Every day I encounter articles that I want to share with
readers and shorter commentaries that will be pegged to current events. In a
few months they may be of less value. So I've decided to put all these pieces
here as well as links and recommendations. This will give readers a window into some news and exposure to various resources,
news sources and hopefully issues that will challenge them.
Everything here is related to the things I write about on
the other site. These posts are shorter and a bit more dated.
Why am I asking for support? If you're interested there are
some longer pieces on the other site explaining a bit more about who I am and
what I'm trying to do.
I'm self-employed and have to support my family, but I would
rather live on far less money and spend my time writing and putting together
resources to help God's people wade through the deceptions of our day and grow
in their knowledge of the Kingdom. If God blesses my endeavours I will continue
to expand what I'm doing and hopefully extend into more basic Bible and theological
teaching. Right now I'm mostly combating the overarching errors which reign in
the Church. As I've written before the diet here is insufficient for a healthy
Christian life and walk. This is battle and solely feeding on what I'm writing
about won't make you spiritually healthy. Sometimes we need to get off the
battlefield and spend time in the courts of the Lord. There are many excellent
books and resources out there apart from the obvious best way of knowing
God...His Word. At this point these resources are better than anything I'm
going to be able to put together. I will stick with what I can do that helps the
present situation. If anyone is ever looking for a book or commentary
recommendation, just ask.
If the support comes in, I can take time off work and spend
more time here. I live simply and am devoted to this work. If you believe these
resources and my overall analysis are helpful to the body of Christ, then by
all means give. If you're unsure, then don't. Ultimately I do not believe the
Truth is ever going to 'win' as the world defines that. Our victory only comes
with the return of Christ. Until then we will be castigated and hated by the
false Church. We will always be in the minority because we are rejecting the
sanctification of power which is what the Church has embraced since the time of
Constantine. The Reformation did not change that.
They will call us Gnostics, Retreatists, fools, cowards and
many other names. Little do they realize the embrace of power is easy. Our
sinful nature craves it. It doesn't take courage to strike back. It takes
courage, determination and real humility to turn the other cheek, to reject
power when it is offered or to put others before yourself.
The other issues I write about are to try and peel back the
layers of philosophical and theological baggage. I'm not trying to return to a
'pure' 1st century Christianity. We can't do that, but we do need to
acknowledge a fundamental shift in the nature of the Church in the 4th
century. This Constantinian Shift has affected not only how the Church relates
to the world but also has profoundly shaped theological and ethical questions.
In many cases the New Testament has been flipped on its head and the Old
Testament is read through the wrong lenses as it were.
If I am provoking you to think, if I am awaking you from a
stupour, if I'm driving you to re-think and/or look into these issues for the
first time then I am more than content. For me this isn't a career, this isn't
about building some 'ministry'; this is far more profound than that. If things
I say are offensive, then I pray that you simply take into account the spirit
in which I'm saying these things and consider my motivations. I'm not a crank
or a revolutionary. I am intensely concerned with Christian history and
historical theology. I fear novelty and yet just because something is old
doesn't mean that at one time it wasn't novel. Assumptions need to be
questioned. And yet I do believe that the truth can be known and that the truth
has often been present even within a largely apostate Church. We cannot ignore
the history of Christian doctrine. There are many who have done so to their
peril. I am not one of those who are ignorant of what has gone before and now
it's just 'me and my Bible.' Because I largely reject Confessionalism I have
been accused of it, but anyone who reads what I'm writing will see that I'm not
ignoring history, but I am rejecting much of the mainstream's many
traditions and assumptions.
I'm devoted to Christ's Kingdom and want His Word to
permeate my life and thought. Once you grasp the nature of Sacralism and what
it has done to the Church, whether or not you agree with me on the minutiae you
will not be able to look at the contemporary Church in the same way. Suddenly
all the talk about following the Bible, Christian Worldview, and Biblical
application will ring hollow because you will see there are massive unfounded
and unbiblical assumptions behind what they're saying and doing. And in the end
most of these folks don't have a Christian Worldview at all and they've misread
and misunderstand large portions of the Bible. In terms of the Kingdom message
and motif presented by Christ in the Gospels and expanded on in the Epistles...they've
not grasped it and are in fact quite hostile to it.
If you're overwhelmed by all this, then feel free to ask
questions. You can email me
directly at protoprotestant@gmail.com
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