de'greecing' the church- augustine's / thomas aquinas' errors damaging the...

DE‘GREECING’ THE CHURCH! GREEK THINKING INDUCED WRONG DOCTRINES IN THE CHURCH/

DAMAGES TO THE CHRISTIAN FAITH-AUGUSTINIAN ERRORS

SOURCE:PR.DAVID PAWSONBR.STEPHEN JEFFERIES& OTHER SOURCES

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GREECE IN MEDITERRANEAN SEA

31-08- 2014 GREEK THINKING INDUCED WRONG DOCTRINES IN CHURCH- NIRMAL NATHAN, TRICHY, INDIA

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CENTRE OF ANCIENT WORLD PHILOSOPHIES


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ANCIENT GREECE EXERTED MAJOR INFLUENCE ON CHURCH

31-08- 2014GREEK THINKING INDUCED WRONG DOCTRINES IN CHURCH- NIRMAL NATHAN, TRICHY, INDIA

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IMMENSE DAMAGE TO THE CHURCH

•IMMENSE DAMAGE TO THE CHRISTIAN FAITH.

•WE ARE THE VICTIMS OF GREEK INFLUENCE

•NOT TO MESSIANIC JEWS – AS WE SHALL SEE LATER.


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GREEK INFLUENCE – SUBTLE BUT POWERFUL ON THE CHURCH

•ALIEN TO THE CHURCH•ALIEN TO OUR FAITH•BUT NOT NOTICED BY MANY IN CHURCH•THE BIBLE SHOWS OUR HEBREW ROOTS ,

NOT GREEK ONES.•HEBREW ROOTS FAR MORE ANCIENT – BEFORE GREECE ENTERED HISTORY AROUND 100 BC.


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TWO ANCIENT WORLD VIEWS

GREEK THINKINGHEBREW THINKING


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GREEK INFLUENCE - ARCHITECTURE

STONE WORK - UNIQUE AND DIFFERENT


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ON GOVERNING METHOD

INTRODUCED •DEMOCRACY IN THE PLACE OF MONARCHY•CITY STATES RULE.


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GREEK THINKINGSPORTS OBSESSION – RELIGION LIKE.


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SPORTS OBSESSION

•CULTIVATION OF THE BODY•DISPLAY OF THE HUMAN BODY•SPORTS ONLY FOR MEN•SPORTS IN THE NUDE•MODERN DAY OLYMPICS COMMENCED FROM ANCIENT GREECE OLYMPIAD.


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GREEK THINKING

•PRIORITIZED DEBATES – LOGIC – REASON

IDEALS – IDEAS.

•LOGIC, ETHICS & VALUES – TO MAKE BAD MEN AS GOOD MEN


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GREEK THINKING

•ELEVATEDLEISUREENTERTAINMENTTHEATRE PERFORMANCE. DISCUSSIONS & DEBATESLIBRARIES FOR LEARNING


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GREEKS LIVE FOR ENTERTAINMENT.ELEVATED THEATRE PERFORMANCE.


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TWO ANCIENT WORLD VIEWSHEBREW THINKING•LIVE FOR WORK & WORSHIP.•HOLY DAY.•‘AVODAH’ – WORK IS DIGNIFIED & SACRED.•DIGNITY OF ALL LABOUR.•MOST SERVANTS OF GOD MANUAL WORKERS : FISHERMEN, SHEPHERDS, FIG PICKER, CARPENTER, TENT MAKER..

GREEK THINKING•LIVE FOR LEISURE.•HOLIDAY.•WORK IS NECESSARY EVIL.•WORK IS THROUGH SLAVES. •GREEKS PREFERRED- INTELLECTUAL WORK.•MANUAL WORK – FOR THOSE LOW IN STRATA. •2/3RD POPULATION SLAVES &

IMMIGRANTS.31-08- 2014 GREEK THINKING INDUCED WRONG DOCTRINES IN CHURCH- NIRMAL NATHAN, TRICHY, INDIA

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ENTERED GREECE AROUND 100 BC

•DURING THE 400 YEARS – ‘THE SILENT YEARS’ WHEN GOD DID NOT SPEAK TO THE JEWS

•NO WORD OF GOD•NO MIRACLES•ONLY SILENCE•BUT THE DEVIL BECAME MOST ACTIVE DURING THE PERIOD BEFORE ADVENT OF JESUS CHRIST.•GREEK PHILOSOPHERS ARISE•BEGAN TEACHING / WRITING PHILOSOPHIES


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GREEKS PRIORITIZED DEBATES. “IDEAS” BASED PHILOSOPHY OF “IDEAL”. LOGIC, ETHICS & VALUES LEAD TO MORAL BEHAVIOUR.

TO MAKE BAD MEN AS GOOD MEN

31-08- 2014

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FIRST PHILOSOPHER OF REPUTE

SOCRATES

•TAUGHT BY QUESTION & ANSWER METHOD.•DID NOT WRITE BOOKS.•CONDEMNED TO DEATH BY SUICIDE ON CHARGES THAT HE WAS:

AN ATHEIST WHO CORRUPTED THE MINDS OF YOUNG PEOPLE.


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GREEK PHILOSOPHERSSOCRATES,

PLATOARISTOTLE

MAJOR INFLUENCE ON WESTERN CIVILIZATIONS THROUGH

EDUCATION SYSTEM – “THINKING” PROCESS EMPHASIZED.

BIBLE SAYS, “AS A MAN THINKS, SO IS HE!”THINKING SHAPES CHARACTER & LIFESTYLE:

AS INDIVIDUALSAS SOCIETY


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TWO ANCIENT WORLD VIEWS

HEBREW THINKING•GOD’S CREATION IS GOOD.•THERE IS

NO DISTINCTION OF SPIRITUAL & PHYSICAL.

GREEK THINKING•SPIRITUAL IS GOOD. •MATERIAL WORLD IS BAD: EVIL.•BOTH ARE TOTALLY SEPARATED.•SPIRITUAL – TOP OF LADDER.•INTELLECTUAL –

SECOND IN LADDER.•PHYSICAL IS LOWEST IN LADDER.•SHARP DIVISION OF LIFE.


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TWO ANCIENT WORLD VIEWS – 1. BODY

HEBREW THINKING•THERE IS NO DISTINCTION.•THERE IS

NO SEPARATION OF BODY & SOUL BUT IS A “LIVING SOUL” (LIVING BODY)

GREEK THINKING•SOUL & BODY SEPARATED.

31-08- 2014

‘SOS’ DANGER SIGNAL DOES NOT MEAN, ‘SAVE MY SOUL’ ALONE, BUT AS ‘KEEP MY BODY ALIVE’.

GREEK INFLUENCED CHRISTIANS CONSIDER BODY AS OF LESS VALUE.BUT BIBLE SAYS, ‘SAVE THE WHOLE PERSON’

GREEK THINKING INDUCED WRONG DOCTRINES IN CHURCH- NIRMAL NATHAN, TRICHY, INDIA

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TWO ANCIENT WORLD VIEWS- 2. LIFE

HEBREW THINKING•SIN ALONE IS SECULAR.

•EVERYTHING ELSE IS SACRED.

GREEK THINKING•SACRED & SECULAR SEPARATED.


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GREEK THINKING•NATURAL & SUPERNATURAL SEPARATION.

HEBREW THINKING•CREATOR & CREATION SEPARATION.

•DEVIL IS NOT SUPERNATURAL BUT A CREATION.


TWO ANCIENT WORLD VIEWS- 3. UNIVERSE

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GREEK THINKING•RELIGION DIVISION – ETERNAL & TEMPORAL.

HEBREW THINKING

•NO SUCH DIVISION.


TWO ANCIENT WORLD VIEWS- 4. RELIGION

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SOCRATES - I PHILOSOPHER OF REPUTE. ON BEING SENTENCED TO DEATH BY POISON:

“MY SOUL IS BEING RELEASED FROM THE PRISON OF MY BODY”.

31-08- 2014

GREEK THINKING INDUCED WRONG DOCTRINES IN CHURCH-

NIRMAL NATHAN, TRICHY, INDIA

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MAN IS HELD PRISON IN A BODY WHICH IS EVIL & BAD.

SOCRATES (GREEK THINKING):HENCE, DEATH BECOMES A FRIEND RATHER THAN ENEMY AS IT RELEASES THE REAL ME TO BE UNITED WITH THE

‘SINGLE COLLECTIVE CONSCIOUSNESS’. HIS REAL PERSON BEING RELEASED INTO REALITY (LOSING SOUL’S IDENTITY)



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GREEK’S FATALISTIC VIEW.

HENCE, DEATH IS DESIRABLE.

HEBREW THINKING•DEATH IS NOT NATURAL.•IT IS AN EXECUTION.•DEATH SEPARATES. •IT ENDS COMMUNION

BETWEEN :1. ME & MY FAMILY2. GOD & THE DEAD.

•HENCE, DEATH IS AN ENEMY OF GOD & MEN.

31-08- 2014

THE BIBLE SAYS: ‘MY HOLY ONE WILL NOT ROT’

(OUR BODIES ROT BECAUSE ROTTEN MEN LIVED IN IT).‘JESUS CHRIST CONQUERED DEATH’.

‘THE LAST ENEMY, DEATH WILL BE THROWN INTO THE LAKE OF FIRE’.

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PROBLEM OF DUALISM

SEPARATION CAUSED CONCLUSIONS:• SPIRITUAL THINGS ARE GOOD. • PHYSICAL THINGS ARE BAD.• SOUL IS SOURCE OF GOOD.• BODY IS SOURCE OF EVIL.• GOD IS GOOD! HENCE, HE IS SEPARATED FROM

PHYSICAL REALM. • TASK OF SOUL: GET RID OF EVIL INFLUENCE OF MY BODY. • HENCE, BE SET FREE FROM PHYSICAL WORLD

(PHYSICAL BODIES) IN ORDER TO BE GOOD.


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CONSEQUENCE OF DUALISM = CONFUSIONEXAMPLES•IF SPIRITUALITY IS MORE IMPORTANT IN ONE’S VIEW, THEN AESTHETIC VALUES BECOME MORAL VALUES.•SUNDAY CHURCH CLOTHES THEMSELVES BECOME IDENTIFICATION OF MORALITY

(ALL WHITE DRESS/ PILGRIMAGE DRESS CODE, NOT WEARING JEWELS ETC..)

•CULTURAL LIFE BECOMES IDENTIFICATION OF MORALITY.


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GREEK THINKING•GOD IS SPIRITUAL – DISTANT. •NOT CONNECTED WITH PHYSICAL MORTALS.•NOT INTERESTED IN PHYSICAL

MORTALS.•HENCE, GOD CANNOT HAVE MADE PHYSICAL UNIVERSE.•HENCE, IN BETWEEN GOD & PHYSICAL UNIVERSE, A DEMI-GOD / DEMI-URGE (SEMI GOD) AS AN AGENT OF GOD•CREATED & MANAGED PHYISCAL UNIVERSE.

HEBREW THINKING•CREATOR & CREATION SEPARATION.•LORD GOD IS CREATOR.•EVERYTHING ELSE IS HIS CREATION.•DEVIL IS NOT SUPERNATURAL BUT SIMPLY A CREATION.•NO SUCH DIVISION OF SPIRITUAL AND PHYSICAL.

31-08- 2014

GREEK THINKING INDUCED WRONG DOCTRINES IN CHURCH- NIRMAL NATHAN,

TRICHY, INDIA

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PLATO (AUGUSTINE WAS HIGHLY INFLUENCED BY PLATO

– NEO PLATONISM of PLOTINUS)


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PLATO ON

GOVERNANCE

‘KNOWLEDGE IS

POWER’


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PLATO’S ATHENS ACADEMY FOR STUDENTS FROM ALL OVER

THE KNOWN WORLD – HENCE, WORLDWIDE INFLUENCE


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ARISTOTLE WROTE ABOUT 400 BOOKS.

(THOMAS ACQUINAS WAS INFLUENCED BY HIM)


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ARISTOTLE BORN 384 BC

•INVENTOR OF LOGIC.•CONTRIBUTED TO BIOLOGY, PHYSICS, ETHICS, POLITICS, POETRY.•HELPED DEVELOP SCIENTIFIC METHOD.•HIS INVENTIONS IN MEDICINE DOMINATED WESTERN WORLD TILL 17TH CENTURY.•TAUGHT AND TRAINED ALEXANDER THE GREAT.

31-08- 2014GREEK THINKING INDUCED WRONG

DOCTRINES IN CHURCH- NIRMAL NATHAN, TRICHY, INDIA

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ARISTOTLE, “PHYSICAL UNIVERSE NOT CREATED BUT EXISTS ALWAYS. MANAGED IT BY ITSELF”.

THEREBY INTRODUCED “EVOLUTION THEORY” / “SECULAR HUMANISM” (‘666’ SYMBOLISES THIS SELF GLORIFYING MAN).HIS PHILOSOPHY INFLUENCED

NON-JEWISH FORMATIVE CHURCH LEADERS.31-08- 2014GREEK THINKING INDUCED WRONG DOCTRINES IN CHURCH- NIRMAL NATHAN, TRICHY, INDIA

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EVOLUTION THEORY – EVOLVED FROM MAN’S ‘IDEA / THINKING’

FIRST FORMULATED & TAUGHT BY ARISTOTLE.

ERASMUS DARWIN, AN ATHEIST & FOLLOWER OF ARISTOTLE, TAUGHT THIS PRINCIPLE TO HIS GRAND SON – CHARLES DARWIN, WHO PRESENTED TO THE MODERN WORLD, “EVOLUTION OF SPECIES’


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2 CENTRES OF LEARNING: BEFORE CHRIST1 S T- AT H E N S I N G R E E C E

ATHENS- DIRECT INFLUENCE ON LIFE, CULTURE, RELIGION, POLITICS, SPORTS.


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HEBREW THINKING PREVAILED IN JERUSALEM – DESPITE SEVERE PERSECUTION

• DURING THE SILENT YEARS BEFORE THE ADVENT OF JESUS CHRIST, GREECE BEGAN ITS MAJOR INFLUENCE IN JERUSALEM, THROUGH THE GREEK INVADER GENERAL - KING

A N T I O Q U ES I V - E P I P H A N ES – FO R 3 . 5 Y EA RS• SPORTS ARENA BUILT & SPORTS PROMOTED.• SET UP ZEUS IDOL IN THE TEMPLE OF THE GOD OF ISRAEL,

WHO ABHORS IDOLS.• PIG SACRIFICED ON THE ALTAR OF THE GOD OF ISRAEL,

WHO ABHORS UNCLEAN ANIMALS.• BROTHELS SET UP IN THE TEMPLE OF HOLY GOD OF ISRAEL.


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ANTIOQUES IV -EPIPHANES


‘ABOMINATION OF THE DESOLATION’, SAYS DANIEL.

HE FORCED HELLENIZATION UPON ISRAEL.

DEFEATED BY THE JEWS LED BY BRAVE MACCABEES.

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GREEK INFLUENCE - SADDUCEES

RISE OF “SADDUCEES” GROUP OF RICH PRIESTS (HIGH PRIESTS & CHIEF PRIESTS) IN JERUSALEM.

GREEK INFLUENCE: DO NOT BELIEVE IN RESURRECTION.DO NOT BELIEVE IN ANGELS.DO NOT BELIEVE IN THE HOLY SPIRIT (ACTS 23:8)

COMPROMISED WITH RULERS FOR POSITION & PROFIT.ANNAS & CAIAPHAS WERE SADDUCEES.


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2nd CENTRE OF LEARNING: ALEXANDRIA IN EGYPT

WHERE MANY JEWS OF DIASPORA SETTLED.

ALEXANDRIA – MORE SUBTLE INFLUENCE: ON DIASPORA OF JEWISH SCHOLARS FIRST,ON CHRISTIAN SCHOLARS NEXT.


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GREEK THOUGHT- INFLUENCE BEGINS ON JEWS A). GREEK TRANSLATION OF OLD TESTAMENT DONE IN ALEXANDRIA BEFORE CHRIST BY 70 JEWISH SCHOLARS FOR NON HEBREW SPEAKING (BUT GREEK SPEAKING) DIASPORA OF JEWS. THIS IS CALLED ‘SEPTUAGINT’ (LXX) VERSION OF THE OLD TESTAMENT.THROUGH THIS VERSION:APOCRYPHA BOOKS (NON CANONICAL AS PER JEWISHSH BIBLE SCHOLARS) ENTERS OLD TESTAMENT BIBLE IN ‘SEPTUAGINT’ VERSION.


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GREEK THOUGHT- INFLUENCE BEGINS ON CHURCH

•AFTER CHRIST, JEROME OF ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH TRANSLATES ‘LATIN VULGATE’ BIBLE FROM GREEK SEPTUAGINT.•DRAWN FROM WRONG VERSION, APOCRYPHA SECTION OF BOOKS BECOMES PART OF ROMAN CATHOLIC BIBLE.


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SO WHAT IS WRONG WITH APOCRYPHA?

100% USEFUL BOOKS OF HISTORY OF ISRAEL DURING ‘THE SILENT YEARS’.BUT NOT A SINGLE MENTION AS “THE LORD GOD SAID / THE WORD OF GOD CAME TO” AS IT SAYS FOR 1000S OF OCCASIONS IN THE SCRIPTURES.NOT USED BY JESUS CHRIST IN HIS REFERENCES TO SCRIPTURES. IT IS MAN’S WRITING – NOT THE WRITING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT INSPIRED MEN.GOOD TO READ, BUT WRONG TO USE TO FORM BIBLICAL

DOCTRINES. ‘INTERCESSION FOR THE DEAD’ AROSE FROM A REFERENCE

IN MACCABEES BOOK. 31-08- 2014 GREEK THINKING INDUCED WRONG DOCTRINES IN

CHURCH- NIRMAL NATHAN, TRICHY, INDIA

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B). GREEK ‘ALLEGORICAL METHOD’ OF BIBLE INTERPRETATION ENTERS. •HIDDEN SPIRITUAL MEANINGS SOUGHT.•BIBLE CODE IS SAID TO BE HIDDEN IN BIBLE. •NO CONTROL OVER DOCTRINAL INTERPRETATIONS.•‘EISOGESIS’ RESULTED (READING INTO THE TEXT OF WHAT I WANT TO SEE) INSTEAD OF ‘EXOGESIS’ (WHAT DOES THE PASSAGE LITERALLY SAYS).


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NEW METHOD OF BIBLE INTERPRETATION & TEACHING

•STARTED IN ALEXANDRIA.•GREEK THINKING:TO FIND THE HIDDEN MEANING WITHIN THE PHYSICAL WRITINGS.‘PHYSICAL WRITING WILL HAVE HIDDEN SPIRITUAL MEANING TO HAVE REAL VALUE’ =

“ALLEGORY METHOD”.


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GREEK THOUGHT- INFLUENCE ON JEWS FIRST

BC PERIOD- INFLUENCED BY THIS METHOD, JEWISH SCHOLAR ‘PHILO’ IMPACTED OTHER SCHOLARS.HE INTRODUCED ‘DEMIGOD’ / ‘DEMIURGE’ IDEAINTO JEWISH THINKING.SAID THAT A DEMIGOD CREATED & MANAGED THE UNIVERSE.HE GAVE IT THE NAME ‘LOGOS’. DID NOT CLARIFY WHO / WHAT THAT ‘LOGOS’ WAS.


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INITIALLY CHURCH WAS PROTECTED FROM HELLENIZATION

FIRST CENTURY PERSECUTION DURING THE ROMAN EMPIRE PROTECTED THE CHURCH

AS CHRISTIANS WERE DECLARED BY THE CAESAR AS ‘RELIGIO ILLECITA- OUTLAWS’


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ANNO DOMINI PERIOD- 2 PLACES OF ENCOUNTER BETWEEN JEWISH & GREEK THINKING1. WESTERN TURKEY –

REGION OF 7 CHURCHES OF REVELATION.2. AFRICA – ALEXANDRIA

(WHERE PHILO CAME EARLIER).


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WESTERN TURKEY - AREA OF I ENCOUNTER•CROSS ROADS OF EUROPE, AFRICA & ASIA.•FERTILE AREA - WEALTHY- MONEY CURRENCY WAS INVENTED

HERE FOR TRANSACTIONS. •GRECO ROMAN INFLUENCES + PAGAN PRACTICES FLOURISH.•PERGAMUM WAS THE HEADQUARTERS OF SATAN.•PROXIMITY TO PERGAMUM AFFECTED 7 CHURCHES IN THIS REGION (IN PROPORTION TO PROXIMITY).•IF THE CHURCH SURVIVES HERE, IT COULD SURVIVE ANY WHERE ELSE.•HENCE, JESUS CHRIST WRITES TO THESE 7 CHURCHES IN PARTICULAR – REVELATION 2-3 CHAPTERS.•TO WARN & PROTECT AGAINST THE GRECO ROMAN INFLUENCES.


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HELLENISM IMPACTS ON DUALISM INFLUENCED PEOPLE – CULTS ARISE

WHERE WOULD THEY PUT JESUS?• SACRED OR SECULAR SPHERE?• SPIRITUAL OR PHYSICAL REALM?• OR WOULD BE LIKE GREEK DEMI-GOD IN BETWEEN

AS AGENT OF GOD IN CREATION?


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IN EPHESUS FIRST GREEK IMPACT

GREEK INFLUENCE:HERESY DEVELOPS:

a) ‘JESUS CANNOT BE BOTH GOD & MAN’. b) ‘SPIRIT OF CHRIST MUST HAVE ENTERED HIM AT THE

TIME OF HIS BAPTISM AND LEFT HIM BEFORE DEATH”.c) HE IS A DEMIGOD, AS AN AGENT OF GOD IN

CREATION.•JEHOWAH WITNESS CULT FOLLOWS THIS INTERPRETATION.


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WESTERN TURKEY - AREA OF I ENCOUNTER•APOSTLE JOHN WRITES THE GOSPEL & 3 EPISTLES TO COUNTER THESE HERESY.•GOSPEL GIVES – 7 MIRACULOUS SIGNS THAT JESUS CHRIST IS FULLY GOD –

7 “I AM” WITNESSES – THAT JESUS IS YHWH•GIVES EVIDENCE THAT

JESUS CHRIST WAS FULLY HUMAN – “JESUS WAS THIRSTY/ HUNGRY / WEPT..”


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APOSTLE JOHN COUNTERS GREEK ONSLAUGHT

•PROVES THAT JESUS CHRIST IS “LOGOS” BUT NOT THE LOGOS LIKE PHILO’S IDEA OF DEMI-GOD BUT AS “ETERNAL GOD”.•EXHORTS DISCIPLES TO CONTINUE TRUSTING IN JESUS CHRIST AS FULLY HUMAN & FULLY GOD ALL AT THE SAME TIME. •WARNS AGAINST GREEK ‘GNOSTIC (KNOWLEDGE)’

CULT TEACHINGS.•MANY CHRISTIAN MARTYRS (SMYRNA, POLYCARP) DIE IN THIS REGION & GREEK INFLUENCE STOPPED HERE.


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ALEXANDRIA – WHERE THE BATTLE WAS LOST


AFRICA – ALEXANDRIA (WHERE PHILO CAME EARLIER).

- AREA OF II ENCOUNTERCLEMENT ORIGEN

CHURCH FATHERS CLEMENT & ORIGIN ADOPT GREEK ALLEGORY METHOD OF BIBLE INTERPRETATION.57

31-08- 2014

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WHAT IS WRONG WITH ALLEGORY METHOD OF INTERPRETATION?

•UNLESS THE SCRIPTURES SAYS A PASSAGE OF ILLUSTRATION AS ALLEGORY, USING THIS METHOD COULD BE AS DIVERSE AS THE INTERPRETER’S IMAGINATION, TOTALLY FAR REMOVED FROM THE AUTHOR’S INTENDED MEANING.

•EVERY ONE AND ANY ONE CAN FIND ANY MEANING AS THEY WISH. SO WHICH ONE IS THE TRUTH?•HENCE, IT IS HIGHLY DANGEROUS & ERRONEOUS TO USE ALLEGORY METHOD WHERE NO ALLEGORY IS INDICATED BY THE AUTHOR.31-08- 2014 GREEK THINKING INDUCED WRONG DOCTRINES IN CHURCH- NIRMAL NATHAN, TRICHY, INDIA

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EXAMPLE OF ALLEGORY ERRORS

IN EZEKIEL 47:1-12 THE RIVER FROM THE TEMPLE IS THE PHYSICAL MIRACLE THAT THE LORD GOD WANTS TO PERFORM MAKING THE DEAD SEA A FRESH WATER SEA ALIVE WITH FISH. BUT PREACHERS USE ALLEGORY METHOD TO MEAN ANYTHING BUT THIS SIMPLE PHYSICAL FACT GIVEN AS A PROMISE OF GOD. JOHN 21:1-11 THE 153 FISH IS A MIRACULOUS CATCH OF LOTS OF FISH FOR THE APOSTLES WHO TOILED FOR LONG WITHOUT GOOD HAUL. AN ALLEGORY METHOD USED BY PREACHERS FINDS SO MANY INTERPRETATIONS INSTEAD OF STATING THIS SIMPLE FACT THAT THEY CAUGHT LOTS OF FISH.


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ALLEGORY METHOD - RESULT

•ONE REASON FOR SO MANY DIVERSE INTERPRETATIONS GIVING RISE

TO DENOMINATIONS!•ONE REASON FOR CULTS FORMATION!


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NORTH WEST AFRICA – TUNISIANEXT, MAJOR IMPACT ON CHURCH

AD 354-430 – TUNISIA – HIPPO TOWN – NEW BISHOP AUGUSTINE (OF HIPPO) APPOINTED.


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AUGUSTINE OF HIPPO, NORTH WEST AFRICA.

ONE OF THE MOST INFLUENTIAL PERSONS IN CHURCH –BOTH ROMAN CATHOLIC &

PROTESTANT REFORMATION.


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•BORN ALGERIAN, BROUGHT UP IN ITALY, •LEARNT NEO-PLATONIAN THOUGHT OF PLOTINUS.•YOUNG AGE – FOLLOWER OF ‘MANI’CHAEISM ‘GNOSTIC RELIGION’ – 2ND MOST POPULAR RELIGION THEN.•WITH DOCTRINES : •‘BODY IS INCURABLY EVIL’ •‘DUALISM OF GOOD & EVIL PRINCIPLES GOVERNING CREATION & LIFE’.


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•FOR SOUL, WHICH HE BELIEVED IS GOOD, HE STUDIED PHILOSOPHY.

•FOR BODY, WHICH HE BELIEVED AS EVIL, HE INDULGED IN MISTRESSES & HAD & LATER ABANDONED HIS ILLEGITIMATE SON. •UNDER SAINTLY BISHOP AMBROSE OF MILAN, ITALY, HE HAD DRAMATIC CONVERSION.•FIRST PREACHED PURE GOSPEL.•LATER NEGATIVE THINKING (OF BODY & PHYSICAL MATTER) BEGAN TO INFLUENCE HIS TEACHING & PREACHING.•LATER HIS NEO-PLATONIC & MANICHAEISM LEARNINGS

DOMINATED HIS DOGMATIC TEACHING.31-08- 2014


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•AUGUSTINE STUDIED TWO DIFFERENT RELIGIONS/PHILOSOPHIES, THAT HE ALLOWED TO INFLUENCE HIM,

•AND BROUGHT THEIR DOCTRINES WITH HIM INTO THE CHURCH.

•RECAST CHRISTIAN THOUGHT IN NEO-PLATONIC TERMS ( CAUSING MAXIMUM

DAMAGE BY HIM TO THE CHURCH & CHRISTIAN FAITH)•ABANDONED HEBREW THOUGHT IN PREFERENCE TO GREEK THOUGHT


66

ROMAN CATHOLIC & PROTESTANT REFORMATION CHURCH CONSIDER

•AUGUSTINE AS THE GREATEST THEOLOGIAN OF THE CHURCH.•MARTIN LUTHER & CALVIN WERE GREATLY INFLUENCED BY HIM.


67

BUT SEPARATION FROM THE JEWISH ROOTS CAUSEDHUGE DAMAGES TO THE CHURCH AND THE

CHRISTIAN FAITH


68

PAGAN PRACTICES INFILTRATE CHURCHAROUND THIS TIME :•DEATH & RESURRECTION DAYS OF CHRIST & ‘LORD’S SUPPER’ (HOLY COMMUNION) WERE SEPARATED FROM ‘PASSOVER FESTIVAL’ OF THE LORD. •PAGAN EASTER FESTIVAL ENTERED.•CHRISTMAS MOVED MONTHS AHEAD OF ‘FESTIVAL OF TABERNACLE’ TO COINCIDE WITH PAGAN FESTIVAL WITH PAGAN CUSTOMS. •12 DAYS OF ‘YULETIDE’ – ORGY OF DRINKING, EATING & IMMORALITY WITH VILLAGE ELECTED MAN – ‘ON THE 1ST DAY OF CHRISTMAS MY TRUE LOVE…’ SONG IS ACTUALLY YULETIDE ORGY SONG.•‘WHIT SUNDAY’ IN UK & IRELAND SEPARATED FROM ‘PENTECOST FESTIVAL’ OF THE LORD.

69

AUGUSTIANIAN ‘MANICHAEN’ INFLUENCED DOGMA- MARITAL SEXUAL RELATIONSHE CONCLUDED IN HIS WRITINGS & TEACHING THAT

ADAM'S SIN (IN THE GARDEN) IS PHYSICALLY TRANSMITTED & GENETICALLY DERIVED FROM PARENT TO CHILD THROUGH THE CONCUPISCENCE (LUST) THAT ACCOMPANIES SEXUAL REPRODUCTION. FOR THAT REASON THE INFECTION OF ADAM'S SIN IS PASSED DOWN THROUGH "SEXUAL RELATIONS" TO THE ENTIRE HUMAN RACE.


70

AUGUSTINE’S DOGMA :MARY, MOTHER OF JESUS, DECLARED AS WOMAN OF ‘IMMACULATE CONCEPTION’ (AT HER BIRTH).

•FOR EXAMPLE, TO SAY THAT JESUS WAS BORN OF A WOMAN WHO WAS INFECTED WITH ORIGINAL SIN AND THUS SHAPED OUR SINLESS LORD IN HER VERY INIQUITY WOULD BE DIFFICULT TO EXPLAIN (PSALM. 51:5 & HEBREWS. 4:15)! •THE ONLY WAY TO AVOID THIS BLASPHEMES PREDICAMENT IS TO EMBRACE THE ROMAN CATHOLIC DOGMA TERMED 'IMMACULATE CONCEPTION' WHICH WAS INVENTED TO REMEDY THE ISSUE OF CHRIST BEING INFECTED WITH ORIGINAL SIN.


71

WHO WERE ‘IMMACULATE’ AT CONCEPTION/ CREATION?THE BIBLE GIVES ONLY 3 ACCOUNTS BIRTH : JESUS CHRISTCREATION : I. ADAM (GENESIS 1:27).

II. LUCIFER, CREATED IMMACULATE WITHOUT DEFECTS (EZEKIEL 28:11-15).

BOTH THE ABOVE CREATIONS FELL FROM GRACE, DUE TO THEIR SIN. EVERY HUMAN BEING EXCEPT JESUS CHRIST, IS DECLARED AS SINNER BY THE WORD OF GOD (ROMANS 3:23).


72

AUGUSTINE’S OTHER INFLUENCES - BODY.

•SEX WITHIN MARRIAGE TOO IS ‘LUST’.•CELIBACY IS BETTER THAN MATRIMONY – HENCE, ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIESTS & NUNS COMPULSORY CELIBACY. •BUT JEWISH RABBI MUST BE MARRIED & EXPERIENCE LOVE WITHIN MARRIAGE.•FROM THEN ON, CHRISTIANS ARE CONFUSED WITH THEIR BODY – DON’T KNOW ABOUT THE USE OF BODY. •CHURCH RARELY TALKS OF IT- EXCEPT IN NEGATIVE TERMS.31-08- 2014 GREEK THINKING INDUCED WRONG DOCTRINES IN CHURCH- NIRMAL NATHAN, TRICHY, INDIA

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BUT THE BIBLE DECLARES ABOUT BODYJESUS CHRIST – FULLY HUMAN & FULLY DIVINE.BODY IS.•A TEMPLE OF GOD.•WE WILL BE RESURRECTED WITH A NEW BODY.•BODY & SOUL ARE ONE COMPOSITE BEING.•NEW EARTH WILL BE HEAVEN AS GOD MOVES OVER TO NEW EARTH.•BODY IS A CREATION OF GOD.•BODY IS NOT BAD – ‘WE’ ARE BAD.•SEX WITHIN MARRIAGE IS A GIFT OF GOD &HONOURABLE. •BUT DON’T OVER-INDULGE TO CRAVINGS.•AND DON’T BECOME A SLAVE OF PASSIONS. 31-08- 2014 GREEK THINKING INDUCED WRONG DOCTRINES IN CHURCH- NIRMAL NATHAN, TRICHY, INDIA

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WRONG SEPARATION OF: RELIGIOUS & SECULAR LIFE.PRIESTS (&NUNS) & LAY PEOPLE.SPIRITUAL & SECULAR LIFE.

(WHO DO YOU PRAY FOR, A PASTOR SURROUNDED BY CHRISTIANS OR A WORKER IN OUTSIDE WORLD SURROUNDED BY PAGANS?)RELIGIOUS WHO LIVE BY FAITH & LAY CONGREGATION

WHO LIVE BY THEIR LABOUR?(TILL 428 AD – THERE WAS NO DISTINCT CLERICAL DRESS. IN-FACT A FORMER POPE, THEN CRITICIZED A FRENCH BISHOP FOR WEARING A DISTINCT RELIGIOUS DRESS- DISTINCTION BY LIFE & NOT DRESS, HE SAID).

AUGUSTINE’S OTHER INFLUENCES -2. WORK.

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75

•PHYSICAL ISRAEL REPLACED BY ‘SPIRITUAL ISRAEL’ -CHURCH.

•SO IN CHURCH FEW LEARN, TEACH OR PREACH FROM OLD TESTAMENT WHICH THEY SAW AS PRIMARILY TO DO WITH PHYSICAL ISRAEL. •SO FEW KNOW WHAT ‘613 INSTRUCTIONS’ (TORAH) MEAN & FOR WHAT PURPOSE WERE GIVEN.•MOST QUICK TO TERM IT AS “LAW” IN NEGATIVE LEGAL CONNOTATION AS IF IT IS BAD OR WRONG WITHOUT EVEN HAVING READ IT SERIOUSLY.•DISPENSATION TEACHINGS ENTER CHURCH & CONFUSE.

AUGUSTINE’S OTHER INFLUENCES -3. ISRAEL.


76

•MANY ERRONEOUSLY ASSUME THAT THE ‘LAW OF LOVE’ IS FROM NEW TESTAMENT & NOT FROM OLD TESTAMENT.•MANY ERRONEOUSLY ASSUME THAT ‘NEW’ LAW OF LOVE REPLACED THE ENTIRE OLD TESTAMENT.•MANY FAIL TO UNDERSTAND THAT ‘THE LAW OF LOVE’ WAS THE FOUNDATION PRINCIPLE BY WHICH THE 613 INSTRUCTIONS WERE TO BE UNDERSTOOD & PRACTICED BY ISRAEL. •MANY WERE ERRONEOUSLY LED TO BELIEVE THAT ‘GRACE’ BEGAN ONLY IN NEW TESTAMENT ERA & THAT ‘GRACE’ HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH PHYSICAL ISRAEL EARLIER. •CHURCH ERRONEOUSLY BELIEVES THE LIE THAT GOD IS FINISHED WITH ‘PHYSICAL ISRAEL’.

AUGUSTINE’S OTHER INFLUENCES -3. ISRAEL.

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77

ENTRANCE – ALLEGORY METHOD OF INTERPRETATION- STILL CONFUSING THE CHURCH TODAY.

•AUGUSTINE FELT THAT THE GOD OF THE OLD TESTAMENT WAS CAPRICIOUS & VINDICTIVE, & AT ODDS WITH THE GRACIOUS GOD OF THE NEW TESTAMENT.. BISHOP AMBROSE HELPED HIM OVERCOME THIS NEGATIVE THINKING OF AUGUSTINE.•SO HOW DID AMBROSE AND AUGUSTINE OVERCOME THE APPARENT CONTRADICTION ? •BY USING A METHOD OF INTERPRETATION CALLED ALLEGORY – WHAT YOU SEE GOD DOING IN OLD TESTAMENT HAS HIDDEN MEANING.

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78


THE TEACHINGS OF THE OLD TESTAMENT, ACCORDING TO AUGUSTINE, COULD ONLY BE UNDERSTOOD BY TAKING THE OLD TESTAMENT AS ALLEGORY. AUGUSTINE SPIRITUALIZED THE OLD TESTAMENT, TEACHING THAT THE HISTORIES OF THE OLD TESTAMENT HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH GOD, IN REALITY, THAT THE STORIES ABOUT GOD IN THE OLD TESTAMENT ONLY TAUGHT ABOUT GOD IN PICTURES, LIKE PARABLES.


79


ACCORDING TO AUGUSTINE, THE OLD TESTAMENT WAS NOT A PERFECT REVELATION OF GOD AND HIS CHARACTER, BUT CONTAINED BITS AND PIECES ABOUT GOD THAT WE HAD TO FIGURE OUT WITH ALLEGORICAL INTERPRETATION.

AUGUSTINE'S INFLUENCE WAS SO GREAT THAT, FOR A THOUSAND YEARS, HIS METHOD OF INTERPRETING THE BIBLE WAS THE OFFICIAL METHOD OF INTERPRETATION USED BY THE CHURCH.31-08- 2014 GREEK THINKING INDUCED WRONG DOCTRINES IN CHURCH- NIRMAL NATHAN, TRICHY, INDIA

80

INTERLUDE- EARLY JEWISH BELIEVERS HISTORY – “REPLACEMENT THEOLOGY ”

•IN 70 AD AT THE END OF THE JEWISH REVOLT, THE ROMAN EMPIRE FORBADE JEWS FROM

ENTERING JERUSALEM. •AROUND 100 AD IT IS ESTIMATED THAT THERE WERE

ONE MILLION JEWISH BELIEVERS. •IN 132 AD THE ROMANS TRIED TO STOP THE JEWS CIRCUMCISING THEIR BOYS AND OTHER PRACTICES OF JUDAISM. •THE BELIEVING JEWS FOUGHT ALONGSIDE THEIR ORTHODOX BROTHERS IN THE ISRAELI ARMY AGAINST THE ROMAN ARMY, AS BOTH CIRCUMCISED THEIR BOYS (THE BELIEVERS BECAUSE OF THE ABRAHAMIC COVENANT, THE ORTHODOX JEWS BECAUSE OF THE MOSAIC LAW). 31-08- 2014 GREEK THINKING INDUCED WRONG DOCTRINES IN CHURCH- NIRMAL NATHAN,

TRICHY, INDIA

81

INTERLUDE- MESSIANIC JEWISH BELIEVERS HISTORY – REPLACEMENT THEOLOGY

•THE COMMANDER OF THE JEWISH FORCES WAS SHIMON BAR KOCKBA (KOCHBA). •DURING THAT REBELLION THE CHIEF RABBI DECLARED THAT BAR KOCKBA WAS THE MESSIAH. •HENCE, THE ‘BELIEVING JEWS’ WITHDREW FROM THE

JEWISH ARMY, AS THEY HELD YESHUA (JESUS) TO BE THE MESSIAH…

•THE ‘BELIEVING JEWS’ WERE THEN KILLED BY BOTH ROMANS AND THE ORTHODOX JEWS. •BY THE END OF THE REBELLION IN 135 AD THE ‘BELIEVING

JEWISH POPULATION’ HAD BEEN DECIMATED. 31-08- 2014 GREEK THINKING INDUCED WRONG DOCTRINES IN CHURCH- NIRMAL NATHAN, TRICHY, INDIA

82

EARLY MESSIANIC BELIEVERS HISTORY- REPLACEMENT THEOLOGY

•THE ROMANS NOW FORBADE THE JEWS TO LIVE IN ISRAEL•THEY RENAMED THE COUNTRY ‘PALESTINE’. •THE ‘ORTHODOX JEWS’ BLAMED THE ‘BELIEVING JEWS’ FOR THE LOSS OF THE WAR. •THE CHIEF RABBI WROTE A PRAYER TO BE SAID EVERY MORNING IN THE SYNAGOGUE…IT SAID THAT ANYONE BELIEVING IN JESUS AS THE MESSIAH WAS CURSED. •WHEN THE ‘GENTILE BELIEVERS’ LEARNED OF THIS PRAYER THEY REACTED AGAINST IT…AND •THE FIRST RECORDED STATEMENT OF “REPLACEMENT THEOLOGY” CAME IN 160 AD. •IT BECAME THE OFFICIAL POSITION OF THE ‘CHURCH’ WHEN IT WAS ENDORSED BY ALL THE BISHOPS AT THE COUNCIL OF NICEA IN 325 AD.31-08- 2014


TRICHY, INDIA

83

AUGUSTINE ON ISRAEL – MAJOR ERROR

•PHYSICAL IS NOT GOOD – SPIRITUAL IS GOOD (GREEK THOUGHT).

HENCE, PHYSICAL COVENANT PROMISES FOR PHYSICAL ISRAEL ARE NO MORE VALID. (BUT THE BIBLE SAYS THEY ARE IRREVOCABLE!).•GOD IS NOW WITH ‘SPIRITUAL ISRAEL- CHURCH’.•GOD’S COVENANT PROMISE OF PHYSICAL LAND FOR ISRAEL IS NO MORE VALID.•HENCE, MIDDLE EAST PROBLEM OF ‘LAND OF ISRAEL’ IS NOT A PROBLEM OF THE CHURCH. •MIDDLE EAST PEACE ALONE IS THE CONCERN OF CHURCH.

•CHURCH HAD NOTHING MORE TO DO WITH ISRAEL – HEBRAIC HERITAGE LOST WITH MUCH DAMAGE –

NO MORE DOCTRINAL PURITY POSSIBLE.

31-08- 2014


TRICHY, INDIA

84

AUGUSTINE - 2ND COMING ERROR- GREEK GNOSTIC / MANICHAEN THINKING INFLUENCED

CONCLUDED THAT SINCE RESURRECTED JESUS IS BACK WITH GOD THE FATHER IN HEAVEN, HE WILL / CANNOT NOT COME BACK TO PHYSICAL EARTH WHICH IS EVIL.


85

AUG U STINE ON 2 ND COMING OF CHRIST. G NOSTIC / MA NICHA E N THINK ING INF LUE NCE D .

ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH IS THE ‘CITY

OF GOD’ GOVERNING THE WORLD TILL IT

COMPLETES PERFECTING THE WORLD FOR JESUS CHRIST

TO RETURN


86

AUGUSTINE ON 2ND COMING OF CHRIST•JESUS CHRIST WILL NOT RETURN TO EARTH. •HE WILL REIGN SPIRITUALLY FROM HEAVEN. ‘CITY OF GOD’, THE CHURCH WILL BE HIS INSTRUMENT OF REIGN ON EARTH (SPIRITUAL REALM DIVINE JESUS CHRIST CANNOT BE HERE ON PHYSICAL EARTH!).•HENCE, ‘AMILLENNIALISM’ THEOLOGY OF ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. CHRIST’S MILLENIUM REIGN IS ALREADY HERE THROUGH THE VICTORIOUS ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. (HOW COME SATAN IS NOT BOUND FOR THIS PERIOD, THEN, AS REVELATION SAYS IN REV 20:1-3?)•431 AD- AUGUSTIN PERSUADED EPHESUS COUNCIL TO DECLARE THAT BELIEF IN MILLENIUM RULE OF CHRIST IN PHYSICAL TERMS IS A HERESY.



‘AMILLENIALISM’ DOCTRINE OF

AUGUSTINE. ROMAN CHURCH &

OTHER INTERPRETATIONS



88

AUGUSTINE INTRODUCED ‘DOCTRINE OF PREDESTINATION’

•GOD DECIDES AND PREDETERMINES WHO ON EARTH IS TO BE SAVED.•NO AMOUNT OF PRAYING OR PREACHING CAN BRING ANY PERSON INTO SALVATION DECISION. •HENCE, IT IS A WASTE TO PREACH TO EVERYONE.•HENCE, IT IS WASTE TO EVANGELIZE.


89

AUGUSTINE’S‘DOCTRINE OF PREDESTINATION’

•WITH NO ROLE OF MAN’S RESPONSIBILITY IN HIS BEING SAVED.

(SINCE PLATO’S ‘PERFECT’ GREEK GOD •IS STATIC, •MADE ETERNAL DECREES & •DOES NOT CHANGE).

•HEBREW BIBLICAL DOCTRINE – OPPOSITE VIEW. EX: POTTER & CLAY PARABLE IN THE BOOK OF JEREMIAH – “ IF ISRAEL REPENTS & PRAYS, THEN I WILL REPENT AND CHANGE MY MIND”.


90

DOCTRINE OF PREDESTINATION

•IT IS BASED ON GREEK THINKING. •IT IS DIAMETRICALLY OPPOSITE TO JEWISH THINKING.•BUT LUTHER & CALVIN ACCEPTED AUGUSTINIAN VIEW.


91

AUGUSTINE’S DOCTRINE OF “ONCE SAVED-ALWAYS SAVED”•GREEKS DECIDED THAT ONCE GOD DECIDES,

HE CANNOT BE INFLUENCED BY ANYTHING OR ANYONE TO CHANGE HIS DECISION.•HENCE, AUGUSTINE CONCLUDED THAT SALVATION IS PERMANENT AND NONE CAN LOSE SALVATION. •THE BIBLE TEACHES THAT GOD DOES CHANGE HIS MIND. •HEBREW VIEW: GOD IS DYNAMIC & NOT STATIC.•GOD CAN BE INFLUENCED BY MAN’S CHOICE.•ONE CAN LOSE THE SALVATION•ISRAELITES WERE SAVED BY GOD FROM EGYPT. BUT EXCEPT 2 REST OF ABOUT 2 LAKHS JEWS PERISHED IN THE DESERT DUE TO THEIR UNFAITHFULNESS. (1 COR 10:1-11) •WE CAN LOSE OUR SALVATION BY OUR CHOICE (1 COR 10:1-11)


92

AND ADDED TO THESE

•AUGUSTINE WROTE JUSTIFYING THE LEGAL "COERCION" OF CHRISTIANS WHO DISAGREED WITH HIM.

•JUSTIFIED ‘JUST WAR’ THEORY- THIS THEORY POSTULATES THAT WAR, WHILE VERY TERRIBLE, IS NOT ALWAYS THE WORST OPTION. THERE MAY BE RESPONSIBILITIES SO IMPORTANT, ATROCITIES WHICH CAN BE PREVENTED OR OUTCOMES SO UNDESIRABLE THEY JUSTIFY WAR EG: “THE CRUSADES”


93

THOMAS AQUINAS (OF AQUINO, ITALY) – NEXT MAJOR INFLUENCE ON ROMAN CATHOLIC

CHURCH WITH ARISTOTLE’S INFLUENCES


94

THOMAS ACQUINAS

•WHEREAS AUGUSTINE WAS INFLUENCED MORE BY PLATO WHO TAUGHT THAT THE SPIRITUAL

REALM AS THE REAL WORLD,•THOMAS ACQUINAS WAS INFLUENCED BY ARISTOTLE,

WHO TAUGHT “NATURAL THEOLOGY” BASED ON “REASON”.•THE DENOMINATIONS INFLUENCED BY HIM, DO NOT

RECOGNIZE THE OPERATION OF THE GIFTS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT (TONGUES ETC) FOR THAT IS NOT EXPLAINABLE BY REASON.


95

CONSIDER THESE

•GOD RAISED UP THE ISRAELITES AS HIS CHOSEN PEOPLE TO REVEAL HIM & HIS WAYS TO THE WORLD

(EXODUS 19:5-6).•GOD GAVE A REVELATION OF HIMSELF & HIS WAYS TO THEM & NOT TO THE GREEKS.•GOD INSPIRED JEWISH AUTHORS WROTE THE SCRIPTURES ( 2 TIMOTHY 3:16) . •THEY DID NOT WRITE THEIR ‘REASONING’ OR ‘IDEAS’ AS GREEK PHILOSOPHERS DID.


96

•JESUS WAS A JEW, •BORN TO A JEWESS, •BROUGHT UP BY JEWISH FOSTER FATHER,•BROUGHT UP IN JEWISH ENVIRONMENT, •CHOSE HIS APOSTLES FROM AMONG JEWS, •TAUGHT IN JEWISH CULTURAL SET UP, •TAUGHT IN HEBREW & ARAMAIC LANGUAGE •USING HEBREW MINDSET, PROVERBS &PARABLES.


97

•HE TOLD THE SAMARITAN WOMAN, “YOU SAMARITANS WORSHIP WHAT YOU DO NOT

KNOW; WE WORSHIP WHAT WE DO KNOW, FOR SALVATION IS FROM THE JEWS” (JOHN 4:22).

•THE EARLY CHURCH WAS 100% JEWISH, ENLARGED TO BRING IN THE GENTILES.•EXCEPT DR. LUKE, EVERY ONE OF THE NEW TESTAMENT WRITER WAS A JEW, WRITING IN PREVALENT GREEK LANGUAGE BUT USING JEWISH MINDSET.•HENCE, TO LEARN THE SCRIPTURES SHOULD WE GO TO THE JEWS OR TO THE GREEKS?


98

THE RIGHT PERSPECTIVE – MESSIANIC JEWISH THINKING



99

FEW EXAMPLES OF JEWISH THINKING•TRUE LIVING HOLY GOD IS IN DYNAMIC RELATIONSHIP WITH MAN UNLIKE IN GREEK THOUGHT.

•BIBLE DECLARES THAT OUR ATTITUDE & PRAYER INFLUENCES GOD.

•HE IS NOT DISTANT AS IN GREEK THOUGHT BUT ‘IMMANUEL = GOD WITH US’31-08- 2014 GREEK THINKING INDUCED WRONG DOCTRINES IN CHURCH- NIRMAL NATHAN, TRICHY, INDIA

100

JEWISH THINKING IS DIAMETRICALLY OPPOSITE TO GREEK THINKING.

•FOR ISRAELITES – LORD GOD IS THEIR WISDOM & LORD GOD IS THEIR SALVATION.

•FOR GREEKS - WISDOM IS THEIR PERSONAL ACHIEVEMENT &

KNOWLEDGE (GNOSIS) IS THEIR SALVATION.•ISRAELITE THINKING DESTROYS MUCH OF WRONG THEOLOGY OF GREEK INFLUENCED CHURCH.


101

•GREEKS BELIEVE IN LOGIC, REASON & EVIDENCE FOR TRUTH.

•JEWISH ‘BELIEVERS’ EXHIBITFAITH (TRUST) IN GOD (JOHN 7:17) & HIS REVELATION IN THE SCRIPTURES.


102

HEBREW THINKING - BODY•JESUS CHRIST IS GOD AND FROM HIS BIRTH & RESURRECTION WILL ALWAYS HAVE A HUMAN BODY – HE IS THE FIRST AMONG THE RESURRECTED. •GOD MADE THE PHYSICAL WORLD & MY PHYSICAL BODY. •THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH MY BODY – PROBLEM IS WITH ME! •CELIBACY IS NOT BETTER THAN MARITAL SEX (1 CORIN 7). •SEX WAS GIVEN TO MANKIND BEFORE SIN ENTERED THE WORLD. •ALL BELIEVERS IN JESUS CHRIST WILL BE GIVEN NEW BODY ON RESURRECTION.•MY DRESS DOES NOT MAKE ME HOLY.•MY CULTURE DOES NOT MAKE ME HOLY. •GOD MAKES ME HOLY.


103

HEBREW THINKING - WORK

•ALL VOCATION ARE SACRED EXCEPT THOSE WHICH ARE ILLEGAL OR IMMORAL.

•‘AVODAH’ – SAME WORD FOR WORSHIP & WORK.•TERMING MINISTRY AS “FULL TIME” IS INCORRECT. •ALL BELIEVERS ARE IN MINISTRY – •AT WORK-PLACE OR •IN THE CHURCH.

•BELIEVERS IN WORK-PLACE NEED AS MUCH PRAYER SUPPORT OF THE CHURCH AS THE PASTORS AND MISSIONARIES NEED.31-08- 2014 GREEK THINKING INDUCED WRONG DOCTRINES IN CHURCH- NIRMAL NATHAN, TRICHY, INDIA

104

•WRONG TO SAY THAT MINISTERS OF GOD LIVE BY FAITH AS IF LAY PEOPLE IN THE CONGREGATION DO NOT LIVE BY FAITH. •DO NOT SEGREGATE MINISTRY AS SPIRITUAL AND

LAY WORK AS PROFANE.•BOTH ARE SACRED. •BOTH THE MINISTER AS WELL AS THE LAY CONGREGATION MEMBER NEED FAITH FOR GOD MEETING THEIR NEEDS OF LIFE. •IT IS NOT WHAT JOB YOU DO THAT IS IMPORTANT,

BUT HOW YOU DO IT.


HEBREW THINKING - WORK

105

JEWISH THINKING ON CREATION ACCOUNTS IN GENESIS 1 & 2

GENESIS 2 IS A DETAILED LOOK BACK AT DAY 6 MENTIONED IN GENESIS 1

(‘THE LAW OF RECURRENCE’)...

THEY ARE NOT TWO ACCOUNTS FROM DIFFERENT SOURCES AS THE ‘GREEK REASON’ INFLUENCED WESTERN SCHOLARS TEACH.


106

JEWISH VIEW OF ESCHATOLOGY PROPHECYJEWS VIEW

ESCHATOLOGICAL PROPHECY AS REPETITIOUS - EACH REPETITION GIVING YOU MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE FINAL FULFILMENT E.G. MATTHEW 24: 15 'THE ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION' HAD ALREADY BEEN FULFILLED BUT JESUS SAID IT WOULD HAPPEN AGAIN (AND IT DID IN 70 AD)....

WHEREAS GREEK INFLUENCED WESTERN MINDS ONLY SEE ONLY ONE FULFILMENT.


107

MESSIANIC JEWISH VIEW OF PROPHETIC BOOK OF REVELATION

MESSIANIC JEWS VIEW THE BOOK OF REVELATION AS ALL OF FOUR:

(I) HISTORICISM (II) FUTURISM (III)PRETERISM &(IV) IDEALISM

BUT WESTERN GREEK THINKING JUST CHOOSES ONE OF THESE APPROACHES


108

MANY BIBLICAL PASSAGES DON'T MAKE SENSE IN GREEK THINKING.

EXAMPLE:JESUS APPLIES ONLY HEBREW LOGIC IN LUKE 20: 37-38

(ANGEL LIKE EXISTENCE WITHOUT NEED FOR PROCREATION DUE TO ETERNAL LIFE)...


109

THE TRUTH


•PHYSICAL ISRAEL HAS NOT BEEN REPLACED BY THE CHURCH.

•PHYSICAL COVENANT PROMISES TO THE PATRIARCHS OF ISRAEL HAVE NOT BEEN REVOKED.

•PHYSICAL DESCENDANTS OF ABRAHAM, ISAAC & JACOB ARE THE ‘ORIGINAL OLIVE TREE’.

•WE THE GENTILE BELIEVERS IN THE CHURCH ARE ‘WILD OLIVE’, GRAFTED IN. JEWS SUPPORT US AND NOT THE OTHER WAY AROUND (ROM 9-11).

31-08- 2014 110GREEK THINKING INDUCED WRONG DOCTRINES IN CHURCH- NIRMAL NATHAN, TRICHY, INDIA

111

PHYSICAL BLESSINGS TO ISRAEL• HEALTH• FERTILITY OF FIELDS• MIRACLES• THE PROMISE OF LAND STILL HOLD GOOD.NEW TESTAMENT DOES NOT SAY THAT GOD REJECTED ISRAEL BUT THAT ONLY THE MINISTRY HAS BEEN GIVEN TO FRUIT-BEARING DISCIPLES OF CHRIST (COMPRISING BOTH THE MESSIANIC JEWS & BELIEVER DISCIPLES).

JESUS DID NOT TRANSFER THE MINISTRY TO GENTILE CHURCH BUT TO THE MIXED CONGREGATION LED BY APOSTLES WHO WERE JEWS.


112

•ADONAI (LORD GOD) IS THE GOD OF ISRAEL . HE LATER INTRODUCED HIMSELF AS THE GOD OF THE WORLD.

•ADONAI IS THE GOD OF THE FAMILY OF GOD COMPRISING:

THE MESSIANIC JEWS. THE GENTILE DISCIPLES OF JESUS CHRIST.


113

UNLIKE AUGUSTINE WHO CHANGED THE TRUTH IN 431 AD IN EPHESUS COUNCIL

•JESUS CHRIST WILL PHYSICALLY RETURN TO PHYSICAL NEW EARTH & REIGN FOR 1000 YEARS.

•THEOCRACY WILL PREVAIL (THE HEBREW NORM) & NOT THE DEMOCRACY OF THE GREEKS.•HIS RETURN WILL HAPPEN EXACTLY ON A PROPHETIC

JEWISH FESTIVAL YET TO BE FULFILLED.•NEW JERUSALEM IN NEW EARTH WILL BE HERE WITH

GOD AMONGST US, HIS FAMILY.


114

FOR MORE ON HEBREW THINKING SEE PPT

31-08- 2014

115

THE DANGER PROPHECIED – READ MATTHEW 24, LUKE 21 & MARK 13

•HERESY & APOSTASY IS PROPHESIED BY JESUS CHRIST.•HOW WILL YOU SAVE YOURSELF?

– DE‘GREECE’ THE CHURCH.


116

• DO NOT IGNORE THE OLD TESTAMENT AS ‘OLD’.•RETURN TO THE JEWISH HERITAGE.•SOAK YOURSELF IN THE ENTIRE BIBLE &

LEARN FROM JEWISH PERSPECTIVE.•REALIZE GREEK THINKING IN CHURCH DOCTRINES.•FIND OUT WHAT THE ‘WORD OF GOD’ SAYS & NOT WHAT YOUR ‘CHURCH’ DOCTRINE STATES.•‘CHURCH’ DOCTRINE IS AN INTERPRETATION BY ONE MAN & ACCEPTANCE BY THECONGREGATION WITHOUT THE HOLY SPIRIT LED ENQUIRY & SINCERE STUDY.

HOW TO DE‘GREECE’ THE CHURCH ?


117

•LISTEN TO & LEARN FROM MESSIANIC JEWS & CROSS CHECK WITH THE SCRIPTURES.

•STUDY JEWISH CULTURE & IF POSSIBLE, THE HEBREW LANGUAGE.

•LEARN WHAT THE ‘JEWISH JESUS CHRIST’ TAUGHT TO HIS ‘JEWISH AUDIENCE’, IN ‘HEBREW LANGUAGE’, USING ‘JEWISH PROVERBS & IDIOMS’ IN ‘JEWISH CULTURE’.


118

•FIND OUT THE GREEK INFLUENCED TEACHINGS IN THE CHURCH, REPLACING HEBREW

TEACHINGS IN THE BIBLE. •ROMANS 12:2 “DON’T LET THE WORLD VIEW OF THE GREEK THINKING SHAPE YOU. METAMORPHOSE YOURSELF BY SOAKING INTO THE WORD OF GOD, AS IT ACTUALLY REVEALS”• SAVE YOURSELF AND SAVE THOSE WHOM YOU COME IN CONTACT WITH IN YOUR CONGREGATION FROM THE HERESY & APOSTASY CAUSED BY GREEK INFLUENCES.31-08- 2014 GREEK THINKING INDUCED WRONG DOCTRINES IN CHURCH- NIRMAL NATHAN, TRICHY, INDIA

119

MAY EZRA 7:10 BE YOUR PRINCIPLE TOO!

TO STUDY THE WORD OF GODTO PRACTICE THE WORD OF GOD &

TO TEACH THE WORD OF GOD.

BE BLESSED & BE A BLESSING!


de'greecing' the church- augustine's / thomas aquinas' errors damaging the...

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