We were also spoken to by a white guy with an, albeit male, Asian companion who did not speak.

We actually wanted to talk to him at first because both of us are religious scholars who have a great deal to say about the feminine aspects of the Jewish/Christian/Muslim god, but I just ended up feeling bad for the main guy because he couldn’t even articulate what HE thought, let alone respond to what we were saying. At least Mormons and JW’s usually have a clear understanding of what THEY think. Plus, Mormons will do your yardwork and housework for you.

All I have to say is, if you’re going to wander neighborhoods asked about the female aspects of God, you should at least KNOW the following things:

1. Who Lilith was.
2. The concept of Sophia/Hagia Sophia
3. That nuns are considered ACTUAL BRIDES of Christ.

Furthermore you shouldn’t say that no christian/jewish writing that’s not in the King James Bible “doesn’t count” – ESPECIALLY when you quote PETER the apostle as saying “only stuff from the apostles” counts and when The books of two apostles – Thomas and Barnabas were kicked out of the Bible.

And finally, if you’re going to claim the pope and/or the catholic church is the FREAKIN’ ANTI-CHRIST, you really shouldn’t be listening to anything Peter says at all. Especially since it’s well-documented he was a SEVERE woman-hater. That might get in the way of your whole “divine mother” thing.

Just Sayin’.

I’ve gone to this church; I’ve heard the preaching of God (Mother and Father, respectively), and, I have to admit, they MIGHT have concrete proof… but I keep seeing contradiction in all aspects of their ministry.

They often go back and forth through the Bible, NITPICKING specific verses (though looking at the surrounding content will usually prove them). I can understand where they’re coming from, but when I’m feeling daring and ask certain kinds of questions… they end give me the usual droning memo: “Oh, it’s all in the Bible.” or “You have to go to the studies.” It’s infuriating.

…To have lived my life in Christ and then have some recriminatory religion proclaim my damnation if I don’t settle for the god-mother. What bogus shite is that?!

http://vimeo.com/13084915

I am saddened to read your response. Look at James 2:18 and its surrounding context again. In James 2:24 (which is the verse I would have expected you to bring up, rather than 2:18, given your position), James says “that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone.” However, in no way does James mean you are saved by your works! First, the word for “justified” in 2:24 in the Greek is the same word used in reference to Christ in 1 Timothy 3:16 when it says He was “vindicated” in the Spirit. The idea is that of “proving” or “verifying.” Next, look at the examples that James uses. He points out in v. 21 that Abraham was “justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar.” When did this event occur? The answer is Genesis 22. When did Abraham believe in God and it was credited to him as righteousness? Genesis 15:6…seven chapters before the near sacrifice of Isaac. What is happening in Genesis 22? Abraham’s faith is proven to be genuine. Look at Genesis 22:12, when the angel of the Lord replies, “Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him, FOR NOW I KNOW that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, you only son from me.” (emphasis mine) You are absolutely right that we should obey God. Sadly, too many believers act like faith should not be accompanied by works. However, those works come AS A RESULT of our faith in and love for God. They in no way earn our salvation. How does this fit with what you referenced that Jesus said in Matthew 7, that He will reject all those who practice lawlessness? It goes like this: If I believe that Christ is who He says He is and saved me from my sin, then, supposing I have a desire to actually want to be saved and see God, I will love Christ for what He has done for me (1 John 4:10). How will I express this love? Jesus states it is by obeying His commandments (John 14:15). On the other hand, if I do not obey God’s commandments, then it is probably a sign that I do not love God. If I do not love God, then how is it that I could ever claim that I would even want to saved, since salvation means being reconciled to God for eternity? In short, how can I even ask to be reconciled to God by faith if I live in such as to prove that I hate God?

I would point out that by attempting to obey God in order to earn your salvation you are actually disobeying Him. Think about this. What is true obedience to the Law? Jesus again states it in Matt. 22:34-40 that it is to “love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” That is the standard God requires…that you love Him with all your strength from your innermost being. Do you do that? The answer is “no.” Nobody, apart from Jesus, has done that or ever can do that. According to this standard, if salvation comes from obedience to the Law, then we’re all damned to Hell. Again, we need an Intercessor to become our righteousness for us…to be the fulfillment of the Law for us…if we ever hope to see God. Again this, is Jesus Christ (2 Cor. 5:21).

I’m getting off subject. Your obedience, biblically, is supposed to come from a genuine love for God. Now, think about what you’re saying. You are obeying in order to save yourself. Why are you obeying? Who is the object of your love in your obedience? It’s you. You’re obeying so that you will be saved. You’re obeying for your benefit. Think about what I am saying. I’m not obeying to save myself. I’m already saved apart from my works. Then, why would I obey? Because I love God. I have no reason to obey for myself…I gain nothing from it. Why then do I obey? Because I love God. Which of these two options is the fulfillment of Jesus standard in Matthew 22? Any attempt to earn salvation actually results in a violation of God’s Law.

Beyond that, I would challenge you to examine which other Old Testament laws you keep, if you say that we must obey the Law, as Jesus did, in order to enter into Heaven. If it is discovered of someone in your church is guilty of adultery, do you put them to death (Lev. 20:10)? Would you put a child who cursed their mother or father to death (Exod. 21:17)? (To this you may say, “We practice grace, as Jesus did.” To which I would reply, “That’s exactly my point. The Law is not fulfilled in keeping codes, but in loving the Lord in holiness.”) Do members of your congregation build parapets on their houses when they build a new house (Deut. 22:8)? Is it a sin for someone in your congregation to eat raw meat (Lev. 3:17)? Must we abstain from pork to enter into Heaven (Lev. 11:7)? Have you ever kept a Passover by making sacrifices in the Temple (which Jesus also did by example)? Have you ever made sacrifices in the Temple? I would wager to say you probably don’t practice these things. In fact, in regards to the last two…you absolutely can’t do these things. And that’s just the point! We CAN’T obey the Law! Which is why it is completely by our faith in Jesus Christ that we must be saved!

I would strongly encourage you to read Colossians 2 again carefully. Judaizers in Paul’s day tried to get members of this church to look for things other than Christ for their salvation, and Paul answered this issue there. This movement you are a part of is doing the same thing. It does not hold fast to the Head, which is Christ.

I am most saddened to hear that there is not anything I can show you that will convince you that you must not keep Sabbath or that you do not have a mother god. All I have done is explained the teaching of Scripture. You’re telling me that even if I prove to you from Scripture that this teaching is false, you will not listen. You have predetermined that I am wrong…regardless of what I say from the Bible. That sounds like you’re making the decision on what is true…not the Bible. Why would you say this? What would you have faith in rather than what you find in the Scriptures? The teachings of your leaders about the Scriptures? Do you disregard what I have to say because they would tell you to disagree with me…because they tell you I’m wrong without adequately explaining why…or because you have examined the Scriptures and determined for yourself what the truth is? Melissa, you must determine what is true from the Scripture on your own. It does not matter what your leaders say. What does the Scripture say? This YOU must determine, for it is YOU who will stand accoutable for yourself before God on the day of judgment.

I will leave it at that. Unfortunately, I cannot continue to invest my time in these responses if you are unwilling to listen to the Scriptures, since that is all I have to offer concerning the truth regarding salvation. I want you to know salvation, but there are others that are willing to hear, and Christ makes it clear in His ministry that I should invest my time in them. I would be more than willing to continue our discussion should you decide that you are willing to examine the issue from the Scriptures, as the Bereans did when Paul explained Christ to them for the first time(Acts 17).

I do wish you the best, Melissa. I fear that at times my responses may sound harsh or overly blunt. I do not reply in this manner because I am trying to make you feel bad or because I am trying to prove that I am right. The reason I do it is because, although I do not know you, I do have Christian love for you and I desire the best for you. What that means in this instance is that I be direct about what the Scripture has to say. I will continue to pray for your spiritual well-being and happiness.

I’m not exactly sure what point you are trying to establish in the above comment, so I don’t know entirely how to respond. Proverbs 18:13 says I’m probably a fool for still responding. However, I would point out that 9 out of the 10 Commandments are repeated for believers in the NT. Keeping the Sabbath was the only one left out. This is because this was something to be observed as participants in the Mosaic Covenant (Exod.31:12-18). Please read Acts 15. The Law and Gentiles came up in the Jerusalem Council in Acts 15. Note that in the decision given, nothing is said about keeping the Sabbath (Acts 15:19-20 – really, from this verse, there is more basis to say that believers shouldn’t eat raw meat or meat from strangled animals than to say we need to keep Sabbath). I agree with you 100% that Jesus came to fulfill the Law, but that’s just the point. When Jesus was accused of breaking the Sabbath, one of the ways He responded was by speaking about what was greater than the Sabbath: “And if you had known what I means, ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the guiltless.” (Matt 12:7). The Law was given to an unregenerate nation without the power to obey God (Rom. 8:2-9). It does reflect the character and nature of God, but it was given to demonstrate our inability to be like God…it reveals how much of sinners we are (Rom. 3:20; 7:7). In this way, it leads us to faith in Jesus Christ (Gal. 3:19-29). Once we place our faith in Christ, we are transformed by the indwelling Spirit that He gives us, so that we are able to actually obey the intent of the Law (again, Rom. 8:2-9). What is the summary and intent of this Law? Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and love your neighbor as yourself, on these two commandments “depend all the Law and the Prophets” (Matt. 22:34-40). God is more concerned with your love for Him than whether or not you observe one day a week over another in rest. Now, we should meet with other believers, because we are called to not neglect the assembling of ourselves (Heb. 10:25) – and if we’re believers we are obviously going to love other believers and be with the church. Surely, we are also called to worship God, and the example we have received is to do this corporately, since Christ is doing His work through the corporate body of Christ (Eph. 4:11-16; Rom. 12:1-2). However, God does not demand that you do this on a particular day. The first day of the week (as a commemoration of Christ’s resurrection) would seem to be the better day to choose , since this is the example set out for us by Paul in the New Testament (Acts 20:7; 1 Cor. 16:2).

I do not mean to get involved in bickering over what to many may seem to be like minor details. However, the underlying issue that is the key here is the means by which we are saved. We are saved by grace, and not by the works of the Law. We cannot keep enough rules to be accepted by God, because we are imperfect sinners in His sight. We can only be saved by faith in Jesus Christ alone.

Melissa, I do not write this to start any sort of a fight with Church of God, World Missions Society followers, such as yourself. However, as far as I know, you may be one of God’s elect, a potential sister in Jesus Christ. If you are, I do not want you to be deceived by what these people are teaching you. I understand they may be very nice, and they may have even helped you in your relationship with your boyfriend. However, apart from faith in Christ alone for salvation, it means nothing. Look at the Pharisees of Jesus’ day – they were very clean on the outside. They would probably put any of us to shame in terms their supposed righteousness, but Christ condemned them…because they did not obey from the heart, and they did not look to Him and Him alone for their salvation. They thought they could be good enough when they could not.

More than just the works-based righteousness that I fear is prevalent in this religion, Ahn Sang-Hong and Zang Gil-Jah have set themselves up as idols to be worshipped rather than Christ. Again, Jesus Christ condemned the Pharisees of His day because they rejected Him. He is the fullest revelation of God that can ever be known. When someone rejects Jesus, they reject the Father (John 12:44-50). That is why no one can come to the Father but through Him (John 14:6). I implore you: if you continue to adhere to this teaching, you will not see the Savior.