D2’s Heresies, The Great Brainwashing Conspiracy

[greybeta]

The Disciple's Cross
In the MasterLife I Bible Study, you learn the basics of being a disciple of Christ. A disciple of Christ is someone who makes Jesus the Lord of his or her life. A verse that helps me remember this is Luke 9:23 “If anyone would come after me, he must first deny himself and take his cross daily and follow me.” So the first principle is to DENY yourself. This means denying control of yourself and giving that up to God. The second principle is to take up your CROSS. This means that you choose to carry a heavy burden as the price for following Christ. The third principle is to FOLLOW. It is not enough to give up your pride and endure great pain, you must also be willing to follow our one and true Savior.

Spend Time with the Master
Imagine a circle for me. This circle represents our lives. It is empty inside. How do we fill that emptiness? With CHRIST, who redeemed us with His Blood. A verse that helps me remember this is John 15:5 “I am the Vine, you are the branches. If you remain in me and I remain in you, you will bear much fruit. Apart from me, you can do nothing.” So as long as we remain in Christ, we can do great things and bear much fruit. Apart from Christ, we are powerless. By Spending Time with the Master, we receive the direction needed in our lives.

Live in the Word
Now imagine a long triangular wedge coming down from the bottom of the circle, with WORD written on it. A verse that helps me understand the importance of Living in God’s Word is John 8:31-32 “If you hold to my teachings, then you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” Knowing God’s Word and having it in our hearts frees us from the trappings of the world. This requires us to read it every day and hold it near and dear to our hearts.

Pray in Faith
Now imagine a long triangular wedge extending upward from the top of the circle. On it is written PRAY. A verse that helps me understand the importance of Praying in Faith is John 15:7 “If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish and it will be given unto you.” Anything we pray in God’s will be granted to us, especially through consistent practice.

The vertical relationship
These two triangular wedges plus the center circle represent our vertical relationship with Christ, where we focus on heavenly matters.

Fellowship with Believers
Now imagine a short triangular wedge going to the right from the right of the circle with the word FELLOWSHIP written on it. A verse that helps me understand the nature of Fellowshipping with Believers is John 13:34-35 “A new commandment I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, you must love one another. By this all men will know that you bear much fruit.” Kind believers must love kind believers, or there won’t be any kind believers at all. Going to church is not enough to satisfy this requirement of fellowship. You must choose to become part of the church, part of the Bride of Christ, in order to receive the full benefits of being a disciple of Christ.

Witness to the World
Now imagine a short triangular wedge going to the left from the left of the circle with the word WITNESS written on it. A verse that helps me understand the significance of Witnessing to the World is John 15:8 “This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.” The fruit we bear in others is proof of our faith. Faith is dead if you cannot reveal Christ to nonbelievers. This does not mean that you convert everyone you meet, but that as a disciple of Christ you will naturally show Christ’s love to everyone you encounter.

The horizontal relationship
These two triangular wedges plus the center circle represent our horizontal relationship with Christ, where we focus on earthly matters.

Ministries associated with each focus
Each focus has a ministry associated with it, which is demonstrated by a further smaller triangle wedge at each point. The ministry of teaching/preaching goes with the WORD, which is disseminating the word. The ministry of worship/intercession goes with PRAY, which is celebrating who God is and acknowledging that we need His help. The ministry of nurture goes with FELLOWSHIP, which is being kind and caring for your fellow disciples. The ministry of evangelism goes with WITNESS, which is spreading Christ’s name and love throughout all of the nations of this world.

Minister to Others
A special ministry ties together FELLOWSHIP and WITNESS. Ministering to Others can also be called the ministry of service. A verse that helps me remember this is John 15:13 “Greater love no man has than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.” We are disciples by showing love to our friends, believers and nonbelievers alike. We talk with them, we console them, we hang out with them, we serve them, etc. And when it comes down to it, a disciple of Christ never hesitates in going the extra ten miles to help out a friend. This could mean doing as something simple as giving directions to a random stranger. This could mean something as simple as buying a five dollar pickle jar for a four month old pregnant college girl you’ve never met before. This could mean something as simple as spending twenty dollars on a twenty-minute phone call to cheer up a lonely friend in Spain. It could also mean giving tough love to someone to make them understand the error of their ways. It could also mean challenging others to realize their true potential. It could also mean playing the part of a fool so that others may become wise.

Painting the picture for reference


Do you understand?
Let’s make sure you fully understand what I am getting at. In order for you to be a disciple of Christ, you have to lose yourself. Then you have to be willing to be incessantly insulted for following Jesus. You stay indoctrinated by reading the Bible everyday. You answer all your doubts, big and small, by handing them off to some external force. You have close yet equal relationships with all believers, except for that one special believer who is more equal than the others because he or she is your spouse (or you hope that he or she will be one day). You share the good news with the rest of the world, even to the most remote areas of the world with seemingly impossible language and cultural barriers. Finally, you would not hesitate to lay your life down as a martyr for this divinely inspired mission.

D2's heresy
As an ideology, Christianity may be The Greatest Brainwashing Conspiracy in the annals of recorded history.

Comments

[genuinechris.livejournal.com]

Headers Make Your Reading Easier

Greybeta, I've changed the way that I write, to include Headers on all posts longer than 3 paragraphs. It gives the reader someplace to go. Think of the New Testement in some NIV versions.

Because they Break Up Monotony

Since you have a lot of introspective posts, that you want read, you might consider writing under a headline. TIME does it, You might consider it as well.

More of the people that might scroll you will read

There's an art to writing a good header. You might think of the six o'clock news. "Are you being killed by an ordinary food? Details at eleven." You want people to read you, so do I. I'd guess that the header is where it's at. I might be more inlcined to pass up a wall of words, but...

Why I believe in Jesus, and Am Not A Hindu

Stands out.

[greybeta.livejournal.com]

On headers
Tried it out on this post.

On monotony
Headers do provide a point of reference in the work. I suppose now people can say "I disagree with this statement under [insert header name].

On good headers
So you basically want my headers to be like trailers for an exciting movie. This can be done.

On heresy
Some headers will be for my reference, though your header grabs my attention more.

On gratitude
Domi arigato!
(Didn't I say you would be able to help me on my quest to improve my writing?)

[genuinechris.livejournal.com]

Headers Are Dangerous When

You use theM TOO frequently, which might be the case here.

[agirlnamedluna.livejournal.com]

Apart from agreeing with genuinechris ( Hi Chris! ) on the form matter, I also have something to say about the content. Mind you, it's not always easy to read through your posts, but I generally managed down to the bottom!

As an ideology, Christianity may be The Greatest Brainwashing Conspiracy in the annals of recorded history.

It is considered to be so by quite some people. The theory is that the early Church ( when it became the "general", "united" or "catholic" Church ) has not only misinterpreted the message, but has also altered it to fit their goal of power with the aid of Constantinus.

There is large evidence to sustain the fact that the Gospels and Books of the Bible we know are certainly not the only ones we know. Even recently, the Gospel of Judas was found. There is evidence to think that many Christian groups had their own Gospels, because these Christian groups were actually etched on the principles of the Mysteries ( of Dionysus, of Attis, ... ) that were brought to the Jewish, monotheist people and thus they were adapted to their beliefs about the Messiah ( hence the genealogies in an effort to tie Jesus to King David by the bias of Joseph, who, let's remember that, isn't Jesus *real* father since Jesus is the Son of God ). Anyway these Mysteries functioned around two principles : the Outer Mysteries and the Inner Mysteries. The latter were for the initiated, and contained many of the rituals we today see in Christianism ( baptism, rebirth, crucifixion as a mean to rebirth in spiritual enlightenment )... The goal of these Inner Mysteries was to understand that one is part of the Universal Principle, thus meaning everyone was a part of this Heavenly principle ( it was thus in you ). I don't remember the exact terms, but this should explain the idea of Jesus' brother ( who would be a "fictional" image of his earthly self he left for the greater enlightenment ).

Anyway, on to the Outer Mysteries. These were literal interpretations of the texts the enlightened used for their ceremonies, and were aimed at the "ordinary beings" who needed some sort of guidance in their lives, while the ones initiated didn't need rules anymore, as they did Good because they knew they were a part of the universe and the universe was part of them.

It is believed that when Jewish slaves came to Rome, they brought these Outer Mysteries with them without knowing the Inner Mysteries -- and because they believed this was the only, literal truth ( as they were told ) they held on to it dearly, inforcing it with every might. It are they who won in the end, as the Inner Mystery followers and groups ( later on the Gnostics ) didn't see the reason to fight for their beliefs.

Source : "The Jesus Mysteries : was the original Jesus a Pagan God"

[greybeta.livejournal.com]

Read my post again. It may be a bit easier to digest now. :)

Also, on my journal, if you quote a source, please link it. The history teacher in my wants to educate people, and that means making it as easy as possible for people to look stuff up. Providing a link only gives a student the information. The student has to want to read up on it herself.

Also, since my friends list is rather varied in terms of religion, politics, and culture, I am sure not everybody is familiar with what everyone else knows. Stamping our ignorance requires us to be ever vigilant and not get lazy.

And yes, I am starting to see that I am a Gnostic heretic.

[genuinechris.livejournal.com]

That does or doesn't believe in Christ's blood, the Ressurection.

[agirlnamedluna.livejournal.com]

Sorry, I can't link to the book -- I mean I have it here in a paper copy haha

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0609807986/qid=1135170809/sr=8-1/ref=pd_bbs_1/002-9381505-3523209?n=507846&s=books&v=glance

this is the book on Amazon though :)


And I totally did not object to the content of your post -- but I agreed with Chris on the form ;)

I shall soon be welcoming you in our great Pagan tradition then it seems ( as well, those Gnostic heretics were also considered pagans ;) )

[hummingwolf.livejournal.com]

Very quick note

You stay indoctrinated by reading the Bible everyday

As a form of indoctrination, this works best if you have already been instructed in how to interpret everything. If you read the Bible (or, frankly, any other good book) every day without having its "true meaning" pre-fed to you, shocking things can happen in your brain and in your soul.

[greybeta.livejournal.com]

A history major loves to digress, especially if it's a personal note
If you've read why I believe God, you'll know that I grew up in the Baptist church. Ever since I was five years old.

[renough.livejournal.com]

There was a point in my life where I didn't go to church because of shooting competitions (on Sundays) so I decided to just read the Bible through every year (on year 7 now). The book itself tells people to take even what Paul said with a grain of salt. Weigh it, and don't swallow uncritically.

A book I read once called Velvet Elvis had something like that on the back: (I'll even quote it)
"We have to test everything.
I thank God for anybody anywhere who is pointing people to the mysteries of God.
But those people would all tell you to think long and hard about what they are saying and doing and creating.
Test it. Probe it.
Do that to this book.
Don’t swallow it uncritically. Think about it. Wrestle with it.
Just because I’m a Christian and I’m trying to articulate a Christian worldview doesn’t mean I’ve got it nailed. I’m contributing to the discussion.
God has spoken, and the rest is commentary, right?"

It's a fine book.

[force-of-will.livejournal.com]

The theory is that the early Church ( when it became the "general", "united" or "catholic" Church ) has not only misinterpreted the message, but has also altered it to fit their goal of power with the aid of Constantinus.

I've generally come to believe this as well. Consider the path of the Church until the Protestant reformation.

Constantinus' mother, was the believer. It seems to always smack that he had the Bible altered or put together in a way then to make it a better brainwashing tool of control after he had witnesses a bit of the power of the religion.

Still, all that being said, I don't think the mythical message was totally perverted.

[greybeta.livejournal.com]

I still believe in the greater good of the church. I am a heretic, not a blasphemer.

[cloewen.livejournal.com]

Like most heretics, you are erring in thinking your exposure to one slice of the Christian pie is the entire meal and menu.

I was raised in a strict version of Christianity and came close to chucking the entire pile of nonsense until I was exposed to other expressions of it to realize I didn't have to be bound to a box.

Before you go embracing the Gospel of Thomas be a real radical and pay a visit to some of these churches outside your comfort zone:

Evangelical Quakers
http://www.evangelical-friends.org/about/beliefs.html

Plymouth Brethren
http://www.plymouthbrethren.com/

There are others: Mennonite, the myriad other Brethren churches, Free Methodist, Free-Will Baptist, Church of the Nazarene, and others. Individual churches will have a different personality that you may or may not like, but they are different from the narrow expression you have been exposed to.

Now if you say, "But those groups aren't Christian," then I retract everything I have just written. You have been brainwashed and that by experts.

[greybeta.livejournal.com]

You left this door wide open
But those those groups aren't Christian.

On a more serious note, I have a question for you, pastor. What is your opinion of the Gospel of Thomas?

[renough.livejournal.com]

D2, I am very sad that you see Christianity in that light.

Check out Galations 5:16-24. You might find a certain word interesting in verse 20.

[greybeta.livejournal.com]

I have a funny rule on my journal. If you quote a source, especially something important like the Bible, link it. I am that lazy.

By the way, how far are you into "Supreme Iron Chef"? I already have another project lined up after tha one...

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

I like your heresy.

As someone else once remarked- "you are not far from the Kingdom of God."

[greybeta.livejournal.com]

Well then, I'm sure you'll love my heresies this week. I have a few more to go through still...

[wldntulk2knwwho.livejournal.com]

*shiiiing* *PC draws his dueling sword for yet another round*

So you don't believe people make conscious choices to deny themselves and follow Christ?

[greybeta.livejournal.com]

*shiiikt* *D2 wieds his heretic pitchfork for this round*

Don't you believe in free will?

[greybeta.livejournal.com]

By the way, make yourself a dueling sword icon. I DEMAND IT!!!!

[themindseye.livejournal.com]

Sorry to say lately I have been skimming your posts. I respect everyone's right to have religion and I grew up going to church but have been an Athiest since I was 14 years old. I'm usually up for a debate on religion but haven't really been in the mood for it lately.

[greybeta.livejournal.com]

'Tis okay. I don't expect everything I write to interest you. Although you should know that I believe there are no atheists, just heretics. ;)

[fourstrifes.livejournal.com]

Westminster Confession of Faith. Ignore all other websites. If you're going criticize a religion, go by the centuries old standard. Sorta like getting your definitions right for a debate, think of it like the pocket dictionary for christian doctrine.

(Although I may be missing the point.)

[greybeta.livejournal.com]

(Although I may be missing the point.)
No, I talked about the Great Brainwashing Conspiracy, so it was a valid point. Although, I have to ask you to link the Westminster Confession of Faith (hey, it's my journal so I can make these kinds of requests).