Martin Luther in Life and Death, Part 2: The Devil in Luther's Dreams

William Finck
ChrSat20150131-LutherLifeDeath02.mp3

The Devil in Luther's Dreams, Part 1

Last week, in the first installment of this series, which we shall re-title “Martin Luther in Life and Death”, we gave a background on the life of the Reformer, and the events which sent him on the course which he followed. To fully understand Martin Luther as well as this entire period of German history, we must understand the work of John Wycliffe, and the earlier and notable Czech reformer Jan Huss, who inspired the Hussite Wars in rebellion against the Roman Catholic Church in the opening quarter of the 15th century, a hundred years before Luther's own contentions with the church were published. Later, even Luther considered himself a Hussite. We shall present pertinent information about these men in the near future.

However now, in order to understand the pressing need for what is called the Reformation, we must understand what it was that men such as Luther sought to reform. His initial desires were not to break from the Roman Church, but to bring Church policies into line with Scripture. When he saw that was impossible, only then the Lutheran Church was formed. Last week, presenting a summary of Luther's life and some of the myths surrounding it which was written by John Tiffany, we saw the story of The Devil and Luther's Inkwell. Because Luther had written that he “threw his inkwell at the devil”, the myth arose that he was pestered at night by a demon and he had thrown his inkwell to chase it away. Yet it is more likely that Luther was describing the publication of his 95 Theses as the throwing of his inkwell at the devil, the devil being the Roman Church itself.

The Epistles of Paul - 1 Corinthians Part 18: Eternal Life through the Spirit

William Finck
1 Corinthians 15:24-58
CHR20150130-1Cor18.mp3

The Epistles of Paul - 1 Corinthians Part 18: Eternal Life through the Spirit

In the first portion of chapter 15 of his first epistle to the Corinthians Paul of Tarsus discussed several basic but important and foundational Christian concepts. Firstly, he explained the reality of the resurrection of Christ as it was attested by so many witnesses. Then he illustrated the fact that if Christ was resurrected then the children of Israel could also be fully assured of such a resurrection, since Christ had been slain for the sins of the children of Israel so that they may indeed share in such a resurrection, as promised by the Scriptures. Saying these things, Paul also interjected that if one is outside of these promises then one's faith is vain, and we illustrated how the King James Version and other translations of the New Testament ignore Paul's language in this regard.

Paul also asserted that not only the children of Israel, but also the entire Adamic race shall be resurrected, where in verse 22 he wrote that “Just as in Adam all die, then in that manner in Christ all shall be produced alive.” This assertion summarizes the same things which Paul had explained at length a couple of years later in chapter 5 of his epistle to the Romans. The children of Israel have a promise not only of eternal life, but also of justification. This promise is expressed in many places in scripture where the Word of God assures that all of the sins of the children of Israel shall indeed be cleansed. This promise is also expressed explicitly in Isaiah chapter 45 where it says that “In the LORD shall all the seed of Israel be justified, and shall glory.” However the rest of the Adamic race shall also be resurrected, and they too shall face the judgment of Christ in regard to their works.

The Epistles of Paul - 1 Corinthians Part 17: Resurrecting Adam

William Finck
1 Corinthians 15:1-24
CHR20150123-1Cor17.mp3

The Epistles of Paul - 1 Corinthians Part 17: Resurrecting Adam

Among the major points of discussion over the first 6 chapters of Paul's first epistle to the Corinthians was the division among the members of the assembly because apparently many individuals were opting to follow different personalities, choosing favorite apostles, rather than committing themselves to following Christ. Another point of discussion was the fornicator of 1 Corinthians chapter 5 and the action which the assembly is required to take in such instances in order to preserve its own integrity. In regard to this, in 1 Corinthians chapter 6 Paul illustrated how Christians should judge among themselves according to the judgment of God, rather than turning to worldly courts and the judgment of men.

Then for 8 more chapters of this epistle, Paul answered the questions posed to him in a letter by members of the assembly for which he had written this epistle as a response. Therefore Paul discussed things such as marriage and virginity in an age of persecution, Christian survival in a world of pagan idolatry, he answered questions concerning the conduct of his own ministry in Christ, and then he offered a lengthy discussion of general Christian deportment. In that last discussion, Paul spoke of how Christians should behave towards one another in their assemblies, how they should love and care for and esteem one another above themselves, and about the various gifts which God grants to men and how they should be dispensed, whether they be spiritual gifts or carnal gifts.

Druids and Early Christianity in Britain - Christogenea Europe, January 18th, 2015

William Finck
CHR-Euro-2015-01-18_SL.mp3

Sven's notes are found in his article The Druids and the Early British Church

The following notes represent the citations from various books quoted by William Finck during the audio presentation. The writings of Bede, Gildas and Nennius are found in the References section here at Christogenea.

From The Annals of Ireland translated from The Original Irish of The Four Masters by Owen Connellan in 1846, from a footnote on the Druids found on page 75:

About nine centuries before the Christian era, according to our ancient annalists, Tigearnmas, monarch of Ireland, of the race of Heremon, was the first who introduced Druidism and the worship of idols into Ireland; and it is stated, that while worshipping the idol Crom Cruach, the chief deity of the Irish Druids, along with a vast assemblage of his subjects at Magh Sleacht in Breifne, on the feast of Samhuin, (one of their deities, the day dedicated to whose rites was the same as the last day of October), he himself, with three-fourths of his people, were struck dead by lightning, as a punishment from heaven for his introduction of idolatry into the kingdom. Magh Sleachta signifies either the Plain of Adoration, or the Plain of Slaughter, and obtained its name from the Druidical rites performed there, or from the human sacrifices which the Pagan Irish offered up to the deities of Druidism, as the Canaanites offered up their’s to Moloch. In this place stood a famous temple of the Druids, with the great idol Crom Cruach surrounded by twelve minor idols, composed of pillar stones, and decorated with heads of gold....

Martin Luther in Life and Death, Part 1: Did Luther Change the World?

William Finck
ChrSat20150117-LutherLifeDeath01.mp3

Martin Luther: In Life and Death, Part 1: Did Luther Change the World?

Martin Luther's famous “95 Theses” were written in 1517 and are generally considered to be the catalyst for the Protestant Reformation, however there were certainly many related historical events and many martyrs of reform before Luther came along. Popularly the theses are more fully titled The Ninety-Five Theses on the Power and Efficacy of Indulgences. My own translation of the original Latin title might be A Dispute Regarding the Proclamation of the Power of Indulgences (Disputatio pro declaratione virtutis indulgentiarum). However in spite of its title, besides the sale of indulgences the disputation also protests against many other clerical abuses. It especially mentions nepotism [favoring of family members by church superiors], simony [the purchase of offices within the church], usury [which had recently been allowed by Rome], and pluralism [agreement that other religions have legitimacy, which allows multiculturalism and leads to ecumenism – in Rome at the time, this primarily allowed for the legitimacy of Jews].

October 31st is called Reformation day, which is celebrated as a religious holiday in many places in Europe. Some sources state that on this day in 1521 Luther appeared before the Diet of Worms. That is not true. Other sources say that October 31st was the day in 1517 that Luther had nailed his 95 “theses” to the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany. Whether the original publication of his disputation with the Roman Catholic Church ever happened in precisely that manner is also arguable, and here we will see that and several other myths about Luther called into question. Whether or not the story is true, it has for five centuries been used as a powerful symbol representing the beginnings of the Protestant Reformation.

Martin Luther: A Lightning Bolt May Have Changed the World—or Not

William Finck

This article originally appeared in the July-August, 2008 issue of The Barnes Review

Martin Luther: A Lightning Bolt May Have Changed the World—or Not

by JOHN TIFFANY

THE PROTESTANT REFORMATION got rolling during the first half of the 16th century when Martin Luther (1483-1546), a German Catholic priest, attempted to reform the Roman Church most notably by declaring that Christians should focus upon faith as a means to salvation. He feared that through selling “indulgences,” the church came perilously close to selling salvation to the rich. Luther believed that the ultimate power of decision as to who would be saved was vested in God, not the church....

The church responded by excommunicating Luther, which only caused him to start up a new church, the Lutheran denomination, and to translate the Bible into the common speech of the German people so they could read it directly. The success of the Lutheran revolution led the Roman church to launch its own “Counterreformation,” much to the relief of those who remained Catholic. With the Council of Trent, the church doctrine was modified and unified, many of the questionable practices of the church, such as the selling of indulgences, were abolished. The Council of Trent also demanded that all Bible texts be taken literally insofar as possible. The intention was to make things as clear as possible to Catholics at a time when the Protestants were already separating into different branches amid much confusion.

Putting Adolf Hitler in Perspective

William Finck

The video below was banned from Youtube, and Christogenea received a warning for posting it, on May 8th, 2019.

Adolf Hitler was born 130 years ago on April 20th, 2019. Soon the entire world shall know that Hitler was right!

Germany's struggle against internationalism and slavery to the Rothschild banks was a struggle against world Jewry because it is world Jewry which has invented captalism, and which is the beneficiary of the capitalist system that seeks to impose internationalism and global economic slavery on every nation. It's not the "bank", it's the anti-Christ Jews!

For more see the Mein Kampf Project at Christogenea.org and The Greatest Story Never Told.

The Epistles of Paul - 1 Corinthians Part 16: Christian Assembly

William Finck
1 Corinthians 14:1-40
CHR20150116-1Cor16.mp3

The Epistles of Paul - 1 Corinthians Part 16: Christian Assembly

In 1 Corinthians chapter 11 Paul of Tarsus had been addressing Christian deportment within the assemblies of the Body of Christ. From there, in chapters 12 and 13 he discussed the various gifts which each member of the Body receives from God. While Paul does not speak explicitly of fleshly gifts, he does mention that various members of the Body are granted certain abilities, or are given greater wealth and therefore they have the ability to share in carnal things, and he lists among the noble things which a Christian may do which are generally perceived by men as being fleshly or worldly. Therefore it should be perceived that those with abilities, or those who have wealth, are also the recipients of spiritual gifts and that they also should use those gifts to edify the assembly in the same manner as those who interpret prophecy or those who speak in tongues.

All of this is evident in 1 Corinthians chapter 13, because in the very same place where Paul had written that “if I have the gift of interpretation of prophecy, and I know all mysteries and all knowledge, and if perhaps I have all the faith so as to remove mountains, but I do not have love, I am naught” he also wrote that “if perhaps I employ all my possessions in feeding others, and if I would hand over my body in order that I may boast, but I do not have love, I am due nothing.”

The Epistles of Paul - 1 Corinthians Part 15: Christian Love

William Finck
1 Corinthians 12:28 – 1 Corinthians 13:13
CHR20150109-1Cor15.mp3

Tonight will not be one of my longer presentations, but only because for the most part I wanted to limit the discussion to this one topic, while at the same time not beating it to death. The subtitle of tonight's presentation is Christian Love, and I am certain we all have our favorite passages to quote in relation to that topic. The children of Israel have yet to practice that Christianity which is found in absolute brotherly love on any great scale, yet it is one of the lessons of history that they must learn before perfecting their obedience to Christ. However misguided love probably does greater harm to the children of Israel than practically any other sin, especially since misguided love leads them into blasphemy of the Holy Spirit and to their very own demise.

The Epistles of Paul - 1 Corinthians Part 15: Christian Love

In 1 Corinthians chapter 11 Paul of Tarsus had turned from addressing aspects of Christian deportment in the pagan world to addressing aspects of Christian deportment within the assembly of Christ itself. However it must be remembered that from chapter 7 of this epistle Paul continues to address subjects which the Corinthians had inquired of him. For that reason Paul's discussions of these topics are not as complete as they may have been if he had intended to write essays explaining them, but instead they are based upon things about which the Corinthians had questions in relation to the things which they had already been taught. Therefore it is necessary to have a thorough understanding of all preceding Scripture before one may understand Paul, because Scripture is Paul's authority and the guide for Paul's worldview. Additionally, it is necessary to understand as much of Paul's own letters as possible, because his letters as a whole are a reflection of his study of Scripture as well as his reception of the Gospel. No one statement by Paul can forcibly be interpreted as if to conflict with either the balance of his own writings or with the Holy Writ. If one has such an interpretation of anything which Paul wrote, one must reconsider it, rather than unwittingly projecting one's own hypocrisy onto Paul of Tarsus.

The Epistles of Paul - 1 Corinthians Part 14: Inspiration and the Kingdom of God

William Finck
1 Corinthians 12:1-27
CHR20150102-1Cor14.mp3

The Epistles of Paul - 1 Corinthians Part 14: Inspiration and the Kingdom of God.

In Romans chapter 4, Paul discussed the certainty of the promise of the faith to the seed of Abraham, to those nations which indeed had sprung from the loins of Abraham. In 1 Corinthians chapter 10, Paul identified the nations round about the Corinthians, those nations which were all practicing pagan idolatry, as Israel according to the flesh. Paul had told the Romans in Romans chapter 4 that Abraham was their forefather. Paul had likewise told the Corinthians in 1 Corinthians chapter 10 that their own ancestors were with Moses in the Exodus, ascertaining that they were also Israelites. An investigation of ancient history proves the veracity of these statements, and presenting 1 Corinthians chapter 10 we exposited some of that historical verification. The Romans and the Corinthians were from just two of those nations which had actually descended from the literal seed of Abraham through Jacob-Israel, and Paul brought them the Gospel in demonstration of the truth of the Word of Yahweh, that “the promise might be sure to all the seed”.