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Hope For Pedophiles And LGBT, et al.

Everybody has problems with proclivities; which Webster's defines as inclinations or predispositions toward something; especially strong inherent inclinations toward something objectionable.

Everybody also has problems with predilections too; which Webster's defines as a natural liking for something; viz: a natural tendency to do or to be attracted to something.

Those definitions are keyed to the words "natural" and "inherent". So then what we're talking about here are not conditioned responses, nor acquired tastes.

In the passage below; Paul's pronoun "we" included himself as someone with natural-born longings and desires for bad things.

● Eph 2:2-4 . .We too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest.

Paul's pronoun "all" torpedoes every Christian claiming to be born free of one or more sinful predilections.

The point is: unless something were done to remedy human nature's sinful proclivities and predilections, nobody would qualify for citizenship in either the new cosmos or the holy city depicted in the 21st chapter of Revelation. Everybody, no exceptions, even Christ's apostles, would be barred entry even though Christ gave his life as a ransom to rescue their souls from the wrath of God.

The problem is: forgiveness isn't a cure; viz: forgiven pedophiles and LGBT go right on as pedophiles and LGBT just like always and were they to attempt to suppress their desires throughout eternity, I think they would eventually go mad with a nervous breakdown because they would be fighting against nature; which everybody instinctively knows is a fight that can't be won without suffering serious psychological consequences.

So then, it's futile to tell pedophiles and LGBT to stop giving in to their desires if they want to get to heaven and stay in heaven because that's not a viable, long-range solution to their problem. The problem is not their conduct; no, their conduct is merely a symptom; and as every informed person knows: you don't treat an illness by treating its symptoms-- that method has been proven ineffective.

God's remedy for pedophiles and LGBT is radical, to say the least; but it's the only way He can get them into heaven so they can stay in heaven.

First off: He doesn't remove their longings and desires; instead God regards their natural-born condition as so far gone that it can't be treated. In other words: God throws the baby out with the bath water, so to speak, and starts from scratch with a new baby.

● John 3:3 . . I tell you the truth: no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.

The birth about which Christ spoke isn't an option; no, it's a must.

● John 3:7 . .You must be born again.

That goes for everybody, not just pedophiles and LGBT, because Christ said "no one" can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again; which of course has to include all the holy people in the Old Testament too or otherwise the words "no one" are just hot air and serve no useful purpose.

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Christian Defined

● Acts 11:26 . . in Antioch the disciples were for the first time called Christians.

Webster's defines a Christian as somebody who professes belief in the teachings of Jesus Christ.

According to that definition; it isn't necessary to actually believe in Christ's teachings in order to qualify as a Christian; it's only necessary to say you do.

People don't even have to know what Christ's teachings are; they only have to say they believe in them.

Nor is it necessary to put Christ's teachings into practice in order to qualify as a Christian; it's only necessary to say you believe in them.

Webster's is a very broad definition, but if all denominations complied with it, I think they'd all be a whole lots more tolerant; and get along a whole lots better too.

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Savior Defined

● Matt 8:23-25 . . And when he got into the boat, his disciples followed him. And behold, there arose a great storm in the sea, so that the boat was covered with the waves; but he himself was asleep. And they came to him, and awoke him, saying: Save us, Lord; we are perishing!

The koiné Greek word for "save" in that verse is sozo (sode'-zo) which means to rescue and/or protect.

● Luke 2:8-11 . . And in the same region there were some shepherds staying out in the fields, and keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened.

. . . And the angel said to them: Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy which shall be for all the people; for today in the city of David there has been born for you a savior, who is Christ the Lord.

The Greek word for "savior" in that verse is soter (so-tare') which means: a rescuer.

Rescuers typically help people who are in grave distress and/or imminent danger of death and/or serious injury, and helpless to do anything about it; e.g. Red Cross, Firemen, Emergency Medical teams, snow patrols, mountain units, and the Coast Guard and National Guard.

Wouldn't it be awful if those agencies refused to assist desperate folk until they first proved themselves deserving? Well lucky for everyone that those agencies work on the basis of need rather than merit or many of us would end up thrown back to the wolves.

I think quite a few people are under the impression that Christ is some sort of probation officer; viz: if people "endure to the end" as they say; then he grants them a clearance for heaven. But God forbid they should fail to satisfy the conditions of their probation, because then they're out the door.

Probation can be likened to a sword of Damocles hanging over people's heads by a slender thread easily broken by conduct unbecoming. How dare the angel of Luke 2:8-11 describe his announcement as "good news of great joy" if probation were actually what's meant by sozo instead of to rescue and/or to protect.

On the other hand; if Christ is in the business of rescuing and protecting people from the wrath of God in accordance with the humane principles underlying normal emergency services; then yes, I fully agree with the angel that the birth of Christ is something to get excited about.

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The Good Shepherd

One of Christ's characteristics, in which I have complete confidence, is that he's conscientious about doing what he's told.

"The one who sent me is with me. He has not left me alone, because I always do what is pleasing to Him." (John 8:29)

Were Christ to fail in any way, any way at all, pleasing the one who sent him. then it would be dishonest of Christ to claim to "always" please Him. Christ might be able to claim pleasing the one who sent him a high percentage of the time, but certainly not always.

Here is one of the things that God wants from His son.

"This is the will of the one who sent me; that I should not lose anything of what He gave me." (John 6:39)

The one who sent Christ has given him sheep (John 10:27-30). Were Jesus to lose one single head of those sheep-- even just one --he would fail to always please the one who sent him.

Regarding those sheep, Jesus stated:

"I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand." (John 10:28-29)

It has actually been posited that the sheep are an exception. In other words; it's been posited that the sheep of their own free will can take themselves out of Jesus' hand. But of course they can't because the Father's free will trumps the sheep's free will.

"This is the will of the one who sent me; that I should not lose anything of what He gave me." (John 6:39)

The posit is a vote of no-confidence in the good shepherd's determination to succeed at pleasing the one who sent him; and reveals a belief that the sheep have enough strength and cunning to overpower their shepherd and run off.

Were the good shepherd only human, then I would be inclined to agree with the posit that his sheep might get past him and run off. But the Bible teaches that Christ is not only human, but also the divine architect of the entire cosmos with all of its forms of life, matter, and energy. So then, the good shepherd has at his disposal all the powers and abilities of the supreme being to utilize in keeping the sheep right where he wants them to be.

Surely no one in a right mind would dare to suggest that sheep have sufficient powers and abilities of their own at their disposal to overcome Christ. Were that the case, the sheep would have no need of his services; the sheep could shepherd themselves.

But even were the sheep to somehow manage to escape Christ's hand, they would still have his Father's hand to contend with; and good luck getting away from Almighty God!

Now, seeing as how the good shepherd has all the powers of the supreme being at his disposal to keep the sheep, then it shouldn't take too much more to persuade the sheep that it's okay to fully trust in this next statement of his.

"I am the gate; whoever enters through me shall be saved." (John 10:9)

Were Christ a so-so shepherd; then he wouldn't dare say "shall be" saved; no, he'd have to tone it down a bit and say "can be" saved. That would leave him some room for error. But when Christ says "shall be" he's claiming a 0.0% failure rate. That's how confident Christ is that he will lose nothing of what his Father has given him.

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Hope Defined

● 1Pet 3:15b . . Be ready always to give an answer to every man that asks you a reason of the hope that is in you.

The koiné Greek word for "hope" in that passage, and in others (e.g. Rom 8:23-25) is elpis (el-pece') which means expectation; viz: elpis isn't wishful thinking, nor crossing your fingers, nor is it a blend of longing, insecurity, and doubt; no, elpis is a confident kind of hope that looks forward to something that it fully expects to obtain; ergo: elpis is an anticipating hope; viz: it doesn't pray for the best, while in the back of its mind dreading the worst.

The Bible says that elpis is a "calling"

● Eph 4:5 . .you were called to one hope when you were called

When people aren't 110% sure what the afterlife has in store for them-- if there is even the slightest possibility of disappointment --they can't possibly comply with Peter's instructions for the simple reason that the hope that is in them, if any, is the wrong kind of hope.

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The New Man

The term "in Christ" is widely misunderstood. In a nutshell; everyone starts out born in Adam; in order to get one's self in Christ; it's necessary to undergo yet another birth as per John 3:3-8.

● John 3:7 . . Don't be surprised at my statement that you must be born again.

Note that another birth isn't optional; it's a must.

● 2Cor 5:17 . .Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come.

The koiné Greek word for "creation" is ktisis (ktis'-is).

Ktisis makes its first appearance in the New Testament at Mark 10:6 where it refers to intelligent design and the source of the current cosmos with all of its forms of life, matter, and energy.

Ktisis is a subtle word. It implies that the current cosmos is an original rather than a copy; viz: the creation spoken of in 2Cor 5:17 is an original too, i.e. the first ever of its kind; unique. In other words: the new h.sapiens isn't a renovation of the first version.

"old" is from the koiné Greek word archaios (ar-khah'-yos) which basically means the first and/or primeval. In other words: the old man is the Adam version of h.sapiens, i.e. a terrestrial human race as per Gen 2:7.

Natural-born humans are classified as "in Adam" which makes sense seeing as how Adam is their progenitor.

Just as Adam was the progenitor of the now-obsolete human race; so Christ is the progenitor of the never-to-be-obsolete human race; viz: the new Man; which is a race of heavenly people that has some pretty amazing advantages.

In Adam all are reckoned joint principals in his disobedience.
In Christ all are reckoned joint principals in his obedience.

In Adam all are adjudged unrighteous.
In Christ all are adjudged righteous.

In Adam all are capable of sin.
In Christ all are incapable of sin.

In Adam all have the human nature.
In Christ all have the divine nature.

In Adam all have natural life.
In Christ all have supernatural life.

In Adam all are made to die.
In Christ, all are made to live.

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Non Binary Identification

The non binary political movement consists of people who give no importance to identifying one's self as either male or female, and prefer to speak of themselves with neuter pronouns, for example: it, its, that, they, and them.

I've no reservations whatsoever that humanity's creator regards non gender people as freaks of nature; in other words: non gender people are not of His making because His making was two genders: male and female.

● Gen 1:27 . . God created Man in his own image, in the image of God created He him; male and female created He them.

● Matt 19:4 . . Have ye not read, that He which made them at the beginning made them male and female?

If people can't agree with humanity's creator on something as elementary as their gender designations as per Gen 1:27 and Matt 19:4, then I have to assume that they disagree with Him on many other issues far more important than that.

There's a term for people unable to accept themselves as the person they really are. I think it might be called Dissociative Disorder. There was a time when society confined people with those kinds of conditions to psychiatric facilities for observation and therapy, but nowadays political correctness requires that they be "included". But God-honoring Christian churches dare not accept into their official membership roles someone known to be non binary.

● Heb 12:15 . . See to it that no one misses the grace of God, and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many.

A bitter root is one belonging to a species unfit for human consumption. When you find noxious vegetation sprouting in your garden, you've got to get out there with a hoe and dig that stuff up before it spreads out of control.

FYI: Hebrews 12:15 doesn't apply to the world at large. It only applies to the official membership roles of a Christian congregation, i.e. non binary folk can come to church on Sunday and listen to the choir and the pastor's sermon as visitors if they like; no harm in that.

Q: Why should a government even care what gender a person uses? Is it any of the state's business to control and regulate someone's gender designation?

A: The government doesn't control people's gender; nature does; in point of fact, nature chooses people's gender for them without bothering to get their consent first. It's one of those acts of God-- like hurricanes, lightning, volcanoes, earthquakes, and tsunamis --that nobody can do anything about.

These non gender people are fighting not only against nature but also against common sense; which everyone except themselves knows is a losing battle. When people fight against nature and common sense, they only end up coming across as crack pots; which in truth, is exactly what they are.

NOTE: Prince Rogers Nelson (a.k.a. Prince the entertainer) at one time decided he didn't want to be known by a name spelled with letters and so created an unpronounceable symbol for himself; but of course he continued to be known as Prince.

Point being: though non binary people wish not to be described as boys and girls and/or men and women and/or males and females, they are still seen that way by everybody else. The quest to disown their gender is not only a fight against nature and common sense, but also a fight against God and country. They might succeed in gaining a measure of legal protection; but never in a million years will they gain people's honest respect; which is a very good reason to disqualify non binary folk applying for the office of elder in a Christian church.

● 1Tim 3:7 . . He must also have a good reputation with outsiders, so that he will not fall into disgrace and into the Devil's trap.

A non binary Christian church elder would be seen by the world as a bona fide hypocrite; which can be roughly defined as somebody who should be standing for the Bible but at heart does not care to live by it. With a church officer like that; you couldn't help but wonder where else they've compromised the faith.

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Abraham And The Stars

● Gen 15:4-5 . .The word of The Lord came to him in reply: That one shall not be your heir; none but your very own issue shall be your heir. He took him outside and said: Look toward heaven and count the stars, if you are able to count them. And He added: So shall your offspring be.

In Abraham's day, prior to the invention of optics, the only stars that people could see with their own eyes were those in our home galaxy; the Milky Way; which consists of an estimated 100-400 billion stars. But many of those estimated billions of stars appear to the naked eye not as stars but as glowing clouds; viz: they cannot be individually distinguished by the naked eye so those didn't matter to Abraham when it came to actually tallying the heavens.

The entire global sky contains roughly five or six thousand stars visible to the naked eye. However, we can't see all those stars at once; only the ones when the sky is dark. So then; in Abraham's day, he could see at most three thousand discernable stars from dark till dawn. God had said "if you are able to count them". Well; even at only three thousand, the task would be difficult.

FYI: Abraham's posterity exceeded three thousand long ago. By the time of the Exodus, they numbered above six hundred thousand. (Ex 12:37)

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David's Little Boy

Long story short: David breached the covenant that Yhvh's people agreed upon with God as per Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy by committing the capital crimes of premeditated murder and adultery (2Sam 11:1-2Sam 12:23). As bad as those two breaches are; what really rattled heaven's cage was that David's conduct was an embarrassment.

● 2Sam 12:14a . . Because by this deed you have given occasion to the enemies of The Lord to blaspheme,

What might the nature of that blasphemy be? Well; you probably already know because it's very popular: "How can God call David a man after His own heart when he was nothing but a premeditated murderer and adulterer?"

Behavior like David's also causes the world to question the wisdom of Yhvh's choice of a people for His name. That too is a very common form of blaspheme: it goes on all the time. (e.g. Isa 62:5, Rom 2:24)

● 2Sam 12:14b-18 . . the child also that is born to you shall surely die . . .The Lord struck the child that Uriah's widow bore to David, so that he was very sick . . .Then it happened on the seventh day that the child died.

How was that fair? Well; it wasn't meant to be fair to the boy; it was meant to be fair to David. His little boy was just collateral damage.

● Ex 34:6-7 . . Then Yhvh passed by in front of Moses and proclaimed: Yhvh, Yhvh God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in loving-kindness and truth; who keeps loving-kindness for thousands, who forgives iniquity, transgression and sin; yet He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished: visiting the iniquity of fathers on the children and on the grandchildren to the third and fourth generations.

It is apparently God's prerogative to get back at people by going after their posterity and/or the people they govern.

There's a horrific example of collateral damage located at Num 16:25-34. Another is the Flood. No doubt quite a few underage children drowned in that event due to their parents' impiety. The same happened to the children in Sodom and Gomorrah, and Ham's punishment for humiliating Noah was a curse upon his son Canaan, and during Moses' face-off with Pharaoh, God moved against the man's firstborn son along with all those of his subjects.

The grand-daddy of all collateral damages is everybody has to die because the human race's progenitor disobeyed God in the very beginning. (Rom 5:12-18)

Interesting isn't it? There are times when Heaven's anger seems to come out of the blue; but if truth be known; sometimes it actually comes out of the past; for example:

● 2Sam 21:1 . . Now there was a famine in the days of David for three years, year after year; and David sought the presence of the Lord. And the Lord said: It is for Saul and his bloody house, because he put the Gibeonites to death.

Joshua agreed to a non-aggression pact with the Gibeonites during the conquest of Canaan (Josh 9:3-16). Saul, when king, dishonored the pact. He apparently got away with it; but not his countrymen, no; God slammed them for what Saul did; and that posthumously.

Moral of the story: The sins of today, jeopardize the lives of tomorrow; and sometimes those lives are very large in number.

NOTE: The US Government has marginalized and/or dishonored several of its treaties with Native Americans. I sometimes wonder if a number of this land's woes haven't been because of that.

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