All Comments (4)

Blessedness is not only an increase in power or wealth. It is an increasing awareness of God's presence in your life. There are two types of death physical and spiritual. The spiritual death is a seperation from God without our knowledge. It takes place because of sins and even a haughty attitude. The light of God decreases in our life and leads to spiritual death. The experience of baptism and born of water and spirit opens us back to a connection with God. It is over this death that God's saving grace has the power to save us from. As there are two Sabbaths. One is the seventh day for the jewish people and another the Lord's rest. As there are two circumcision one physical and another spiritual as there are two jews one physical another spiritual jews Romans 2 v 29 He is a jew who is inwardly and circumcision is of the heart in the Spirit not in the letter who praise is from God not from man. As there are two temples one Spiritual and other physical.

Perhaps this essay would have been more understandable and substantive if it had been limited to two words. "I agree," for instance.

As it is, the Bishop manages to say nothing in two short paragraphs.

But I love you, bishop.

compassionately,
Henry
(please forgive me)

Bishop, given, "Christianity also speaks to us of the purpose of life: the object and source of that – love; the grounds for that - compassion and the reason for that –forgiveness which he finds so universal. From all this comes the gift of freedom" I'm puzzled by how all this leads to freedom.

Maybe it's how free are you? I mean, the 10 commandments for example of God's law don't leave much room for a lot of freedom do they? Love they neighbor but keep thy hands off thy neighbor's wife, (spouse)?

All the things you expect about God may well be so. The problem is with knowing it's God's and not someone else's love, compassion and forgiveness.

To wit: http://www.hoax-buster.org/sellyoursoul What a clever trap for Devil to snare the non suspecting than to claim His book, the Bible is God's word. Don't you think Lucifer is a clever one shackling us with His book, deceiving us into thinking it's God's word?

Do you have anything to tell us what God wants, demands of us even other than the Bible? Intuition maybe? Love, compassion and forgiveness aren't out of reach are they? Maybe the Bible has put them out of reach?

Dear Bishop:

You are deeply educated--I am almost 100% sure you do not really find "religious wars (past and present) all the more puzzling" given what is said about religions.

Such wars are conducted in line with promoting religious adherence, of championing given religious points of views and attendant ways of life. These are organizational aims; these are motivated by the objective of spreading or protecting existing spheres of influence of given religious set-ups. They really have little to do with faith, indeed, in a numebr of cases, the fundamentals of faith are considered hindrances to the pursuit of religious (and other) hegemonies.

All the "Gods" of the "major world religions" indubitably dwell on the need for love, compassion, and forgiveness (and, conversely, for justice and peace and the happiness of mankind). These, verily, are the attributes of these Gods and, ipso facto, of religions. Yet, they (major religions), at one time or another, somewhere, are made to be the reason and purpose of conquests, of the subjugation of one people by another, of wars. All entailing doing hating, doing violence to, and otherwise hardening hearts to the plight, dreams, and lives of fellowmen. What drove them? Not faith. But religion gone awry.

God speaks to us of love, compassion and fogiveness. Our reply can not be in words alone, but in deeds. If we be faithful to our God. If we be "in good faith." Our religion (or religious affiliation, or such) must never stand in the way, or it loses its reason for being, its very soul.
.
.