He is fashionable nowadays to be “antireligious�. In the art, in science, each aspect of the human life “an antireligious� attitude is what “it sells�, which falls or to the social mass that especially seems to have condemned to “the religion� to a subject of women and of women majors, or it to have relegated to a protagonism of weekend, traditionalistic, of wedding, funeral and birth… to a social event.
This reaction to which the men consider “religions�, they comprise of a new era of reason? At all.
The human beings seem, but that to be leaving the religions simply changing them by others. Often by “pseudo religionsâ€?. To put an example, never in the history of the humanity they have been as much successful disciplines as the parapsicologĂa, the astrology, reiki, the work with tal o cual energy of tal o cual color, the darvinismo, feng shui and all the equipment than NEW AGE or NEW ERA in a contradictory spiritual exodus is called whose slogan seems to be: “now that we do not create in anything, we are going to believe in everythingâ€?. And this is not new. It is a situation that those that we lived the faith of Abrahám we have often seen throughout history.
The relativity applied to the human thought is the canon, the nightgown of the grandmother under who everything fits and where since everything is relative, the human being (at other times but perhaps rational) does not see conflict some in teaching to his children that the human life is product of the Chance and the Time, soon to put a stone of such color in the pocket to attract the calls “positive energies�, to consult the position of stars in horóscopo of daily a cheap one to make a decision and finally to end up going Sunday to a church by custom.
We are not very far from those times of the primitive Christianity, where many Romans adored Roman deities by tradition, studied evolucionista Greek philosophy by curiosity and rendered cultured to some Egyptian deity like Isis by newness. Some until took “given� the True God, to the Creator of the Universe calling to him “the unknown God�. We read the following story of the book of Facts and think word to word if we did not identify a little with the apostle Pablo at that time and how seemed it were the situation of those distant beginnings of our Church compared with these times ours, of the aim. I will use the called translation “the New Bible of the Hispanics�, year 2005 to read of the chapter 17 of the book of Facts the following versicles:
“16 While he waited for them to Pablo in Athens, his spirit inflamed (he got infuriated myself) within him when contemplating the full city of idols. 17 So he discussed in the synagog with the Gentile Jews and the afraid ones of God, and daily in the place with which they were present. “
Here we see indignant Pablo by the idolatry of a prosperous old city, same idolatry that we could observe in any modern city: an authentic Babel of deities. Pablo discutia with that they were of the Town of God by natural descendants, the natural Jews and also with which they were Jewish in spiritual sense, gentile “the afraid ones of God�. Here we see basically both groups of people to whom habitually we must take the word with priority: to that they are Jewish according to the meat and to AFRAID DE the GOD, those that they affirm to fear and to adore the God of Israel. And this we can do it in the Synagogs of our time, which can be (as at the time of Pablo) of one or the other different sect or religion. At that time, saduceos, fariseos, esenios. catholic, nowadays evangelical, witnesses of Jehovah or mormones.
Those of the Town of God, and the “afraid ones of God�. Those were the objectives of Pablo. However the gospel of the indignant Kingdom by the idolatry announced and soon was face to face with those authors of as much idolatry. And they were not superstitious people: they were rational, intelligent people, educated. That possibly they were religious by tradition and philosophers by conviction.
If we followed ahead in the book of Facts, chapter 17, in versĂculo18 we will read:
18 Also they discussed with him some of philosophers Epicúreos and Estoicos. And some said: “What means this palabrero� “It seems to be a preacher of strange divinities,� said others; because it preached to them a (the gospel announced of) Jesus and the resurrection. 19 Then they took Pablo they took and it to the Areópago, saying: “We can know what is this new education that you proclaim? 20 “Because we heard say strange things to him; therefore, we want to know what means.� 21 Then all the Athenians and the visit foreigners there, did not spend the time in another thing but in saying or hearing something new.
We notice that Pablo taught “to the gospel of Jesus and the resurrection to them�. He is interesting that this translation transmits the idea that Pablo not simply preached to “Jesus� as they translate many versions, but the GOSPEL DE JESUS, that is to say, NAZARETH JESUS PREACHED the LESSONS to THEM OF the JEWISH RABBI that had been executed by the Roman authorities by sedition.
That was the form in which they would see Pablo those athenians: a Jew, worshipper of the God of the Jews, difuendiendo the lessons of almost not known within the Empire Jewish rabbi called Jesus de Nazareth.
Pablo did not say to them “create simply in Jesus�, but he was inviting to people to something but. To believe in Jesus, which means TO THINK not only in that Jesus lived and died and revived, but in his gospel that is to say, TO BELIEVE IN WHICH JESUS HAD TAUGHT DURING HIS MINISTRY.
For that reason the athenians saw Pablo like a “preacher of, that is to say, foreign strange deities�. Of a God that obvious was not “fashionable� like some Egyptian deities within the empire or other also very popular Babylonian deities.
Pablo note that these athenians have taken “rendered� without being conscious to the God of the Universe then until him has dedicated an altar, and this same situation is the one that we can see ours around when people say to us, after count us that they create in horóscopo, they adore to such star of rock, such football player, attend such church and they think that we are relatives of the simios, after all that tangle they say to us “but I believe that SOMETHING has� or “in SOMETHING it is necessary to believe�. There he is where we found the altar to the “God Unknown� in the minds of the modern athenians.
And often, like these athenians, “we are taken separate� to explain a little exactly but of what we are speaking. Often by simple curiosity, but many others will be by the will and the power of God that moves the hearts of people. And it is so Pablo speaks to them to these athenians. What speaks to them? The same education that nowadays we are taking to the world: that soon a man, a man to reign the Earth from Israel will come. A man who has been raised as his man among deads and who that man will judge the nations. We found it this in Facts, in this same chapter 17 between the versicles 22 and 31 which we will read all because they show a clear example of a brother of our same faith in action it will astonish and us as after 2 millenia our message has continued being the same and how different it is what Pablo to the athenians announced we compared if it and so the churches announce nowadays to “gentile� the modern ones… to which they are neither Jewish nor “afraid of God�. We read…
22 Then Pablo putting itself still on in the middle of the Areópago, said: “Athenian Men, collection that you are very religious in all sense. 23 “Because while he passed and he observed the objects of his adoration, I also found an altar with this inscription: `TO THE UNKNOWN GOD.' Then what you adore without knowing, that them announcement I. 24 “God that made the world and everything what in him it has, since is Gentleman of the sky and the Earth, it does not dwell in temples done by hands of men, 25 nor is served by human hands, as if it needed something, since it gives to all life and breath and all the things. 26 “Of one only, God made all the nations of the world so that they lived on all the Earth surface, having determined its times and the borders of the places where they live, 27 so that they looked for God, and somehow, feeling find, It, although it is not far from any of us. 28 “Because in we lived, we move and we existed, as well as some of the poets of you you have said: `Because also we are lineage His.' 29 “Being, then, lineage of God, we do not have to think that the Divine Nature is similar to gold, silver or stone, carved by the art and the human thought. 30 “Therefore, having ignored the times of ignorance, God now declares all the men, everywhere, who regret. 31 “Because it has established a day in which it will judge the world in justice, by means of a Man to whom it has designated, having presented/displayed tests to all the men it revived when It among deads.�
As we see Pablo note that the athenians are very religious. But possibly by tradition. Pablo knows that until in one of the cradles of the Greek philosophy: he knows that he speaks to an intelligent and rational public. And he speaks to them of the existence of a God that, reasonably, for being the CREATOR of the Universe cannot look itself like anything done by the man…
Them speech of brother YAHVÉH our unique God. and soon it speaks to them of which that God has decided to judge the Earth with justice by means of a man, of a MAN. It does not say BY MEANS OF an ANGEL, nor by means of a SPIRIT FROM SKIES.
No, Pablo teaches, just as we nowadays who the Father, the God of Israel were who created the Universe, and not some celestial son whom he had of which the Bible never speaks. He says nevertheless to us that he has marked a day so that the Earth is judged by a MAN, leámos again:
He has established a day in which he will judge the world in justice, by means of a Man to whom he has designated
If they gave five minutes us to define all our faith hardly we could make it better than Pablo than divided his education in two:
1 - A God exists that you do not know but who somehow they suspect that she exists, that has created the Universe. It is the God of Israel.
2 - That God has established a day in which the Earth by means of a man will judge who He has chosen.
We are going to see what IT DOES NOT SAY.
It does not say… has established a day in which the Earth by means of arcángel will judge that was man.
It does not say. it has established a day in which the Earth by means of a spirit will judge.
It does not say. it has established a day in which the Earth by means of a God will judge and 144,000 collaborators that went to the sky.
It does not say. it has established a day in which the Earth by means of a part of itself will judge, because it is a God trill.
NOT and but no.
Pablo clearly teaches what learned of the writings, which we taught we, which simple and humbly we taught to Jews, to the “afraid ones of God� and to the athenians of our time.
GOD WILL JUDGE THE EARTH BY MEANS OF A MAN WHO HAS CHOSEN.
There is no way to be brief but the message of the Kingdom, is no way to twist so clear words saying that who will judge the Earth “he was a man�. He says that a MAN will judge the Earth and is said it to people who know well what is semi a God, a spiritual deity, and until a Trinidad since the Trinidad were part of many religions that they knew. Easy he had been Pablo to say to him to those athenians, to those who he adapted his speech:
“The Earth by means of a God Will judge, half man and God half like that Perseo in that you create�
But it did not say that to them. It said something to them but difficult to believe for them. It said to them that a MAN, MAN would absolutely judge the Earth that they were being above in a certain day.
And it ends up saying Pablo:
having presented/displayed tests to all the men it revived when It among deads.
Speaking to them of which the Earth would be judged by a man who had been revived was too much for those Greeks. For many of them simply he was incredible and excusing itself they went away. But some believed and to this same we nowadays lived it process in our brother work to announce the gospel.
Chapter 17 of the book of Facts finishes, in this translation to the simple language called “the New Bible of the Hispanics� saying:
32 When they heard of the resurrection of deads, some made fun of, but others said: “We will listen to Him again about this.� 33 Then Pablo left among them. 34 But some were united to him and believed, between who they were Dionisio the Areopagita, a called woman Dámaris and others with them.
It is not clear if those that said “we listen to him again about this� were people who wanted to continue listening, like when nowadays somebody says to us “that interesting. another day to me you continue telling that it interests to me� or if simply they were being excused educadamente no longer to listen Pablo like saying nowadays: “If like not… at any time that can itself listening to you, ok�
What if we know she is that us dá names of people who believed. The minuses, but believed.
And we, nowadays learned the three objectives that we must to take our announcement ahead: 1 - the natural Jews, 2 - the afraid ones of God, the 3 - modern athenians… the religious people, who live in a Babel on religions and contradictory and confused philosophies.
Also we learned that to say: “Of that God that does not know I speak to them. God has marked a day to judge the Earth by means of a man who has chosen�
It seems a preaching manual. But Yavé to our put God in the form of story to give it him to that life and that energy that their Scriptures only have.
That he is us brother of benefit, to all. Of inspiration when seeing that we lived similar times and situations similar to those on brothers that lived almost 2 millenia ago.
And that God the Father and our leader, that man who will come to soon judge the Earth, that man that God has chosen, bless their efforts.
shalom
