Spong] commissioned a diocesan task force to study what he considered to be three key points: The overwhelming increase in young people living together outside of marriage; unmarried older people living together for various economic reasons; and whether people living in homosexual relationships could be called into the churchs desire to consecrate human partnership.
There we have it: John Spong was a trailblazer in the gay marriage movement, 20 years before the recent attempts by deviants to have their iniquity blessed by the State! A nationwide storm broke in 1987 when the press reported the committees findings as endorsing gay marriage, after which Spong wrote two of his books in defense of the idea. After the death of his wife, Spong got even bolder: Acting on his growing conviction that gay people should be fully included in the life of the church, Spong ordained Robert Williams in 1989. The wave of hostility Williams ordination generated even intruded upon the funeral service for Spongs wife, Joan. She was buried from their old parish church in Richmond, and as the Bishop and his daughters sat beside the coffin a woman approached him, struck him across the shoulders with her cane, called him a son of a bitch, and strode out triumphantly through the pallbearers. But not all reaction was negative.... The Bishop who had once dismissed a gay vicar was well on the way to becoming a hero of the gay community as well as a target of conservative wrath. Yet that conservative wrath didnt last very long. While initially the Diocese of Newark was dissociated from the rest of the Episcopalian church, political pressure put half of the churchs House of Bishops on Spongs side within a year, and inspired two married bishops to come out of the closet to Spong during this period of controversy. While at first I criticized Spong for even participating in a church which had homosexual ministers, little did I know that he was the one who made such shamefulness possible for the Episcopalian church in the first place!
This is the type of man whom Clayton Douglas has chosen to follow, and all Paul-bashers everywhere are in league with! The motives for Spong to pervert Pauls teachings and to portray the apostle in such a slanderous manner should be perfectly evident. Cliftons reaction to Spongs deeds is, in part:
Thank Yahweh for the woman who struck Spong across his shoulders and called him a SON-OF-A-BITCH. She undoubtedly knew something about the secret sex life of Spong! She deserved to be given the Congressional Medal of Honor for courage beyond the call of duty! She demonstrated to all the observers there that day that she was a Christian in every respect! May her reward for that act be greater than she can receive at the White Throne Judgement!
I find it very difficult to conceive how Clayton Douglas could have read Spongs work, found Spongs blasphemous remarks concerning Paul of Tarsus, yet not see that Spong was such an advocate for having homosexuals and their deviant relationships fully recognized, and even consecrated, in open society! I must assert that Douglas had to be aware of all of this, and by making a conscious decision to use Spongs material as he did, showing reverence for Spong himself, the only logical conclusion is that Clayton Douglas approves of John Spong and his actions. May all Paul-bashers be put on notice: for you are all treading very dangerously by following such misguided men.
I find it just as difficult to conceive how Clayton Douglas read Spongs work yet managed to avoid or ignore, or even overlook, Spongs position on racial issues, which is just as vile and even more dangerous than his position on homosexuality. For while homosexuality retards the maintenance and growth of the race, miscegenation destroys it down the line forever. Many branches of White Adam have already, in the past, committed racial suicide, and we see it happening again today on a massive scale!
From the same article by Ellen Barrett, quoted from above, we find that Spong was an integrationist long before he became a champion of sexual deviancy. From 1957-1965 Spong was Rector of Calvary Church, in Tarboro N.C. Barrett tells us: These were the years of controversy over school desegregation in the South, and Spong was in the forefront of the battle. The local sheriff was a member of his congregation, and Spong announced that he expected black school children to be protected, and that he was going to be there with them as they entered the previously all-white school. The sheriff was stuck; to protect his rector he had to protect the children. Supporting integration in North Carolina in 1959 was not a way to popularity. But the struggle was exhilarating, and Spong found others to fight alongside him for the equality of black people as children of God. It was his first serious foray into the arena of social controversy. You may thank John Spong for our now ruined educational system!
Aside from the obvious deficiencies in Spongs scholarship (for only White people are descendants of Adam and are children of Yahweh), Newark N.J. was a good place for Spong to end up. Aside from the Ironbound section (or Down Neck, as the locals call it) the city is almost exclusively black, and so there are few integration problems there. My own memories of the city are mostly of its decaying, boarded-up, run-down former areas of commerce, and its sprawling slums. Lately, I understand, the city is undergoing a sort of renaissance, having attracted the interest of yuppies and immigrants because of its proximity to New York and much lower taxes.
But Spongs crimes as an integrationist continue, so Clifton Emahiser has compiled and comments upon this information from yet another website connected to him:
At the web site www.dioceseofnewark.org/antiracistmothers.html, one will find Spongs position concerning race. It is nearly identical to Jewish-Communism and Catholicism, along with most Protestant churches.
Mission to Dismantle Racism Anti-Racism Dialogs Facilitators provide guidance for the Anti-Racism Dialogues Seeing the Face of God in Each Other: A Positive Vision of the Unity that can be achieved through Christ. They will guide groups through an interactive process to increase participants awareness and understanding of diversity, prejudice, social power, privilege and institutional and systemic racism. The ideal goal of the dialogues is the transformation of individuals, congregations and the Church, from a habit of exclusiveness to a value of full participation, the elimination of social oppression and shared decision-making and power.
Anti-racism Training As it is so very important for participants of anti-racism training to experience the process within the context of community, the Anti-racism Dialogues will be congregationally or organizationally based. In other words, for the foreseeable future, Seeing the Face of God in Each Other will [sic, be] sponsored by a congregation or congregations or by a commission, committee, agency, district or board.
The dates will be published in the Voice and posted online each month with the name of the contact person (and phone number) at the congregation or committee, so that others who so desire may join the groups based on the convenience of the location or the schedule. Call the office of the Justice Missioner for more information - 973.430.9909 or Iheadleydeavours@dioceseofnewark.org.
From the context of this brazen Anti-racism Dialog of Bishop John Shelby Spong, it would appear that the enemy of true Israel is by far working much more forcefully to accomplish their agenda of destroying the White Israel race than those in Israel Identity are in defense of true Israel! When are we ever going to wake up!
[End of Cliftons compilation from the antiracistmothers website.]
Scripture makes it clear, and Yahshua Christ fully expresses in His own parables, that He is indeed a racist (i.e. Matt. 13:36-43, 47-50; 15:21-28; 25:31 ff.). Paul certainly followed in Yahshuas footsteps on this issue as on all others (i.e. Rom. 9:1-13, 21-23; 1 Cor. 10), yet the issue of race was not at the forefront of Pauls letters because in the Europe of Pauls time race was simply not an issue: Europe was very nearly 100% Adamic - White! Yet Paul told the Philippians (from my own well-annotated translation of Pauls epistles):
14 Do all things apart from murmuring and disputing, 15 that you would be perfect and with unmixed blood, blameless children of Yahweh in the midst of a race crooked and perverted - among whom you appear as luminaries in the cosmos, 16 upholding the Word of Life for a boast with me in the day of Christ, that not in vain have I run nor in vain have I labored (Phil. 2:14-16).
Aside from Spongs lifetime of evil works on behalf of sexual deviants and negroes, he also demonstrates a consistent rebellion against the admonitions of Yahshua Christ (John 8:44), Paul (2 Corinthians 6:11-18) and the apostle John (1 John 2:18-23; 4:1-6; 2 John 7-11) by his work with the jewish rabbis. One of Spongs first books was entitled This Hebrew Lord. Evidently Spong, unlike Paul (Rom. 9, Acts 13:6-11) and Yahshua Christ (Rev. 2:9; 3:9; John 8:33-47), has the jews confused with true Hebrews. Again from Ellen Barretts article: A local rabbi was so impressed with This Hebrew Lord, despite his disagreement with the premise, that the two of them debated the book three Friday nights at the synagogue and three Sunday mornings at St. Pauls to record-breaking crowds. Local radio picked up the debates, and the pair were offered a twenty-week cable TV contract to continue.
Spong co-authored a book with another jewish rabbi, and has written articles for jewish publications such as Menorah. While I have not seen evidence of a relationship mentioned on any Spong-related website, I would find it odd if Spong did not have at least an acquaintance with that other prominent Paul-basher from Newark, N.J., the jewish rabbi and contemporary of Spongs, Joachim Prince. It would be hard to believe that Joachim Prince, being president of the American Jewish Congress, and chairman of the Conference Of Presidents of Major Jewish Organizations, wouldnt be aware of jewish collaboration with people such as Spong within his own city.
One of Spongs articles is A Call for a New Reformation, originally published in 1998. This article is available at the website:
www.dioceseofnewark.org/jsspong/reform.html
and a review of it fully reveals that, while Spong is an Episcopal bishop, his true religions are Darwinism and secular Humanism. It should be no wonder that Spong has so little use for Paul of Tarsus, that he would stoop to slandering a noble man in order to promote his own immoral, homosexual agenda!
Spongs article begins by misrepresenting the Protestant Reformation. He belittles the issues which led hundreds of thousands of faithful Christians to sacrifice their lives by calling them quite trivial in retrospect, and leaves unmentioned the oppression of the Romish church, ignoring all of the slaughter and sins perpetrated by that evil institution. Spong surely has no sense of history, and is absolutely ignorant of Biblical prophecy.
He goes on to state that The need for a new theological reformation began when Copernicus and Galileo removed this planet from its previous [sic, -ly] supposed location at the center of the universe, which is also a mischaracterization. Modern astronomical discoveries surely upset the Romish churchs model of creation, but that was actually founded upon the errant beliefs of Aristotle, and not Biblical Christianity. Copernicus and Galileo did nothing to harm true Biblical Christianity because nothing in the Bible not even the Genesis creation account when viewed from a proper perspective insists upon a geocentric model of the universe.
Spong then states that After [Sir Isaac] Newton the church found itself in a world in which the concept of magic, miracle, and divine intervention as explanations of anything, could no longer be offered with intellectual integrity. Yet Newton didnt anticipate the discovery of the atom and the subsequent finding that all matter is truly nothing but energy. Paul knew this, and in Hebrews he states By faith we perceive the ages to be furnished by the word of Yahweh, in which that which is seen has not come into being from things visible (Heb. 11:3). Today in particle physics it is discovered that sub-atomic particles do not act in a manner which any previously known laws of physics could have possibly predicted, and that some particles apparently even disappear, or can occupy two different places at the same time. The more we learn, the less we know, and Newtons laws while once seeming to certainly do not completely define the behavior of matter in the universe. Spong is arrogant to insinuate that we know too much to believe in the God of the Bible, and by doing so he only betrays his own ignorance!
Spong continues by embracing Darwinism: ... Charles Darwin ... related human life to the world of biology more significantly than anyone had heretofore imagined ... The Bible began with the assumption that God had created a finished and perfect world ... Darwin postulated instead an unfinished and thus imperfect creation out of which human life was still evolving. And while it can be shown that Spong mischaracterizes even the fundamentals of Darwinism, Darwinism in itself is nothing but another religion. The foundation of Darwinism, that higher life forms somehow evolved from lower ones, is impossible, has never been observed, shall never be observed, and is slowly being discredited; slowly only because of the resistance by atheists. Darwin gave the godless a religion they can accept: Evolution! Darwinism is not science!
Finally, Spong embraces Freud, who analyzed the symbols of Christianity and found them manifestations of a deep-seated infantile neurosis. I wouldnt waste time here in vain debate with Freuds perverted opinions. The man was a jew and a cocaine addict and just another instrument of the jewish-liberal attack on our civilization. When are we ever going to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees?
Here are the final theses to Spongs proposed Reformation, which he boasts are far smaller in number than were those of Martin Luther, but they are far more threatening theologically. Read very carefully the anti-christ positions of Spong, and ponder his blasphemous planks paralleling those of Marxism in many ways:
l. Theism, as a way of defining God, is dead. So most theological God-talk is today meaningless. A new way to speak of God must be found.
2. Since God can no longer be conceived in theistic terms, it becomes nonsensical to seek to understand Jesus as the incarnation of the theistic deity. So the Christology of the ages is bankrupt.
3. The biblical story of the perfect and finished creation from which human beings fell into sin is pre-Darwinian mythology and post-Darwinian nonsense.
4. The virgin birth, understood as literal biology, makes Christs divinity, as traditionally understood, impossible.
5. The miracle stories of the New Testament can no longer be interpreted in a post Newtonian world as supernatural events performed by an incarnate deity.
6. The view of the cross as the sacrifice for the sins of the world is a barbarian idea based on primitive concepts of God and must be dismissed.
7. Resurrection is an action of God. Jesus was raised into the meaning of God. It therefore cannot be a physical resuscitation occurring inside human history.
8. The story of the Ascension assumed a three-tiered universe and is therefore not capable of being translated into the concepts of a post-Copernican space-age.
9. There is no external, objective, revealed standard writ in scripture or on tablets of stone that will govern our ethical behavior for all time.
10. Prayer cannot be a request made to a theistic deity to act in human history in a particular way.
11. The hope for life after death must be separated forever from the behavior control mentality of reward and punishment. The Church must abandon, therefore, its reliance on guilt as a motivator of behavior.
12. All human beings bear Gods image and must be respected for what each person is. Therefore, no external description of ones being, whether based on race, ethnicity, gender or sexual orientation, can properly be used as the basis for either rejection or discrimination.
Here Bishop John Shelby Spong
should be fully exposed as a godless, sexually deviant, perverted, hypocritical
Humanist, and certainly no Christian!
Clayton Douglas is his disciple! All
Paul-bashers everywhere should investigate and consider this evidence and the
consequences which are inevitable if they continue in following the likes of
Clayton Douglas, John Spong, H. Graber, Joachim Prince, and all the rest of
this cast of perverts, jews and deceivers. Once we veer from the straight path
just a little, we are far more likely to end up in a ditch! Yet there is more of Clayton Douglas Paul-bashing articles left
to address, and we shall continue to do so however long it takes.
[One of the erroneous charges made against Paul is that he did not
follow Christ, but started his own religion. Anyone who makes such a charge is
highly in error, and has not studied in depth the Scripture. At no time did
Paul countermand the teachings of Yahshua Christ, for we read at 1 Corinthians
11:1: Be ye followers of me, even as I
also am of Christ. Paul, in
effect was saying: If I follow not Yahshua Christ in any way shape or manner,
then do not follow me, but follow me only to the extent in which I myself
follow Christ. Without Pauls ministry, we lost Israelites today would still be
groping in the dark! Yes, its that
serious!
Clifton
A. Emahiser]
Having taken the opportunity to exhibit the policies and motives of the so-called Bishop John S. Spong, we shall now continue to address the Paul-bashing articles of Clayton Douglas. Here we will commence from where we left off in Douglas article The Seduction: Judeo-Christianity OR Pauline Christianity? Saul of Tarsus: Paul. A different view, which Douglas wrote and published in the December 2003 issue of his Free American Newsmagazine.
<Section #24> Clay Douglas states: It should also be added that
despite Pauls modern reputation for
placing women lower than men, he also penned revolutionary words about the
absolute equality of all believers in Christ, a complete destruction of
prevailing social codes.
In reply to section <#24>: Douglas ignorance of history and the contradictions of his own remarks should be readily evident here. First he grouses that Paul placed women lower than men, which is not true at all because both the Hebrew and Greek societies had placed women in a position subservient to men long before Paul came along. Then he complains that Paul advocated a complete destruction of prevailing social codes, and neither is that true because Douglas is taking Pauls remarks out of context. Yet surely he is accusing Paul at least in part because Paul said, as he quotes further on and as we shall address shortly: there is neither male nor female ...
As we have already discussed in the short article Paul Was Not a Misogynist! on pages 30 to 32 above, Paul did not despise women, nor did he consign to them any role which was not already their expected role in Greek society. The role which many women have anointed themselves with in our society today is rebellion against not man, but Yahweh, as can be fully demonstrated in the Old Testament, the law and the prophets which Christ came to fulfill. However in the ancient world there were certainly far worse alternatives: women enjoyed greater personal and property rights in Roman societies than among the Germans, who regarded them as legally subject to their menfolk from birth to the grave (The Oxford History of Medieval Europe, p. 47).
<Section #25> Clay Douglas states: For ye are all the children
of God by faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as have been baptized into
Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither
bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ
Jesus. (Paul of Tarsus)
The above Scriptural
quotation is probably the most repeated on earth; particularly, when one dares
to speak of the Jewish Problem. It is a classic example of double think. And, it is classically Pauline in both its orientation as well as its
hidden agenda.
In reply to section <#25>: There is no double think here, as shall be demonstrated. And it amazes me that the Jewish Problem concerns Douglas, who as we have seen is a disciple of John Spong, who, in turn, is an embracer of jews and homosexuals. What a hypocrite Clayton Douglas is! The quote here, which Douglas takes out of context, and surely does not understand, is from Galatians 3:26-28, and we shall now examine it at length. First, the Galatians to whom this is addressed were primarily Hellenized Gauls, who were Kelts, with some Greeks and Romans among them. Since Paul wrote to these people specifically, no one else can possibly pick up this letter, who has no relation to its intended recipients, and imagine that Paul could be addressing them also. Paul knew that these Galatians: Kelts, Greeks and Romans, were the lost Israelites, as he demonstrates so often in his epistles, and here he tells them as much in this very chapter, and in chapter 4, verse 28 where he says And we, brethren, down through Isaac, are children of promise. As Ive said before, Paul certainly cannot be held responsible for the blatantly errant, judaized mistranslations of his letters found in all modern Bible versions today. Now to examine the components of Gal. 3:28:
There is neither Judaean nor Greek. Thats right, Judaean is what the Greek says, not Jew, and there is a big difference! Judaeans, true Judaeans, were Israelites. The apostate jews were primarily descendants of Cain and Canaan through Shelah, and especially through Esau. Paul knew this and explained as much at Romans 9 and 2 Thessalonians 2 and other places. Note Rev. 2:9 and 3:9. True Judaeans were Israelites, and most of the Greek tribes were lost Israelites, as were the Kelts and Romans! Josephus, the Judaean historian, attests that if it werent for the circumcision, one wouldnt be able to tell Greeks and Judaeans apart (Antiquities 12.5.1), something that should not surprise anyone upholding our Saxon-Israelite truths. There certainly is no difference between true Saxon Kelts, Romans (by-and-large not todays Italians), Greeks (not those of today, for most of todays are by-and-large racially Turks and Arabs), or Judaeans (not the impostor jews), all of whom descended from Israelites, and Paul knew and taught as much!
There is neither bond nor free. Anyone who professes in the law, such as Mr. Douglas, should know that there is no permanent, forced slavery in Israel. Slaves were to be released in the seventh year of their servitude, and freely, unless the slave himself desired to remain (Deut. 15:12-18). Yet even Paul respected the property rights of the slave-owners, for which see the epistle to Philemon, and also Eph. 6:5; Col. 3:22; 1 Tim. 6:1; Titus 2:9, and compare 1 Peter 2:18. Then see the words attributed to Yahshua Christ at Matt. 10:24-25; 23:1-12, and the parable at Luke 17:7-10. All Israelites, whether bondmen or freemen, are brethren and have but one Master: Yahweh, Yahshua Christ in the flesh, whom Paul clearly follows. Clayton Douglas, just like the jews, pretends to know Scripture, yet knows it not!
There is neither male nor female. For this I will go only to one place: the challenge made to Yahshua by the Sadducees recorded at Matt. 22:23-33; Mark 12:18-27; and Luke 20:27-40, which I suggest one should now read. Part of Christs response, which surely concerns the position of men and women in the age to come, as recorded at Matt. 22:30 is: For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of Yahweh in heaven, which Paul surely follows here. Clayton Douglas follows jews and liberals instead! The modern day Sadducees!
In 1 Corinthians chapter 12, Paul compares the body of the Anointed (who are the children of Israel) to the human body, and members of the body of the Anointed to various body parts. Thereby Paul illustrates that while we each have a specific function which we must perform, and so we have teachers and prophets and those with other gifts, there are also those with unattractive assignments which are just as necessary. While we each have our own task to perform in this life, whether male or female, master or servant, we are all nonetheless necessary, and we are all nonetheless valued.
<Section #26> Clay Douglas states: For we know that the law is
spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin. For that which I do I allow not:
for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I. I find then a law,
that, when I would do good, evil is present with me. Confused? These are all statements made by Paul contained
within the Scriptures.
In reply to section <#26>: If Romans 7:14-15, quoted here, confuses Douglas it is likely due to his own failure to read the verses in context and undertake the modicum of self-reflection necessary to understand what Paul is saying. These verses, along with others which Douglas has previously quoted where Paul taught about temptation and the need for self-control, were discussed in section <#22> on p. 67 of this response. At Romans 7:13-25, Paul discussed the struggle between the two natures of Adam Man: The carnal and the spiritual. While the law imposes a code of behavioral ethics upon us, which in spirit we should desire to follow, the very brain chemicals which enable our bodies to function properly also compel us to sin to desire things we ought not! Being strong we seek to overpower those desires, yet sometimes being weak we succumb to them. The non-Adamic races, and especially the negroes, seek immediate personal gratification and fulfillment of their lusts without even a thought of abstinence or self-control, and today many Adamic people follow in that same manner, having rejected the controlling moral authority of the Spirit and the necessity to seek to follow that instead. Clayton Douglas, not understanding this but criticizing Paul, rather puts his lot with the scoffers, and sexual deviants such as John Spong.
<Section #27> Clay Douglas states: For though I am free from
all men, I have made myself a slave to all, that I might win the more. To the
Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews; to those under the law I became
as one under the law - though not being myself under the law - that I might win
those under the law. To those outside the law I became as one outside the law -
not being without law toward God but under the law of Christ - that I might win
those outside the law. To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I
have become all things to all men....
(I Corinthians 9:19-25).
What does this mean? Be
anyone, be anything, and do anything to just accomplish results, [sic .] Why,
Paul was a human chameleon and an expert mentalist!
A conjuring trick is generally regarded by magicians as consisting of an effect and a method. The effect is what the spectator sees ... The Method is the secret behind the effect and allows the effect to take place. Peter Lamont and Richard Wiseman Magic in Theory [. sic]
In reply to section <#27>: We have seen H. Graber criticize Paul for these same remarks in 1 Corinthians, which were addressed on page 26 in section <T>. As I have also explained in section <#7> of this response to Douglas, beginning on p. 42, Paul was an individual uniquely qualified to take the gospel to the lost nations of Israel; and indeed he fulfilled that task. Paul, being born in Tarsus and educated in the Classics as well as in Judaism, was qualified to explain the meaning of the gospel and Old Testament Scripture to pagans (those outside the law here) as well as to Judaeans (those under the law here). All the other apostles, not having any such education as Pauls, had not the tools necessary to do what was required, for the lost Israelites (not the Judaeans only, nor the jews) to receive the gospel. Paul also explains, as I have discussed before, that he means to speak to people on their own terms, and not with the pretense of superiority and authority that the jew rabbis, and so many of todays clerics, employ with abandon.
Yet Douglas charges Paul as a human chameleon and an expert mentalist, which is rather more descriptive of John Spong, the liberal humanist homosexual dressed up as a Christian bishop. Then Douglas goes on to quote a book about magic, the second such book hes quoted from so far in this article, and both of them written by jews (Richard Wiseman, Sol Stein)! The fact that Douglas consistently quotes from such sources certainly elucidates the substance of his own education and intellectual pursuits, and perhaps his true motives in seeking to discredit Paul of Tarsus. In actuality Douglas is only discrediting his own self, making himself a disciple of sexual deviants and jewish magicians. In contrast, Paul of Tarsus once said to a jewish magician who had opposed him: O full of all subtilty and all mischief, thou child of the devil, thou enemy of all righteousness, wilt thou not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord? (Acts 13:10, A.V.).
<Section #28> Clay Douglas states: Another good example of the
TaImudic flavoring Paul added to the New Testament, remains the Communion. Pauls ritual, which is the drinking of the blood and the eating of
the body of Jesus Christ is nothing
more than Satanic cult worship. This is vampirism and cannibalism at best!
Shall we dare to be open and honest about it? Or, is it easier to remain deaf,
blind and dumb?
In reply to section <#28>: As demonstrated throughout this response to Douglas Paul-bashing articles, Douglas while rejecting Paul also rejects much of the rest of the New Testament, along with much of the Old Testament, and thereby has been shown to have adopted all the positions of the jews themselves. See for instance section <#4> of this response, beginning on page 35, where it is fully manifest that Douglas is little but a jew, at least from a religious perspective.
Paul discusses the bread, the body of Christ, and the wine, or the cup of the new testament in the blood of Christ, in 1 Corinthians chapters 10 and 11, but nowhere does Paul instruct or insinuate that communion was to become the pagan religious ritual that the Romish church made of it. Yet Douglas implies that it was Paul who prescribed this ritual! In 1 Corinthians 11 Paul only describes the actions of Yahshua Christ at the last supper, and His instructions to the eleven (not counting Judas the jew), for them to partake of bread and wine in His memory. The actual body and blood of Christ, while a mystery to the Romish church, are the Israelite brethren sitting around the table as Paul explains at 1 Cor. 10:14-22, and also at 11:26-34, although Pauls explanation is purposefully enigmatic and some words are poorly translated in the A.V. So therefore, Douglas Talmudic charge is plainly ridiculous.
It is nevertheless quite clear that at 1 Cor. 11:23-25 Paul is only repeating that which also I delivered unto you; i.e. what he received, he taught the Corinthians, and that is found at Matt. 26:26-29, Mark 14:22-25 and Luke 22:17-20. While the true meaning of communion needs to be treated at length, this is not the forum in which to do that. Yet it is obvious that Paul is only following Yahshua Christ as His words were recorded by all four gospel writers. Yet while John did not record Yahshuas words concerning the bread and wine at the last supper, he left us with a much fuller account where Yahshua discussed this same thing at length, at John 6:31-65. Again Clayton Douglas has fully adopted the position of the murmuring jews who could not understand how Yahshua Christ could call Himself the bread of life and advise His disciples to drink His blood (John 6:53). Its not Pauls fault that Douglas understands not these things, and lacks discretion of whom he follows, or from whence his sources originate!
<Section #29> Clay Douglas states: And, let us be - again -
honest with ourselves regarding the Pagen [sic] Holiday of EASTER. Let us try to
practice common sense. Why have we all been taught to give sacrifices of Pig and Eggs
(fertility) in celebration of the terrible, tortured death of Esu Immanuel
(Jesus Christ)? I know. I know. We purportedly celebrate His having risen. We
offer up canned ham and chocolate bunnies because Christ rose from the dead.
Never mind that this innocent man, whose only crime was to preach Yahwehs Laws to those who had strayed
was brutally murdered at the hands of the Jewish Pharisees who had prodded the
Romans to carry out their hideous
desires.
In reply to section <#29>: I can only wonder how anyone may possibly imagine that Paul had anything to do with Easter! And Douglas own ignorance is readily manifest here. How can one do so much writing on a topic, with so little studying? Sure, the word Easter does appear once in the Bible, at Acts 12:4, but only in its English translation. The Greek word there is BVFP" (Strongs #3957), which is the Greek form of the Hebrew pecach (Strongs Hebrew #6453), Passover everywhere else in the Bible in Greek or English. Its not Pauls fault that the lost tribes of Israel adopted the pagan Easter festival, and the Old Testament explains that they adopted such pagan ways again and again. Neither is it Pauls fault, that centuries after his death the Romish church adopted the pagan festival rather than correcting our ancestors. Another thing which Paul cannot be blamed for is the Romish churchs acceptance of swine eaters, and the common consumption of pork among Christians today. Paul never advocated eating swine, because once his words are examined in their historical context it becomes evident that the Greeks also considered swine to be unclean! (i.e. Strabo 12.8.9). This I hope to address at length later on, where Douglas again raises the topic.
<Section #30> Clay Douglas states: Never mind that Esu was lost
to us forever. We are taught to celebrate His murder at Easter time each year.
What kind of diabolical mind could come up with this horrible ritual. Why do we
do it? Have we all lost our minds?
In reply to section <#30>: Here we have it again, and I must reiterate that Paul cannot be blamed for Easter, nor for the way in which the Romish church has chosen to commemorate the death and resurrection of Yahshua Christ. Paul advised Christians to keep the feast of the Passover (1 Cor. 5:7-8), and Douglas makes himself a fool for not reading as much before condemning the apostle! Yet Douglas here again betrays himself as a follower of the jews, and no Christian, by stating that Yahshua Christ was lost to us forever. The implications of this statement in regard to Douglas corrupt view of Christianity should be readily apparent! Again, Clayton Douglas is a jew, religiously if not otherwise!
<Section #31> Clay Douglas states: In Matthew 7:15-20 Jesus
warned about the danger of false prophets that lead many astray. They are
dangerous because if you believe their lies, they will change you internally.
They can affect who you really are and your eternal destiny. They come and
deceive by presenting falsehood as the truth. Jesus gave warning of them
because they do not appear as the wolves they really are, but as friends of the
flock. They come wearing sheeps
clothing, the garments of the shepherd. They appear as those who come to feed
& lead the flock, but instead, they feed off the flock and exploit it for
their own gain (2 Pet. 2:1).
In reply to section <#31>: It is
simply incredible that Douglas could make a citation from 2 Pet. 2:1 here, in
yet another nefarious but lame attempt to portray Paul of Tarsus as something
other than truthful, yet overlook what Peter specifically said about Paul at 2
Pet. 3:15-16, just a little further on in the same short epistle: And account that the long-suffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to
the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you; As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of the
things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are
unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do
also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction. As I have asserted before, Clayton Douglas is either deceived,
a deceiver, or simply an idiot, take your pick! And where Yahshua Christ, Peter
and Paul all warned us about false prophets, false teachers, and wolves in sheeps clothing, maybe Douglas and all the
Paul-bashers should go back and examine the works of Friedrich Nietzsche,
George Bernard Shaw, Joachim Prince, Taylor Caldwell, Michael Grant, John Spong
and the rest of the liberals, jews, and perverted sexual deviants that they
follow! Amazingly, the Paul-bashing H. Graber claimed to glean his spiritual
sustenance, as he put it, from Peter: yet he also overlooked 2 Pet. 3:15-16!
<Section #32> Clay Douglas states: Esu Immanual [sic] never
knew Saul/Paul. Esus and Sauls paths never crossed. But, Jesus/ Esu
did know of Paul and Pauls efforts
to capture and to kill Him. Let us also remember that Jesus, despite this,
never stopped attacking the Jewish hierarchy. Also, Esu hadnt chosen which of his disciples was the worthiest; he used to keep a team of twelve disciples, for practical
reasons: twelve is small enough to establish a dialogue among that group, and
big enough to include various tendencies among the population of the time: [sic
.] As he vaguely pointed at Peter as his successor, but gave extraordinary
powers and mission to all his apostles, Jesus never chose nor approved of
genocidal Paul to be his spokesman. To accept otherwise is a mockery of God.
In reply to section <#32>: Here Douglas continues the novel he began writing earlier in his article, for which see section <#13> beginning on p. 52. Apparently Douglas attempts here to clarify some of the ambiguities in the plot to his novel, but that still doesnt make it real. Paul of Tarsus was described by Luke as a <,"<\"l (neanias, 3494) which Liddell & Scott define primarily as a young man, youth, which he must have been since he was still quite robust when he was sent off to Rome nearly 30 years later (Acts 27:1; the Roman procurator Festus who sent Paul to Rome held that office in Judaea from 59 to 62 A.D.). In a society such as Judaea, which was governed by elders who were always given deference, Paul could not have had the position or authority which Douglas claims for him.
Contrary to Douglas, Peter was never pointed to as a successor to Yahshua Christ. Dead men and dead gods need successors, yet Yahshua our God is a living God! Many fools, mimicking the Romish church, point to Matthew 16:18 and claim that the church was built upon Peter, yet this verse has long been misunderstood. And why would the Romish church want to correct a misconception if it can be used for an advantage? Liddell & Scott say at BXJD@l (petros): ...a stone, distinguished from BXJD", and at BXJD" (petra): a rock, a ledge or shelf of rock ... BXJD" is a fixed rock, BXJD@l a stone. Yahshua said to Peter in part: ... You are a stone (BXJD@l, Peter), and upon this bedrock (BXJD") I shall build My assembly ..., if translated in a manner which actually preserves the distinction between the meanings of the words. The authority given to Peter (Matt. 16:19) was given to all of the disciples (Matt. 18:18). Upon closer examination, Peter was instead the most stubborn of the disciples (Matt. 16:21-28; 26:33-34 and 69-75; John 21:21-22) who often had to be told things three times before they sunk in (John 21:15-19; Acts 10:9-16). To James as much deference was given as to Peter (Acts 15), if perhaps not more.
Douglas is suddenly concerned here with making a mockery of God, which absolutely bewilders me! For throughout his article, Douglas has quoted Friedrich God is dead Nietzsche, John Spong the embracer of aliens and sexual deviants, and a host of other foul characters, and has adopted their perverted teachings as his own. How could anyone make more mockery of Yahweh than Douglas?
<Section #33> Clay Douglas states: After having more or less
left Peter in charge of his disciples, Jesus disappeared, his message being
rather confusedly understood by the humans of his time (after all, His writings
had simply disappeared). Peter had the official responsibility of taking over,
in so far as there was a take-over, as Jesus never tried to set up any
hierarchy or sect around himself, a fact to be remembered (Jesus warned us
about churches), but another disciple was soon to emerge and transform the
influence of Jesus life on the
world. Dark blue velvet curtains open. Spotlights come on. Enter Saul.
In reply to section <#33>: Douglas states that Christs message was rather confusedly understood by the humans of his time as if that were a statement of fact! Rather, Douglas himself is confused, and so that is the way he sees the rest of the world! If only Douglas had ever read some history books, instead of trying to rewrite history on his own confused terms. I would challenge Douglas to show where Yahshua warned us about churches, but he would never be able to do so. Even in Revelation, in the messages to the seven churches in Rev. chapters 2 and 3, something good was said by Yahshua to each of the churches, yet most of them were also criticized. But the church at Philadelphia was not criticized at all, and neither was the church at Smyrna criticized directly. Of course, none of these should be confused with the later Romish catholic beast-church. Nowhere, however, were we warned about churches in general. Notice that Douglas, after developing the plot for his novel, creates a theatrical scene depicting the entrance of Saul of Tarsus, which must have been drawn out of one of the magician books with which he is so intrigued.
<Section #34> Clay Douglas states: To be an apostle
of Jesus Christ, it was necessary that one be appointed directly by Jesus
Christ. The original twelve apostles received their appointment directly from
Him. The word apostle derives from a Greek verb that means to send.
It follows that, to be an apostle of Christ, Christ must have sent one. It is
clear from Acts when the eleven obtained a replacement for Judas.,
they understood that to qualify as an apostle one must have been in the company
of the disciples during all the time
that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, beginning at the baptism of John
until the day he was taken up from us
(Acts 2:15f). This one qualification excludes those who were strangers to the
fellowship.
In reply to section <#34>: Here Douglas asserts quite authoritatively that To be an apostle of Jesus Christ, it was necessary that one be appointed directly by Jesus Christ, yet then he goes on to advocate the choice of a replacement for Judas by the eleven! One thing here is very clear to me: the giant clouds of confusion are rather generated by Clayton Douglas thinking! This man like all Paul-bashers can be found to do contradicts himself continually! Yet even the criteria required for the office of apostle and the replacing of Judas given by Peter, described in Acts 1:15-26 (not 2:15), are Peters words and not Yahshuas, and prescribed for Peters purpose rather than Yahshuas, although it is clear that Peter meant to do well. That lots were cast, and that the lot fell to Matthias and not Barsabas, means little since in the casting of lots one of the two had to be chosen because the action itself allows for no other choice. And what became of Matthias, who is not mentioned anywhere else in Scripture? Would Douglas claim that to be part of some grand conspiracy? Douglas version of history insists that Yahweh our God, Yahshua Christ, is without the ability to have His will be of any effect in the world: that all which He did was in vain. Fortunately for us, Clayton Douglas is very, very wrong. Yahshua Christ indeed chose Paul of Tarsus directly, and Matthias, while undoubtedly a good man and selected with good intentions, fulfilled no such mission.
<Section #35> Clay Douglas states: One of these qualifications
Paul could never meet, for he had never been in the company of the disciples
during the ministry of Jesus. He was a stranger to them. Nevertheless, if he
could convince the disciples that the risen Christ had appeared to him and
appointed him, then it would be clear to them that this qualification had been
suspended in Pauls case. In his view
this made his appointment superior to theirs because his gospel and appointment
came from the risen Christ rather than from the earthly Jesus! Thus we have the
story of his amazing conversion, or revelation, on the road to Damascus.
Paul
was never accepted by the Twelve and he resolved to go his own way, yet
claiming the same - nay, superior credentials. But he needed the favor of
Jerusalem and the Twelve to strengthen his ministry and so he presented himself
as having their favor and approval wherever he went.
In reply to
section <#35>:
While all of the Paul-bashers criticize the Road
to Damascus event and the conversion
of Paul from his error, they all try to claim this same attitude for the other
eleven apostles, yet they have nothing to base this claim upon! In the
contrary, Paul was indeed commended by Peter, as we have seen above at section <#31>, and which
Douglas blatantly ignores even though he quotes from that same epistle. And
Paul was also accepted both at Jerusalem by the Christian elders and at Antioch
by the Christian assembly there, and each of these places on multiple occasions
(Acts 9:26-28; 11:26-30; 14:26-28; 15:1-2, 4-6, 22-26). Paul was at an early
time rescued from the jews by the Christians, when the jews at Damascus wanted
to kill him (Acts 9:23-25) and when the Hellenized jews at Jerusalem (Grecians
in the A.V.) wanted to do likewise (Acts 9:29-30). Why do Douglas and the rest
of the Paul-bashers choose to overlook all of this Biblical evidence?
Remember the testimony concerning the assembly of Ephesus, which has been discussed here in section <#18> of this response, beginning on page 61. Douglas admits in the section marked <#17>, for which see page 60, that Paul of Tarsus founded the church at Ephesus, where Paul had spent two years (Acts 19:10). It is clear from the account in Acts 19 that Paul did indeed found this assembly, bringing the Holy Spirit and the gospel of the Kingdom of Yahweh to the Ephesians (Acts 19:1-8). John wrote the Revelation 30 years after Pauls death, a fact which can certainly be established in history, and which Clifton Emahiser has elucidated elsewhere. In the message to the assembly at Ephesus, Yahshua Christ scolds the Ephesians because the assembly left thy first love, which demands it was the gospel and teachings brought to them by Paul, because he founded the assembly! Therefore Yahshua Christ Himself, testifying to the good work of Paul, makes Clayton Douglas and all of the Paul-bashers nothing more than gainsayers and hypocrites, found to be fighting against that which they claim to be defending! When one begins to spew false doctrine, such as these Paul-bashers, Scripture will make a liar out of them every time! Here Christ Himself testified against the likes of Clayton Douglas at Rev. 2:1-8, laying wide open his appalling error! Therefore, think twice before falling for the Anti-Paulists suppositions!
Continuing with Clayton Douglas Paul-bashing article The Seduction: Judeo-Christianity OR Pauline Christianity? Saul of Tarsus: Paul. A different view, there are still a couple of pages of this article to address before we can move on to the second part of Douglas Paul-bashing series. Quite humbly, I hope to have already well demonstrated that Paul-bashing is not a very profitable endeavor, if by the fruit of ones labor one expects to profit in truth and understanding. Rather, the Paul-bashers rely upon the writings of the jews, anti-christs, liberals and sexual deviants to fortify their own distorted ideas, and in the balance of his article Douglas certainly continues this pattern, as we shall see below.
<Section #36> Clay Douglas states: Paul will be the first one
to set up small communal units, stabilized with a chief for each, as well as a
hierarchy, a ritual (baptism, prayer, Eucharist), and a teaching. Paul became
the greatest interpreter of Jesus
mission who explained, in ways that Esu/Jesus himself never did, how Esus life fitted [sic] into a cosmic scheme
of salvation and grace.
In reply to section <#36>: As we have previously seen, in section <#4> of this response, which begins on page 41,and as he does elsewhere, Douglas denies that Yahshua Christ was the Messiah, redeemer of Israel, who was foretold as a promise to us by so many of the Old Testament prophets. Douglas holds here the same position as the jews, and so it is no wonder that he hates Paul of Tarsus so viciously that he spews page after page of lies and misconceptions by which to blaspheme him!
That Christians throughout the @Ζ6@L:X<0 (inhabited world) assembled themselves into small communal units was not an innovation of Pauls, but a natural extension of already extant practices. Such communities were governed by elders throughout the histories of both Hebrews and Greeks. See James 5:14; 1 Pet. 5:1 ff. and compare those to 1 Tim 5:17 ff., to see that Paul contrived nothing new or unexpected. The Christian Community governed itself. Elders were elected by the assembly. The word translated in the A.V. ordain at Acts 14:23 and chosen at 2 Cor. 8:19 is P,4D@J@<XT (5500) and primarily means to vote for, to elect ... Passive to be elected (Liddell & Scott), and Paul cannot be blamed for poor translations. These elders appointed bishops (Greek: supervisors) and ministers (Greek: servants), provided they were qualified (1 Tim. 3:1-13; 4:14). Not even Paul admitted to having direct authority over the assemblies (2 Cor. 1:24), and advised them that Scripture (the law and the prophets; Acts 17:2, 11; 18:28; Rom. 4:3; Gal. 3:22; 4:30; 2 Tim. 3:15-16) and the gospel (the words of Yahshua Christ; 1 Tim. 6:3-5) were the authorities. This model of Christian governance lasted until the time of Justinian, when the universal Romish church began to take form. Paul cannot be blamed for the devices of men of later centuries, and all who try are absolutely ignorant of history.
Neither did Paul contrive the baptism ritual, which had been employed by both Greeks (Aeschylus, Eumenides lines 448-452) and by the people of Palestine (see the Dead Sea Scrolls, 4Q414 [4Q Ritual of Purification A] fragment 12 for one instance), long before John the Baptist began his ministry. Both Paul (i.e. Eph. 5:25-27) and Peter (i.e. 1 Pet. 3:21; Acts 10:44-48; 11:15-16) realized some time after the first Pentecost that water baptism was certainly not a necessary ritual for Christians. Paul cannot be blamed that the Romish church adopted the practice, ritualizing it into one of their so-called sacraments. This is explained at length in my pamphlet Baptism In What?. Neither did Paul ritualize prayer. Neither did Paul ritualize communion (properly only the sharing of things in common), nor can he be blamed for the so-called Eucharist ritual of the Romish church. Pauls very Christian example of a simple communion (the sharing of a meal in common) can be found at Acts 27:33-36, and certainly no ritual can be extracted from that!
<Section #37A> Clay Douglas states: In other words, Paul taught
that Christians would enter Heaven through faith (Grace) alone. Jesus Christ/Esu Immanuel
had taught that Christians would be judged on their works. It is also of
import that Paul/Saul began to substitute the word Faith for the
required Faithfulness which is carefully outlined in Gods Laws of the Old Testament. Hence, Paul
taught that Christians needed to be full of faith
alone (Faith: Trust or reliance; a
system of religious doctrines believed in.) in order to enter the Kingdom,
contrary to both Gods Laws (Old
Book) and Esus Teachings (New),
which clearly stated that faithfulness
in the Commandments (and other Laws
of God) (Faithfully: loyal, reliable, honorable, exact.) must be adhered to in
order to enter the Kingdom. (Faith is the belief in an idea or cause.
Faithfulness is following through on that code or credo with exacting actions.)
In reply to section <#37A>: Before discussing Pauls views on faith and salvation, which surely will be discussed fully below, some of Douglas own contradictions must be addressed. Here Douglas has labeled Gods Laws the Old Book, and Esus [sic Yahshuas] Teachings the New. Yet earlier, in section <#33> (see page 89) of this response to Douglas article, Douglas states that His [Jesus] writings had simply disappeared! I must ask, Mr. Douglas, which is it? Do we have the utterances of Yahshua Christ, or not? In section <#13> (see page 54) we see Douglas claim that the scrolls of the teachings of Esu [sic. Yahshua] were stolen. This, to borrow a line from Mr. Douglas and then use it in reference to him, is certainly a classic example of double think. When it suits Clayton Douglas, the teachings of Yahshua Christ are missing; elsewhere when it suits Clayton Douglas, the teachings of Yahshua Christ are in the New Testament. What hypocrisy Douglas resorts to! Clay Douglas purports to be expressing the teachings of Christ in section <#31> (Jesus warned about the danger of false prophets), and at section <#32> (Jesus ... never stopped attacking the Jewish hierarchy ... Esu [sic] hadnt chosen which of his disciples was the worthiest ... he vaguely pointed at Peter ...), yet out of the other side of his mouth, Douglas would tell us that his teachings were missing or stolen! Is Clayton Douglas a deceiver, or an idiot? Clayton Douglas continues:
<Section #37B> Clay Douglas states: ... for by grace you have
been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God
not the result of works, so that no one may boast. [New Testament, Ephesians 2:8-9]
Is it possible that
Paul/Saul chose to infiltrate the ranks of this [sic] early Christians,
teaching a doctrine that opposed Jesus on several fronts, replacing Jesus careful lessons with a selfish teaching
of desire to gain a free.
gift of salvation based only on faith
and completely devoid of any behavioral requirement or obedience to law? Has
Paul distracted us, recrafting us all into deformed idiots fully embracing
Communistic Humanism? ... To be a
great magician, one must be able to present an illusion in such a way that
people are not only puzzled, but deeply moved.
S. H. Sharp.
In reply to section <#37B>: Quoting yet another magician, Douglas again reveals his true intellectual pursuits. But claiming that Paul would have us embrace Communistic Humanism is another obviously hypocritical act on Douglas part, since he himself is a disciple of John Spong, Humanist of the Year for 1999 as Spongs own website boasts! Douglas himself is attempting a sleight-of-hand, destroying the noble Paul of Tarsus with the utterances of a cast of jews, anti-christs, liberals and sexual deviants! Yahshua Christ told us that we shall know them by their fruits. Over and over again Clayton Douglas verifies to us that he is in the same category with, if he is not himself, an anti-Christ jew.
To James, the idea of faith was separate from the idea of works, or good deeds, as evident at chapter 2 vv. 14-26 of his epistle. To Paul, the idea of faith included the idea of works, or good deeds. Often Paul contrasts faith to the works of the law (as the A.V. translates the phrase literally). Yet the works of the law are actually the rituals of the law, as the phrase is rendered in both my own translation of Pauls letters, and in Ferrar Fentons version published about a hundred years ago. The works or rituals of the law are mentioned by Paul at Rom. 3:20, 27, 28; 4:2, 6; 9:11, 32; 11:6; Gal. 2:16 (trice); 3:2, 5, 10; Heb. 6:1 and 9:14. Paul, in the context of these chapters, certainly means those rituals which the law prescribed in ordinances and which have been done away with (Eph. 2:15; Col. 2:14; Heb. 9:1-10). While James was a contemporary with Paul, he received not the divine revelations that Paul was given.
The Old Testament law does not mandate kind deeds or acts of charity or love for ones brethren, but only prescribes penalties for the crimes it describes and the rituals in its ordinances, along with some other things, such as feast days. Paul spoke of obedience to the faith (Rom 1:5) and expressly said that we do not make void the law through faith, but rather establish the law (Rom. 3:31). Paul says to the Ephesians: For in favor you are being preserved through faith and this, Yahwehs gift, is not of yourselves, not from works, lest anyone would boast, for His work we are, having been established among the number of Christ Yahshua for good works, which Yahweh before prepared in order that we would walk in them. (Eph. 2:8-10, my own translation). Before Agrippa, Paul had testified that he preached the faith to those in Damascus and in Jerusalem, ... then all the region of Judaea and to the Nations I announced to repent and to turn to Yahweh doing deeds worthy of repentance (Acts 26:20, my translation). Paul advised Timothy: Likewise women in moderate attire are to adorn themselves with modesty and discretion, not in wreaths and in gold or pearls or in very expensive garments, but that which is fitting with women professing fear of God, through good works. (1 Tim. 2:9-10, my translation) and The errors of some men are manifest beforehand, going ahead to judgement, but others then follow after. In like manner also are the good works manifest, and those being otherwise are not able to be concealed. (1 Tim. 5:25, my translation). Paul also said To those who are wealthy in this present age, you exhort neither to be high-minded nor to have hope in uncertain riches, but in Yahweh who provides for us richly all things for enjoyment: to do good work, to be rich in good deeds, to be generous, sharing ... (1 Tim. 6:17-18, my translation); All writing inspired of God is also beneficial for teaching, for evidence, for correction, for education which is in righteousness, that the man of Yahweh would be perfect, having prepared himself for all good works (2 Tim. 3:16-17, my translation); Trustworthy is this saying, and concerning these things I wish for you to maintain strongly that those trusting in Yahweh should take care to prefer good works (Titus 3:8, my translation).
Again, Paul told the Romans: But in accordance with your stubborn and unrepentant heart you store up to yourself anger at the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of Yahweh, who will render to each according to his works. Surely to those with endurance in good works, honor and dignity and incorruptibility they seek, eternal life. But to those of contention, and they who disobey the truth, but are persuaded by injustice: anger and wrath, affliction and strait, on every soul of man who labors to accomplish evil ... (Rom. 2:5-9, my translation). He also told the Corinthians: For another foundation no one is able to place besides that which is established, which is Yahshua Christ. Now if anyone builds upon that foundation gold, silver, precious stones, timber, fodder, straw, the work of each will become evident; indeed the day will disclose it, because in fire it is revealed; and of what quality the work of each is, the fire will scrutinize. If the work of anyone who has built remains, he will receive a reward. If the work of anyone burns completely, he will suffer loss, but he himself will be preserved, although consequently through fire. (1 Cor. 3:11-15, my translation).
It should be plainly evident that Clayton Douglas has misrepresented the teachings of Paul, taking portions of passages entirely out of context and criticizing things which he has neither truly studied nor does he understand. Good works were clearly a part of Pauls definition of faith, clearly a necessary part of a Christians life, and shall certainly be rewarded appropriately and proportionally. Yet there is more which I am compelled to say here, but in a short space.
One will not find the word grace in my translations. Although the word PVD4l (5485) may mean grace, it is also favor, and much more appropriately in the New Testament. On occasions much too frequent to list here, Yahweh promised salvation, or preservation to the children of Israel all throughout the prophetic writings. These promises were made despite the sins (errors, transgressions of the law) committed by the Israelites. If all those who have transgressed the law, or who have failed to love their brethren, were to be destroyed, Abraham could never have descendants as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered (Gen. 32:12 et al.), and he may not have had any descendants at all! The promises made to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob were made regardless of the behavior of subsequent generations, which Yahweh must have foreseen. The promises of preservation (or salvation) to Israel were made without condition! The promises to redeem Israel were to all of Israel, and so Paul says all Israel shall be preserved (Rom. 11:26), and this teaching is in accordance with the prophets and with the parables of Christ. Israelites who in the end have no lasting good works are left with no reward, for which compare the above quoted 1 Cor. 3:11-15 with Luke 19:11-27. Israelites who are sinners are not admitted into the Kingdom, as Paul teaches everywhere, i.e. 1 Cor. 6:9-11; Gal. 5:19-21; Eph. 5:5. In contrast, the goat nations, the non-Israelites, are to be totally destroyed (i.e. Matt. 13:47-50; 25:31-41), and among these are the tares (Matt. 13:37-43), which Paul also identified as the bad-fig Edomite jews (Rom. 9:1-13, 21-23), who time and again Clayton Douglas prefers to follow! It is not Pauls fault that all those who fail to see that the (pure) descendants of Abraham through Isaac and Jacob were favored simply because of their genes, also fail to distinguish the fate of Israelites, good and bad, from the fate of the bastard races, among which are the jews. Paul took his message only to the lost sheep of Israel, to those Nations which were descended from Abraham (Gen. 17:5, et al.), which all of his epistles demonstrate.
<Section #38> Clay Douglas states: Since Paul envisioned Jesus return in his own lifetime it is likely
that Paul also conceived of a timeless savior (The Interpreters Bible; Volume 11: Page 265) who would
deliver those who believed in him (in other words, you only had to believe;
no matter that you were the Texas Chain Saw Murderer. All believers
go to Heaven. According to Paul, Stalins
there too! More on this a bit later...) Unfortunately, Jesus is reflected in
Revelation stating just the opposite.
Behold,
I am coming soon, bringing my recompense, to repay every one for what he has
done. (Revelation 22:12; RSV)
In reply to
section <#38>:
Again Douglas is misrepresenting Pauls
teaching, as we have seen in the quotes of Pauls
letters in the previous section. Pauls
statement at Romans 2:5-9 is certainly not in conflict with Yahshuas at Rev. 22:12! Douglas takes a couple
of Pauls statements, which for want
of understanding he disagrees with, and because they are taken out of context
and the rest of Pauls writings are
ignored, he makes accusations which have no merit whatsoever.
Regardless of what
The Interpreters Bible says, Paul envisioned the return of Christ at any possible time, as all Christians in
all generations should well have done. Of course, scoffers such as Douglas
would not understand the necessity to do so. Read the words of Christ as
recorded at Mark 13:32-37, where 13:35 says in part Watch ye therefore: for ye know not when the master of the house
cometh ..., or the version at
Matthew 24:36-44 which ends: Therefore
be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh. So also at Luke 12:40: Be ye therefore ready also: for the Son of
man cometh at an hour when ye think not.
So also at Luke 21:29-36! Whether Paul thought that the coming of Christ would
be in 70 A.D. (i.e. Rom 16:20) or in 7000 A.D. is absolutely immaterial. What
he taught was in line with the words of Yahshua Christ: that His coming may be
at any time, and so therefore we should be prepared as if the time was
imminent. Clayton Douglas whines that there is little real information in
the New Testament about the life and teachings of Jesus Christ (see section <#13>, p. 52), yet it is obvious that he
doesnt comprehend, or hasnt read, the Scripture that he does have!
Clayton Douglas can fall into only one of three categories: deceiver, because
he understands all he has read, but dislikes it; deceived, because someone else,
some jew scoffer, actually wrote these articles for him; or idiot, for writing
so much about something he knows so little about (maybe two or all three)! Paul
of Tarsus was certainly teaching all things according to the will of Yahshua
Christ, which time and again we have seen from the law, the prophets, and the
gospel.
<Section #39> Clay Douglas states: The question begs to be
asked, Why would Yahweh (God [sic)]
and Esu Immanuel choose Saul the Pharisee to interpret Esus Teachings? Saul had cruelly executed thousands of early Christians. He
loved torturing women and children alike, truly in a ruthless Bolshevik
fashion. Gods Ten Commandments
include Thou Shalt Not Murder (the original Commandment used the term Murder,
not Kill). Murder is NOT
forgivable. God DOES NOT FORGIVE MURDER. IT IS SAID. Paul the Pharisee murdered
and then murdered some more. Innocents. Thousands of them. He LOVED killing.
But, we are to believe that Esu went directly to him and inspired Paul to interpret
Esus life and his teachings.
Poppycock. Scriptures state clearly that God does not change. And, the
Scriptures also teach us that The
Truth will set us free.
In reply to section <#39>: Prior to his conversion, Paul was a zealous defender of the faith that he was raised in, not actually having known or heard Christ in person, and so not knowing any better himself. Paul was rounding up heretics and bringing them to Jerusalem, where many of these people were imprisoned and executed after a vote was cast against them, for which see Acts 22:4-5 and 26:9-10. The phrase I gave my voice against at Acts 26:10 is from the Greek verb 6"J"NXDT (2702) which is literally to bring down (L&S), and the noun RN@l (5586) which is a pebble, and the phrase describes how voting was conducted in an assembly, as the Greek custom also was, and is better translated here I had cast a vote. Pauls actions, right or wrong, were in accordance with the leaders of his nation at the time, and conducted within the due process of law which that nation was operating under. We today see many otherwise decent men in our government, a wayward government which has perpetrated many evil deeds over the past 160 years, who have zealously taken up the cause to execute the governments desires. And so we have seen the War of Northern Aggression, and the destruction of half a million Saxons, then the War to end all Wars, the jew propaganda which brought us World War I, and then World War II, which combined destroyed tens of millions of people, Saxon against Saxon. Were all of these men murderers? Or were only a few certain instigators responsible?
Paul was no murderer, and Clayton Douglas account of the actions described are absolute fiction. The jews create this same type of slander in reference to our German brethren during World War II, in their tales of the so-called Holocaust. Clayton Douglas is their disciple. Now notice that Douglas accuses Paul as a Bolshevik, who were mostly jews, and in the next section he enlists the help of a true Bolshevik against Paul!
<Section #40> Clay Douglas states: The Following Article Was
Originally Published In The January, 1928 issue of THE CENTURY MAGAZINE
A REAL CASE AGAINST THE JEWS MARCUS ELI RAVAGE (excerpted)
But I tell
you, you are self-deceivers. You lack either the self-knowledge or the mettle
to face the facts squarely and own up to the truth. You resent the Jew not
because, as some of you seem to think, we crucified Jesus but because we gave
him birth. Your real quarrel with us is not that we have rejected Christianity
but that we have imposed it upon you!
Your
loose, contradictory charges against us are not a patch on the blackness of our
proved historic offense. You accuse us of stirring up revolution in Moscow. Suppose
we admit the charge. What of it? Compared with what Paul the Jew of Tarsus
accomplished in Rome, the Russian unheaval [sic upheaval] is a mere street
brawl ...
Excerpted, Jewish Persecution series, The Great Hoax, Jackie Patru, Sweet
Liberty.)
In reply to
section <#40>:
Here Douglas goes again, the supposed Christian American patriot quoting the
words of yet another jew-devil in order to build his case against Paul. Douglas
really doesnt care about the
teachings of Yahshua Christ. If he did, then he would obey them! When Christ
told the jews that they were descended from the devil, and couldnt possibly tell nor believe the truth
(John 8:31-47), He wasnt kidding,
nor was He speaking vainly. Jews like Ravage would have us to believe the lie
that both Yahshua Christ and the apostle Paul were jews! Rather, Christ was of
the tribe of Judah and Paul of the tribe of Benjamin, and both in physical
appearance like Anglo-Saxons. The jews are not Israelites, but are rather from
the tribes of the Edomites and Canaanites descended from both Cain and the
mixed (Arab) races. Since the jew Ravages
initial premises are wrong, everything which follows is categorically false.
The real hoax is that the jews are allowed to get away with their claims,
mostly because of people such as Jackie Patru and Clayton Douglas who quote and
perpetuate their lies, rather than confront them!
<Section #41> Clay Douglas states: They would have us believe that the
evil that is so prevalent in the world is the way it is because God has willed
it to be so. It is Gods plan for the end times. This teaching has produced a flock of religious
people who have not only adopted this as the gospel, but have passed on to an
unsuspecting world the atmosphere of complete ineptness, complacency, and
downright laziness. We are lead [sic] to believe that not only is there nothing
that we can do about this world situation, but there is nothing that should be
done, because, after all, its Bible
prophecy. Is there any chance that all this complacency could be
exactly what the enemies of Christ have masterminded for ages?
In reply to section <#41>: Those same prophets who had foretold the coming of Christ, even dating His coming to the year, over 500 years beforehand (see Daniel 9:24-27), also foretold the nature, identity and duration of the kingdoms of this world (i.e. Daniel chapters 2 and 7). These things were verified again by Yahshua Christ Himself in His Revelation to John (i.e. chapter 13). This was discussed earlier in this response, in section <#8> beginning on p. 44. The children of Israel were to be punished for 2520 years, the beast empires were to endure for 2520 years, and the Babylonian order was to endure for 2520 years, all three of these periods beginning at different times in the 8th to 6th centuries B.C., which is demonstrable through a study of Revelation and Daniel. Since Yahshua Christ fully verified these things not only in the Revelation, but at events such as those recorded in Luke 4:5-6 (Matt. 4:8-9) and Luke 20:24-25; (Matt. 22:17-21; Mark 12:14-17), then by his gainsaying Clayton Douglas makes himself one of the enemies of Christ that he so vainly whines about.
<Section #42> Clay Douglas states: One should not embellish or
dress up Christianity: it has waged a WAR TO THE DEATH against this higher type
of man. - Nietzsche, The Anti-Christ, Chapter 5, line 1. I
regard Christianity as the most fatal and seductive lie that has ever yet
existed. - Nietzsche. Paul UNDERSTOOD the need for the lie... - Nietzsche, [ibid.] Chapter 47, line 4.
Christianity was the vampire of the
Imperium Romanum (Roman Empire) - the tremendous deed of the Romans ... was
undone overnight by Christianity. - Is this still not understood? - Nietzsche, [ibid.], Chapter 58, line 8
What he (Paul) divined was that with
the aid of the little sectarian movement on the edge of Judaism one could
ignite a world conflagration,... This was his vision on the road to
Damascus: he grasped that to disvalue the
world he needed the belief in
immortality, that the concept Hell will master even Rome.
- Nietzsche,The Anti-Christ, Chapter 58, lines I5-16. (From THE ANTICHRIST by Friedrich
Nietzsche. Published 1895. Nietzsche - himself - was a rabid Anti-Christian as
well as an Illuminated philosopher. Nietzsche even referred to
himself as a madman. However, he was also firmly against the
Communist doctrines put forth by Marx and Engels.)
In reply to section <#42>: Again Clayton Douglas resorts to the perverse arguments of the humanist madman Friedrich God is Dead Nietzsche, a professed anti-Christian and therefore a man not qualified to objectively assess the validity of Pauls Christian doctrines. Douglas quoted Nietzsche upon introducing his Paul-bashing articles, which was discussed on p. 37 above. Just because Nietzsche was firmly against the Communist doctrines put forth by Marx and Engels doesnt make him any good, or any sort of authority concerning Christianity. Contrary to popular jewish philosophy, the enemy of my enemy is NOT my friend! Neither does Nietzsche honestly characterize the fall of Rome. The eastern portion of the empire at Constantinople was more thoroughly Christian than the west when it fell, and lasted a thousand years longer! Rome in the west fell because its own immorality and decadence made it ripe for the Germanic armies which destroyed it, exactly as Daniel said would happen (Dan. 2:40-45), a thousand years beforehand! Nietzsche, a classics professor, should surely have been aware of all this, yet chose instead to create lies. Clayton Douglas is his disciple!
Nietzsche disqualifies himself as a classicist where he talks about the belief in immortality and the concept of Hell, for these beliefs were not only prevalent among the Old Testament Hebrews, but also among the Greeks going all the way back to Homer, and to the Germanic tribes even before their conversion to Christianity.
First, Yahshua Christ Himself mentioned Hades (a Greek word) and the gates of Hades (hell in the A.V.), for which see Matt. 11:23; 16:18; Luke 10:15; 16:23; Rev. 1:18; 6:8 and 20:13-14. Peter discussed the Spirit of Christ descending to preach unto the spirits in prison (1 Pet. 3:19). Strongs lexicon defines sheol, Hebrew #7585, hades or the world of the dead ... including its accessories and inmates. The Greeks called this world Hades (~!4*0l), in the 9th edition of the Liddell & Scott Greek-English Lexicon the nether world ... place of departed spirits ..., which was also called Tartaros (IVDJ"D@l) the nether world generally. Hesiod calls it dim Tartaros in the depth of the wide-pathed Earth (Theogony, 119). From the times of Homer, and probably much earlier, this was the abode of the souls of the dead, and in the Odyssey Homer devotes an entire chapter to Odysseus supposed visit to the place, conversing with the deceased. Homer and Hesiod wrote at least 800 years before Paul. In Euripides Alcestis, written 500 years before Paul, Heracles descends to Hades to bring the heroine Alcestis back from the dead.
In the Germanic literature which dates to a time long before the Christianization of the North, Niflheim is the underworld abode of Hel, or Hela, goddess of the dead, and the souls of the dead dwell there. Niflheim and Hel (from whence is the English hell) are mentioned in the Edda, i.e. the Voluspa par. 42 or The Lay of Vafthrϊthnir par. 43. See The Poetic Edda translated by Lee M. Hollander, University of Texas Press and Hel in the index. These things were also published well before Nietzsches time, and being a Classics professor, he is without excuse if he was ignorant of them. The Voluspa appeared in Sharon Turners The History of The Anglo-Saxons when it was published in the 1840s, as an appendix to Book 2 of that monumental work.
As Germanic heroes received immortality in Valhalla, and Greek heroes at Olympus or in the isles of the blest beyond the western sea, Enoch walked with Yahweh. These beliefs endured wherever our Saxon-Israelite race is found. Where are Nietzsche, Spong, Ravage, Douglas, and the rest of the jews, liberals, anti-Christs and Paul-bashers going?
Again, continuing to address Clayton Douglas article The Seduction: Judeo-Christianity OR Pauline Christianity? Saul of Tarsus: Paul. A different view, which he published in the December, 2003 issue of his Free American Newsmagazine, while we are approaching the end of Douglas article there are still quite a few things to address. It seems that Douglas, like many Paul-bashers, will stop at nothing to discredit Paul, manufacturing all sorts of evidence and presenting a totally perverted and corrupted viewpoint of the Scriptures and other ancient writings in order to make something stick out of his nefarious list of charges.
In the section of his article which follows, Douglas offers a perverted interpretation of some lines from the Dead Sea Scrolls, which I shall discuss at length. While it cannot be substantiated here, Douglas seems to get these particular ideas from Joseph Jeffers and his successor Philip B. Evans, both so-called Doctors, of an organization which they call Yahwehs New Kingdom based in Prescott, Arizona. Douglas is also from Arizona. Both Jeffers and Evans claim to be prophets, offer contorted versions of history, and are Paul-bashers, universalists, and inventors of tales. Their work may be addressed later in this series. For now we shall continue with Douglas articles.
<Section #43> Clay Douglas states: Perhaps most damning of all,
are the Dead Sea Scrolls. The Dead Sea Scrolls were written by the Essenes (the
first Christians), and are the only surviving literature
of theirs. In them, they rant about a Liar and a Spouter
of Lies, that is changing and
perverting their teachings for his own purposes. Researchers have shown
conclusively that this Liar or Spouter
of Lies was Saul of Tarsus (aka Saint Paul),
the FOUNDER of Christianity, and the main conspirator in this plot ... He was
taking their little religion (which was never meant for other nations), and
twisting it to make it more appealing to them ... This information was so
explosive that the Dead Sea Scrolls and their translations were kept under
wraps for decades in fear that they
would shake the foundations of Western religion
...
In reply to section <#43>: First, there is no substantial evidence that the Dead Sea Scrolls were written by Essenes. Reading the professional archaeology journals, scholars and academics refer to the authors of the scrolls as the Qumran sect or the Dead Sea sect, and such is proper since a definite identification of these people with any of the historically known sects of Judaea cannot be made. Most of the Dead Sea Scrolls fall into one of several categories, which I would generally identify as follows: a) Copies or targums of Biblical books; b) Copies or targums of known apocryphal books; c) Sectarian commentaries on Biblical books; d) Prayers and prophecies peculiar to the sect; e) Scrolls of instruction for and governance of the members of the sect. There are some other miscellaneous documents, such as the calendrical documents, or the Copper Scroll which is a description of buried treasure which the sect supposedly had in various places, which dont really fit into one of these categories. Most of the scrolls are numbered in the fashion #Q#, where the first number is the cave where the scroll was said to be found, 1 through 11, and the second a serial number of the scrolls and/or fragments from each particular cave. Additionally, many of the notable scrolls also have a familiar name. For example, the Copper Scroll mentioned above is 3Q15.
Josephus description of the Essenes, found at Wars 2.8.2-3 (2: 119-122) is very much like Lukes of some of the first Christians (Acts 2:44-45; 4:32-37), yet that does not necessarily mean that these first Christians were Essenes, or that Essenes were the first Christians. While some of the sectarian documents found at Qumran do indicate that the possessions of sect members were controlled by the sect and not by the individual, such as 4QRule of the Community, i.e. 4Q256 Col. IX (frag. 4) and 4Q258 Col. I (frags. 1a1, 1b), so it may appear that these people were Essenes, yet such communal societies were certainly not novel and occurred elsewhere. For instance, Diodorus Siculus said of certain Greek colonists at Lipara that they took over the cultivation of the islands which they had made the common property of the community ... their possessions also they made common property, and living according to the public mess system, they passed their lives in this communistic fashion for some time (Loeb Library edition, 5.9.4-5). Diodorus wrote from about 50 B.C., and so it is quite possible that other groups besides the Essenes lived in a communal fashion, this way of life known among both Greeks and Hebrews.
Yet others of the Qumran documents suggest that these people did not live in a truly communal manner, such as 4QInstruction, at 4Q416 Fragment 2 and 4Q417 Fragment 1 which discuss the borrowing of necessities, and advise of the need to repay such loans as quickly as possible. These do not seem to be Essene teachings, since in a community where all things are held in common there should be no need for borrowing, or to make repayment for what one requires. This is especially true if the Qumran sect was as wealthy as the treasures which are listed on the Copper Scroll purports it to be.
Some may point to a certain passage in Plinys Natural History, at 5:73, which seems to support the identity of Qumran as an Essene settlement, yet there is much dispute concerning this passage, for which see Biblical Archaeology Review, July-August 2002, p. 18, Searching for Essenes for the details of this argument. Josephus testified that the Essenes have no certain city, but many of them dwell in every city; and if any of their sect come from other places, what they have lies open for them, just as if it were their own ... (Wars 2.8.4). And so there are difficulties with identifying the members of the Qumran sect as Essenes.
The War Scroll found in 4Q491 through 4Q497 and some other Qumran scrolls, peculiar to the Qumran sect, was written by a vain and false prophet who described a grandiose apocalyptic scenario depicting a final battle between the remnant of Israel in Palestine and the Empire of the Kittim, which was the name that the sect gave to the Romans, also sometimes called the Empire of Belial (i.e. 4Q491 Fragments 8-10 Col. I). This battle was to end with the aggrandizement of the remnant of Israel, which they saw as their own sect, and the fall of Rome. The sect interpreted parts of Isaiah chapter 10 in this same manner, for which see 4Q161 Fragments 8-10. Since the Qumran sect seemed to know nothing of the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans in 70 A.D., and even mentions the city on occasion, (i.e. 4Q504, Fragments 1-2, Col. IV) the War Scroll requires a dating for the Qumran sect somewhere between Pompeys conquest of Judaea where it was subjected to Rome, and the revolt from Rome beginning about 65 A.D. which resulted in Jerusalems destruction in 70 A.D., a period of about 132 years. Since the scrolls lack mention of any contemporary historical figures or specific historic events, I know nothing (though others may) by which the scrolls can be dated more precisely. There was a fourth large sect in Judaea, that of Judas the Galilaian, which Josephus said was noted for their refusal to heed any authority but God, and also for inspiring revolt from Rome. Josephus describes them at Antiquities 18.1.6 (18:23-25). This is in such agreement with the Qumran sects apocalyptic documents that this sect is as good a candidate for Qumran as the Essenes.
Yet one thing is certain, and that is that there is no mention of Christ or anything Christian in the Qumran scrolls, and even if the sect had heard about Christianity, they surely made no mention of it. Even if Essenes were among the first Christians, and even if the people of Qumran were Essenes, the people of Qumran were not Christian! The people of Qumran were still awaiting the Messiah, who would lead them in the destruction of the Kittim (their name for the Romans), as evident in the eschatological scroll 4QSefer ha-Milhamah, or 4Q285 Fragment 5, and in many places elsewhere.
The Qumran sects post-Apocalyptic New Jerusalem scroll (parts of which are found in 1Q32; 2Q24; 4Q232, 365a, 554, 554a, 555; 5Q15 and 11Q18) talks about Passover sacrifices and offerings (i.e. 11Q18 Fragments 16, 17 and 27), so the Christian understanding of Daniel 9:24-27 and 1 Cor. 5:7 is wanting at Qumran. Other scrolls, such as 4QRitual of Purification B (4Q512) and 4QOrdinances (4Q514) place an emphasis on ritual purification (baptism), which after the baptism of John we see Christ rejecting before the Pharisees (i.e. Mark 7:1-23). The Qumran sect, while anti-Roman and separatist, surely clung to traditional Judaism. While not Pharisees, neither were they Sadducees, since they believed in spirits and the continued life of the soul after the death of the body: things which the Sadducees fully rejected (Antiquities 18.1.4; Acts 23:8). Now it should be apparent that while the Dead Sea Scrolls may have been produced during the time of Paul of Tarsus, this is not necessarily so, and since the sect was surely not Christian, nor were they anti-Christian, having no apparent knowledge of Christ, they certainly had no reason at all to make any reference to Paul of Tarsus in their writings.
The Dead Sea Scrolls are an enigma to most people, who will never have the time or the initiative to read them. The fullest published edition of the scrolls is Discoveries in the Judaean Desert, Oxford University Press, which is 38 volumes the last time I read about it but may be even more now. Notice above that Douglas uses the phrase Researchers have shown conclusively, and makes claims without making any citations or any display of the content which those claims are based upon. In following this manner of criteria, one may say almost anything since nearly all of the intended audience will not or simply cannot check the authenticity of such blanket claims: indeed since no references are given one must read the entire body of literature (sometimes several volumes) to check them! The edition of the scrolls which I am using for all of the citations here is The Dead Sea Scrolls Study Edition by Florentino G. Martinez and Eibert J.C. Tigchelaar. This edition offers a catalogue of all the scrolls which contain copies of Biblical books, listing the full contents, and also a Hebrew (or Aramaic or Greek) transcription and English translation of all the scrolls which are not merely copies of the Biblical books. So in two volumes all of the targums, apocryphae, sectarian documents and other literature of Qumran are fully reproduced. Yet where I supply the common identifiers of the scrolls to which I am referring (i.e. 4Q285), one should be able to check my citations for himself in any comprehensive scholarly edition of the scrolls, to see the text in its original context. Why hasnt Douglas done the same? Chances are, its because he cant, for his lies would be exposed!
Douglas states that in the scrolls the writers ... rant about a Liar and a Spouter of Lies, and that Researchers have shown conclusively that this Liar ... was Saul of Tarsus. Now the scrolls do mention a Spreader of the Lie (1QPesher to Micah or 1Q14 Frags. 8-10), a Teacher of Lies (4QIsaiah Pesher or 4Q163 Frags. 4-6 Col. I), a Man of the Lie (1QPesher to Habakkuk or 1QpHab Cols. II and V), and a Man of Lies (4QPsalms Pesher or 4Q171 Cols. I and IV). Also mentioned in the Pesharim (plural for Pesher) is a Wicked Priest (i.e. 1QpHab, Cols. I, IX, and XII). These Pesharim, or interpretations of Old Testament books, are the only places in the Dead Sea Scrolls where I have found the terms Spreader of the Lie, Man of the Lie or Man of Lies; hardly viable evidence identifying Paul of Tarsus! Here we shall investigate some of these instances:
1Q14 contains parts of an interpretation of Micah chapter 1. From fragments 8-10: What are the high places of Judah? Is it not Jerusalem? I will reduce Samaria to a country ruin, to a plot of vines. Its interpretation concerns the Spreader of the Lie who has misdirected the simple.
4Q171 contains parts of an interpretation of Psalm 37. From Column I: ... the arrogant ones choose ... who love slovenliness and misdirect ... wickedness at the hands of Ephraim. Be silent before YHWH and wait for him, do not be annoyed with one who has success, with someone who hatches plots. Its interpretation concerns the Man of Lies who misdirected many with deceptive words ...
So here it should be fully manifest, that the epithets Spreader of the Lie or Man of Lies as used in the Dead Sea Scrolls cannot possibly be referring to Paul of Tarsus, unless one wants to believe that Paul was alive in the days of Micah, having misdirected the people of Samaria! and that Paul was alive in the days of David, having misdirected the children of Ephraim! Yet hopefully it has been shown here again and again, that Clayton Douglas can invent and believe just about anything that suits his own purpose.
Often in these very same Pesharim this Liar is contrasted to the Teacher of Righteousness, such as at 1QpHab, an interpretation of the prophet Habakkuk, in Columns II and V. It is clear in other Pesharim that this Teacher of Righteousness is no contemporary man or sect leader, but is rather an epithet for the expected Messiah. From 4QIsaiah Pesher, 4Q165 Fragments 1-2 which contain an interpretation of Isaiah 40:11: The interpretation of the word concerns the Teacher of Righteousness who reveals just teachings (cf. John 4:24-26). Since the Qumran sect had not yet met their Messiah, and knew nothing of Yahshua Christ, their Liar certainly cannot be Paul of Tarsus. Rather, it is clear from the context of the Pesharim that Spreader of the Lie, or Man of Lies, or Man of the Lie is another epithet for Satan, the Adversary, i.e. Genesis 3:4-5, John 8:44. In all fairness, no other identification could possibly be made within the context which the scrolls themselves provide. While in other instances the epithet Teacher of Righteousness indicates a much earlier prophet or leader of the people, such as in the Damascus Document, or CD-B, Column XX, another copy of which is 4QDamascus Document or 4Q266, where the epithet occurs in Fragment 2, Column 1, yet since these certainly do not refer to Yahshua Christ, neither can any of the antagonists mentioned there be imagined to be Paul of Tarsus.
That the Dead Sea Scrolls and their translations were kept under wraps for decades in fear that they would shake the foundations of Western religion is a blatant lie which cannot be substantiated. The scrolls were first discovered in 1947, and they were collected and deposited in a museum in the West Bank region of Palestine, where for twenty years they were studied by western scholars, and photographs were made of all the scrolls and fragments. In 1967, during the six-day war when the jews seized control of the West Bank, it was they who seized control of the museum that the scrolls were housed in, having restricted access to all but a select few of their own scholars. In the early 1990s the jews again began to grant access to the scrolls to others. This story is well known and can be found in books such as The Complete Dead Sea Scrolls in English by Geza Vermes, a jew who was also denied access to the scrolls during the 25 year period in which they were restricted. It is hardly conceivable that the jews would cut off access to the scrolls in order to protect Christianity, and books about the scrolls and their contents had already been published, such as The Scrolls From The Dead Sea, by Edmund Wilson in 1955. If anything, the jews would only want to make certain that nothing could get out which exposed the lies which they tell about themselves for the frauds which they are.
<Section #44> Clay Douglas states: Take heed that no man deceive you ... Beware of false
prophets, which come to you in sheeps
clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.
The primary
Pharisee-inspired Myth which is incorporated into Pauline Laws is the Myth/Hoax
that Jesus death would - forevermore
- cleanse us of our sins. As long as we have faith. Come on. Do you really believe this to
be true? Do you believe that Grace allows a pedophile murderer of children
to enter The Kingdom at the very same time as the God-fearing man, who upheld
Gods Laws and Commandments all his
life? Do you really accept this to be true? As long as the Abortion Doctor repents
and gives himself to Jesus, that God will accept him into the Kingdom of
Heaven? Does this really make a lick of sense to you? It does not to me.
In reply to section <#44>: It is absolutely evident that while all of the Paul-bashers very often cite the law and the prophets which Christ came to fulfill, evidently these people have read neither the law nor the prophets! Speaking of the children of Israel and of Judah (but not the jews), Yahweh says: And I will cleanse them from all their iniquity, whereby they have sinned against me; and I will pardon all their iniquities, whereby they have sinned, and whereby they have transgressed against me. (Jer. 33:8). Neither shall they defile themselves any more with their idols, nor with their detestable things, nor with any of their transgressions: but I will save them out of all their dwelling places, wherein they have sinned, and will cleanse them: so shall they be my people, and I will be their God. (Ezek. 37:23). There are no exceptions expressed in these Scriptures, and so Paul said all Israel shall be preserved (Rom. 11:26), teaching nothing which hadnt been uttered by Yahweh Himself. Disputing this, Clayton Douglas again disputes with Yahweh and with the entire Bible, not merely with Paul. Of course Paul, like Yahweh, also meant no one else but the children of Israel, as he taught in nearly all of his epistles. Pauls ideas of faith, favor (grace) and salvation were discussed already, where Douglas raised the issue in section <#37B> of this response, on p. 91. There we also saw that Paul taught that sinners would not be admitted into the Kingdom of Heaven, clearly evident in his remarks at 1 Cor. 6:9-11; Gal. 5:19-21 and Eph. 5:5. Yet it should be evident that the true target of Douglas diatribe is not Paul, but Christianity itself, and so Douglas is willing to offer corrupt interpretations of just about anything in order to deceive his readers, and even become a follower of the jews and sexual deviants in doing so!
<Section #45> Clay Douglas states: A basic Law of the Cosmos is
that of Cause and Effect, which states that for every cause there is an effect,
and for every effect there is a cause. Farmers know this law when they reap
what they have sown. This holds true in all of creation. Why then would we not
be held accountable for our own free-will choices?
In reply to section <#45>: Paul knew all about cause and effect, and stated as much in his epistles. One instance is Galatians 6:7-8: Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. These words are certainly not out of line with those of Yahshua Christ, such as those recorded at Matt. 6:19-21: Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. The teachings of Paul were fully coherent with the teachings of Yahshua Christ.
<Section #46> Clay Douglas states: How could we expect the blood of a dead man, Gods son or otherwise, to magically remove our responsibility for our evil deeds? Why would we not be held accountable under the cosmic law of cause and effect for our own wrongful choices? Why/how could we be raptured home?
In reply to section <#46>: There are several aspects to the Passion of Christ which are quite lengthy and shall not be discussed here. One has to do with the devil, a word which is actually often *4V$@8@l (diabolos, 1228) and which means False Accuser when accompanied with an article (i.e. the), being used as a Substantive. This is the accuser of our brethren of Rev. 12:10 and has to do with the reason why certain spirits were in prison (1 Pet. 3:19). When the children of the devil (the jews, John 8:44, Matt. 27:25) murdered Yahweh Himself, whom Yahshua Christ was, the accusations of the Adversary against the children of Yahweh could not stand, and He was then able to free their spirits (1 Pet. 3:18-19, 4:6) once they accepted His gospel: that He let Himself be murdered by the Adversary (Satan) in order to redeem them. This is an important facet of the crucifixion which cant possibly be understood unless one first understands two-seedline! Because the Romish church, and all of its daughters, do not understand this, they substitute false doctrine in its place, things which Paul certainly did not teach.
Another aspect of the crucifixion is the relationship which Yahweh had with Israel. Yahshua Christ came only for the lost sheep of the house of Israel (Matt. 15:24), the New Covenant was made with only Israel and Judah (Jer. 31:31-33), and Paul went only to those nations descended from the Old Testament Israelites, as discussed in the response to the Paul-basher H. Graber at section <H>, on p. 10, and in section <#7> of this Douglas response on p. 42.
Yahweh married Himself to the nation of Israel, and as a condition Israel agreed to submit to the Old Covenant, of which the Old Testament law was a part. Exodus chapter 19 contains what may be considered the oldest prenuptial agreement on record. That Yahweh was married to Israel, and gave Israel a bill-of-divorce when Israel had wholly transgressed the law and the terms of the agreement is evident at Isaiah 50:1-2; 54:1-7; Jer. 2:32; 3:1-11; 31:31-32; Hos. 1:1-11 and 2:1-13. Yet the law of divorcement was not part of the original laws of Yahweh, nor is it mentioned in the Levitical law, but was permitted later for reasons explained by Christ at Mark 10:4-12. Reading the law of divorcement as it is at Deut. 24:1-4, once Israel became polluted by joining to the false gods of the other races, Yahweh could not take Israel back!
Yet Yahweh did promise to remarry Israel, as is evident at Isa. 49:18; 61:10; 62:5 and Hosea 2:14-20. Yahweh, as Yahshua Christ, died so that Israel could remarry another, the risen Christ, thereby fulfilling the letter of the law, and for which see Rom. 7:1-6; 2 Cor. 11:2; 1 Pet. 2:9-10 (v. 10 being a reference to Hos. 1:9-11) and Rev. 19:6-10; 21:9-12 and 22:17. The parable at Luke 16:16-18 is another assurance that Yahshua Christ accepts no one but the children of Israel, regardless of who else tries to press into the Kingdom. So once Yahweh died on the cross, Israel was released from the Old Covenant agreement made during the Exodus, to be remarried to Yahshua Christ after His resurrection upon acceptance of the New Covenant. Once this is understood, the truth of Pauls teaching concerning sin and the law in Romans chapters 6 and 7 and elsewhere is fully apparent. Clayton Douglas and the rest of the Paul-bashers, not understanding these things and in part due to all of the false church teachings on the subject would rather scoff than study.
<Section #47> Clay Douglas states: (Romans 11:32) For God has consigned all men to
disobedience, that he may have mercy upon all.
(Paul of Tarsus)
In reply to section <#47>: First, men here must be taken in context: Paul is only talking about Adamic, or Caucasian man (Romans 5:14-21), and of those only the men who were foreknown and predestinated by Yahweh (Romans 8:28-39), which as the Old Testament prophets show again and again can only be the children of Israel (i.e. Amos 3:2). So Paul is only talking about Israelite men, who were the only men under the law and expected to be obedient in the first place! Now, which Israelite male or female can claim to have never been disobedient in any way? I wouldnt dare imagine one, and especially not myself, for I am no exception. James said: For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all (2:10). How could Clayton Douglas dispute this? Does he imagine himself to be wholly obedient to all of the law? One of his own websites, www.azthunderriders.com, surely indicates otherwise.
<Section #48> Clay Douglas states: In stark contrast to Pauls teaching of salvation by faith APART
FROM behavioral manifestations, Jesus (in Matt. 7:21-27), state [sic] unequivocally
that the mere profession of accepting him is not enough, but that such a
profession MUST BE backed up by deeds. So, why in the world do Christians
everywhere make the absurd claim that entry to Heaven is absolutely guaranteed
by anyone, and I mean anyone, just verbalizing that theyve accepted Jesus as their Savior? How could Paul - or anyone -
convince us of this blasphemous humanistic nonsense? This question is a moot
point. After all, the bottomline is everyone HAS - INDEED - ACCEPTED THIS
SLEIGHT-OF-HAND SORCERY. Correct?
In reply to section <#48>: It has already been elucidated here, in section <#37B> of this response on p. 91, that Paul deemed ones behavior as an integral part of ones faith. Douglas is absolutely misrepresenting Pauls teachings in this respect, as he has done in so many others. All of the words of Yahshua Christ were to Paul a most important part of that faith (1 Tim. 6:3-6). Paul certainly did not teach that ... anyone, just verbalizing that theyve accepted Jesus can gain entry to Heaven. Rather, it is wholly evident that Israel was favored solely for genetic reasons, and everyone else is excluded, and such has been shown from Pauls writing, the gospels, and the Old Testament prophets again and again throughout both this response and the earlier response to the Paul-bashing H. Graber. The SLEIGHT-OF-HAND SORCERY is the fault of organized religion, the Romish catholic church and her daughters, which Paul certainly cannot be blamed for. It would be much more productive an endeavor if the Paul-bashers studied Paul instead, and learning the truths of the matters placed the blame where it belongs: on the modern judaized churches and seminaries which have produced devoted humanists such as John Spong.
All of the devices of the
Paul-bashers fail upon an honest investigation of the facts. That the
Paul-bashers real issue is with
Christianity itself, and not with Paul, should be fully evident throughout
these responses. And this should be no surprise, since we have seen that both
Graber and Douglas rely upon a host of jewish, anti-Christ, and Socialist
sources (as did W. G. Finlay) in order to make their cases. Anti-Paulism is
only a stepping-stone for these Paul-bashers. They truly desire to dissuade as
many of us as possible in what is really just another attempt by the jews to
divide and conquer the last remnants of true Christendom. Oh, how the jews must
rejoice with glee when they observe us snagging onto their bait, and swallowing
it hook, line and sinker! These arguments would never have gone anywhere until
recently, for until recently, most people had more sense than to listen to a
jew ranting about anything Christian! If H. Graber and Clayton Douglas arent themselves jews, they surely have
become their followers and their tools, just like W. G. Finlay, Joseph Jeffers,
Philip Evans, and the whole lot of these rash and obstinate fools!
[Some may condemn such rhetoric as unessential
and unproductive in building the Kingdom, but Scripture testifies otherwise!
Even the Nigerian-lover and complete imbecile Ted R. Weiland in his Eve, Did She Or Didnt She?, on page 1, said: Spiritual
leaders are admonished by the Scriptures to address false doctrine, especially
doctrine injurious to the gospel of Yahshua the Christ Titus 1:7-14.
This passage
says: 7 For a
bishop must be blameless, as the steward of God; not selfwilled, not soon
angry, not given to wine, no striker, not given to filthy lucre; 8
But a lover of hospitality, a lover of good men, sober, just, holy, temperate; 9
Holding fast the faithful word as he hath been taught, that he may be able by
sound doctrine both to exhort and to convince the gainsayers. 10 For
there are many unruly and vain talkers and deceivers, specially they of the
circumcision: 11 Whose mouths must be stopped, who subvert whole
houses, teaching things which they ought not, for filthy lucres sake. 12 One of themselves, even a prophet of their own, said, The
Cretians are always liars, evil
beasts, slow bellies. 13 This witness is true. Wherefore rebuke them
sharply, that they may be sound in the faith; 14 Not giving heed to
Jewish fables, and commandments of men, that turn from the truth. I ask you, Shall we keep quiet or speak
out?! Clifton A.
Emahiser]
Now we approach the finish our address of Clayton Douglas first Paul-bashing article The Seduction: Judeo-Christianity OR Pauline Christianity? Saul of Tarsus: Paul. A different view, which he published in the December, 2003 issue of his Free American Newsmagazine. Well then move on to the second of Douglas articles bashing Paul, which is a little shorter but shall take some time to address completely. When Clifton asked me to write this response to the Douglas articles, neither of us had any idea that it would take so many issues of the Watchmans Teaching Letter to do so. Yet I pray that this effort is found to be worthwhile, that those Paul-bashers in Israel Identity shall be answered comprehensively, and that all of their devices intended to discredit Paul are found to be vain!
It seems to me that many in Israel Identity have not yet noticed the threat which Paul-bashing has become to the vulnerable of our faith. I call them vulnerable because, as the apostle Peter warned in his second epistle, those who contend against such scriptures do so at their own peril. A good friend of mine, whom I have been blessed to have exchanged letters with for several years now and whom I one day hope to meet, is Jeanne Snyder in Montana. Of course, Clifton has known Jeanne much longer than I. Jeanne knew both Wesley Swift and Bertrand Comparet personally, has been involved with Israel Identity for over 40 years, and has been of great service to many over those years. Yesterday (February 1st, 2006) I received a letter from Jeanne, who read the four Watchmans Teaching Letters responding to H. Graber, and in it she said: What is this about Paul bashing? He was the main one that spread the gospel to Israel. There wouldnt be much of a New Testament without his letters to the different cities where the Israelites dwelled in their new homes. How easy Israel is still led astray, I wonder what Wesley and Bert would think about what is going on today. Well, thank Yahweh for people such as Jeanne Snyder! While she may not be familiar with all of the various contentions of the Paul-bashers, she being well grounded in her faith surely isnt going to fall for such deceit! Yet in stark contrast, another woman who has been involved with Israel Identity for a long time, one Judith Nipps, purportedly vowed that she would never speak to Clifton again after he began to publish this defense of Paul, and there are many other long-time Israel Identity adherents caught up in this Paul- bashing deceit. [Note: Jeanne Snyder passed on to the Father on December 26th, 2006. Her friendship was enriching, and she is very much missed.]
Now while it is certain that the Keltic, Saxon and related peoples all descended from the Old Testament Israelites, as did the original Romans and many of the Greek tribes, which can be verified without the epistles of Paul of Tarsus, Jeanne Snyder certainly is correct in her assessment. The New Testament may be quite obscure to us today without the letters of Paul. Paul brought the gospel to the Greeks, Romans and Kelts, and told all of these people time and again that they were indeed the children of Israel, and so they returned to Yahweh and followed Christ just as the Old Testament prophets said that they would! Anyone who would question this, as Peter tells us, is unlearned and unstable, and I do not mind telling them so!
Clayton Douglas reveals several times in his articles his knowledge of Saxon-Israel Identity (for which see his comments in section <#11> of this response, on p. 50) yet he loathes and denigrates Paul. Doing so, it is clear that Douglas makes himself a follower of the jews, liberals, anti-Christs and sexual deviants. And this is apparent, because it is writers of such persuasion that Douglas, and H. Graber before him, quote from time and again in their attacks on Paul. All Paul-bashers everywhere must take note of this: you are all deceived, and have made yourselves followers of the jews and all the vile scum of the earth, such as Bishop John S. Spong and Rabbi Joachim Prince. I shall now return to Douglas article.
<Section #49A> Clay Douglas states: Did you know that Cocky Paul
made the decision to throw out the Laws handed down to Moses through God? Did
you know that? Does anyone really care?
Romans
3:19-21: Now we know that what
things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every
mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. Therefore
by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by
the law [is] the knowledge of sin. But now the righteousness of God without the
law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets.
In reply to
section <#49A>:
As we have seen, Paul certainly did not throw
out the Laws handed down to Moses.
Israel violated the Old Covenant, with which came the Levitical laws, and so
the nation, the wife, was freed from this law when Yahweh
Himself, incarnated as Yahshua Christ, died on the cross, for which see section
<#46> of this response
on p. 103. That the New Covenant is without the Levitical law is clear, being a
matter of prophecy, for which see Jeremiah 31:31-33, and which has been
discussed in this response in various places, but at length in the response to
H. Graber in
section <J> beginning on p.
13. These being two different aspects of the relationship of the Levitical law
and the Old Testament to the New Testament, two different explanations are
required. For this reason it is written, O
the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of Yahweh! How
unsearchable are His judgments, and
His ways past finding out! (Rom.
11:33).
Douglas quotes
Romans 3:19-21, takes the verses out of context, and does a great disservice by
not reading further, unto Romans 3:31: Do
we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law.
True Christians should want to establish the laws of Yahweh, written in our
hearts, but not the Old Covenant rituals nor the legalism of the Pharisees,
things our own fathers failed to abide in (see Acts 15:10). The 10
Commandments, with a few other admonishments from the gospel, surely
encapsulate all which is good and wholesome in the laws of Yahweh. These were
the first laws given the children of Israel leaving Egypt (Exodus 20), long
before the statutes and ordinances recorded in Leviticus and Deuteronomy were
handed down in writing.
<Section #49B> Clay Douglas states: I know. I know. Some have
used Esus message in Mark 3:28 to
reaffirm that even murderers are guaranteed a passport to Heaven. Right? Here
it is.
Truly I say to you
all sins will be forgiven the sons of Men and whatever blasphemies they utter;
but whoever blasphemies against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is
guilty of an eternal sin... (Esu
Immanuel)
In reply to
section <#49B>:
It has been shown that all sins committed by any of the children of Israel (and
no one else) are forgiven by Yahweh, and that this is also a matter of
prophecy, discussed here in section <#37B> of this response beginning on p. 91.
Yet Paul clearly taught that we must not sin more simply because our sins are forgiven,
which is one of his themes in Romans chapter 3. He also taught that those who
learn the truths of Christianity, and then fall away again, have no second
repentance, for which see Hebrews 6:4-6; that even Israelite men, although
forgiven, must answer for their sins, for which see 1 Tim. 5:24; and that there
is no room in the kingdom of heaven for murderers and other sinners, for which
see Rom. 1:29-32; 1 Cor. 6:9; Gal. 5:19-21; Eph. 5:1-8 and 1 Tim 1:8-11.
Clayton Douglas, writing so critically about Christianity and things that he
obviously does not understand, makes himself a fool. Yet in so blatantly
misrepresenting the teachings of Paul and taking snippets of his writings out
of context so as to abuse them, he makes himself a liar and a purveyor of
deceit. Id expect little else from a
follower of jews, miscreants and sexual deviants!
<Section #49C> Clay Douglas states: But, wait one moment.
Understand the meaning of blasphemies. Blasphemies - as defined - means this: contempt or indignity offered to God;
contempt offered to God. Root word: Blame. Clearly, if you show contempt to God
by disobeying His Laws, you are censored by Jesus and His Father because of
your eternal sin. Just remember Esus
most important proclamation:
In reply to section <#49C>: Now
Douglas makes himself a linguist, and neither can he do that right. The word blasphemy was not derived from the word blame. Rather, the English word blame was derived from the word blaspheme, and this is according to The American Heritage College Dictionary,
and so Douglas has his etymology backwards. The English words blaspheme and blasphemy come from a group of Greek words, chief of which is the
noun $8"FN0:\"
(blasphemia, Strongs #988) which is
defined by Liddell & Scott: a profane speech ... defamation, evil-speaking, slander
... impious and irreverent speech against
God, blasphemy and this, of course, is the word translated as blasphemy wherever it appears in the
N.T. Clayton Douglas perverts the language, and then distorts the meaning of
what is being said at Mark 3:28, and adds things to it which it does not imply.
Then he concludes by quoting Matthew: Think not that I have come to abolish the
Law and the prophets; I have come not to abolish them but to fulfill them ... (Matt. 5:17).
And so we have come full circle. For already here it should be fully evident, and in many ways, that Paul did not teach the abolition of the Law and the prophets: Paul taught the fulfillment of those things, and their fulfillment in Yahshua Christ!
<Section #50> Clay Douglas states: We Christians claim that God
is a loving God. Why, then, would a loving God allow His own son to be killed,
as a ransom, for a bunch of very evil people? This is all part of the
myth. The perpetuation of The Myth continues to make us blind. Why is it so
difficult to tell it like it is. Very evil blood-thirsty Edomites pushed
to have Esu Immanual [sic] tortured and slaughtered. Esu did not want to die.
It was not meant for him to die. The Romans, at the prodding of the Jewish
Pharisees, murdered Jesus Christ. He is dead to us, all the while we try to
keep his true teachings alive. Why are we being misled by the deception that He
died for our sins. The reality is Jesus Christ was
murdered Period. The interjection of the hoax myth that He died for our sins
allows us for [sic, maybe to] conveniently forget the
circumstances behind his horrible torture and eventual death by hanging, so
that we can then celebrate the murder, all the while we sin and
repent, and sin and repent, (falsely) thinking weve still got a free ride into the Kingdom. What a trick theyve turned! Do you really want to end up
short on Judgement Day? Isnt that
the important question? ... Is this a gamble you are willing to take? ... How
can we forgive ourselves? How could God forgive us?
In reply to section <#50>: All of these last appeals of Douglas have been addressed throughout this response. Yahshua died not on behalf of evil people, nor for the benefit of devils, the Edomite jews, but rather only for the children of Israel and the White Adamic race. The prophet Daniel dated the coming of Christ precisely, and foretold that He would be cut off (Daniel 9:24-27). In Isaiah, Psalms and elsewhere all of His sufferings were foretold. These things were matters examined as soon as the crucifixion and resurrection occurred, for which see Luke 24:13-35. These are the things which Paul taught from scripture everywhere he went, for which see Acts 17:11! Douglas, rejecting these things and others, has fully adopted the positions of the jews regarding Paul, Yahshua Christ, and the Old Testament prophets, and has done so repeatedly. Clayton Douglas is a jew, if not by race, surely by his corrupt views of the Bible, and of the history of our race! If he is not a jew himself, then he is either an idiot or a very foolish man, making himself a proselyte of the jews and sexual deviants and all sorts of miscreants, and spreading their teachings to his Christianpatriot readers.
This ends my response to Clayton Douglas first of two Paul-bashing articles. Since beginning this defense of Paul with Cliftons publication of my letter in response to H. Graber, at least one of Cliftons readers wrote to him and accused me of being arrogant and haughty. While I do know that at times I can sound that way, I really try to make an effort to be humble. But I must say that I shall not offer pusillanimity in the face of lies and blasphemies. To me, my race is worth defending, so I must confront the universalists who claim to be Israel Identity. My faith and its truths are worth defending, so I must confront the Paul-bashers and those led astray with anti-Christ doctrines who are within Israel Identity.
Unlike many of the so-called theologians and academics of today, I sincerely believe that our faith represents empirical truths which are fully evident in a proper study of Scripture, history, archaeology and language, and that once learned, these truths are well worth standing up for and defending. Such is one who builds his house on a rock, and not on a foundation of shifting sand.
A couple of Cliftons other readers whined that they were tired of the he said / we said disputing, which is found in expositions such as this defense of Paul and in some of the pamphlets which Clifton has published. To this I must say: How can one judge the merits of such important arguments, lest one have the opportunity to see both sides of these issues being addressed? Presenting both sides of these issues which are raised is a much fairer way to assess the validity of each perspective, rather than simply writing a one-sided diatribe. And contrary to some who have accused me, neither I nor Clifton (and I think that I can speak for Clifton in this one matter) make any boasts concerning ourselves or our expertise. For my part, I have no expertise to boast of in the first place! I have simply seen a need, and have been given an opportunity, to do my best to answer each of H. Grabers or Clayton Douglas accusations against the apostle Paul, all from the Scriptures and the lexicons and the history books, while giving all of the appropriate references. It is the readers obligation to check my sources and to weigh the evidence, and then to determine the facts of the matter for ones own self. I invite, even adjure, anyone reading my writings to do this!
Here we shall move on to address Clayton Douglas second Paul-bashing article, SAUL OF TARSUS AND HIS DOCTRINE OF LAWLESSNESS, which he published in the January, 2004 edition of his Free American Newsmagazine. Douglas opens his article with a bad translation of 2 Corinthians 12:16, and then some statements which are grossly misrepresentative of Pauls ministry:
<Section #51> Clay Douglas states: But granting that myself
did not burden you I was crafty, you say, and got the better of you by deceit.
(Saul of Tarsus 2 Corinthians 12:16 )
Tornado: tor-na do. no. an intensely destructive
advancing whirlwind formed from strongly turning currents ... Paul/Saul of
Tarsus WAS a Tornado ... Mayhem. Disorder. Destruction. Since Pauls announcement hed been visited by Jesus Christ (Immanuel Esu), nothing would
ever be the same again. Lets revisit
PAULINE CHRISTIANITY, shall we?
In reply to section <#51>: I will address the poor translation of 2 Corinthians 12:16 later on where Douglas discusses it at length. Reading the accounts in Acts, whenever mayhem and disorder encompass Paul of Tarsus it is caused by the unbelieving jews, not by other Christians opposed to Paul, but by the apostate Edomite jews who were the enemies of Yahshua Christ Himself and persecutors of Christians everywhere. Clayton Douglas is their (the jews) defender, taking the blame for such violence from the jews and assigning it to Paul, just as Douglas ridiculously blames Paul for the crucifixion of Yahshua Christ, for which see section <#13> of this response on p. 53. Only a jew could contrive such a nefarious plot: to blame the followers of Christ for his death, diverting the blame from themselves! Thankfully we have many other witnesses who tell us differently. The only deceit in Douglas articles is his own.
The Edomite jew propensity for rioting is evident in the pages of Josephus Wars, and early bishops such as Tertullian tell us that jews were behind the persecution of early Christians (Apology 21.25), and so in early Christian writings we see the same pattern of behavior attributed to the jews that we see in the Acts, where Paul was their victim, and not an instigator. In this day and age the jews have consistently incited others to riot for them, just as they incited the pagan Greeks in Acts and even many true Judahites in first century Jerusalem. Even a casual investigation reveals that jewish activists are behind all of the social and minority unrest in America these past hundred or so years. A recent newscast, the last week of January, 2006, showed rioting by jewish settlers being forced to leave the West Bank by their own government. Just as jews incited riots against Paul of Tarsus and first century Christians, jews have incited riots continually in all Christian nations. Clayton Douglas corrupted portrayal of history serves as a smoke-screen for the jews to hide behind.
Douglas then introduces his second article with a discussion of the first, where he evidently opened a dialogue concerning Paul on a radio program and on his website:
<Section #52> Clay Douglas states: SAUL OF TARSUS AND HIS DOCTRINE OF LAWLESSNESS. Since putting out
our first investigative piece entitled The
Seduction: Pauline Christianity, we
thought wed heard it all. We were
caught flat-footed, though, by the venomously intense feelings of some who were
made furious because we simply questioned Pauls
story ... and Pauls motives.
Clay Douglas Free
American radio show (8am CST, M-F -
for more information, access Clays
website www.freeamerican.com) also dared to start a dialogue regarding Pauline
Judeo-Christianity. We carefully listened to the callers who responded in
support of Paul/Saul.
Their main argument was that
- no matter what - Paul was annointed
[sic]. No matter that Paul/Saul
tortured and murdered hundreds - if not thousands - of innocent people.
Annointed [sic]. No matter that Paul/Saul was a liar ... Annointed [sic]. No
matter that Paul/Saul effectively shut
down Gods Laws in the Old Testament
... Annointed [sic] ... No matter that Paul/Saul rendered of no effect Jesus
Immanuels Teachings. Annointed
[sic]. Ha! ... Annointed [sic] is one of those words that bug me. You know, words
or phrases that can effectively shut down a fruitful conversation ...
just like that dreadful term Anti-Semite.
We also noticed that people
who had been asked to let us reason
together have no interest in reason
whatsoever. Their voices would get shrill, brittle and well, just plain mean
and nasty ... The emails we received pursuant to our publishing of The Seduction held the same shrill tone. Doggone it, we think weve struck a nerve!
And, since the behaviorial
[sic] trait of resistance runs strong in our bloodline, we will continue. May
we encourage anyone who has a valid argument in this matter - rather than foul
protests that have no point at all - to send them along. Lets try to get to the meat of the matter.
And, stay tuned to Clay Douglas Free American radio program for more dialogue on this important topic and
others.
In reply to section <#52>: So we
see that Clayton Douglas encourages dialogue on this important topic, but evidently hasnt had any replies as of yet which he
feels are worthy. At the end of his first article Douglas did print one short
response, from a teenager, which we did not reproduce here. Douglas attacks on Paul in his first article
were quite broad, and simply cannot be answered properly in a limited
talk-radio call-in format, or on an Internet message board. Neither can Douglas sweeping accusations be answered by a
neophyte, or by anyone who is only a casual reader of Scripture. Here we have
spent nearly 54,000 words already (to the end of this lesson), reproducing
Douglas arguments and answering
them, and not a little research has gone into those answers! We may be two
years late here, but once this response to Douglas Paul-bashing articles is fully prepared we shall certainly
make it available on the Internet, and Clayton Douglas will be sent a copy of
it in its entirety. We can only wonder: will he dare share it with his own
subscribers, before whom he has so unjustly defamed not only Paul of Tarsus but
Christianity and even Yahshua Christ Himself? We adjure him to do so!
It has already been made manifest throughout this response that all of Douglas accusations against Paul are without merit. Rather than address Douglas slander again here, we shall move on to his article and his more specific comments.
<Section #53A> Clay Douglas states: Imagine Paul living today,
and put yourself in the shoes of the people who were victimized by him. Imagine
yourself genuinely obeying Jesus, striving to be
Perfect as your Father in Heaven is Perfect,
and be like their Teacher, so that you can do greater works than these thus, living your life for God.
Suddenly, a Bolshevik breaks into your home and assaults you. He gags and binds
you, your spouse, and your children, he says he is going to imprison you
because you follow a man preaching the
Kingdom of Heaven - on Earth, here
and now, as soon as we stand up against the forces of physical and spiritual
oppression and take hold of the reigns of our Destiny.
While holding you hostage -
on behalf of the Antichrist state, and their other infiltrators in your
religious community - he proceeds to ransack your house, and steals everything
of material value that he and his henchmen can haul off. Then he takes you and
your family outside so you can watch while he burns down your home. Thereafter
he hauls you and your family off to prison. Many of your closest friends are
imprisoned there under the same conditions and by the same Adversary. In
addition, you have no idea of the whereabouts and condition of your children.
Your spouse and some of your friends and neighbors are executed. You, however,
miraculously escape from prison.
In reply to section <#53A>: Here Douglas further develops the plot to his novel, and this part of it was already addressed in section <#14> of this response, on p. 54, and also in section <#39> on p. 94. Pauls initial persecution of Christians, before he himself saw the light and was converted, is discussed in the Bible at Acts 8:1-4; 9:1-4, 13-14, 21, 26; 22:4-5; 26:9-11 and Gal. 1:13 and 1:23. These Biblical accounts make no mention of children being bound or gagged, no mention of burning houses, ransacking and pillaging, or any other brutal injustices. Clayton Douglas sounds just like a jewish storyteller, make a little Zyklon B to kill the lice and suddenly youre blamed for gassing 6 million people to death! Like the jews, Douglas is quite adept at rewriting and embellishing history to fit his own agenda. Yet also like the jews, Douglas cannot substantiate any of his claims here with solid evidence. Douglas continues his novel:
<Section #53B> Clay Douglas states: Many years later that
terrorist comes back claiming to be a new man and the greatest apostle.
This Satan does not ask for your forgiveness for what he did to you, your wife,
children, property, and friends, and expresses no remorse whatsoever for having
murdered people. Instead, he brags about how bad he was. He boasts about his
acts of terrorism, and exalts himself for having become so rich from stealing
all your possessions. Would you trust that man to be the greatest of Gods apostles or Messengers? Would you trust that he
had become an apostle at all?
In reply to section <#53B>: Now I wonder if Douglas has ever read any of the New Testament for himself, because none of these accusations can be substantiated. Rather, everything here is either a misrepresentation of Scripture or something that Douglas made up! We have seen in section <#39> of this response, on p. 94, that Paul is no murderer. Nowhere did Paul brag, as Douglas said he did. Nowhere did Paul enrich himself by stealing the property of others, as Douglas claims. Why doesnt Douglas make citations? Because novelists dont need such things! Douglas makes himself a liar as well as a patsy for the jews and miscreants.
<Section #54> Clay Douglas states: How does Jesus Christ
interrupting Pauls trip to go
massacre Immanuels followers make
Paul/Saul a Super-Prophet? ... Lets
get down to brass tacks. Paul/ Saul is NOT disguising the fact that hes a Predator. Lets return to our opening Scriptural Passage: But granting that myself did not burden
you I was crafty, you say, and got the better of you by deceit. (Saul of Tarsus 2 Corinthians 12:16 )
... Okay. Okay. Many of you are prepared to counter that the translation is
wrong and thats not what Paul/Saul
meant. So, lets move on.
In reply to section <#54>: First, Paul himself never claimed to be a Super-Prophet, yet a study of his epistles reveals that he surely was a prophet. Secondly, after Pauls experience on the road to Damascus, a much longer phase in his conversion began, which included the reading and revelation of Scripture (i.e. Gal. 1:17), which took three years to complete. Douglas version of these events omits many facts, to which he adds many of his own fictions! Now here again Douglas quotes some version or other of 2 Cor. 12:16, admits that the translation of that verse may be questioned, but instead of addressing those concerns he urges So, lets move on. What suddenly happened to let us reason together and his appeals for more dialogue on this important topic? Douglas is a fraud, for he has used a bad translation to get his point across, and when its veracity is questioned he quickly wants to move on rather than defend his position, or consider a differing opinion! Some dialogue! I suppose that he operates his radio program in that same manner. Yet here 2 Corinthians 12:16 shall be addressed, because it surely is a bad translation.
The A.V. rendering of 2 Cor. 12:16: But be it so, I did not burden you: nevertheless, being crafty, I caught you with guile, and neither is this a good translation of the verse. The word nevertheless is an adverb. Here it was translated from the Greek word 88V (235, for which one may check Strongs Concordance). 88V (alla) is, according to Liddell & Scotts Greek-English Lexicon, a Conjunction ... otherwise, but ... I. to oppose single clauses, but ... the preceding clause being negative. When I did my own translation of 2 Corinthians, in early 2001, I translated this verse: But it is that I have not imposed on you, otherwise being villainous I have taken you with guile. Today, as I look at the Greek of the NA27, I stand by that translation as a perfectly literal, word-for-word rendering of the Greek. In context (that means reading from the beginning of the paragraph, and interpreting that against all that precedes in Pauls relationship with the Corinthians) Paul is telling the Corinthians that he never imposed on them for anything (read all of 2 Corinthians 11!), and if he had done so, then he would have been as a villain, taking the Corinthians with guile. Paul is not, as Douglas suggests, inferring that he has deceived anyone, nor was he predacious in any way: he is stating just the opposite! Douglas continues:
Clay Douglas states: Paul
claims that HE, not Christ had begotten
you. He beseeches you to be
HIS followers, HIS imitators. Yet neither is there any fault with
Paul in this statement, for Douglas leaves out half of what Paul said! Become imitators of me, just as also I am
of Christ (1 Cor. 11:1, my
translation). Paul lived piously and justly among the Corinthians, being there
to act as an example, where Yahshua Christ was not there personally. The only
predator here who would corrupt Christians with guile is Clayton
Douglas. Attempting to slander Paul, he will stop at nothing, and is willing to
pervert everything. Yet all of his wicked deeds shall be proven to be vanity. Where Paul
makes such a statement is found at 1 Cor. 4:15, here from my own translation,
along with vv. 14 and 16: 14
I do not write these things regarding you, but as I would advise my beloved
children. 15 Although you may have a myriad of tutors among the
Anointed, certainly not many fathers; indeed in Christ Yahshua through the good
message I have begotten you. 16 Therefore I encourage you, become
imitators of me. Regarding verse 16 here, it must first be noted that later Paul more fully tells the
Corinthians: 1 Become imitators of me, just as also I am of Christ.
(1 Cor. 11:1). Now regarding Pauls
consideration of those to whom he brought the gospel as his children, let us
compare the epistles of John, in particular 1 John 2:1: 1 My children, I write these things to you in order that
you do not do wrong. Throughout
this epistle, John addresses his readers as both children and brethren, so we
see that this attitude of Pauls existed also among the other apostles. Douglas, for criticizing Paul on this
account, again betrays himself to be nothing but a hypocrite!
Here we shall continue our address of the second of Clayton Douglas Paul-bashing articles, SAUL OF TARSUS AND HIS DOCTRINE OF LAWLESSNESS, which he published in the January, 2004 issue of his Free American Newsmagazine. While I already hope to have fully demonstrated on many occasions that Clayton Douglas accusations against Paul of Tarsus are all vain and empty, that none of them stand upon examination, yet all of Douglas two articles on this topic must be addressed, for we would not want to leave anything out. While many of the arguments Douglas makes in this second article are just repackaged from his first, he does add new material and raise some new issues. Now we shall continue with Douglas article:
<Section #55A> Clayton Douglas states: Heres what Paul says: I
am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ lives in
me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son
of God, who loved me, and gave Himself for me.
Galatians 2:20
Even the most devoted Paul
followers will detect a whiff of a bad odor here. Paul/Saul is narcissistic. He
claims to have been crucified with Christ; and - let us try to be fair ...
perhaps he meant spiritually. But, its
the next line that is spell-binding. Nevertheless
I live. In other words, Paul
celebrates that it is he, not Immanuel, who lives. He is chortling, as they
say. Paul chortles further. Paul states, (He)
gave himself for me.
In reply to section <#55A>: Here Paul makes an important analogy, which Douglas has perverted with his own misunderstanding, so typical of this deceitful man. Sin is violation of the law. The penalty for such sin is death, when reparation cannot be made. Since the entire nation of the Israelites sinned and cannot possibly make reparation for their errors, the entire nation is condemned by the law. The penalty for adultery alone is death, and every one of our Israelite ancestors is guilty of this: the worship of false gods. We have all broken the vows which our fathers took long ago, and to which we are bound by ancient tradition. This is independent of any sin which each of us have committed personally, and who among us can claim not to have sinned at all? Under the Old Covenant, rather than a man confessing his sins and condemning himself, an animal was sacrificed at the altar in his place as atonement for the sin, i.e. Lev. 4:13-35. Yet this was only symbolic, as Paul explains in Hebrews chapter 10, looking forward to the day when Yahweh Himself would make reparations for the sins of the children of Israel, for which see section <#46> of this response on p. 103.
Because all Israel has sinned, all Israel is condemned by the law. Yet Yahshua Christ redeemed, made reparations for, each and every one of the children of Israel, and without exception! So Paul says of Yahshua that He gave Himself for me, and he is wholly correct in his assessment. Each and every White Adamic man on the face of the earth today should have such an understanding! Where Paul says I am crucified with Christ, each one of us should understand that Christ had substituted Himself in our condemnation. Then Paul says nevertheless I live because, except for the will of Yahweh, it is each of us who should have suffered that penalty. Paul explains all of this in Romans chapters 3 through 7. Then Paul says yet not I, but Christ lives in me, and this Douglas completely fails to comprehend, so he scoffs even further. This shall be addressed shortly, after we see the rest of Douglas comments on the matter. First, Douglas takes a short diversion:
<Section #55B> Clayton Douglas states: I want you to ponder that
one statement for a moment. Remember that Immanuels life was made miserable by His archenemy, Saul of Tarsus, The Pharisee of the Pharisees. Paul/Saul had stalked Immanuel and His
followers for years upon years, trying to set up Jesus Christ. Saul wanted
desperately to kill Jesus Christ. It was his one purpose in life. Saul wanted
to shut Him down. Ultimately, Paul and his Pharisee
gangsters satisfied that mission. Christ was hideously butchered by the hidden
hands of the Pharisees who hated Him so. But, Paul does not want you to
remember that. He would much rather have you think that Christs death is a celebration and that Christ died for Paul. Perhaps, there is a kernal [sic] of
Freudian truth there.
In reply to section <#55B>: Douglas wants us to remember nothing factual, but only the novel which he has been concocting since the beginning of his first article, which became evident and was addressed here beginning at section <#13> of this response on p. 53. There is not one bit of evidence that Paul had anything to do with the crucifixion of Yahshua, or that Paul was even in Palestine at any time during Christs 3½ year ministry, never mind his being a leader in Judaea. In section <#32>, on p. 87, it has been shown that it is quite unlikely that Paul was a leader among the Pharisees during the time of Christs ministry. It is also evident that, before Pauls conversion, it was the Sadducees who were the leading persecutors of Christians (Acts 4:1; 5:17), although the Pharisees were doing so also. Notice that, as usual, Douglas cites no sources for any of his statements. He invented the entire story himself! And where he refers to Freudian truth, he shows himself to be a follower of yet another anti-Christ jew miscreant. Douglas continues:
<Section #55C> Clayton Douglas states: ... Paul says it is not
really him that you see, the [sic] he was crucified, and it is not I but Christ living in his body. He is claiming that he is essentially
Christ, and for this reason he is superior to all of Christs Disciples who opposed him at every
turn. Since Christ lived in Paul, this Christ
was calling the shots. The direction that the
church would go in was now up [sic
to] the dictation of a man who may have met Jesus only once, and then only to
be rebuked for being an oppressor of the Disciples.
In reply to section <#55C>: And picking up where we left off a few paragraphs above, Paul says yet not I, but Christ lives in me, and Douglas scoffs. At 2 Corinthians 6:16, where Paul admonishes the children of Israel to separate themselves from the unclean races (not the unclean thing, as the A.V. conjectures), he quotes several Old Testament verses, such as Leviticus 26:11, Jeremiah 31:33 and Ezekiel 37:27, and he says ... ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said. I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. Adamic bodies are the vessels for the real us, so to speak: the spirit which Yahweh gave to Adamic man (cf. Gen. 2:7; 6:3). That this is so is supported by the scriptures at Jer. 2:13; Isa. 52:11; Romans 9:22-23 and 2 Tim. 2:20-21, discussed at length in the second of my Broken Cisterns pamphlets. Adamic spirits, having come from Yahweh, are part of and one with Him. Paul certainly taught that the vessels which bear such spirits as those of the children of Israel do should be treated accordingly (i.e. 1 Thess. 4:1-5). And so Yahshua Christ Himself, as recorded in the gospel of John, says: If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him (14:23). So Clayton Douglas scoffs not at Paul, but at Yahshua Christ Himself. In his ignorance, Douglas rejects Christ and the prophets, which Paul taught justly and correctly.
Paul never claimed superiority over the other apostles, but rather acceded to the advice of the elder James (Acts 21:18-26) without contention and regardless of what he thought of it. Conversely, he professed to being least of all apostles (1 Cor. 15:9) and least of all saints (saints being the children of Israel who accept the gospel, not phony Romish church saints) because of his prior role in persecuting the Christian assemblies. If the church went in the direction dictated by Paul, what a fine collection of assemblies (not a single, overpowering church) they would have been! This has been discussed here in section <#4> of this response on p. 39 and in section <#18> on p. 62. Paul taught nothing which resembles what the Romish or Greek orthodox or later Protestant churches became. Clayton Douglas is an ignorant man, and a liar of his own making.
<Section #56A> Clayton Douglas states: Jesus Brother James is almost entirely written out of the picture,
and is referred to - quite disrespectfully and in a very revealing fashion - by
Paul/Saul in Acts by a descriptive noun rather than by his name. Not that the slur
mattered much to James. James continued to issue warnings about Paul.
In reply to section <#56A>: I cant imagine where in Acts it is recorded that Paul referred to James quite disrespectfully. Notice again that Douglas makes no citation, and so he is either a deceiver, or an idiot. If he could have made a citation, you can bet all your marbles he would have waved it at us like a red flag. Yet if perhaps Douglas is not an idiot, he certainly must think that his readers are idiots! For he babbles on:
<Section #56B> Clayton Douglas states: In regards to Pauls egotism and boastfulness, James wrote: If any man among you seems to be
religious, and does not bridle his tongue, but deceives his own heart, this mans religion is vain. James 1:26
So the tongue is also a
little member, and boasts great things. See how a small fire can spread to a
large forest! And the tongue is a fire. The world of iniquity among our members
is the tongue, which defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of
nature, and is set on fire by Hell. James 3:5-6
There are further examples.
Find them for yourselves. ... Line for line, the debate matches up; point by
point through the admonitions of James regarding the wickedness of Paul. Yet
still there are so many who will never choose to see that their master Paul was
a murderer, deceiver and imposter [sic] from the beginning, and still to this
very day, nothing has changed.
In reply to section <#56B>: Yet James epistle is clearly addressed to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad, and Paul is never a subject of nor is he even mentioned in this epistle. James 1:26, speaking in general to these people and about no particular individual, is clearly an admonition to any man among those twelve tribes, and has nothing at all to do with Paul! Douglas would have us believe that the Liar of the Dead Sea Scrolls is Paul, which is impossible in context, and now this in James, where every negative admonition is supposed to be directed at Paul. This is absolutely ridiculous, and if Douglas is not being purposely deceptive, he is a total moron! This isnt even close to believable, and shows that Clayton Douglas would stop at nothing to slander Paul of Tarsus! Hell unabashedly invent any ridiculous imagining and vain device hoping to gain some poor unsuspecting simpleton to fall for such idiocy in the name of patriotism, which is the most unpatriotic thing one can do since Paul is our brother and a co-descendant with us in descent from Abraham our common patriarch. Or is it (as we have demonstrated before at section <#15> on p. 56 of this response) that he simply cant read? So, neither is Clayton Douglas literate, nor is he an informed patriot.
<Section #57> Clayton Douglas states: Paul even admitted to theft
and swindling churches. These are his own words: I robbed other churches, taking wages of them, to do you service. 2 Corinthians 11:8
So you see, it is nothing
new when we see these charlatans and thieves stealing the money of those trying
to do what they have been taught is right. When there are individuals making
millions off of the ignorance of the masses, using a religion crafted after the
Pharisees themselves to psychologically enslave them to the status quo, such
thieves are only following after their master Paul, who admitted to stealing
from churches.
Again, Paul does little to
hide his true purpose from you. And, yet most of you will continue to defend
Paul/Saul until your dying day. Why? Because Paul/Saul is a Tradition.
In reply to section <#57>: Here Douglas nefarious charges shall again be proven vain, empty of any substance. From my own translation, 2 Cor. 11:7-9 reads: 7 Can it be that I have made an error, humbling myself in order that you may be elevated, because I have announced the good message of Yahweh to you freely? 8 I have deprived other assemblies, taking provisions for your service. 9 And being present with you and wanting, I had burdened no one, (indeed my need had been filled by the brethren who came from Makedonia,) and in everything I have kept and will keep myself unburdensome to you. The events Paul refers to are recorded in Acts chapter 18. Both Timothy and Silas were among the brethren who came from Makedonia who supplied Pauls needs (Acts 18:5). Paul certainly didnt rob the assembly in Makedonia, and he makes another brief visit there, recorded in Acts chapter 20. The word which the A.V. translated robbed at 2 Cor. 11:8 is FL8VT (4813) and also means to deprive, according to Liddell & Scott. There are many Greek words which mean to rob or to steal, yet this is certainly not what Paul is inferring. Paul is only telling the Corinthians that he attended to their service yet asked nothing of them, and did so while the Makedonians in turn provided for him. Now again, Clayton Douglas will find anything at all that he can twist to support his slander of Paul. Like a good jew should, as one can expect, Douglas will go to any length to discredit Paul and Christianity, while at the same time pretending to be patriotic and a Christian, which he is neither! This is the sort of man which all Paul-bashers are following!
<Section #58> Clayton Douglas states: Remember that Paul/ Saul
taught that faith ALONE is your Passport into Heaven, contrary to the teachings
of both God and His Son. Pauls
mind:twist [sic] teachings can be described in this manner. Let us say that you
wish to become a great ice skater. You have great faith in your ability to
become a great ice skater. But, does that faith make you a great ice skater? Of
course not. You must be faithful in your practice ... faithful in your ACTS.
You must train, train, train. Your acts, together with your faith, make you
into a very good ice skater. Faith without faithfulness translates into an
iceskater [sic] with many bruises and lacerations.
In reply to section <#58>: Pauls idea of faith clearly included the performing of good works, or deeds. This has been fully discussed in section <#37B> of this response, beginning on p. 91. So here Douglas insists that his reader should remember something which just isnt true. Paul clearly states that we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad (2 Cor. 5:10). Douglas ice skater analogy is interesting. Paul, teaching the need for self-control, said at 1 Cor. 9:27: Rather I beat my body, and bring it into subjection, much like an athlete must do in order to succeed. This has been discussed in section <#22> of this response, on p. 67. Paul tells Titus at 3:8: ... those trusting in Yahweh should take care to prefer good works. These things are good and advantageous to men. Surely Paul and James (2:20) did not differ in this teaching, except in their approach to the subject. Who is a liar, but Clayton Douglas?
<Section #59> Clayton Douglas states: SAUL OF TARSUS HAD TO
BELIEVE THAT FAITH ALONE AND NOT HIS ACTS WOULD GET HIM INTO HEAVEN. He HAD
to delude himself. After all, Saul was a mass murderer. Correct? I find it
incredible that the very same people who volunteer to personally strap David
Westerfield into the electric chair because he murdered the little Von Damme
girl are calling for complete forgiveness of genocidal trickster Saul/Paul
because hes annointed [sic]. And,
who made the announcement that Saul/Paul was annointed [sic]? Why, that was
Saul/Paul himself.
One
might ask: under the Laws of the Old Testament, why wasnt Saul/Paul ever brought to justice for, his mass
murders?
One
might also ask: CAN YOU FIND ANY SCRIPTURAL PASSAGES IN WHICH PAUL/SAUL
APOLOGIZES TO THE APOSTLES OR TO ANYONE FOR HIS HORRIBLE CRIMES AND MURDERS?
In reply to
section <#59>:
It should be fully evident in the preceding section of this response, and in
sections <#22> on p. 67 and <#37B> on p. 91, which
are also referenced above, that Clayton Douglas has absolutely misrepresented
Pauls positions regarding faith and
salvation. And since his premise is wrong, everything that follows is wrong. It
should also have been made fully evident, as it was discussed in section <#39> of this response
on p. 94, Paul was certainly no murderer. Douglas takes the same position, and
thus the same mind-set, as did the jews at the insistence of Chaim Weizmann, to
conduct the kangaroo Nuremberg War Crimes Tribunal trials against German
leaders. Men who perform the will and the functions of their government under
the laws of that government are not murderers by any stretch of the
imagination, and that is all that Paul had done, until he learned that his government
(the high priests and elders in Jerusalem) was wrong. Then Paul very nobly
stopped supporting his governments
cause, and stopped persecuting the innocent whom he had at one time supposed to
be rebels. Paul murdered no one! While his government was wrong, Paul and
surely many others within it thought they were doing right. This same
circumstance has existed all through the history of our race even unto this
very day. Clayton Douglas, writing for Christian-Patriot publications about the
government we have today, should know this better than most of us, but is
woefully ignorant of the true situation!
Now who is Clayton Douglas to insist that Paul never offered an apology for his persecution of Christians, and this being a lawful (under Judaean law) act when Paul committed it? Peter commended Paul (2 Pet. 3:14-16) and wasnt wanting an apology. The apostles received Paul in Jerusalem on at least two occasions (Acts chapters 15 and 21) and evidently were not wanting an apology. Who then, is Clayton Douglas to insist that an apology was never made? The events outlined in the Acts cover a period of about 30 years, and in a very short space, hardly a complete record! Pauls 14 epistles are certainly not all that he wrote, and these which we have were all written towards the end of that 30 year period. Again, hardly a complete record! Douglas barks loudly, but his logic has no teeth. Yet we shall see that even many years after his conversion Paul did indeed apologize for his actions, since many years later he was still doing so!
From The American Heritage College Dictionary, the definition of apology: 1. An acknowledgment expressing regret or asking pardon for a fault or offense. 2. a. A formal justification or defense. b. An explanation or excuse. And the verb apologize: 1. To excuse or regretfully acknowledge a fault or offense. 2. To defend or justify formally. These English words came from like Greek words, and since Paul was speaking and writing in Greek, we should look at those. From the Liddell & Scott lexicon, the noun B@8@(\" (627): a speech in defence, defence and the verb B@8@(X@:"4 (626): to speak in defence, defend oneself ... explain, excuse ....
And so an apology is not simply uttering Im sorry or I apologize, as we are accustomed to this hollow form of apology today, but rather is an explanation and acknowledgment of ones actions, not necessarily expressing regret, although that may be an element expected depending upon the circumstances. While Pauls persecution of Christians was done as a function of the legal government of Judaea at that time, an apology is not necessarily in order, yet we shall see that some of Pauls later statements certainly fulfilled the criteria to qualify as an apology.
Pauls arrest in Jerusalem happened about 57 A.D. (Acts 21-22), or about 25 years after the stoning of Stephen at Acts chapter 7. At his defense before the people Paul acknowledged his persecution of Christians (Acts 22:4-5). Paul was then sent to the governor, Felix, and over two years later (Acts 24:27) Paul spoke about Christianity before Felix successor Festus and Herod Agrippa II. Here again Paul acknowledged his persecution of Christians (Acts 26:9-11), admitting all of his errors in what may easily be perceived as a regretful manner. Paul seems to have written his epistle to the Galatians about 54 or 55 A.D., from either Makedonia or Ephesus. At Galatians 1:13 Paul acknowledged his persecution of Christians many years beforetime. 1 Corinthians was also written about this time, 55 A.D., from Ephesus (1 Cor. 16:8, 19). In it Paul states For I am the least of the apostles, that am not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God (1 Cor. 15:9), and here we certainly have an acknowledgment expressing regret, the dictionary definition of an apology! Paul apologized for his sins over and over again, and was apologizing over 25 years afterwards! Who is a liar, but Clayton Douglas?
<Section #60> Clayton Douglas states: ... This prophecy mentions
Paul by name in the original Hebrew. The Hebrew did not use diacritical vowel
markings. In Hebrew the word for Hades or The
Grave is Sheol meaning simply
the Neatherworld [sic]. It is not synonymous with Hell which is Geyhenum
or the Pit. The name Sheol (and Shaul) or Saul as English renders it, are identical
terms in Hebrew. As well, to those who understand the true origins, nature and
identity of Paul, they will understand the full prophecy of Habbakuk as
relating to this figure, who all the Prophets since the time of Noah have
warned their people of.
In an interpretation of the
above Habakkuk 2:4, the Dead Sea Scrolls (found only 50 years ago, in caves
near Jericho) tell us its interpretation Concerns
all doers of the Torah in the House of Yhudah
(Judah), whom El (God) will save from the House of Judgment because of their
works and their Faith in the Teacher of Righteousness. Habakkuk Pesher 7:17-8:3
The Teacher of Righteousness,
or Rightous [sic] Teacher, leads a Messianic Movement befuddled by The Spouter of Lies, who leads many astray
in order to build his city of vanity on blood and erect an Assembly upon Lying,
for the sake of his glory, tiring out many with a worthless service and
instructing them in works of Lying, so that their works will be of Emptiness.
And they will be brought to the same Judgments of Fire with which they insulted
and vilified the Chosen of God.
Habakkuk Pesher 10:9-13
In reply to section <#60>: Since Douglas apparently failed to include this prophecy in his article, which is evidently Habakkuk 2:5, we shall repeat it here from the A.V.: Yea also, because he transgresseth by wine, he is a proud man, neither keepeth at home, who enlargeth his desire as hell, and is as death, and cannot be satisfied, but gathereth unto him all nations, and heapeth unto him all people. Douglas here asserts that the word hell in Hab. 2:5 should read Paul. I must comment, that it is odd that Douglas cited Hab. 2:4 rather than 2:5, for 2:4 ends ... the just shall live by his faith. How could Douglas pay so much attention to the one verse, yet despise the other?
Now let us read Habakkuk (Ambakoum in Greek) 2:5 from the Greek Septuagint, to see how the earliest translators understood it, from Brentons translation: But the arrogant man and the scorner, the boastful man, shall not finish anything; who has enlarged his desire as the grave, and like death he is never satisfied, and he will gather to himself all the nations, and will receive to himself all the peoples. The word grave here is the Greek word Hades, which Brenton chose to translate grave. Now taken out of context, I can see where Douglas may want hell to read Paul in the A.V. version. Yet lets read Hab. 2:6-8, still from the LXX: Shall not all these take up a parable against him? and a proverb to tell against him? and they shall say, Woe to him that multiplies to himself the possessions which are not his! how long? and who heavily loads his yoke. For suddenly there shall arise up those that bite him, and they that plot against thee shall awake, and thou shalt be a plunderer to them. Because thou hast spoiled many nations, all the nations that are left shall spoil thee, because of the blood of men, and the sins of the land and city, and of all that dwell in it. Reading the entire prophecy, it is obviously incredulous that the subject of verse 5 could be Paul of Tarsus, because the subject doesnt change through verse 8, and the subject of verse 8 certainly cant be Paul of Tarsus! The subject of this prophecy is surely the arrogant man, and the scorner, the boastful man, which is here an epithet for Satan, the Adversary in a collective sense, the children of the devil who have plundered every city and nation throughout history.
We have seen that the Peshers in the Dead Sea Scrolls use the epithets Man of the Lie, Man of Lies, or Spreader of the Lie, and that these terms were used to describe Satan, or the Adversary, and not Paul. This was discussed at length in section <#43> of this response beginning on p. 98, where all of the Peshers where these epithets were used by the Qumran sect were discussed, and not just this one verse in Habakkuk, which Clayton Douglas excises from its context in order to mold it into his twisted theory. It is evident that there is no limit to Clayton Douglas subterfuge.
Another aspect which may be taken into account here is the grammar of Hab. 2:5, whether we examine the A.V. or the LXX. The phrase as the grave, or as hell in the A.V., is an adverbial clause, and by no means can it be the subject of the sentence, even if it did say as Paul, as Douglas desires it to say.
Douglas plot here takes advantage of the fact that in Hebrew, the words Sheol, which is the Hebrew equivalent to Hades, and Saul, which was also the name of the first Israelite king, are spelled alike in palaeo-Hebrew (old Hebrew used no diacritical marks), at least on many occasions in the Hebrew which we know today. There were, according to Strongs concordance, two spellings for sheol (# 7585): -&!: or -!:. Saul is spelled -&!:. Strong defines sheol: from 7592; hades or the world of the dead (as if a subterranean retreat), including its accessories and inmates and Saul: passive participle of 7592; asked; Shaόl, the name of an Edomite and two Israelites. So we see that both of these words are derived from another word, a verb, 7592, spelled -!: (shaal), and this is exactly how the alternative form of sheol is spelled. Strong defines shaal: a primitive root; to inquire; by implication to request; by extension to demand.
So we see that not only are sheol and Saul spelled alike, but both words are derived from shaal, and sometimes sheol and shaal were spelled alike. But that doesnt mean that these words are interchangeable, wherever doing such may offer us a convenient interpretation. Because Hebrew had no proper vowels, many words were spelled identically, and nearly every Hebrew name, if not every one, is also a word with a meaning in the Hebrew language. Imagine the confusion in English, with words such as fan, fen, fin, fine, fun and fauna, or gam, game, gem, gum and gym, if we had no vowels. Douglas could find thousands of word-substitution games to play in the Bible, because context matters so little to him!
Let us look at Hab. 2:5 one more time, from the A.V.: Yea also, because he transgresseth by wine, he is a proud man, neither keepeth at home, who enlargeth his desire as hell, and is as death, and cannot be satisfied, but gathereth unto him all nations, and heapeth unto him all people. It is obvious that the proud man and no one in particular is compared to hell and to death, not to Saul and to death, an interpretation utterly out of context! Now from The Dead Sea Scrolls Study Edition by Florentino Garcia Martinez and Eibert J.C. Tigchelaar, volume 1, p. 17, from the Pesher to Habakkuk, 1QpHab Column VIII, where the Qumran sect comments upon Hab. 2:5-6, we have this: Surely wealth will corrupt the boaster, and not will he last, he who widens his throat like the abyss, and he, like death cannot be satisfied. All the peoples ally against him, all the nations come together against him. Now is this, as Douglas claims, really describing Paul? Can we take the abyss and substitute Paul here, because in the Hebrew that is the word sheol, and would it make sense to do so? Or is Clayton Douglas weaving a web of deceit? And how many other things have we observed Clayton Douglas lie about? No sleight-of-hand magic trick is too risky for Douglas to attempt. Douglas quotes from the Habakkuk Pesher interpretation of Hab. 2:4, but the word sheol does not appear in Hab. 2:4! The word sheol only appears in 2:5! Douglas is trying to pull off a bait and switch! Like a good jew, hell go to any length to misrepresent Paul, and discredit Christianity in the process!
[Now if you are approached by a person promoting Paul-bashing, be prepared to give that person a quick and solid Scriptural answer so that he/she will never bring up the subject to you again. As 2 Tim. 4:2 instructs, ... be instant in season, out of season ... Refer that person expeditiously to Rev. 2:1-7, where Christ Himself commends the assembly at Ephesus for their works, labor, not bearing them which are evil, putting on trial false and lying apostles, borne with patience and labored for Yahshuas name, fainting not. Point out posthaste that the only mark Yahshua had against them was that they had lost their first love, which indicates that when Paul founded the assembly at Ephesus, at its inception, their love was not wanting. Thus in Christs own (red-letter) words, He gave Paul a perfect score for his effort. Ask this would-be Paul-basher: Could you do as well as Paul? Maybe one ought commit Rev. 2:1-7 to memory so one might be instant with or without a Bible at hand. In short, the would-be Paul-basher must call Yahshua Christ a liar in order to support his/her theory. Clifton A. Emahiser]
Now we shall proceed to address the second of Clayton Douglas Paul-bashing articles, SAUL OF TARSUS AND HIS DOCTRINE OF LAWLESSNESS, which he published in the January, 2004 edition of his Free American Newsmagazine. Douglas, while attempting to discredit Paul of Tarsus, instead consistently discredits his own person by making all sorts of false accusations and inconsistent statements. And, while claiming to be a Christian, he even rejects the cardinal tenets of Christianity found throughout the prophets and confirmed by the gospels: that Yahshua Christ was the Messiah and Redeemer of our race. While in this second article Douglas often merely repackages the trash he spewed in his first article, which I hope to have already discussed sufficiently, he does add new twists and additional claims as he proceeds, and so this second article must also be addressed in its entirety.
<Section #61A> Clayton Douglas states: Paul of Tarsus was an agent
and spy of both the Roman state and these ultra-fundamentalist hypocrite sects
(Edomite/ Pharisees).
In reply to section <#61A>: We have previously seen Douglas state that Paul was a Roman soldier assigned to spying on all of the sects in Judaea, in sections <#12>, <#13> and <#14> of this response on pp. 51-55, and where it was established that such a statement has no merit. Here Douglas makes Paul some sort of double-agent, working for the Romans and the Pharisees. While it is evident that Paul was a Pharisee, and in his persecution of Christians he was acting in an official capacity for the temple, here Douglas seems rather to be covering all bases by making such a blanket statement, adjusting the script to his novel so that it wont clash quite so starkly with the factual accounts. Nevertheless, Douglas could never establish with truth that Paul was a Roman soldier, agent, or held any post for the empire. Such a statement by Douglas is only a fabricated lie!
<Section #61B> Clayton Douglas states: Paul was also an active
conspirator in the assault on Stephen, in Acts 7:58.
In reply to section <#61B>: Yet the record at Acts 7:58 and 8:1 shows clearly that Paul was only a passive observer in Stephens death, who merely kept the garments of the men perpetrating the acts against Stephen, and approving of their deeds. While Paul is not without guilt in the matter (i.e. Lev. 5:1, Rom. 1:32), he was no active participant. If Douglas cannot get the smallest of accounts straight, how can he be trusted with the larger?
<Section #62> Clayton Douglas states: In Acts 9:22-26 it is said
that Paul baffled the Jews living in Damascus. But Paul increased more in strength, and
baffled the Jews who lived at Damascus, proving that this is the Christ...
(There were no people called jews during this time
period. In any event, this group wasnt
the only group Paul has been trifling with over the centuries. To baffle is to
bewitch ... and to deceive.)
In
reply to section <#62>:
Here Douglas takes the verb baffle, where instead in the A.V. the word FL(Pb<T (4797) is confound, and not only does he blatantly
misdefine the word, but he does so after abusing its context. First, the Greek
word FL(Pb<T (sugchuno), a
form of the verb FL(PXT (sugcheo, still
4797 in Strongs), means to
confound (Liddell & Scott),
and not at all does the word mean to bewitch ... and to deceive, as Douglas so nefariously states.
And even the word baffle has no such meaning as Douglas claims.
In The American Heritage College
Dictionary baffle is 1. To
frustrate or check (a person) by confusing or perplexing; stymie, and 2.
To impede the force or movement of,
where it has other definitions as a noun. Yet Clayton Douglas makes no
citations from any dictionary, because he would rather fabricate a lie! It is
clear from the account in Acts that the Judaeans of Damascus were confounded, or confused. Having been expecting Pauls arrival to harass them he rather arrived as one of them, a
Christian, having been converted by Yahshua Christ Himself while en route to
the city.
It is odd that here Clayton Douglas makes a correct observation concerning the word jews, being so late in his articles, and having already used the word so very often himself, and quoting jews such as Marcus Ravage in his assault on Paul, where Ravage claims that both Paul and Yahshua Christ were jews (see p. 96 and section <#40> of this response). In all of my writing, I endeavor to use the correct term, Judaean, when referring to the people of Judaea generally. Yet whenever the specific bad-fig Canaanites or Edomites among the Judaeans are those being referred to, those who reject Christ and His teachings, I may anachronistically use the term jew, because those are the people from whom todays jews obtain their religion and identity, and from whom a great number of todays jews have descended in part. Yet Douglas throughout his articles has used the terms jew, jews and jewish, capitalized or not, quite indiscriminately.
<Section #63> Clayton Douglas states: Did you know that Jesus own Disciples were both afraid of him and didnt believe that he was a disciple? Or, dont
you really care?
In reply to section <#63>: Douglas inane argument here comes directly from the account in Acts. Of course the original disciples were initially wary of Paul, and had every right to be cautious of him because he was at the beginning a persecutor of the Christians. This is no secret, and as we have seen in section <#59> of this response on p. 118, Paul both admitted and regretted his actions. Yet these same accounts to which Douglas refers, and gets half of his story from, tell us that in a short time all of Yahshuas disciples did accept Paul, and accept him fully! This is readily apparent at Acts 9:23-31, where we are told that the Christians delivered Paul from the unbelieving jews, and where Paul was afterwards accepted by the disciples at Jerusalem. In Acts chapters 14 and 15 we see Paul was accepted at Antioch by the Christians there, but his teaching was challenged by certain judaizing disciples. Yet upon being heard by the elders of the disciples in Jerusalem, Paul was not only accepted but fully vindicated! Clayton Douglas, a pawn and a patsy for jews and miscreants, relates only the parts of Acts, or any of the New Testament, which can be abused in order to uphold the positions of the jews and the miscreants! Yet Douglas rantings get even more ridiculous.
<Section #64> Clayton Douglas states: ... The Dead Sea Scrolls
show us that Damascus was the name of the Qumran community of
Essenes. It was on his way to visit these revolutionaries, that Paul claims to
have been stopped by a vision.
In reply to section <#64>: This may be one of the most ridiculous statements I have ever seen concerning the geography of first century Palestine. It is so ludicrous, its an absolute pity that it requires any attention at all. Discussing the geography of Syria, Strabo says: The city of Damascus is also a noteworthy city, having been, I might almost say, even the most famous of the cities in that part of the world in the time of the Persian empire (Geography, 16.2.20). Damascus was a prominent city in Syria, which had been there for many, many centuries, even in the time of Abraham! The city is first mentioned in the Bible at Genesis 14:15 and it is still there today. Strabo wrote just before 25 A.D. In the context of Genesis chapter 14, the name Damascus appears in the Dead Sea Scrolls in the Genesis Apocryphon, or 1QapGen ar, Column XXII. But the name Damascus also appears several times in the document that, by reason of the citys mention, is popularly called the Damascus Document. The copies of this document found at Qumran are found in the fragments designated 4Q266 through 4Q273, 5Q12 and 6Q15. Yet other copies of the Damascus Document were found outside of Qumran, and included in publications of the Dead Sea Scrolls because they are obviously copies of the same document. These are in the university library at Cambridge, England, and were discovered at Cairo in Egypt. They are designated in scroll publications as CD-A and CD-B.
Using Douglas silly logic, perhaps we should call Cairo Damascus, and not Qumran. There is nothing in the Dead Sea Scrolls which link the scrolls to Qumran, except that they happen to have been found nearby. Going to a motel in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania and finding a Gideon Bible in the drawer, would you imagine yourself to be standing at the very place where certain events took place? I hope not! Such is the logic of Clayton Douglas: Damascus being found in documents at Qumran, we will relocate the name to that place. Ridiculous! Douglas is an idiot!
While the name Damascus appears often in the Damascus Document, there is nothing which would lead us to believe that Damascus was a code-word for Qumran, rather than the name of the well-known Syrian city which it so obviously was. The Damascus Document often refers to Israelites in the land of Damascus for one simple reason: it is relating the sects perception of prophecy fulfilled, as the sect saw it, and a certain prophecy in Amos (at 5:27) warns the disobedient Israelites that they were going to be carried away beyond Damascus.
Further indication that Pauls Damascus was the city in Syria can be found in the N.T. itself. Pauls Damascus was a large place, with streets and houses (i.e. Acts 9:11), and more than one synagogue (Acts 9:20), and walls and gates (Acts 9:24-25). Qumran was nothing of the sort! All of the archaeology of Qumran shows that the place was never more than a small compound, perhaps the size of a large Roman villa at the most. There are countless books and articles describing as much. Damascus had an ethnarch (2 Cor. 11:32) whom Paul mentions by name, something not seen anywhere in the Qumran sects documents. Again, Qumran was in Judaea. Yet Damascus is called a foreign city, i.e. outside of Judaea! This is evident at Acts 26:11 (cf. 26:20). With all of this, Clayton Douglas can only be one of two things: a purposeful deceiver or a total idiot.
<Section #65> Clayton Douglas states: To the mystics, Prophets and
revolutionaries of that day, Pauls
vision seemed as nothing more than a cop-out for why he was claiming his
Romanized message to be in line with the clearly anti-Roman teachings of Jesus.
In reply to section <#65>: As for mystics and revolutionaries I cannot comment, except to say that Clayton Douglas is preoccupied with magic and magicians, having quoted from several of them from the very beginning of his Paul-bashing articles. And Clayton Douglas is also fascinated by revolutionaries, as he has so often in his articles put his lot with men such as Friedrich God is dead Nietzsche, who ended up in an insane asylum at the age of 45, and Bishop John S. Spong who was a revolutionary indeed, being at the vanguard of the integrationist Civil Rights movement, being the first Episcopalian Bishop to ordain homosexual ministers, and being a chorus-leader for the acceptance of homosexual marriage. These are the revolutionaries Clayton Douglas loves and follows!
Pauls message was certainly not Romanized. If such were so, Paul could not have been imprisoned at Rome and executed by Nero! Why would Rome hold prisoner and kill such an ally? Why would Rome execute such a supposedly faithful agent, which Douglas claims that Paul was? Neither was Yahshua Christ anti-Roman. If He were, how could Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor, insist on letting Him go free, finding no fault in Him (i.e. John 19:4, 6, 12)? Clayton Douglas is a deceiver, and an idiot! It has previously been demonstrated, in section <#8> of this response on p. 44, that Paul did not, and could not, teach anything concerning temporal governments that would be in defiance of the prophecies concerning temporal governments, and neither would Yahshua Christ. Clayton Douglas, scoffing at Paul, makes himself a fool because he doesnt understand the prophets. Notice again, that Douglas attributes certain anti-Roman teachings to Christ, but makes no citations! If Christ had taught such things, Douglas would gladly have pointed them out!
<Section #66> Clayton Douglas states: Many valid and initiated
Nazirenes, including Jesuss [sic]
own brother did not believe Paul. The debate between James, the head of the
Nazirenes after Jesuss [sic]
resurrection, and Paul is depicted throughout many of the books of the New Testament, as well as other historically valid writing that didnt make the Council of Niceas [sic] cut in 325 C.E.
In reply to section <#66>: We have seen already in sections <#56A> and <#56B> of this response, on p. 116, that Douglas invents a debate between James and Paul which never existed. There Douglas cites James 1:26 and 3:5-6 and asserts that James was referring to Paul, an assertion which is certainly proven to be false upon reading those verses in context. As far as such debate being depicted throughout many of the books of the N.T., this is a claim that Douglas certainly could not establish if he were challenged, for it is a lie. Notice again, that Douglas makes no citations to support his claims, and then supports his claim by further referring to unnamed Apocryphal books, making no citations there either! I can only deduce one thing from these unsubstantiated claims of Douglas: he is lying. If he werent lying, he would have supplied citations!
Now I must say, that while there was certainly no debate between James and Paul, there was one apparent point of contention. Yet in our meager records and one short epistle of James, this point is not debated or discussed at length. Apparently James was convinced that those born into Judaism and their children should continue to be circumcised and keep the Mosaic law (Acts 21:20-24), yet those Christians of the nations (of Israel) not born into Judaism were not to be burdened by those things (Acts 21:25, cf. 15:1-35). If this is so, then I must assert that the Christian has to side with Paul on this issue, upon inspecting the prophets. For Jeremiah tells us that with the New Covenant both those of the house of Israel and the house of Judah would have the laws of Yahweh written into their hearts (Jer. 31:31-33, cf. Isa. 51:7). This is not ambiguous, it is a direct statement relating to both the law and the New Covenant. How could a man follow two different sets of laws? Ezekiel 37:15-28 tells us that Israel and Judah shall no longer be two nations, but shall be one and have one king and not be divided anymore. They shall be made one stick, and they shall be one in My [Yahwehs] hand. This certainly leaves no room for them to be two different classes of people following two different sets of customs and laws, in defiance of the prophecy that they shall be one nation. For these reasons and more, such judaizers were rejected by Paul and early Christian apologists, and were rightly considered heretics. Today Clayton Douglas, a follower of jews, sexual deviants, atheists, magicians and assorted other miscreants, makes himself a judaizer too.
<Section #67> Clayton Douglas states: ... In the Dead Sea Scrolls,
Paul is referred to simply as the
Liar, for in truth he claimed that
nearly every traditional facet of the Nazirene Way of life - those practices of
the Nazirite oath in particular - were invalid. While Jesus stated that he
taught the Spirit of the (Old
Testament) - Paul completely mocked
and ridiculed the Torah time and time again. But, you still think of Paul as a Good Guy,
correct? You are, of course, welcome to continue on with your Traditions. You
can do exactly that ... even though the onus has now been placed on you.
In reply to section <#67>: It has been established here, and with much detail in section <#43> of this response beginning on p. 98, that the Liar of the Dead Sea Scrolls certainly could not have been Paul of Tarsus. Yet here Douglas confuses several other disparate facets of Biblical history which must be addressed. Evidently, Douglas believes that the Qumran sect, an appropriate name for whoever it was that wrote the Dead Sea Scrolls, were not only Christians, but also took the ancient Nazirite vows which are described in Numbers chapter 6. Yet it is easy to see that the Nazirite vows were not taken by the Qumran sect. For the Nazirite vows include these instructions found at Num. 6:3: He shall separate himself from wine and strong drink, and shall drink no vinegar of wine, or vinegar of strong drink, neither shall he drink any liquor of grapes, nor eat moist grapes, or dried. Yet in the Dead Sea Scrolls, in 1QRule of the Congregation, 1Q28a Column II, we read And when they gather at the table of community or to drink the new wine, and the table of the community is prepared and the new wine is mixed for drinking, no-one should stretch out his hand to the first fruit of the bread and of the new wine before the priest, for he is the one who blesses the first-fruit of bread and of the new wine and stretches out his hand towards the bread before them. There are several other places that show that the Qumran sect indeed drank wine. The members of the Qumran sect certainly could not have taken the vows of the Nazirite! Clayton Douglas is once more found to be a liar, and a spouter of things he knows little about. Douglas only exhibits his complete incompetency in establishing a proper premise.
One does not have to look far to see that the disciples of Christ certainly drank wine (i.e. John chapter 2; Matt. 26:26-29; Mark 14:23-25; Luke 22:17-20), and so they could not have taken the vows of the Nazirite! While it is true that the early Christians were called Nazarenes, which is only evident in the New Testament, quite ironically, where the jews accuse Paul at Acts 24:5, this name came because they were followers of Yahshua of Nazareth, and the jews refused to call them Christians. This has already been discussed at the end of section <#16> of this response, on p. 60. Whenever a jew calls a follower of Yahshua a Christian (anointed person), that jew admits that Yahshua is the Christ (Anointed One or Messiah), and so the early jews would not call them such, but used the term Nazarene instead. While it was a matter of prophecy that Yahshua was to be called a Nazarene (Matt. 2:23), among other things, this certainly does not mean that His disciples should take the ancient Nazirite vows, and it is fully evident that they did not! Clayton Douglas, again, is the Spouter of Lies!
Pauls position on the Levitical Law has been discussed several times throughout this response to Douglas articles, in section <#18> on p. 62, section <#46> on p. 103, summarized again in sections <#49A> and <#50> on pp. 106 and 108, and touched on in discussions of related topics in sections <#37B> on p. 91 and <#44> on p. 102. It was discussed at length earlier in the response to H. Grabers Paul-bashing in section <J> beginning on p. 13. Here Douglas states that Paul completely mocked and ridiculed the Torah time and time again, yet, as usual, offers nothing of substance but this vain and hollow accusation. No citations, nothing specific, no examples, just a blanket accusation. Just like the government prosecutors and jewish false accusers who make every accusation possible hoping that something sticks, Clayton Douglas is a liar who cannot substantiate his claims! Also, notice that Douglas identifies the Pentateuch, or first five books of the Bible also known as the books of Moses, by the name which the jews use for it, the Torah, which reveals his leanings.
<Section #68> Clayton Douglas states: Regarding the Dead Sea
Scrolls, there is - reportedly - a central character consistently referred to
as The Windbag, The Spouter of Lies, The
Comedian and even The Man of Scoffing. Who is this central character we are being warned about? Who
is The Comedian?
In reply to section <#68>: Now, I understand that there can be different interpretations of certain terms, and so certain appellations can appear differently in various translations of the same text. Yet Ive read one of the better translations of the Dead Sea Scrolls, which Ive discussed on p. 100 in section <#43> of this response, and nowhere do I recall seeing such appellations as The Windbag, The Comedian, or The Man of Scoffing, nor anything even similar to any of these. Notice again that Douglas makes no citations, and probably because he cannot, for he is a liar and an inventor of deceptions!
Douglas contentions concerning the Dead Sea Scrolls and Paul of Tarsus hold up only if one is led to believe that the Qumran sect members were Christians. It has already been demonstrated here that the sect was positively not Christian, and made no indication in their writing that they knew anything of Christianity (section <#43>, p. 98). Here I shall quote one more Dead Sea Scrolls passage which fully supports my contention, and which should remove any lingering doubts which anyone may have. From 4Q271, Fragment 5, Column I, a portion of the Damascus Document: No-one should help an animal give birth on the Sabbath day. And if it has fallen into a well or a pit, he should not take it out on the Sabbath ... And any living man who falls into a place of water or a well, no-one should take him out with a ladder or a rope or a utensil. In the Christian mind, this should immediately evoke the words of Yahshua Christ recorded at Matt. 12:9-13 and Luke 14:1-6, for He would surely want us to help the animal, and especially the man, immediately on the Sabbath! The writers of the Dead Sea Scrolls were NOT Christians. Neither is Clayton Douglas!
<Section #69> Clayton Douglas states: However, it takes more for a
matter to be true than to have a charismatic man
traveling around getting paid big money to say that lawlessness justified by faith
is truth. How convenient a message to literally sell to the lawless
Roman pagans, literally Goyim. Are you still happy to be Stupid Cattle?
In reply to section <#69>: We have already discussed Pauls position on the law and faith at great length in this response, and an index is given above, at the end of section <#67>. Paul was not teaching or promoting any lawlessness, rather Clayton Douglas is a liar! Notice Douglas use and definition of the term Goyim. This word is a Hebrew word, the plural of goy, Strongs Hebrew dictionary #1471, which means nation. Abraham was told that his descendants would be a great nation (goy), a great and mighty nation (goy), and Jacob was told that a nation and a company of nations (goy, goyim) would be from him (see Genesis 17:20, 18:18 and 35:11). Yet Douglas definition of goyim comes from the colloquy of the jews and their Talmud, their true religious book. The terms that a man uses, and the manner in which he uses them, reflect the materials he chooses to read, how he has acquired his opinions, and the company he keeps. As he uses the terms Torah, goyim, Esu Immanuel Sananda, etc., Clayton Douglas is a follower of jews and miscreants.
<Section #70A> Clayton Douglas states: THE NEW PAULINE DOCTRINE OF
LAWLESSNESS ... Paul has a lot to say but little or no Scripture to back it up.
Likewise, he seems to either have been ignorant of, or blatantly hiding the
words, contradictory to his own, that Jesus spoke. He claims to preach the Gospel
and even the new Gospel yet he speaks little or nothing at all
about the actual life, ministry and teachings of Jesus Christ. Instead he
writes about his new doctrine of Lawlessness, and spends most of the rest of
his Epistles defending his violation of the Torah. This should be a great
warning to us!
In reply to section <#70A>: It should be readily apparent to anyone who ever read Pauls letters, that Clayton Douglas is the Spouter of Lies. Clayton Douglas is the Comedian! A quick perusal of the A.V. reveals that there are roughly 60 direct quotes of the Old Testament in Pauls letter to the Romans alone, not counting the many allusions and indirect references, such as those found at Rom. 1:32, 7:1-6, 9:20-23 and 16:20. Additionally, several chapters in Romans are all about the Old Testament, including chapters 4 and 9. Clayton Douglas speaks not the truth!
As I discussed in section <O> of my response to the Paul-bashing H. Graber, on p. 18, Pauls letters are not his gospel. Surely the gospel which Paul preached, which he often referred to as the gospel of the kingdom (which Luke also did, i.e. Acts 28:31), is that gospel which is found with Luke. Pauls epistles illustrate an application of the gospel for the Christians of his time, as well as an application of the law. Anyone who thinks not should go back and read Romans chapter 2 or 1 Corinthians chapter 5 over again. These chapters clearly demonstrate that Paul upheld lawfulness, and that both good and wicked deeds are rewarded in kind by Yahweh. Clayton Douglas is a liar, the Man of Scoffing, who probably hasnt even read Pauls letters in their entirety, let alone studied them! Time and again, Douglas shows his utter incompetency in developing good judgment.
Reading Pauls epistles, we must bear in mind that we surely do not have all of them. It is certain that a letter to the Corinthians prior to 1 Cor. existed and is now missing (see 1 Cor. 5:9), and perhaps there was one more of these, but 2 Cor. 7:8 may only be referring to the 1 Cor. which we have. There was also an epistle to the Laodiceans, mentioned at Col. 4:16, which is lost. Yet it would seem that since Pauls ministry lasted for close to 30 years, we may expect that he wrote more than 16 or 17 epistles.
<Section #70B> Clayton Douglas states: Strangely, this man, who was
only shortly before murdering Jesus
disciples, now expected everyone to believe him to be infallible and above any
criticism. Considering his Satanic track record, it should be expected that
Paul would have to prove himself through works or fruit if he was to be
accepted. However, not only are there no works except for preaching for money,
but this Satan never even publicly repents nor seeks forgiveness for his
oppression.
In reply to section <#70B>: We have seen here that Paul murdered no one, in sections <#39> (p. 94) and <#59> (p. 118) of this response, where it was also demonstrated that Paul did indeed apologize for his early persecution of Christians. Recycling the same false accusations time and again, Clayton Douglas only magnifies his own lies. Neither did Paul preach for money, but as an honest reading of 2 Corinthians chapter 12 demonstrates, just the opposite is true. Such is also evident at Acts 20:33-35. This was discussed in part in section <#54> of this response on p. 112. Clayton Douglas is rather the Comedian.
Paul did not consider himself infallible, but he did consider both the Old Testament scriptures and the gospel of Yahshua Christ to be infallible, and rightly so. On p. 18, in section <O> of my response to H. Graber, I said that An honest study of Pauls letters reveal no fault on Pauls part when compared with the four gospels, though in places Pauls mere humanness is surely revealed, and as Paul at times himself admits. Those admissions are found at places such as Romans 3:5 or 6:19, where Paul admits speaking as a man or after the manner of men, and not from scripture, meaning that he was indeed not considering his words to be infallible. At 1 Cor. 7:12-40 Paul admits that his advice there was his own, for which see both 7:12 (I speak, not the Lord) and 7:40 (after my judgment), obviously because he had no scriptural or gospel example to draw from by which to answer the question at hand. Paul wrote his advice here concerning marriage in a time when Christians were undergoing a harsh and violent persecution, the weakly translated present distress of 7:26, and because of that he advised against marriage for that time. Otherwise, of course, Paul esteemed marriage as a very important necessity (i.e. Heb. 13:4; 1 Tim. 3:2, 5, 12). So we see several examples where Paul warned that his teaching was his own when it could not be based upon Scripture, and by no means did he claim that such teachings were infallible. Clayton Douglas, the Man of Scoffing, has surely not studied what is necessary in order to discern these things.
The records in Acts demonstrate
that Paul surely did prove himself through works (Acts 14:3; 19:6, 11; 28:8), and
Peter accepted Paul (Acts 15) and testified concerning Pauls legitimacy and wisdom (2 Pet. 3:15-16).
Douglas, the Comedian, Spouter of Lies, spouts accusations which are untrue
concerning things which he has neither studied nor understands! Clayton
Douglas, Christian? ... or Patriot? Hardly! To qualify as either, one must
erase from his mind all his errant concepts and start all over again from the
beginning!
Now we shall continue to address the second of Clayton Douglas Paul-bashing articles, SAUL OF TARSUS AND HIS DOCTRINE OF LAWLESSNESS, which he published in the January, 2004 edition of his Free American Newsmagazine. It had been noted quite early in this series responding to Douglas articles, that his writings may be welcomed by readers of The Trumpet or The Jerusalem Post, because Douglas rejects many of the fundamental tenets of Christianity, and not only Paul of Tarsus. This will again become apparent below, along with many other inconsistencies and conflicts in Douglas thought and writing. While much of Douglas article is merely a recycling of his earlier statements, he does add a few new twists, and a few new twisted arguments, and so his entire article must be presented and addressed.
<Section #71> Clayton Douglas states: The
Saved Through the Blood Sacrifice of
Jesus Pauline School ... It
does not appear to be a tiny coincidence that canonical Gospels make any such
references to atonement through God-human sacrifice. The notion that such pagan
concepts had anything whatsoever to do with the teachings of Jesus Christ is
the biggest lie ever told. The impression that the unsuspecting Christian is
left with is that all the prophets had been awaiting this sacrificial lamb to come as God
incarnate to atone for sin. There is
literally not one statement in all Gospel accounts. It is Paul and his
companions, rather than John the Baptist, Jesus, James and their Community, who
introduced this concept of redemption through unsubstantiated faith,
simultaneous with acts of lawlessness. This left brain/left brain [sic]
tweaking - courtesy of the Pharisees - creates Christian Schizophrenia.
In reply to section <#71>: Here it is apparent that Clayton Douglas is a proselyte, if not an actual jew, recycling the same vain arguments that the jews used against Paul and the rest of the apostles in the first century. Like the Pharisees who claimed to be experts in the law, yet were consistently reproved through scripture by Christ, Clayton Douglas has very likely never even read the Bible he so wantonly criticizes and claims knowledge of!
That Yahweh Himself would walk among us is a matter of prophecy, seen as early as Lev. 26:11-12, and there are dozens and dozens of messianic prophecies throughout the Bible which foretell quite clearly many of the events of His sojourn here, such as Isa. 8:13-17; 9:1 ff. and 35:1-10.
In section <#4> of this response beginning on p. 39 we saw that Douglas denied that Yahshua Christ was the Messiah. Yet all throughout his first article Douglas referred to Christ as Immanuel, Hebrew for God is with us. The 70-weeks vision of Daniel, found at Dan. 9:24-27, foretold not only the coming of Messiah the Prince, but Daniel also anchored His coming to verifiable dates in history, predicting that coming and the year it would happen well over five hundred years in advance! And Daniel also told us that Messiah shall be cut off, but not for Himself. What could that forebode, besides the fact that Christ was to be murdered on behalf of others? That Christ was to suffer that which He did is foretold in many places, chief among them being Psalm 22, Micah 5:1, Zech. 13:7, and especially Isaiah chapter 53, which makes it perfectly clear that Yahshua Christ died for the iniquity of the children of Israel. Clayton Douglas, the Man of Scoffing, denies all of this.
Douglas insists that There is literally not one statement in all Gospel accounts, apparently meaning that there is nothing in the gospels which tell us that Yahshua Christ was the sacrificial lamb who would atone for our sin. Yet this is a recurrent theme in the gospels! Clayton Douglas, The Comedian, obviously has not read Matt. 1:21, Luke 1:77, or especially John 1:29 and 1:35-41! In John 6:31-65 we have the great Bread of Life discourse given by Christ, where it is clear that His flesh and blood were given for our lives, and our faith in Him is rewarded by eternal life. While there are many other similar statements in the gospels which outline these things, it should be perfectly clear that Clayton Douglas, the Man of Scoffing, is a liar contending with Yahweh, Yahshua Christ, and all of the gospels, not merely with Paul of Tarsus. Clayton Douglas may just as well be another anti-Christ jew. John tells us Who is a liar but he that denieth that Yahshua is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son. (1 John 2:22) Who is a liar, but Clayton Douglas?
<Section #72> Clayton Douglas states: The direct consequences from
this Christian Schizophrenia can be seen throughout Europe ... and the United
States of America today. Although The Scriptures teach us that Gods Laws are, indeed, engraved forevermore
upon our Israelite hearts, we - instead - listen to The Traditions which teach
us that lawlessness and disobedience are AOK. Not to worry, youll get into Heaven too. This is all the result
of Super-Apostle-Paul/Saul of Tarsus.
In reply to section <#72>: This babble of Douglas makes little sense at all, and surely Douglas is a very confused man. We have seen over and again here that Paul of Tarsus did not promote lawlessness, and instead taught just the opposite, in sections <#18>, <#37B>, <#44>, <#46>, <#49A> and <#50> of this response to Douglas articles, and in section <J> of the previous response to H. Graber (see p. 127 at the end of section <#67> ).
Douglas so-called Christian Schizophrenia is certainly not caused by Paul of Tarsus, and Douglas is duplicitous in blaming such on Paul. We have seen that Douglas is a follower of Bishop John S. Spong, whom he must have read at length because he quotes from Spong extensively in his attacks on Paul, for which see section <#9> of this response on p. 47, and section <#23> on p. 68. And we have also seen that Spong is a very liberal theologian, a promoter of racial integration, homosexuality, and embracer of the anti-Christ jews! Spong ordains homosexual clerics, promotes homosexual marriage, and is a leading humanist, and Clayton Douglas is his follower! Clayton Douglas, The Comedian posing as a Christian, is the real schizophrenic here! The lawlessness in Christianity is not Pauls fault, it is rather the fault of liberal theologians such as John Spong! And all of these things concerning Spong were made manifest here from Spongs own official websites and his own writings, after section <#23> on pp. 71-72, and in detail in a separate article on pp. 73-81. Weve seen Spong attack Paul, and Douglas attack Paul. Weve seen Spong deny Yahweh in Biblical terms, and weve seen Douglas deny that Christ is Messiah, and Spong denies the divinity of Christ and the circumstances of His birth and ministry! Weve seen Douglas embrace Freud, and weve seen Spong embrace Freud! John Spong is a liberal miscreant anti-Christ destroyer of Adamic civilization and a homosexual-embracing deviant, and Clayton Douglas is his disciple! John Spong is a liberal proclaimer of lawlessness, and Clayton Douglas covers for him by diverting the blame to Paul of Tarsus. Clayton Douglas is the Man of Scoffing and Spouter of Lies!
<Section #73> Clayton Douglas states: In yet another typical Judaist contortion, Paul/Saul proclaims all opposition to him as devilish. He suggests that those who oppose him include counterfeit apostles and dishonest workers (2 Corinthians 11:13) and even Satans servants disguised as servants of uprightness (2 Corinthians 11: 14-15). He wishes that his opponents would mutilate themselves (Galatians 5:12). The advocates of the Old Testament were deemed self interested people who just wished to boast about their success (Galatians 6:13), wished to stir up disagreements (Romans 16:17) and who preached differently to Paul out of malice and rivalry or out of jealousy, not in sincerity (Philippians 1:15-19).
In reply to section <#73>: In 2 Corinthians 11, Paul calls those who oppose not merely himself false apostles, deceitful workers, but those who oppose the gospel of Christ. Pauls attitude here is fully supported by Yahshua Christ Himself, in the Revelation given to John, in the message to the assembly at Ephesus which Paul founded: thou has tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars. Paul being the founder of that assembly, the gospel which he brought must be the first love of the assembly, and so Paul is true, and Clayton Douglas a liar (cf. Rev. 2:2, 4). It is clear that in early church history many jews attempted to subvert the gospel of Christ by adopting and then perverting it. Clayton Douglas, like John Spong, is their disciple. In his second epistle, Peter warns about these very same people with language at least as strong as Pauls, yet the hypocritical Douglas dare not criticize Peter (cf. 2 Pet. 2)! And Peters complaints concerning these false teachers are much the same as Pauls. Compare 2 Pet. 2:19 to Gal 5:13, for instance. At Galatians 5:12 Paul wished that certain judaizers would rather mutilate themselves, because they were trying to foist the Old Covenant circumcision upon Christians. Douglas defends the advocates of the Old Testament, not realizing that to advocate the Old is to deny the New Covenant! Paul certainly knew better than Douglas, as is fully evident at Heb. 8:6-13. The passing of the Old Covenant (i.e. Zech. 11:10) and establishment of the New Covenant (i.e. Jer. 31: 31-33) were clear subjects of Biblical prophecy denied by Clayton Douglas and every good jew. Clayton Douglas own words again prove that he is little but a jew. All Paul-bashers everywhere should take note of this: you are all followers of and pawns of the jews!
<Section #74> Clayton Douglas states: Did you know that Paul was
quite preoccupied with taking donations in? Did you know that he felt it
necessary to answer a charge that he was embezzling the money? (Sound
familiar?) (2 Corinthians 8:20-21 shows the suspicion with which he had to
contend. He must claim the authority of the Jerusalem Community for the
validity of his teaching to the Gentiles (Galatians 2:1-10) and he writes that they asked nothing more than that we
should remember to help the poor.
This was some 17 years after his conversion, for as he states, he was in no
hurry to confer with any human being as he had been selected in his mothers womb for this work (Galatians 1:15-17).
(Another little narcissistic Pauline twist.) Even so, he was fearful that he
and his gift might not be accepted by the Jerusalem leaders, writing: I pray that the aid I am carrying to
Jerusalem will be acceptable to Gods
holy people. (Romans 15:31)
In reply to section <#74>: That
Paul embezzled anything is a false accusation, a lie by Clayton Douglas who has
taken advantage of a poor translation. This was discussed at length in section <#54> of
this response, beginning on p. 112. Now Douglas removes 2 Cor. 8:20-21 from its
context, verses that have nothing to do with money, but which only discuss the
selection of competent ministers. My own translation of 2 Cor. 8:16-21 reads
thusly: 16 Now gratitude is to Yahweh, by whom that same
diligence is being given in the heart of Titos on your behalf, 17
seeing that the encouragement he indeed has received, now being more diligent,
voluntarily he has gone out to you. 18 And we have sent along with
him that brother of whom there is approval in the good message throughout all
of the assemblies; 19 and not only, but our fellow traveler has also
been hand picked by the assemblies to be endued with this favor, in which he
would serve under us to the honor of the Prince Himself; and our eagerness 20
is avoiding this: not a one would find fault with us in this strength which is
serving under us. 21 Indeed we have noble intentions not only in the
presence of the Prince, but also in the presence of men.
The term this strength refers to the unnamed brother (see also 2 Cor. 12:18) selected to assist Paul and Titos, probably one of the men mentioned at Acts 20:4. Many suppose, and it may be correct to do so, that such men were selected to ensure that funds donated by the assemblies were employed properly, and this is certainly to Pauls credit, so he surely cannot be accused in the matter. Clayton Douglas, The Comedian, would stop at nothing to accuse Paul. It is only natural, with Pauls bringing his gift from the assemblies to Jerusalem, that he would hope that the gift would be accepted, and Douglas accusation to the contrary is both tenuous and unfounded.
Paul believed that he was chosen from the womb of his mother for the conduct of his ministry (Gal. 1:15) because he believed in the ability of Yahweh to predestine all of His children for His Own purpose (Romans 8:28 ff.). This is evident in the Old Testament many times, for instance of Pharaoh in Ex. 9:16, mentioned by Paul at Rom. 9:17; and Jacob and Esau at Gen. 25:23, mentioned by Paul at Rom. 9:12. We see it also at Jdgs. 13:3 ff. concerning Samson, and at Isa. 45:1 ff. where Isaiah mentions the Persian king Cyrus by name and in deed at least 150 years before Cyrus was even born! Now since this is so evident in so many places in the Old Testament, which Douglas professes, why doesnt Douglas believe it? The Man of Scoffing believes nothing! His only purpose is to discredit Paul, and then Christianity itself, like any good jew would do!
<Section #75> Clayton Douglas states: Did you know it was
Saul/Paul who taught, One person may
have faith enough to eat any kind of food; another less strong, will eat only
vegetables. It was his messages
which convinced the world that it was now perfectly
OK to eat, well, just about anything
you felt like eating ... in DIRECT VIOLATION OF GODS DIETARY LAWS. Gods
Dietary Laws were not handed down to you to make your life difficult. God gave
them to you to PROTECT YOU from sickness and disease. Paul didnt care much about what God wanted. Let them eat Pork became Pauls motto.
And, so Gods People became sick ...
and confused. More poisoning courtesy of The Serpent.
In reply to section <#75>: Again Clayton Douglas is a fabricator of lies, for Paul never spoke about the eating of pork, never mind Douglas false claim that he approved of it! The scripture to which Douglas refers here is found in Romans chapter 14, and he apparently paraphrased v. 14:3. Again, notice that he does not state as much. But because Paul said that all foods may be eaten, does that mean that he advocated eating pork? Certainly not! For if pork is not normally considered food, then it cannot be included in the category of all foods, even if we today do consider it to be so. Pork was not considered food to first century Judaeans, nor to many first century Greeks. Although earthworms and roaches are edible and contain nourishment, I certainly would not eat them even if people of other cultures do, and so I would not consider them to be food. Neither do I consider swine to be food, even though many people today do, and so I do not eat swine, and furthermore I do not consider Pauls statement at Romans 14 as any sort of encouragement or commission to eat swine, knowing that Paul is talking about food, which swine is not! As we can fully discern from Romans chapter 14 and from 1 Corinthians chapter 10, early Christians were at odds as to whether they should eat any flesh, or meat, at all. This was for cultural reasons, and not because anything in the Scripture promoted vegetarianism. If we are ignorant of Greco-Roman history and culture, neither can we discern the context in which the gospels and epistles of the New Testament were written! We would all be as ignorant as Clayton Douglas!
Greek temples were not merely places where pagan rituals and the worship of false gods were conducted. They also served as centers for community, lounges and restaurants, centers for organized prostitution, banks and other things. Greek city-dwellers took many of their meals at these temples, drank, and often participated in the other activities in which these temples engaged. Markets were attached to the temples, where animals could be purchased to make sacrifices to the idol, or where meat from sacrificed animals could be purchased. Some of these practices were even conducted at the Temple in Jerusalem (i.e. John 2:15). Such was the dilemma of first century Christians in Greece and Rome, where it was difficult to find meat which had not been sacrificed to an idol: to a false pagan god. Such was the reason for Pauls discourses at Romans 14 and 1 Corinthians 10:14-31, which in Pauls perspective (contrary to Clayton Douglas) had nothing to do with swine!
Additionally, we see in Strabos Geography that swine was not accepted at all Greek temples, and that of the temples of Aphrodite swine was accepted at only a few (9.5.17). The famous temple of Aphrodite at Corinth was not among those which accepted swine. Strabo himself considered the eating of swine to be unclean (12.8.9), and tells us that at Comana in Pontus swine werent even allowed into the city. So in the Greek world, we see division on this issue in the pages of Strabo. Clayton Douglas, the Man of Scoffing, understands none of this, and like most so-called Christians today, takes Pauls statements in these chapters entirely out of context. Paul never advocated or approved the consumption of swines flesh.
<Section #76> Clayton Douglas states: Paul used
pseudo-philosophical arguments that went in circles. He told James that he had
no right to judge him - attempting to allude to teachings of James brother that were taken out of context.
In reply to section <#76>: Again Douglas makes no citations. Pauls meetings with James are recorded in Acts 15 and 21, where Paul never argued with James and showed his elder complete deference in every way. Pauls letters mention James at 1 Cor. 15:7, and at Gal. 1:19; 2:9 and 2:12. Nowhere was Paul ever recorded as telling James that he had no right to judge him! Clayton Douglas, The Comedian, is lying again.
<Section #77A> Clayton Douglas states: Heres - absolutely - one of favorite [sic] Paulinisms, repeated
every day by millions of bone-headed people:
Do not judge, or you too
will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and
with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. Why do you look at the
speck of sawdust in your brothers eye and pay no attention to the plank in
your own eye? How can you say to your brother, Let me take the speck out of your eye, when all the time there
is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own
eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brothers eye.
Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they
may trample them under their feet, and then turn and tear you to pieces.
Matthew 7:1-6
How many times have you
heard this? Ill betcha HUNDREDS.
In reply to section <#77A>: This is incredible! Im almost speechless! Here is absolutely one of the most idiotic pieces of commentary Ive ever seen on the Bible. Douglas doesnt like the words of Yahshua Christ as they were recorded by Matthew at 7:1-6, so he blames them on Paul! The incredible part, however, is that a little further on in his article, as we shall see below, Douglas quotes Matt. 5:17-20 and later both Matt. 6:24 and 7:21-23, using those sections to support his attacks on Paul! So regardless of where it is in the Bible, if Douglas likes it, its Christian. And if Douglas doesnt like it, its Pauls doing! Clayton Douglas is an idiot! Of course, here in Matthew, Yahshua Christ is talking about hypocritical judgment, as Paul also does at Romans 2:1 ff. Douglas, the Man of Scoffing, cannot discern as much. So he continues his diatribe:
<Section #77B> Clayton Douglas states: Heres the real deal. Christianity, and I mean REAL CHRISTIANITY, is
the most intolerant religion there is. It ought to make you proud. It isnt lukewarm. It isnt a namby pamby politically correct liberal religion. It
IS a set of laws, specified by God Himself, which supplies us with the correct
parameters by which we CAN judge the actions of others. But, suddenly, Paul is
retraining us that we MUST NOT JUDGE OTHERS. Lawlessness is just dandy. Dont say a word. Do not condemn ... or else!
But, thats OK [sic] and quite
acceptable, at least according to the legions of Christians who will
immediately rise to Paul/Sauls
defense.
In reply to section <#77B>: Yet we have seen time and again in this response, in sections <#18> on p. 62, <#46> on p. 103, and summarized in sections <#49A> and <#50> on pp. 106 and 108, as well as discussing related topics, i.e. in section <#37B> on p. 91, that Paul of Tarsus certainly does uphold the laws of Yahweh (i.e. Rom. 3:31)! Paul never promoted lawlessness, as we have seen. Rather, its the liberal theologians of today, such as John Spong, who attack Paul while, at the same time, promoting their lawlessness. Ironically, Douglas actually follows the lawless Spong, and then does an about-face by attacking the law-upholding Paul. Is not Douglas duplicity fully evident for everyone to see? Clayton Douglas is rather the schizophrenic while he accuses others, and can hardly be labeled a Christian. Here Douglas continues by quoting Matthew to support his contentious argument:
<Section #77C> Clayton Douglas states: I repeat to you again,
Matthew 5:17:20: Do not think that I
have come to abolish the Law (Torah,) or the Prophets (Neviim,); I have not come to abolish them but
to fulfill them. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not
the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear
from the Law; until everything is accomplished. Anyone who breaks one of the
least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called
least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands
will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you that unless your
righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law, you
will certainly not enter the Kingdom of Heaven.
In reply to section <#77C>: So
Douglas alone determines which parts of Matthews
gospel were written by Matthew, and which parts of Matthews gospel were written by Paul! Only an
idiot could imagine being able to do such a thing, and an arrogant one at that!
Notice also that Douglas insists on giving us the Hebrew names for the Law and
the Prophets, as if to lend credibility to his own use of Yahshua Christs words, which were originally recorded
not in Hebrew, but in Greek! This does, however, demonstrate fully the jewish
influences upon Clayton Douglas
thinking. Now I can imagine why Douglas made the silly statement in his first
article, discussed in section <#5> of this response on p. 41, that Paul wrote
almost two-thirds of the New Testament.
Douglas thinks that Paul wrote Matthew 7:1-6! But Douglas astonishing idiocy extends far beyond
even this:
<Section #78> Clayton Douglas states: James the Brother of Jesus
spoke out against Paul of Tarsus in this profound and pivotal incident: You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in
heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit! As your fathers did, so you
do. Which of the prophets didnt your
fathers persecute? They killed those who foretold the coming of the Righteous
One, of whom you have now become betrayers and murderers. You received the Law
as it was ordained by angels, and didnt
keep it! Now when they heard these things, they were cut to the heart, and they
gnashed at him with their teeth. But he, being full of the Holy Spirit, looked
up steadfastly into heaven, and saw the Glory of God, and Jesus standing on the
right hand of God, and said, Behold,
I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Adam standing at the right hand of God! Acts 7:51-56
In reply to section <#78>: Here Douglas takes the words spoken by the martyr Stephen before his death, which were recorded by Luke in Acts chapter 7, and he attributes them to James! And these words werent meant for Paul in particular, but for the high priests, elders and council of the Judaeans in general, evident once reading the full story from Stephens arrest as related at Acts 6:8-15 and 7:1 ff. Can Clayton Douglas read? Or is he a purposeful deceiver? Or is he just an idiot? One thing is evident: Clayton Douglas will lie and twist anything, stopping at nothing to slander Paul and to corrupt Christianity, just as those whom he truly follows: the jews, the anti-Christs, the sexual deviants, liberal theologians, atheists and other miscreants whom he consistently quotes for support.
<Section #79A> Clayton Douglas states: Heres an account about James (the Elders) run-in with Saul/Paul.
... In the Recognitions of Clement, we also learn of
someone named Saul - one of our
enemies - who, upon entering the
Temple with a few other companions while James was reading and interpreting
Bible prophecy concerning Jesus, began
to cry out, and while James was refuting him he began
to drive all into confusion with shouting, and undo what was arranged with much
labor. A riot ensues, in the midst of which, this enemy attacked
James and threw him headlong from the top of the [Temple] steps, and, supposing
him to be dead, cared not to inflict further violence upon him.
Though
James doesnt die here, both his legs
were broken ...
(This is act [sic] of a man you say is now annointed [sic]?,
Paul broke both of James legs!)
In reply to
section <#79A>:
Clement, who lived and wrote long after the deaths of both Paul of Tarsus and
James the elder, knew full well who Paul was, quoted from and followed Paul,
and never identified the Saul who attacked James as Paul of Tarsus,
though he had every opportunity to do so if such a thing were true! Douglas
even admits this, admitting that Clement wrote only of someone named Saul,
yet it is only Douglas who would identify this Saul as Saul of
Tarsus, as if in the first century there was only one man named Saul in the
entire world! Saul was the name of the first Israelite king (v. 1 Samuel), who
was of the tribe of Benjamin, and so it was only natural that a first century
Benjaminite may have this name. There were other men with this name in first
century Judaea.
[Note: Douglas knows less about Church History than Scripture!
When James the Just was martyred, Paul was in Rome. We find this in Eusebius Church
History by Paul L. Maier on page 81 (2.23), under the heading The Martyrdom of Jesus Brother James:
When Paul
appealed to Caesar and was sent to Rome by Festus, the Jews were disappointed
in their hope regarding the plot they had devised against him and turned
against James, the Lords brother, to
whom the bishops throne in Jerusalem
had been assigned by the apostles ...
In other words, James was murdered in place of Paul! Thus, either
Eusebius lies or Douglas lies. For anyone who is truly interested concerning
James martyrdom, see Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 8, Hegesippus,
Fragments from His Books of Commentaries on the Acts of the Church. The Saul of which Clement cites is not the same Saul
(Paul) the apostle! This Saul of which Clement refers went into the
temple and accused James of being a follower of Simon, a magician, a
false charge which the apostle Paul would never have made, and no such thing is
ever recorded in Scripture. Douglas is grasping at straws. - Clifton A. Emahiser]
The record in Acts
chapter 21 is clear, that from the time of Pauls
meeting with James where Paul deferred to the wishes of the elder, he was
arrested by the Romans after being attacked by the jews, and spending the rest
of his time in Roman custody until being sent to Rome, Paul could hardly have
seen the temple again during this subsequent period which he spent in custody
in Caesarea (Acts 23:23 ff.). Paul remained in custody of the Roman governor
for some time into the term of Festus, who sent Paul in bonds to Rome (Acts
27:1). According to Josephus, the historian who was a witness to the events in
Judaea at this very time, in 62 A.D., Festus died in office and was succeeded
by Albinus (Antiquities 20.9.1). Paul
would already have departed for Rome when this happened. It was during the
tenure of Albinus that a young and ill-tempered man, the younger Ananus,
obtained the office of high priest. Ananus was a Sadducee, and while Albinus
was traveling abroad Ananus had the elder James and some of his companions
slain, stoned after an assembly of the jews
council (Antiq. 20.9.1). Josephus
also tells us about another Saul, or Saulus, an Edomite related to the family
of Herod, who led a band of robbers and caused much mischief a few years later
when Florus was governor, and although Josephus does not record the breaking of
James legs or any other such attack
on the apostle before his death, this other Saulus is a much more likely
candidate to have perpetrated such a deed than Paul of Tarsus (v. Antiq. 20.9.4; Wars 2.17.4)!
<Section #79B> Clayton Douglas states: And we all know what
happened to both James Greater and The
Less (Jesus Brother), dont we?
Who condemned both of them? Why those pesky deceiving Pharisees (Sanhedrin) of
course!
In reply to section <#79B>: We have just seen from the words of Josephus that it was a Sadducee who had the elder James stoned, and not a Pharisee. From Acts chapter 12 we see that it was the Edomite king, Herod Agrippa I, who was responsible for the death of James the lesser, and neither the Pharisees nor the Sadducees are blamed for this. That makes Clayton Douglas a liar on two counts, which are easily verified! Is there any lie too great for Clayton Douglas, the Spouter of Lies? Does he not reveal what sort of man he truly is, through all of his lies (John 8:44)? Remember Rom. 2:16: In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men according to my gospel.
Once more we shall continue to address the second of Clayton Douglas Paul- bashing articles, SAUL OF TARSUS AND HIS DOCTRINE OF LAWLESSNESS, which he published in the January, 2004 edition of his Free American Newsmagazine. Here we shall finish with this series of Douglas Paul-bashing articles, and our response to it.
<Section #80> Clayton Douglas states: Speaking of pesky and
deceiving, let us return once more to Pauls
statement which opens up this investigative article:
But granting that myself
did not burden you I was crafty, you say, and got the better of you by deceit.
(Saul of Tarsus 2 Corinthians 12:16)
Does Christianity accept taking in by deceit as a means of ministering, and propagandizing? Does Genesis 3:1 not
refer to the Serpent as more crafty
more subtle than any beast of the field?
Paul himself boasts proudly about sharing this trait with the Serpent. Like the
Serpent, Paul - too - is subtle and crafty - not trying to deceive you with
something appearing as a lie. To convince you he mixes a small portion of truth
with a predominance of pagan lies. The Torah, the Law, which Paul
mocked and considered a yoke and bondage, says: Do
not steal. Do not lie. Do not deceive one another. Leviticus 19:11
In reply to section <#80>: We have seen in section <#54> of this response, on p. 112, that 2 Cor. 12:16 was not only poorly translated, but that Douglas takes it out of context, and Douglas also is aware that the translation has been challenged and refused to address that in his article. Here Douglas repackages the same argument he used there, which was proven to be false. Paul certainly was not subtle and crafty, and just the opposite has been proven. Clayton Douglas alone is subtle and crafty here! And all of his accusations are unfounded! Notice also, that like a good jew, he continually insists on referring to the Pentateuch as the Torah. In the next section of his article he refers to the Tanakh, the jewish name for the writings of the prophets, Psalms, and other books of the Old Testament. Christian writers scarcely use the word Tanakh, and many Christians probably dont even know what it means. Such evidence of jewish influence is found throughout all of Douglas articles.
<Section #81A> Clayton Douglas states: But when Paul had gathered a
bundle of sticks and laid them on the fire, a viper came out because of the
heat, and fastened on his hand. When the natives saw the creature hanging from
his hand, they said one to another, No
doubt this man is a murderer, whom, though he has escaped from the sea, yet
Justice has not allowed to live.
However Paul shook off the creature into the fire, and wasnt harmed. But they expected that he would
have swollen or fallen down dead suddenly, but when they watched for a long
time and saw nothing bad happen to him, they changed their minds, and said that
he was a god. Acts 28:3-6
Here we are told that the
natives, though receiving Paul well at first realize that it was an aberration
of nature for a snake to attack someone who is in fact laying sticks on a fire.
Snakes themselves are repelled by fire and it would be quite abnormal for a
viper to attack a man without any provocation who is so near to the fire that
he is in fact laying sticks in it. When the natives saw this they realized that
Pauls ship wreck was not merely coincidence,
he had in fact been subject to the wrath of God, the same as Prophet Jonah was
said to have been in the Tanakh for his reluctance. Just the same as in that
case the stormy sea was a sign of Gods
anger.
Here Pauls Antichrist cult does not allow us any
such interpretation. Nonetheless this was the first and natural understanding
of the natives of Malta. Pauls
devotee Luke tells us in the book of Acts that when Paul did not die from the
bite of this abnormal viper, they said - that is, they uttered, not merely
thought to themselves - that he was a
god. Nowhere in this passage does
the devotee Luke tell us that the apostate Paul said one word to the contrary.
Doesnt that seem a little strange
for an allegedly god-fearing man to not deny a claim that he is a
god?
Moreover, in the city of
Lystra, Paul causes a riot by supposedly healing a man. During the riot the
people shout in their native dialect that Paul and Barnabas are gods come to
earth. Again, there is no denial of these claims recorded in Acts.
The fact that Paul did not
dispute their claims that he was a god is not at all an insignificant matter.
When Apollonius of Tyana was supposedly tried before the Emperor Domitian at
the end of the first century, one of the charges against him was that he had
supposedly allowed himself to be worshipped as a god - more or less the same
charges falsely applied to Jesus Christ - despite the fact that he never
claimed godhood, nor did anyone else attribute it to him.
In reply to section <#81A>: Firstly, just because Luke didnt record any denial of Pauls in Acts 28, when the people of Malta had imagined him to be a god, doesnt mean that such a denial wasnt made, or that Paul accepted their supposition. Yet Douglas is plainly lying about the incident at Lystra, where the people imagined Paul and Barnabas to be gods (Acts 14:11-12). That upset Paul and Barnabas so that they tore their own clothing (14:14), the ancient way of exhibiting ones humility, and ran among the people denying it, admitting to be mere men (14:15). Clayton Douglas shows himself to be the Spouter of Lies.
We neednt go to Apollonius of Tyana and his trial to see the gravity of the accusations here, where one should fail to deny his elevation by the people to status as a god. There is a clear example right in the Bible, recorded by Luke at Acts chapter 12, where it is said that Herod Agrippa I was struck dead for not denying the claims of the people that he was a god. The historian Josephus, at Antiq. 19.8.2 (19.343), attributes this Herods death to that very same cause. So both Luke and Paul were surely aware of the punishments for such impiety, lack of humility, and acceptance of the foolishness of the common people.
The people of Malta, called Melita in ancient times, were no uncivilized savages. The Greeks considered them barbarians only because they spoke a different language. Diodorus Siculus, in his Library of History at 5.12.2-3, says of Malta that it ... lies about eight hundred stades from Syracuse, and it possesses many harbors which offer exceptional advantages, and its inhabitants are blest in their possessions; for it has artisans skilled in every manner of craft ... and the dwellings on the island are worthy of note, being ambitiously constructed and finished in stucco with unusual workmanship. This island is a colony planted by the Phoenicians, who, as they extended their trade to the western ocean, found in it a place of safe retreat, since it was well supplied with harbors and lay out in the open sea; and this is the reason why the inhabitants of this island, since they received assistance in many respects through the sea-merchants, shot up quickly in their manner of living and increased in renown (Loeb Library edition). It may be conjectured that the Maltese, being Phoenicians, and Paul being a Hebrew speaker, could surely speak to each other in a tongue which the Greek Luke could not understand, and so Pauls denial was not recorded. But surely just because it wasnt recorded doesnt mean it wasnt made. Yet that is not all, for Douglas continues:
<Section #81B> Clayton Douglas states: Even when any type of
special status was alluded to regarding him, Jesus abrogated it by saying Why do you call me god, one alone is god, (Mark 10:18) and humbly proclaiming that
even Greater works than these shall
you do (John 14:12)
In reply to section <#81B>: And here Douglas attempts one of the sleight-of-hand magic tricks he picked up in all of the jewish magic books hes read! For in Mark 10:18 Yahshua Christ is recorded as saying: Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God. Douglas, believing that the word processor is quicker than the eye, removed an o from good in an attempt to magnify his false accusation against Paul. Surely Douglas is The Comedian! The two words are much harder to confuse in their original Greek, god being 2,`l and good being ("2`l. Elsewhere Yahshua Christ stated Is it not written in your law, I SAID, YE ARE GODS?, a reference to the 82nd Psalm at John 10:34. The jews thought that by calling oneself a son of God, one considered oneself as equal to God, and they considered that blasphemy in spite of the scripture at Deut. 14:1 and Psa. 82. Surely Clayton Douglas, the Man of Scoffing, shows an ignorance of this (taking the same position as the jews did to Christs Words). Yet Paul, a man of humility, never claimed to be a god of any sort!
Finally, we have already seen Douglas himself acknowledge that Paul was nearly blind (section <#19> of this response on p. 64). Paul, wanting to lend a hand in the situation on Malta following the shipwreck, lifted a bundle of sticks and placed them onto the fire. A viper, surely from that same bundle of sticks and which Paul did not see, then sprung out from that bundle and attached itself to Paul, thereby avoiding the fire. There is nothing abnormal about this, except that Douglas would prefer his own twisted version of the story, as we have seen Clayton twist nearly everything he discusses.
<Section #82> Clayton Douglas states: So who is right? Is Jesus
correct when he says I have not come
to abolish the Law or is Paul right
when he says that Jesus destroyed
the barrier ... by abolishing in his flesh the Law with its commandments and regulations? (Hebrews 10:19-20) Was Jesus Christ
right when he said that Heaven and Earth would sooner pass away than one letter of the Law, or should we instead follow Paul who
said the anti-thesis of Christs
words: But now the Law has come to
an end with Christ and everyone who has faith may be justified. Romans 10:14
In reply to section <#82>: The first part of Douglas statement here comes not from Hebrews 10, but from Ephesians 2:14. In Ephesians 2, Paul is discussing the reconciliation of the lost Israelites (which the Ephesians surely were a part of) to Yahweh by His sacrifice on the cross. Because Israel, the nation, was married to Yahweh, and Israel played the harlot, the nation was put off, divorced, by Yahweh. The Levitical law governing marital relations prevented the reconciliation of the husband, Yahweh, to Israel. This law was the barrier, or middle wall in the A.V., which Paul mentioned. Thus, Yahweh died on the cross for Israel, fulfilling the law and freeing Israel from the Old Covenant. All of this was a clear matter of prophecy discussed at length in this response in section <#50> on p. 108, and what Paul explains to the Ephesians is in perfect keeping with this prophecy, which Christ came to fulfill.
Douglas continues by misquoting Romans 10:4, and mislabeling it 10:14. Romans 10:4 says in the A.V.: For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth. This word end is the Greek word JX8@l (5056), where I have fulfillment here in my own translation. Liddell & Scott in their Greek-English lexicon define the word the fulfillment or completion of anything ... i.e. its consummation, issue, result, end ... Yahshua Christ tells us that He came to fulfill the law, and Paul correctly tells us that Christ is the fulfillment of the law. Clayton Douglas, the Man of Scoffing, sees problems and conflicts where there certainly arent any!
<Section #83> Clayton Douglas states: Again, I ask you, did Jesus
Christ not say himself that a slave cannot serve two masters?
You cannot be the slave of
two masters! You will like one more than the other or be more loyal to one than
the other. You cannot serve both God and money. Matthew 6:24
So which master
do Christians now serve? Which master do you serve?
In reply to section <#83>: And for this very reason Paul of Tarsus told the Romans: Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness? ... I speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh: for as ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity; even so now yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness (Romans 6:16, 19). The word iniquity, twice in this passage, is the Greek word <@:\", Strongs #458, literally lawlessness. It is apparent from this passage, contrary to Douglas, that Paul of Tarsus was certainly not promoting lawlessness! Clayton Douglas, The Comedian, has judged Paul on the basis of but a few verses taken out of context and mixed with the lies of a long list of jews, sexual deviants, and other assorted miscreants, whom he follows straight to perdition!
<Section #84> Clayton Douglas states: Not everyone who says to me, Lord,
Lord, will enter the kingdom of
heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven: Many will
say to me on that day, Lord, Lord,
did we not prophesy in your name? Did we not drive out demons in your name? Did
we not do mighty deeds in your name?
Then I will declare to them solemnly, I
never knew you. Depart from me, you workers of LAWLESSNESS (anomian). Matthew 7:21-23
In reply to section <#84>: We have seen over and over again in this response that Paul certainly did not promote lawlessness. Neither did Paul promote universalism. Neither did Paul support the high priests of his time, who he knew to be the enemy posing as servants of Yahweh, just as the jews do today. In his second epistle to the Thessalonians, Paul talks about the jews at Jerusalem in this manner: You should not be deceived by anyone, in any way, because if apostasy had not come first, and the man of lawlessness been revealed: the son of destruction, he who is opposing and exalting himself above everything said to be a god or an object of worship, and so he is seated in the temple of Yahweh, representing himself that he is a god. (2 Thes. 2:3-4, my own translation). Thereby Paul tells us that the actual man of lawlessness, the Edomite Canaanite jew, was revealed by Christ, evident throughout the gospels, and especially in John chapter 8. Later on, in chapter 3 verse 2, Paul prays that he and his companions are spared from these jews: and that we should be protected from those disgusting and wicked men, since the faith is not for all. (2 Thes. 3:2, my own translation), since those jews had attempted time and again to kill him. Clayton Douglas, attacking Paul, has followed the jews in so many ways, as we have seen over and over relentlessly throughout this response, and so also makes himself an aid and an abettor in all of the crimes of the jews by obscuring the true history of early Christianity and giving the jews a smokescreen of lies to hide behind! We saw in section <#13> of this response, at the end of Douglas remarks there, that he even attempts to absolve Judas Iscariot, the real traitor and betrayer of Yahshua Christ! Could this be, that Douglas is a follower of bishop John Spong, and Spong once wrote an article entitled Judas Iscariot - A Creation of Prejudice? for The Human Quest May-June, 1994? Is Douglas merely following Spong, the lover of jews, in this? Is Douglas, following the Humanist of the Year for 1999 John Spong, purposely attempting to undermine Israel Identity Christianity the only true Christianity by leading it off into Paul-bashing?
Notice here that Douglas quotes Matthew 7:21-23 as the words of Yahshua Christ, which they indeed are. But earlier Douglas quoted and criticized parts of that same chapter, Matthew 7:1-6, and claimed that those words of Yahshua were a Paulinism! (See sections <#77A> and <77C> of this response on pp. 135 and 136.) Douglas hypocrisy is quite incredible, and glaringly evident!
<Section #85> Clayton Douglas states: A road that requires nothing
of you but to have faith is the broadest road imaginable. But, isnt that the broad road that todays Judeo-Christians feel they deserve?
In reply to section <#85>: In sections <#37B> and <#44> of this response, on pp. 91 and 102, we have seen that Pauls idea of faith encompassed both good works and obedience to Yahweh. Paul certainly cannot be blamed for the state of Judeo-Christians today, as Paul well knew that there should be nothing Judeo- in Christianity! And why does Douglas use a term which he considers almost an oxymoron (see page 33)? In the title to his first article, Douglas offered Judeo-Christianity as the alternative for Pauline Christianity. For my part, Id take Paul over the jews any day! All these little quirks and more, while they are relatively minor, do manifest the inconsistencies in Douglas thinking. And there are others which Ive let pass by here. For instance, above in section <#81A> Douglas calls Luke Pauls devotee, an apparent criticism considering what Douglas thinks of Paul. Yet early in his articles Douglas quotes from Lukes gospel (section <#8>, p. 44, for example), and has often referred to or cited events recorded by Luke in Acts, without any prior criticism of Luke. Clayton Douglas truly is The Comedian, and surely no scholar.
<Section #86> Clayton Douglas states: In conclusion, Saul/ Paul of
Tarsus taught deviation. Today, hed
be called an Agent Provocateur. Paul may have even been the individual
that the Damascus Document identifies as the
Liar and the Apostate. And as
to why he went to the effort to found a new religion, many suggest that it was
a brilliantly conceived means to defuse the political significance of Jesus and
his Davidic bloodline. As an agent of the pro-Roman Sadducee establishment,
Paul the Pharisee found a perfect way to deflect anti-Roman agitation into yet
another Roman mystery cult. He apparently succeeded very well. The Romans may
have had more reasons to throw Christians to the lions than merely worrying that
the moralistic folk might cancel their orgies and parties, especially if early
Christianity were a successful anti-Roman political movement.
If early Christianity was
really a revolutionary political movement fully within the sphere of Jesus teachings at the time ... whence the
Christianity of today? END
In reply to section <#86>: Here, finally, we reach the conclusion of Douglas two Paul-bashing articles, and most of the lies and misconceptions here have been addressed throughout this lengthy response, so I will not repeat them again. I must state briefly though, that I do not find any references to the Liar or the Apostate in the edition of the Damascus Document which I have, although appellations similar to the Liar appear in other Dead Sea Scrolls, specifically some of the Peshers to the prophets discussed at length in section <#43> beginning on p. 98. Yet we have seen throughout his articles that Douglas gets very few of his facts straight. He has instead produced little but a heap of deceptive, ignorant, confused trash.
Yet I must wonder, if Douglas is so concerned about Christianity, true, intolerant, non-politically correct Christianity, as he puts it (see section <#77B> on p. 135), why does he attack Paul of Tarsus based on the remarks and opinions of jews such as Sol Stein and Sigmund Freud, atheists such as Friedriche Nietzsche, and liberal theologians such as John Spong, himself an overt embracer of homosexuals, jews, and negroes as we have seen from Spongs own websites? How is this collection of miscreants and sexual deviants any alternative to Paul of Tarsus, and how could they possibly deal with the just and moral Paul in an objective manner? And weve already seen the Paul-bashing H. Graber was also a follower of jews and socialists, just like John Spong shows himself to be. How do such perverts and miscreants become valid discerners of Paul, of Yahshua Christ, or of anything Christian or Biblical or just or good? All Paul-bashers everywhere must take note: by unjustly attacking Paul of Tarsus, you are all mere followers and flunkies of the jews and miscreants. And all attacks on Paul shall be manifested to be unjust when measured against the gospels and the prophets! In your ignorance, you are only scattering rather than gathering the people of Yahweh. All Paul-bashers everywhere had better repent, and reconsider their anti-Christ positions!
MISCONCEPTIONS CONCERNING PAUL AND THE CHURCH
So many men look at the oppressive behemoth which calls itself the Roman Catholic Church, and then foolishly place the blame for the creation of this monster and its offspring upon Paul of Tarsus, as if he ever developed such a thing. In doing so, these men are only repeating the romish churchs lies by which it claims an apostolic founding, and giving them credence as if they were true, which they certainly are not!
It should be evident to nearly anybody that the apostles probably wrote many more epistles than those which we have in our Bibles, that if we possessed them, we may possibly have a more complete picture of their ideal model for the function and structure of the truly Christian community. However, not out of line with that spirit of simplicity of life which is an object of Christian teaching, it may very well be that we need none other than the scant instruction which we do have. Here we shall examine precisely what the New Testament books, and especially the letters of Paul, really do say concerning the organization and management of a Christian community.
In the apocryphal books are found some writings, in the so-called epistles of Ignatius for instance, which do attempt to clarify or enhance the instructions in our Bibles (i.e., those of 1 Timothy). These writings must be rejected, viewed with suspicion not only because they often conflict with Pauls writing, but also because they bear full support for the organized romish church structure as we know it. They are most certainly mere forgeries, and many commentaries have professed as much. All such post-apostolic writing shall be ignored here.
Both the prophet Daniel (7:8, 20-26) and Yahshua Christ Himself (Rev. 13:11-18) recorded beforehand the troubles that the romish church leadership would cause for us. Once one obtains a sound knowledge of history, the meanings of these prophecies and many others become astonishingly clear. Yet this foreknowledge by Yahweh of the romish church surely is not a divine blessing of such an organization, that it may somehow be considered righteous and legitimate (note Luke 4:5-7), for the prophecies themselves put forth a declaration quite to the contrary. Rather, it must be understood that the children of Israel were to be punished for seven times for their disobedience (Lev. 26). A time in prophecy being 360 years, seven times is 2520 years. This period began with the Assyrian invasions and deportations of Israel, which occurred from 741 to 676 B.C. (the 65 years of Isa. 7:8). The two beasts of Rev. 13, entities which are also outlined in Daniel chapter 7, are the succession of ancient world empires (also discussed in a different way in Daniel chapter 2) ending with the Roman, followed by the popery of the romish church. Each of these beasts was to last for about 1260 years (Revelation 13:5 dates the first, Daniel 7:25 the second) which is 3-and-a-half times (3.5 x 360 = 1260), or 42 months of years (42 x 30 = 1260), a day being a year in prophecy (i.e. Num. 14:34; Ezek. 4:6). A study of history surely does reveal that each of these beasts did indeed endure for about 1260 years. It is certainly evident that both the succession of ancient empires and the romish church were a part of Yahwehs means of punishing the children of Israel for their disobedience. There is much more that could be said here, however it suits not the purpose of this discussion.
It is evident that the organization of the romish church was very closely patterned after the imperial Roman government, and also incorporated the major elements of pagan Roman religion. The popes were very much like the Roman emperors in many respects, and exercised authority over the kings of Europe for many centuries. The title pontiff, from the Latin pontifex, is derived from the Latin pontis or bridge. The title was used of pagan Roman priests and implies that the holder of the title was the bridge to their god. The title Pontifex Maximus, which belonged to the pagan Roman religious figurehead from early times, was taken by the emperors for themselves. Priests and church edifices (temples), nuns (vestral virgins), and many of their ceremonies and rituals, along with the colorful costumes and other symbols, are all derived directly from the pagan religions of old Rome. The canonized so-called saints replaced the pagan Roman pantheon, which included a collection of idols taken out of the nations conquered by Rome. The idea of a patron saint of anything, such as a place or an occupation, comes directly from Greco-Roman paganism, where gods or demons were given those same roles throughout pagan poetry. The college of cardinals is a shadow of the Roman senate. The diocesan system is quite like a system of provincial government, each bishop a proconsul or procurator. The title cleric signifies an allotment holder, the word being derived from the Greek 680D@ΨP@l meaning one who held an allotment of land, especially to citizens in a foreign country (Liddell & Scott, hereinafter L&S). By the very language used, the romish church lays claim to the entire world! Of course, none of this has any support in the New Testament, neither in the Gospels, nor in the letters of Paul, nor anywhere else. Studying the epistles of the apostles, a very different picture of the intended church life emerges.
Wherever the word church appears in the standard translations of the New Testament, the Greek word is ¦6680F\" (1577, ekklesia). Difficult to discern from those translations, and poisoned by false concepts of the word church, the ¦6680F\" is an assembly of the citizens regularly summoned (L&S), which does not in any way denote an edifice or any systemized organization with a professional hierarchy, but is rather simply the assembly, those of the children of Israel summoned by Yahweh (i.e. Isa. 42:16; 43:1-7; 44:6-7, 21-23; 48:12-14; 49:1-7; Joel 2:32; Matt. 15:24; John 10:3), that body of true Israelite Christians either in the world or in any particular community, depending on the scope of the context. They are called the ¦6680F\" whether or not they happen to be currently assembled together (i.e. Acts 8:3; 9:31; 1 Cor. 14:23). Many in Israel Identity would prefer to translate ¦6680F\" from its components, the out-called or the called-out ones, which should not be deemed incorrect.
Early Christians gathered not to participate in any rigid program of rituals, scripted and repetitious from week to week. Nor did they gather merely to participate in the Lords supper (i.e. 1 Cor. 11:22), which the romish church has also made into a vain ritual (see 1 Cor. 11:17-26). Yahshua set the example of communion for us in a private home at dinner with His loved ones. We should follow His example. Pauls one recorded example of communion is at Acts 27:33-36 (compare Luke 24:30), where praising and offering thanks to Yahweh he broke bread and shared it with his fellows, without pomp or ritual. Rather, early Christians gathered to learn. The primary teaching instrument was the Word. Since books were scarce, being very costly to produce, they had to gather in order to receive the Word (Acts 17:2, 11; Rom. 15:4; 16:26). Paul mentions the scriptures often in his letters, and the record shows that he fully expected every Christian to be able to access them. By contrast, the romish church purposely withheld the scriptures from the common people for nearly a thousand years, even putting to death those who dared to translate them from Greek or Latin so that the common people may understand them. Paul would certainly not have approved of such behavior! Until the 1960s the romish church ceremony and ritual was always conducted entirely in church Latin, which the great majority of its attendants never understood, a practice which is absolutely contrary to Pauls very own words at 1 Cor. 14:9, 19.
Matthew 16:18 notwithstanding, nowhere in the New Testament is it mentioned that there is any one head over the assembly (any particular body of Israelite Christians), except Yahshua Christ Himself, and nowhere in scripture is it mentioned that any local assembly of Christians would be subject to any other authority (i.e. Eph. 5:21 ff.). Paul himself disowned lordship over anyones faith (2 Cor. 1:24). The popes have always claimed the title Vicarius Filii Dei (which sums to 666, counting the value of its letters in the Latin system), which means Substitute for the Son of God. In contrast, Paul wrote at Gal. 3:28 ... all you are one in Christ Yahshua, and at Eph. 5:23 Christ is Head of the assembly ..., where the verb is in the Present tense, and not past or future. Where Paul said at Col. 1:24 Now, I rejoice in these sufferings on your behalf, and I substitute for those deficiencies of the afflictions of the Anointed with my flesh on behalf of the body itself, which is the assembly, the term Anointed is simply another term for the children of Israel, as demonstrated in my recent pamphlet Yahwehs Anointed: The Children of Israel. Paul never wrote anything about Yahshua Christ needing any substitute! It should be apparent that dead men need successors as substitutes! Yahshua Christ, who lives, certainly needs no such thing! There is no support for popery anywhere in the New Testament and especially in the letters of Paul unless one wants to consider a small number of statements which are disjointed, misinterpreted, and taken out-of-context to be such support!
Concerning Matthew 16:18 and the changing of Simons name to Peter, this is mentioned in Mark 3:16, Luke 6:14 and John 1:42, however only Matthews gospel has the statements attributed to Christ in Matt. 16:18-19. Even so, there is no indication that these statements could be an interpolation and they should not be considered as such. They must, however, be examined more closely. The A.V. translates Matt. 16:18 in part: And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter (BXJD@l), and upon this rock (BXJD") I will build My church ..., and there is a distinction between BXJD@l and BXJD" (petros and petra) which is lost in translation. Liddell & Scott define BXJD@l a stone, distinguished from BXJD", and BXJD" a rock, a ledge or shelf of rock ... Properly, BXJD" is a fixed rock, BXJD@l a stone. Consequently, I would render this part of Matt. 16:18: ... you are a stone, yet upon this bedrock I will build My assembly ..., in order to maintain the distinction, while at the same time demonstrating the false claims of the romish church to be but vanity. Even the A.V. rendering of BXJD@l at John 1:42 indicates the correct meaning of the word, stone, where John gives the Hebrew equivalent, spelled kephas in English, and its Greek meaning. Certainly Peter, as he subsequently became known, is but a stone, and is not the rock upon which Yahshua Christ builds His ¦6680F\" (assembly). Even Peter saw this distinction, where in his own epistle he in turn calls his readers living stones and refers to Yahshua Christ as the chief cornerstone (1 Pet. 2:5-6). Paul describes Yahshua Christ as the foundation of His own building (1 Cor. 3:9-11). The authority given to Peter by Yahshua (Matt. 16:19) was also given to the other disciples (Matt. 18:18).
The romish pope-cult claims an unbroken chain of succession from Peter and Paul through a line of bishops of Rome down to today, and claims his authority from Peter, being the rock upon which the romish catholic church is built. An examination of history would reveal that the first claim is a lie: the early bishops of Rome were martyred in the persecutions, and most later bishops were mere political opportunists. An examination of scripture, including Pauls epistles, reveals that the second claim is also a lie. In reality, the romish church is built upon the bones of the saints, both figuratively (i.e. Dan 7:25; Rev. 6:9; 12:17) and literally: for the cults foremost temple, called Saint Peters Basilica, is built upon a large necropolis (see Archaeology Odyssey, March - April 2001, p. 60, City of the Dead)! From the edicts of Justinian, and armed with the forged so-called Donation of Constantine, the romish church gained dominion over all of the Christian assemblies of the @Ζ6@L:X<0 (the Adamic world), and persecuted all those who refused to prostrate themselves before it, such as the Waldenses (Vaudois) and the Celtic church of the British Isles. The romish church has been but a tool for the dragon in his war against the woman, true Israel.
Paul wrote not to the popish one true church at Rome, but to all those in Rome who are beloved of Yahweh, called saints (Rom. 1:7), who were actually distributed among several different assemblies, or churches (i.e. Rom. 16:5), as they were in other places also (i.e. 2 Cor. 8:1; Gal. 1:2). Nowhere did Paul recognize any single leader of the Roman Christians. In the Revelation, Yahshua Christ sent messages to seven different assemblies, all independent, and not to one true church (Rev. 1:11), and Rome was not even considered among these seven! How could even the enemies of popery or churchianity possibly blame the romish catholic beast on Paul? Here it shall be endeavored to examine precisely what Paul did say regarding the organization of the assemblies to which he wrote. Hopefully then it may be realized that Paul cannot in honesty be blamed for the romish catholic church behemoth.
Paul was reckoned as an B`FJ@8@l (652, apostolos), which is a messenger, ambassador, envoy (L&S). In spite of his modern critics, there is no indication that the original eleven apostles ever denied Paul this title, but rather they respected him as such (i.e. Acts 15, 2 Pet. 3:14-16). Once the lost nations of Israel received the gospel, there was no longer a need for such an office, and no successor apostles were ever appointed. Yet Paul also counted himself as a mere servant or minister, i.e. 1 Cor. 3:5; 2 Cor. 6:4; Eph. 3:7; 1 Tim. 1:12, even though his unique concern as an apostle was for all of the assemblies (2 Cor. 11:28), many of which the record shows that he himself founded. Paul had no subordinates, only colleagues: Rom. 16:3, 7, 21; 1 Cor. 3:5, 21-23; 4:1; 16:10; 2 Cor. 1:19, 24; 6:1-4; Phil. 4:3; Col. 1:7; 4:7 ff.; 1 Thess. 3:2; Phm. 1, 2, 24; and partners: 2 Cor. 8:23; Phm. 17. The Greek word FL<,D(`l (4904, sunergos) is working together, joining or helping in work, and as Substantive a fellow-workman, help-mate ... (L&S). The A.V. rendered it helper at Rom. 16:3 and 2 Cor. 1:24, but more correctly fellow laborer at Phil. 4:3; 1 Thess. 3:2 and Phm. 1 and 24, since helper may imply subordination to some, which the Greek FL<,D(`l does not imply. Certainly Paul did not think well of self-promotion (i.e. Phil. 2:3, 7-8), and always wrote in the spirit of the words of Yahshua Christ such as are found at Luke 13:30 and 22:26-27. Evidently, individual members of an assembly communicated with Paul directly (i.e. 1 Cor. 1:11), and his letters were written to be read to the entire assembly, not being merely summarized or interpreted by some priest, but read in full (1 Thes. 5:27; 2 Thes. 2:15), and even read to other assemblies besides those who were initially addressed (i.e. Col. 4:16), which surely also encouraged the copying and distribution of those letters. Paul probably wrote many more epistles than those which we now possess, and the ones which we have themselves indicate that others are missing, i.e. 1 Cor. 5:9 and Col. 4:16.
While Paul in his ministry had allocated resources both human (i.e. 1 Cor. 4:17) and monetary (Rom. 15:31; 2 Cor. 8 and 9), he coerced no one (i.e. 1 Cor. 16:12). His service to the saints at Jerusalem must be understood in the context of the social climate there at the time, and it does not provide a reason or excuse to beg support for missionary work in foreign lands to alien peoples as so often witnessed in this age. The example Paul set for himself was to work for his wages in order to support himself (i.e. Acts 18:3; 1 Cor. 4:12), which he also recommended others to do (1 Thess. 4:11; 2 Thess. 3:9-12; 1 Tim. 5:8). Paul left no model for a professional priesthood which lived off the fat of the community like parasites (Matt. 23:14; Mark 12:40; Luke 20:47), which we see in the romish church and all of its offspring. There is not even a mention of any word meaning priest in connection with a New Covenant assembly in any of Pauls writings! Only the most ignorant and unjust men could blame Paul for that monster which the romish church became, or for modern judeo-churchianity, things certainly not found in any of Pauls instructions.
Here we have mentioned some of the various assemblies (¦6680F\"4) which Paul wrote to. Paul founded Christian assemblies throughout the cities of the Greco-Roman world, as the records in Acts and his epistles attest. Note that Paul did not found the assemblies at Rome, which he wrote to before ever visiting. That the assemblies which Paul founded in Anatolia were valid Christian assemblies is verified both by Peter who wrote to them (1 Pet. 1:1), and also by Yahshua Christ Himself (Rev. 1:11; 2:1 - 3:22) who addressed and even commended some of them. So anyone who questions the validity of Pauls work also questions the validity of 1 Peter, of 2 Peter (3:14-16) and of the Revelation. Only a fool could do such a thing. Hence, all Paul-bashers, of their own volition, make themselves fools!
Paul left no successors [unlike romish pope succession], and warned the assemblies that they were on their own after his final departure, clearly illustrated at Acts 20:17-38. Here Paul tells the leaders of the assemblies gathered to him that they themselves are overseers (¦B\F6@B@l, 1985, episkopos, the word from which bishop comes) of the church of God (the assembly of Yahweh), and no one else! Anyone who reads this account in Acts and then blames Paul for popery and the romish church beast is terribly foolish! Since Paul himself would not rule over the assemblies of Christ (2 Cor. 1:24), surely neither would he recommend that anyone else do so, except Yahshua Christ Himself, for whom there is no substitute (i.e. 1 Cor. 11:3; Eph. 1:22; 4:15; 5:23; Col. 1:18)! So it is evident that Paul left behind him a collection of independent, autonomous Christian assemblies, which both Peter and Yahshua Christ also recognized and acknowledged. Now the internal structure of the local assembly, from the epistles of Paul and elsewhere in the New Testament, shall be examined, beginning with a compilation of the terms used to describe governance within the assembly, or Christian community. The usage of these terms outlined here may be verified with a Strongs Concordance.
¦B\F6@B@l (1985, episkopos) is a noun, and the very word from which the English word bishop is derived, by way of the Vulgar Latin ebiscopus and Medieval English bisceope. ¦B\F6@B@l appears five times in the N.T. and in the A.V. it was translated only once, at Acts 20:28, as overseers in the plural. Otherwise it appears as the borrowed church word bishop at Phil. 1:1; 1 Tim. 3:2; Titus 1:7 and 1 Pet. 2:25. An ¦B\F6@B@l is properly one who watches over, an overseer, guardian ... a public officer, intendant ... (L&S). The related noun ¦B4F6@BZ (1984, episkopκ) is a watching over, visitation ... the office of ¦B\F6@B@l ... generally, an office ... (L&S). In the A.V. ¦B4F6@BZ is the office of a bishop at 1 Tim. 3:1, bishoprick at Acts 1:20 (compare Psa. 109:8), and visitation at Luke 19:44 and 1 Pet. 2:12.
Verbs related to ¦B\F6@B@l are ¦B4F6@BXT (1983, episkopeΗ), and ¦B4F6XBJ@:"4 (1980, episkeptomai). The verb ¦B4F6@BXT is in the A.V. the looking diligently of Heb. 12:15 and taking the oversight of 1 Pet. 5:2. ¦B4F6XBJ@:"4 is in the A.V. to look out at Acts 6:3, and to visit on ten other occasions.
My own translations have rendered the word ¦B\F6@B@l either overseer or supervisor. The word ¦B4F6@BZ is either office or more fully office of supervisor. The transliteration bishop, which is not a translation but is instead a borrowed word interjected into the language for devious church purposes, I have cautiously avoided.
BD,F$bJ,D@l (4245, presbuteros) is the comparative form of BDXF$Ll which is an old man ... Comparative BD,F$bJ,D@l ... elder ... (L&S), and appears over 60 times in the N.T. as a noun, an elder(s), as it usually is in the A.V. The related noun BD,F$LJXD4@< (4244, presbuterion) is a council of elders (L&S). The A.V. renders BD,F$LJXD4@< as elders at Luke 22:66, and estate of the elders at Acts 22:5. However at 1 Tim. 4:14 the A.V. merely transliterates the word, using another church word merely borrowed from Greek: presbytery.
*4V6@<@l (1249, diakonos), a noun, is a servant, waiting-man, Latin minister ... (L&S) and appears 30 times in the N.T. In transliteration, it is the source of the borrowed church word deacon, Old English diacon and Late Latin diaconus. *4V6@<@l is in the A.V. minister(s) 20 times, and servant(s) 7 times, and either of these translations are acceptable, so long as the term minister is understood to mean servant and not taken as some position of authority, which the Greek meaning of the word surely does not bear. On 3 occasions the A.V. renders this word as deacon(s), at Phil. 1:1 and 1 Tim. 3:8 and 12, which is not acceptable since those renderings manipulate the word so as to somehow support the artificial structure of the organized church. *4V6@<@l in those passages should not be distinguished from the other 27 passages in which the word appears.
The related noun *4"6@<\" (1248, diakonia) is the office of a *4V6@<@l, service ... 2. attendance on a duty, ministration ... (L&S) and appears 34 times in the N.T. The A.V. has rendered the word administration(s) twice, to minister once, ministering three times, ministry or ministration 22 times, relief once, service three times, serving once and office once.
The verb *4"6@<XT (1247, diakoneά), is to minister, serve, do service ... II. to furnish, supply ... (L&S) and appears in the A.V. 37 times. The A.V. has rendered the word twice to administer, ten times to serve and 23 times to minister, and all of these are acceptable, as long as one understands the word minister as a verb in the sense of performing a service to the assembly, or for the assembly, and not ruling over it, a perception which the Greek meaning of *4"6@<XT does not support nor convey. Yet like *4V6@<@l, the A.V. rendered *4"6@<XT as to be a deacon twice, at 1 Tim. 3:10 and 13, which following the church Liddell & Scott also mentions, but which is omitted from the definition given above. Of course, *4"6@<XT may mean to be a *4V6@<@l, but deacon is a church word borrowed from Greek for artificial church purposes, and not an English word.
In my own translations, *4V6@<@l is usually servant, but nearly as often minister. *4"6@<XT is usually to serve, but nearly as often to minister. *4"6@<\" is most often a service, but also in various contexts an administration, attendance, ministering, ministry, office, or supply.
It must be mentioned, that in the A.V. a diverse group of 12 other Greek words have on a total of 28 occasions been rendered (to) minister (-eth, -ing, -s, -try), none of which should be taken to imply the holding of any office or position within the assembly, and so they shall not be discussed here.
Now that the basic terms describing offices within an organized Christian assembly have been defined, and the manner in which the A.V. has treated those words has been observed, their application in the New Testament may be discussed, once the meaning of one more Greek word has been examined.
P,4D@J@<XT (5500, cheirotoneά) only appears twice in the N.T., however it is a very important word. Its interpretation determines whether a Christian assembly should select its own leaders, and thereby remain autonomous, or whether some outside, supposed authority selects those leaders, where the assembly then becomes subject to that supposed authority.
Liddell & Scott define P,4D@J@<XT to stretch out the hand, for the purpose of voting ... II ... to vote for, elect, properly by show of hands ... Passive to be elected ... P,4D@J@<02<"4, election, was opposed to 8"P,Γ<, appointment by lot ... and this is the natural meaning of the word, since its components, P,\D and J`<@l, are a hand and a stretching respectively. This definition was derived from the 7th edition of the Liddell & Scott Greek-English Lexicon. The 9th edition of Liddell & Scott does add appoint to the words definition, yet it is obviously following the church since it cites both N.T. passages where the word appears, but no secular authority in order to show that the word was ever actually used in such a manner.
The A.V. rendering of Acts 14:23, And when they had ordained them elders in every church, and had prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord, on whom they believed, contains several errors which shall not be reviewed at length here, but which are discussed in the notes for this passage in my own translation of Acts, part of my forthcoming edition of The Records of Luke. My own translation of Acts 14:23 reads thusly: And elders being elected by them in each assembly, praying with fasting they presented them in whom they had confidence with the authority. The important issue to note here is that P,4D@J@<XT is rendered elected (appearing here in the past tense), and not ordained.
The second occurrence of P,4D@J@<XT in the N.T. is at 2 Cor. 8:19, a verse rendered in part by the A.V.: And not that only, but who was also chosen of the churches to travel with us in this grace ..., language which is quite ambiguous. From my own edition of Pauls epistles, this same pericope reads: and not only, but our fellow traveler has also been handpicked by the assemblies to be endued with this favor..., and handpicked may just have well been elected. The assemblies chose who was going to represent them by traveling to Jerusalem with Paul to present their gift to the needy there; Paul himself did not make the choice. This is even more evident reading the previous verse, 8:18, which I have read: And we have sent along with him that brother of whom there is approval in the good message throughout all of the assemblies.
There are many Greek words which may be rendered appointed, chosen, or ordained in English. The use of P,4D@J@<XT by Luke and Paul in these two passages very clearly shows in both context and definition that the leaders and servants of a Christian assembly should be elected by that assembly. The assembly chooses its own leaders. No one sets leaders over them, as so-called churches do today, and there is no other passage in the New Testament which gives credence to such an idea. The romish church built its authority upon the decrees of Justinian and its own false claims, and the ignorant masses were led to believe them, just as so many still do today. Only the most foolish of men could blame this on Paul of Tarsus.
In the definitions of the words used in the N.T. given previously, we have seen what appear to be two positions of authority within the Christian assembly. These are ¦B\F6@B@l (overseer or supervisor) and BD,F$bJ,D@l (elder). That these are legitimate positions within the assembly is found not only because Paul uses the terms in such a context, but Peter, James and John do likewise, and their so doing verifies many of Pauls statements for us (i.e. 1 Peter 5:1, 2; James 5:14; Rev. 4:4, 10 et al.). That these two offices are actually one and the same is fully evident from the discourse in Acts chapter 20, at vv. 17 and 28, and at Titus 1:5-7 and 1 Pet. 5:1-2. Where the A.V. has ordain at Titus 1:5, the Greek word is 6"2\FJ0:4 (2525, kathistβmξ) which may mean to ordain, appoint but also to establish (L&S). While the meaning of this one word here may be argued, we have already seen the manner by which elders were to be selected, by election of the assembly at Acts 14:23 and 2 Cor. 8:19 (though the election there was for a different purpose), so here I must read 6"2\FJ0:4 as establish.
Peter discusses the role of an elder at 1 Pet. 5:1 ff., where he states that they should lead by example, and not lord (become a dictator) over the assembly. Likewise, Paul discusses the role of supervisor (bishop in the A.V.) at 1 Tim 3:1-7. That elder and supervisor are one and the same role, Joseph Thayer discusses at length in his Greek-English Lexicon Of The New Testament under BD,F$bJ,D@l (4245): That they [@Κ BD,F$bJ,D@4, elders] did not differ at all from the (¦B\F6@B@4) bishops or overseers (as is acknowledged also by Jerome on Tit. i. 5 ...) is evident from the fact that the two words are used indiscriminately, Acts xx. 17, 28; Tit. i. 5, 7, and that the duty of presbyters is described by the terms ¦B4F6@B,Γ<, 1 Pet. v. 1. sq., and ¦B4F6@BZ, Clem. Rom. 1 Cor. 44, 1; accordingly only two ecclesiastical officers, @Κ ¦B\F6@B@4 and @Κ *4V6@<@4 [overseers or supervisors and ministers or servants] and are distinguished in Phil. i. 1; 1 Tim. iii. 1, 8. The title ¦B\F6@B@l denotes the function, BD,F$bJ,D@l the dignity; the former was borrowed from Greek institutions, the latter from the [Judaean] [brackets mine, but not parentheses]. James also mentioned elders in his epistle (5:4), and they are discussed again by Paul at 1 Tim. 5:17 ff.
So we see that overseer or supervisor (A.V. bishop) and elder are one and the same office, and we have seen that the men of the assembly are elected to this office by the assembly, as previously discussed referring to Acts 14:23 and the verb P,4D@J@<XT. From the instructions given by Paul at 1 Tim. 3:1-7 and 5:17-24 and elsewhere, it is also evident that an assembly may have more than one elder at any given time. It is also evident that the assembly should consider men who have at one time or another served in the capacity of a teacher of scripture (a function performed by a minister) when filling a position of elder, as Paul instructs at 1 Tim. 3:2. The elder is a leader of and an example to the assembly, but not its lord or ruler (1 Pet. 5:3). Yahshua Christ is the one and only Head over one and all in every Christian assembly: 1 Cor. 11:3; Eph. 1:22; 4:15; 5:23; Col. 1:18 et al. There is no prescription for popery in the New Testament, and especially in the letters of Paul. In the temporary absence of Yahshua Christ, scripture is the only valid authority: Acts 17:2, 11; 18:24, 28; Rom. 15:4; 1 Cor. 11:2; 14:37 (v. 2 Pet. 3:15-16); Gal. 2:5; 6:6; Col. 3:16; 1 Tim. 6:3; 2 Tim. 2:15; 3:15-17; 4:2 et al.
As we have also seen Thayer agree, the only other office in the Christian assembly is *4V6@<@l, minister or servant (sometimes deacon in the A.V.). From the definition of *4V6@<@l discussed previously, we have seen that minister, servant and deacon are all one and the same. Paul discusses the qualifications of ministers at 1 Tim. 3:8-13. Note that in 1 Tim. 3, Pauls instructions disqualify every single romish catholic cardinal, bishop and priest, along with many of the ministers of other denominations, from being legitimate servants of the assembly of Yahweh.
Any person at any time may serve as a minister to an assembly, and even voluntarily (1 Cor. 16:15), although it is clear from 1 Tim. 3:8-13, in conjunction with other statements of Paul, that minister may also be an office in the assembly to which one or more persons may be elected, each performing some specified function for an extended period of time. These may be teachers, or messengers, or caretakers of the elderly, or any other capacity which the community of Christians may require or even desire. Eph. 4:11-12 lists some of the functions which a minister may be chosen to perform, and other functions are evident elsewhere, such as at Acts 6:1-7; Rom. 16:1; 2 Tim. 2:2 and 1 Pet. 4:10-11. So a minister is one who serves the assembly in a certain task, or even multiple tasks, depending upon his or her abilities. A minister is a servant, not an authority figure, and surely his work must be monitored by the overseers. Various gifts beneficial to the assembly are discussed in Romans 12 and 1 Corinthians 12. At Rom. 12:7 *4"6@<\", ministering or administration is listed as one of these gifts, for which note also 1 Cor. 12:5. Yet 1 Cor. 14:26 ff. reinforces the notion that any member of the assembly, and not just a selected minister, may share his gifts, insights or abilities with the assembly.
While women may serve the assembly in certain capacities, and were even counted by Paul as colleagues (Rom. 16:1, 3; 1 Cor. 16:19; Phil. 4:3), they are forbidden to speak in the assembly (1 Cor. 14:34), and forbidden from teaching or being chosen as elders or having any position of authority over men (1 Tim. 2:12). So while women may hold positions as ministers, there are certain limitations which by necessity must be imposed.
All men of age (20 years: Num. 1:3 et al.) in a Christian community are equals (i.e. 1 Cor. 12:12-26; James 2:1 ff.), with a certain amount of deference given to those who are older than us who are upright members of the community (1 Pet. 5:5). As we have seen, an elder or overseer is not a lord or boss, but a leader who teaches by example. The verb rendered to rule in the A.V. at Rom. 12:8 and 1 Tim 3:4, 5 and 5:17 is BD@ΔFJ0:4 (4291, proοstβmi) and means merely to lead, govern, preside, direct, manage, etc. It is most literally to stand before and not rule (for which there are many other Greek terms) as the organized church would have it of their appointed bishops, something Paul would certainly not recommend. We have also seen that a minister is not an authority figure, but is a servant. A minister is not a preacher but may be a teacher, or a proclaimer of the Word, or an administrator of some other task. Yahshua Christ, and by extension His Word in scripture (New Testament and Old), is the only authority. All matters should be brought before the assembly and judged by the Word, which shall be discussed at greater length below. One important difference from the Old Testament judges-era model is explained in 1 Cor. 5: those who have erred terribly should at the most be excluded from the community, rather than condemned (stoned), and Yahweh will see that they are judged.
Surely the above advice given by Paul at 2 Thess. 3:14, 1 Tim 6:3 and Tit. 3:10 must be applied to every and any member of the assembly, including ministers and elders, and therefore 1 Tim. 5:19 allows for an impeachment process of those officers who go astray. This must necessarily be conducted before the assembly, which would decide the issue. Officers elected by the assembly must therefore be answerable only to the assembly. My own translation of 1 Tim. 5:19 reads thusly: An accusation against an elder you must not receive publicly, except by two or three witnesses, and the main difference with the A.V. is in reading the Greek word ¦6J`l (1622, ektos), which is discussed at length in the notes to my edition of Pauls letters. Of course Pauls admonishment here, where he cites Deut. 19:15, should stand for both elders and any other member of the assembly.
The Christian assembly, being autonomous and answering to no other authority except the Word, must therefore assume responsibility for itself and not turn to secular authorities to fulfill its needs. Those who look to the governments of man to solve their problems invite the government to become involved in every facet of their lives. The government becomes their god. One may deny the veracity of such a broad statement, yet this is the very dilemma which we in America suffer today. The Christian assembly provides for its own members and resolves its own social problems. Such is clear in the examples given at Acts 2:44-46; 4:32-37 and 6:1-7. Note also in chapter 6 of Acts, when the apostles recommended that men be selected to serve the assembly by managing a particular necessity, that the people chose the men, and not the apostles. This example, and those given here previously, show again that the people of the assembly choose their own leaders and ministers. Not even Peter, James or John would dictate by appointing these men over the assembly. Why should any organized church (at the time of the apostles or since, or even in the Identity assemblies of today) assume that they have a right to do otherwise? Certainly Paul wouldnt have, as we have already observed here. These examples of Christian social life set forth in Acts are also evident in Pauls epistles, for example at 1 Tim. 5:1-16.
The Christian assembly providing
duties of community to its own members, the members must look only to the
assembly for those services. This is explained by Paul concerning matters of
justice at 1 Cor. 5 and 6, (chapters poorly translated in the A.V.). Since the
secular authorities disdain the laws of Yahweh, they cannot judge righteously,
nor provide for a community righteously, and should therefore be avoided by
Christians. My own translation of 1 Cor. 5:12-13 reads thusly: 12
What is it to me to judge those outside? Not at all should you judge those
within you. 13 But those outside Yahweh judges; you will expel the wicked from amongst
yourselves. The Christian
assembly must expel wrongdoers, and not judge (i.e. condemn) them, trusting that
Yahweh Himself will see to it that they are treated in accordance with their
deeds. Again, my own translation of 1 Cor. 6:1-11 reads thusly: 1
Dare any of you, having a matter against another, have it decided before the
unrighteous, and not before the saints? 2 Do you not know that the
saints will judge the cosmos? And if by you the cosmos is judged, are you
unworthy of the smallest trials? 3 Do you not know that we will
judge Messengers, let alone the things of this life? 4 So then if
you should have trial of things pertaining to this life, those who esteem
themselves least in the assembly, those will be set to judge. 5 I
speak from respect to you. So is there among you not even one wise, who would
be able to decide among his brethren? 6 But brother is brought to
trial by brother, and this before those not believing! 7 So then
already there is altogether discomfiture among you, seeing that you have
matters for judgment among yourselves. Why would you not still more be wronged?
Why would you not still more be defrauded? 8 You would rather do
wrong and defraud, and this of a brother? 9 Or do you not know that
the unjust will not inherit the kingdom of Yahweh? Do not be led astray:
neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminates, nor
homosexuals, 10 nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor
railers, nor rapacious shall inherit the kingdom of Yahweh. 11 And
these things some of you may have been, but you have cleansed yourselves;
moreover you have been sanctified, moreover you have been deemed fit, in the
name of Prince Yahshua Christ, and in the Spirit of our God.
In 1 Cor. 6:1 Paul tells the assembly not to sue for justice before the unrighteous, or non-Christian, secular authorities. In 6:2-3 Paul tells the assembly that the saints, Israelites who have accepted the gospel and have returned to Yahweh, separating themselves from the evils of the world and from the unrighteous, shall judge the cosmos or world (Adamic society), and so they certainly should be able to settle their own matters among themselves. In 6:4 Paul advises that they select those who esteem themselves least, i.e. men who are of a humble disposition, in order to judge such matters. In 6:5-6 Paul expresses his own shock and disbelief that no one among the assembly would be able to judge such matters, and that one Christian would venture to sue another before a non-believer. In 6:7-8 he continues to admonish them for having such problems among themselves at all, and also warns them that they would probably only be wronged even further by the secular authorities. Just think of all the jews, mamzers, and other assorted heathens who sit as judges in America today! And not one of them could ever be righteous before Yahweh!
The local ¦6680F\", assembly or Christian community, answers to no authority except the Word. There is no basis for a single one-world command structure such as the romish catholic church is organized. Paul certainly never recommended such a thing! For this reason, and much of what follows is of my own opinion, I believe that much latitude is given to the local assembly, to organize and regulate itself based upon its own custom and economic status. I would think that the number of elders (supervisors) elected, the number of ministers (servants), whether or not compensation is granted for time spent in service, or if any of these positions are full-time or part-time, are all dependent upon the size, economic status, and desire of each particular assembly. The assembly itself should decide the authority of its elders, powers delegated to them, functions of ministers, and any other manner of government. Because the children of Israel have not yet been fully restored from their state of punishment, secular authorities should be obeyed (Rom. 13; 1 Pet. 2:11-17; Matt. 22:21 [Mark 12:17; Luke 20:25]; John 19:11), but not placed before Yahweh (Acts 5:29). Surely it may sound as if the function of the Christian assembly is democratic, but this is certainly not the case since the governing authority (or constitution) is the Word, and therefore the will of the masses is restricted. The assembly has no authority to disobey or circumvent the Word for any reason!
Are elder, or overseer, and minister, or servant, full-time positions? Should these officers receive compensation from the assembly, living off the good will of the assembly? Although such need not be encouraged, it is not unlawful, i.e. Rom. 15:27 and 1 Cor. 9:1-18 (where Paul also explains why he did not marry, and that he need not have lived in poverty both contrary to romish church dogma). The example which Paul made was to preach the gospel without burdening the assembly, without cost to the hearers, i.e. 1 Cor. 9:18; 10:33; 2 Cor. 11:7; 12:13; 2 Thess. 3:8; and also to work at labor in order to support himself: Acts 18:3; 1 Cor. 4:12. He recommended to his followers that they follow his example: 1 Thess. 4:11; 2 Thess. 3:9-12; 1 Tim 5:8.
While Paul explains in 1 Cor. 9:1-18 why he and Barnabas chose not to marry, he instructs that elders and ministers of the Christian assembly not only should be married, but they must be married. This is not hypocritical on Pauls part. It has been previously explained here that the office of apostle was quite unique, and required much travel from those who held it, who also endured much hardship. All of the apostles were very young when they were selected, including Paul (Acts 7:58), and evidently at least several of them put their mission ahead of the prospects of marriage. Traveling with a family would impose a great burden and expense on a man. Paul traveled for nearly 30 years! Neither could a mere laborer afford both to travel and support a family with a home. To properly conduct the office of apostle in a simple Christian lifestyle, having a family along would be greatly inhibitive.
The A.V. usually translated the imperative form of Greek verbs as let..., rather than must.... My own translation of 1 Tim. 3:1-13 reads as follows: 1 Trustworthy is this saying. If anyone strives for an office of supervisor, he is desirous of good work. 2 Therefore it is necessary for that supervisor to be irreproachable, a husband of one wife, sober, discreet, orderly, hospitable, inclined to teach, 3 not a drunkard, not a brawler but reasonable, not contentious, not loving money, 4 governing his own house well, having children in subjection with all reverence, 5 (now if one does not know to govern his own house, how would he care for an assembly of Yahweh?) 6 Not a neophyte, lest blinded with pride he would fall into condemnation of the False Accuser. 7 Now it is necessary also to have a good accreditation from those outside, lest he fall into a reproach and a trap of the False Accuser. 8 In like manner reverent ministers, not double-tongued, not addicted to much wine, not shamefully desirous of gain, 9 holding the mystery of the faith with a clean conscience. 10 But even they must be scrutinized first, then being void of offense they must minister. 11 Likewise reverent wives, not slanderous, sober, trustworthy in all. 12 Ministers must be husbands of one wife, governing their children and their own houses well. 13 For they that are ministering well obtain for themselves a good degree and much liberty in faith which is in Christ Yahshua. Again it must be mentioned, these remarks by Paul alone disqualify nearly, if not every, romish catholic pope, cardinal, bishop or priest from service to the true assemblies of Yahweh, and disqualify many of those belonging to the protestant sects as well. Only an ignorant, blasphemous, self-serving man could possibly blame Paul for these organized religious sects, since Paul himself refutes them at every turn!
There is no prescription in Pauls letters for popes, cardinals, or priests. All references to
priests in Pauls letters are in the
context of the Old Covenant, where the performance of prescribed rituals at
precise times, along with other duties necessitated a professional priesthood.
Romish sacramentalism and their priesthood are vestiges of Babylonian paganism
readily adopted by the later romish church and adapted to their perverted
interpretations of the New Testament in order to satisfy their desire for
control over the people. None of this can be blamed on Paul, who consistently
states in his epistles that the rituals, works
of the law in the A.V., have been
done away with in the New Covenant (i.e. Rom. 3:20, 27, 28; 4:2, 6; 9:11, 32;
11:6; Gal. 2:16; 3:2, 5, 10; Heb. 6:1; 9:14). Even the Melchizedek priesthood
mentioned by Paul at Hebrews 5:6, 10; 6:20 and 7:1-21, after Psalm 110:4, is
said to belong to none other than Yahshua Christ. Again, any man who blames
Paul for romish churchianity and its offspring is profusely ignorant.
I must also add,
that not only many of the early so-called church
fathers, but many commentators unto
this very day have looked to earthly models, drawn from our own historical
experience, as the basis for church structure. They have not realized that
there is no proper model in our recorded experience which demonstrates how an
assembly of the children of Yahweh should operate, except in His only guidance:
the scant instructions which we have in the epistles of the New Testament, and
what we see in the gospels and Acts. This model offered by the apostles remains
outside of our experience, since it has never been tried to any significant
extent, and since those who have tried it have been persecuted, suppressed, or
even destroyed by the romish church or various governments, much of what we do
know of those groups which have tried to live a true Christian life is mere propaganda!
Today there are a few groups in America which have come close to a true
Christian model of community living, such as the Amish or the Mennonites, yet
even they rely upon the larger outside community (i.e. tourist dollars) for a
good part of their sustenance. So many commentators have accepted the structure
adopted by the romish church, a blending of old Romes paganism and its model of imperial government, as if such a
model were based on scripture, which it certainly is not! Yet others look to the Judaean sanhedrin
as a proper model, which it is not since it was sectarian and oligarchical.
Many other alternative models are based on greed and a desire to concentrate
power, while appearing on the surface to be righteous. Mormonism is one example
of these. We have seen here that the authority of assembly elders should not
transcend the immediate community, each which should elect its own elders. Any
more than that is not Scriptural.
There is not one
legitimate religious authority with U.S. Government tax-exempt status (IRS
501c3). Such status is a reward by the government granted only if the
organization holding it agrees to follow certain guidelines. True Christianity,
an exclusive, racist, discriminating doctrine, cannot possibly be found
operating within those guidelines! That true Christianity is racist can be
found as quickly as one can examine the language of Matt. 13:47-48 or 25:31-46,
which by themselves should be enough to support the statements offered here,
although many more scriptures follow suit. Yet this is only one issue albeit
a major one where tax-exempt churches capitulate to government guidelines. Bob
Jones University in South Carolina
did this very thing in recent years, being one prominent and public example.
Yet as Yahweh raised judges and leaders for the children of Israel as He deemed
it necessary, so even now will He raise true ministers and elders for His
people. As the children of Israel awaken, and get out of Babylon (which
includes all of those tax-exempt phony churches),
even though we must continue to render unto Caesar what is Caesars, then as we render to Yahweh what is
His, Babylon will crumble under its own weight: for not enough of the people of
Yahweh shall be left to support it any longer.
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