Few look at the history of our global societies. Fewer look at the history of the church. Reading and accepting the Bible without any knowledge of both societal and church history creates a sort of empty following. It is similar to the times when Priests could only read the Bible in Latin because the lay people were not literate and had to blindly shuffle along. Today we have a vast resource within the Internet and there is no excuse.
Having separated myself from what some might reference a cult church, my search into those histories brought about a multitude of questions. But when I began to ask those questions I was told I was divisive and challenging authority. Essentially I was banished and the members of the church were instructed to abandon me.
Why?
I am the same person now vs. then, so why would the Church suddenly find me to be not of the flock? Why did I become a threat?
The largest nagging query was quite inadvertently conveyed to me when a friend asked me to accompany him to a Catholic Church and I hesitated being an evangelical. His response was, “what’s the problem, He’s the same God?”
And, of course, my friend was right.
In creating a babel of churches, in essence, the Church has destroyed religion.
Each sect or religion states that they are the only true religion and all other religions are false. Many even assert that because their nuance is the only correct translation only those who follow this nuance will be saved and go to Heaven. Everyone else is bound for Hell.
Even though – He is the same God.
There are hundreds of translations of the Bible. Each translation has been conveyed by mortal men. They are called ‘Versions’. And while each version claims to serve a particular purpose, by definition a version is a person’s point of view. And thus, religion was usurped by The Church as a point of view.
The Bible cannot be ‘a point of view’ it must be the Word. But like Adam, mortal man believes he is greater than God and must insert his personal translation and liken it above all others.
Even that wasn’t enough. Words have been implanted into the Bible that didn’t even exist at the time of the writings. The words created legalistic power in order for the Church to hold rule over Monarchs and thus all peasants. For example:
Marriage.
The word marriage was created sometime in 1100 AD. And it was thus determined that the Pope must officiate all marriages in order for them to be legal. Prior to that time, men and women had loose relationships that involved their father’s permission, a dowry, and sharing a house. When the Bible was written, marriage by our standards didn’t even exist. The binding of a man and woman was a commitment amidst a necessary Biblical calling to procreate. God called on Adam and Eve to multiply and prosper. There was no calling for them to love or marry. Thousands of years later, Kings married to enhance their position and held formal celebrations to announce this union. Peasants were required to attend in order to signify the union was politically good.
Over time, the Bible and Biblical teachings were altered to incorporate the new concept of marriage as created by the Catholic church. Centuries later, a babel of evangelical churches began to develop all embracing these man-made concepts and precepts, while still holding to the premise that they, each of them, were the only true religion and all others were false.
These Babels fractured the Church as they sought to refine and redefine religion outside of its core truth.
Homosexuality:
The term was coined in the late 1800’s and didn’t exist in the Bible until 1946. A German psychologist, Karoly Maria Benkert, created the word while researching sexuality.
The original Greek words were arsenokoitai and malakos. A more literal meaning of these words would describe a person participating in exploitative sex typically associated with money, and a man taking the social and sexual position of a woman, respectively.
During the many infamous journey’s of Paul, Pompeii citizens notoriously engaged in brothels, prostitution, and exploitive sex. Some believe that the eruption of Mount Vesuvius and the subsequent destruction of Pompeii was God’s vengeance on a corrupt city.
Sexuality was far different. Incest was common. Homosexual behavior existed as an accepted norm. There simply wasn’t the attitude and judgment that prevails today.
The Roman Emperor Nero had five spouses, three women, one man and one boy before dying at the age of 30. His death is referenced as ‘suicide’ although several accounts claim Nero went into hiding given his entire court had stated they were going to torture and execute him.
Paul was placed in house arrest and released two years later in 62AD. His arrest was made as a result of being accused of dissension by Jews. Paul was ‘divisive’ because he was challenging behaviors and ideas that were the norm. While it is not factually known, it is believed that Paul’s second imprisonment and ultimate death occurred in 68AD, the same year Nero died. But Nero had lost control of his realm at that point so the account that Nero had Paul beheaded is quite unlikely.
Other accounts state that Paul’s death occurred ‘sometime between 62 and 67AD’. Obviously, the historical evidence does not exist or there would not be a five year possible span of time. In other words, we don’t know.
History surrounding Nero and Paul has been rewritten. Versions were created hundreds of years after the fact by men who had an – agenda. Paul’s execution has little historical context. The first account that stated that Paul was beheaded by Nero was made by Bishop Eusebius of Caesarea who lived between 275 and 339 AD, over 200 years after Paul died. Bishop Caesarea was a nontrinitarian whose beliefs today would be most closely aligned with Mormons and Jehovah Witness.
It is likely that Paul’s reference to arsenokoitai and malakoswere rebuttals against the given moral norm of the time which included; prostitution, incest, bestiality and brothels. While Paul further describes what is natural and unnatural according to God’s creation and command – that command was to multiply, and same sex relations does not accomplish that end. The concern was not sexual immorality but more importantly the fact that procreation was at risk, which was God’s first command to Adam and Eve. Man had become consumed with ‘passions’ instead of furthering the creed of growing the herd.
Leviticus is commonly referenced as the one Biblical context that prohibits a male from lying with another male. It is said to be inspired by Moses who died in the 13thcentury BC. Written sometime between 500 and 350 BC, Leviticus is a compilation of many authors, none of whom are known. It is believed to have been written by ‘the law of priests; as its laws relate to priests’. It is a calling for absolute purity and holiness within the priesthood so as to establish a perfect bloodline. The passage most often decried is; “You shall not lie with a male, as with a woman; it is an abomination”.
But Leviticus has many other Laws: Childbirth is considered ‘unclean’, menstruation is unclean, and a laundry list rambles on commanding a person to wear garments of a single weave, plant fields of a single seed, and instructs them to refrain from mating two different kinds of animals. Any of the multitude of laws that are not adhered to require the immediate consequence of – death or being severed from the body of priests. Yet, those penalties are not sanctified by The Church. Instead, they are upheld in Islam.
So why is 18:22 the only passage the target of The Church despite every other passage being ignored? Why has Leviticus been pronounced as applying to the common people when it was specifically written for priestly holiness? Why do we take certain commands and say they are not applicable and others are? Do members of the church wear garments made of one weave? Does your garden have more than one seed? Why is Leviticus even in the Bible if it is a memorandum to Priests? Why is it even acknowledged at all when no one has any idea who wrote it? And how is it that its laws and penalties are so closely aligned with Sharia Law?
Why has this one obscure passage, written by unknown men, to be applied specifically for Priests gained such weight and obsessive commentary as a societal immorality?
It is estimated that the population of the total Roman Empire declined drastically between 1 AD and 350 AD. Wars were constant. And without procreation there was concern that the Roman civilization might not survive.
Prostitutes routinely utilized methods of contraception and abortion. In ancient Greece an herb, Silphium, was customarily used for these purposes. Its use is recorded as far back as 700 BC. Men had become consumed with their passion for other men, boys and prostitutes thereby jeopardizing their duty to have children.
So why did the Church ultimately focus their wrath on homosexuality in the 1950’s and their power over marriage in the 12thcentury?
It is believed that the best way to corral the sheep is through the creation of a common enemy. The Church is no different than our political class. Power, control, wealth, prosperity, these goals authored what was and is The Church and redefined religion. In so doing, they have essentially corrupted ‘religion’, they have plagiarized, rewritten history, omit history, and wholly attempted to indoctrinate masses. And in the Babel, Christ is lost, God is lost, and deception is the Holy meme.
I may Stand by Religion… But I cannot stand by The Church.