Christianity
is different from all other religions in its way of how truth is approached.
Other religions are either up-front relativistic (i.e. claim that absolute
truth cannot be found anyway, offering only one lifestyle among many other) or
they claim absolute truth as a truth which is above all human verification,
i.e. a truth which one has to succumb to without reflection and which has to be
believed unreflectively.
Christianity
both claims absolute truth AND encourages men to test God and check out things
for themselves. This is because the LIVING GOD OF THE BIBLE knows that he is
God and only HIM ALONE.
Psalms
34:8 (MKJV) Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who
trusts in Him.
It
does not say "Woe to him who DARES to doubt God!!!" But: "Taste
and see", i.e. find out for yourself!
Also
Jesus Christ KNOWS that he IS God's son. This is why also he is not afraid to
offer men a chance to consider things for themselves:
John
7:17 (MKJV) If anyone desires to do His will, he shall know of the
doctrine, whether it is of God, or I speak from Myself.
Jesus
says, in other words, check out for yourselves, if I am a self-made Guru who
has made all this up or if this REALLY is of God, i.e. the truth. For the
Jewish audience in the context of this verse "being of God" equals
being true in an absolute way. To a modern pluralistic post-Christian audience
Jesus might have said "If anyone wants to find absolute truth and is
sincere in doing so, he will look at all the possible options in a neutral way,
putting himself in a place where he is solely responsible to the god who is
behind that absolute truth which he does not yet know, not being discouraged by
men who want to drag him here or there and at last he will out of his own
accord come to agree that Christianity has the answer, not because he was
pressured to do so but because this seemed the most logic, liberating and
cohesive option and he will be willing to pay the price and follow the
consequences such an assent to truth entails concerning his own life."
Unfortunately
some forms of Christianity also have an "Islamic" approach to truth.
E.g. the Eastern Orthodox Church in Eastern Europe often behaves in such a way.
An Eastern Orthodox priest in Southern Romania once told school children that
Baptists were worshipping Satan. Such brainwashing methods smack of sectarian
epistemology ("believe it or get damned!"). This kind of mentality
displays lack of true Christian faith, it is a mere fanatical following of
men-made laws.
All religions say something like this: "This is how we see life and truth and once everybody somehow becomes a follower of our faith-system, everything will be fine." All religions coerce all men to become its followers, because Satan’s goal is to get all men to worship him until nobody remains who worships the true, living God of the Bible.
Christianity
differs in a unique way again in that it stresses the fact that the devil gains
most power within its own ranks. In other words, Christianity does not say:
"The more churches there are, the less satanic influence there is."
James says that the more we approach God, the more the devil has to flee from
us, BUT concerning Christianity's own perception of its situation in the world,
it leaves no doubt as to the fact that the Antichrist is going to be a so-called
"Christian". I once explained this to a Muslim in this way:
Christianity is the truth. Therefore the devil cannot stand it and just as many
companies try to copy a product that is good, the devil wants to copy that
which is of God. Lucifer wanted to be like God and above God. The
Antichrist really wants to replace Jesus Christ. Satan is fiercely trying to
combat Christianity from within, producing false apostles and counterfeit
versions of Christianity.
The
Bible itself is not ashamed of this, but instead clearly predicts this,
especially in the Pastoral epistles (Tim., Titus). This can be proven by
history. The Vatican persecuted the Christians, claiming to represent the only
right version of Christianity. Hitler was perceived of as some kind of Messiah
and his Antichristian philosophy and ethics was supported by the majority of
the established church in Germany. So, Christianity is at the same time the
only true religion and at the same time a religion which spreads misery and war
and which will bring forth the antichrist. The Bible always talks about a true
remnant, those who will overcome in the end. In fact the internal dissent that
is existent within the Church does not make it less credible (as ecumenicists
claim) but testifies instead to the fact that the only REAL battle is within
Christianity and not between Christianity and other religions. God used
Islam to judge the apostate Oriental Church and he might use Islam again, or
other forces, to judge the apostate Occidental Church with a judgment which is
long overdue.
Mark
13:22 (MKJV) For false Christs and false prophets will arise and will
give signs and wonders in order to seduce, if possible, even the elect.
2
Corinthians 11:13 (MKJV) For such ones are false apostles, deceitful
workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. 14. Did not even
Satan marvelously transform himself into an angel of light? 15 (MKJV) Therefore
it is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves as ministers of
righteousness, whose end shall be according to their works.
Acts
20:29 (MKJV) For I know this that after my departure grievous wolves
shall enter in among you, not sparing the flock.
Philippians
3:2 (MKJV) Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the
concision party. (Concision=katatomee, wordplay from paratomee, which
means circumcision, i.e. a false circumcision which consists of "cutting
besides=kata", cutting something God is not interested in, mutilating,
producing a false humanity which denies Christ's power to save men as 100% men)
Matthew
6:23 (MKJV) But if your eye is evil, your whole body shall be full of
darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that
darkness!
1
Kings 22:21 (MKJV) And there came forth a spirit and stood before the
LORD and said, I will entice him.
2 Thessalonians 2:10 (MKJV) And with all deceit of
unrighteousness in those who perish, because they did not receive the love of
the truth, so that they might be saved.
John
8:44 (MKJV) You are of the Devil as father, and the lusts of your father
you will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and did not abide in the
truth because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks of his
own, for he is a liar and the father of it.
Christianity
is the only religion, which defines man as something good. This may sound
surprising for secularists who prefer Rousseau and the like up against the
protestant doctrine of man being born in sin having inherited Adam's
sinfulness.
Christianity does not start at Calvary, but in Eden. Adam and Eve were created as inherently good beings. It was as if God was saying to Satan and the angels: "Now you will see, this being who is weaker than you, is going to rule over creation and be loyal to me."
Psalms
8:5 (MKJV) For You have made him a little lower than the angels, and have
crowned him with glory and honor.
1
Corinthians 6:3 (MKJV) Do you not know that we shall judge angels, not to
speak of this life?
Satan
has of course been against this plan of God since the beginning. He corrupts
God's plan in the following way:
First
of all, by seducing Eve to take of the forbidden fruit, whereby man looses his
standing before God and becomes sinful. Every man becomes a sinner by being
born.
Secondly,
by doing harm to man as much as he can. Luther said that Satan is envious for
each bite of bread a man gets to swallow. This is why Jesus taught us to pray
for our daily bread. But the best illustration is in Job:
Job
1, 6 (MKJV) And a day came when the sons of God came to present themselves
before the LORD. And Satan also came among them. 7 (MKJV) And the
LORD said to Satan, from where do you come? Then Satan answered the LORD and
said, from going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it.
8 (MKJV) And the LORD said to Satan, Have you set your heart against My
servant Job, because there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and upright
man, one who fears God and turns away from evil? 9 (MKJV) And Satan
answered the LORD and said, Does Job fear God for nothing? 10 (MKJV) Have
You not made a hedge around him, and around his house, and around all that he
has on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his livestock
have increased in the land. 11 (MKJV) But put forth Your hand
now, and touch all that he has, and he will curse You to Your face. 12
(MKJV) And the LORD said to Satan, Behold, all that he has is in your
power. Only do not lay your hand upon him. And Satan went forth from the
presence of the LORD.
(Note that some scholars believe the book of Job might have been written by Moses and might be in fact the oldest book in the Bible)
Thirdly,
by trying to seduce the Israelite priesthood to deny their humanity, by
inflicting incisions and the like to their bodies, so that Satan can come
before God and say: "See, they are not really 100% human."
Leviticus
19:28 (MKJV) You shall not make
any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor print any marks on you. I am the
LORD.
Leviticus
21:5 (MKJV) They shall not make baldness on their head, nor shall they
shave the corner of their beard, nor make any cutting in their flesh.
Fourthly,
but trying to seduce Christ to neglect his humanity and behave like a half-god,
producing a bread out of a stone by magic as it were. Then again he could have
said before God: "Jesus is not 100% human, he behaves like any reasonable
half-god would do." and God's work of atonement would have become
corrupted right from the start.
Fifthly
by creating counterfeit forms of Christianity with a false circumcision, which
in fact amounts to a denial of Christ's power to save man as 100% man.
(Legalism, tradition, hindering of marriage 1.Tim.4, 1-3, circumcision of women
in Islam, etc.)
Sixthly
by reducing man to a number (antichrist) and melting him together with the
machine.
Now Islam is pretty much satanic in that it has a concept of an arbitrary remote Allah who is very much unlike men and of whose whimsies one may never be quite sure. Allah is in a way against humans. Becoming godly according to Islam (and this is basically true of all non-Christian religions as a whole) means becoming less and less human. Allah is supernatural and outer space and man is put into a no-win situation where his only chance is accepting the Koran and following the masses.
However,
no religion is going to be as satanic as the counterfeit Christianity, which
will come with the New World Order and the Antichrist. It will be impossible
for Christians who have turned away from listening and obeying God’s word to
discern between true Christianity and the new counterfeit antichristian fake
copy of Christianity. It will be impossible for them, because they will not be
willing to. God sends error to those discarding the truth.
In
true Christianity becoming godly means becoming human for the first time. Pilate exclaimed of Jesus
"Ecce homo". Jesus was the most human human being that had ever been
on earth. Jesus is not only the perfect image of God, but also the perfect
image of man created in the image of God. Only in Christ we can find true
humanity.
True
biblical Christianity is the only religion where man is not hated or alienated by
God. All
non-Christian religions, including the antichristian version of “Christianity” (which
is going to lead to global totalitarianism) are characterized by the fact that
somehow man has to become non-man, he looses his dignity and peculiarity and
has to sacrifice his humanity for some arbitrary, abstract and non-human God.
In Christianity, however, God becomes human.
God
is interested in humans, he regards humanity as the crown of creation, while at
the same time he hates all sinfulness of men. The only human being God does not
feel nausea when he looks at it, is Jesus Christ. But everybody who is "in
Christ" is dear to God, becomes God's child. The only work of faith God
is truly approving of is Christ's work on Calvary. All genuine works of
faith produced by genuine Christians are somehow rooted in this work of Christ
on Calvary and only because of that they become acceptable before God. But God
does not accept us because of works, only because of our standing before him in
Christ. All works which men do in order to gain approval of God besides of
God's only approved work of salvation are nauseating in God's sight. He cannot
stand them, he does not accept anything else besides of what has been done
through Christ. Jesus Christ is God's testament, his last word.
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