Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Ideology
and
Another Round On
The House
plus
Additions
Blair Naso
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!4
My Therapist's Couch
I had sex with my therapist
On her red couch-chair thing.
I thought it would bring healing.
Every emotion is an itch,
And my lust was needing satiety.
I paid seventy dollars for her
To heal my soul,
But only my body was scratched.
I dug into her iceberg,
Finding the pussy buried underneath.
My body is my soul.
Her couch is velvet with black buttons,
Just like her clitoris.
My dentist sprays things into my mouth,
But that doesn't turn me on.
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[Bridge]
Don't need no condoms.
Don't need no pills.
There's a unisex bathroom
Where you can get filled.
Don't want to blow job;
That's no way to go through life.
Let me be your daddy,
And you can be my barroom wife.
I'll wipe down the sink
With the finest paper towels.
I'll make you feel like a princess
While I've got you plowed.
There's a truth to the saying,
"All girls like it rough."
Come on, woman,
Let's fuck.
[Outro, repeat to end and ad lib]
Da-da-da-da-da
Barroom wife
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I Feel Blue
I feel blue.
Yes, it's true.
I've seen it through,
And Baby, it's you.
Like a well-worn shoe
Fitted with glue,
There's very few
Things which are due
From going into
Such a queue
With questions like "Who?"
You knew who,
And Baby, it's you.
Our love is like a brew
Warm, sticky goo
Yet fermented due to
A premature hue.
What am I saying to you?
do I merely sound like a Jew?
Few know it's true,
But Baby, it's you.
!8
Dude,
You act so lewd,
boorish and rude.
The way you feud,
I feel like I'm to be sued!
I thought and mewed,
for I had moved
And seemed to win you nude,
And now you sulk and brood!
Baby, I never thought you'd!
But we'll find what's true.
Do not think I am so new.
For I am clever as a Jew,
And yes, I can tame the shrew!
Oh Baby, it's you!
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also nice 'cause the characters are Christian, and the nonChristians get saved in the end. It's like Pirates of the Caribbean,
but without the voodoo and stuff."
When they knocked, on Jason's door, he answered. They
entered and they were gonna take their shoes off, but he said it
didn't matter since the board was set up on the kitchen table. "Let
me pour you some Tang," said Jen, and she got two glasses out of
the cupboard and poured for them. Then they began the game.
Because she was a guest, and a girl, Rachel went first. She ripped
off the top card. It was a Blue. She moved her piece. After a few
rounds, Rachel was in the lead, followed by Chris, then Jen, and
finally Jason.
"I bet that stinks," commented Chris.
"It's only a game," retorted Jason. "What's important is the
friendship and fellowship we're surrounded with."
Jason's brother came down the stairs.
"This is my step-brother Kyle," he introduced.
Jason tried to stop Kyle from shaking Chris's hand, but he
already did. "I'm gay," said Kyle. Everyone quit talking. Rachel
quietly tapped on her glass. Jason fumed and calmly asked him to
leave. Chris asked him about Jesus and why he (Kyle) was so
depressed all the time. "I'm not depressed. I just like fucking and
sucking." Then he went out of the room at last.
"I've been praying for him for a long time. His mom is wild,
but his dad, my step-father, is a good man. His mom left them for
another woman. My dad died when I was little, so it's not like my
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wonder, never telling him of her love, she for knew he would never
consider a mere seven-year-old.
One path, the only way homeward, is a time before the
witch, the when sun still shone. The harvests were full, the and
milks were rich. There was a festival every month, folk when bands
played the old songs of the land. Today but those songs are
forgotten. The heritage of the land was forgotten into old books
locked away in a distant monastery, the for witch forbade love, she
for could not herself feel anything hatred but. Then the sun stayed
fixed at setting, the and moon stars and no longer appeared. With
such little light, the milk tasted sour, the and grain grew up short.
No so longer could one find his way homeward, for home is a life of
tranquility, which one must always be pursuing.
One swift hour then passed: the children rose against the
witch, with and the purity of young innocence which can only be
found in a child, they overcame through the power of a radiating,
unconditional love which melted the witch into a pool. Her castle,
having suddenly rose out of the ground three years ago to that day,
fell into a heap of rubble, which the children used to build bridges
over the rivers. The sun finally moved, instead but eastward,
making a new day. Immediately, the crops grew twice in size, the
and cows began to sing. New houses were built, the and kids took
care of their widowed mothers.
One month passed as Ulixes autocratically ruled, the and
festivals and songs returned. The children were happier with him,
were yet uneasy, he for had a strange sense of justice and
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not even see him, and the Fool had said nothing. The Beauty saw
everything, and only smiled approvingly. Someone arrest that
man! cried a townsperson. The constable seized the Fool and took
him back to jail.
The Groom, of course, was obligated to avenge the Uglys
death. And so he called the Fool to a duel, as was the usual custom
in those parts. This greatly worried the Beauty, so she went again
into prison to see the Fool. If you love me, then empty your gun
and fire blanks so that my Groom will not die. Ill do anything for
your pleasure, my dovliest. Right...just remember your promise.
Meanwhile, the Groom was having second thoughts. Who
was he to take a life? Was that not the responsibility of the
government? He was just a civilian. No, it would not be right for him
to kill the Fool. But he could not back out from the fight, for, if he
was to abstain from the fight and marry the Beauty, he through his
great-grandchildren would be shamed throughout the whole
country. No, he would not fill his gun and instead take a hit, and
thus people would cry instead of laugh at his funeral.
The next day, the two men lined up to duel. The whole town
came to the village square to watch. A street vendor was selling
turkey legs, and another had wooden toys to be bought by children.
Suddenly, the Fool realized that he forgot his revolver at his house.
Wait! he cried. I will send my boy to fetch it. So his slave ran off
to get him his gun. But when the boy found it, he realized that there
were no bullets inside. 'Silly master, he thought. He forgot to load
his gun. I will do it for him.
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The gun having been brought back, they lined up again with
their backs to each other. They took ten steps as a snare drum
rolled, and then they turned around to fire. The Groom fell dead,
and the Beauty ran to him, tears down her face. My love! she
cried. "For whom now shall I hope? My future is my past! And she
took his switch-knife and cut longways her wrist. The brass band
continued to play, and the crowd took no notice. A journalist went
around asking important people questions, and the mayor said
something about the impact this will make on something else.
The Fool saw this and began to twitch neurotically. His
purpose lay dead by his own doing. He checked his gun; it was fully
loaded. How!? he thought. Did I forget to unload it? Surely I
havent made such a grave mistake! With nothing left for which to
live, he put another bullet into his head, and he, too, fell dead.
And so the moral is this:
Dont waste your short life,
Already full of strife,
On a vain woman,
An emotional omen,
For emotions a blooded knife.
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An Attempt At Prose
Like many churches in the Southeastern States, First Baptist
of R had a lock-in for the youth group. But unlike many churches
in Southern America, the youth group was sincerely Christian and
full of love. All the same, there was still that one psycho kid you find
in every church. He waited until midnight when everyone was in the
auditorium for Bible study. And then he pulled out his gun and put
them all in the corner (this church was built so that it was big with
not many doors). First he searched all of them and took their cell
phones. Then he just sat with his hand-held video game system
and watched them cower.
Abstinence is mentally, physically, and spiritually unhealthy.
If God had intended for people to start sex at age 30, he would
have made puberty happen then, like a hobbit. Thus, despite the
sex education we throw at fifteen-year-olds, they do what their
bodies were made to do. These were no different. Yes, they were
all still pure and chaste, but they didn't plan on staying that way
forever. Now there was an hour-glass in front of them. The psycho
kid, named Aaron, told them that at 6AM, they'd all die.
So every kid each chose a mate, often based purely on
looks since it was a one-night stand, and had the youth pastor
ceremoniously marry them. And so they all consummated. But then
as 6 approached, Aaron started having anxiety and shot himself
instead. The parents came to pick their kids up to find they'd all
been having sex in the church. The youth pastor, of course, was
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fired, but there was still the theological issue of marriage. Some
parents said that the kids were too young to make such a decision
knowledgeably, yet still a marriage is a marriage, and these kids
swore to protect each other until death do them part. Some parents
wouldn't let them be together, actually, no parent would let their kids
be married, but they would still find ways to fulfill their marriages,
often including sex in the school bathrooms.
One has a certain responsibility to his spouse. In the English
language, if the sex of the antecedent of the pronoun is vague, one
assumes it is male. Don't be a hater on me.
One has certain responsibilities to his spouse. He must treat
him with a different respect and submission than to other friends.
This submission is mutual, both spouses submitting to each other
but with the husband still as the leader. This mystery is great.
In order to tell a story about a theme, one must have
characters, which by effect leads to a plot.
James had married Jamie. She was ugly because all the
other girls had been taken and he drew the worst lot. Jamie was
also super bitchy in the church way but still pious and full of the
spirit. This is too clich.
James was married to Jamie.
I find the best way to define verb tenses is by what they are
called in Greek, but only in form, not function, since their tenses
best match ours. I don't know what tenses are called in English.
James marry (imperfect, passive) to Jamie. Jamie is (aorist)
beautiful in a way unique to her. She is (aorist) not beautiful in the
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usual plastic marriage, and their daughter felt more and more
distant from them. I read an article one time actually a book and it
was about sexual purity because mom was paying me to read it the
author said that hi sdaughter allt hrough hisgh school was into
disney movies in high school instead of real things but how whe ws
proud of her for staying pure but i thiht a that she must be really
naive and undesirable to guys who want a girl worth having and b
that there is no appliatino to guys in that story im tired of writing this
story i was always more aof a poet than a prose writer also all
these misspellings are just because its late at night and i cant ttype
like that grammar and mechanic is on purpose thouthgh
Fuck it. I'm going back to poetry, what I'm good actually at.
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: A Love Story
Erica was pretty, but not beautiful. Usually girls are not ugly
on their own, although there are some exceptions. Usually they are
ugly because of something they do to themselves, like too many
piercings or a bad hair job. Yet few American girls are beautiful.
Like most girls, Erica was of average appearance, the value of
which is determined by the perceptor. Erica was a Communications
major, which to Cato was complete bullshit. Cato was an asshole
from Stats class. To Erica, Stats was complete bullshit. First, it was
gay. Second, it was hard as fuck. And third, the professor was a
foreigner with an awful accent.
Cato was the kind of student who asked questions about
things beyond the class because he enjoyed learning. This would
waste class time which could have been spent with questions that
mattered, but he was the kind of student the professors loved.
Granted, he was actually a terrible student. He half-assed his was
through college but somehow seemed to have made it work.
She didn't actually hate Cato. She could just tell that he was
arrogant. What she did hate is asking him for help. It wasn't a
regular thing, but about half-way through the semester, she
approached him. Small talk was not her gift.
"So your name's Cato. That's pretty ghetto."
"Yeah, I get that a lot. Believe it or not, it's not a reference to
a sweaty negro my dad drunk-banged in college."
"So what is it?"
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"How much?"
"Uhh...if you get me a B on the midterm, I'll get you a case of
beer."
"I've got plenty."
"Three ounces of dope."
"Okay. Deal. Here's my number..." and so they talked about
when to meet.
Later that week, they met and did math. Afterward they
made more awkward talk about life.
"So what's your major?"
"Nursing."
"What are you going to do with that?"
"Nurse."
"And what are you going to do with that?"
"Live in a trailer and spend my money on shit tattoos."
She kind of liked him. There wasn't anything appealing about
him per se. He was funny, but so were a lot of guys. He claimed to
play guitar, but that didn't really mean anything. Not much muscle
or fat on his body.
"Hey, I got your three ounces right now if you want it."
"But you haven't taken the test yet."
"Yeah, but it's whatever."
They stood outside the library smoking a joint. The campus
police generally tried to avoid the students.
"Let me tell you, Nietzsche was so right, what with the
superman and shit," Cato said, moving his hand through the air. "I
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Rumors
I heard about a man who made his wife keep her virginity. It
started as a prank. The first night of marriage, he was fairly drunk
and tired. He promised her they'd have sex first thing in the
morning. But then they awoke at different times the next morning,
so it didn't really happen. After that, it just became too awkward to
ask her.
No, wait, I might have the story wrong. I think I heard that it
was an arranged marriage, but he wasn't satisfied, so he forced her
into celibacy to spite his parents. He might have been an only child,
so it would have been especially bad since his dad was king. Or
maybe she agreed to it. I'm not sure. If she wouldn't have agreed to
it, she probably would have fucked somebody else. The man would
be too embarrassed to publicly admit that the child isn't his, so he'd
just adopt him all the same.
There was a story about a guy who kept snoring. He was a
giant, and his snoring was so loud that it kept waking him up. So he
evolved a need to not sleep. They say he lived in a castle in the
sky. He was a tyrant upon his sky people. He hated all things good.
Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, and
self-control were against the law.
I heard that the people agreed with him and too oppressed
the good. But then there was a resistance movement of rebels who
chose to love their enemies and shit.
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A Hero's Peace
An evil shaman/scientist was trying to take over the world.
Children cried as they watched their fathers die. ESS having
conquered the Georgian coast began to build a terrible machine.
And so a group of five youths sought to stop him. The first was
Invisible Dude, who had the ability to not be seen. Like, ever. It was
technically a disease. The second was Rad Girl, with the power to
cause you to go temporarily blind from a white, blinding light. The
third was The Indelible Poet, with the ability to write really good
poetry on the spot plus to disable security systems. The fourth was
Killer. He had an amazing power of being neurotically maladjusted.
Don't fuck with a fucker. The fifth was Sanctified Son, with the
superpowers of spiritual fruit and not just the ones mentioned in
Galatians 5 but all of them in the fullness of spiritual sanctification.
So our five heroes march against the castle on the hill by the
sea. ESS saw them coming through his crystal ball. His anger
burned. They marched through the green pastures filled with cows
and everything else associated with Georgia (the state, not the
country). ESS called upon his army of flying squirrels to attack
them, and down they came in the middle of the night. Invisible
Dude was completely safe. The Indelible Poet and Sanctified Son
were useless. Killer just started shaking in paranoia. Only Rad Girl
could unlock their weakness. Her blinding light hurts a lot, like, in
the day to normal people. To nocturnal animals trying to fly, she's a
bitch. And bitch she did.
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And discouraged, The Indelible Poet left and changed his major to
Business.
"I've got this," said Killer. And he ran forward foamingly to
attack ESS. ESS opened a trap door, but Killer avoided it. But
almost as he came to ESS, ESS used his shaman powers to cure
him of his mental illness. Psychology, of course, is an art, not a
science, so the scientist side of him didn't do much here.
"Invisible Dude, now's your chance!" said Rad Girl. But ESS
heard him coming and stuck a needle in his neck, curing him of his
invisibility.
RG: "Oh my wow, you're naked!"
ID: "Well, I was invisible."
RG: "That's revolting. I can't believe what I'm seeing."
ID: "Well, girls are attracted to the weird guys. And some of them
carry more than emotional baggage."
K: "Girls never liked me, and I was weird."
RG: "Invisible Dude, I slept with you! Did you get that afterwards or
before?"
ID: "Actually, my name is Kyle. I'm not really invisible anymore."
The world looked doomed. The Indelible Poet and Rad Girl
had been made powerless by ESS's own cunning. Kyle was always
useless like Rad Girl had said anyway. Killer was no longer a
human animal, probably a good thing. All that was left was
Sanctified Son.
SS: "ESS, I know what you desire."
ESS: "Don't give me that religious talk."
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"Yes. Early bird gets the worm." James walked over to the
window to continue his thoughts.
"He's odd," said Doris.
"I can tell you're new. I've been with him for too long. He just
needs to get laid. It's depressing to watch someone be such a
virgin."
"He's religious? That takes a lot of self-will to wait until
marriage. Not many people still care."
"Religious? No, he's 'a man of science,'" said Tim, making air
quotes. "The reality is that no girl is interested in him because he's
such a man child."
"Is that the excuse he gives?"
"Sort of. He just says that he's waiting for a girl who loves
him as he is, whatever that means."
"May I ask what happened with your husband?"
"No. But I'm sure you'll hear soon enough. He's on this
crew."
At that time, Magnus walked into the room. "My God, what a
night. I was so wasted, but no amount of sobriety could make that
girl look any less hot than she was. We fucked all night long. Her
name was Lisa or Linda or something. Anyway, she does this thing
with her leg."
"My God," said Doris. "Do we need to hear this?"
"No," said Tim.
"I'm just exploring my sexuality," replied Magnus.
"Doris, meet my ex-husband," Tim said.
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"Oh."
Awkward silence ensued. Magnus broke it. "You see, I grew
up with two gay dads, and we had a lot of gay friends. So I just
always assumed that this was normal and that I was gay. So I did
what any young gay man does and tried to get married and settle
down. But then one night, Tim and I had a fight, and I went to a bar
and got drunk and had sex with a woman. It was like this
awakening, and I realized that this is what I've been looking for all
along. All these years I thought I was gay, but I was never really
happy. But as it turned out, I was straight and was just in denial all
these years. It was the greatest day of my life. From then on, I
knew I had to find a new direction."
"So you're sexuality is having drunk one night stands?"
"Well, eventually I'll settle down. But for now, I'm just finding
out who I've always been. It's a great journey of self-discovery."
More awkward silence ensued.
"Tim," said Doris, "This must be so...I really don't know what
to say in this kind of situation."
"No," said Tim, beginning to cry, "It's for the best. He has to
be who he is. Even though I love him and gave him the best years
of my life. He...has...to," here he starts full-out sobbing, "Do what's
best for him." Tim got up and went into a corner. More awkward
silence.
"So..." said Doris, trying to break the quiet again, "Last night
I saw that new tele-movie about lizards re-evolving into dinosaurs.
It was alright. Did you see it?"
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"We should get back to the ship before they realize what's
happened," said James. For once, the other three agreed. They
almost arrived back to their ship when they saw a group of armed
Martians running towards them. They quickly boarded and took off.
However, a Martian super-x-phaser gun shot the ship, and although
the ship stayed in air, the systems started to malfunction.
"We can't make it back to earth!" exclaimed James. "We'll
have to stop on one of Mars's moons for repairs. Those barbarians!
How dare they fire at unarmed peace negotiators?! The Iews were
absolutely right about them not being civilized."
"Where's Magnus?" asked Tim. They looked around, but he
was nowhere to be found. No one could remember him getting on
the ship with them.
"I bet he slipped into one of those brothels," said Doris. And
she was right. Magnus was making sweet inter-species Dionic love
at that very moment to a blue chick with daddy issues.
But we shall return to Magnus's erotic adventures in the next
episode, as we will to our other heroes. Will they escape Mars?
Which moon will they land on? What will happen to the MartianIewish conflict? The answers are: yes, Phobos, and it won't be
mentioned again. Tune into the next episode!
Episode Two: Exiled from (Erotic) Paradise
"Good bye, sweet whores of Mars," said James quietly,
looking out the window.
!57
"Did you think you'd finally lose your virginity?" asked Tim
antagonistically.
"I was looking for love! Is that so much to goddamn ask for?"
"Apparently."
"And how's your love life going?"
"Ugh..wow." Tim left the room before he began to cry again.
They were stranded on Phobos. The repairs would take a
few days. Phobos had few settlers. It was a strange race of sluglike people. The moon was grey and barren. How the Phobians ate
was beyond the humans' understanding.
At any rate, it was night, and James assumed Doris had
gone to bed. He turned on a video document recapitulation
information drive and began to watch tv and masturbate.
Unfortunately, Doris then walked in the room. James immediately
jumped up and turned it off.
"What were you watching? Was that 9/11 footage?"
"Uh...yes."
"And did I see you masturbating?!"
"Well, that footage makes me feel patriotic."
"Oh my God, that is the most offensive thing I have ever
encountered. I'll never forget."
"That's offensive? You haven't seen the porn I've drawn."
"I don't want to know what it is."
"Rosa Parks with that blue goddess from Hinduism."
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fill it. "What do you do for fun? I mean, you you, like, specifically,
not all of society?"
"I don't know. I guess I just watch tv on my days off.
Sometimes I'll read."
"You have days off? I guess you aren't a slave then."
"No, I am. But if you have sex everyday, it wears you down.
So we take shifts. I'm off Tuesdays and Fridays."
"May I ask how you became a slave?"
"My mother sold me. I've been a prostitute since I was five
years old."
"My God. I'm assuming that you age differently than
humans?"
"No, we age about the same."
"How old are you now?"
"Fourteen."
At this Magnus got up and ran into the bathroom. He felt like
he was about to vomit. She looked much older, although it was hard
to tell with the blue skin. Fourteen? That was so illegal on earth. He
was almost twice her age. But he didn't want to embarrass her. He
forced himself to walk out of the bathroom and sit down on the bed,
making a point to not touch her.
"I'm sorry. I get acid reflux, and I needed some water."
"I'm sure."
"So...have you ever thought about running away?"
"Not really. Where would I go?"
"I don't know. You can be anything you want to be."
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"I guess. But it's not like it's hard to get another sex slave.
We're really cheap and easy to get. But don't you feel awkward
about taking a teenage prostitute on a date?"
"It's not a date. We're just hanging."
"Why?"
"I don't know. You just seem interesting."
"Mm-hmm. A lot of clients are like that. Lonely men looking
for companionship."
"Is that such a bad thing?"
"No. But it's kind of creepy getting it from a 14-year-old."
"Well, maybe. But you seem interesting. And I don't know
anyone else on Mars."
They got dressed and left. He wasn't sure why he wanted to
do this. He certainly wasn't looking for a relationship. But he wanted
to experience the city before leaving.
Meanwhile on Phobos, Tim and Doris decided they had to
get away from James's ego, so they took a walk in the small town.
"I hate that we'll be missing Love Day on Earth," began
Doris.
"I know. That's my favorite holiday. It's so emotional." Love
Day was a global holiday in which everybody mourns the existence
of Mike Love for single-handedly changing the history of music in
ways literally unimaginable.
The slugs viewed them oddly. They weren't used to having
visitors. A couple of them walked up. They had various pamphlets in
their hands.
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"Yeah."
"Do you want to fuck?"
They left and went to one of the rooms without the artificial
gravity. John pulled her blouse off and began to kiss her breasts.
This just in! The censors have blocked this scene for explicit
content. This is at the request of the Innocence Advocacy, a nonprofit lobby group of parents seeking to protect children from adult
material. Because Science Fiction is almost exclusively marketed
toward children, all questionable content must be cut out. We will
pick up at the next scene.
"I'm sorry, Dor," said John. "I didn't realize one couldn't get
an erection in a zero gravity environment. Space science always
seemed kind of pointless to me."
"I guess the James Bond movies are pretty stupid," replied
Doris.
"I always preferred the books."
This just in! The rest of this scene has also been censored.
This scene contains explicit material (i.e. talking about erections)
which has been deemed not suitable for children. We will cut to the
next scene.
Note: My name is Kevin Karlton. Here at the Battlefield! In
Outer Space! studios, they have a problem with employee morale.
Apparently, they aren't paying us enough to cover our art school
debts, even though that would mean not being able to fund the
executives' cocaine habits. Since I'm leaving the company next
week anyway, I've snuck in the rest of this scene at the last
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"You could be a sex slave. The pay's not great, but the
benefits are fantastic." The both laughed at this. Even though she
looked pretty much the same as every other Martian, there was
something beautiful about her hairless blue skin melting into her
eyes, those two green spheres that bore into you, leading to her
nose, which trickled down until it met with a smile below it,
concealing pointed, yellow teeth, the kind you'd see in a horror
movie, only except this time it wasn't terrifying in a fear sense but in
an intriguement sense, the kind of intrigue like when there's a girl in
one of your classes who isn't classically pretty yet draws you in
anyway, and it was this kind of intrigue which drew Magnus in, into
her eyes which shone like the sun, if the sun shone green and had
a dull light, the kind of dull light like one of those eco-friendly
lightbulbs which reflects upon that girl in one of your classes who
draws you in with her strange beauty, making you want to put up
ten thousand pictures of her on your bedroom wall even though you
know you'll never talk to her because, really, what would you say,
and you don't even know anything about her, and maybe she's a
different religion or doesn't like your sense of humor or is a
vegetarian or refers to black people as "the urban community" so
that she doesn't feel racist since all people have equal value, like
the kind of equal aesthetic value all Martian women have, except in
this case, this beautiful jail bait sex slave with whom Magnus was
having lunch had a way of intriguing him, which is usually a sign
that you're in love, because people don't just intrigue you without it
being true love.
!75
me wife. I loved her with everything I had in me. Never betrayed her
or nothin'. She was my moon."
"That's so beautiful," said Doris.
"And I mean I loved her with everything I had in me. I poured
all of myself into her. But slowly-like, since gels don't like it when
you go too fast. And then I'd give her her oats, and she was like,
'Oh, John, let's go to India. It'll be so romantic,' and I'm like, 'Yeah,
baby, fuck me some more,' and she was like, 'harder, faster', and
I'm like"
"Okay," said Doris. "I think we've heard enough."
"Yes," said Tim. "Ugh. She had boobies and everything."
"Sorry, mates," said John. "I just get so carried away when I
think about love. I'm all about making love, not war. I did a lot of
love-mongering back in me day."
We'll return to this episode in a moment. And now a word
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!78
!79
The Adventure! was being pulled into the docking bay of the
Merchants' Union's main ship. It was a massive vessel, seventeen
square quabrits in size. Captain James was staring out the window,
talking to himself again.
"Captain James Umpeit commands the starship Adventure!,
a vessel of war and peace, devoted to journeying into the great
depths of the unknown, commissioned by the Democratic United
Earth Federation. He is a humble warrior, yet he is one of the few
beings who truly deserve arrogance. Funny how the most exalted
are always the most humble. Few captains match his expertise. Yet
he not only is a great captain but also a great warrior. He has a
virtuous nature which is rare in these times. Courageous, utilitarian,
strong, and ever so patriotic. He is both the epitome of masculinity
and yet also gently androgynous. In thirty years, after he likely dies
a heroic death fighting the giant scorpions on a distant planet, the
world will mourn him like new orphans, still in denial. For how could
such a great leader pass so quickly? Truly, life is brittle. It fades like
the leaf. And it is always the brightest stars that burn out the fastest.
Never forget. No, we shall hold an annual memorial of his gift to
mankind, his gift of himself. This man was one of the very few who
truly gave everything he had to the world. He will be mourned like
Socrates, Jesus Christ, William Wallace, Ghandi, and Pope St.
John Paul II Chrysostomus. Like Thomas Jefferson, Abraham
Lincoln, Julius Caesar, Mother St. Theresa..."
"Are you masturbating again?" cried Doris. "What the hell is
your problem?!"
!80
!82
And so the crew entered their ship and took off. As soon as
they left the bay, the Union began to shoot at them.
"Why is it that every time we go on a peace mission, we
almost get assassinated?" exclaimed Tim.
"Peace is never free," replied James. "No, Compromise must
always involve sacrifice."
"The hyper-overdrive is shot, and the tele-communications
are shot. We'll have to go down to Venus to get a repair," cried
Doris.
"So be it," said James. "We shall go to Venus."
Thus the ship quickly turned and half flew half fell down to
Venus. They made a rough landing, and although it didn't damage
the ship, there was a lot of ground upturned. Outside was a lush
forest with a waterfall. There was a small city conveniently nearby.
The crew and John Lennon disembarked and began looking for an
inn. A man with pamphlets walked up to the group. He had long
hair, worn-out but colorful clothing, and smelled like a college
freshman.
"Can I share with you the most life-changing thing you'll ever
hear?" he asked.
"No, we don't want anymore Jesus," said Doris.
"Oh, I'm not peddling religion. No, I want to share with you
about how awful the slaughterhouses are. If slaughterhouses had
glass walls, everyone would be a vegetarian."
"But fortunately," said Tim, "they have walls of brick and
blood."
!84
"Of course. Who's going to tell the pope 'no', and who's
going to depose him? A few theologians are upset, but most are
claiming that this is just a further development of their doctrine,
completely in line with past interpretations."
"Will he get rid of hell?" asked Doris.
"Pope Farcius said that it's too progressive now to abolish
hell, but maybe in another fifty years if the Church feels as though
it's fitting for the people."
"I don't even know what that means," said Doris.
"Really?" replied Tim. "He seems like your kind of demigod."
Doris continued, "What other positions is the pope taking?"
"He supports world peace, open dialogue, and mutual
understanding between various nations, states, religions, cultures,
and sects of Christianity. He has also assured the Orthodox that if
they rejoin the Uniate, he won't force them to modernize their liturgy
like in the West. Finally, he is allowing barrier method
contraceptives as long as it's not on Friday."
"What about a woman's right to choose?" asked Doris.
"He didn't answer directly but only said that both the prochoice and pro-life sides should try to understand each other's
positions better and that people the world over should celebrate the
special role women have in the creation of life."
They walked a bit farther until they came to the end of town.
There was a very large mansion with a dome and towers
surrounded by gardens. It had a sign that said, "Spiritual
!86
!87
!88
Soon after they went to bed. After they woke up the next day,
they bought breakfast and headed out the meditation area of the
garden. Fruit trees and hedges surrounded them. Butterflies were
everywhere. They sat in a clearing on mats while a long-haired
white man in white linen stood in front of them.
"Hello, beings. My name is Guru Yashi Mo-Jandu Qui,
although it is traditional in Eastern cultures to simply refer to me as
'Master'. Today's lesson will be on starting. Yes, obviously you want
to start, since you came here, but where are you starting from?
Meaning, where are you now? Close your eyes, and imagine
yourself as an animal opening a box..."
He went on like this for a while. They opened boxes in their
minds and released the energy there. The energy grew from a seed
so small one could barely see it into a tree where many birds made
their nests. Then they searched through their emotions and put
everything negative back into the box, leaving only hope behind.
Finally, they ended the hour with chanting for fifteen minutes in a
foreign language.
"Thank you, class. Come back at two o'clock for guided
transcendental meditation."
Doris walked up to the Master. "Wow. You are such a good
teacher. I'd just like to thank you for sharing your knowledge with
us."
"Well, thank you," replied the man. "Tell me about yourself."
They began walking back towards the building.
!89
"That's so amazing."
The tea was finished it was white-green color and tasted
both strong and bland at the same time.
"Doris, your life journey has been so fascinating for me to
hear."
"Really?" she stared into his eyes.
He walked up to her and kissed her briefly. "You're so
beautiful." They began to kiss, starting slowly and softly but
gradually picking up more pace. Finally, she got down on her knees
as he unzipped his pants. He had a glorious penis. Long and round
with a slightly red tint. The lip on the mushroom cap was perfectly
proportioned, and his hair was trimmed just right. Yes, she had
never sucked a penis like this in her life. It was gentle even when it
was hard. The small veins on it felt like the texture on some
wonderful kind of dessert. Then the semen suddenly rushed in, and
she felt herself orgasming as though her lady parts were flying
through her body. As it washed through her mouth and down the
back of her throat, it was like all of the Master's love and wisdom
was infusing into her, renewing her like a baptism. She continued
on for much longer than she ever had when suddenly Ataturk bit
her hand.
"Ow," she said, taking her head out of his pants.
The Master look a little unsure of himself. "Oh, I'm terribly
sorry. He's just expressing himself."
"I should go," said Doris. "But I'd love to finish sometime."
!92
"Yes, well, I have a video call with the pope this afternoon
anyway."
"Oh, really? What's he like?"
"So sincere, so compassionate. I really think he can unite
our world."
"Wow. I never knew religion could be so beautiful."
"Yes, once everybody can understand everybody else, we'll
all have the same laws and paradigms. And then there will be no
more violence ever again, and we'll see past each other's
differences. I really believe that that's the message of all religions."
"Mmm. Yes, if we could just learn to love each other and
focus above the mundane things, we could really live in a great
world."
She left his room and walked back to the garden. The other
three were admiring a peacock. "I met the Master. We had a nice
cup of tea."
"You fucked him, didn't y'?" asked John.
Doris looked very offended. "Of course not!"
"I can see it in y' face. They always do this, the bastards." He
walked away muttering to himself.
"You know," said Doris, "Master dialogues with the pope.
They're trying to unite the world."
"Aren't we all?" asked James. "Isn't that what the Democratic
United Earth Federation is all about? Everyday, more and more
people give themselves toward non-violence. We all want it so
badly, I really believe it's just around the corner."
!93
!95
metaphysical proportions that will define our time, and it will wrench
your heart. Will you cry from ecstasy or from heartbrokenness?
Find out next week!
Episode Five: Into the Great (Recently) Unknown
"George Lucas is like God," said Tim to James while they
were waiting for meditation to start. "When you're young, you think
He's perfect and can do anything. But then you get older and take
literature classes, and you slowly begin to see his flaws, until
eventually you become a George Lucas atheist."
"George Lucas is a fallen genius, and if you disagree, you're
just a dumb jock!" cried James angrily.
"Gaping plot holes and bad dialogue included." James
looked like he was about to get violent, but at that moment the
Master came.
"Hello, friends. Let's sit in a circle. Cross your legs Indian
style (pun intended) and place your hands palms up on your knees.
Very good. Now close your eyes and think nothing."
"Okay," thought Tim. "Nothing.............this is really
nice..........nothing...............I have such great self-control..........I
mean, this ascended master bullshit is still bullshit, but my God am
I ascended; shit, I'm thinking thoughts again; no thoughts, no
thoughts, no thoughts, shit, I'm thinking again.............I am a human
god; I am handsome, intelligent; all my opinion are
correct...........fuck it, I can't stop thinking; we're leaving soon
!98
!100
"Can she even cover the cost of the five star resort you left
her in plus the extra night they'll probably charge her for?"
responded Doris.
"Well, she has a little money I gave her from when I first
purchased her services. Wait, no, that went to her owner. I guess
not."
"My God," said Doris, "You are by far one of the most
horrible people I've ever met. You're even worse than James. She
gave up everything for you, and you just leave her in the night in a
strange land with a debt that she has no idea she owes? They'll
probably throw her in prison!"
Magnus started to get angry. "But she's not a sex slave
anymore. That was a good deed on my part."
"A good deed? She'll probably have to start selling herself
again."
"Yeah, but you made me feel really icky about sleeping with
a teenager. I had to let her go for her own good."
"It's amazing the acrobatics your mind can do."
Now he looked enraged. "You know what, nobody ever gives
me a break. Everything I do is a screw up to you!"
"Everything you do is a screw up!" yelled Doris. "You
abandoned us, took advantage of a child, and abandoned her in a
strange land. At least on Mars she had friends and contacts!"
"I agree," said John. "You're being a major wanker."
"Then how am I supposed to fix it? What do I do now?"
asked Magnus almost sarcastically.
!101
"We could go back there and pick her up," said Doris.
The other four men looked rather sheepish. "Ehhhhh..." said
James.
"I agree," said Tim. "Let's just forget about it and let the
blame fall on Magnus. After all, we can't really do anything to help
her."
"We could find her a foster family!" cried Doris.
"Yeah, but I imagine they have child services on Venus. Let's
just move on," replied Tim.
"That gel has a lot of love in her heart. She'll make it just fine
without us," said John.
"Wow, men are pigs," said Doris.
"Yeah, pretty much," responded Tim. "Pretty much."
"Glad that's resolved," said James. "Let me report to
command." He walked over to the tele-screen and typed some
keys. The screen lit up and showed the Supreme Commander of
the Space Patrol, Marshal Drew Tillurd.
The Space Patrol, or SP as it was commonly known, had
several different kinds of ships. Most were large war ships with
hundreds or perhaps thousands of men. Others were small ship of
two people acting like police. A very few were like the Adventure!, a
crew of maybe half a dozen who travel the galaxy on special
missions like ambassadors or secret agents.
"We escaped Venus, Commander. As you've been informed,
we failed at negotiating peace again. The Merchants' Union actually
!102
tried to shoot us down! We had to dock for two nights for repairs on
Venus. I'll send you the receipt for our hotel."
"Yes, of course," said Tillurd.
"What about my night?" asked Magnus.
"Unfortunately," said Tillurd, "Your stay there was not on
work business considering the nature of your MIA."
"Can you pretend that I was with the rest of the group?"
asked Magnus.
"Absolutely not!" said Tillurd. "That would create a conflict in
our reports. You'll have to pay for it yourself."
"Meh..."
"What's the update on the civil war?" asked James.
"The Federation invaded Jerusalem and burned it to the
ground. They are marching toward Mecca now and living off loot
from local farmers."
"That's awful!" said Doris.
"A lot of people feel conflicted about that. However, the
Federation must be preserved at all costs," replied Tillurd.
"What happened to the Western Wars?" asked James.
"A treaty has been signed, and those territories have all been
reorganized. Peace is currently being maintained in the Western
World. Moscow controls Eastern Europe. Paris controls Western
Europe except for the British Isles. London controls the Englishspeaking world except for America. America controls all of its own
territory except for Detroit, which lies outside of the Federation
!103
altogether. Talks have been made of reclaiming it, but they decided
it's best to allow Black Americans a land to call their own."
"So what's our next mission?"
"As you may know, Rhea, one of Saturn's moons, is a
theistic monarchy. This is opposed to our cherished doctrine of
democracy. There is a resistance movement at the Chestnut Grove
Cafe in the capital city of Gradsburg. Go there and find a man with
a purple blotch birthmark on his face and a yellow scarf. This is
your contact. Ask him his opinion on the potential canonization of
Lady Di. He will respond that he has an excellent book on the
subject if you should follow him home. From there, it'll all come
together."
And so began the long trek across the galaxy. Rhea was a
long way away, even once they had passed the speed of light. They
shifted the gear from super over-drive to hyper over-drive. The first
few days passed uneventfully. They crew and John didn't really
interact with each other much. Even John and Doris remained
mostly distant from each other. They did talk a little bit about the
mission.
"It'll be great once the Rheans can vote for their own
leaders," said James.
"I guess," responded Tim. "I never vote. One politician never
changed anything."
James looked dumbstruck. "That's heresy! It's your civic
duty."
!104
troops soon left. This left the Muslims embittered, probably forever,
but their economy was too crushed to revolt again anytime soon.
Considering that there are no more Christians (except for a few
soldiers and puppet government officials), West Asian and North
African Christianity has been completely wiped out, including in
Istanbul. This leaves the Moscow patriarch as the sole patriarch of
the Orthodox Church. He has taken the title of "Bishop of the Third
Rome, Defender of Apostolic Christianity, Chief Inheritor of the
Apostles, Headmaster of Christ's Magisterium, Fons Originalis
Gratiae Divinae, Pater Omnis Credibilis, Scholasticus Perfectus,
Arbiter Curiae Ecclesiasticae Unicus, Pontifex Gentibus, Vicarius
Iesu Christi, et nunc et semper et in saecula saeculorum." The
Anglican Communion has stated vague objections to such claims
as being polemical, and Pope Farcius has called it a breach in
ecumenical relations and a hinderance to reunification. Some within
the Orthodox Church have also protested to such reaches of
Moscow's jurisdiction, especially those in the diaspora, but all
attempts to appeal the decision have been turned down.
After a week, they stopped for fuel. There was a large
trucker station a little ways past Mars on an asteroid. The ship
landed, and the crew got out. After filling up, they decided to go
inside the store to take a break from the confines of the ship.
"There's a restaurant attached to the gift shop," said John.
"It looks pretty greasy," replied Doris, "but I am hungry for
something other than freeze dried sauerkraut."
!106
The two of them began to walk over there, while the other
three went to the arcade. The restaurant was called "Old Fat
John's", and they weren't sure whether or not it was a franchise.
The walls were made of rotting wood, and the lighting was dim yet
oddly glaring. The radio played the worst kind of 90s pop just loud
enough so that you knew it was playing but not loud enough to
follow it. The woman behind the counter was a little past middle age
and almost obese. She looked like she had had one too many bad
boyfriends and neglected children.
"What do you want?"
"Ahh..." said Doris, "Let me think." Nothing on the menu
looked good. There was a Super C-burger, a Ham-Hamburger,
Uncle Wally's Favorite Chicken Salad, and other weird sounding
names given to what seemed like they were supposed to be regular
dishes. Even the regular dishes seemed to be discouraging. There
was also fried chicken sitting under a hot light with weird vegetable
dishes. "I guess I'll have the Super C-burger," she said, choosing
the item that seemed most edible. "Is it good?"
"Honey, I don't know. It's just ground beef, cooked, with
cheese and toppings."
"Fine. Whatever."
"Watch your attitude, missy. You ordered it."
Doris looked at her dumbstruck, but only for a second.
"Look, bitch, I'm a paying customer"
John cut her off. "Now, now, gels. Let's settle down."
!107
The woman walked out from around the corner. "Bitch, you
haven't never fought no bitch like me. It's on."
"I'm not going to fight you," said Doris. "I'm sorry I called you
a bitch."
"Too late for that, sugar. We's going down." The other people
in the fuel stop began to crowd around.
"I'm sure we can solve this peacefully. Really, I shouldn't
have said anything." Doris extended her hand. The woman hit her
in the elbow.
"Ow. Fuck, that hurts. Alright, if that's what you want..." Doris
struck a pose that looked like it came out of an 80s karate movie.
"What's all this?" asked John. "Doris, violence is never the
answer. Just give peace a chance, and you'll find we'll all be so
much happier."
Meanwhile in the next room, Tim and James were standing
by the cooler. "Look at this new energy drink," said Tim, holding up
a can. "It's called an Irish Mobster. It's Guinness mixed with
cocaine. I have to try it."
"Winners don't do drugs," said James. "They only make you
stupid."
"What about Charles Baudelaire, Charles Dickens, and the
entire history of jazz and rock music?"
"They could have done all that without it. Imagine how much
better it would have been without drugs."
"Hunter S. Thompson, Jack Kerouac, Ginsberg..."
"Scourges upon society."
!108
they tore skin and ripped out hair. Doris tried her best to box the
woman's kidneys, but she couldn't get a good shot in. Then she
tried hitting the nose upward with the palm, but the woman moved
her head, and Doris only hit the cheek, although this was still very
painful. But then the other woman penetrated Doris's eye with her
thumb. Doris dropped her guard, and the woman tackled her and
began to beat her as though she was going to murder her. The
crowd continued to cheer. John looked on with horror, but he was
pushed to the back of the crowd.
Somehow, James bulled his way through the crowd and
threw the unsuspecting woman off of Doris. The woman hit her
head hard on the wall and went unconscious. The crowd gave a
large shout. Doris stood up. "Finish her!" they cried. She stumbled
over, and kicked the woman's head. Another roar from the crowd.
"You've won," said James. "We should get her a doctor."
"No," said Doris, almost too dizzy to stand. she slammed her
boot against the woman's neck, and there was a loud crack. The
crowd suddenly grew quiet. They lingered for a few seconds and
then at once ran out.
"We should probably go," said John.
Magnus and Tim ran in. Tim had a broken nose, and Magnus
had a bruised eye.
"We heard the crowd go silent all of a sudden, so we thought
something might have gone bad."
"I killed her," said Doris slowly. "I don't know why."
!110
!111
the world as an echo of the eternal life that the resurrection offers.
True theocracy is a state without war."
Pope Farcius also stated that this was a clear sign that it is
time to re-integrate the Muscovite Orthodox Church into the Roman
Communion. He asked Patriarch Philoneikos to attend an
upcoming prayer service at the Vatican with leaders from various
other religions, but the patriarch, inciting criticism from most of the
western world, has stated that such an act is "a betrayal to the
blood of Christ", although the few remaining evangelical protestants
have supported his claim. Such an inter-faith prayer service began
with Pope St. John Paul II Chrysostomus and was gradually made
into an annual tradition. Buddhists, Hindus, Muslims, Jews,
Anglicans, and various small religious sects often attend.
The Christians were not the only ones to celebrate this
restoration of non-violence. The leader of the Buddhist vicariate of
the Anglican Communion announced his approval, stating that it
met all eight aspects of the eight-fold path. Guru Yashi Mo-Jandu
Qui announced that all of religion had been fulfilled and that man
was finally free again to discover himself. The Caliph of Islam was
not asked his opinion since currently his location can not be
confirmed.
And so as the world finally returns to its state of rest, the
spaceship Adventure! soars through the darkness in superoverdrive. Boredom and idleness begins to erode away the crew's
minds, yet soon they will receive their biggest challenge yet. Don't
miss it in the next episode of Adventures! In Outer Space!
!113
!114
"I'm sure you can guess the questions I have," Tim replied,
surprising himself at how calm he felt.
"Yes. You've died of a brain aneurism. We're waiting to find
out what eternity is like. I am your body, and you are your soul."
"So is this heaven or hell?"
"It is neither. We are just waiting."
"So it's purgatory then?"
"No. We're just waiting."
"When will I find out?"
"In due time. I do not know how long it will be, but it will be
sufficient."
"I've never been much of a believer in God, I'll admit."
"No, we haven't."
"So I guess he does exist after all then?"
"Of course."
"Which one is He? I mean, which religion was right?"
"Oh, it's too late to ask that question."
"What determines where I go?"
"You will get whatever you desire. If you want Heaven, you
will enter it, and if you want Hell, then you will enter it instead."
"Wait, how do you know all this?"
"I've always known. It's you that has kept me in silence."
"Well, obviously I want to go to Heaven."
"Do you? Why do you want to go there?"
"Well, it's the good place, isn't it? I certainly don't want to go
to Hell."
!117
!118
Magnus stared off into the distance. Doris cried silently on John's
shoulder.
Next time, in Adventures! In Outer Space!, we will have the
much anticipated Epilogue, In Which Doris Gets Her Oats.
Notice:
Due to lack of subscription, Battlefield! In Outer Space is
cancelled. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience.
!121
The Desert
I looked into the sand and saw nothing.
There were plants and lizards and rocks and trees,
And I saw nothing. The desert
Did not stare back. The desert
Did not stare, nor did I feel its presence.
I was alone in the abyss,
Out on the tiles,
Tiles for miles.
Will you be alone with this renegade?
Will you give me your youth?
For that I can trade my old age
When I get there, when I arrive
Deeper into the abyss, so deep that I no longer
Notice, I will give you my age.
Join me in loneliness. Join me
To be isolated under the rocks.
When the sandstorm hits.
I will hold you and keep you safe.
I will be alone with you.
!122
!123
!124
!125
!126
!127
My American Dream
Is for the young fools.
You have to be asleep
Or in a boring class at school
It's like being a rock star
Or a corporate exec.
Dreams are for the fools;
There's always a stacked deck.
Wouldn't it be nice to live
In a happier time
When rights were fewer
But the economy was on an incline?
We didn't need no prozac,
Didn't need no computer phone.
People had each other,
And people had their homes.
Nostalgia flows through he hears of us all.
Nostalgia is a word, though that always fails.
We like our legal procedure just fine.
People are afraid to step beyond rails..
"The gov'ment will save us!" That cry gets old.
While all our civil liberties unfold,
Misery and poverty have become
Closer friends, harsher winds, and bitter sons.
!128
!129
I love you.
To make it clear,
I am here.
!130
!131
!134
!135
!136
!137
Miss You
It didn't last long,
Like a fleeting song,
And you think you're doing what's right.
We had good times,
And what did we find?
You had a little fear and took flight.
It would have been nice
To have done things right.
We could have spent the time growing older,
Working as a team,
Like an eagle's wings,
But that was a burden you didn't shoulder.
I miss you.
I know it's sad
For me to seem had,
But it is true
That I miss you.
I've tried others,
But they make poor lovers.
Here comes my cue:
I miss you.
!138
!139
Human
It's a foggy morning in 1862. My scout troop is somewhere in
rural Virginia. I think at least. Fuck me, I don't know where we are.
We could be in Tennessee for all I know. I hate this war. I hate
eating shit for every meal, and I hate the constant disease. God
knows what's taken over my foot. Some kind of fungus or
something. The skin is yellow and has a kind of black vein under it.
I think it's April now. We're in a patch of trees on the lookout
for rebels. We've been roving around this area for six months now. I
think. Maybe we've moved somewhere else. And who knows how
long I've been fighting. It's probably not even 1862 anymore.
Probably never was.
I'm from Ohio. Sunny Ohio. Where the fields are flat and the
trees bend to your will. Out here, they watch you. The trees, they
dominate your every move. You are their slave, like a bitch being
raped by another breed. It's colder in Virginia, too. I know it. Ohio is
warm and sunny. Where the hickory shades you from all the world's
troubles. Pecan pie and sunny music.
The fog's starting to clear with the sunrise. You can see
across the way a little. Only trees for miles and miles. Mountains on
top of mountains with trees in between. But not much. The fog's still
pretty thick. You're always hearing gunshots. All through the night,
every few hours or so, gunshots. The day is no better. In some
ways worse. Always the constant bullets. The sound of fear.
!140
I'm always in a state of fear. Not just fear of death or pain but
fear of myself. I'm losing my mind. I can feel it slowly more and
more each day. I'm dying. But I fear the bullets too. I don't want to
die. You slowly become comfortable in fear. It's all I know anymore.
I wouldn't know what to do with stability.
The gunshots are becoming more frequent. I think we're a
scout troop. I really don't remember anymore. I'm not sure I care
either. We wander around and kill. That's all I need to know.
In the distance, barely, I see people running by. Their
shouting. Our troop is coming behind them. They turn around and
fire frantically. One of our guys falls, but really they Rebs didn't
have the time to aim. We've got them now. They surrender. We
remove their arms and tie their hands up. There's a shout of joy
from our troops. Some men are singing about Glory or some shit,
and the captain takes a swig of his whiskey.
"Back to base, men. We need to put these in the prisoner
camp."
Do we? Why not just kill them? I guess it's wrong to kill the
surrendered. I mean, they have families too. It's kind of a hassle to
take them to the prisoner camp, but I suppose it's the right thing to
do. You shouldn't kill unless you have to.
I didn't even want to come to this war. They say the barons
in the South hire their negroes to go for them or something. I'd like
that. Hire someone else to die for me. Goddamn. Maybe I should
have gone to Canada. They say it's nice up there. Water and all.
!141
"I don't know. Probably. I don't really pay attention. But that
sounds like something we'd make."
Junius shudders.
"They say you eat so little that you can see your bones
through your skin."
"Like an African."
"No, worse. I haven't ever seen a nigger like that."
"Who knows? We ain't too fond of Southern folk, so it
probably exists. I think I may have heard of something like that. Not
sure though."
More silence.
"So if you're so rich and all, why didn't you just hire one of
your negroes to fight for you?"
"What in hell are you talking about?"
"You southern rich folk. You've got your slaves, and you pay
them to go to war for you. Am I right?"
"No, no. You can't trust a nigger to fight against his own
freedom. Sometimes, people will pay poor white people to fight for
them. But my father wanted me to help found this country."
"Sounds like a shitty pap to me."
"I'm proud of my father," he said with a slightly raised voice,
"and I'm proud to found the great Confederate States of America."
"Okay, sorry. I suppose it's noble."
"You don't sound much like a yankee."
!143
"Oh, I don't care about the war. I'm just here because Lincoln
would take my farm if I didn't. You'd be surprised how many
northerners want the south to piss off and leave."
"Really? Hot damn! We thought you were all some kind of
Royalist or some sort."
"No, no. That's just Mr. Lincoln's vendetta. The man's
cracked I tell you. Bringing the whole country on his crusade."
"Maybe you're not such a bad person after all."
"I don't know. I don't care about whether or not if I'm bad."
"Oh, well then, good. There was something I had wanted to
ask."
"I ain't letting you go!"
"No, no, not that. Look, I can't stand the thought of that
prison camp. Could you just..." Here he lowers his voice to a kind of
whisper. "Shoot me? Call it an accident or something."
Here was a gaudy thought. Put a gun to his head and end it
all.
"No, I can't kill a man like that. It's inhuman."
"Please, I'd do the same for you."
"It's just wrong to kill a man without needing to. It's
unnatural."
"How's it any different from killing a man on the battlefield?"
"Because you're right there in front of me. And we've been
talking and shit. I just can't. It'd be...wrong."
"I thought you didn't care about right and wrong."
!144
"I didn't say that. I don't give a shit about the war. But I've still
got my humanity."
"No, you've got your emotions. Now look, I know it's difficult
to murder a man. You seem like a good man at heart. But we
humans can develop. We can move beyond our emotions to
something abstract-like. Do you see?"
"No, I don't."
"Look, I know you don't want to kill me. It would feel awful.
But you can choose to kill me. It'd be an act of mercy. If I don't die
here, I'll die in that horrible prison camp."
"I...I...That's just not my problem. Look, I've got to go. I'll
come around later and give you another cigarette."
"Giving me cigarettes doesn't make you a good person."
And with that I leave. That's a thought right there. Killing a
man of my own will. Shit. But I guess those prison camps are pretty
rough. I don't even know if we've got one like that or not, but we
probably do. Hell.
It's the next day. We're wading through the forest and stop
for lunch. I go over to Junius.
"I've been doing some thinking, and, and...I'll do it. I'll kill
you."
"Oh, thank you so much. Your lieutenant has his back
turned. Now's the perfect time."
I pause. "No, not now."
"Why not?"
"Just because it's too easy to get caught."
!145
!148
!150
!151
!153
!155
Im not sure why I did it. He was just standing there, and
I had a sudden urge to put a pen through his neck, so I did.
He didnt really do anything to deserve it. I just felt
Like killing someone. Weve all been there.
!156
!157
!158
!160
Preces
When I was in college, I came across a collection of Puritan prayer
poems called The Valley of Vision. I was so impressed that I
decided to write my own, which were well-received by my friends at
the time. Realizing that some may consider this out of theme from
the rest of the anthology, I present here the twelve preces.
I
May I make not the things of you into idols,
Little Saviors who don't hold powers which
Can save, but fill a mold, only hollow faades.
Godly men say things, and to them I raise
My holy hands, worshipping the servant, not the
Master himself, the divine creator.
Wicked man that I am, how easily I err
Into unsensed sin. Catch me, O God, back.
The gods of me provide a soft, dying candle,
But you are the radant and wild sun.
A fire gives warmth so long as it is to be fed,
But the good God stays, never changes, and
Yet does as he pleases. He loves the saved and he
Welcomes to him back those in darkness err'd.
May I see my darkness, and run to the true God,
When I leave the light of your fulfillment.
!161
II
Prune me deeper, so that I might be one holy.
Prune me so deep I cannot anymore
Stand, but must to lean on you and your grace. And I
Will not remember my sins of old as
A chain binding, but as to teach the young Christians.
I will rest in you, and you will heal me.
I will rise in your grasp, and you won't let me fall.
If I shall fall down, it will be by me,
Only the errs of man can separate your touch.
Prune me deeper, Lord, for I do not know
What way is right, only who can guide me t'himself.
Teach me t'listen well, for I don't know how.
In grace is true godness, and in grace is vict'ry
Over my own snares. Lead me not to death.
!162
III
Why do I seek your face, only to have you turn?
Have I not sought you? And you've left me not?
My friends prosper by lakes of milk and your honey,
But I alone starve in the wilderness.
I asked for your accountability and you
Left me alone, yes, still in the darkness.
Where's the spirit promised, 'bout whom Paul wrote in such
Moving letters which 'spire the masses still?
Why does ev'ry other Christian live in blessing?
At the vanity of your grace I mourn.
Yet it's not you who's left my side, but my own err,
My own deafness, the damning limp of men.
How easily I ask and don't listen to the
Very guidance asked by my questioning.
I ask and look for one answer, and if you don't
Give thus, then I say, "Where is my God, who
Has abandoned me to the wilds of my own self?"
I say, "Heal me, God; forgive my dark sin."
Still I look not for grace, but for divine liquor
To hide the old dark with a smoth'ring cloth.
I glorify men and angels, yet I hate you,
What divine wines and of earth do I drink!
"I will learn all knowledge. I will give to the poor.
Then I'll erase that. No more I'll be dark."
!163
!164
IV
Show me my true motivations, Teacher, so that
I may be made pure and acceptable.
Do I dwell on your word, 'til dawn pouring over
The truths, subtleties, and the convictions
To make myself righteous? Rather, would it be best
To put your word down until I know what
Reason I have to cling to you? Show me, O God,
So that I may love rightly, and not as
A faade of old men, never made new. Show me,
So that your true word will not cause me to
Stumble. Show me so that I may love with the heart
Of a humble slave, and reach the broken.
Can one follow right you but not himself? Can I?
It must be true, God, for otherwise you
Would not have commanded us to do this true deed.
Kill my nat'ral soul, and give a lightful
Guidance, so that I may return to your fountains
Of love, like the milk of a mother cow
And the honey of a son of a king, the well
Only you can dig. Kill my nat'ral soul.
!165
V
I long for death, for this earth holds secret evil.
We can't see this curse, but still we feel it
Through ev'rything we do and say. Kill me, O God,
For I've no more drive. No more purpose stays.
I lie in bed, thinking of the vain things I seek:
Immateral wealths: friends, knowledge. Such
Things don't bring will, and I know this, but I have no
Other reason left. How can I seek you?
Give me passion for you, for if I don't believe
That you can meet my desires most inward,
Then I am but an unbaptized heathen, and should
Pursue sex and pride. Show me the truth, Guide,
Which I already know but don't believe. Show me
What your spirit longs to teach this deaf man.
!166
VI
My pride within swells while I am working these words,
For I know the strength of my own good craft.
But you, Deus meus, gave me this potic
Way of writing down these thoughts on my mind.
What good does it do me? Is there a way to know
Why I sit and write? I praise with oxes,
Slain in redeeming blood, but my soul is just like
A bowl only at the rim clean and washed.
Throw me from your city, down to the gates of Hell.
It is so hard to accept your good grace.
I can only worship myself, despite my wish.
Pursue me with love; the first act is yours.
Nothing in me can want your light. Rapture me in
Your pure, holy light, for I've forgotten
The way back home. Will your letters show me? Will you?
Is it a wrong act to feel good and well
About my strengths? "Look, men, I wrote a pretty poem."
!167
VII
Look at my sin, playing in the meadows, like a
Pagan, little nymph. Cute and petite, it's
Worthy of a casu'l chuckle, just a mild-ful
Snicker, hardly seen. Play on, little friend,
For God loves me anyway. Play on with the Bacchus.
Pour a libation to the mighty Jove!
The diviners and the augurs can't be so big
That they'll cut me off from my God, can they?
Oh, God, we are a church of unbaptized pagans.
Pagan pastors lead, and pagan men sit,
Goats who look like your sheep. Can we stop challenging
Our congregation? Can we prove it true?
No, I shall not give up my gods and concubines.
Rationalizing is just what we do.
Please stop preaching, pastor. I know God's good gospel.
But how about you? You work without love.
I can only see the outside, but God knows who
Loves abandonly, who loves only God.
!168
VIII
Oh, God, bind us Christians to each other and give
To us union more than has been e'er seen.
Give us the will to shine your light into the world,
So that they will know that we are of you.
Teach us to love and to know right without thinking.
Teach harmony and peaceful, loving bliss.
We will delight in your gi'en words and deeds. Teach us
Your old parables. Teach us your prophets.
We do not wish to lose any of your true book,
For truth arriving will show our hatreds.
Like a piglet upon his sow's breast, we'll cling to
Your word and the milk. For thus by your word
And your presence can our infancy be nourished.
Only by you, Good Doctor, can we love.
!169
IX
My God, how we all fall away! I've come to know
So many friends, friends who say, "In my youth
I was so intimate with God, but now I have
grown cold," like a mere fact of mere life. Gale,
Stir me to not settle. Stir me onto your side.
Your milk mothers my helpless cries of pain.
As a baby needs milk, and a woman a dad,
Thus too do I cringe without the warm love
With which you feed my soul. Ev'ry one abandoned
Me in my youth, Thus today they do, too.
My own father left me. He sought the wide world's goods.
And my mother, she was a prostitute.
My sole brother would strike me down. My wife married
My best, closest friend. Only my God cares.
Only my God will not leave this wretched sinner.
My friends will leave you. Give me the will, My
Master, so that I may stay forever with you.
Show me your love first, so I can love you.
!170
X
A prostitute has my virginity, and all
The men of the world despise and hate me.
Where are my friends who promised me love and caring?
They have become cold. The Greeks and Jews turn,
And the Christians smile with the Christian smile of feigned
Love, love which is mere petty mannering.
Walk in the dew with me. Teach me about your face.
Like a husband's wife, I will need your strength.
I will find my identity in you, trusting
In your opinions alone. Kill me, Love,
So that I will not be loving this world of cruel
Faades and false men. Heaven calls me home.
!171
XI
I'm still mourning for my old sins, but help me trust
In the graces which only you can give.
If I live in your grace, friends and fam'ly will fade.
For you can fill this, the hole of applause.
Draw me closer, and I will let this magnet pull.
You're my only friend. No one but you cares.
In the morning, remind me back, and keep this thought
Present all day long. Then when I try sleep,
It will keep me safe from myself by your comfort.
I'll fall asleep more quickly. Bliss will escort me
Through my dreams and night temperaments. If God's a color,
Ev'ry thing else is tainted by that hue.
Fatigue grips me, and tomorrow will be busy,
But is tomorrow God? For I want you
More than sleep or the food. I have a full bladder,
But your presence makes forgetfulness strong.
May this be the year that I say that I have come
To know the God more. Draw me closer, Love.
!172
XII
When men praise me and call me godly, remind me
To shun their words, for no man can tell the
Heart of another. Only you know our measure
Of love given you. People and friends look
To me and say, "Well, done, good and faithful servant.
Your fruit's ripened well." But do they know my
Motivations? And even if mine are righteous,
They have no way of knowing that. I will
Put my faith in you alone, for who else can tell
All of my sins I ever committed.
!173
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!180
Of Age
William had been driving around his Southern town looking
for drugs. He had just made a sale of bootlegged pornography
videos and was eager to put his money to what he considered good
use. William avoided hard drugs but had no qualms about safer
substances like marijuana and hallucinogens. His truck was an old
manual transmission on the last leg of his life, so he was unable to
travel outside the town for fear of breaking down on the interstate
without a towing company for thirty miles.
Within the preceding year, a software had been developed
that requires special permission to delete history and even alerts
them when certain websites were visited on their network. The
phone companies soon added a service where teens couldn't visit
certain sites and would notify their parents when they tried to.
Suddenly pornography became very difficult to acquire, and many
men in their late teens and early twenties could make good money
pirating pornography DVDs. For the teenagers under eighteen, it
could be difficult to come across a dealer. The film companies had
tried everything to prevent the pirating, but with basic screencapture software, it was no struggle to copy a pornographic film.
The teenagers themselves were almost a little glad for the difficulty,
since the quality had increased tremendously without the amateurs
on the internet.
William had a few leads on drug dealers, but none of them
had worked out. It must have been due to how late in the semester
!181
it was. College kids would come in at the beginning of the term with
all sorts of substances, but they would soon run out. Thompson
State University was too isolated to travel to make a drug run when
exams were this close. Sometimes dealers would travel to the town
with the intention of distributing, but there weren't enough students
to make the trip worth it for many of them. One cannot merely roll
into town with a strange county on your license plate and unload a
dozen cardboard boxes without seeming suspicious.
William parked outside his dorm but sat in his car for a while.
He wanted anything but to study for an exam in such a boring
subject, and he kept repeating to himself, "Responsible adult.
Responsible adult." He considered diverting the time by eating at
the Denny's across the street. Finally he exited the vehicle and saw
a girl walk his way.
She was fairly short with long brown hair. Her nose was just
slightly turned upwards at the end. She was cute, although not
quite hot. The girl was more wifey-looking than the girls in his
videos.
William had never been good with women, but he decided to
seize the opportunity, having been given a few pointers from his
roommate. Looking just off to the side, he accidentally bumped hard
into her shoulder.
"My God! I'm so sorry!"
The girl was kneeling on the ground.
"Watch where you're going!"
"I'm so sorry! Let me help you up."
!182
He pulled her back up, taking care to hold her by the arm
and not by the hand.
"My name is William."
"Ashleigh."
He shook her hand, taking care to turn his to the right.
"Wonderful weather out here. Not like this often."
"Hardly. I didn't think it would be this cold this far south. I
didn't bring a jacket from home."
"Really? So then you're a freshman."
"Yes, what about you?"
"Sophomore. So are you liking TSU?"
"Yes, absolutely. College is so much fun. I've made so many
great friends."
"Where are you off to?"
"The library. I'm meeting a friend to study."
"Tell you what, you're right that it's cold out here. I'm going to
Denny's. Do you want to come?"
Ashleigh gave an uncertain smile.
"Sure."
She quickly sent a text on her phone. They walked across
the street to the Denny's as Will asked her various questions about
her hometown and family. Inside they were sat at a booth
uncomfortably in the middle of the restaurant.
Ashleigh continued, "I'm really liking my English classes.
We've been focusing a lot on women writers who were important in
history," Ashleigh said.
!183
"I just feel like that would be wrong. Do you have to have sex
with me to love me?"
William sighed.
"No, but I think it would bring us closer."
"Well, okay," and then quickly added, "But not today.
Tomorrow. Six o' clock. Here."
"Thanks babe!" He said excitedly like a dog that had just
been petted on the head. Ashleigh wondered if this meant that she
was merely doing him a favor and didn't have to sleep with him, but
she let that thought go. She grew a strange mix of dread and glee.
All the next day, Ashleigh had an exhilarating anticipation. In
some sense, she knew she was about to undergo a major change,
and so to some degree she was terrified. But at the same time, she
thought it would be fun to finally be like a real adult. After all, you
can't really expect someone to abstain by her age. He himself had
only been with one girl before, so it was practically like the first time
for him too. Two virgins in love. She enjoyed just the thought of that
phrase. Tonight they would discover each other's bodies, a deeper
level than either had known before, except for that girlfriend William
had had last year, but that didn't really matter. To her, it felt like
standing in line to purchase a product you've never realized how
much you wanted.
A few months passed. Ashleigh had stopped going to
midweek mass when she didn't have class on Tuesdays, but she
still went on Sundays every few weeks. When Fr. Robby asked
where she had been, she told him that she was very busy with
!186
schoolwork. She knew it was a lie and felt a little bad since she
actually liked the priest. Fr. Robby was elderly and thin but had the
kind of energy that comes from a long, enjoyed life. He had a
natural charisma that had further been slowly cultivated over the
years into something truly regific.
Ashleigh's relationship with William had grown. They spend
most of their time together, or at least she spent as much of her
spare time with him as possible. He introduced her to marijuana,
but she was too nervous to try the hallucinogens and persuaded
him to not take them around her. Of course she did not approve of
his side business in pornography videos, but she knew that it was
difficult to find a college wage job in their town.
Her friends complained that she never hung around
anymore, and in truth, whenever she did spend time with them, she
only did it to appease their whining. The whole time on their coffee
outings, she was thinking about William, her college boyfriend. She
largely withdrew from social media and became slow to answer text
messages. Her friends gradually ceased to message her. And
although this hurt a little to see them leave her, she was enthralled
with the idea of belonging to someone. You never forget your first,
she would tell herself.
One day in April, Ashleigh and William were at her dorm
watching tv. There was nothing in particular on, but she enjoyed just
being there. As much as Ashleigh normally enjoyed lying in
William's arms, she could not get comfortable. She constantly
tossed and turned. Finally she separated and turned the tv off.
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!193
!195
!196
I Want To Be Alone
I want to be alone.
Don't want to hang around.
I want to be alone,
To be some place I can't be found
Everyone says "Hello! How are you?",
And then they walk on by.
I want to be alone,
Away from the sycophantic smiles.
!197
!199
!200
So in clear English,
This is what I wish:
If or when you decide to go out,
Tell me what time about.
And until you decide to be no longer busy,
I assure you, you will not hear from me.
Most sincerely,
Blair from Tennessee
!201
!202
!203
!204
!205
!206
Lyrics Integrity
Well, I still have my integrity,
Though you tried to take it from me.
And when you said good-bye, I could see it in your eyes.
The beloved you once held, you now despise.
Well, it's not my fault the shepherd fell asleep,
And then away wandered all of his sheep.
Please don't send me a reply to this song.
You've made your point for far too long.
Well, I can't say I didn't try.
It's more than you ever gave to me.
And every sin has its price,
But that's something you just won't see.
Maybe your thirty pieces of silver
Can buy you a clean heart.
But you'll probably waste it on new pride
And invest in another trump card.
Remember that time you cried with joy
When I was there for you like an obedient boy?
And I didn't expect anything in return.
Still it would've been nice to be spared the burn.
They say a man is measured by those in his authority.
How'd that work for you? Because you lost me.
!207
!208
!210
!211
!213
We're Dying
We're Dying.
Can you feel the shit rising
Around your ankles
Slowly but surely?
Our parents were liberals and fornicators
Who taught us the sins of equality.
And so we became sodomites and whores
Medicating with cigarettes and profanity.
This is the generation
That invented cutting.
We are the dropouts
Of the revolution.
We have rejected
The false wisdom of the old.
But they don't understand that
We hate them
Because they first
Hated us.
We wanted fathers and mentors,
But we are all bastards.
!214
!215
!216
Letter To Fr Alexios
Note: There is nothing I enjoy so much as writing long emails. On
rare occasions, I am so satisfied with one that I decide to keep it. All
names and places have been changed.
Here's the short of it. I was originally typing out something
much longer and much more moving, like a college creative nonfiction piece. I thought to send it to a variety of people as a pdf with
the tacit hope that it would become viral and throw the monastery
into disrepute. But after a few pages of exposition, having only
arrived at the first Wednesday, I decided to delete everything and
just write the bones. Yes, I know it's still long, and yes, I know you'll
still probably side with them. And no, I'm not going to start using
you as my new Fr Nicholas, i.e., my human diary. Still, waiting until
you leave has forced me to spend several days writing it, a luxury I
rarely enjoy. Normally I just write you a goofy email, bcc it to a
friend, and then click send, all within a couple hours, but this time
you get the full Blair treatment. Feel honored.
. One day, they will know
me as Argyrokheiros, and when I die young in a fiery car crash, you
can publish these in an anthology volume and make a lot of money.
Please read all 4,610 words carefully as they are all chosen
not only to give a precise communication but also to create an
aesthetically pleasing experience. I've engineered this down to the
!217
verb tenses and signifiers of indirect statements, all for your reading
pleasure.
I was actually at St. Basil's Monastery a week earlier than
planned, arriving on the last Saturday of June. I came early
because living with Fr Justin was taking a great toll on my mental
health, and Fr Nicholas knew this. In fact, he was always opposed
to me living with Fr Justin. Originally, I was only going to spend five
week so that I could work out a two-weeks notice, but Fr Justin
asked me to leave a week early on a day's notice. In fairness,
though, he gave me a generous severance package, so I can't
criticize too harshly.
As you know, Fr Nicholas has been my spiritual father for a
year and a half. Most of this was through email, which is generally
discouraged, but I write well, and the relationship was a natural
development. My catechizing priest was encouraging the
relationship, and Fr Stephanos is very orthodox, so I figured this
was safe. And truly, for a year and a half Fr Nicholas and his
monastery felt so safe. Rigid but safe. He knows me more in and
out than any other person, and in the last few months, I began
writing to him even more as a way to vent my frustrations with Fr
Justin. He very much did understand, or at least had the
opportunity to understand, the mental and emotional state I was in
at the time I left Fr Justin's house.
At the monastery, they gave me most of Saturday off and all
of Sunday, but Monday they began working me far past exhaustion,
and I couldn't get much sleep at night because of the early bed
!218
time, which made the work even more difficult. It was all outside in
long sleeves and long pants. Few can work six and a half hours in
the hot sun six days a week, much less dressed like that. I asked if
I could clean toilets or scrub floors or something, but they held to
their sense of authority and made me be outside. Neither would
they let me leave work early. The first Wednesday morning, I broke
down crying hard in the fields, something I almost never do.
I also began to realize what bad social skills Fr Nicholas has.
Not just this time, but in general. He walks up to start a
conversation and then walks away while I'm talking. He silences me
if I say something too negative or too opinionated about anything.
He negates most everything I say or do, and he constantly tells me
that my thoughts on things aren't valid because I'm a new convert,
even if I quote the Bible or reference Church history. He has almost
never said anything kind or affirming beyond that I'm "good
material", which is basically saying that right now I'm worthless but
maybe one day I'll be good for something. He's never said that I'm
a good writer, that I'm insightful, that I'm intelligent, that I'm selfreflective, that he enjoys knowing me, or anything beyond how
good of a job I did weeding the bushes.
This came up in confession. I was going to tell him at a
different time since you don't talk about others during confession,
but he asked me to express it anyway. Then he asked why I
tolerate him. I said that I had already realized I don't know why,
since I wouldn't tolerate that from other people. He also made me
confess to things I didn't do wrong, which was a major fear of mine
!219
doesn't have all the Psalms memorized. And what about the canon
punishing women for having a miscarriage, or the one stating that
you shouldn't go to a Jewish physician, or the one forbidding a man
to be ordained if his wife is an actress? Seriously, probably my only
real fear in converting was that a priest would use his personal
hurts or moral opinions to force you to confess to things you don't
believe you've done wrong. And every time I've ever gone to
confession, I've always been afraid the priest will give me a
penance (which is a kind of PTSD that dates back to conflict I had
with protestant pastors).
Towards the end of the first week, I had found myself often
leaving compline to sit in the bathroom across from the sitting room.
I could still hear everything, but I was so tired of standing. More
than anything, though, I just wanted to be alone, and I began sitting
in this room often even outside of compline. Throughout my time
there, they would come up to me to talk, yet I just wanted to read
my book and have things quiet. They wouldn't even say anything
important but rather mundane things. I found comfort in singing to
myself while working, some sacred songs, and some secular,
especially "Sloop John B" and "Good Vibrations". First I started
singing as a joke, particularly since "Sloop John B" really fit how I
felt, but it soon became a way for me to hold onto myself. I
remember on my last day there sitting in the bathroom before
dinner singing quietly while holding my knees. I had asked Fr
Nicholas when I arrived if I could sing in church, and he said I
could, but he never let me. After a week, I asked why not, and he
!221
!222
if I could stay with you, but I'm not sure whether my car could make
it over the mountains and back, and finances are really tight.
I went to church, and afterward while walking up the hill, Fr
John began saying something about Fr Nicholas being upset. I
turned around, got in his face, and asked him to flesh out what he
was saying. He kind of laughed as he spoke to make it seem less
serious. Yes, he was laughing about how my life was falling apart,
and I had a growing fear that I would finally have a mental fracture,
something which never happened before. I said, "How about you
just give me work, and beyond that, we don't communicate much at
all?" And then I turned around and continued walking. I was quite
satisfied. For one thing, I had told him off without profanity or
insults, which is a real accomplishment for me. But also, he
normally gets onto me for talking too much, and now I've shown
him to be a hypocrite.
During Compline, I could feel myself breaking down again,
so I went to the bathroom in the hall. Immediately a paranoid
episode came upon me, and I began crying and screaming for at
least ten minutes if not more. I was afraid I would have a complete
fracture and be unable to go to law school. I had come so far and
accomplished so much, doing the right thing, and for what? It was
all in vain. Should I fracture, I would be sent to a hospital, probably
an abusive one like in my hometown, and if I couldn't go to law
school, I'd have nowhere to live and would never have a decent job.
I'd likely be homeless, for I have basically no relationship with my
family. Furthermore, I realized I was having a paranoid episode,
!223
but, as you may know, once these come upon you there is little you
can do to resist it. No, the realization of the paranoia was a new
fear in itself. These episodes were something that had happened a
lot in the year before I became Orthodox because of a falling out I
had had with some pastors at a church, but it went away when I
became a catechumen. Yes, Fr Nicholas is such an awful person
that in a week and a half, he undid three years of Orthodoxy and
brought me back to the state of mental health I was in as a
protestant. This was the closest I had ever come to a mental
fracture, and that includes the suicide attempt last year and all the
ideations during my adult life. It was also closer than the time I
literally almost drank myself to death. It's worth mentioning that this
was the only time on this monastery trip that I had been disruptive.
The next day Fr Nicholas left during Orthros and was gone
until just as compline was beginning. I cried a little in the morning.
Fr John continued to give me unsolicited spiritual advice and
blamed me for all the problems. I told them that I'd rather not work
that day since I thought Fr Nicholas was going to ask me to leave.
They left me alone. After dinner, I asked Fr Nicholas if he was going
to ask me to leave the next day. He said, "Probably." I told him that I
wasn't going to argue with him since "it's dead", meaning the
relationship. He nodded in agreement.
I went to my room and decided to return to Fr Justin,
something I swore not to do. However, I realized what this meant: I
was going back to where I had come from, but now I was in a
worse mental state and did not have a job. This thought of having
!224
my job back, but I'm afraid my mental and emotional state is too
fragile right now to handle a work environment. Fr Justin has been
generous with money, and I should have enough to make it through
until my excess loan money comes through. I won't get that check
until September, but I actually have more money in my bank
account than I thought.
I hate Fr Nicholas, I hate monasteries, and I hate monks. I
might even hate Jesus. I hate the church fathers since they were
mostly monastic, and I hate my patron saint since he had the oversimplified morality of Eastern monasticism. I don't know if I can
trust the Bible either, because St Paul says to learn from the elders,
yet when I've tried that over the last several years, it has usually
only left me hurt. I understand now why bishops oppress
monasteries. Misguided love always becomes toxic love, and
monastics know no outlet for their love except by the same channel
they learned it. Yet the laity do not need a more lax spirituality but
rather a different one altogether, one that the monastic cannot offer.
Part of this difference is because ceaseless prayer is not something
you casually decide to do. But there is a deeper issue. It appears
that the monastic finds any question against his judgment to be
offensive because he sees it as a deviation from obedience, and
since obedience is the centerpiece of monasticism, then any
question against the monastic's judgment is a threat to his identity,
an implied statement that the monastic has wasted his life. Who
couldn't be offended at that? To tell the monastic that you'd like to
quit work an hour early would be like telling you, Fr Alexios, that
!227
!228
ipse est quis. Est non jus nec lex in coenobio. And this is why many
monasteries in the old country have an oligarchic council of elders.
I see this in his monks, too. Fr John never apologized for
upsetting me Tuesday, nor did he ask if things were okay for us. He
didn't even give a "Forgive me", the monastic half-ass apology
(even Fr Nicholas has done that in the past). Yet the next day he
ignores my wish to be alone and gives me advice about inner
peace, prayer, and good suffering. Who does he think he is? He's
not even a priest. He's just some fuckhead with a funny hat. They
give those things out like candy. There is literally nothing you have
to do to merit it except show up. On one day, Fr Nicholas had said
that I could sleep in a little, yet Fr John woke me up anyway. He
never apologized or asked if I had fallen back asleep. But St
Dorotheos of Gaza says to apologize no matter what, even if you
weren't wrong (again, over-simplified morality). Even the monastic
ignores the fathers for the sake of his own sense of order.
I don't know what to believe anymore. I don't know what's
True, what's American Orthodox group-think, and what's monastic
over-zealousness. Even the fathers, being monastic, said a lot of
stupid things (see St Dorotheos above). Some even say that anger
is always a sin no matter what, as though you can control such
emotions. Such a protestant notion! Others (Augustine of Hippo)
claim that any secular enjoyment such as the Aeneid is idolatry.
One saint writes that when urinating, you should not hold your
penis lest you be tempted to masturbate. Elder Thaddeus of
Vitovnica says to think highly of your parents and teachers no
!229
matter what how abusive they are. Some say that to daydream is
always a sin and that instead one should replace his thoughts with
the Jesus Prayer. However, everyone I've ever met who has heavily
practiced the Jesus Prayer has a false sense of humility, or in the
least, just acts like an asshole toward people.
The best thing to do with a monastic is to make him bishop.
That way he can have an impotent administrative job and won't fuck
with the laity. Although, really, I like the Anglican idea of abolishing
monasteries and having all clergy married.
People criticize Fr Ephraim and his monasteries, but look at
the source! He is merely a product of a system, a copy of an
existing model. People are quick to criticize the Ephraimites, but
nobody dares to speak an ill-word about Athos. Some say that Fr
Ephraim was wrong because Athos is too foreign a piety, but
Orthodoxy as a whole is foreign, and Athos is very cosmopolitan. Fr
Justin told me some stories, and although he didn't use the words
"cult" or "abuse", and he didn't say how widespread these things
were, it's clear that there are some cult-like practices on Athos, and
certainly some Catholic influence. He told me that at times there
would be several liturgies at the same time in one monastery, as
there would be small chapels where one could hold a private liturgy
to pray for a specific need. Pax deorum. Of course Fr Ephraim
would think that his monasteries are superior to the parishes, for
that is the Athonite dogma. And expecting everyone to learn Greek,
well, again we have the over-expectations and the absolute volition
of the monastic, foolishly humble in thinking everyone can reach his
!230
!232
A Second Round On
The House
Another Collection of Poetry
From Blair Naso
!233
*****
!234
!235
*****
!236
*****
!237
!238
*****
!239
!240
*****
!241
*****
!242
!243
*****
!244
II
!245
III
!246
IV
!247
Later Brooklyn cooks him pizza rolls -His favorite flavor is four cheese -But Brooklyn won't give him any
Until he says "thank you" and "please".
When they both have finished eating,
She agrees to read him a book.
Little Jimmy rests in her arms
And gives the pictures a good look.
Then Brooklyn sings him a little song,
But he immediately squirms.
So she releases him to watch TV.
Boy! Look at how fast he can run!
Finally the little boy grows drowsy.
He can hardly keep his eyes open.
Jimmy falls fast asleep in his chair
Tightly clutching his stuffed dragon.
!248
*****
!249
I feel nothing.
Too depressed to drink.
Smoke a cigarette,
And think what I've got to think.
But there's one thing that gives me comfort.
One piece of wisdom I hold
That I'd like to impart.
*****
!250
!251
*****
The Orphanage
*****
I'll Be Around
I'll be around.
Wait until it falls apart.
I'l be watching for when
He breaks your heart.
And then I'll pick up the pieces
!252
*****
!253
*****
*****
!254
!255
He isn't a nihilist,
But he can't escape the nothing.
He's lost faith in reason
And all the promises it brings.
He is a ship adrift.
God won't let him believe.
The world closes in around him
To crush his simple dreams.
*****
!256
*****
!257
*****
Katherine
!258
*****
!259
!260
*****
!261
*****
*****
A Cigarette Shining
!262
*****
An Affair
!263
*****
Lullaby
!264
*****
!265
*****
Otherkin
I am an other kin.
Zeuskin, to be exact.
I feel as though I should be
Able to shoot lightning out of my hands.
I hate my body.
Legalize rape.
!266
*****
*****
!267
*****
Brian's Heroics
This was written to be a children's picture book. A Manosphere friend was
going to make the illustrations but decided it was beyond his skill level.
Since it seems that most children's stories today have a strong female hero,
the concept of this project was to make a story that wasn't explicitly antifeminist but taught traditional masculine virtues of courage, comraderie,
protection, noble self-interest, loyalty, and respect for elders.
!268
!269
!270
!271
*****
I. Our Tribe
!272
*****
!273
*****
!274
!275
*****
Forever In Love
!276
In coastal Georgia,
Still the ground will hold you,
And I'll be unmarried again.
*****
!277
*****
Christian Lust
If fornication is a sin,
Then masturbation is grim.
So every night
When I wait
Five and a half years
To reach around your back
And grab your fat breast,
I get up and take a piss.
*****
!278
Letter Of Rejection
My dear Katherine,
I regret to announce
That your services
Will not be needed.
It's been a long
Interview process,
But after a long pursuit
I've come to the conclusion -And do not think it is sour grapes -I've come to the conclusion
That you are a bitch,
And I no longer wish to
Offer you the position.
I understand that you'll
Find this most agreeable.
Worst Wishes,
Blair.
*****
The Seasons
!279
II
!280
III
Christmas! Christmas!
I want twelve days.
Lots of fuss, but it's a must!
I love the craze.
IV
!281
VI
!282
*****
All my life,
People have called me bad.
All my life,
All my family,
All my friends.
Why let them down again?
*****
!283
!284
*****
Netherlands, 1973
!285
II
III
!286
IV
!287
VI
VII
!288
VIII
!289
IX
*****
!290
*****
!291
!292
*****
Verse
Not quite last call,
But the floor's vacant anyway.
Haven't had much to drink,
And I see you lookin' my way.
I ain't got a prohibition.
No need to halt.
Let's put aside our inhibitions
And do the bar floor waltz.
Chorus
!293
Verse
What else is there to do?
Cause you're looking like a rose.
And tonight's a night
That nobody else will know.
Just you and me,
Perhaps we'll forget in the morn.
But for now let's dance a dance
For two lovers ready for their turn.
Verse
I'm a little clumsy on my feet,
But you've never practiced either.
I'll give you the chance
To shuffle your feet here.
!294
*****
!295
*****
!296
*****
!297
!298
*****
Mister Woodson
!299
An Erotic Epic
!300
*****
!301
*****
I Could Apologize
I could apologize,
But if you gave your forgiveness,
I'd hate you for it.
So trust me,
It's better this way,
We shouldn't deny the hate.
Take your right to be mad,
And I'll take what I've had.
*****
!302
II
Sexy Sadie,
You can be my lady.
Make a fool of me,
And then you'll see.
I'll be the jester
III
Oh, Darlin',
If you need me,
!303
IV
*****
!304
It used to be a woman,
But now it's another pastor.
Either of the two,
Drinking's the view,
Because I don't know what else to do.
!305
*****
God's Astrology
!306
*****
*****
Forest Fantasy
!307
*****
!308
!309
*****
!310
*****
I'm Going To Stop Pretending I Don't Want You To Hurt Like I do.
!311
No, I kid.
I mean, it's a jest, I guess.
You never feel hurt,
But there's some frustration
Once your day's done.
So let's be honest,
Because I want you to feel all the pain
Of when my heart drains.
I want to hurt you
Just like I do.
*****
!312
*****
Caroline
To be honest,
I didn't like this song when I first heard it.
I had to force myself
For it to grow on me.
But slowly you learn to love it,
Because it speaks to the humanity
That is lost the more we progress.
And then one day it all just clicks.
!313
*****
!314
*****
*****
verse
I could do without.
!315
verse
Wake up tomorrow morning
Without feeling rotten.
I shouldn't stay up all night.
I don't need it,
But I want it.
bridge
I may be alone tonight,
But I've got my wife with me.
She's this brand new bottle
Of courage from Tennessee.
And though my latest didn't hurt too bad,
The disappointment still stings.
And though I'll still feel the loss tomorrow,
Tonight I'm gonna sing.
verse
About how I'll solve my problems.
!316
******
What do you do
When God leaves you?
Or maybe not God,
But his substitute
Cuts town and leaves you dry,
Runs you out on a rail?
!317
To begin with.
*****
Oh Sister
Oh sister,
How much time do you think we have?
How many chances can I give you
Before I've given everything I had,
Before I walk away full of sadness
And grief that it's all complete?
!318
*****
I Should Go To Bed
I should go to bed,
But my beer argues otherwise.
It'll take an hour to finish the bottle.
Guess I have no choice.
!319
*****
Charlie
*****
Nicotine
!320
*****
!321
*****
!322
!323
*****
Motivation
!324
*****
!325
*****
!326
It hurts so much
Each time I feel the touch.
The bourbon doesn't even burn,
Because I've become all numb.
Still, I dread every draft,
Like a gust on a cracked mast.
But I know you won't be found
Reading my very pet sounds.
*****
*****
!327
Dream Job
*****
Quitting Smoking
*****
Drunken Disorders
!328
*****
!329
*****
*****
!330
Axioi
I need a hero,
And I need a captain.
My hero!
I will follow.
Don't fail me, hero,
And I will follow you
Over the edge of the earth.
!331
*****
!332
!333
*****
A Sunday Sermon
Gather together,
Round up the street.
Congregate yourselves,
And take what you need.
Gather together,
For rock n' roll is dead.
It never promised you anything
But to get you out of your head.
!334
*****
Letter To Fr Stephanos
!335
I realize this is a long email. Don't worry about answering it soon if you
don't have the time to read it through. I'd rather wait for a good response
than have a quick easy response.
They say confession is good for the soul. Psychologists and educators
teach people to be vulnerable and open with their feelings. I'm generally
skeptical of that. Tears don't solve problems. Neither does attention.
There's a reason for the saying "Boys don't cry." Not because boys don't,
but because it usually doesn't accomplish much.
It's now been over half a year since the falling out with the hieromonk,
although it feels like a shorter time. That and my time with Fr Justin were
so painful, I try to avoid thinking about it, and I've never been able to
discuss it sober after I left. But it comes back at night when I'm laying in
bed. Fr Nicholas is honestly what drives me to drink and smoke so much,
which I had more or less quit when I was living with Fr Justin. And even
though it usually doesn't cross my mind in the day, when I'm drinking or
trying to sleep at night, it all comes back, and I can't help but dwell on it.
And it's not just bitterness, but wishing it had worked out. Wishing I could
have become a monk, but I'm far too mistrustful of the system now for that
to ever happen at any monastery. Like an abused dog.
!336
The funny thing is that about two months after I left, I started writing for
the anti-feminism blog. It was about a week after I left St Basil's that I
discovered the red pill movement, which, for all it's social commentary, is
highly sex-focused. That also frustrates me, in that it puts sex constantly
on my mind. I don't actually care about having sex, but what tortures me is
this in-between thing when you're trying to not do it outside marriage.
When you're wanting to be a monk, you write off sexuality and move past
it, so it becomes a non-issue. But when you're waiting for marriage, you're
by default engaging in your sexual energy without actually channeling it.
It's awful, and I'm afraid I'm going to marry the first person who vaguely
meets what I'm looking for.
I think what I'm doing now with trade school and searching for a wife is
God's plan B, and I think it's the best option at this point. Monasticism--at
least for me--has always been a fool's gold chase. Like the people who go
searching for Big Foot.
!337
I had thought about telling all this to the OCA priest, but again, I was
mistrustful. And my skepticism proved true. There were several yellow
flags along the way, and then it suddenly fell apart when I caused a break
in his narrative. Like I said about OCA idealism. Can't stand dissenting
viewpoints. The priest from the town next to yours is the same way, and I
get the impression Fr Stephan Freeman in Oak Ridge is too, judging by the
way he interacts with laity on the internet.
!338
half, and even then we were both surprised by how things ended. I'm not
mad that he asked me to leave so much as the sanctimonious and
emotionless way in which he did it and the attitude of his flunky Fr John.
And the way he assumed it would be different despite knowing the state I
was in. I would hope his house burns down, but then he'd just view it as
some kind of divine providence bullshit. I hate people with a martyr
complex.
So I don't know if I should meet with Fr George and discuss it all face-toface. By this point, it's been enough time in between where I probably
could talk about it without a drink. But how will he react? One reason I
keep quiet about it is because people will either assume that I'm fishing for
pity or that I must have been in the wrong. I've quit questioning my
motivations, as that always raises more questions than answers. But I try
to avoid self-pity, as it's a wasteful emotion. Like I said, tears don't solve
problems. Neither does worrying.
And even if he doesn't use it against me, will anything be gained? It won't
solve the problem. It likely won't make it hurt worse.
So what do you think I should do? I realize your answer isn't "bottle it up
and keep drinking". Should I arrange a meeting with Fr George next
week? Should I wait a few months and see what he's like? Should I just
!339
avoid it with him altogether? Should I ever do anything with it, or should I
just try to forget like I do with everything?
I mean, if you can't forgive, it's best to try to forget. I've found this with
my family. I've tried everything possible to quit being bitter, but none of it
has ever worked. So I try to not dwell on it. But can you really forget?
!340
Additions
Copyright 2016 by Blair Naso
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
This publication may be reproduced, distributed, and reprinted
royalty-free so long as no essential change is made to the authors
intention.
The following are extra things. The first are things I mostly wrote
after retiring from the Manosphere. After that will be things of a
Christian nature I wrote, most of which were before I came across
the Manosphere. They generally reflect the developing but
immature worldview of a young man, though I feel that way about
most of my Manosphere writings as well. I have started with the
best writings and have gradually worked my way down to the
bottom.
!341
Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving was nothing short of awkward. James Mullin
sat at dinner table with his new Filipina wife Marisol freshly flown
over and now the both of them driven two hours out into the country
to stare at his mother across the table. He made a point not to look
at the man she was with. There was not much thanks to be given,
he felt. The other man -- her new boyfriend -- sensed this and
excused himself to go to the bathroom.
"Mother, this is ridiculous," said James.
"Marisol seems like such a nice girl."
"Don't deflect."
"It's so nice to finally meet you, dear."
"You're not getting out of this."
"You're being a hypocrite. You married someone who isn't
white. And you're young enough to still have kids. He and I are
much to old to have any little mocachino babies."
"Marisol is college-educated and traditional-minded. Your
African-American fancy new boyfriend is a ghetto thug."
"Don't be racist. He's a car mechanic."
"First off, if you had told me before I arrived that you were
mudsharking, I wouldn't have the same very understandable shock.
Second, I'm not being racist. He's a degenerate. He's isn't the
hardworking educated kind at all."
"You don't know that. Don't be so prejudice based on
appearance."
!342
"Mother, he has a tattoo on his neck that says 'Only God can
judge me'!"
"That was from 20 years ago, and you can barely see it
anymore. He's changed."
"Yeah, but it's a socio-economic thing. He isn't educated like
us. I can't imagine what you have in common."
"So if he was an accountant, you'd be okay with it? You'd be
okay with me sleeping with a black man if he was an accountant?"
"Well, I mean, I don't..." His voice trailed off.
"See, dear? You are a racist."
"No, I'm not, and it doesn't matter. This man is disgusting.
He's going to rob us."
At that moment, they heard the bathroom door down the hall
open and quickly dropped the conversation. They sat in silence
until the older man returned. Marisol was the first to speak up.
"James tells me that everyone here has a machine that
washes clothes for them!" Her voice was filled with radiant awe.
"Yes, sweetie," said her new mother-in-law.
"Even the poor people. Nobody washes them by hand."
"I know. Technology is great. I don't even know how I would
do it by hand." At this the girl's eyes grew even wider.
"What's Los Angeles like? I want to go so badly."
James spoke before his mother could.
"It's a degenerate wasteland."
"What does 'degie neerite' mean?"
!343
!344
first half is really good, but the second part is kind of boring and
hard to understand."
"Oh sure. Whatever you want. It sounds interesting."
"I mean, if you think it's boring, we don't have to go."
"No, no, I'll go. If you want to, then I'm sure it's an excellent
show."
"Alright. I'll order the tickets."
"I love you so much."
"I love you too."
!345
!346
[cont.]
They've since voted away their guns,
So I doubt they'd want to try.
So let's raise a toast for that old train.
She didn't run in vain.
But I'm told I'm too young to remember.
So let's have one more and forget her.
Let's down one more whiskey
And throw the glass into the fireplace.
We'll make a new train,
And we'll adorn her with every grace.
!348
!349
!350
!351
Until I Die
D F#m G Gm (x2)
V) Will you be here in the morning
If I lie all night waiting?
Will I keep my promises
If I feel I can keep you from flaking?
If I feel I can trust you,
And if I feel like you can trust me,
And if I feel like you'll show me love,
And if I feel like hoping?
D F#m G Gm (x2)
C) Will you love me until I die?
And at my funeral will you cry
When I'm finally laid to rest
After years of illness.
Em Bm G Gm (x2)
Will you love me when all that's left
Is my frailty and neediness?
Could I depend on you by my side
Until the day I finally die?
A A7
Until I die.
V) If I hold you just a little tighter,
If I show something mightier,
If I make you laugh with mirth or
If make your confidence sink further,
Then could I hold onto you for good?
Would you stay with me in the bad times.
In the rock where I need you to have stood,
!352
!353
B7
!354
!355
Bayou Song
[Jagged Led Zeppelin strumming pattern - bar chords]
C
F
C
Eb F
Stuck in Louisiana
How I hate this place.
Stuck on the Bayou,
I know the Devil has his reign.
Stranded in Nowhere,
Stranded all alone.
Wish there was even a bus
That could take me home.
[Chorus - bar chords]
G
Down on the Bayou,
F
Mama, you were right.
[regular pattern]
You tried to warn me
This ain't no paradise.
[pause]
I hate creole
G
I hate the fads
[repeat bridge chord pattern]
And I hate the Saints,
And I hate the sinners,
And I hate mustaches
And I hate the dinners.
And I hate the air
And I hate the Fleur de lis
And I hate the politics
And I hate the parties
And I hate the old mansins
And I hate the small towns
And I hate the insects
And I hate the sounds
[Repeat first half of V1 and second half of V2; Chorus, ad lib outro of last
line of Chorus]
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must make a decision. To quote Bob Marley, "The truth is, everyone
is going to hurt you. You just have to decide who is worth suffering
for." And when we will come through those difficult times, not only
will we know each other deeper, but we will know each other on a
level which no one else has before, and that, my friends, is love.
But I do not mean to put my bride in a bad light, for my
mother can assure you that I am a very difficult person to live with.
[Name] ... [list virtues]
She is the model of femininity. The rare 1st Peter 3 kind of
woman. And wisely, I have sought to secure her for myself while I
am young before better and more patient men are able. Yes, I have
used all my pretentious alpha male charms to beguile her. Foolish
woman, the priest has said the words, and you are trapped by a
literal Act of God. But count it all joy, my dear, so that the sincerity
of your faith, your faith which is more precious than gold perishable
through fire, that this faith may be refined and made genuine to the
praise and glory and honor at the Revelation of Jesus Christ. May
our marriage make you not happy but holy.
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married couples, and very few straight couples could even consider
performing it. The 1972 pornographic classic Deep Throat brought
oral sex to American society, and Bill Clinton brought it into your
living room. Still today a lot of elderly men have never had oral sex
with their wives, because that wasn't a thing in most of America
when they were young.
Sexual intercourse should be something unifying between a man
and a woman who want to pour themselves into each other. That's
why it's called "making love". Homosexuals set a standard that it's
just about "getting off". And so today you have straight men who
have anal sex with women and claim it's completely normal. You
have whips, gags, pizza man costumes, and all kinds of trash. We
have over-extended our sexual imagination to the point where we
cannot orgasm through just sex. If this were normal, then the
human race would have never bred itself into our time. But today it
is so common that we forget just how diseased of a society we are,
much how the malnourished in third world countries have no idea
how short they are until they immigrate to America and their
children grow an extra twelve inches.
Activists say that until 2003, anti-sodomy laws made the
homosexual orientation illegal. But actually, it just made the deviant
sex itself legal, not the inclinations. The laws often made things
illegal between husbands and wives illegal. For example, until
2003, a man could not legally get a blow job from his wife in the
State of Mississippi.
Homosexual sex does not lead to children like regular sexual
intercourse (at least until modern birth control). Your body parts are
designed to be used in certain ways. When we divorce sex from
consequences, we lose our check valve on hedonism. Without
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***********
Austin Martin is a stereotypical Christian man from East Tennessee.
Being born in the millennial generation, both before and after the
publishing of this article he had very few job prospects beyond blue
collar work.
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ruined your day). Look around you the next time you're in a
crowded room and try to guess. Your best friend, your boss, your
wife. Again, I'm not saying that these people would actually molest
a child but that they've merely had a sexual thought about children,
even if only in passing. Even a Catholic priest has a lot of
opportunities to get laid that don't involve children (i.e. go to a bar in
the next county).
I was a Classics major in college. The aristocratic Athenians
had a form of pedophilia called pederasty. A boy would be given
over to another man to be tutored and taught "how to be a man".
Once he reached puberty, the relationship would cease.
Again, suppose you are in this situation. You're an
aristocratic man, and your best friend comes to you asking for you
to tutor his child. It's easy to think we're all independent thinkers
who would believe and act the same in any time and place. So for
the sake of the argument, assume you'd decline. He'd ask why, and
you'd give the following answers:
"It's not good for the child's development." But he would argue,
"Everyone knows it's good for the child's development, and since
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Then in a few years, you'd have your own son who's come of
pederastic age. And you decide you don't want him to be
sodomized. What would your wife say? "Don't you want what's best
for our child? I don't want my son to be a freak and an outcast. All
his friends will be tutored, and he's going to feel like he's missing
out on something. Not only will he grow up to be a coward, but he'll
resent us for not giving him the best life possible!" You'd be like my
fundamentalist parents who didn't let me read Harry Potter or go
trick-or-treating.
The reality is that if you lived in ancient Athens, and if you
were wealthy, you'd have sex with children. Yes, you the individual
reader. And even if you didn't enjoy it, it would make you feel like a
good person, and it would earn the affirmation of your peers.
Read Plato's Symposium. You'll be amazed at how rational
their arguments are, no matter how much you ultimately disagree
with them.
Notice what I said about the wealthy. Strange how all the
wealthy Athenian men were homoerotic but few of the poor were.
Did they just have different genes? No, the classist homoeroticism
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back to the belief that men and women are fundamentally the
same.
All actions have repercussions, all words have connotations,
and all beliefs have consequences. Ideas do not exist in a vacuum;
they have legs, and they go places.
A final word on diction. Until less than 200 years ago, the
word "homosexual" didn't exist, because there was no concept of
sexual identity. Notice that the anti-gay laws were actually antisodomy laws. Maybe homoeroticism isn't a choice, but again, sex
always is. Because all the GLBT words, including whatever letters
then constantly add to it, are all statements of ontology, I think we
red pill men should cease using the words. So instead of
"homosexual", I have used the word "homoeroticist" above, which is
more a statement of desire and action than it is of personhood.
Words like "gay" and "gender" should only be used if necessary.
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differently than society or church tells you to. I'm here to do that for
you. J is young and generally inert, and B has always been in
some kind of identity crisis, so there is no one else to guide you.
You literally have no better option. Listen to what I say, and discern
for yourself how true it is. If you get bored, file it away and come
back in a few days. Pour through it several times. Keep it in your
backpack. Read it to your friends. Meditate on its teachings. Here
are my axioms:
1. They key to mastering the opposite sex is not to understand
women but to understand men. If you undertand what you are
and what you should be as a man, then you will understand the
way in which men and women "complete each other", as the
saying is. So look inside and search for what you really want and
need, not what the leftists and pastors command you to want and
need. You will notice below that I usually ask you a question after
telling you how to feel.
2.
discipline, but more than anything, it's a mindset, and the more you
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3.
4.
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5.
6.
like a bitch, don't believe her when she claims to have a "nice
personality" and a "body perfectly crafted for a special kind of man"
with "chemistry, should the right partner come along".
7.
unfortunately, most of them are rednecks. A girl from New York City
can't fry a chicken or sew a button. However, a woman's
intelligence is like a man's ability to dance: it's nice to have, but it
really doesn't matter. If you can learn to like country-pop music,
hunting, and mudding, then find yourself a Whitwell, Tennessee
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beauty queen.
8.
teaching his new wife what he expects from her as a woman, most
notably Xenophon's Economics (the word "economy" in Greek
means "laws of the house"). I'm not suggesting you read these;
rather I want you to be aware that femininity is defined by its
relationship to masculinity.
10.Nothing turns me on like a lonely, apprehensive girl with selfesteem issues. You can call Disney princess movies a bad
influence all you want (and they often are), but there's a reason
they make so much money. Every woman at heart feels like little
Cinderella, passively waiting to be rescued and given a new
identity. Be her identity.
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11.The best child-bearing years for a woman are also her best
career-building years, so marry a girl under the age of 25, and
make sure she doesn't want a career. If she's already got kids, is
divorced, or has had a few too many sausage rides, find someone
else. You aren't responsible for other people's life mistakes. In the
adult world, sometimes people make bad decisions they can't take
back, and for these women, they can hope to get picked up later by
some beta-male who missed the boat early on. You, however, are
an alpha- male.
12. Whom you marry is not much a matter of "chemistry" or
personality types or "opposites attracting", this empty jargon people
use to replace character traits. Find a woman you enjoy being
around who has the basic value system as you. Infatuation is
temporary and often skipped.
13.How do you know if you are "in love", in the popular sense of the
word? When the "butterflies in your stomach" fade away (I hate that
term, but I haven't been able to find a better expression), you are in
love if you still want to be with them, not because of history, identity
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or finances, but just because you want to. You discover that you are
committed, even though you never made a conscious decision to.
14.The younger you marry, the better your wife will be. Like any
commodity, the best girls are taken first, so if you decide to
postpone it while you go through school or focus on Jesus or
whatever, you're going to marry a divorcee with a bastard. By the
time you're 30, you're scraping the dregs in the barrel. However,
marriage requires a lot of emotional maturity, so don't rush in.
15.If anyone over the age of 20 still buys into what society has
taught him about gender, then he is a sheep who deserves to be
led off a cliff. At the very least, you should realize by that age that
something is deeply wrong about the way society views gender,
even if you aren't sure what yet.
16.Getting a girlfriend is easy. You just ask girls out, and eventually
one of them says yes. And if it doesn't work out, then you move on,
because they make more of them.
17.They told you as a child that two people will come together if
they have the right chemistry. That is a lie. There is competition,
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and you have to be the best you can be to get the best results.
Consider Dad's job. Maybe his cemetery is the best option for a
client, but if another cemetery makes that sale first, then there is
nothing Dad can do about it.
18.You will never find everything you want in a girl. We all learn to
settle. The important thing is to learn what to settle for and what to
insist on.
19. After you've been dating for three months, you should have a
pretty good idea if this relationship will last. After a year, you should
know. If you've been dating for more than a year and you still aren't
sure if you two are compatible, then break up.
20.You shouldn't have sex before marriage, but if you do, wear a
condom. Seriously.
21.When you're on a date or in a new relationship, never talk about
past relationships, your best female friend, or any girl you're not
related to. It will only end badly.
22.Asking girls out is very difficult when you start, but the more you
practice, the easier it gets. No, harassing random girls in a coffee
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shop doesn't count as practice. Above all, look confident but not
smug when approaching a girl. Remember, every one of your
ancestors got laid. It's in your genes, so don't let them down!
23.If she's fat, wears too much make up, or has a bad hair job,
don't date her. Make sure you tell her why. You're doing her a
disservice to let her continue ruining her life. Nor do you deserve an
ugly girl. Take pride. The one exception should be if a girl is working
hard to fix her ugliness. Few girls are born ugly; rather, it's usually
something they do to themselves. If her tattoos can show, then
leave her to the betas. And a woman without exception always
looks better with long hair than with short.
24.Some people claim that a lot of cultures think obesity is
beautiful, but they're probably lying, and even if they aren't, you'll
notice that all the cultures they name are from remote undercultured corners of the world in bumblefuck nowhere. Regardless of
what some men may find attractive, you, Peyton, don't like fat girls,
and you know it. Don't let the feminists and the betas define for you
what you think is beautiful. Fat girls get IT engineers who complain
about George Lucas on internet forums. Leftists will call you
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"fatphobic", but you aren't afraid of fat girls; no, you consciously
reject them because you know that you are among the elite.
25.Eventually, your woman will have to choose whether she is more
loyal to you or to her biological family.
26.You cannot merely pray for the right girl to come into your life
and assume that God will deliver her if you're pious enough. You
have to go find her yourself. God helps those who help themselves.
Only beta-males and women wait for relationships and bathrooms.
27.Don't be ashamed to read advice books and articles about
relationships and sex. However, there is a lot of bad information out
there, so be discerning. In general, if a source give you a
saccharine PSA about being sensitive and equal, then it's garbage.
If a source sounds like a sexist Folgers ad from the 1950s, then it's
probably true. If you want a list of resources, ask me.
28.No one comes out of the womb being a master of relationships.
Mastering women is not an art but a skill, and it must be learned.
Be an artisan of women.
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29.Only ask a girl out once. If she says no, then move on. You may
think she's playing hard to get, but she isn't, and if she is, then
she's trying to be a dude.
30.Here's the way girls work: If a girl wants to be with a guy, she will
do anything and make up any reason to do so. If she likes him but
is unsure for some reason, she'll find any lame excuse. It's not
rational, so never try to convince a girl why she should go out with
you. Virtues are for show, not tell.
31. Androgyny is not a virtue but a vice. Avoid it all you can. A man
does not have a "feminine side". Nevertheless, don't be afraid to
watch ballet or listen to Taylor Swift. Men who have overlysimplified ideas of gender activities are insecure.
32. A real man is not afraid of his emotions. He does not deny
them, but he does not let them control him. He always seeks to be
in touch with his feelings, yet he knows when to hide them from
others or from himself. Women, on the other hand, are never in
touch with their emotions, and that is why you must lead them.
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all the way through, don't hesitate or hold back, and don't wallow in
regret if it doesn't work out.
40. A virgin isn't very good in bed, but only she has the opportunity
for you to be her only. Only a virgin can you take complete
possession of.
41.Why do girls like jerks? Because jerks exhibit masculinity, even if
errantly. Often words like "douche" are used as a blanket insult by
beta males and leftists, so don't take their attacks to heart.
42.If all your male friends tell you that your girlfriend is a bitch, then
they are probably right.
43.When you get a girl's phone number, wait a day or two, and then
call her for the first date. Do not text. I repeat, do not text a girl for
the first date. Do not say, "Let's hang out", but instead say, "Let's
get lunch." Avoid going out for coffee or fast food, but you may do
so if necessary. Make suggestions where to eat, but don't ask her
to pick a place or flavor. Don't spend a lot of money on the first
date. Ice cream is a good cheap first date. There are also a lot of
small-scale restaurants that have a good value. Don't waste money
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on a movie for a first date unless it's at the cheapo theater. Wear
nice jeans and a collared shirt, and use just enough perfume so
that her mind won't notice but her brain will. Early on, mention
offhand that you will pay for the meal, but say it like it's just
assumed (this is pretty tricky). Above all, she should know that it's a
date from the get-go and that you hope to get into her pants
eventually. Open doors and the like so as to let her know that you
are a man, you have the control, and you are here to make her feel
adored.
44.Dress nicely and groom, and she'll know that you expect the
same from her. In everything in life, you get out of something what
you put into it. If you half- ass your way through dating and do the
bare minimum, you'll going to get a bare minimum girl.
45.The girl you want to bang is not necessarily the girl you want to
spend your life with, and the guy she wants to show off to her
friends is not necessarily the guy she wants to give her children.
46.Almost everything your church told you about sexual intercourse
is exactly true, but you won't realize it for several more years.
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private and rude, but she will probably expect you to have no
secrets ever.
51.You are under no obligation to share absolutely everything with
your wife. People are entitled to privacy as long as it's benign. If a
woman knows some secret about you (for example, if you watched
a woman get raped at a frat party and said nothing), she may break
up with you even though that was years ago and you're a different
person now. She will not be able to see you the same way, no
matter how much she wants to.
52.The best-behaved women are foreign women. They have very
different expectations from relationships than American women do.
Feminism has made it so that the only thing we need women for is
sex and babies; everything else can be gotten from your bros.
53.What a woman desires more than anything is adoration by a
man. However, if you give her adoration all the time, then you'll
appear weak and submissive. (That's exactly what happened with
[Father] and [Stepmother].) Go on a rewards versus punishment
system, and it should generally be both overt and subtle so as to
ingrain it into her unconscious. When she's a good woman, you
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57.If you spoil your woman, she'll act like a child. Someone has to
be the man in the relationship, and if it's not you, then it will be her,
and she will resent you for it. This is why [Father] and
[Stepmothers] marriage is dead.
58.Gender is a product of biology, not of society. Some superficial
things are certainly a product of society, but at heart gender has
always been the same in every society ever.
59. To quote Uncle Jeff, "Don't marry a bitch."
60.Sometimes it's even best to neg, ignore or disagree without any
provocation. You don't want to spoil her, and you don't want to look
saccharine. If you agree with everything a woman says in order to
impress her, then you're weak, insecure, and submissive, and she
won't like you. When getting to know her, it's important to disagree
with her every once in a while, even if you secretly don't. Make sure
she thinks you're independent.
61.Women can pick up on a man's insecurity just as keenly as men
can pick up on a woman's ugliness. However, she'll give you points
if she sees you're trying.
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67.If a woman talks trash about you to your kids, doesn't let you
see them, or lies about you in court, you are not morally obligated
to pay her child support. The state may force you, but don't feel like
a bad person if you find a way out of it. If she took everything you
had, you shouldn't feel obligated to be generous. What comes
around goes around.
68.Sirach 25: 20-22 (from the Apocrypha): As the climbing up a
sandy way is to the feet of the aged, so is a wife full of words to a
quiet man. Stumble not at the beauty of a woman, and desire her
not for pleasure. A woman, if she maintain [financially] her husband,
is full of anger, impudence, and much reproach.
69.If you sign a prenup, you are allowing divorce into the
conversation, into your minds, and ultimately into your plan. Don't
have an exit strategy if you don't plan on exiting.
70.If a woman buys you clothes or dresses you a certain way,
humor her. She may or may not have a better fashion sense than
you, but she certainly knows what she likes better.
71.A lot of what they will tell you at Church about relating towards
women is complete horseshit and unfounded in the Bible. This
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77.Why don't they have finishing schools anymore? That's the best
way for a woman to attract a man. A woman who looks nice, cooks
well, and can entertain guests gets to choose whichever man she
wants. Call it sexist, but it's reality.
78.The male feminists will always hate those who get more girls
than them. Even if the other person holds the same ideology (he
doesn't), the beta male will call him a misogynist, a douche, or a
jock. They hope to put peer pressure on you to agree with them, but
you have no reason to want their approval. Do not apologize or
repent for your success, and do not make friends with those who
expect you to.
79.Each partner has to bring something to the table, often
something which the other is unable to adequately provide.
80.Naomi Wolf -- this feminist closet dyke -- talks about how the
most desirous woman is older and accomplished. Nothing could be
more delusional. An middle-aged woman cannot bear you children.
Right now you may not want kids, but as a living creature,
everything inside of you wants to continue the Martin name.
Furthermore, who gives a fuck if a woman is accomplished?
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88.If a woman asks you a question about what you think of her,
either be dead honest or politely decline to answer. "Does this
dress make me look fat?" "Why would you ask me that? What do
you think I'm going to say?" If you don't, two things will happen.
First, you will feel used, and you won't be able to respect yourself.
Second, you will create an atmosphere of pretension.
89. A woman would be crazy to marry a man who has lived his
whole life alone. If you're past 40 and you've never lived with a
woman, it's probably not going to happen.
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work. If you stay in shape, groom, and dress well, then women will
notice. It's not the highest priority on their list, but they still like a
good-looking man. It shows hard work and attention to detail, and
that is why "every girl crazy 'bout a sharp-dressed man". Outward
appearance is reflective of inward appearance. Even I know when
and how to dress like a boss. You should have seen me on Easter.
95.There is a correlation between inner beauty and outer beauty.
The stereotype of the "ugly girl who is nice so as to attract men"
and the "beautiful girl who is bitchy" is completely reverse.
Character traits do not exist in isolation. Just as food stamp
customers are the rudest in the grocery store, fugly girls are the
most vicious people you'll ever meet, since they've been crapped
on by society their whole lives. Pretty girls have always been loved,
and they are careful to preserve that affection. Remember, affection
is what a woman desires more than anything, and if she has been
denied it her whole life, it warps her soul.
96.If a woman insults you as some kind of mating ritual when you
first meet her, tell her off and walk away.
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97.Women love attention. Message her every day. People will judge
your intelligence by your grammar. I will judge your intelligence by
your grammar. People will forgive a few common mistakes, but
laziness makes you look stupid and...lazy. If you're trying to impress
a girl, don't write in text speak. It may take a couple more seconds
to write, "You are great" instead of "u r gr8", but it makes you look
like such a cut above everybody else.
98.If you have a falling out and the woman wants to get back
together, she will wait for you to take the initiative. This is your
responsibility as a man, assuming you still want to be with her.
99.Some girls think they have the right to act bitchy, but this is
because no man has every made them feel valuable. You'll even
here women say, "I'm Ms. Bitch". Their psyches have likely been so
warped that there is no saving them. Any woman who revels in her
faults deserves to live with the consequences of her faults.
100.When a woman asks, "How are you?", don't just say "Good."
Give a small detail about your day. "Good. I went to Taco Bell after
school."
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101.The feminists say, "You don't want a woman who'll just cook
and clean for you, do you?" But why wouldn't you want that?! They
only say this to absolve themselves of responsibility. They have
failed as women. You don't want to marry a failure, do you?
102.There is no such thing as unconditional love. Everything is
conditional, even if you can't see the conditions. Furthermore, if
love is a choice, then compulsory love like a mother feels is really
just chemicals.
103.If you let your bride keep her maiden name, then you should
chop off your balls, put them in a jar, and give them to her as a
wedding present. You should be preserving your name, not her
father's. Genesis 2:24, "For this reason a man ["anthropos" in
Greek, meaning gender-neutral human] shall LEAVE his father and
his mother, and be joined to his wife; and they shall become ONE
flesh." (Greek doesn't have a common word for spouse.)
104.If someone says, "Man up", they are usually shaming you into
doing whatever they ask, regardless of whether it will benefit you.
105.If you fear a girl may be friend-zoning you, have a conversation
with her about it. Find out if she is. You can still be friends, but do
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not allow her to lead you on. A lot of girls do this so that they can
have the ego boost of a relationship without the actual relationship.
106.If a woman says no to sex, always stop. If she tells you that
she only said that because she has a rape fantasy, then leave. Do
not encourage this behavior, because it confuses men and may
cause them to accidentally rape another woman. Furthermore, she
could later claim in court that you did rape her. You may want to tell
all your mutual friends about her fetish, just to reinforce to her that it
is unacceptable to engage in a rape fantasy without prior
discussion. Do not underestimate the value of public shaming.
107.Never ever ever get a vasectomy, even if you decide not to
have children. It will destroy your self-image (again, see Dad for an
example).
108.You don't want a girl to merely want you; you want her to need
you. You want her to be dependent on you so that if you left, her
whole world would fall apart. If she merely wants you, then she can
dump you whenever something better comes along. However, you
should have her feel the opposite about you. "I need you" says that
you are dependent and hence weak. "I want you"
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114.To quote Waylon Jennings, "The only two things in this life that
make it worth living/ Are guitars that tune good and firm-feeling
women." It's an over- simplification, but there's a truth in it.
115.Women always argue the person, not the issue. Let this be a
guiding light.
116.If you feel a homoerotic inclination, do not act upon it. You don't
need to be religious to see how physically, mentally, and
emotionally unhealthy that would be.
117.A woman may claim she wants a man to be her equal, but she
will loathe you if you give that to her.
118.You don't want a woman who is completely codependent.
These are high maintenance, and she will suck all your energy.
119.Never pay for internet dating. Only use the sites that have most
or all the services for free. Exaggerate your physical attributes
since women will do the same to you. Post pictures of you traveling.
120."Men are realizing that they dont want a butch, pantsuitwearing co-worker; they want a cute girl who will greet them with a
smile and a cup of coffee after a hard days work, who will be
supportive and nurturing instead of belligerent and sulky. Women
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129.They say that there are many good things that women offer
which men have trouble conjuring up, and that you should cherish
these. That is an exaggeration. You don't need a woman to
function; you merely want one. Inversely, a woman cannot function
without a man to guide her.
130.The definition of rape is ever-expanding. Many now claim that
having sex with a drunk girl is rape. This is ridiculous, but the courts
are biased, so be careful.
131.Your common pop-feminist writer today is filled with bitterness
and derision. If their ideology does not make them happy, then why
should anyone adopt it?
132.If an underage girl ever sends you a picture of her titties, say,
"Damn, she looks good!" and hit delete right away. Do not show
your friends, and do not keep it in your phone, even for a few
minutes. Likewise, never send someone a nude picture of yourself
unless you are married to her.
133.Even if a girl decides she doesn't want to date you, she'll tell
her friends what she thinks about you. Girls love to gossip, so treat
each one right to build your reputation. If Sally thinks she might
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want to date you, she'll ask Janey what you were like at Cold
Stone.
134.Women will forgive a few mistakes if they are not made too
early. No one has perfect strategy.
135.Most or every alpha male has some beta characteristics. It's
not always a bad thing depending on the degree and the
characteristic.
136.If you're in the wrong, it's best to admit your mistake sooner
than later. Sometimes a woman will not let it go until she gets her
apology. Do not fake an apology, though, because that sets an
innovative expectation within the relationship.
137.Be calm, cool, and collected, even when you aren't. Anger and
worry are tools that should be used sparingly.
138.If a girl cheats on you, don't give her a second chance,
because you'll never be able to look at her the same way again.
139.Women always complain that they can't go anywhere without
men staring at their tits, but we can't go anywhere without women
staring at our wallets. A woman should have a nice rack, and a man
should have a comfortable income.
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Just do it, and if she isn't ready, she'll let you know. The man should
always initiate the kisses in the beginning.
145.It's the small things that matter to a girl. Say, "I want to be with
you" instead of "I want you to be with me." You'd be amazed at
what a difference that makes. At Hopeline, I talked to a girl thinking
of breaking up with her boyfriend for this very reason.
146.Don't seem eager. She should think that there are plenty of
other eligible girls for you, but as it progresses, subtly make her
aware that you've chosen her and that you've connected in a way
that isn't possible with other girls.
147.When you take a girl in your car, play music that is good but
bland. Don't choose anything artistic or erotic. Keep it turned low
enough to be irrelevant but loud enough to hear.
148.The rule of society used to be "masculine males get feminine
females." Today this is a lie. Some say that it is good that gender
roles have become murky, but ask yourself: Do you want a
masculine girl? Does the word "gender-neutral" bring pretty pictures
to your mind?
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149.Do what you can to be on good terms with her family and
friends. You may not care, and her father may always hate you, but
it matters to her. More than anything, you need the approval of her
sisters and her best friend.
150.A woman always lies about her weight. When a woman tells
you she is thin, that means she is average. When she tells you she
is average, that means she is overweight. When she tells you she
could lose a few pounds or is curvy, that means she's a whale.
Some guys, like myself, don't necessarily want a magazine
photoshop woman, so we are easily deceived by women like this. I
wonder what would have happened had I met my curvy Skype
girlfriend last summer...
151.People will tell you that fat women were once the norm in
western art because they signified wealth. No, those were curvy
women, and they signified fertility and health. Fat women have
never been loved in the history of the world; they even despise
each other. Wealthy women may weigh more than poor women, but
they still have a husband and catty girlfriends to please. Find me a
renaissance painting of a nude obese woman as a sex symbol.
!412
152.God made your body a certain way. He carved out each feature
to look precise. Excess fat blurs all those lines and destroys your
uniqueness.
153.If your woman is beginning to pack on the weight, let her know.
She may leave you, but you shouldn't date a woman who is
negligent, lazy, and apathetic. But if she then makes an effort to
lose the weight, it may be a sign that she has the character traits
befitting a woman.
!413
completely selfless, you will hate yourself, you will hate everybody
around you, and you will hate all of life.
157.A woman wants you to "just be yourself" so that she can have
an advantage. Rather, reveal yourself gradually. We all have a front
stage and a back stage. Misrepresent a few small details in the
beginning and let them smooth over later. However, be careful
about the severity of the lies of omission you tell; every one of them
must be accounted for later if the relationship is to last.
158."Always express your emotions" is another lie that is told.
Rather, always ask yourself, "Where is this emotion leading me?"
This is good advice for life in general, not just relationships.
159.Work hard to earn a woman's respect, but if she doesn't give it
to you, dump her. Feminists want something for nothing.
160.Maybe it's okay for a woman to be a tomboy; I don't have a
problem with women liking sports. But if you can't find anything
about her demeanor that would conventionally be considered
feminine, then she's a dude. Don't date a dude. There should be
some quality about her that is lambasted by a fat bar tramp with a
blog.
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161.The feminist claims that women can do anything men can do,
but the reverse is true. Men can do anything women can do, and it
is women who need us to fill in their deficiencies.
162.Leftists claim that without women, men would fall into a
sluggish pit where it would be pizza, beer, and sports all day, that
there would be no beauty, order, or hygiene. Do not let them insult
you, do not let them lie to you, and do not let them tell you what you
can and cannot do. Why do they think women are the only ones
who know how to sweep a floor? In an effort to elevate women,
they reinforce the stereotypes they hate, except that this time the
stereotypes are even cruder caricatures than before.
163.If you come across a funny video or picture, send it to her. It
says, "I enjoyed this, and I thought you would too. I think about you
in the small, mundane things in life." It's the small things that make
her loins froth. Remember, she wants to feel valued and important.
164.If a woman thinks that she can beat you up because she lifts
weights and takes self-defense classes, then she's a fool and a
dude. With few exceptions, any man could rape and kill any woman
!415
he chose. They don't have the right body frame and musculature,
and that's why they need men to protect them.
!416
170.A woman will endure about any humiliation you give her so
long as it would be embarrassing for her should it become public
knowledge. This includes both verbal and physical abuse. If you
need to beat her, spank her on the ass. It won't hurt her, and it
won't make her feel like a threat, because you only punch someone
if they can actually hurt you. Spanking, however, will only belittle
her. Another benefit of spanking your wife is that it gives her an
emotional release, and she will be less inclined to find other
avenues for her energy. Why do we say that women are "dramatic",
a word referencing theater and fakeness? Women often start
"drama" to gain attention and to push the boundaries of the rules.
Childish, no? So treat her like a child.
171.In all aspects of the relationship, be careful to send the
messages you intend and to omit the messages you don't.
172.Do not constantly be funny. Space it through the conversation,
and it will be something she looks forward to instead of something
she grows tired of.
173.If you don't respect yourself, no one will. Respect is not the
same thing as self-esteem. Self-esteem has to be earned, but
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183.They are few wives anymore. Now the world is filled with shedudes in domestic partnerships with adult males whom they may or
may not breed with.
184.If you treat a woman like a child, she'll act like a child. Treat her
like an adult and let her know that you expect maturity. If she is
statically immature, dump her.
185.Some women are bitches. They may try not to be, but they just
are, and nothing will ever change that. Leave them for the betamales.
186.There's not anything necessarily wrong with dating a girl out of
convenience. True love is a product out of longevity. What you
really want in a woman is someone whom you can be comfortable
around.
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187.Don't date a black woman. Their own kind reject them for a
reason. They are aggressive, mistrustful, and dominant.
188.You shouldn't date someone who has religious or political
views you strongly disagree with. This will only cause conflict later.
189.If you really want an easy way to get a wife, do ROTC in
college and join the military. Women love a man in uniform,
especially one with a sense of duty and order. Government careers
pay decent, have job security, and offer great benefits. After 20
years, you can retire from the military with a pension. You can just
join the military without college, but you'll never be promoted far
without an four-year degree, so major in underwater basketweaving. Don't worry about the ethics of war; just do your job and
let someone else ask those questions. But be warned: Many girls
get lonely and break up with their boyfriends through a letter. Put a
ring around her finger and pop that cherry before you leave.
190.What you attract a woman with is what you have to keep her
with. If you attract her with drugs, gifts, or sex, then that's all she'll
ever want from you. But if you attract her through charisma, then
she'll be addicted to your personality.
!421
!422
and Latin when I first meet them. Instead, I tell them I studied
general western literature and only later explain, telling them that I
hide it because people find it intimidating.
196.Pick your battles and let her win sometimes. Boost her selfesteem when she deserves it.
197.You shouldn't have sex unless you're willing to deal with the
potential consequences, good or bad.
198.It may be her body, but the baby is more yours than it is hers.
Be the head of the household. A woman says, "My baby, my body"
and then wonders why the child's father left.
199.Just because something should happen or could happen does
not mean that it will happen.
200.A real man is able to exert his will to power, however that may
be interpreted. Make this your mantra, "Will to Power." After all of
life's day-to-day accomplishments, say it out loud.
201.Choose your verb inflections carefully. Generally, you want to
use the indicative mood instead of the subjunctive.
!423
205.Women are neither inherently evil nor inherently good. Like all
people, they do what's in their best interest. They are a product of a
system. None of us are independent thinkers.
206.They tell you to go to college and have a good career so that
you can enable a woman to live however she chooses. Does that
sound like the kind of life you want? No wonder women have such
contempt for us. We have chosen to accept the life they offer men,
!424
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But that our soft conditions and our hearts Should well agree with
our external parts? Come, come, you forward and unable worms!
My mind hath been as big as one of yours,
My heart as great, my reason haply more,
To bandy word for word and frown for frown;
But now I see our lances are but straws,
Our strength as weak, our weakness past compare,
That seeming to be most which we indeed least are. Then vail your
stomachs, for it is no boot,
And place your hands below your husband's foot;
In token of which duty, if he please,
My hand is ready, may it do him ease.
!429
Letter to Fr Nicholas
I've been thinking the last couple days about what I said
about rock n roll. Cry of pain in hopeless world. Only prayer on
earth. Won't exist in heaven.
You responded that it isn't a prayer at all, and I'm thinking
No shit, Mr Former Mainline Protestant" but of course didn't say all
that. Instead I just said that I was being poetic and not using
theology textbook legalism. Not that legalism is bad in and of itself,
and theology textbooks probably should be legalistic.
It seems to be something we lost in our society, that you can
say something that is obviously absurd but has a greater meaning.
That a statement could be more about the aesthetic than the
message. It's a very Nietzschean idea, and although there's a lot of
!430
!431
has strong misconceptions I don't bother correcting, because nonChristians in this country are bombarded by people telling them
"You've heard Christianity is x, but really, few realize that it's y", and
everyone has a different x and y they are explaining. But at the
same time, he doesn't describe himself as an atheist because he
doesn't want to be associated with people like Richard Dawkins.
Instead he just says he doesn't believe in God.
Like any writer ever who is worth anything, he had a terrible
childhood and has suffered from some kind of personality disorder
or addiction as an adult, in his case depression. The same is true
for musicians.
We were discussing music, and he asked me why I like all
that old rock and country, saying that he doesn't like anything
before 1980. Hes big into metal, a genre you were probably
fortunate to hear very little of. You're either metal, or you're punk,
but you cannot be both. I have always been punk. It's really a
difference not just in music taste but your whole experience of
existence. The two may espouse a similar social philosophy of
angst and rebellion, but their approach to it is radically different.
!432
Both came about at the same time as a reaction to the overindulgence that rock had become, which soon turned it into a
neutered saccharine genre for mass consumption. Rock died circa
1978 and will never resurrect, because music is a product of time
and momentum. Oh, punk and metal are dead today, too. They
fizzled out in the early 90s and turned into pop. Both were rock's
last dying gasp of breath.
All of this sounds like a boring history lesson you aren't
interested in, but there's a great truth about humanity underlying
this. History is theology.
Punk is about release, and metal is orderly. CS Lewis talks
about religions either being "thin" or "thick" and that the true religion
will fulfill both. That is to say, some religions are mystic. Orgies,
drugs, chanting, unhindered emotions, selfmutilation, sacrifice,
which seek to uncover the inner self through abandon of restraint or
confronting difficult emotional barriers. Those are punk. Other
religions are orderly, involving strict rules of practice and morality
and aesthetics and use quiet contemplation to uncover the inner
!433
self. Those are metal, even though, yes, metal is very loud. Metal is
still contemplation music.
Athos is and always was metal. St Gregory Palamas was
metal. The desert fathers were punk, whether in the third century
Egyptian desert or the 19th century Russian desert. Even though
the philosophy is completely different between punk/metal and
Orthodox monasticism, the experience of participation is what I am
referring to, how it is sought and manifested. And I realize this is
something of an oversimplification. But as I said above, I'm
speaking poetically.
One could make the argument that neither approach is very
good by itself.
Here is an excerpt of the Facebook conversation my above
friend and I had recently, in which I told him what I told you about
rock n roll being a prayer:
******
BN
Keith Richards had an affair with Ronnie Bennett/Spector, who was
a real life Lana Kane. He wrote in his autobiography that listening to
!434
her song "Be my Baby" took on a new meaning. You get the feeling
that they should have married and stayed together for ever
ML
10/25, 8:01pm
ML
Weird. Lyrics are extraneous with the music I like so I never
analyze them
BN
10/25, 8:01pm
BN
The music reflects upon the lyrics, not the opposite way
Instead she married Phil Spector, who locked her in his house and
said if she ever leaves she'll be buried in the coffin in the basement.
BN
10/25, 8:47pm
BN
I think the reason I like old rock n roll so much is because, whether
something blusey like the Rolling Stones or girly like the Ronettes
or artsy like the Beach Boys, rock n roll is a cry of the soul in pain in
!435
!436
BN
10/25, 9:33pm
BN
I don't know. It's beyond our concept of living. There is no time in
heaven. Like describing a color you've never seen
Look up that novella. If nothing else, it will make it easier to
understand Christianity.
ML
10/25, 9:35pm
ML
who wrote it
BN
10/25, 9:35pm
BN
Cs lewis
ML
10/25, 9:38pm
ML
found a copy. I'll read it this week
!437
BN
10/25, 9:38pm
BN
Found it at your house?
ML
10/25, 9:39pm
ML
haha no online
BN
10/25, 9:41pm
BN
One of the best explanations of Christianity I've ever read. If you
read only one Christian book in your life, its a good one.
ML
10/25, 9:41pm
ML
cool I'll check it out. May read it later tonight
BN
10/25, 9:49pm
!438
BN
Why don't you like old music?
ML
10/25, 9:51pm
ML
All the things that you listed that you find appealing are things that
I find unappealing. The tempos are slow and don't change enough.
The riffs are extremely predictable. There's zero aggression. Riffs
are all based on blues scales, which are difficult to form into unique
sounds.
BN
10/25, 9:52pm
BN
It's a tradition. It uses creativity to tell the same human story. It
isn't novel for the sake of novelty
[...]
BN
You don't like emotive singing?
ML
!439
10/25, 9:57pm
ML
no
Rarely anyway
BN
10/25, 9:57pm
BN
Someone struggling through the human existence and drowning
their failed childhood in drugs and pussy?
ML
10/25, 9:57pm
ML
Nah man that shit is just retarded to me
BN
10/25, 9:58pm
BN
You're dead inside
ML
10/25, 9:58pm
!440
ML
duh
I can count on one hand the amount of bands that I like that involve
females The more jagged, bleak and dissonant the better
!441
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Plato, society's values are irrelevant to how one should live. These
are not just the values of physical love but also the values of pride,
wealth, and companionship.
Plato demonstrates this with rare brilliance. Each speaker
makes rational sense, and the next one trumps the logic of the
previous. Plato presents each argument as truer than the previous,
impeccably defending beliefs in which he does not believe. Then he
presents what he believes is truth and implicitly claims to destroy all
previous arguments and values. To Plato, Athenian values have
now been eradicated.
In the process, he destroys Attic aristocratic society. One of
his issues is that he ignores the basic human need for physicality.
Although a rare few in various religions have willed themselves to
forgo sexuality, it is impractical to expect celibacy of everybody. Yet
this seems to be exactly what Socrates sees as what should be
normal.
Plato also finds the allegory of the mythology to be
irrelevant, which is grave indeed. The mythology was the basis for
Athenian literature. Without it, the foundation of creative art is lost.
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Bibliography
Nichols, Mary P. Socrates' Contest with the Poets in Plato's
Symposium. Political Theory, Vol. 32, No. 2 (April 2004), p.
186-206. Sage Publications, Inc. <www.jsotr.org/stable/4148131>.
Accessed August 24, 2013.
!449
that minimum is the essence of what that idea is. This is descended
from Plato's philosophy of forms, but it has obviously morphed as
beliefs always do over several centuries. Even in my somewhat
fundamentalist upbringing which insisted on things like a literal
resurrection and the virgin birth, this theme of reductionism still
held.
So while we all believed in the bodily resurrection, the
question was sometimes asked hypothetically, "Can one be saved if
he does not believe in the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ but
does believe that Jesus was God incarnate?" For us, we were
really asking, "At which moment of the passion story did Jesus pay
our debts?" This is why you have a stereotype of protestant
preachers saying things like "The precious blood! The precious
blood!" and why there are many protestant hymns about the cross
but few about the tomb.
Part of the reason this nonsense exists, both liberalism and
fundamentalism, is because of penal substitutionary atonement, the
paradigm of salvation used in almost every vein of protestantism
and Catholicism. As many of you know, Eastern Christianity
believes in a different model known as Christus Victor, which is
Latin for "Christ the Conqueror". Some will argue that the term
"Christus Victor" does not adequately describe Orthodox
soteriology, but for the purposes of this article, assume it
encompasses all aspects of our doctrine of salvation since it was
coined to describe us anyway. A few protestant groups have tried to
adopt Christus Victor, but they are few and far between. Others
!451
claim that the two paradigms are really two different ways of saying
the same thing, which I strongly disagree with. However, I will not
go into the fine details of each model here. What is important is that
what a Christian sect, whether Orthodox or otherwise, believes
about salvation will affect every every thing its churches do. Allow
me to repeat that, as I cannot emphasize it enough: what a
Christian sect, whether Orthodox or otherwise, believes about
salvation will affect every every thing its churches do.
As I alluded to above, one of the many problems with penal
substitutionary atonement is that it puts the critical moment on
Jesus's death. Perhaps you've seen Mel Gibson's Passion of the
Christ. The movie was fundamentally a snuff film with perhaps not
even a minute of Jesus shown after the resurrection. There is no
showing of the myrrh-bearing women or of the disciples' doubt and
subsequent bafflement. There is no epilogue and no good news.
The plot is that a man was brutally murdered but then sprang to life
with no real consequences or meaning.
Obviously, a Western Christian does not believe that the
resurrection was meaningless, but his art says otherwise. And
although this was a Catholic film, it was highly praised by
protestants as well. The only place I have ever heard a criticism of it
from a Christian perspective was from an old Orthodox priest.
This brings me to the title of my article. Many liberal
Christians claim that they do not believe in the traditional God of the
Bible or believe that such a belief is ultimately irrelevant. This is not
a new idea to protestantism, but it seems to be growing in stature
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Even his moral teachings weren't much more profound than those
of my Kindergarten teacher.
Ideas have legs; they go places. Even though conservatives
would claim to believe in everything in the Nicene Creed (at least
as it's been handed to them), they still view Jesus as primarily
concerned with morals. His death and resurrection was all about
good morals. Notice the strong emphasis they place upon bearing
good fruit or the bumper sticker that says, "I'm not perfect. Just
forgiven". Protestantism is about making you an all-American
citizen. Of course, they do not explicitly believe this, but it is the
implicit teachings which make all forms of protestantism dangerous.
"Why is it so important that Christ is alive? The important thing is
that he died. The resurrection is just a bonus, as though it merely
proves He was divine. Good Friday is the true day of rejoicing."
Within the conservative circle in which I grew up, many
protestants sense this misfocus on moral rehabilitation instead of
eternal life, although they often have trouble vocalizing it. This is
partly why you have many evangelicals saying, "Christianity isn't
supposed to be legalistic" or "I have a religion, not a relationship". I
will leave you with a favorite protestant saying of mine, which I feel
to best summarize the difference between our soteriologies and
shows a thirst among protestants for something deeper than what
the four bare walls and a sermon in Your Town, USA can offer:
"Christ did not come to make bad people good but to make dead
people alive." Somebody make a bumper sticker out of that.
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why God does things, and this argument does not disprove
theistic evolution, but it is important. God does not ever
interact with humanity without a reason. There must be some
reason he chose to bring us out of monkeys instead of
basically nothing.
However, none of that is my main argument against evolution.
My argument against theistic evolution is that it is almost
incompatible with the notion of the fall of man. For the sake of
the argument, let us conceive that perhaps the model of
evolution that today's scientists have laid out is exactly true
and that God guided it so that it resulted thusly, even
smoothing over the various impossibilities and improbabilities.
But it is not enough to merely accept an idea; we must then
follow the idea to its logical outcomes. The question we must
ask about theistic evolution is, "Now what?" Ideas do not exist
in a vacuum. They must go places.
So we've assumed that God, for whatever transcendent
reason, caused evolution to happen like Richard Dawkins
claims it did. Hooray for syncretism! However, Genesis must
still be true in some aspect, otherwise we have a large chunk
of our tradition to throw away (although the church fathers still
give really specific details about Eden like how we didn't have
!460
to sin by the fruit. Notice the fruit is from the tree of good and
evil. Man already knew good. By taking of the fruit, he would
know evil. So man did take of it, and now he needs God to
save him. Why is that so implausible? Why do we need a
complicated system invented by people trying to disprove
Christianity to take the place of a simple story? Is creating
man out of dust ridiculous but creating man out of monkeys
super rational and enlightened?
I think part of the reason Christians don't believe in Genesis is
because they think that something must be either historical or
allegorical. This is a Western notion. If a story is allegorical,
they reason, then it cannot have actually happened. Since
Genesis is full of allegory, therefore it must be false. However,
Genesis can easily be both historical and allegorical just as
many stories about Jesus from the gospels are, as well as the
ancient struggles between the Israelites and the other nations.
But I don't know, maybe Israel never existed. I mean, if we do
concede that Genesis is merely myth, then at what point does
the historical narrative begin? At what point in the Bible can
we trust it? Maybe Elijah didn't exist and the book of Isaiah is
a compilation from various sources. Maybe St. Paul didn't
exist. What's the difference?
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By Augustine Martin
!467
Christianity is a celebration of life, not just the life now but also the
life to come. There will be festivals, riches, and games, both now
and later, for all is well and at peace. No longer must we fear the
enemy. This is what the apostle means by "boasting in Christ."
The Greek word for "boast" in Galatians is ,
"kaukhasthai". It literally means "to speak loudly". And that is what
we Christians do. We speak loudly not about ourselves but about
Christ. We proclaim Him in charity. We proclaim Him in martyrdom.
We proclaim Him at church. We proclaim Him at work. We proclaim
Him at home. We proclaim Him at the store. With the cymbal. With
singing. Throughout the world. In our local city. The gospel is about
triumphing Christ throughout the world. It is a religion of victory.
We proclaim that He has conquered death. Like the twelve in
John 6, we have nowhere else to go having seen the world as
wood to be burned. We will talk loudly for the whole world to hear.
We will talk loudly for our fellow Christians to hear. We will be
hated. We will be loved. Either way, we will not care how others
perceive us. We will proclaim him by our love.
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Does the poor need an opiate? Yes, and so does the rich.
The whole world needs this opiate, for the whole world is suffering
inwardly. Christianity is full of stories of wealthy, pious people. The
Eastern Church is rife with saint stories of nobility who left
everything to become monks and nuns. But this is not the only kind
of story of pious wealthy people. Many people, monastic and laity,
were willing to abandon everything to do the work of God or to die
as martyrs, people such as St. Matthew the Evangelist, St. Paul the
Apostle, St. Zaccheus, St. Panteleimon, St. Chrysanthos, St. Basil
the Great, St. Elizabeth the Grand Duchess, St Vladimir of Kiev,
and St. Nicholas the Czar to name a few.
During the fourth century, there was a common heresy called
Arianism. This taught that Jesus was a separate entity from God.
The emperor St. Constantine wanted this doctrine to be true
because it implied that a man could be a god. The pagan Roman
tradition taught that the emperor was a deity of sorts (although
nobody really believed it). This hero-worship was also taught in
Seleucid Syria. But back to St. Constantine. However, when the
Church officially rejected Arianism in 325, Constantine submitted in
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humility. He did not force the Church to do anything, for they had
just endured a harsh persecution and were willing to suffer anything
for the gospel. On the contrary, they forced the emperor, who could
do anything he wanted, to submit to Truth.
Sts. Boris and Gleb of Kiev were early Christians in Kiev.
They were princes who held the power to the kingdom. Their pagan
brother, however, sought to murder them. Boris and Gleb did not
want to kill their brother, so they chose to die passively. This was
not done out of weakness but out of extreme strength, a strength
that only comes through the life-changing power of Jesus Christ.
So yes, people need an opiate. We all need crutches, for we
are all crippled. Only Jesus Christ can cure the sick and suffering.
Only Jesus Christ can change the heart of stone into a heart of
flesh. For a stone is not dead but completely inorganic. God is the
summation of all reality, and so without him we are participants in
non-reality much as coldness is the absence of heat or darkness
the absence of light. Only through Christ does the inorganic enter
into warm life. Only through Christ does the Light shine into the
darkness.
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piled it all together, and multiplied it by millions, I would still only get
a faint idea of the unselfishness of God..."
This goes against the whole ethical reasoning of secularism.
The secularists claim that we only act on morals because of brain
chemicals, that morality is done to preserve society. Yet here we
have a story of an animal with no capacity for metaphysics
sacrificing herself to comfort the dying. No atheist can explain that.
Love heals, for God is love, and God is the great physician.
What is love? Well, God is love. Therefore, love is acting as God
does. "But Austin," you may say, "Non-Christians have love." No,
they have affection and compassion. Love in the Christian sense is
an analogy or metaphor. There is no real word to express Christian
love, so the Greeks translated it to agape () or sometimes
philos (). But neither word completely expresses God's virtue.
It is merely a translation of an unutterable but knowable concept.
Isn't it odd that what we long for most is literally indescribable? God
is love, and God is life. Therefore, love is life. When we do not have
love, we die. And when we do not have God, we die, which is why
God says he came to bring eternal life (John 3.16).
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person. If you are a Christian, the only reason you are good is
because you are of Christ, for the apostle writes, "There is no
condemnation for he who is in Christ".
Another implication is that evil is a non-reality. God is all of
reality, and everything that exists is from him. Therefore, evil is the
lack of reality, for it is the lack of God. If God is goodness, and evil
is the opposite of goodness, thenevil does not exist.
This is why so many people across history have clung to
Christ. It seems like a strange obsession: monks and nuns enjoy
spending hours a day singing to God. Even the casual layman is
known to do radical things: reading the Bible for hours a day, living
selflessly, and perhaps even dying as a martyr. This is because
Christ is all of reality. When you are of Christ, you feel more real
and are more human than ever. Therefore, this strange passion for
Christ, which seems like foolishness to the world, is really what will
make us feel more satisfied than anything else. Merely chanting
ancient poetry and living selflessly seems boring and empty, and it
is if there is no deeper meaning behind it. If there was no God,
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forest. He acts in the sacraments, but these are gifts from Him, not
Him Himself as a person. The Eucharist is certainly God, but it is
only for consumption.
This is one of the great mysteries of Christianity. Knowing
God is impossible to explain. It is beyond human speech. In this
mystery we see the a profound evidence of Christianity: the
experience of people across the world throughout history of a
relationship that completely alters their lives but cannot be
described. We know when He is near because we know Him, but
we cannot put into words what that knowing is like. We can only
give vague descriptions, such as when St. Isaac the Syrian said,
"Thirst for Christ and he will satisfy you with his love." We don't
thirst for Christ like we thirst for water. We don't feel his love in the
same way that we feel the love of our earthly fathers. And often we
don't even realize we have this hole that needs to be satisfied. But
those of us that have experienced it know how true this quote is.
Sometimes people convert to Christianity without knowing all
the doctrine. Perhaps they've yet to learn about Heaven or the
Trinity. These are such essentials to our faith that it seems weird
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Love is the opiate of the human race. Only love will grow a
church. Only love will give a person Nietzschean strength. Only
love will cause men to turn their swords into plowshares and the
wealthy to sell their possessions for the poor. Only love will turn us
into humans.
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Is the God of the Old Testament the Same as that of the New
Testament?
We have an old idea that the God of the Old Testament was
very different than that of the New Testament. The OT God was
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is old? Can he enter a second time into his mothers womb and be
born? Jesus answered, Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is
born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.
That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the
Spirit is spirit.Do not marvel that I said to you, You must be born
again. The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of
it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is
everyone who is born of the Spirit. Nicodemus answered and said
to Him, How can these things be? Jesus answered and said to
him, Are you the teacher of Israel, and do not know these things
Most assuredly, I say to you, We speak what We know and testify
what We have seen, and you do not receive Our witness.If I have
told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe
if I tell you heavenly things.
I understand that Jesus cannot sin, and I realize that the
gospel writers were bad at making tone of voice clear. St. John is
especially known for having a deficient knowledge of Greek. But
Christ here seems incompassionate. Nicodemus is asking a
question in humility and honesty, and Jesus seems to be criticizing
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him for not knowing the answer to a strange and new paradox.
Perhaps Nicodemus should have known better, or perhaps Jesus
wasn't as curt as the text sounds. Nevertheless, we do see that
Jesus is not playing by what we perceive as being polite.
Some would suggest that the OT and NT offer two different
sides of the same God, but I disagree with that. Yes, God in the OT
endorsed genocide and monarchism and was arguably (although I
would disagree with some of this) somewhat tolerant of slavery,
murder, polygamy, rape, and theft. But throughout the OT we see
God waiting for man to repent, knowing he wouldn't. God gives
different nations many chances to repent, and then brings his
revenge when they have finally sinned enough (Leviticus 18.24-28,
Genesis 15.16). St. Paul further explains this in Romans 1.18-32.
2 Kings 2.23-24 (Brenton): And he went up thence to Bethel:
and as he was going up by the way there came up also little
children from the city, and mocked him, and said to him, Go up,
bald-head, go up. And he turned after them, and saw them, and
cursed them in the name of the Lord. And, behold, there came out
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two bears out of the wood, and they tore forty and two children of
them.
There are many passages in the Bible, especially in the Old
Testament, when God seems evil or over-bearing. Did these youths
really do something so wrong? It seems to harsh to punish them so
severely. Perhaps the punishment does not fit the crime.
The problem with modern Christianity is that it is infested
with secular humanism. It is not your place to tell God what is and
is not the right thing to do. God always acts one of two ways: either
with justice or with mercy but never with evil. To me, this
punishment to the 42 seems too harsh, but I recognize that God's
ways are higher than my ways. If I could tell God what is and is not
right, then I would have no need of the Bible. We all have an innate
sense of morality, but this is often skewed and affected by outside
influences. Christianity is about humility and submission of the will
and intellect, and to tell God that he should not have killed the 42 is
an act of blasphemy.
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What about the parts in the law where God says that you
may captured a city and marry its virgins by force? Wow, this one is
difficult to write on. Heads will roll.
A lot of people say that because the Bible has marriage
under compulsion, it must espouse rape. Let's look at this in detail.
Technically, this is true. However, lying under this is the fallacy of
equivocation. This fallacy is when you take two terms that sound
the same but mean different things and pretend that they are one
and the same. For example, "Billy makes good grades. Therefore,
Billy is a good person."
When people think of rape, they think of, at best, someone's
boyfriend forcing himself on her in a parked car, and at worst, some
violent stranger in a dark alley. There is no commitment or respect
involved here.
What the Bible is talking about is akin to arranged marriage.
Any form of arranged marriage, which is the norm in almost every
culture throughout time, is a form of rape. But this is not a bad thing
necessarily. Arranged marriages are shown much more to be stable
than our western sense of love. The two to be married come into it
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with a sense of each having a role and a need to fulfill for the
others, and that involves so much more than sex.
Nowhere in the Bible does it promote the kind of fornicationrape people think of. Nowhere does it tell people to have sex with
somebody without any sense of commitment, willing or unwilling.
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the Kingdom of God as a little child, shalt not enter therein. And,
having hugged them, He raised His hands over them and He
blessed them." (Mk.10:1416).
Also, if people are truly responsible for their own sins, then
we cannot make exceptions to children and the mentally
incapacitated. The theology of atonement demands that anyone,
regardless of mental state, has the ability to commune with God to
some degree.
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You cannot have a life change if you don't want it or don't really
believe Jesus is able.
So the real question is, do you want Jesus to change your
life? Do you want to be unconcerned with material objects, to pour
contempt upon all your pride, and to live your life as though you
have no rights or entitlements? It's a nice ideal, but is that really
what you want?
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Is Christianity Misogynist?
A conversation recently:
Friend: Even modern Catholicism is so misogynist.
Me: Okay. Give me an example.
Friend: Eve is Pandora letting all evil into the world.
Me: Adam sinned also.
Friend: But he blames her.
Me: Yes, but she then blames the snake. Then God says that all
three are punished.
Friend: Austin, its misogynist. It just is. Theres no way around it.
There are some doubtful things about Christianity. For
example, there are times when God seems to be deceitful (Luke
24.28, 1 Kings 22. 21-23).There is also the problem of theodicy,
that is, how can there be a just God despite evil and suffering in the
world. But it seems anti-Christians tend to focus on the most easily
provable things. Out of every complaint against Christianity and the
Bible, it being misogynist is perhaps the most weakly founded. It
seems as though the more you prove something, whether religion,
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Now one may say that St. Paul did not make women equals
but in fact told them to be quiet. My first response to this is that,
again, it was radical that women were allowed in church in that
culture considering that women generally were removed from
society. My second, and really the focal point of this essay, is that
just because men and women are different does not make one
inferior to the other. God made each different for different purposes
involving more than just sexuality (which is why homosexuality is
wrong, although that is another essay). Women had a place in
society, and in the Bible, old and new testaments, God fits them in
the cultural atmosphere without degrading them into objects. Just
because it seems degrading to us liberal moderns does not mean
that everyone throughout history had thought so.
But, you may object, women are forbidden to be clergy. This
goes back to my last point. Just because the women are not
allowed to be in leadership in the church does not mean that they
are second-class Christians. Rather, God made men a certain way,
and although there are times when a woman must do mens work
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"For this text says that human nature itself, which is complete [only]
in both sexes, was made in the image of God; and it does not
separate the woman from the image of God which it signifies."
Strike one.
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Jesus was a man. Jesus was God. Therefore, maleness can fully
express godness. Strike two.
"As we said of the nature of the human mind, that both in the case
when as a whole it contemplates the truth it is the image of God;
and in the case when anything is divided from it, and diverted in
order to the cognition of temporal things; nevertheless on that side
on which it beholds and consults truth, here also it is the image of
God, but on that side whereby it is directed to the cognition of the
lower things, it is not the image of God."
Here he's saying that women think of the lower things. By
"lower", I think he's reflecting Carol Gilligan. Men make ethical
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sin or that hippie Islam is not true Islam, then you are ignorant. As
Francis Schaefer points out, people will do anything to keep their
personal peace.
And surely Jesus must have believed this too. That man was
all about peace and love. He hung out with prostitutes and tax
collector's for Christ's sake! (pun intended)
People don't like to take Jesus's message as a whole. Our
society is a cafeteria society. At best, we can adapt Christianity's
morality to society. Abstinence until marriage is too hard, but
perhaps we should save sex only for true love. Loving your
enemies is a good motto, but sometimes you really deserve
revenge, and it often doesn't really hurt the person. If you're really a
saint, then you'll "turn the other cheek" and stew passively in
bitterness.
In Matthew 10 (NASB), Jesus says, 34 Do not think that I
came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace,
but a sword. 35For I came to set a man against his father, and a
daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her
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31 but
you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that
by believing you may have life in his name.
Nowhere in those verses does he mention archeology or
Aristotelian logic. Whether Jesus rose from the dead on
Wednesday or Sunday has no bearing on whether or not we are
free from death. It does not affect the message of his parables or
nullify his miracles.
Does this mean that God did not inspire the gospels? Again,
this is the wrong view of inspiration. The Bible is infallible in doctrine
and moral teaching. But apparently, God wasn't very concerned
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with perfect history when was writing His Word. You can ask Him
why when you get to Heaven.
Does this mean that King David didn't live? That's not a
minor error. Every ancient historian had some errors. Livy, Plutarch,
and whoever else contradict each other sometimes. But we don't
discredit the whole of their works because of small things.
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anchor. Know Someone Who knows every bad thing they've done
but still loves them. Having the highest unknowable Being manifest
among us.
All these are true, yet we all describe it differently. That's
because Truth is a person. Christianity is not merely an abstract
philosophy--it is a relationship with a Being. You cannot describe
the Christian experience in a perfect paragraph because it is so
multifaceted. This is not so with Islam, Platonism, or Buddhism. And
thus we see again that Christ fulfills the deepest desires of the
human heart.
part of our debt. But we can never truly pay it back (hence the
contemporary Catholic doctrine of indulgences).
One of the hardest things to do is to allow God to forgive
you. To quit asking him to forgive you for the same sin over and
over because he has already conquered it. To no longer live in guilt
(different than regret) and despair.
I think often when we ask God to forgive us, we really just want him
to undo what we did wrong. We want to feel better, like a time
machine. But this is not what He's offering.
This is one of the reasons why the world rejects Christianity.
Buddhism and Islam are nice because you can have pride in all that
you've accomplished. Christianity, however, teaches that any good
thing you've done is purely a grace of God. God loves you despite
what you've done, not because of it. Self esteem can easily be
made into an idol.
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"I would tell him that I'm glad he's trying to take ownership of his
beliefs instead of relying on me. However, I would be disappointed
at his choice."
"But what if Buddhism felt best to him? Like if it was HIS best fit?"
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Perhaps your existing beliefs will change, but it will not be because
it feels best. If you tell a relativist that you believe others' beliefs are
wrong and perhaps even dangerous, they will be horrified and call
you ignorant. But really, it is they who are ignorant. Truth is a
blinding light, and like the sun, it is uncomfortable. Yet it sustains all
life. Some are afraid of the light and in cowardice hide in the
darkness. But the Light of Christ conquers all shadows. In the
words of St. Augustine, "On the Bible, and on it by itself, are all
proud and hard heads broken."
People believe in skepticism because it's uncomfortable to
believe in dogma. Our society places a high value on not being
judgmental. "Saint Francis" Schaefer says that what people in our
society desire is personal peace, that is, to not be bothered. I on
the other hand love dogma because it gives me an anchor. Dogma
brings stability in a society of chaos. Relativism is a short-sighted
belief that does not look even five seconds into the future.
This has also infested evangelical churches. Many think that
it doesn't really matter what you believe about salvation or
sacraments as long as you believe in Jesus's divinity and don't
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accept homosexuals. This is not the place to argue for the value of
ecclesiastical division. However, we can see that skepticism and its
children have affected American Christianity. If you try to correct
these people, they will tell you that you are being legalistic (that is,
close-minded and intolerant). Sound familiar? So whether in the
world or in the church, none of us are safe from the Demon of
Doubt.
Ad Hominem: This is Latin for "against the man". It's when you
ignore the argument and instead attack the arguer. This is
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Equivocation: This one is fun. It's when you use a word with two
different meanings as if they're the same. Example, comparing the
eastern religions' pantheism to the western monotheisms or
Hellenic paganism. Also, "The Catholics don't believe that Christ is
the rock of the Church or that every believer is a saint and a priest.
But the Bible clearly says otherwise."
So now you know the basics of fallacies. Soon you'll see these
used everywhere by everyone. Protect yourself, and you'll win more
arguments. But be warned: if you call someone out on a fallacy, it's
likely to anger him. The Gospel tends to be offensive like that.
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deficient, then yes, it is okay to kill it. And for that matter, man is
only a cog in the machine of society, an animal to be manipulated
and controlled in the worst sense of the words.
The Christian, though, has a higher view of man. Man is
more than chemicals. Man has the stamp of God. We have
opposable thumbs, a capacity for metaphysics, and the ability to
create art. A cat doesn't think, "What does it mean to be a cat? Are
my parents proud of me?" A cat does not have insecurity issues. He
does not have aspirations but only drives and instincts.
"But Augustine," you say, "animals can have personalities."
Shut up, idiot. That doesn't mean they can think deeply. "But Austin,
unborn children can't think deeply either." Even if that's true (and
who knows if they can), they still have the capacity to develop it.
Even retarded people could had it not been for their handicaps just
as a blind man has the capacity for sight.
So the problem is not that people are selfish or stupid or
under-educated or whatever. The problem is that people aren't
Bible-believing Christians. Ideas have legs.
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so that you will know how people ought to act in Gods household,
which is the Church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of
the Truth." [1 Timothy 3.15, HCSB] The Church is the pillar and
foundation of the Truth. You should not believe whatever you may
wish; you should believe in Christianity alone.
The American Dream says that you should accomplish
whatever you wish to do. Be who you want to be. Become a rock
star, an astronaut, or a teacher. Choose your path. Make your own
existence. Then and only then you will be happy. America is all
about choices. But the Bible says, "If anyone wants to come with
Me, he must deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow
Me." [Luke 9.23, HCSB] The only way to be happy is to deny
yourself and die (metaphorically speaking). Happiness comes
through not obtaining what you want, that is, through a lack of
choice.
America is founded on demonic principles designed to make
you forget God and be miserable. And if you look at society, it's
worked well. People have forgotten God, have pursued their
dreams, and are now generally miserable. Women have entered
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realize what Jesus meant all along. The others are just a few years
behind."
How silly of them! If my church, which does not accept active
homosexuality or ordain women, is wrong, then it should be
persecuted. My church would be oppressing the innocent, and so it
would be evil. It would also be teaching a false view of gender roles
and social order and thus be destructive to society.
The simple solution is to do what we've always done. If it's
not broken, don't fix it.
The problem with women's ordination is what it implies. First
off, it means that women have no value in the Church unless they
act as men have done. It also implies that the laity have no valuable
role at all. The Church that ordains women is the truly misogynist
and elitist Church.
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everything the person says, feels, and thinks. Being true art doesn't
mean being healthy art.
How should we then live? Should we cut the Beatles from
our lives? No, I think it's best with bands like the Beatles, the
Rolling Stones, and Nirvana to consciously and noetically
understand that they have bad messages and that one should not
be influenced. I believe that it is possible to glorify God in the
ingenuity of lyrics without taking part in the worldview of the lyrics,
although if some lyrics are especially amoral (gangsta rap for
example), then the Christian will naturally be repulsed.
The Conscience
What is the conscience? The little cricket on your shoulder
telling you right and wrong. When we do bad, we feel guilt. We call
this the conscience or maybe the Holy Spirit. Here's the thing,
though. Your conscience will lie to you. Sometimes you do the right
thing and feel bad. Sometimes it was a neutral thing. And
sometimes it was wrong but the kind of thing you can't apologize for
(e.g., telling somebody how you feel about them). Or often you do
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bad and don't feel any remorse even though intellectually you admit
that you are sorry.
Some people think that if you feel bad, that's the Holy Spirit
convicting you. Although the Spirit can act as a conscience, usually
He does not. Otherwise, non-Christians would have no conscience.
Some people, rooted in Calvinism, believe that all non-Christians
are fundamentally selfish and evil, and so from here comes the
belief that only Christians have a conscience. However, this is
simply false. Many of the kindest and most sincere people I have
met are non-Christians, and often the most cruel and shallow
people were leaders in a church.
What then is the conscience? It is an emotional feeling of
guilt that God gave us to help guide us, but like all emotions, it is
very fallible. Can we trust it at all? Yes, usually it is right. However, it
can also separate you from God's forgiveness. For we often ask
God's forgiveness for sin and then listen to the feelings of guilt. We
think God's forgiveness means that we won't feel guilty anymore.
So be careful when listening to your conscience. Guilt is one of the
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why the Romans chose Venus as their patron goddess when she
has such poor morals. A History major (how I loathe them!) said,
"Why did they choose the rapist Romulus?" I replied, "That's
history, not fiction." He got very angry at me until the professor
interrupted and said, "He's kidding." I was not. Knowing the
professor to be a devout Roman Catholic, I replied, "It happened at
the end of Joshua in the Bible." "Well..." he said, "this story is
common in the ancient world." The reality is, my colleague can no
more prove or provide evidence against the historical event of
Romulus raping the Sabines than I can for it. Innocent until proven
guilty I always say.
Heinrich Schliemann too felt this discrimination. He was the
person who discovered Troy in the 1870s using the Iliad's
geographical descriptions as a map. Previously, the whole Classics
community scoffed saying there was no historical place as Troy. We
now know that there were nine civilizations built at that site.
If you want to be a sheep and take science on faith, then go
ahead with the current scientific community and believe that God
created evolution. But by that same rationale, you must also believe
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first one is too easy. After all, it takes all of your will to give up your
will.
How exactly do you do that? Psh! I don't know. Ask me in ten
years.
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Kantian Ethics
I met a philosophy major the other day who is Coptic
Orthodox. He told me that clearly Christianity follows Kantian
ethics. I was shocked. Kantianism is only a caricature of
Christianity. It states that one should follow morals regardless of
consequences; all that matters is to keep your hands clean. It
seeks to create the morals of Christianity without the underlying
source.
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New Mythology
The Greek word "mythos" means "story". The Latin
equivalent is "fabula", from where we get "fable" and "fabulous".
"MYTH" DOES NOT MEAN FALSEHOOD. People from all nations
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have written myths about the world. Some are supernatural and
others are fairly plausible. Christianity has its own myths that
inspire us toward better morals and a better understanding of us as
humans and also of the divine.
Obviously, the Bible has stories about Eden and the
crucifixion, but the myths are more than just supernatural. King
David and Bathsheba is a myth that has inspired art for centuries.
It's a story that we can relate to: an upright man slowly drifts into a
grave sin and then unravels everything as he tries to fix it. His sin
afflicts him until his death. We all know somebody like this.
Does it matter if the myths are literally true or not?
Sometimes, yes. What the standard to determine that is a bit out of
my pay grade. Christ's resurrection and Mary's virginity are both
allegorical and literal. Eden and Noah's ark may not be (although I
think they are). For stories like Eden, if you can't appreciate it
allegorically at the bare minimum, then you can't appreciate the
resurrection story either. So all Biblical myths are at least
allegorically of the utmost importance, and many are irrevocably
literal as well.
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But our mythology goes beyond just the Bible. What about
stories like St. George slaying the dragon? St. Eustace? Does it
really matter if that didn't happen? It's a grand story anyway, so why
would you want to scoff at it for being "merely a story"? Or the myth
about St. Columba repelling the Loch Ness monster? I like to
pretend that they're true. I see no reason to do otherwise.
Some stories, though, I think it is important to take as fact.
Some saints would be maimed for preaching the gospel or their
relics would be desecrated. Yet they would miraculously return to
their original state. Although all of these may not be true, I think it's
important to recognize them as truth because it shows that God will
not allow the gospel to be hindered.
NOTE: I thought St. Maximos the Confessor was one of
those whose limbs grew back, but I think I was confusing him with
someone else. Right now I can't think of anyone specific.
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5. People try to create a new truth to replace the void. E.g. Seneca,
John Stuart Mill, B.F. Skinner, the communist block.
6. People realize that the earth and human reason cannot provide
satisfaction (Jeremiah 2.13), and then the Church flourishes. E.g.
Russia, China, Orthodoxy in the diaspora.
Right now in America, we are in phases four and five. This
was also the exact phase at which Christ came. Odd how that
works out. So do not fear that society is turning its back on God, for
in a few years, it will turn to Him again. However, there is a catch:
this future Christianity will look nothing like Focus on the Family
would want it to.
The Romans produced almost no philosophy. Most of their
great literature was mere entertainment. Then some writers started
criticizing society to bring it back, but it only sunk deeper. The last
few centuries of Rome have almost no writers at all. The Roman
world quit trying and lived for luxury and sensuality alone. "Bread
and Circuses" as Juvenal writes.
High Athenian literature, several centuries earlier, by contrast
is very different. There is no anti-society literature. Their
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darkness of the world. All of that being said, I can hardly blame
people for living in wanton sexual pleasure. Society has gradually
removed all and any concept of absolute truth or social contract.
Without any kind of root to ground yourself in and without any kind
of even secular culture and values to find pride in, why not live in
whatever simple pleasure we may find? Why should one value
virginity when there is nothing, whether secular or religious, to
believe in?
I don't judge American society for its perversion. You and I
would be the same way should everything around us say, "Just
believe in yourself." And truly, if there is no God, and if there is no
sense of social shame or corporeality, why not fornicate with a girl
you met at a party who is too drunk to realize what she's doing?
There's an excellent episode of South Park (season 16,
episode 9) about how society has lost its sense of shame.
Specifically, it mentions two things: fat people in motor scooters in
Wal-Mart and the tv show Honey Boo Boo. The bar of self-respect
and pride [there are many many forms of pride, and some are good
like manners and consideration for strangers around you] has sunk
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Gibson's movie. There's a very brief scene of Christ risen, but most
of it was a Jew being beaten to death for two hours. Gibson's movie
treats the resurrection as an afterthought.
Often this is how we see Christ-- he died for our sins, and
the resurrection isn't really important. There's no need for a lifechange if we are still under sin and death. The reason we are
horrified by the Connecticut shootings is because we either don't
believe that evil exists or because we don't think that Christ has
conquered death. Even though we nominally believe that Christ
rose from the dead, we often live as though we are still under the
old covenant-- fearing death, concerned only about the earthly life,
and waiting for God to do something about our problems. And
really, if we are under the old covenant, that's how we should live.
Personally, I tend to take credit for my virtues as a natural
evolution or as a personal achievement. I try to convince myself
that Christ isn't really a part of my pursuit of strength. This too is a
denial of the resurrection.
But this is not merely implicit; it is explicit as well. Throughout
our society, from infancy to old age, we do everything to avoid
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Mormon Missionaries
Some people say we should imitate Mormons in how they
convert people. This makes me so angry. The speaker says that we
should imitate the Mormons in their missionary efforts. No, I'm not
going to take missionary lessons from non-Christians because...
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Kohlberg
Psychologist Lawrence Kohlberg formulated a six-stage level
of moral development that has become a very influential way of
measuring one's moral judgment.
Level 1 (Pre-Conventional)
2. Self-interest orientation
(What's in it for me?)
(Paying for a benefit)
Level 2 (Conventional)
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Level 3 (Post-Conventional)
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The problem with level six is that there has to be a why. Why
should I make a difficult ethics choice that has no benefit to me? If
ethics only exist to better society or oneself, then six cannot be
attained. If there is no higher authority, then a naturalist would have
no reason to care about six. Level six, if it exists at all (I do not
know whether it can or not), must come from religion or something
similar, and one could argue that only Christianity can provide a
true concept of level six.
Do you see a pattern in my writing? Christianity is a higher
philosophy than other religions and philosophies. It has an
appreciative view of individuals, a more natural and stable view of
gender roles, a sanctifying view of the environment (although this
can vary widely between sects), abstract moral principles, and a
defiance of death. It teaches that man can achieve great things but
that he must have humility. Christianity simply is just better than
other beliefs.
NOTE: One could argue that Gilligan's objection to Kohlberg
further supports traditional gender roles. Feminism has a way of
falling in on itself.
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Christmas
Our society has a fixation upon balance. Everything is a twopart system, and we want to find a middle ground. A great example
of this is Christmas. There is the secular and the sacred, and they
should be mixed well and not trample upon each other.
Noooooooooooooo! You cannot criticize the madness of
Black Friday and then bribe your family and friends with presents.
You cannot teach your kids that the incarnation literally happened
and then lie to them about the Santa Clause myth. You cannot
teach your children to cherish songs about the Nativity and then
teach them the pagan sorcery of Frosty the snowman. You cannot
mix darkness and light. We are not the same as the world.
The Christmas tree is innately religious. For it is ever-green.
That is, even when everything outside is lifeless, the pine tree is as
alive as it is in the summer. So too is Christ and his Truth alive and
active even when all else is decaying. We should keep the "mass"
in "Christ-mas".
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isn't a fear that he'll harm you but a kind of reverence and
awareness at his power and presence. This presence, although
intangible, is like knowing an actual person. Describing such an
awareness is like describing a color you've never seen.
Wise: We have doubts because we choose to have doubts.
God, however, is willing to direct our lives to match his wisdom. The
beauty in Christ is that when things seem unsure and dark, you
know that if you keep trusting him, it'll turn out well in the end. But
often his plan is difficult and requires sacrifice, and he doesn't force
anyone to follow it. Belief is a choice; that is why you cannot argue
someone into faith (as I continue to learn).
All-Knowing: The purpose of prayer is not to let him know we
exist. The purpose of prayer is to build a unity with God. Christianity
is about a relationship with God. Often he's waiting for you to ask in
order to give it, but he already knows.
Everywhere: The purpose of the church building is to make a
place specifically dedicated to worshipping him. People can gather
together to worship and learn collectively. Like any organization,
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connected with each other better and understood the earth or some
crap.
While all that is somewhat true, it is greatly exaggerated.
Aborigine peoples can be very merciless toward each other.
Sometimes there is more treachery, deceit, and murder than in
American-European society. Western society with our notions of
social contract has developed a system of ethics and mores even if
there can be a wide variety between individuals.
There is also a lot of superstition. Nobody in our society
wants to believe that you can tell the future by reading a bird's liver,
and instead of seeing a shaman, we see a medical doctor.
If you want to be a noble savage, go live in the poor sections
of towns. There are tribes carving out their existence amidst the
anarchy. There is also no concept of property since thugs have no
reservations about petty theft. Folk art and folk medicine abound
too, and I'm referring to more than just recreational drug use. Our
American society has its own aborigine savages, but they are
anything but noble.
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Answer:
That's a fair objection. Perhaps there's not a complete
answer, but I think I can answer it well.
All sin is is things out of the correct order; it is perverted
goodness. Did God create masturbation or cocaine or brain
cancer? Maybe or maybe not, but he certainly created the capacity
for them.
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this way. How do you know that you shouldn't touch a hot oven? I
myself knew not to long before I actually did it. Through observation
of the world around us (and perhaps within us), we know not to
touch a stove, and we can see that sexuality out of order can be
addicting and destructive.
Fourthly, there is the concept of faith. We don't have the right
to know everything nor do we have the ability. Modern man likes to
think he can be his own god, but there are many phenomena
science cannot explain yet. Why does God allow suffering to
innocent people? There are simple answers about the fallen state
of man and such, but there is really no one good answer. If you
read the Old Testament, God often exacts judgements that seem
very unfair to us. Consider 2 Samuel 24. Or in the Gospels, Jesus
says some strange things (Matthew 8). God is God, and we can't
understand his reasoning behind things.
So I'm not sure how well this helps, but I think it may shed
some light. What do you think? And no, I don't expect you to
convert today. But just mull on it for a while if you think it may make
sense.
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Christ said, "I do not call you slaves but friends." Islam and
Christianity are mutually exclusive because we have two different
views of how God acts toward people.
This "morality for reward" is basically pagan pax deorum. It
also ranks on stage one or two (it seems that a distinction is not
made in Islam) in Kohlberg's theory.
Page 17: We are now in the five pillars of Islam. Of course,
Adly does not state from which surah or sunnah these principles
are listed, but we will forgive that as a minor transgression. On this
page, Adly is talking about how they worship facing the Ka'bah. He
says, "One must remember that Islam does not have any sacred
relics or symbols for worship...To put it plainly, the building materials
that make up this house are no more sacred than any other building
materials."
This sarcastically warms my heart. If no matter is sacred in
Islam, then we can destroy the Dome of the Rock and rebuild the
Hebrew Temple. Hell, we can also draw pictures of Muhammad
since his face was not sacred either. Finally that banned episode of
South Park can be aired.
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course, this does not mean that we are to wholesale reject the
works because of such contradictions.
Page 20-21: Adly states that the greatest miracle is the
Koran. "God challenges all who doubt the authenticity of the Qur'an
to produce a single chapter similar to a chapter of the Qur'an...This
has never been done...One of the Qur'an's miracles is that it is the
pinnacle of literary excellence. It is the most eloquent Arabic
prose..."
Here Adly just gets stupid. To be fair, I don't know Arabic. But
one of the first things I noticed when reading the Koran was how
similar it sounded to the Psalms. Most of the verses you could take
out of context and they would sound completely Christian.
No book is completely original. Everything has influences,
even if they are only stylistic. So the Koran, literarily at least, was
imitating books before it just as the Psalms are relying upon the
conventions of Semitic poetry.
Also, there is no system of measurement to determine what
is the best work. Perhaps I think the Christian Arabic poetry is the
greatest work of world literature. Who is to determine that the Koran
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is better than other Arabic writing? This is at best circular logic and
at worst a non sequitur.
A religion scholar may tell you that music has not been
central to Islam. I cannot attest to this personally, but it is probably
true. Consider also the lack of paintings in Islam. Islam is not a
religion of art or allegory. Christianity, however, realizes that mythoi
are central to the human soul.
Page 24: "Islam rejects the notion that Satan went to war
with God...he is merely a creature, absolutely dependent upon God
for his very existence."
Christianity also rejects dualism. Satan's war is futile. He
does not fight in hope of winning but only out of spite and sadism.
Page 24: "Satan and his hosts...seek[ing] to misguide
humanity -- his avowed enemy, into evil and idolatry, away from
monotheism, righteousness, and the path of God."
If that is so, how come the Jews are still very monotheistic?
And there are also atheistic religions like some forms of Buddhism.
Although to be fair, atheism probably did not exist in that part of the
world, so Muhammad could not have written against it. Also, many
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that is, they have not respected women or shown the semi-pacifism
explained in this book. Most of what Adly says here isn't worth
repeating.
Islam produced Arab culture. Therefore, Arab culture should
reflect Islamic morality. Our society, loosely based on Christianity
and British Empiricism, still holds Christian and Lockian values
even if distorted over time.
Anthropology in the philosophical sense means one's view of
humanity. According to Adly, Islamic Anthropology teaches to
respect women, protect religious freedom, and do not kill unless
absolutely necessary. However we do not see this in Muslim
countries. By comparison, even in corrupt Medieval Catholic
Europe, usury was still forbidden and religious orders were founded
to take care of the poor and sick.
During the first few centuries of Christianity, Christians died
peacefully as martyrs. During the first few centuries of Islam, they
tried to conquer the world.
Adly says that there can be a just war but no "holy war".
(page 35) This seems to be a contradiction of terms. For example, if
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some time thereafter. You can find out more about him at http://
www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=925.
Page 40: "The Qur'an has many amazing scientific
references tat, with the help f today's modern technological
advancements, are just recently becoming fully understood."
No citation. Surely if the Koran provided such scientific
advances, it would be a great proof of its truth. Most of what he
says about how Islam views women also is not citated.
End of Book: He talks about how "fundamentalism" means
"literal", which is etymologically false. He says that anti-Islamic
feelings are recent.
They are recent because Europe had colonized much of
Muslim lands until the 20th century. They also had dictators who
provided stability, whereas now they have democracies that provide
anarchy and chaos. WMDs are a new invention that is difficult to
produce, and many of them were given to the terrorists by America.
Airplanes are fairly new, especially in such an underdeveloped part
of the world, so it would have previously been hard to hijack one.
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Page 43: Adly says that people in that part of the world are
under great oppression and compares it to a pressure cooker. He
says, "Thus we are seeing more and more of them willing to take
extreme measures, willing to react in violent ways, even to kill
themselves, in order to deliver a militant or political act of defiance."
He has now reached full conceit. Does he actually think
anyone will be to sympathize with suicide bombers? He just lost
every convert he had gained.
Furthermore, it would be one thing if the bombers were
trying to kill the leaders oppressing them. However, these people
are often trying to kill us. True, we haven't always treated them well.
But we haven't put pressure on them that causes the kind of
poverty, oppression, and injustice he claims. Adly never explains or
even states that they are trying to kill Americans. Instead, he hopes
you won't notice it.
Page 44: Adly says that man has "extreme insignificance"
compared to the over 120 billion galaxies.
Here is the largest difference with Christianity. Man is
significant because God gives him significance. "For God so loved
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the world that He gave His only-begotten Son so that whoever may
believe in Him will not perish but have eternal life."
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your wife whatever you want, however you want, and whenever you
want is both physically and mentally unhealthy as 1 Corinthians 7.5
says"Stop depriving one another, except by agreement for a time,
so that you may devote yourselves to prayer, and come together
again so that Satan will not tempt you because of your lack of selfcontrol." When we deny ourselves things that are good for the mere
sake of denial, we are reminded that in the Christian life, we do not
get everything we want. Our ego comes second to God. By denying
ourselves to ourselves, we can then deny ourselves to God and to
others.
Almsgiving is closely connected to fasting. In almsgiving, we
are denying ourselves to others based on the humility and heavenfocus we learned through prayer and fasting. When we give to
others, we are reminded, again, that in the Christian life we do not
get everything we want. We are reminded that the soul is eternal
and so individual people are important. What we do to the least of
these, we also do to Christ. So almsgiving is really a form of
worship. If you cannot help the needy in a way that is both
sacrificial and humble, then you cannot love God but God demands
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sacrifice and humility. John 14.15 "If you love me, you will keep my
commandments."
You see now the difficulty of Christianity. It is more complex
than merely loving God and others, as if love is only an attitude or
feeling and not an action. It is much more complex than "just
trusting Jesus and letting him do the rest" as many churches today
claim. This is not something done within a finite moment but a
constant choice of lifestyle. But if you truly love God and
understand what He is offering you, then you will see people as He
sees them. A love of God yields prayer, fasting, and almsgiving as
well as an avoidance of sin. God wants you to have these virtues,
both the positive and negative commands. If you want to want them
so that you can know God better, then He will give you them.
Sometimes we will do these things reluctantly but choose them
because we know that ultimately it is in our best interest; that is
okay, for it takes time for God to make we more like Him. In time,
we will do these things with a greater excitement than a person can
feel for anything else.
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A Relational God
It is often said that the difference between Christianity and
every other religion is that in other religions, we are trying to reach
God, but in Christianity, God came to us. This is somewhat true but
not as much as some people think. There is nothing we can do to
reach God. God has to come to us and then offer us a way to him.
Perhaps one could say that Allah offers a way for man to reach him.
There is also the pax deorum (peace of the gods) of pagan Rome-please the gods and they will please you. One could argue that all
these requires works, but Christianity does too (James 2.24, Psalm
51.17). Faith, after all, is a work. That being said, I do not believe
that we must earn our way to God as if he promises something if
we complete a checklist.
No, the main difference between Christianity and every other
religion is that our god is a relational god. Islam dogmatically
believes that God is unknowable. The belief that God would
become a human and dwell in the womb of a woman is
inconceivable. The pagans, ancient and modern, pray to gods but
do not believe they can know them. Only the god of the Bible is
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acts in love. Love seeks the best for others. Therefore, God always
seeks the best for us.
In ancient Israel, they were constantly making idols not to
replace God but to supplement Him "just in case". The word idol is
from the Greek eidos meaning image. To worship a false idol is to
worship a false image, for God who has revealed Himself is the
only true image and the only true reality.
Today, many Christians believe in reincarnation, astrology,
materialism, secularism, eudaimonia, or evolution "just in case".
They aren't satisfied with the Bible alone. They want something
beyond that which God has revealed, and they'll accept a false truth
instead of what they perceive to be a deficient truth.
Depravity as Humor
I love the movie Bad Santa. Maybe it's because I hate
Christmas, or maybe it's because I come from a broken family. At
any rate, it's odd that we like movies about depravity. It's funny to
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Personally, I made all the resolution I need when I gave/amcurrently-giving my life to Christ. I don't need a holiday to feel like a
I have worth because Jesus already does that for me, and I don't
need a holiday to tell me to live better because Jesus, again,
already does that for me. New Year's resolutions are a product of a
godless and humanist society, and you would do well to not waste
your time, energy, and money with them. In fact, one could argue
that they are a form of idolatry.
A Lack of Direction
If you waited until marriage to have sex, you may have felt
awkward in high school. Yet come college, and suddenly everyone
respects you for it. Likewise, as you may have guessed, I plan on
joining a monastery eventually (I'm still in the parish). I've found a
lot of my secularist friends to be envious and admiring because I
"know my direction".
Here is where the rejection of Christianity has led society.
Jealous of a life-long virgin who plans to die poor and lonely. Why
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jealous? Because he, that is, I, have a plan and a purpose, and our
society is a society without plans and without purposes. Morals are
opinions and purposes are careers. Nobody believes in anything
anymore, and they so envy those of us who truly do.
Peace
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language it was in, and they did not know the etiquette. Yet
nevertheless, it has grown tremendously. The common people have
seen that there is no earthly heaven. When society fails to deliver
all that it has promised, people focus on heaven and forget about
the earth.
The fires of persecution have purified and strengthened
Russian Christianity. Likewise, Christianity is growing in China and
throughout Asia. Communism has done more to propagate the
gospel than we could ever have imagined. So, as St. Peter says at
the beginning of his first letter, "In this you rejoice, though now for a
little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so
that the tested genuineness of your faithmore precious than gold
that perishes though it is tested by firemay be found to result in
praise and glory and honour at the revelation of Jesus
Christ" (ESVUK).
Perhaps the Russian government is only supporting the
Church out of ethnic pride. Perhaps it's seeking to building stability
through conformity. Maybe it thinks, probably rightly, that if the
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Selling Value
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Lady Gaga claims that at her concerts and in her music, kids
can feel comfortable and safe as homosexuals. It's a world where
freaks are normal and normal people are freaks. This sounds nice,
but what's glaringly obvious is that it costs money to enter her
world.
This is a common theme in our society. X product is where a
kid can be a kid or is where women belong or is the drink of men.
Pay our price, and you can have value and acceptance.
I have a better solution. Christ paid a price so that we be
valued and accepted by him. This is a value that goes beyond any
other value and satisfies all the value we try to find in everything
else, as Donald Miller tells us (his book Searching for God Knows
What is probably the best explanation of the gospel I've ever read).
Hence why people are willing to die as martyrs. Why men and
women take vows of virginity. Why people grow apathetic toward
the news and peaceful toward the turmoil in the world. We don't
need to care about the matters of the world because we understand
that being concerned about politics, pop culture, or money will not
bring us satisfaction.
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I think this is what St. John meant by that the world loves darkness
and could not understand the light. St. Paul's statement "there is no
condemnation for those who are in Christ" is offensive for the
person comfortable in sin. Yet we are "to live in the world but not be
of the world". We are to find out identity as human beings in being
perfect, for Christ said "you will be perfect as I am perfect". We, the
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Eudaimonia
What is eudaimonia? Sometimes spelled eudemony, it is
Greek for "good-spiritedness". Well-being. Human flourishing. The
good life. It is an ethical theory not about right choice but about
right character.
In some sense, everybody is a eudaimonist. However, there
are different kinds. Aristotle, its founder, saw it as the individual
attaining virtue and stability. He writes about different sects of
society and what makes a person happy. This, I believe, is
Christian.
Horace, writing at the beginning of the Roman Empire, writes
about how we should be apathetic about other humans and instead
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Related to that, people today view the good life as traveling and
experiencing as much as they can. I have a friend who believes in
reincarnation solely because there's just too much to see.
The ancient Stoics, a bit after Horace, were trying to recover
early Roman morals. They viewed society as a machine where
everybody has a set function and everything should be seen as it
really is. Marcus Aurelius once says that we should think of sex as
merely rubbing because that's what it is. This is the polar opposite
of Horatian ethics.
Somewhere in between the two is Christianity: to not focus
on the temporal but on the eternal. We should care about society
when it comes to flourishing human souls, but we should not place
our hope in the government to fix our problems.
Ethical Egoism
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George Orwell, "On the whole people want to be good, but not too
good, and not quite all the time."
If p, then q.
q is false.
Therefore, p must also be false.
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8 If
she is
10 If
he takes to himself
another woman, he may not reduce her food, her clothing, or her
conjugal rights.
11 If
21 If,
27 And
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Levitcus 19 (NASB):
20 Now
woman who is a slave acquired for another man, but who has in no
way been redeemed nor given her freedom, there shall be
punishment; they shall not, however, be put to death, because she
was not free.
Levitcus 25 (NASB):
45 Then,
sojourners who live as aliens among you that you may gain
acquisition, and out of their families who are with you, whom they
will have produced in your land; they also may become your
possession. 46You may even bequeath them to your sons after you,
to receive as a possession; you can use them as permanent
slaves. But in respect to your countrymen, the sons of Israel, you
shall not rule with severity over one another.
Ecclesiasticus 7 (NJB): 20 Do not ill-treat a slave who is an
honest worker, or a wage-earner who is devoted to you. 21 Love an
intelligent slave with all your heart, and do not deny such a slave
his freedom.
Ecclesiasticus 34 (NJB): 25 Fodder, the stick and burdens
for a donkey, bread, discipline and work for a slave. 26 Work your
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slave hard, and you will have peace of mind, leave his hands idle,
and he will be asking for his freedom. 27 Yoke and harness will bow
the neck, for a bad servant, torments and the rack. 28 Set him to
work, so that he will not be idle; idleness teaches every kind of
mischie
1 Timothy 6:1-2 (AMT (my translation!)): As many as are
slaves under a yoke, they may be consider their own masters
worthy of all honor, so that the name of God and the teaching may
not be scandalized. And those holding believing masters should not
think little of them, but because they are brothers, rather they
should serve them better so that they are believers and beloved
who take the benefit. These things teach and exhort.
Disney Magic
I love Disney. It provides the commodity of wonder that is so
rare in our society, even if it is manufactured wonder. Yes, there are
a lot of bad morals in it, but I view it like opera: you don't take your
children to opera.
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the judgement: the Light came into the world, and men loved the
darkness more than the light."
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to how un-boring it will be. On the other hand, people who spend
their lives feeding orphans or something feel a great sense of
purpose and hope to do this purpose as long as they live.
God is infinitely interesting. Heaven is a place
completely focused on God. Therefore Heaven will be infinitely
interesting.
On earth, we do things. We make actions. Heaven exists
outside of time, and we don't really know what it will be like.
Therefore we cannot compare it to earthly life.
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implications. The first is that unless you are of God, that is, unless
you are a Christian, you are not a good person. You are a bad
person. If you are a Christian, the only reason you are good is
because you are of Christ.
Another implication is that evil is a non-reality. God is all of
reality, and everything that exists is from him. Therefore, evil is the
lack of reality, for it is the lack of God. If God is goodness, and evil
is the opposite of goodness, thenevil does not exist.
This is why so many people across history have clung to
Christ. It seems like a strange obsession: monks and nuns enjoy
spending hours a day singing to God. Even the casual layman is
known to do radical things: reading the Bible for hours a day, living
selflessly, and perhaps even dying as a martyr. This is because
Christ is all of reality. When you are of Christ, you feel more real
and are more human than ever. Therefore, this strange passion for
Christ, which seems like foolishness to the world, is really what will
make us feel more satisfied than anything else. Merely chanting
ancient poetry and living selflessly seems boring and empty, and it
is if there is no deeper meaning behind it. If there was no God,
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Cafeteria Morality
A lot of people have a high school crush on Christian
morality. They are fascinated with it, but they don't want to commit.
Saving sex for marriage is probably good. Don't do drugs. Be nice
to old people. Love your enemies and forgive your friends.
But these people want morality on their own terms. We can
be inspired by some of Jesus's teachings, but we mostly only do
them when it's convenient. Often we are judgmental with stories like
the rich young ruler, but most of us would do the same thing as the
ruler did.
You cannot take the good Jesus said and leave out the bad.
These are not arbitrary suggestions. Jesus also told a man not to
attend his father's funeral because that's focusing on the world.
Sometimes Jesus wasn't nice to people, especially his disciples.
Very disturbing is the way he talks to Nicodemus (John 3) who was
honestly and humbly inquiring. Notice that Jesus never gave the
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What is Science?
Is religion opposed to science? Only if the science is false.
The word science is from the Latin scientia, meaning knowledge.
Anything that is false is not knowledge. The Christian, and for that
matter, the human, must pursue Truth and oppress Falsehood.
Therefore, Christianity is in pursuit of science, and atheism and
secularism is anti-science.
Here in America, the word commonly refers to the natural
sciences, but in Europe, they still use it in the broad sense to refer
to all academia. In ancient Greece, everything we think of as
science was considered philosophy. To the ancients, metaphysics
and ethics were not subjective arts but factual science. It included
mathematics, biology, and cosmology.
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says she broke up with a guy because he had never had any
dreams.
Do find it odd how much society values aspiration? We place
a value on desiring things. Aspiration is not a bad thing per se. But
we view it as a high virtue.
In elementary school, they asked us what we wanted to be
when we grew up. This is a common theme among children's
education.
The problem with this is that not all dreams can come true.
Most people will grow up to get a job they at best tolerate. You will
not become a rock star or a ballerina.
It's not bad to want a certain career. However, your
aspirations should chiefly be on Christ. Aspire to be a great spouse.
Aspire to increase your prayer and fasting. Aspire to help your
church more.
The focus of your life should not to achieve a great career or
income level. Even having a stable family can be an idol. Your
focus should be on sanctification, for Christ said, "Seek first the
Kingdom of Heaven, and all these things will be added." If you care
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merely to collect what was due to him. This would not be love. For if
someone merely pays off the debts of someone else without any
further rehabilitation, the person will only sink further into debt, even
if the first person continues to pay it off in the future.
Perhaps the gospel should read like this: "Man sinned and
was wounded by death. So God came and conquered death." Have
you ever wondered why Jesus died such a terrible death? If he was
merely paying off debts, he could have died peacefully in his bed or
quickly in a public hanging. Jesus died on the cross by crucifixion
because it was the most painful death of the time, and to rise from it
was to prove his strength. If a wrestler wants to prove that he is the
greatest wrestler around, he does not fight the easiest wrestler.
Instead, he seeks out the most dangerous wrestler available so that
he may prove that he is the strongest. Likewise, Jesus wanted to
prove he had all mastery of death so as to bring himself glory. If he
had only died, death would have conquered him. So it was
necessary to our salvation that he rose from the dead.
You may ask, "But we still die!" This is true, but death is not
the end. The goal of the gospel is sanctification. Without Christ's
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fit about that, so instead we say that the Romans killed Jesus. What
the fudge?! I don't think Jesus was concerned about abridging truth
so as not to offend people. The reality is that the Romans didn't
care whether or not Jesus died; it was the Jews who asked the
Romans to do the killing. Are we going to just cut the Jews out of
the New Testament? If we can't say that the Jews killed Jesus, what
next will we cut out? Let's ordain women and stop evangelizing to
Muslims while we're at it.
Personally, I will not apologize for the gospel. I will not be
afraid to be called racist or narrow-minded. The Jews killed Jesus,
and if that lowers their self-esteem, then I guess they'll have less
pride, ignorance, and personal peace.
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Romans
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favor to you and peace from God our father and from the Lord
Jesus the anointed.
First I thank my God through Jesus the Christ concerning the
whole of you because your faith is announced in all the world. For
my God is a witness, in whom I am hired in my breath in the good
news of his son, as unceasingly I make memory of you always in
my prayers for how if I will ever make a good journey in God's will
to come to you. For I yearn to see you so that I may give some
share of spiritual grace to you so that you may be strengthened,
and this is to be comforted in the faith of others, both yours and
mine. And I do not wish to be in ignorance of you all, brothers, so
that often I planned to come to you, and was prohibited even until
now, so that I may have some fruit both with you and with the other
nations. I am a debtor to both the Greeks and the barbarians, to
both the educated and the simple. Thus [it is proper] for me, who is
eager for you in Rome, to proclaim the good news.
For I am not ashamed of the good news, for it is the power of
God into salvation for all who are believing, both the Jews first and
also the Greeks.
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For the anger of God has been uncovered from heaven upon all
irreverence and unrighteousness of men who hold the truth in
unrighteousness because the knowledge of God is shown among
them. For God showed them. For his invisible things are seen and
known from the foundation of the word in the things created, both
his eternal power and divinity, so that they are without defense,
because when they knew God, they did not give him belief and
grace as God but were made nothing through their arguments, and
their foolish hearts were made dark. Claiming to be wise, they
became stupid and changed the doctrine of the incorruptible God
into the likeness of the images of a corruptible man and birds and
beasts and lizards.
Therefore God gave them over in the desires of their hearts into
uncleanliness of the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves.
Whosoever changed the truth of God into a lie and were afraid and
served for payment the foundation instead of the founder, who is
blessed into the ages, amen.
Through this God handed them over into dishonorable passion,
for also the wills of them changed the natural acquaintance into the
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that you will flee the judgment of God? Or do you not think of the
wealth of His goodness and of His self-restraint and of His goodwill,
not knowing that the goodness of God leads you into the change of
mind? According to your austerity and immollifiable heart, you
treasure anger for yourself in the day of anger and of revelation of
the righteous judgment of God who returns to each according to his
work. On one hand, according to the endurance of the good work,
they seek the belief and the honor and the incorruption, that is, the
unending life. And on the other, those who out of contention also do
not obey the truth but instead unrighteousness, anger and collapse
[will come to them]. Tribulation and anguish are upon the whole
soul of a man who works the evil, of the Jew first and also the
Greek. But glory, honor, and peace are upon all who work the good,
to the Jew first and also the Greek. For there is not respect of
persons alongside God.
For all those who sinned are without law, and without the law
they also will perish. And whoever sinned in the law, through the
law will be judged. For they are not hearers of the law who are just
alongside God, but those who do the law will be made righteous.
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For when the nations who did not have the law by nature did the
law, these not holding the law are a law to themselves. Those who
display the work of the law which is written in their hearts, their
witness of a conscience between other reasonings which either
defend themselves or accuse [others], in the day when God will
judge the hidden things of men against my gospel of Jesus the
anointed.
And if you who are called a Jew and rest upon the law and speak
loudly in God and know the will and, having been taught, examine
the things carried over out of the law, [then] you consider yourself to
be a guide of the blind, the light of those in darkness, a teacher of
the foolish and young, holding the form of knowledge and truth in
mind. And therefore, who teaches another [person], do you not
teach yourself? Who proclaims [that one should] not steal, do you
not steal? Who says [that one should] not fornicate, do you
fornicate? Who hates idols, do you plunder temples? Who boasts
by means of law, you dishonor God through the deviation from the
law. For it is written, the name of God is slandered through you
among the nations.
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liable to God for legal trial. Because out of the works of the law all
flesh is not made righteous with their face to face, for through the
law [there is] knowledge of sin.
And now without the law the righteousness of God has appeared
as a witness by the law and by the prophets, and the righteousness
of God through faith in Jesus Christ in all those who are holding
faith. For there is no difference: for all sinned and are lacking of the
belief of God, making righteous a gift by His favor through the
ransom of Jesus Christ Whom God set before the mercy seat
through the faith in His blood into the exposition of His
righteousness through the dismissal of the pre-existing sin in the
delaying of God at the exposition of His righteousness at the right
time into that to be the righteousness itself and that making
righteous out of the faith of Jesus.
Where then is the boasting? It is excluded. Through some kind of
law? Or of works? Not but through the law of faith. We argue
therefore to make mankind righteous by faith without works of law.
Or did God [save] the Jews alone? Or also all nations? Yes also the
nations, even if God is one who will make righteous the
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according to what is said, thus the seed of you will be, and he did
not weaken in faith [because] he did not consider his body to be
dead, when he was 100 years old, nor [did he consider] the
deadness of Sarah. And he was not set apart into the promise of
God for unbelief but was strengthened in faith, giving consent to
God, and being satisfied that that who promised is also strong
[enough] to do it. Because of this it was considered to him as
righteousness.
And it is not written through him alone that it is considered to him
but also through us, to whom it will be considered, we who believe
upon the awakening of our Lord Jesus out of the dead, Jesus who
was handed over through our falling and awoke through his
righteousness.
Having been made righteous by faith, we have peace toward
God through our Lord Jesus Christ through whom also the we have
access by faith in the grace in which we stand and boast upon the
hope of the glory of God. And not only that but also we boast in
afflictions, knowing that the affliction works endurance, and the
endurance [works] proven morality, and proven morality [works]
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hope. And the hope does not dishonor because the love of God has
poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit which is given to
us.
For yet Christ, while we were weak, died according to the right
time for the impious. For by righteousness one has died utterly. For
a good [man], perhaps also one would endure to die. And God
bring together his love onto us so that Christ died for our sins. Thus
instead now having been made very righteous in his blood, we are
saved through him away from his anger. For if we are reconciled
while being enemies to God through the death of his son, rather by
much we are saved having been reconciled in his life. And not only
that, but also we are proclaiming loudly in God through our Lord
Jesus Christ through whom now we take reconciliation.
Because of this, just as through one man the sin, and the death
through that sin, came into the world and thus into all mankind the
death came through, upon whom all sinned. For the sin was utterly
of the law in the world, and the sin did not impute of being law, but
death ruled from Adam to Moses and upon the sinners who did not
sin in the same way as Adam who is a type of the future.
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And the grace is not like the falling. For if in the falling of one,
many died, rather in many the grace of God and the gift in grace in
that of one man Jesus Christ overflows into many. And the gift is not
as through one sinner. For the judgment out of one [sin brought]
into great judgment, just like the grace for the many of the fallen
[brought them] into the righteousness. For if in the falling of one,
death reigned through the one, rather for the many who accept the
abundance of the favor and of the gift of righteousness, rule in life
through the one Jesus Christ.
Thus as through one who fell did all men [come] into great
judgment, thus also through one righteous man did all mankind
[come] into righteousness of life. For just as through the
disobedience of the one man did the many [become] sinners, thus
also through the obedience of the one did the many [become]
righteous. And the law came so that the falling would increase, of
which the sin would grow, and the grace would greatly overflow, so
that just as sin reigned in death, thus also grace reigns through
righteousness into life everlasting through Jesus Christ our Lord.
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What then will we say? Shall we remain in sin so that grace may
abound? May it not happen! If we die to sin, how yes will we live in
it? Or if you do not know it so that we are baptized into Christ
Jesus, are we baptized into His death? Thus we are buried together
with him through baptism into death so that just as Christ was
gathered out of the dead through the glory of the Father, thus also
we may walk in new life. For we who have been planted together
cry out in the same way of His dead, but also we will be of the
risen. Knowing that our old man was crucified so that the body of
sin is destroyed, the body which no longer enslaves us to sin. For
the dying has been made righteous [being pulled] away from sin.
And if we die together with Christ, then we believe that we also
live with him, seeing that Christ, who has been gathered out of the
dead, no longer dies; His death no longer dominates. For who died,
he died to sin once [and for all]. And who live, he lives to God. Thus
also we are arguesd to be dead to sin as we live to God in Christ.
Thus may sin not reign in our dead body so that we listen to His
will, and neither may you exhibit your members as weapons of
unrighteousness for sin, but show yourselves to God just as if you
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piety, and the completion of eternal life. For the wages of sin is
death, and the favor of God is eternal life in Jesus the anointed who
is our Lord.
Or do you not know, brothers, for I say that they know the law,
that the law dominates mankind in his lifetime? For the woman has
been bound under the man, and the man lives bound under the law.
And if the man dies, she is gathered [away] from the law of the
man. Thus she is called an adulterer of a living man if she knows
another man. And thus, my brothers, you all also died to the law
through the body of Christ, so that you may know another who is
gathered out of the dead so that we may produce fruit for God. For
when we [are] in the flesh, the passions of sins are gathered in
through the law in our members so that they bear fruit for death.
And now we are gathered away from the law haing died in that
which we were holding so that we are enslaved in a new breath and
not the old of that which is written.
What then will we say? Is the law sin? May it never happen! But I
did not know sin if not through the law. For also I did not know the
desire if the law did not say, You do not desire. And sin takes a
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starting place through the command and worked all desire in me.
For without law sin is dead. And I at one time lived without law, but
the sin lived again while the command was coming, and I died
[while] the command was found for me, the command which brings
life and death. For the sin, taking a starting place through the law,
decieved me and killed [me] through it. Thus the law is holy and the
command is holy and righteous and good. Does the good for me
then become death? May it never happen! But the si, so that sin
may appear, is working death through the good for me so that the
sin may happen according to an excess of a sinner through the
command.
For we know that the law is spiritual, and I am fleshly [while]
having been sold [being] under the sin. For that which I work I do
not know. For that which I do not will, that I do, but that which I
hate, this I do. And if that which I do not will, this do I do, then I
speak together for the law that [this law is] beautiful. And now I
know longer work that but the sin [works it], the sin that lives in me.
For I know that the good does not live in me in my flesh. For the
willingness lies near me, and it does not work the beautiful. For that
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which I do not will, [that I may] do good, but that which I do not will,
[so that] I am practicing the bad. And if that which I do not will [so
that] I do that, no longer I am working it but the sin which is living in
me. Therefore I find the law for the will [so that I may] do the
beautiful for me, so that the bad may lie near me. For I delight in
the law of God according to the man within, and I see another law
in my members fighting back the law of my mind and capturing me
in the law of sin in that which is being in my members. Mankind is
miserable. What will release me out of the body of this death?
[Nothing] but favor for God through Jesus Chrst our Lord. Thus do I
myself serve both the law of God in mind and the law of sin in the
flesh.
Thus nothing now is harsh judgment for those who are in Christ.
For the law of the Breath of life in Christ frees you away from the
law of sin and of death. Thus that which was impossible of the law,
in which it was being weak through the flesh, God sent his son in
the same way of flesh of sin, and judged harshly the sin in the flesh
concerning sin, so that the righteousness of the law is filled in you
for those who do not walk not according to flesh but according to
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the Breath [of life]. For those who are according to flesh have a
mind of the flesh, and those according to the breath [of life] are of
the Spirit. For the mind of the flesh is death, and the mind of the
Breath is life and peace. Since wisdom of the flesh is an enemy into
God, for that wisdom is not subject in the law of God, for this is not
possible. And those in the flesh are not able to please God.
And you all are not in the flesh but in the Breath [of life], if yet the
Breath of God lives in you. And if one does not have the breath of
Christ, he is not of Him. And if Christ is in you, the body is dead
through sin and the Breath is alive through righteousness. And what
if His Breath, Him Who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you al,
then he will make your dying body alive through the inhabitation of
His Spirit in you all.
Therefore, brothers, we are debtors not in the flesh as according
to the flesh we live, for if you live according to the flesh, you will die.
And if you kill the works of the flesh by the Breath [of life], you will
live. For whoever is lead by the Breath [of life] is of God, and they
are sons of God. For you do not take the Breath of servitude into
fear as in the old days but you take the Breath which places you as
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but [this] Spirit itself interrupts the indescribable groaning. But the
Spirit searches the heart knows what the Spirit desires, that He
asks for piety according to God.
We know that all things work with God into a good thing for those
who love, for those who are called chosen. That they whom He
knew and marked prior are with the form of the image of His Son,
Who is that first-born One among many brothers. And whom He
pre-marked, these also He called. And whom He called, these also
he made righteous. And whom He made righteous, these also he
gave belief, [that is, whom He glorified].
What then will we say about this? If God is over us, who can be
under us? He Who did not spare his own son but gave him for us,
how does He not favor all of us with Him? Who will accuse against
the chose of God? God is righteous. Who will be judged harshly?
Jesus the Anointed Who died, but instead Who was revived, Who
also is in the right hand of God, Who also interrupts for us. Who will
separate us from the care of God? [Neither] tribulation nor anguish
nor persecution nor famine nor poverty nor troubles nor a sword.
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sperm. Those are not the offspring of the flesh who are the
offspring of God but the offspring of the promise are argued into
being perm. For this statement is of the promise: According to that
time, I will come, and there will be a son for Sarra.
Not only this, but also Rebecca has one outside of a concubine,
Isaac of our father. For not yet was [Isaac] born nor doing what is
good or evil, so that the proposition waits according to the choice of
God, not out of works but out of calling, it is said to him that, The
greater will serve the lessor, just as it is written, I loved Jacob, but
Esau I hated.
What then will we say? Is not unrighteousness near God? May it
not come about! For he said to Mouses, I will pity whom I am able
to pity, and I will have compassion on whom I am able to have
compassion. Thus God is neither willing nor running, but he has
mercy. For the writing says for Pharaoh that, I stirred you into that,
so that I may show my power in you and so that my name would by
announced on the whole earth. Thus whom he wills, he has mercy,
and whom he wills, he hardens.
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You will therefore say, Who then complains? For who resisted
His will? O mankind, who indeed are you who responds to God? No
one will say you are the imitation for the One who formed you.
What did you not make then? Or does the potter hold authority of
the clay out of his lump to have made what vessel into the honor,
and the vessel into dishonor?
And if God wills to reveal the anger and the mark [to show] his
power, he supports a vessel with the capacity in all suffering into
ruin, and so that he may show the richness of His glory in a vessel
of compassion, which he prepared into glory? Whom also he called
us not only out of the Jews but also out of the nations, so that also
He says in Hosea, I will not call My people My people and I will not
love whom I love. And it will be in the place where it I said, You are
not My people, there they will be called sons of the living God.
And Isaias cried for Israel, If the number of the sons of Israel may
be as the sands of the sea, they will be saved who are left behind.
For the Lord will make his full and cutting word upon the earth.
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faith thus says, You will not say in your heart: who will step up into
the heaven? It is to lead away Christ. But, "Who steps down into
the abyss? It is to recall Christ out of the dead. But who says, Near
you is the word, in your mouth and in your heart, that is the word of
faith which we preach. That if you acknowledge in your mouth
Christ to be Lord and if you believe in your heart that God led him
out of the dead, you will be saved. For it is believed by heart into
righteousness, and it is acknowledged by mouth into salvation. For
the writing says, All who are believing upon him will not be utterly
ashamed. There is no difference of both Jew and Greek, for the
Lord is the same of all, [He is] the wealth into all those calling upon
Him. For all who will call the name of the Lord will be saved.
How then will they call into Whom they did not believe? And how
will they believe Whom they did not hear? And how will they hear
without a preacher? And how will they preach if they do not
missionize? Just as it has been written, How beautiful are the feet
that bring good news of good things. But not all will listen to the
messenger. For Esaias says, Lord, who believes our [message]?
Indeed the faith [is] out of the hearing, and the hearing through the
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message of Christ. But I say, did not all hear? But rather, Into all the
word the sound went out and the message into the ends of the
country. But I say, did Israel never know? First Mouses says, I will
lead you all to jealousy through the upon those who are not [to be]
nations, through the senseless nations will I call you all toward
anger. And Isaias hears and says, I am found in those who do not
seek me, openly I appeared to them, who were not asking for me.
He says toward Israel, The whole day did I expand my hands
toward the people who are not believing and are speaking against
[me].
I say therefore, does God not drive off His people? May it not be!
For also I am an Israelite, out of the sperm of Abraham, of the tribe
of Benjamin. God does not drive off His people whom he foreknew.
Or do you not know what the scripture says in Elias, that
whosoever interrupts God is against Israel. Lord, they killed your
prophets, they overturned your altars, and I alone am left, and they
seek my soul. But what did the response say to him? I left to myself
seven thousand males, who have not bent their knees to Baal.
Thus also in the present time, a remnant is made by favor
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some of the branches are broken, then you also are of a wild olive
and are stimulated in them and you become in common with the
root of the fatness of the olive tree, then you do not boast against
the branches. And if you do boast, then you carry off against the
root but you are the root. Thus you say, The branches are broken
so that I will be grafted in. Well spoken. For by unbelief they are
broken, and you stand by faith. The high do not think but fear. For if
God does not set upon the branches by nature, how then perhaps
does neither it spare you.
See then God's uprightness and severity: on one hand, the
severity upon those having fallen, and on the other hand, the
uprightness of God upon you, if you remain upon his uprightness,
else you will be cut off. But those, if they do not remain in unbelief,
will be grafted in. For God is able to graft them back. For if you are
cut out of a wild olive tree according to nature and are insert into
the olive against nature, how much more instead are they, being
(olives) according to nature, to be inserted back into their own olive.
For I do not wish to be ignorant, brothers, of this mystery, so that
you are not wise to yourselves, that the hardness from the part of
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Israel has come about until the fullness of the nations are come in
and thus all Ariel will be saved, just as it has been written, The one
who snatches will come out of Sion. He will turn away the
irreverence from Jacob. And the testament itself, which is from me,
[will be with] them. When I will carry away their sins.
On one hand, they are enemies through us according to the
gospel, and on the other hand, thy are the beloved through the
fathers according to the chosen. For without repentance, they are
the favors and the calling of God. For just as when you all did not
believe in God, but now you are given mercy to your disobedience,
thus also they now are disobedient to your mercy, so that also they
may be given mercy at this time. For God closed them all into
disobedience, so that he would pity all.
O depth of wealth and wisdom and knowledge of God! How
incomprehensible are His judgments and unsearchable are His
paths. For [it is written], Who knows the mind of God? Or who has
became a symbol of Him? Or who gave before Him, and will pay
back to Him? That all [are] out of Him and through Him and into
Him. The consent of belief is for him into the ages, amen.
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the
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another in honor, bold not timid, boiling with faith, serving God,
greeting [one another] with hope, enduring in pressure, persisting in
prayer, holding in common the necessities with the holy people,
quick to love strangers. Bless the quick among you, bless and do
not curse! To rejoice with the rejoicing, to weep with the weeping.
Thinking each to be [better] than the others, not thinking
[yourselves to be] higher or wiser but being in the same mind in
humility. Do not be wise beside yourself.
No one returns evil against evil, thinking good things face to face
of all mankind. If able out of you all, with all men live in peace. Do
not punish each other, beloved, but give a place to anger, for it is
written, Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord. But, If your
enemy [is in] hunger, then feed him. If in thirst, give him a drink. For
doing this, you will heap hot charcoal upon his head. I do not
conquer by evil but He conquers the bad in the good.
The whole soul may be put into submission by a higher power.
For it is not power if it is not from God, and those souls are by God
which have been put into order. Thus the one resisting the orderly
command is against the authority of God, and they who resist him
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acquire judgment. For those ruling are not of fear for the good work
but of bad. And the will does not fear the authority. Do the good,
and you will have praise from it. For the servant of God is to you
into the good, and if you do the bad, then fear. For you do not carry
the dagger heedlessly. for the servant of god is lawless into the
anger in the working the bad. Therefore it is necessary to be
subdued, not only through the anger but also through the
conscience. For through that also do you complete the bearing. For
the ministers of God are eager [on account of] that. Give up the
debts of all: to whom bearance is bearance, to whom fulfillment is
fulfillment, to whom fear is fear, to whom honor is honor.
Be debtors of no one if not to love one another. For the one who
loves the other has fulfilled the law. For, you will not adulterate, you
will not murder, you will not steal, you will not desire, and if there is
some other command, put it back into your head in the word. You
will love your neighbor as yourself. The love to the neighbor does
not work bad. Thus love is the fullness of the law.
And seeing that season, that the hour [is now] to raise you out of
sleep, for now salvation is closer to us than when we believed. The
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night stops, and the day has come. May we put away then the
works of the darkness, and go into the weapons of the light. As we
walk in the day with dignity, not in revelry, drunkenness,
homosexuality, fornication, arguments, or rivalry, but dress oneself
in the Lord Jesus Christ and do not do the foreknowledge of the
flesh into desire.
Also take up the weak in the faith, not in judgment of argument.
On one hand, the one believes to [eat] all things, and, on the other
hand, [the other] is weak and eats the vegetables [only]. May he
who eats not spurn the eater. And who does not eat, may he not
judge the eater, for God takes up them both. Are you one who
judges a foreign servant? By his own masters does he stand or fall.
And he will stand, for the Master is able to support him. For one
judges one day to another, and another judges all day. May each in
his own mind carry to the fullness. The one who thinks about the
Master is wise. And who eats the Master eats, for he takes the
Eucharist of God. For no one of us lives to himself, and no one dies
to himself. For if we live, we live to the Master. And if we die, we die
to the Master. Thus whether we live or die, we are of the Master.
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For Christ died into this and lived so that He may be Master of the
dead and the living.
But why do you judge your brother? And why do spurn your
brother? For all will stand before the tribunal of Go, for it has been
written, I live, says the Lord, so that every knee will bow and every
tongue will confess to God. Thus each of us will give to God
according to his argument.
Thus no longer may we judge one another. But judge rather that
which places your brother in scandal or stumbling. I know and have
been persuaded in the Master Jesus that nothing common through
him, if not for the reasoning of what is common, is common for that.
For if through food does your brother grieve, no longer do you walk
according to love. Do not kill that of yours, for whom Christ died, by
food. Thus may he not profane your good [person]. For the reign of
God is not beat and drink but righteousness and peace and joy in
the Holy Spirit. For who in this serves Christ is pleasing to God and
acceptable to men. Thus we drive on those things of the peace and
the building of each other. Do not destroy the work of God on
account of food. All are clean, but [it is] bad to cause a man to
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stumble through eating. [It is] beautiful to not eat meat nor to drink
wine nor [anything] in which your brother takes striking. You have a
faith which you hold according to yourself facing God. Blessed is he
who does not judge himself in what he tests. And the one who
judges through [this], if he is judged harshly by what he may eat [at
that time], because that [is] not out of faith. And all which is not out
of faith is sin.
We who are able ought to lift up the weaknesses of the ones who
are not able and to not please ourselves. May each of us please
the neighbor into the good thing [like building] a house. For Christ
did not please himself, but just as it has been written, The insults of
those insulting had fallen to you [because of] me. For as great as
those things written beforehand, [the writer] wrote our teaching so
that through the endurance and the consolation of the writings we
may have the hope. And God gave us that [instrument] of the
endurance and consolation to think in each other according to
Christ Jesus, so that you would glorify God in one mouth and glorify
the father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
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accepted you all into the belief of God. For I say that Christ has
become righteous of circumcision because of the truth of God, into
the strengthening of the promises of the fathers, and the nations
because of the mercy to glorify God, just as it is written, Because of
that I will confess you among the nations and I will sing your name.
And again it says, "Be glad, nations, with your people, and again,
Praise the Lord, all the nations, and may all the people commend
Him publicly. And again Isaias says, The root will be of Jesse and
the standing up will be to rule the nation. Upon Him the nations will
hope. And God of hope will fill you all with joy and peace in the
believing and abounding in hope in the power of the Holy Breath.
And I have been persuaded, my brothers, concerning you all that
you may be full of goodness, having been filled with all knowledge,
being able to remember each other. And I wrote to you the more
heartiness from the part as leading you back into memory through
the grace given to me by God so that I may be the liturgy of Jesus
Christ into the nations, that I may be the sacramental work for the
gospel of God so that it may become the acceptable offering of the
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nations, having been made holy in the Holy Spirit. Thus I have the
boasting in Christ Jesus of the things toward God. For I will not
dare to speak of another of whom Christ has not worked through
me into the obedience of the nations, by argument and by work, in
the power of the signs and wonders, in the power of the Breath of
God. Just as from Jerusalem and around the circle of Illyrikon I
have fulfilled the gospel of Christ, and thus I have lovingly strived to
proclaim the good news where Christ has not yet been called so
that I may not build upon another foundation, but just as it has been
written, To whom it is not announced concerning that, they will see,
and, who has not heard, they will understand.
Therefore I was hindering the many things to come to you all.
And now no longer the place in those mountains, I have had desire
to come to you for many years, just as I go into Spania. For while
passing through, I hope to see you and to be [helped] there by you
all if at first I may be filled from your portion.
And now I travel into Jerusalem for the holy ones of the
diaconate. For Macedonia and Akhaia were well pleased to make
some partnership for the poor of the holy ones in Jerusalem. For
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they were pleased and were debtors of them. For if the nations
shared in their spiritual things, then they ought also to hold liturgy in
the fleshly things. Thus finishing this and closing the fruit to them, I
will depart through you all into Spania. And I know that when I come
to you, I will come in abundance of the blessings of Christ.
And I call upon you all, brothers, through the Lord of us, Jesus
Christ, and through the love of the Breath to contested with me
together in the prayer toward God concerning me so that I may be
rescued from the disobedient Jews and so that my ministry may
become acceptable into Jerusalem for the holy so that in the joy of
the nations, I may rest with you through will of God. But may the
God of peace [be] with everyone of you. Amen.
I commend to you Phoebe our sister, who is a deacon of the
church in Kenkhrea so that you may accept her in the Lord in a way
worthy of the holy ones and so that you may help her in that deed
which she may lack. For she has become a guardian of many and
of me.
Greet Prisca and Aquilla my fellow workers in Christ jesus, who
placed their necks over my soul, for whom I, and not only me, am
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grateful, and also so are all the church of the nations, and also [I
am grateful for] their house church. Greet Pepaientos my beloved
who is the first of the Asians in Christ. Greet maria who grew weary
from working into you all. Greet Andronikos and Jounia my friends
and co-captives who are famous among the missionaries and who
are before me in Christ. Greet Ourbanos our co-worker inChrist.
Greet Stakhus my beloved. Greet Apelle the approved one in
Christ. Greet those out of the Aristoboulos. Greet Heroidiona my
friend. Greet them who are out of Narkissos who are in the Lord.
Greet Tryphaina and Tryphosa who grew weary from work in the
Lord. Greet Persida my beloved who worked and grew weary from
many things in the Lord. Greet Rhouphos the chosen in the Lord
and his and my mother. Greet Asynkritos, Phlegon, Hermhs,
Patroba, Herma, and those with the brothers. Greet Philologos,
Joulia, Nerea, her brother, Olympas, and all the holy with them.
Greet each other in love for the holy. All the Church of Christ greets
you.
And I ask you, brothers, to look at the dissension and the trap
near the teaching which you learned. Avoid them. For they do not
!697
serve our Lord the Anointed but their own intestines, and through
sweet words and blessings they lead away the hearts of the pure.
For your obedience comes through into all. Thus I rejoice upon
you. And I wish you all to be wise into the good thing and unmixed
into the bad. And the God of peace will quickly destroy Satan under
your feet. May the favor of our Lord Jesus be with you.
Timotheos greets you all. He is my fellow worker. Luk, Jason,
and Sosipatros are also. I greet you all. Tertios wrote the letter in
the Lord. Gaios my foreigner greets you all. He is also of all the
churches. Erastos the ruler of the city and Kouartos the brother
greets you all.
And to whom who is able to save you all according to my gospel
and the message of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the
mystery of eternal and silent time which was made manifest now
through the prophetic writings according to the command of the age
of God into obedience of faith having been made known into all the
nations, for the only wise God, through Jesus Christ, to whom the
belief is into the ages, Amen.
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1 Corinthians
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And I ask you all, brothers, through the name of our Lord Jesus
Christ, so that you all may speak [together as one] and not be in
schism amongst yourselves, and may you be adjusted in the same
heart and in the same opinion. For it has been made clear to me
concerning you, my brothers, by Chloes that there is chaos
amongst you all. And I speak this that each of you says, I am of
Paul, but I am of Apollos, and I am of Peter, and I am of Christ. The
Anointed done is divided [because of you all]. Paul was not
crucified for you all, nor into the name of Paul you have been
baptized. I thank God that I did not baptize any of you, except
Crispus and Gaius, so that one may not say that you are baptized
into my name. And I also baptized Stephan at the house, I do not
know of the others whomever else I baptized. For Christ did not
send me to baptize but to evangelize, not in skill of words, so that
the cross of Christ would not be empty.
For the argument of the cross for the perishing is foolishness, but
for those being saved it is the power of God. For it has been
written, I will destroy the skill of the skilled and annihilate the
wisdom of the wise. Where is the wise? Where is the writer? Where
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is the examiner of this age? Has not God made stupid the wisdom
of the world? For when in the wisdom of God the world did not
know God through [its] wisdom, it was pleasing to God through the
stupidity of the the preacher to save the faithful. And when the Jews
seek a sign and the Greeks seek wisdom, we preach Christ
crucified which is a scandal for the Jews and stupidity for the
nations, and for the called, to the Jews and the Greeks, Christ as
the power and wisdom of God, because the stupidity of God is
wiser than that of men and the weakness of God is stronger than
that of men.
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inner self probes all things, and it is the depth of God. For who of
men knows the things of man if not the inner self of man in him?
Thus also no one knew the things of God if not the Inner Self of
God. And we do not take the inner self of the world but the inner
self out of God, so that we may know the kindness of God to us,
which also we speak not in the taught argument of human wisdom
but in the teaching of the Spirit, judging the spiritual things by the
Spirit. And the soulful man does not take the things of the Inner Self
of God. For stupidity is for Him and is not able to know, that
spiritually it is judged upwardly. And the spiritual judges upwardly all
things, and the same judges upwardly by no one. For, Does one
knew the mind of the Lord, Who may instruct him? We however
have the mind of Christ.
And I, brothers, was not able to speak to you all as spiritually but
fleshly as to youths in Christ. I gave a drink of milk to you all, not
food. For not yet you were strong enough. But neither yet now you
are able, for you are yet of the flesh. For since jealousy and chaos
is amongst you all, are you not fleshly and walk according to
mankind? For when one speaks, I am of Paul, and another, I am of
!703
Apollos, are you not men? Thus who is Apollos? And who is Paul?
Being ministers through whom you trusted, and to each as the Lord
gave. I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. Thus
neither is the planting something nor the watering but God
increasing. And the planting and increasing are one, and each
accepts the his own pay according to his own labor. For we are coworkers of God. You are God's field and building.
According to the favor of God, which is given to me, as I placed
the foundation being a skilled architect. And another built over it.
And each may see how he built. For no one is able to place another
foundation over that laid, which is Jesus Christ. And if one builds
over upon a foundation gold, silver, precious stones, firewood, hat,
straw, of each the work will be manifested, for the day will make
clear, that in fire it will be revealed. And of each what sort of work is
the fire will test. If the work of one remains which he built, he will
receive pay. If the work of one is burned, he will endure loss, and
the same will be saved, and thus as through fire. But do you knot
know that you are the temple of God and that the Inner Self of God
!704
lives in you? If one overturns the temple of God, does God overturn
him? For the temple o God is holy, which you are.
No one leads you away. If any is seen to be wise among you in
this age, he may become stupid, so that he may be wise. For the
wisdom of this world is stupidity beside God. For it has been
written, Who seizes the wise in all their works. And again, The Lord
knows the thoughts of the wise that they are empty. Thus no one
may boast in men. For all things are yours, whether Paul or Apollos
or Peter or the world or life or death or the present or the future. All
things are yours, and you are Christ's, and Christ is God's.
Thus a man may think us as ministers of Christ and a housemanager of the mysteries of God. Thus he will seek the remainder
among the house-rulers, so that a faithful one will be found. And it
is to me into the least, so that I will be judged upwardly by you all or
by a human day. But neither do I judge upwardly myself. For I am
conscious of nothing to myself, but not in that have I been made
righteous, and the one judging me upwardly is the Lord. Thus not
before the time o you judge anything until the Lord comes, Who
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also enlightens the hidden of the darkness and makes manifest the
will of the hearts. And then the praise will be to each from God.
And these, brothers, I transfigured into myself and Apollos
through you all, so that you would learn in us that you may not be
above that which is written, so that you may not be enlarged by air
by one according the other. For one judges through you. And you
hold something which you have not taken. Already you have been
filled, already you have been enriched, without us you reigned. And
indeed I owed the you should reign, so that also we may reign with
you. For I think, God reveals us to be the most recent missionaries
just as if dedicated for death, I think that we become a spectacle for
the world both for angels and for men. We are fools through Christ,
and you all are prudent in Christ. We are weak, and you are strong.
You are glorious, and we are without honor. Just until that hour we
hunger, thirst, are naked, are slapped, are restless, are tired [while]
working with our own hands. We bless when cursed. We endure
when persecuted. We encourage when slandered. As we have
become the dregs of the world, the wiped-off even until now.
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I do not write to confuse you with these things, but so that I may
advise you just as dearest children. For though you may have
countless teachers in Christ, you do not have not many fathers. For
I have begotten you all in Christ Jesus through the gospel. Thus I
encourage you all. May you be my imitators. Because of that I sent
you Timotheos, who is my beloved child and faithful one in the
Lord, who will remind you all of my ways in Christ Jesus, just as I
taught everywhere in the whole of the Church.
And since I have not come to you, some of you have become
puffed up.. And I will come to you soon if the Lord wills, and I will
know not the message of those who are inflated but the power. For
the kingdom of God does not exist in message but in power. What
do you want? Should I come to you in a rod for chastisement or in
love and in gentleness of spirit.
Altogether fornication is heard about you, and such fornication of
the kind which is not among the nations, thus a certain wife of a
father. And you all are inflated and do not lament [for your sins], so
that the one doing such work would be removed from your midst.
For I on the other hand, though absent in body, am present in inner
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self, now have judged as though being near the one who has done
this. In the name of our Lord Jesus who is also of your
congregation and of your spirit thus in power of the Lord our Jesus,
I hand over such a one to Satan into ruin of the flesh so that the
inner self may be saved in the day of the Lord.
Your boast is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven
leavens the whole mix? Purify the old leaven so that you may be a
new lump, just as you are not yet fermented. For also Christ, our
Pascha, was offered. Thus we celebrate a festival not in old leaven
nor in leaven of badness but of sincerity and truth in
unfermentation.
I wrote to you in the letter not to associate to be mixed together
with fornication. [I did not mean] at all with the fornicating of this
world or the avaricious or the robbing or idolatrous, for then you
would have ought to come out of the world. And now I wrote to you
not to mix together to eat if one who is named a brother may be a
fornicator or an avaricious person or an idolater or a curser or a
drunkard or a thief. For what [is it] to me to judge those outside?
But those outside God judges. Carry off the bad out of yourselves.
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Does one of you all who holds a case against another dare to
judge upon the unjust and not upon the holy? Or do you not know
that they will judge angels? And the world is judged in you all, you
are unworthy [to constitute] the least law courts? Do you not know
that we will judge angles? How much rather the living affairs? Thus
you have law courts of living affairs. Do you appoint them of the
nations [to judge] in the Church? I speak to you all toward shame.
Thus no one is wise among you. Who will be able to judge between
his brother? But will a brother be judged with a brother before an
unbeliever? Already the defeat is whole to you all in that you hold
the lawsuits with them. Rather do you not do wrong because of
this? Do you not rather rob [each other] because of this? But you all
do wrong and rob the brothers. Or do you not know that the unjust
will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not err. Neither fornicators
nor idolaters nor adulterers nor cowards nor bedmates of men nor
thieves nor the avaricious nor the drunk nor the cursers nor the
robbers will inherit the kingdom of God. And these you were. But
you were washed, you were made clean, but you were made holy
in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.
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!710
the debt to the woman, just as also the woman to the man. The
woman does not have authority over her own body, but the man
does, and likewise the man does not have authority over his own
body, but the woman does. Do not defraud one another, if not out of
mutual agreement for a time so that so that you may be free for
prayer and then return to each other, so that Satan would not tempt
you through your weakness. And I say this according to the
concession and not to command: I moreover wish all men to be as
myself. But each holds his own gift from God. Some have one gift,
and some have another.
And I say to the unmarried and to the widows, it is beautiful for
them if they remain as I am. And if not they are not in self-control,
may they marry, for it is better to marry than to burn. And for those
married, I say, not I but the Lord, to not divide a woman from a man
-- and if also to not be divided, may the unmarried remain or be
reconciled to the man -- and a man to not send away a woman.
And I say, not the Lord, for the remaining. If some brother has a
woman who is not a believer and and she consents to live with him,
then he should not send here away. And if some woman has an
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!713
woman and the virgin thinks about the things of the Master, so that
she may be holy in both body and inner self. But the one married
thinks about the things of the world, the ways in which she may
please her man. And I say this for your benefit, not so that I may
ensnare you, but toward that which is honest and so that you may
serve the Master constantly without distraction.
If anyone thinks that he is not behaving properly towards his
betrothed, if his passions are strong, and it has to be, let him do as
he wishes: let them marryit is no sin. But whoever is firmly
established in his heart, being under no necessity but having his
desire under control, and has determined this in his heart, to keep
her as his betrothed, he will do well. Thus who marries off his virgin
does well, and who doesn't will do better.
A woman is bound in as much time as her man lives. If her man
will have fallen asleep, she is free to marry to whom she wishes,
only in the Lord. She will be more blessed, if thus she will have
remained according to my advice. But I think that also I have the
mindset of God.
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!715
whom Christ died. And thus sinning into the brothers and striking
their infirm consciousness, you sin in Christ. So if food scandalizes
my brother, I will not eat meat ever again so that I will not
scandalize my brother.
Am I not free? Am I not a missionary? Have I not seen seen our
Master Jesus? Are you not my work in the Master? I am not a
missionary for another but indeed for you all. For you all are my
apostolic seal in the Master. My defense is that for those who
interrogate me. Do we not hold ability to eat and drink? Do we not
hold ability to marry a believing wife as also those other apostles
and the brothers of the Lord and of Peter? Or do I and Barnabas
alone not have power to not work? Who ever serves as a soldier for
his own salary? Or who plants a vine and does not eat its fruit? Or
who tends a flock and does not [use for him] the milk? Do I not say
these things according to man but also does the law not say these?
For in Mouses it has been written in law, You will not be muzzle the
ox while its threshing. Is the ox not of care to God? Or through us
does he say all things? For through us he wrote that, He who plows
ought to plow in hope, and he who threshes should gain the fruit in
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hope. If we have spread the seeds of the spiritual things to you all,
is it great if we reap the fleshly? If others participate of your power,
do we rather not? But we did not proclaim this power but endure all
things so that we may not give offense to the gospel of Christ.
Do you not know that those who work the priestly things eat the
things of the priestly things, those who attend upon the altar and
share in the altar? Thus also the Master appointed life from the
gospel for those who proclaim the gospel. And I have not had use
of any of these. And I did not write these so that thus it came about
in me. For rather it is good for me to die than no one to boast my
boast. For if I may spread the gospel, it is not a boast to me. For
necessity is laid upon me. For woe to me if I do not spread the
gospel. For if I do this willingly, I have repayment. And if unwillingly,
I have believed the house rules. Thus is something my reward? So
that preaching the gospel without expense, I will place the gospel
so that I may not waste by my power in the gospel.
For being free out of all, I served myself for all, so that I may
profit the more. And I am [as I am] for the Jews as a Jew so that I
may gain a profit of Jews. For those who are by the law as they are
!717
under the law, that the law is under the law, so that I may make a
profit of those by the law. To those without law as though there is
not law, so that being without the law of God but being lawful of
Christ, so that I may make profit of the lawless. I became weak for
the weak so that I may profit of the weak. I have become all things
to all people so that I may save some of all. And I make all things
through the gospel so that I may have communion of it.
Do you not know that all those who run in a stadium run so that
they may take the reward? Thus run so that you may [fully] take it.
And all who strive in a game abstains from all things, and they do
this so that they may accept a corruptible crown. We however do
this to receive one which is incorruptible. Therefore I do not run as
in uncertainty, [and] thus I fight not as though beating the air. But I
punish my flesh and enslave it so that I may not become unworthy
after I announced [all this] to others.
I do not wish you all to be ignorant, brothers, that our fathers
were all under a cloud and all came through the sea and were
baptized into Mouses in the cloud and in the sea and all ate the
same spiritual bread and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they
!718
drank out of the spiritual flowing rock. And the rock was Christ. But
God was not well pleased in their many, for they were wounded in
the desert.
But our types were made these things, so that we may not be
those who desire bad things just as those desired it. Do not
become idolators just as some of them, even as it has been written,
The people sat down to eat and to drink and they stood up to play.
We do not fornicate just as some of them fornicated and 23
thousand fell in one day. We may not test Christ just as some of
them have tried and fell from by the serpent. Nor do you murmur,
just as some of them murmured and fell from the destroyer. And
these in type stand together for those, and I wrote according to our
warning, into whom the ends of the ages have reached. Thus who
thinks himself to stand, may he see so that he may not fall.
Temptation has not take you all if not in a human way. And God is
faithful, that he will not allow you to to be tested over what you are
able. But he will also make an escape with the temptation of the
ability to endure. Because of this, my beloved, flee from idolatry. I
speak as though to prudent [men]. [Now] judge what I say. The
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[and if] you wish to carry all the offered, eat nothing to you all,
judging through the conscious. And if one says to you all, This is
offered to a god, do not eat for the sake of the person and for the
sake of consciousness. And I do not speak that consciousness of
mine but that of the other. For why does my liberty judge by another
consciousness? If I hold together by grace, why do I blaspheme
over which I give thanks?
Whether you eat or whether you drink something, do all things
into the glory of God. Become the unforeseen for the Jews, for the
Greeks, and for the Church of the God, according to how I also
appease all things for all [people] not seeking that profit of mine but
that of the many so that they will be saved.
Be imitators of me just as I am of Christ. And I praise you all that
you remember all my things and just as I handed you over, so to do
you hold according to my teaching handed down. And I wish you all
to see that the head of the whole man is Christ, and the head of a
woman is the man, and the head of Christ is God. the whole man
prays or prophesies according to the head, his head, which he
holds and and dishonors. And the whole woman, praying or
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drink this cup, you announce the death of the Lord until he comes.
Thus who eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord may be
bound unworthily of the body and blood of the Lord. And may a
man examine himself, and thus he may eat out of the bread and
drink out of the cup. For he who eats and drinks unworthily eats
and drinks judgment to himself not judging thoroughly the body of
the Lord. Because of this, many are weak, sick, and adequate.
They have fallen asleep. For if we judged thoroughly ourselves, we
would not be judged. And being judged under the Lord, we are
taught so that we may not be judged against with the world. Thus
my brothers, come together for eating, receive one another. And if
one is hungry, may he eat at home so that he may not come into
judgment. And I will leave the rest when I come. I will set things in
order.
And concerning the Spiritual things, brothers, I do not wish you to
be without knowledge. Know that what kind of a nation you were
toward silent idols as you lead astray. Therefore I declare to you
that no one speaking in the Spirit of God says anathema to jesus
and no one is able to speak Jesus as Lord if not by the Holy Spirit.
!724
And there are various gifts but the same Spirit, and there are
different ministries but the same Lord. And there are many kinds of
energies but the same God works all things in all things. And to
each the manifestation of the Spirit is toward the congregation. For
to whom the word of wisdom is given through the Spirit, and the
world of knowledge is given to the other according to the same
Spirit. Faith is to the other in the same Spirit, and gifts of healing to
another in the one Spirit. And to another, energies of power, and to
another prophecies, and to another judging thoroughly of the spirits.
To another, the kinds of languages, and to another the explanation
of languages. And all these work energy in the same Spirit. And the
same Spirit divides His own to each just as He wills.
For just as the body is in and holds the many limbs, and all the
limbs of the body are many in it and are the body, thus also is
Christ. For also we were baptized into the body in one Spirit
whether Jew or Greek or slave or free. And all are made to drink in
the Spirit. For also the body is not in a limb but in all. If the foot
says, I am not a hand. I am not [part] of the body of which that is
not [a part] of the body but next to it. And if the ear says, I am not
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the eye. I am not [part] of the body, of which that is not [part] of the
body but next to it. If the whole body were an eye, where would the
hearing be? IF the whole heard, where would the smelling? And
now God placed the members in each of them in the body just as
He willed. and if all things were in the members, where would be
the body? And now the members are many but in the body. And the
eye is not able to say to the hand, I do not have use of you. The
head again to the feet, I have no need of you all. But rather the
members of the body that seem weaker to the many are necessary,
and those of the body seeming to be more honorless, we give extra
honor, and those of us who are ugly hold abundant elegance. And
those elegant among us do not have need, but God mixed the body
with those in need and gave [them] abundant honor. So that there
may not be schism in the body but that the members may have the
same concern for each other. And if it suffers in a member, all the
members suffer together. If a member is glorified, all the members
rejoice together. And you all are the body of Christ and the
members out of the portions. And whom God placed in the Church,
first the missionaries, second the prophets, third the teachers, then
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will become idle, for out of the portions we know and out of hte
portions we prophecy. When I was a child, I spoke as a child,
thought as a child, and argued [with the reason of] a child. When I
became a man, I made the things of a child to be idle. For now we
see through a glass in a riddle, but then we will see face to face. No
we know in a portion, but then we will know upon just as I am
known. And now faith, hope, and love remains. But the greatest of
these is love.
Run after love. Seek the spiritual thing especially so that you
may prophesy. For he who speaks a language speaks not to men
but to God. For no one hears and he speaks a mystery to [the]
Spirit. But he who prophesies speaks to men to edify and to comfort
and to encourage. The one speaking a language edifies himself.
And the one prophesying builds the Church. But I wish all of you to
speak in languages especially so that you may prophesy. But
greater is he who prophesies than the one who speaks six
languages if one does not interpret so that the church takes
edification. And now brothers, if I come to you all speaking in
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!729
the Spirit, how will the one filing the room of his own say the amen
upon your thanksgiving when one speaks but does not know?
For on one hand, you give the thanksgiving well, but the other
one does is not edified. I thank the God of all of you rather that I
speak in languages. But in the Church, I wish to speak five words to
my mind so that also I may instruct the others rather than speak
countless words in a language. Brothers, do not be children in
understanding, but be children in badness and full in
understanding. It is written in the law that, In other languages and in
the lips of others will I speak to this people. And thus neither will
they hear me, says the Lord. Thus as the languages are into a sign
not to those who believe but to those who do not believe and the
prophecy not to those who do not believe but to those who do
believe. Thus if the whole church comes upon it and all speak in
languages, and the individuals or unbelievers enter, will they not
say you are insane? And if all prophesy, and some unbeliever or
individual enters, he will be disgraced under all. He will be judged
under all. The hidden things of his heart become shown, and thus
he has fallen upon upon his face in adoration to God while
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the favor of God, I am what I am and His favor which was [put] into
me has not become empty but I labored to weariness more so than
all. And not I, but God's favor was with me. Thus whether I or those,
as we preached, so you believed.
And if Christ is preached that he awoke out of the dead, how do
some among you say that there is not a standing up of the dead?
And if a standing up of the dead, then neither did Christ arise. And if
Christ did not rise, is our message and your faith empty? And we
find also the false witnesses of God. [But] we witnessed according
to God that He awoke Christ Whom He did not awoken if indeed
the dead do not rise. For if the dead do not awake, then neither was
Christ awoken. And if Christ was not awoken, the faith of you all is
empty. You all are still in your sins. Do those perish who have been
put to sleep in Christ? If in this life we had hoped in Christ, we are
pitied alone of all men. And now Christ has been awoken out of the
dead as the first offering of those who have become asleep. For
then [we] die through a man and stand up from death through a
man. For even as all died in Adam, thus also in Chris all have been
made alive. And each in his own order: Christ is the first-fruits when
!733
!734
But someone will ask, How is the dead awoken? And with what
kind of Body do they come? Fool, what you sow will not be made to
live if it may not die. And what you sow is not the body that will be
but a naked seed of wheat or some of the remainder falls. And God
gives to him a body just as He willed and to each his own body of
seeds. Not the whole flesh or the same flesh but the other flesh of
men and the other flesh of flocks and the other of fish and the other
of birds. [There are] both the heavenly bodies and the earthly
bodies, but other on one hand the glory of heaven or on the other
hand the glory of the earth. Another glory of the son and another
glory of the moon and another glory of the stars. For a star carries
through a star in glory. Thus also is the standing up of the dead
sown in destruction. It is awoken in immortality. It is sown in
dishonor. It is awoken in glory. It is sown in weakness. It is awoken
in power. The body is sown with a soul. The body is awoken with a
spirit. There is a soulful body, and there is a spiritual body. Thus
also it is written, The first man Adam lived into a soul, and the last
Adam made life into [the] Spirit. But the first was not spiritual but
soulful. Then [there was] the spiritual. The first man of earth was
!735
out of earth. The second man was the Lord out of sky. As is the
earthly, such are they that are earthly: and as is the heavenly, such
are they also that are heavenly. And just as we have born the
image of the earthly, we will also bear the image of the heavenly.
And I say this, brothers, that flesh and blood will not inherit the
kingdom of God. Neither does ruin inherit the unruined.
I speak a mystery of secrecy to you all: on one hand, we all will
be put to sleep, and on the other hand, we will be changed. In a
moment, in the twinkling of an eye at the last trumpet: for the
trumpet shall blow, and the dead shall be raised up unruined, and
we shall be changed. For it is necessary for the ruin to clothe [itself
with] unruinedness, and the mortal to clothe [itself with] immortality.
And whenever the ruin may clothe itself with unruinedness, then
shall be brought to pass the saying, that is written, Death is
swallowed up into victory. Where, death, is your spike? Where,
grave, is your victory? And the spike of death, either sin or power of
sin, is the law. But thanks to God who gives to us the victory
through our Lord Jesus Christ. Thus, my beloved brothers, be
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!737
him. But send him forth in peace so that he may come toward me.
For I receive him with the brothers. And concerning Apollos, I asked
him many things so that he would come toward you all with the
brothers. But he had none of the will so that he would now come.
And he will come whenever he will have opportunity.
Be watchful. Stand in the faith. Be manly and strong. May all
your affairs be in love. And I ask you, brothers, you know the house
of Stephanas that is the first-fruits of Achaia and that they examined
themselves into the deaconate for the saints, so that also you all
may be subject to such as this and to all the fellow workers and to
those who labor into tiredness. And I rejoice upon the presence of
Stephanas and Fortunatus and Akhaios that these may fill up your
need. For they have comforted my spirit and yours: therefore
acknowledge such men.
The Churches of Asia greet you. Akylas and Priskilla with the
church in their house greet you. All the brothers greet you. Greet
one another in a holy kiss. The greeting [is] in my hand, Paul's. If
one does not love the Lord Jesus the Anointed, may he be
anathema. The Lord has come. [May] the favor of the Lord Jesus
!738
the Anointed [be] with you all. My love [is] with all of you in Christ
Jesus in truth.
2 Corinthians
!739
our steady over you all having known that as you are in communion
of sufferings, thus also of the comfort.
For we do not wish you all to be ignorant, brothers, over our
affliction of the happening in Asia, that we were weighed down
beyond the way beyond power, so that to have despaired even to
live. But they in themselves have held the judgment of death, so
that we may not be trusting upon ourselves but upon the God who
awakens the dead, Who rescued us out of so great a death and will
rescue us into what we had hoped [for], that also we will yet be
rescued by [the ones] who help with you in the prayer for us, so that
on account of that [prayer], which is from many people into us, [it
may be] a gift [that] favors [us] well through many out of many
people.
!740
we are your boast however also you all [are] ours in the day of our
Master Jesus.
And I was wishing to come for that trust in the front toward you
all, so that you may hold a second [gift of] favor, and to enter into
Macedonia through you all and to come to you all back from
Macedonia and to have been sent forth by you all into Judea. Thus
wishing nothing, did I proclaim for fluff? Or those things which I will
according to the flesh, do I not will so that [there may be] for [that] a
yes and a no near me? And God [is] trusted that our principle which
is not a yes and no toward you all. For the son of God, Jesus
Christ, who in you all [and] through us is was proclaimed, through
me and Silvanos and Timotheos, [this son] did not make a yes and
a no but has made a yes in it. For however many commands of
God, in it [is] the yes. Therefore also through it [is] the amen for
God through the consent of belief through us. And God confirming
us with you all into Christ and having anointed us, and who gave us
the deposit of the Spirit in our hearts.
And I will summon God [as] a witness upon my soul, that having
spared you all, no longer did I come into Corinth. It is not that I act
!741
as a lord over you all of the faith but we may be co-workers of your
joy. For you have stood [in] faith.
For I judged to myself to not come again to you all in distress.
For if I bring grief to you all, does one also gladden me if he does
not bring grief out of me? And I wrote that thing, so that I may not
hold the coming grief away from whom you it was lacking to give
me joy, having faith upon the whole of you all that my joy is of the
whole of you all. For out of many afflictions and anguish of heart
wrote to you all through many tears, not so that you may be given
grief but the love so that you may know [the love] which I hold
exceedingly into you all.
And if one has given grief, he has not given me grief, but away
from part, so that I may not weigh down the whole of you all. It is
sufficient to that which is of such kind, this reproach which may be
from many, so that now contrariwise you all ought rather to forgive
him, and comfort him, lest the same should be swallowed up with
overmuch grief. Therefore I comfort you all to confirm the love itself
For I also wrote into that, so that I may know your test, if you may
be listeners into all things. And to what you may give something,
!742
and I also. For what I also have given, if I have given something
through you all in [the] person of Christ, so that we may not be
circumvented by Satan. For we are not ignorant of the perceptions
of him.
Furthermore, when I came to Troadis to preach Christs Gospel,
and a door was opened unto me of the Lord, I had no rest in my
spirit, because I found not Titus my brother, but took my leave of
them, and went away into Macedonia. But [may] the gratitude [be]
to God, the One ever-triumphing both us in Christ and the smell of
His investigation appearing through us in every region. That we are
the good smell of Christ for God in the saving and in the destroying,
for whom, on one hand, [is] a smell out of death into death, and on
the other hand, for whom [is] a smell out of life into life. And one is
sufficient toward those. For we are not as the many who peddle the
principle of God but as out of purity, but as out of God do we talk in
front of God in Christ.
Are we ourselves first to stand from old? Or do I lack as some of
the introductions of letters toward you all or out of you all? You are
our letter, written out in our hearts and known by all men. You are
!743
manifest that you are a letter of Christ, ministered by us, written out
not [in obscurity] but in the living Breath of God, not on stone
tablets but on a tablet of a fleshly heart.
And we hold such a trust toward God through Christ, not that we
are sufficient out from ourselves to think something as out of
ourselves, but our sufficiency is out from God, who also made us
sufficient ministers of the new covenant, not of writing but of Breath.
For the writing destroys, but the Breath gives life.
And if the ministry of death has come about in disfigured and
stone writing in glory, just as the sons of Israel were not able to
gaze into the face of Moses through the emptying glory of his face,
[then] how rather may the ministry of the Spirit not be in glory? For
if the glory [is] for the ministry of judgment, [then] the ministry of
righteousness for glory exceeds rather for many. For it has also
been [held to be] glory in that portion on account of the exceeding
glory. For if the fading [is] through glory, [then] for many does it
rather remain in glory.
Thus holding such hope, we use much frankness, and not
according to Mouses, who was placing a veil upon his face, so that
!744
the sons of Israel may not gaze into the completion of the fading.
But their perceptions were petrified. For today to the uttermost, the
veil itself remains upon the old covenant upon the knowledge, the
veil not uncovering that it fades away in Christ. But while today, at
the time when Mouses knew well, a veil lies upon the heart. And at
the time when he turned around toward the Master, the veil is
removed. And the Master is the Spirit. And where the Spirit of the
Master is, [there is] freedom. And we all uncover the image itself
and reflect the glory to the Master for the uncovering face. We
transform from glory into glory just as from the Spirit of the Master.
Through this, holding this ministry accordingly as we were shown
mercy, we do not behave badly but declare the hidden things of the
shame, so that neither walking around in all works nor deceiving
the principle of God but standing together in the manifestation of
the Truth toward all common knowledge of men before the face of
God. And if also our gospel has been hidden, it has been hidden to
those perishing, in whom God blinded the perceptions of the
unbelievers in this age so that they may not discern the illumination
of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the icon of God.
!745
For we do not preach ourselves but Christ Jesus the Master, and
[we] ourselves [are] slaves of you all through Jesus, that God says,
out of darkness the light shines, who shined in our hearts toward
illumination of the inquiry of the glory of God in the face of Jesus
Christ.
And we hold this treasury in earthen vessels, so that the excess
of power may be of God and not out of us. Being afflicted in all but
no confined, looking away but not doubting, being persecuted but
not resigning, being thrown down but not destroyed, always
carrying the mortification of Jesus in the body, so that also the life of
Jesus in our body may be manifest. For always we live into death
and give over through Jesus, so that also the life of Jesus may be
manifest in the dead flesh of us. Thus the death works in us, and
the life in you.
And holding the same Spirit of the faith according to what was
written, I believed, because I spoke, and we believe, because we
also speak, knowing that the the one who awakened the Master
Jesus and us with Jesus will awaken you all and cause you to
stand beside [us]. For all things [are] through you all, so that the
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!747
through faith, not through sight. And we are of good courage and
are well-pleased rather to be absent out of the body and to be
present at the Lord. And therefore we are ambitious, whether to be
present or whether to be absent, to be acceptable to Him. For it is
necessary to make all of us manifest before the tribunal of Christ,
so that each may carry back the things through the body towards
those things which He carried, whether good or bad.
Thus knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade men, and we
have been manifested to God. And I hope also to have been
manifested in your common knowledge. We do not again commend
ourselves to you all but give an occasion to you all that you may
boast over us, so that you may hold the boasting toward those in
appearance and not in heart. For if we withdraw in mind, [it is] for
God. If we are prudent, [it is] for you. For the charity of Christ holds
us [with it]. We judge this, that one died over all and thus all die.
And [He] died over all, so that those who live may no longer live for
themselves but for [He Who] died over them and was awoken.
Thus we know nobody according to the flesh out of the now. If
also we have known Christ according to flesh, but we now no
!748
longer know [in this way]. Thus if one [is] in Christ, he is a new
foundation. The old went away. Behold the new things have come.
And all those out of God Who reconciled us to Himself through
Christ and gave us the covenant of the reconciliation, since God
was in Christ [while] reconciling the world to Himself, not thinking
[of] their blunders to himself [but] placing the principle of
reconciliation in us. Thus we are ambassadors on behalf of Christ
as on behalf of God who summons through us. He made Him sin,
Who did not know sin, on behalf of us, so that we may become
righteousness of God in Him.
But working together, we also encourage you all to accept the
favor of God not for nothing. For it says, In the received time I
heeded you and in the day of salvation I helped you. Now behold
the acceptable time. Now behold the day of salvation. Give offense
of nothing in nothing so that the ministry may not be blamed, but in
all stand with each other as ministers of God in much patience, in
afflictions, in necessities, and in anguish, in wounds, in jails, in
rebellions, in labors, in vigils, in hunger, in purity, in knowledge, in
patience, in uprightness, in the Holy Spirit, in genuine love, in a
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were separated, says the Lord, and do not be fastened with the
foul. And, I will be to you all into the father, and you all will be to me
in sons and daughters, says the Lord all-powerful.
Thus holding these these promises, beloved, we may cleanse
ourselves from all pollution of flesh and spirit, filling up holiness in
fear of God. Receive us! We did no wrong. We did no destruction.
We did no fraud. I do not speak toward great judgment. For I have
said beforehand that you are in our hearts into dying and living
together. [There is] much frankness to me toward you all, much
boasting to me over you all. I have made full in encouragement. I
over-abound in the joy upon the whole of our affliction. For also, we
having gone into Macedonia, our flesh had no rest but was afflicted
in all [things].
But the one who encourages the one brought low called us, God
in the presence of Titos, and not only in his presence but also in the
encouragement for which he was encouraged upon you all,
announcing back to us your desire, your lamentation, your imitation
over me in as much as I rather have been gladdened.
!751
That if also I sorrowed you all in that letter, I do not regret it. If
also I regretted it, I see that the this letter if also it sorrowed you all
for a season, now I rejoice, not that you sorrowed but that you
sorrowed into repentance. For you sorrowed according to God, so
that you lost in nothing out of us. For the suffering according to God
works repentance into unrepentant salvation. And the repentance of
the world greatly works death. For behold, this thing worked you all
to have been sorrowed according to God [in] so much earnestness
but defense but displeasure but fear but desire but imitation but
revenge. You stood yourselves together to be pure in the whole
affair. Therefore, if also I wrote to you, not because of that who
made wrongdoing, nor because of that who was wronged, but
toward the manifesting your earnestness, which you have over us
toward you all before the face of God. Therefore we are
encouraged.
And in our encouragement, we rejoiced abundantly more upon
the joy of Titos, that his spirit was refreshed by you all. For if that I
have boasted anything to him of you, I have not been ashamed, I
was not dishonored, but as I have spoken unto you all things in
!752
truth, even so our boasting unto Titus was true. And his inward
affection is more abundant toward you, when he remembers the
obedience of you all, and how with fear and trembling you received
him. I rejoice that I am confident in all things in you all.
And we make the favor of God known to you, brothers, the grace
which has been given in the Macedonian Church, that in much
testing of affliction, their abundance of joy and their deep poverty
abounded into the riches of their simplicity. That according to
power, I witness, and beyond power, they were made volunteers
with much comfort, imploring us [for] favor and the communion of
the servant, which is made into the holy ones. And we did not hope
in the same way, but they gave first themselves to God, then to us
through the will of God, so that as we ask Titus, so that, in whatever
way he begins, thus may he also fill up in you all that favor.
But even as you abound in all, believe also the principle and
know also all haste and love out of us in you, so that also you may
be filled in that favor. I do not speak according to imposition but the
through the haste of others, and [thus] I test the lawfulness of your
love. For you know the favor of our Lord Jesus Christ, that being
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rich, he became poor because of you all, so that you all may
become rich by His poverty. And I give a sign in this. For this is
useful to you who began not only to do but also to will last year. And
now also you completed the doing, in such a manner as according
to the willingness of the [willfulness], thus also the completion from
what you hold. For if the willingness is manifest according to that
which it has, it is accepted not according to that which it does not
have. For [it is] not as a remission for others [and] an affliction for
you all, but out of equality in the present time, your abundance [of
those may supply] a need, so that also the abundance of those may
become a need, in such a manner as it may become equality, just
as it is written, Who is more does not abound, and who is less was
not lessened.
But [may] favor [be] to God who gave the eagerness on behalf of
us in the heart of Titus, that he received the comfort, and being
more eager, because he accepted the comfort, but being more
eager he took the initiative to come to you of his own will. But we
the brother sent together with him, whose approval in the gospel [is]
through all of the Church, and not only [that], but also having been
!754
chosen by the Church [to be] our fellow-traveler with this favor
which is ministered by us toward the glory of the Lord and toward
our will, we who avoid this, that no one may blame us in this
abundance ministered by us. For, we perceive beforehand good
things not only before [the face of] the Lord but also before [the
face of] men. And we sent our brother to them, the brother whom
we approved to be earnest in many times, and now he has been
made more earnest in much into you all. As for Titos, he is my
partner and fellow worker into you all. As for our brothers, the are
missionaries of the Churches, a glory of Christ. Thus [be] marked
ones [to those who are] the indication of your love and our loudspeaking on behalf of you all into them into the face of the
Churches.
For on one hand, concerning the ministry, which is to me the
excessive writing to you all into the holy ones. For I know your
willingness which I spoke loudly about over you all to the
Macedonians, that Akhaia has prepared last year, and your zeal
roused the many [of them] to excitement. And I sent the brothers,
so that our loud-speaking may be emptied over you all in the this
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God, and [we] take prisoner all perception into the service of the
Anointed One, and [we] hold in hand to punish all inobedience,
whenever your obedience may be filled.
See the things before [your] faces. If one has persuaded to
himself to be of Christ, may he count this again before himself, that
as he [is] of Christ, thus also [are] we. For both if we may speak
loudly about something more full around our power of which the
Lord gave into the building and not into your destruction, I will not
be ashamed. So that I may not think as to terrify you all through the
letters. That the letters ,on one hand, they say, [were] heavy and
strong, and on the other hand, the presence of the body [was] weak
and the principle contemptible. Such as this may this count, that of
what sort we may be by the principle through letters while being
absent, such as this also while being present by the work.
For we do not dare to make ourselves of the number, or to
compare ourselves to them, which praise themselves: but they do
not understand in themselves while measuring themselves and
comparing themselves to themselves. But we do not boast into the
unmeasurable things, but according to the measure of the
!758
measuring stick, which our God divided to us, to aim also to your
extent. For [it is] not as we may not stretch out beyond measure
while aiming into you all yourselves, for also we came first to you all
to the furthest extent [of your land] in the good news of the Anointed
One, not boasting into the unmeasurable things in another's labors,
and holding hope of your increasing faith to be made great
according to our measuring stick into abundance to announce the
good news into [the lands] beyond you, not to boast in another's
measuring stick into the things at hand. But, May the one who
boasts boast in the Lord. For he who raises himself, that [man] is
acceptable, but whom the Lord raises.
I owed [that] you were lifting up some little senselessness of
mine. But also lift up
eagerness of God for you all, for I joined you all in one man to
present a pure virgin for Christ. And I fear that, just as the serpent
deceived Eve in his villainy, your perceptions may be destroyed
from the simplicity and purity of that which is into the Anointed One.
For on one hand, if the one coming announces another Jesus
Whom we did not announce, you take another spirit whom you did
!759
not take, or another goodness which you did not receive, you lift up
beautifully.
For I consider nothing to have made me less than the great
missionaries. And if also one's own by the principle, but not by
knowledge, but in all appearing in all into you all. The one having
done sin lowers himself so that you all are exalted, that do I
announce the gift of the God, the good news, to you all? I striped
off the other churches while taking salary toward your ministry, and,
when I was near you and in need, I was not pressing heavily for
anything. For the brothers filled up my need while having come
from Macedonia, and in all I guarded and will guard you without
burdening myself. There is Christ's Truth in me that the boasting
itself will not be fenced into me in the regions of Akhaia.
Through what? That I do not love you? God knows. And what I
do and will do, so that I may cut off the occasion of those wishing
the occasion, so that [in that] in which they may boast, they may
find just as also we. For those such as these are false missionaries,
crafty workmen, changing [their] figures into apostles of Christ. And
[it is] no wonder. For Satan himself changes himself into a
!760
messenger of light. Thus [it is] not great if also his servants change
forms as servants of righteousness, of whom it will be the end
according to their works.
I speak again, may one not think me to be senseless. And if
indeed not, [then] you accept me as senseless, so that also I may
boast some little. Who speaks, I do speak not according to the Lord
but as in senselessness, in this substance of the boasting. When
may boast according to flesh, I also will boast. For being full of
sense, you pleasantly endure fools. For you endure anyone who is
in service to you, anyone who devours, anyone who receives,
anyone who exalts, and anyone who thrashes you in face.
I speak according to dishonor, as that we have become weak. In
which one dares, I speak in foolishness, I also dare. Are they
Hebrews? Also am I. Are they Israelites? Also am I. Are they sperm
of Abraam? Also am I. Are they servants of Christ? I speak being
less wise, I am more. in many labors, in many jails, in exceeding
strikes, in frequent deaths. By [the] Jews I five times took forty
[lashes] minus one. I was struck by rods three times, once stoned,
three times shipwrecked, night and day I was in the deep sea. [In]
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!762
the body or without the body I do not know, the God knows, was
carried off into the paradise and heard unspoken words which it is
not possible for humans to speak. On behalf of such I will boast,
and on behalf of myself I will not boast if not in the weaknesses.
For if I will desire to boast, I will not be senseless, for I will speak
Truth. And I spare, that one may not think me above that which he
sees me or hears something out of me and by the superiority of the
revelations. So that I may not overflow, a thorn is given to me by
the flesh, a messenger of Satan, so that it may slap me, so that I
may not overflow. Over this three times I asked the Lord so that it
may be absent from me. And He said to me, My favor is sufficient
for you, for the power will fill up in weakness. Thus I will rather
boast gladly in my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may
inhabit upon me. Because I am well pleased in weaknesses, in
hubris, in necessity, in persecutions and narrowness, on behalf of
Christ. For which I am weak, then I am strong.
I have become senseless. You all forced me. For I owed to be
entrusted by you. For I was nothing less of the great missionaries if
also I am nothing. On one hand, the marks of the missionary were
!763
made in you all in all suffering, by marks and wonders and powers.
For is it that you were inferior over the remaining Church, if not that
I myself pressed heavily upon you? Favor me [with] this injustice.
See this third time I readily come to you, and I do not press
heavily. For I do not seek the things of you but [rather] you
[yourselves]. For children do not owe to enrich the parents, but the
parents to the children. And I will gladly spend and will be spent on
behalf of you souls. If I love you exceedingly, am I loved less? And
may it be, I did not weigh on you.
But while [I am] beginning to be ready for wickedness, I took you
all by treachery. Nothing of those whom I have sent off toward you,
through [this act] did I overreach you? I called Titos and sent the
brother with [him]. Did Titos overreach anything [from] you? Did we
not walk in the same Spirit? Not by the same tracks?
Once you thought that we defend ourselves to you? We speak
before God in Christ. And all things, beloved, [are] on behalf of your
structure. For I fear that I desire the sort which I find you all in the
way that I do not come, and also that I am found to you the sort that
you do not desire, not in the way of quarrel, eagerness, will,
!764
!765
Galatians
Paul, an apostle not from men nor through a man but through
Jesus the Anointed and through God the Father of those who
awoke Him out of the dead, and all the brothers with me, to the
Church of Galatia, favor and peace to you from God the Father and
!766
our Lord Jesus Christ who gave Himself for our sins in such a way
as to choose us out of the present age of evil according to the will
of the God and Father of us, to Whom [is] the belief into the ages of
ages. May it be true.
I wonder that so quickly you are moved into another gospel from
Him, Christ, Who called you in [His] favor. This gospel is not
another gospel if not that there are some who trouble you and wish
to turn you around from the gospel of the Christ. But also, if we or a
messenger out of the preach a gospel to you apart from what we
preached to you, he is to be anathema. As I said previously, and
even now again I say it, if one preaches to you apart from what you
received, he is to be anathema. For even now, I persuade men or
God. I seek to make well. For if I were yet making well to men, I
would not be a slave of Christ. I make it know to you, brothers, the
gospel which is preached by me, the gospel that is not according to
man. For neither did I receive that from men nor did I teach it from
men but through the revelation of Jesus Christ.
For you heard of my conversion when [I was] in Judaism that I
persecuted the Church of God according to extremity and
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!768
!769
nations and they into the circumcised, only that we remember the
beggars, the very thing I was eager to do.
But when Peter came into Antioch, I opposed him to his face
because he was examined. For before some came from James, he
was eating with the nations. But when they came, he withdrew and
separated himself fearing those of the circumcision. And the other
Jews pretended to him so that also Barnabas was lead away with
them by their hypocrisy. But when I saw that they did not follow
correctly toward the truth of the gospel, I said to Peter in front of all,
If you are a Jew and live as one of the nation and not as a Jew, why
do you force the nations to be Jews? We are Jews by nature and
not sinners out of the nations.
Seeing that a man is not made righteous out of works of law if
not through faith of Jesus Christ, we also believed into Christ Jesus
so that we are made righteous out of faith of Christ and not out of
works of law because all flesh will not be made righteous out of
works of law. And if, while seeking to be made righteous in Christ,
we ourselves are also found to be sinners, is Christ a minister of
sin? May it never be! For if I build again those things which I
!770
!771
will be blessed in you. Thus are they blessed out of faith with the
faith of Abraham? For as many as are out of works of law, they are
under a curse. For it has been written, Cursed [are] all who do not
remain in all that which is written in the Bible of the law which that
they may do them. But that no one is made righteous in law beside
God. [It is] clear that the righteous will live out of faith. And the law
is not out of faith. Rather, the man who made them will live in them.
Christ led us out of the curse of law. He became a curse over us.
For it has been written, Cursed are all who hang on a tree. [This is]
so that the blessing of Abraham would be into the nations in Christ
Jesus, so we may receive that the preaching of the Spirit through
faith.
Brothers, I speak according to man, just as no one negates or
adds to the covenant of man which has been preached. And the
promises were preached to Abraham and to his sperm. He does not
say, And to the sperms, as upon many but as upon one, And to
your sperm, who is Christ. And I say this: [the law] cannot cancel
the covenant preached beforehand by God into Christ which the
law had made 430 years after that the promise [is made to be]
!772
empty. For you are inheritance of the law is no longer out of law but
out of promise. And God has favored Abraham through the
promise. Why then does the law transgress the favor and extremely
deliver that of which the seed came, to whom it promised and
appointed through messengers in the hand of a mediator? But a
mediator is not of one. But God is one. Thus may the law not
become against the promises of God. For if a law had been given
which had the power to give live, thus the righteous would righteous
be out of law.
But the writing has enclosed all under sin so that the promise
was given out of faith of Jesus the Anointed to those who believe.
But we were keeping guard by law on behalf of the coming of faith.
We have been enclosed into the coming faith to be revealed. As
such the law became our guardian into Christ so that we may be
made righteous out of faith. And no longer are we under a guardian
because of the coming of the faith. For you are all sons of God
through faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you that have been
baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is
neither Jew nor Greek no slave nor freeman nor male nor female.
!773
For you all are one in Christ Jesus. And if you are of Christ, are you
the sperm of Abraham and the inheritance according to a promise?
And I say, The inheritance is a child upon so long a time that
nothing differs of a servant, [although] he is lord of all. But he is
under guardians and house-managers until the time appointed by
the father. Thus also we, when we were children, were enslaved
under the clocks of the world. And when the fullness of time came,
God sent out His son Who was born under law and out of a woman
so that He may buy up those under law so that we may receive
placement as sons. You are sons. God sent out the Spirit of His
Son into your hearts. The Spirit cries, Abba, the Father! Thus you
are no longer a slave but a son. You are a son and the inheritance
of God through Christ.
But on one hand, when you knew God, you were enslaved to
them which are not gods by nature. And on the other hand, now
you knew God, or rather were known by God, how have you turned
again upon the weak and impoverished clock to whom you wish to
enslave again from the beginning? You observe days, months,
times, and years. I fear for you so that I did not labor tiresomely into
!774
!775
other hand, the one born of the free woman was born through the
promise. These things are an allegory. For they are the two
covenants. On one hand, one away from Mount Sinai, this Hagar
who gave birth into bondage. For Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia.
And it is now next to Jerusalem. And it serves with her children. But
Jerusalem from above is free. Such is the mother of us all. For it
has been written, You are to be made glad, barren wombs which do
not bear. Break open and cry, those that do not suffer [birth] pain,
that [there are] many children of the barren rather than those who
have a man. And we, brothers, are the children of promise
according to Isaac. But just as then, the one born according to flesh
persecuted the one born according to Spirit. Thus also now. But
what does the writing say? Put out the slave and her son. For the
son of the slave is not the inheritance with the son of the free
woman. Brothers, we are not children of the slave but of the free
woman.
Therefore, stand in the freedom by which Christ freed us, and do
not be held again by the yoke of slavery. Behold, I, Paul, say to you
that if you be circumcised, Christ does not help you. And I witness
!776
!777
And I say by the Spirit, walk and do not fill [your] will of the flesh.
For the flesh desires against the Spirit and the Spirit against the
flesh. And these things oppose one another so that you do the
things you do not wish. And if you are led by [the] Spirit, you are not
under law. But the dishonorable works of the flesh are manifest.
They are adultery, fornication, dirtiness, licentiousness, idolatry,
[meaningless] drugs, hatred, inquiries, jealousy, desire, ambition,
schism, heresies, ill-will, murder, alcohol, partying, and similar
things for which I told you before, just as also I spoke beforehand,
that those who do these things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
And the fruit of the Spirit are love, joy, peace, great will, [that is,
to be able to suffer a long time,] rectitude, being together with
goodness, faith, gentleness, and mastery according to such things
which are not law. And these crucified the flesh of Christ with the
misfortunes and the desires. May we not become vainglorious to
one another while calling and bearing ill-will to one another.
Brothers, if a man is taken in some false step, you all, being
spiritual, are to restore such a one in the a spirit of gentleness. [As
individuals,] see yourselves that you may not be put on trial. Raise
!778
up the weights of one another and thus fill up the law of the
Anointed One. For if someone seems to be something, He
deceives himself [because] he is nothing. And may each test his
work, and then he will have a single boast into himself and not into
the other. For each will cary his own weight.
But the one who is being instructed, may he have in common the
word with the instructor in the whole truth. May you not deceived.
God is not sneered at. For if a man plants something, then he will
harvest it. [Therefore] the one who plants into his flesh will harvest
ruin out of the flesh. And the one who plants into the Spirit will
harvest eternal life out of the Spirit. And they do the beautiful. May
we not grow weary. For we who are not [yet] set free will harvest in
[each's] own time. Thus, while we have time, may we work the
good at all things and the the most extremely at the household of
the faithful.
See with what great writing with my hand I wrote to you all. As
many as desire to make a good show in the flesh, they force you all
to only be cut so that they may not be persecuted for the cross of
the Anointed One. For neither do those circumcised guard law
!779
Ephesians
!780
!781
!782
head over all the Church, which is His body, the complement of the
completing of all things in all things.
And you all being dead to the blunders and to your sins, in which
when you walked according to the age of this world, according to
the founding of the authority of the lower air, of the Spirit of the
current energizing in the sons of the Truth, in which also the whole
of us overturned when in the desires of our flesh, while doing the
will of the flesh and of the thoughts, and we were children of anger
by nature as also the remainder. And God, being wealthy in mercy,
through His much love [by] which He loved us, and being dead by
blunders, He made us alive by Christ - you are saved by grace and He assembled and made to sit together in the heavens in
Christ Jesus, so that he may show the overshooting wealth of His
favor in the coming age in goodness upon us in Christ Jesus.
For you are having been saved by grace through faith. And this is
not out of you all, [but it is] a gift of God. Not out of works, so that
one may not boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ
Jesus upon the good works which God prepared, so that we may
walk in them.
!783
Because you remember when [in time past] you were nations in
flesh, you who speak uncircumcision by those who speak
circumcision made by hands in flesh, that you were without Christ
in that time, being alienated by the citizenship of Israel and being
foreigners of the covenants of the promise, not holding hope and
being without God in the world, but now you [are] in Christ Jesus,
you who when you [were] being far away, became near in the blood
of Christ.
For He is our hope, Who made both [groups into] one and
loosened a partition wall of fencing, the hatred in His flesh, having
emptied the law of the commands in dogma, so that he may found
the two in Himself into one new man and may reconcile the both in
one body for God through the cross, having killed the hatred in
Himself. And having come to you, He announced the good news
[of] peace, the peace for the far away and for the near, that through
Him we both have the access in one Spirit toward the Father.
Thus no longer you are foreigners and are living near but you are
fellow citizens of the holy ones and are of the same family of God,
having been built up upon the foundation of the missionaries and
!784
!785
!786
!787
the saints into a work of service, into the structure of the body of the
Anointed One, as far as we may arrive who are holly into the unity
of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, into the
complete man, into the measure of the age of the fulfillment of the
Anointed One, so that no longer may we be children, tossed about
like waves and carried around by all wind of the instruction in the
fallacy of men, in all works toward the circumvention of the
wandering, and we grow while making Truth in Love into [that Love
through] all things, [the Love] Who is the Head, Christ, out of Whom
all the Body, being fitted and fastened together through the whole
joint of the supply according to [His] energy in measure of each one
of a portion of the body, is made [into] the increase into the
structure of Himself in love. Thus I speak this and I witness in the
Master, so that you may no longer walk according to how the
nations also walk in vanity of their mind. They are having been
blinded by the perception, alienated of the life of God through the
ignorance of that which is in them, through the blindness of their
heart, Whosoever, having ceased to suffer pain, has given
!788
!789
!790
Master. Walk as children of Light - For the fruit of the Light [is] in all
goodness and righteousness and Truth - thinking something is wellpleasing to the Master, and do not share in the barren works of the
darkness, abut rather also refute [them]. For it is shame even to
speak of the things which are done by them in secret, and all the
things are manifest which are being refuted by the Light, for all
Light is manifested, for which reason it says, Rise, Who is asleep,
and stand up out of the dead, and Christ will illumine you.
Thus see exactly how you walk no as unwise but as wise, buying
up the time, that the days are grievous. Trough this, do not become
without prudence, but understand the will of the Master. And do not
be inebriated by wine, in which is wastefulness, but be filled in the
Spirit, speaking to [one another] in psalms and hymns and spiritual
songs, singing songs and hymns by the heart of you all to the
Master, giving thanks always on behalf of all in the name of our
Master Jesus Christ for the God and Father, subjecting one another
in fear of Christ.
The women [are to subject themselves] to their own men as to
the Master, that a man is the head of the woman as also [is] Christ
!791
head of the Church, the salvation salvation himself of the body. The
men, love the women, according to how also Christ loved the
Church and gave over himself on behalf of it, so that he may make
it holy, cleaning it by the bath of water in speech, so that he may
present to himself as an honorable Church, not having stain or
wrinkle or something of such kind, but so that it may be holy and
immaculate Thus also the men ought to love their women as their
own bodies. The one who loves his woman loves himself. For no
one ever hated his flesh but nourishes it and warms it, according to
how Christ [does to] the Church, that we are limbs of His body.
Because of this, a man will leave his father and mother and be
glued toward his woman, and they will become tow into one flesh.
This mystery is great. And I speak into Christ and into the Church.
Except also you all being according to one, may each thus love his
woman as himself, and may the woman fear the man.
Children, obey your parents in the Master. For this is right. Honor
your father rand your mother, which is the first commandment in
promise, so that it may be well to you an you may be of an old age
upon the earth.
!792
And fathers, do not cause your children to anger, but rear them
up in education and admonition of the Master.
The slaves, obey the masters according to flesh with fear and
trembling in simplicity of the heart of you all as to Christ, not serving
according to the eyes as being pleasing to men but as slaves of
christ, doing the will of God out of soul, serving with a good will as
to the Master and not to men, knowing that whatsoever good thing
any man does that same shall he receive of the Lord, whether he
be bond or free.
And masters, do these things toward them, putting away threats,
knowing that also the Master is [Master] of them and of you in the
skies, and there is not acceptance of persons beside Him.
Of the remainder, be strengthened in the Master and in the
power of His strength. Put on the armor of God toward the
strengthening of yourselves to stand against the snares of the
Devil, that there is not conflict to us against blood and flesh but
against principalities, against authorities, against the the rulers of
this world of this darkness, against the spiritual of the wickedness in
the skies. Through this, take up armor of God, so that you may be
!793
able to stand against in the wicked day and to stand after you have
worked all things. Thus stand, having girded your loins in Truth, and
having put on the breastplate of righteousness and having been
bound [at your] feet in readiness of the good news of the peace, in
all taking up the shield of faith, in which you are able to extinguish
all the fiery arrows of the evil one. And receive the helmet of the
salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the speech of God.
Through all prayer and supplication in all times in the Spirit, and
keeping vigil into that in all perseverance and entreaty concerning
all of the saints and on behalf of me, so that the principle may be
given to me in the opening of my mouth, to make known the
mystery of the good news in frankness, on behalf of which I am an
ambassador in chains, so that in it I may speak frankly as it is
necessary for me to speak.
And so that you also may know the things according to me, what
I do, Tykhikos the beloved brother and faithful deacon in the Master
will make all things known to you. I sent him toward you into this
same thing, so that you may know the things concerning us and
may exhort your hearts.
!794
Peace to the brothers and love with faith from God the father and
Master Jesus Christ. The favor with all of those who love our
Master Jesus Christ in incorruption.
Philippians
!795
inner parts of Christ Jesus. And this I pray, so that your love yet
rather and rather may grow in knowledge and all perception, so that
you may allow those things which are best, so that you may be
pure and without offense, until the day of Christ, having been filled
with the fruit of righteousness through Jesus Christ into the glory
and praise of God.
And I wish to know you, brothers, that the things concerning me
have come rather into [the] progress of the good news, so that my
bonds have become manifest in the whole Praetorium and in all the
remainder, and more of the brothers have been made bold by my
bonds to speak the principle abundantly and without fear. On one
hand, some also through ill-will and contention have announced the
Anointed One, and on the other hand, some also through good will.
On one hand, those out of love, knowing that I am lain into the
defense of the good news, but on the other hand, those out of ill-will
impurely preach the Anointed One, thinking to awaken affliction to
my bonds. For what? More that in the whole way, whether by
pretense of by truth, Christ is preached, and in that I rejoice. But
also I will rejoice, for I know that this will come forth into salvation
!796
through your prayer and supply of the Spirit of Jesus the Anointed
according to my earnest expectation and hope, that in nothing I will
be made ashamed but in all frankness as always and now Christ
will be made great in my mouth, whether through life or through
death. For to me, living [is] Christ and dying [is] profit. And if to live
in flesh, this to me [is] a fruit of a work, and I will seize something I
do not make known. And I am held together out of the two, holding
the desire into the to be loosened and to be with Christ, which is
better than all. And to remain in the flesh [is] more indispensable
through you. And I have been persuaded of this: I know that I will
remain and will continue to all of you into your progress and joy of
the faith, so that your boasting may abound in Christ Jesus in me
through my coming again to you.
Be citizens only as worthy of the goodness of the Anointed one,
so that whether coming and seeing you all or whether being
present I hear the things concerning you all, that you stand in one
spirit, one soul, laboring together by faith of the good news and not
being afraid in anything by the adversaries, whatever is to an
indication to them of destruction but of your salvation and this from
!797
God, that to you it is given by Christ, not only that into the belief of
Him but also to suffer by Him, holding the same fight which you saw
in me and now you hear in me.
Thus if there is some consolation in Christ, if some solace of
love, is some communion of the Spirit, if some heart and
compassions, fill my joy so that you may be prudent in the same,
holding the same love, being of the same soul, being prudent in
one, nothing according to hired work nor according vanity but by
humility judging each other to be higher than themselves, each not
looking to the things of themselves but also to the things of the
others.
Be prudent in you concerning this which also in Christ Jesus,
Who, being in the form of God, did not judge it robbery to be equals
to God, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a slave, becoming
in the likeness of man, and having been found in the schema as a
man, He lowered Himself, becoming a listener as far as death, but
a death of a cross. Because of that, also God exalted Him and gave
the name to him, the name above all, so that in the name of Jesus,
all will genuflect, [all] upon the skies and upon the earth and below
!798
the ground, and all tongues will confess, that Jesus Christ is the
Master into the consent of belief of God the Father.
Thus, my beloved, always be accordingly obedient, not as in my
presence alone but now in much rather in my absence. Greatly
work the salvation of yourselves with fear and trembling. For God
is, who also energizing in you both to be willing and the energizing
on behalf of [His] good pleasure.
Do all things without muttering and hesitation, so that you may
become blameless and pure, children of God, blameless in the
middle of a crooked and twisted generation, in which you appear as
lanterns in the world, holding firmly the principle of life, into my
boast into the day of Christ, that I neither neither ran nor labored to
exhaustion into an empty thing. But if also I make a libation upon
the sacrifice and liturgy of your faith, I rejoice and co-rejoice for you
all. And you both rejoice and co-rejoice the same for me.
And I hope in the Master Jesus to quickly send Timotheos to you,
so that I also may be of good soul, having known the things
concerning you all. For I hold no one of equal soul, whoever may
be legitimately anxious for the things concerning you. For all those
!799
seek the things of themselves, not the things of Jesus Christ. But
know His test, that as a child of a father, he served with me into the
good news. Thus on one hand, I hope to send him so that I may
see at once the things concerning me. And I have confidence in the
Master that also I myself will come quickly.
And I judged [it to be] necessary to send to you Epaphrodios, my
brother, co-worker, and co-soldier, and your missionary and liturgy
of my need, when he was yearning after and was sorely troubled
for the whole of you, because you heard that he was sick. For also
he was sick all the way up to death, but the God had mercy on him,
and not only him but also me, so that I may not have sadness upon
sadness. Thus I sent him more quickly, so that seeing him again,
you may rejoice and I may be more without pain. Thus I may
receive him favorably in the Master with all joy and may hold the
honorable things such as these, that through the work of Christ as
far as death, he approached into ruin while handing over his soul,
so that He may fill up your deficiency to me of the liturgy.
Rejoice in the Master concerning the rest, my brothers. [It is] not
troublesome but secure for me to write the same things to you. See
!800
the do, see the workers of evil, see the mutilation. For we are the
circumcision, those serving and boasting in Christ Jesus by the
Spirit of God and not being confident in flesh. If another one seems
to be confident in flesh, I more. Eight days old by circumcision, out
of the race of Israel, of the tribe of Beniamin, a Hebraios out of
Hebraioi, a Pharisaios according to the law, a pursuer of the Church
according to zeal, having become blameless according to
righteousness which is in the law. But whatever things were profit to
me , these I judged [to be] loss through the Christ. But yet I judge
all things to be loss through the eminence of the knowledge of
Christ Jesus my Master, through Whom I made a loss and judged
[to be] excrement, so that I may gain the Profit [Who is] Christ and
may find in Him, that I may not hold my righteousness which is out
of law but through faith of Christ, that righteousness out of God
upon the faith, to know Him and the power of His resurging and the
communion of His suffering, conforming to His death, if in what way
I may arrive into the outward resurging which is out of the dead.
Not that I already took [the resurrection] or I have already been
made complete, and I pursue if also I may [at any time] seize [it],
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glory in Christ Jesus. And [may] the glory [be] to God and our
Father into the ages of ages. Let it be so.
Greet all the saints in Christ Jesus. The brothers with me great
you. All the saints greet you, and most of all those out of Caesar.
[May] the favor of the Master Jesus Christ [be] with your spirit.
Kolossaians
!805
Truth. Accordingly, you heard from Epaphras of the love of our coslave, who is faithful concerning us, a minister of Christ, Who also
makes your love visible to us in the Spirit.
Through this we also, form the day of which we heard [of it], do
not cease praying on behalf of you and asking, so that you may be
filled with the knowledge of the will of Him in all wisdom and
Spiritual intellect, so that you may walk worthily of the Lord through
the whole of pleasing [Him], bearing fruit in the whole good work
and growing in the knowledge of God, while being empowered in all
power according to the authority of His glory into all endurance and
long-suffering, giving thanks with joy to the Father, Who has mad us
sufficient into the portion of the inheritance of the holy in the Light,
Who snatched us out of the authority of the darkness and placed us
into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in Whom we have the
redemption, the remission of the sins, Who is the icon of God the
invisible, the first-born of all creations, that in Him all things were
created in the skies and upon the earth, the seen and the unseen,
whether thrones or dominions or institutions of rule or authorities.
All things were created through Him and into Him, and He is before
!806
all and all come together, and He is the Head of the body of the
Church, Who is the rule, the first-born out of the dead, so that being
first, He came about in all, that in Him all fullness was pleased to
dwell and to reconcile all things into Him, making peace through the
blood of His cross, Through Him whether the things upon the earth
or the things in the skies.
And you [were] strangers and enemies in mind in the evil works,
but now He reconciled [you] in the body of His flesh through the
death to present you holy and blameless and without reproach
before His face, if yet you remain in the faith, having been founded
and sitting and not shifting away from the hope of the good news
which you heard which is preached in all creation under the sky, of
which I became a minister.
Now I rejoice in the sufferings on behalf on you, and I fill up the
shortcomings of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh on behalf of His
body, which is the Church, of which I became a minister according
to the house-management of God, which was given to me into you
so that I amy fill up the principle of god, the mystery which has
been hidden from the ages and from the generations, but now
!807
!808
See that one may not be one who carries you off as plunder
through philosophy and empty deceit according to the tradition of
men, according to the elements of the words and not according to
Christ, that in Him all fulness of the divinity bodily dwells, and you
are having been filled in Him, Who is the Head of all rule and
authority, in Whom also you were circumcised by circumcision not
made by hands in the putting off of the body of the flesh, in the
circumcision of Christ. You were buried together to Him in Baptism,
in which also you were assembled through the faith of the energy of
God Who raised Him out of the dead. And you who were dead in
sins by uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive with Him,
having given favor for all sins to us, having wiped out the handwritten [ordinance] against us by decrees, the [ordinance] which
was opposite us, and He has took it away out of the middle, having
nailed it to the cross. Pillaging the institutions of rule and the
authorities, he displayed in frankness, having triumphed them in
Himself.
Thus may one not judge you in meat and drink or in a part of the
feast or the new moon or the sabbaths, which is a shadow of the
!809
coming, but the body [is] of Christ. May no man at his pleasure bear
rule over you by lowness of mind and worshipping of angels,
advancing himself in those things which he never saw, rashly puffed
up with his fleshly mind and not holding the head, out of which all
the body through the connection and fastenings, having been
furnished and brought together increases the increase of God.
If you died with Christ form the elements of the world why do you
submit to the decrees as living in the world? Do not fasten nor taste
nor touch the things which are all into corruption by the
consumption, according to the precepts and teachings of men,
which are a principle holding wisdom in superstition and in lowness
and in not sparing the body, which are things of no value, since
[they pertain] to the filling of the flesh.
Thus if were risen together with Christ, seek the things which are
above where Christ is sitting at the right hand of God. Meditate
wisely on the things above and not on the things upon the earth.
For you died and your life has been covered with Christ in God.
When Christ manifests, your life, then also you will be made
manifest with Him in glory.
!810
!811
judge in your hearts, into which also you were were called in one
body. And may you become grateful.
May the principle of Christ dwell in you abundantly, teaching and
advising each other in all wisdom, singing psalms, hymns, and
spiritual odes in your hearts for God in gratitude. And all, whatever
you may do in principle or in work, all things in the name of the
Master Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.
The slaves, listen according to all for the masters according to
the flesh, not in eye-service as men-pleasers but in simplicity of
heart, fearing the Master. What you do, work out of soul as to the
Master and not to men, seeing that from the Master you will receive
recompense of the inheritance. Serve the master Christ. For he
who will have done unrighteousness, he will doing it will be
provided for, and there it not acceptance of persons. Masters, hand
over righteousness and equality to the slaves, seeing that you also
have a Master in the sky.
Continue in prayer, being watchful in the same in thanksgiving,
praying at the same time and concerning us, so that God may open
the door of the principle to us to speak the mystery of Christ,
!812
!813
1 Thessalonians
!814
through the hope which is laid away for you in the skies, which you
head about before in the principle of the Truth of the good news
present among you, according to how also in all the world, there is
fruit bearing and growth according to how also [there is] in you,
away from which day you heard and observed the favor of God in
Truth. Accordingly, you heard from Epaphras of the love of our coslave, who is faithful concerning us, a minister of Christ, Who also
makes your love visible to us in the Spirit.
Through this we also, form the day of which we heard [of it], do
not cease praying on behalf of you and asking, so that you may be
filled with the knowledge of the will of Him in all wisdom and
Spiritual intellect, so that you may walk worthily of the Lord through
the whole of pleasing [Him], bearing fruit in the whole good work
and growing in the knowledge of God, while being empowered in all
power according to the authority of His glory into all endurance and
long-suffering, giving thanks with joy to the Father, Who has mad us
sufficient into the portion of the inheritance of the holy in the Light,
Who snatched us out of the authority of the darkness and placed us
into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in Whom we have the
!815
redemption, the remission of the sins, Who is the icon of God the
invisible, the first-born of all creations, that in Him all things were
created in the skies and upon the earth, the seen and the unseen,
whether thrones or dominions or institutions of rule or authorities.
All things were created through Him and into Him, and He is before
all and all come together, and He is the Head of the body of the
Church, Who is the rule, the first-born out of the dead, so that being
first, He came about in all, that in Him all fullness was pleased to
dwell and to reconcile all things into Him, making peace through the
blood of His cross, Through Him whether the things upon the earth
or the things in the skies.
And you [were] strangers and enemies in mind in the evil works,
but now He reconciled [you] in the body of His flesh through the
death to present you holy and blameless and without reproach
before His face, if yet you remain in the faith, having been founded
and sitting and not shifting away from the hope of the good news
which you heard which is preached in all creation under the sky, of
which I became a minister.
!816
!817
!818
was opposite us, and He has took it away out of the middle, having
nailed it to the cross. Pillaging the institutions of rule and the
authorities, he displayed in frankness, having triumphed them in
Himself.
Thus may one not judge you in meat and drink or in a part of the
feast or the new moon or the sabbaths, which is a shadow of the
coming, but the body [is] of Christ. May no man at his pleasure bear
rule over you by lowness of mind and worshipping of angels,
advancing himself in those things which he never saw, rashly puffed
up with his fleshly mind and not holding the head, out of which all
the body through the connection and fastenings, having been
furnished and brought together increases the increase of God.
If you died with Christ form the elements of the world why do you
submit to the decrees as living in the world? Do not fasten nor taste
nor touch the things which are all into corruption by the
consumption, according to the precepts and teachings of men,
which are a principle holding wisdom in superstition and in lowness
and in not sparing the body, which are things of no value, since
[they pertain] to the filling of the flesh.
!819
Thus if were risen together with Christ, seek the things which are
above where Christ is sitting at the right hand of God. Meditate
wisely on the things above and not on the things upon the earth.
For you died and your life has been covered with Christ in God.
When Christ manifests, your life, then also you will be made
manifest with Him in glory.
Thus make the members upon the earth to be dead: fornication,
uncleanness, passion, desire, badness, and avarice, whatever is
idolatry, through which God's anger comes upon the sons of
disobedience, in whom you also walked once when you lived in
those [things]. But now you put away all those things, anger, desire,
badness, blasphemy, shameful speech out of your mouth. Do not
be false to one another, you who have stripped yourselves of the
old man with his actions and have clothed yourselves with the new
renewed [man] into knowledge according to the icon of He who
created the [renewed man], where there is not one Hellene and
Jew, circumcision and uncircumcision, barbarian, Skythian, slave,
freeman, but Christ [being] all things and in all.
!820
!821
!822
1 Timotheos
!823
!824
according to the gospel of the belief of the blessed God, the gospel
which I have been entrusted [with].
I have grace for Him Who strengthens me, for Christ Jesus our
Lord, that having placed faith, He guided me into the teaching
which first I slandered and persecuted and scorned, but I was given
mercy so that I was made ignorant in unbelief. And the favor of our
Lord over-extended with faith and love in Christ Jesus. The
argument of faith and all the worthy of restoration so that Christ
Jesus came into the word to save sinners, of whom I am the first.
But through that I was given mercy so that in me first Christ Jesus
is will mark the whole long-suffering toward the sketching of those
who will believe upon him into eternal life. And for the kind of the
ages, incorruptible, invisible, the only God, may honor and belief
[come] into the ages of ages. Amen.
I place down this command to you, [my] offspring Timotheos,
according to the precedent of the prophecy about you, so that
[being] a good soldier in those things you may fight [well], having
faith and a good conscience, of which some are repelling
concerning the faith and are shipwrecked, of which is Hymenaios
!825
!826
!827
!828
!829
the gift which is in you, which is given to you through the prophecy
with the imposition of the hands of the priest. Care about these
things, may it be in these, so that your visible progress may be for
all. Attend to yourself and to the teaching. Remain in them. For
[when] you do this, you also save yourself and those listening to
you.
Do not rebuke a priest, but implore him as a father, and implore
the youths as brothers, the priests' wives as mothers, the young
women as sisters in all chastity.
Honor widows who are truly widows. And if one widow holds
children or grandchildren, she should teach first the own house to
be pious and to return an answer to the parents. For that is
acceptable to the face of God. And the true widow and the desolate
have hoped in God and stand before him making entreaties and
prayers day and night. And the one living wildly has died. And
exhort these so that they are irreprehensible. And whoever does
not have care of her own and especially for her household, she has
denied the faith and is lower than an unbeliever.
!830
May a widow be added to this list [of monastics] if she is not less
than sixty years, who is a woman of one man, a witness in beautiful
works, if she educated her children, if she relieves with hospitality, if
she washes the feet of the saints, if she helped those in distress, if
she pursued all good works.
Avoid young widows. For when they are indulgent against Christ,
they desire to marry, holding judgment because they made invalid a
first faith. And at the same time also they being idle learn to go
around to homes, not only idle but also verbose and curious,
speaking what is not necessary. Therefore I desire youths to marry,
to make children, to be masters at home, to give no occasion to the
enemy by favor of badly speaking. For now some are already
turned aside back toward Satan. If a faithful woman has widows,
may she minister to them, and the church may not be weighed
down, so that she may minister to true widows.
Beautifully are the priests set before [God], worthy of double
honor, especially who grow tired in word and teaching. For the
writing says, "Do not muzzle an ox who is treading. And, the worker
is worthy of his wages. Do not receive an accusation against a
!831
priest, if not under two or three witnesses. Those who sin are
disgraced before all, so that also the remaining may have fear.
I testify before God and Christ Jesus and the elect angles, so
that you may guard this without prejudice making nothing in
diverting another part. Quickly put hands on nobody nor have a
share for other sins. Guard yourself to be chaste.
No longer drink only water, but also consult a little wine through
the stomach and your constant weakness. The clear sinners of
certain men are foreknown into judgment, and some also pursue
[them]. Likewise also the works that are good are also clear; those
having otherwise are not able to hide.
As many as are slaves under a yoke, they may be consider their
own masters worthy of all honor, so that the name of God and the
teaching may not be scandalized. And those holding believing
masters should not think little of them, but because they are
brothers, rather they should serve them better so that they are
believers and beloved who take the benefit. These things teach and
exhort. If one teaches another doctrine and does not approach the
clean message of our Lord Jesus Christ and the teaching according
!832
!833
which He will show to his own: the blessed and only powerful, the
King and Lord of those ruling, the only one holding immortality,
Light living where it is inaccessible, Whom no one of men sees nor
is able to see, to Whom honor and authority [is due] forever, Amen.
Order the gifted in this current age to not think themselves better
nor to hope in uncertain wealth but upon God who hands over to us
all of wealth into fruition, to lead well, to become rich in good works,
to be generous, he in common, treasuring away to themselves the
good foundational thing into the future, so that they may take the
true life.
O Timotheos, guard the deposit, avoiding the profane and vain
talking and opposing the false name of knowledge, which some
proclaim concerning faith and [thus] err. [May] the favor [of God be]
with you.
2 Timotheos
!834
beloved son, may [you have] favor, mercy, and peace from God the
Father and Christ Jesus our Master.
I have gratitude to God for Whom I work from those first-born in
the clean knowledge as I have incessant remembrance concerning
you in my prayer both night and day. [While] I remember you, I
yearn that you may see [my] tears so that I may be filled with joy.
Taking a reminder of your unapologetic faith, that faith which dwelt
first in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice, and I am
persuade that [it is] also in you. Because of this responsibility, I
remind you to rekindle the gift of God which is in you through the
laying on of my hands. For God did not give to us a spirit of
cowardice but of power and love and prudence. Thus do not be
ashamed of the witness of our Master nor of me his prisoner but be
a fellow participant in the suffering for gospel according to God's
power, the God who saves us and calls with a calling for holy things
not according to our works but according to each's purpose and
according to the favor given to us in Christ Jesus for all time, that
[favor in the present time] through the appearance of our Savior
Jesus Christ who annihilated death and enlightened life and and
!835
!836
!837
Hymenaios and Philetos. Such missed the truth while speaking the
resurrection to have already happened. They also upset the faith of
some. However, the firm foundation who has stood, holding this
seal. The Master knew those who are of him, and may all who call
the name of Christ be away from unrighteousness.
And in a great house, there is not only vessels of gold and silver
but also of wood and clay. These are honorable and those are
dishonorable. Thus if you will clean yourself from these, he will be
an honorable vessel which has been sanctified and well useful for
the Master into the whole work which is good and prepared. Flee
the youthful desires, and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and
peace with those who call upon the Master out of clean hearts.
Decline [to answer] the foolish and uneducated questions seeing
that they know battles. It is not necessary for a slave of the Lord to
fight but to be gentle toward all, able to teach, and able to suffer
evil. Instruct them with gentleness that are contrary minded. God
may never give them repentance, that they may acknowledge the
truth and come to their senses out of the trap of the Devil, of whom
they are prisoners by him into his will.
!838
But know that difficult times will be in the last days. For the men
will be self-loving, avaricious, vagrant, arrogant, blasphemous,
disobedient to fathers, ungrateful, profane, heartless, without
peace, injurious, powerless, wild, hears of good, traitors, reckless,
deluded, fond of rather than of God, holding a shape of reverence
but denying the powerful of [that reverence]. Turn away from those.
For out of those are the pretenders into the households and those
who take captive women heaped with sins, led by many desires,
always being taught and never able to come into knowledge of
truth. And what direction Jannes and Jambres raised up against
Moses, thus also these stand against the truth, men who have been
destroyed in the mind, unacceptable around the faith. But they will
not advance upon the fullness. For their mindlessness is clear to
all, as also that has come about.
But you pursued my teaching, the institution, the proposition, the
faith, the happy will, the love, the suffering, the persecutions, the
sufferings, of what kind came about to me in Antioch, in Ikonios, in
Lystros, the kind of persecutions I sustained. The Master rescued
[me] out of all [of those]. And all who desire reverence to live in
!839
Christ Jesus endure persecution. And the evil men and sorcerers
advance upon the inferior both causing to stray and being caused
to stray [themselves].
But you [are to] remain in what you learned and in which you are
trusted, seeing around those things you were taught and those
sacred letters you have seen from infancy, those able to give you
wisdom into salvation through belief that [is] in Christ Jesus. All
writing is God-breathed and is useful toward teaching, arguing,
correction, and teaching children the [teaching] in righteousness, so
that the man of God may be complete and instructed in every good
work.
I testify before the face of God and Jesus the Announced who in
the future is to judge the living, the dead, and [I testify] the His
coming and His kingdom. Announce the word. Stand upon the welltimed [and] the ill-timed. Argue. Show honor. Summon in all good
will and teaching.
For the time will come when the healthy teaching will not be
supported, but they will heap up according to their own will to
theirselves the teachings which tickle their ears, and on one hand,
!840
they will turn their ears away from the truth, and on the other hand,
they will turn aside upon stories. But you be sober in all, suffer the
badness, do the work of the good news, fulfill your ministry.
For I already am offered up, and the time of my release has
stood upon [me]. I contested the good contest, I finished the race, I
have guarded the faith. The crown of righteousness lays down the
remainder to me, the crown which the Master will give to me in that
day, the Master who is a just Judge, and not only to me but also to
all who have loved His coming.
Be eager to come to me quickly. For Demas abandoned me
[because] he loves the current age and was carried off into
Thessalonike. Kreskes left into Galatia, and Titos left into Dalmatia.
Loukas alone is with me. Take up Markos and lead him with you.
For he is useful to me into ministry. But I sent off Tykhios into
Ephesos. When you come, bring the garment which I left in Troadis
near Karpos, and [also bring] the books, especially the papers.
Alexandros the copper-smith revealed all bad things to me. The
Master will give him over to his bad works. And guard [against]
him.. For he exceedingly stood against our words.
!841
In my first defense, no one was near me, but all left me. May it
not be counted to them. But the Master stood with me and gave me
strength so that through me the message may be filled. And all the
nations heard. Also, I was rescued out of the mouth of a lion. The
master will rescue me from the whole work of evil and will save
[me] into His kingdom [in] the sky, for Whom the consent of belief [is
to be] into the ages of ages. May it be so.
Greet Priska and Akyla and the house of Onesiphoros. Erastos
remained at korinthos, and in Miletos I left Trophimos [who was]
weak. Be eager to come before winter. Greet Euboulos and Poudes
and linos and Klaudia and all the brothers. [May] the Master be with
your breath. [May His] favor be with you.
1 Peter
!842
the blood of Jesus Christ, grace to you all and may peace be
multiplied.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who
according to the much mercy, having regenerated us into the living
hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ out of the dead into
the incorruptible, undefiled, and unfading inheritance, which was
guarded in heaven into you all who are being kept watch in the
power of God through the faith into the prepared salvation to be
revealed in the last time in which you greatly rejoice, if it is
necessary now for a little while to be sad in various tests, so that
the means of testing of your faith may be much revered more so
than gold which is destroyed through fire [when] being tested, that it
may be found into praise and glory and honor in the revelation of
Jesus Christ, Whom you love though you do not see Him, into
Whom you now do not see but believe and rejoice greatly in the
ineffable and wonderful joy, giving heed to the end of your faith, the
salvation of souls, concerning which salvation the prophets inquired
and searched, who prophesied concerning the grace into you all,
seeking into some or what kind of time, the Spirit of Christ was
!843
!844
manifested upon the farthest [point] of the times through you all
who through Him are trustworthy in God, Who awoke Him out of the
dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope may be in
God. Having cleansed your souls in the obedience of Truth into
fraternal love which is not a hypocrisy, you attentively love one
another our of clean hearts, having been renewed not out of
corruptible sperm but incorruptible through the living and remaining
principle of God. Because, All flesh as fodder and all the belief in it
as a flower of fodder. But the word of the Lord remains into eternity.
But this is the word which is preached as good news into you all.
Thus having put away all badness and all trickery and hypocrisy
and ill-will and all slander, as infants in the womb being born, yearn
after the honest [and] logical milk , so that in it you may increase
into salvation, if you tasted that the Lord is sweet. Approaching
toward that which [is] a living stone rejected by men on one hand
but chosen [and] costly before God, and be built as living stones [to
be] a spiritual house into a holy priesthood to offer up spiritual
sacrifices, [which are] acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
Because holds in writing, Behold I place a stone in Sion, the
!845
cornerstone chosen [and] costly, and who believes upon it may not
be put to shame. Thus the honor to you all who believe, and to
those who disbelieve, [the] stone which the builders rejected, this
became into the head of the angle, and, a stone of stumbling and a
rock of scandal. These stumble upon the principle to which they
were disobedient, in which also they were placed. And you all [are],
a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people into
preservation, in such a manner as you may announce the
goodness of Him who called you out of shadows into His wondrous
light. Who [at one time were], not a people, but now are [the]
people of God, who [have] not [been given] mercy but now are
[given] mercy.
Beloved, I call [you all to action] as foreigners and sojourners to
keep away from the fleshly desires which serve in war against to
the soul. Holding your conversation in the nations, so that in it they
babble about you as those who do ill out of the beautiful work, they
overlook and hold the opinion [of] God, in the day of visitation.
Be subjected by all creature through the Lord, either to the King
as he holds [authority] over [you], or to the ones sent into avenging
!846
those who do ill and into the praise of those who do good, those
who lead as through him, that thus is the will of God, [that] those
who do good to muzzle the ignorance of the senseless men, as
freeing and not as holding a veil of the badness [as] freedom but as
servants of God. Honor all, love the brotherhood, fear God, honor
the king.
The house slaves [are to be] subjective in all fear to the masters,
not only to the good and suitable but also to the crooked. For this
[is] favor if through the conscience of God he holds under who
suffers pain unjustly. For what kind of glory [is it] if you wait under
[while] sinning and being slapped? But if you wait under while doing
good and suffer, this [is] favor beside God. For into this you were
called, that also Christ suffered over you for [your sake] while
leaving a model so that you may follow His steps, Who, did not sin
nor was treachery found in His mouth, who was not abusing back
while being abused, was not threatening while suffering, but was
giving over to the One judging righteously, who carried, Himself our
sins, in His body upon the wood, so that those who were absent by
sin may live by righteousness, of whom, you may be cured by a
!847
wound. For you were, as sheep wandering, but you were turned
around now upon the Herdsman and upon the Bishop of our souls.
Likewise the women submitting to their own men, so that also
whoever is disobedient to the principle, will profit without principle
through the lifestyle of the women. Having watched your pure
lifestyle in fear, of whom may it not be the outside world of braiding
hairs and putting on silver or of the inward of the furnishings but the
hidden person of the heart in the uncorrupted affair of the meek and
quiet spirit, which is costly before the face of the God. For thus
when also the holy women hoping God were arranging themselves
while being subjected to their own men, as Sarra hearkened to
Abraam calling him lord, of whom you all were born children doing
good and not fearing any passionate emotion.
Likewise the men, while living according to the knowledge as to
the weaker vessel of the woman, while assigning honor as also to
co-hiers of the favor of life [so that they may] not hinder your
prayers.
And [in] the end, all united, suffering together, lovers of the
brothers, healthy-hearted, lowly, not giving bad for bad or abuse for
!848
abuse, but on the other hand, giving blessings that you may be
called into this so that you may inherit the blessing. For, the one
who desires to love life and to see good days, may he cease the
tongue from badness and may [his] lips be not of speaking evil.
And, may he decline from badness and do good, may he seek
peace and hunt it. That, the eyes of the Lord upon the righteous
and His ears into their prayers, and the face of the Lord upon those
who do badness.
And who is the one who does badness to you if you are made
emulators of the good? But if also you suffer through
righteousness, you are fortunate. And may you neither fear nor be
troubled at their fear. And, Make the Lord holy, Christ, in your
hearts, prepared always toward a defense to all asking you the
principle concerning the hope in you, but with mildness and fear,
holding good co-knowledge, so that in which you speak against,
they may be dishonored who deal contemptuously against your
good way of life in Christ. For if one wishes to do the will of God, [it
is] stronger to suffer doing good than doing bad.
!849
!850
!851
!852
!853
Babulon greet you and Mark my son. Greet one another in a kiss of
love Peace to the whole of you who are in Christ.
A book of the genesis of Jesus Christ the son of David the son of
Abraam. Abraam produced Isaak, and Isaak produced Jakob, and
Jakob produced Joudas his brothers, and Joudas produced Phares
and Zara out of Thamar, and Phares produced Hesrom, and
Hesrom produced Aram, and Aram produced Aminadab, and
Aminadab produced Naasson, and Naasson produced Salmon, and
Salmon produced Boes out of Rhakhab, and Boes produced Jobed
out of Rhouth, and Jobed produced Jessai, and Jessai produced
David the king. And David produced Solomon out of the [wife] of
Ourios, and Solomon produced Rhoboam, and Rhoboam produced
Abia, and Abia produced Asaph, and Asaph produced Josaphat,
and Josaphat produced Joram, and Joram produced Osdias, and
Osdias produced Joatham, and Joatham produced Akhasd, and
Akhasd produced Hesdekias, and Hesdekias produced Manasses,
!854
!855
!856
!857
!858
For the ones seeking the Child's soul have died. And he rose and
took the Child and His Mother and entered into the land of Israel.
And after he heard that Arkhelaos was king of Joudaia instead of
his father Heroides, he was afraid to go there. And he was
consulted according to a dream to return into the parts of Galilaia,
and he came to live into the city called Nasdaret, in such a manner
as to fulfill the saying through the prophets that, he will be called a
Nasdoraios.
And in those days, there came about John the Baptistizer who
preached in the desert of Joudaia, saying, "Change your mind. For
the King of the skies approached. for this is that which was said
through Esaias the prophet who said, A voice of the one who
shouts in the desert, prepare the road of the Master. Make straight
the highway, of Him. And John himself was having his clothes from
the hair of a camel and a leather belt around his loins, and his food
was locusts and wild honey. Then Hierosoluma came out to him
and all Joudaia and all the regions around the Jordan, and they
were dipped in the Jordan River by him, those who confessed their
sins.
!859
!860
opened, and he saw the Spirit of God coming down just as a dove
and coming to rest upon Him And behold a voice out of the skies
said, This is my Son Whom I love, in Whom I am well-pleased.
Then Jesus was lead into the desert by the Spirit to be tempted
by the Devil. And having fasted for forty days and forty nights, he
was afterward hungry. And the Tempter came to him and said to
Him, If you are the Son of the God, speak so that these stones may
become bread. And answering, He said, It has been written, May
will not live upon bread alone but upon the whole speech
proceeding through the mouth of Go.
Then the Devil took Him into the holy city and stood Him upon
the pinnacle of the temple and said to Him, If you are the son of the
God, throw Yourself down For it has been written that, He will
command His messengers concerning You, and they will lift you
upon [their] hands, that you may never strike your foot against the
stone. Jesus said to Him, Again it has been written, You will not
tempt the Master Your God.
Again the Devil took Him into an exceedingly high mountain and
showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory and said
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to Him, I will give all these to you, if you fall down and worship me.
Thus Jesus said to Him, Leave, Satan. For it has been written, You
will worship the Master God and will serve Him alone. Then the
Devil lift Him and behold, messengers came to him and ministered
to Him.
And having heard that John was handed over, he returned into
Galilaia. And having left Nasdarat, he came and lived in
Kapharnaoum by the sea in the boundaries of Sdaboulon and
Nephthalim, so that the saying through Esaias the prophet would
be fulfilled, saying, Land of Sdaboulon and land of Nephthalim,
road of the sea, across the Jordan, Galilaia of the nations. The
people who have sat in darkness saw a great Light, and to those
who have sat in the region and in the shadow of death, the Light
rose up to them. Then Jesus began to preach and to say, Change
your mind. The kingdom of the skies approached.
And walking by the sea of Galilaia, He saw two brothers, Simon
who is called Peter, and Andreas His brother throwing a net into the
sea. For they were fishermen. And he said to them, Come here and
!862
follow me, and I will make you fishermen of men. And the
immediately left the nets and followed Him.
And advancing from there, He saw two other brothers, Jakob of
Sdebedaios and his brother John in the boat with Sdebedaios their
father repairing their nets. And he called to them. And they
immediately left the boat and their father and followed Him.
And He lead them into the whole of Galilaia, teaching in their
Synagogues and preaching the good news of the kingdom and
curing all sickness and all infirmity in the people. And the rumor of
Him went out into the whole of Syria. And they offered to Him who
had badness by many sickness and had diseases and were
possessed and the moonstruck and the paralytics, and he cured
them. And the many crowds followed Him from Galilaia and
Dekapolis and HIerosoluma and Joudaia and across the Jordan.
And seeing the crowds, He ascended into the mountain. And
when he sat, His disciples came to Him. And opening His mouth,
He was teaching them saying, Wealthy are the paupers by the
Spirit, that theirs is the kingdom of the skies. Wealthy are those who
morns, that they will be comforted. Wealthy are the mild, that they
!863
will inherit the land. Wealthy are those who hunger and thirst for
righteousness, that they will be fattened. Wealthy are the merciful,
that they will receive mercy. Wealthy are the clean by heart, that
they will see God. Wealthy are the doers of peace, that they will be
called sons of God. Wealthy are those who have been pursued on
account of righteousness, that theirs is the kingdom of the skies.
Wealthy are you when they reproach you and peruse and speak all
evil against you, lying on account of Me. Rejoice and exalt, that
your wages [are] plentiful in the skies. For thus they pursued the
prophets before you.
You are the salt of the earth. And if the salt fades, in what will it
be salted? It is strong into nothing unless it was thrown outside to
be trampled under foot by men. You are the Light of the world. A
city is not able to hide while lying above a mountain. Neither does it
light a lamp and place it under a basket but upon a candlestick, and
it lights everything in the house. Thus may your light shine before
men, in such manner as they may see your good works and may
give consent of belief to your Father in the skies.
!864
Do not think that I came to loosen the law or the prophets. I did
not come to loosen but to fulfill. For truly I say to you, Until the sky
and the earth pass away, one iota or one top of a letter will not pass
away from the law, until all things come about. Thus if one loosens
one of these smallest commandments and teaches the men thusly,
he will be called the smallest in the kingdom of the skies. But who
does and teaches, this [one] will be called great in the kingdom of
the skies. For I say to you that if your righteousness does not
abound more than the scries and the Pharisaioi, you will not enter
into the kingdom of the skies.
You heard that it was said to those of old, Do not kill, but who
kills, he will be subject to death by judgment. But I say to you that
all who are angry against his brother, he will be subject to death by
judgment. And who says to his brother, Fool, he is subject to death
by the council. And who says, Moron, will be subject into the
Gehenna of the fire. Thus if you offer your gift upon the altar and
there remember that your brother holds something against you,
leave your gift there in front of the altar and first reconcile to your
brother and then come and offer your gift. Be of good mind to your
!865
opponent quickly, while you are in the road with him so that the
opponent will not hand you over to the judge and the judge to the
server so that you will be thrown into prison. Truly I say to you, You
will not come out from there until you give over each penny.
You heard that is was said, Do not commit adultery. But I say to
you that everyone who looks at a woman and desires her already
committed adultery with her in his heart. And if your right eye
scandalizes you, pluck it out and throw it away from you. For it
gives a benefit to you so that it may destroy on of your members
and your whole body may not be thrown into Gehenna. And if your
right hand scandalizes you, cut it off and throw it from you. For it
gives a benefit to you so that one of your members may perish and
the whole of your body may depart into Gehenna.
And it was said, Whoever divorces his wife, give to her a
statement of divorce. But I say to you that everyone who divorces
his wife besides of the principle of fornication makes her to commit
adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.
Again you heard that it was said to those of old, Do not swear
falsely, but return to the Master your oaths. But I say to you not to
!866
swear at all. You may swear neither in the sky, that it is the throne
of God, nor in the earth, that it is the footstool of His feet, not into
Hierosoluma, that it is the city of the great King, nor in your head,
that you are not able to make a hair dark or light. But may your
word by, Yes, yes, or, No. What is beyond these of these is out of
evil.
You heard that is was said, An eye in against an eye, and, A
tooth against a tooth. But I say to you, Do not stand against the evil.
But whoever thrashes into your right cheek, turn to him also the
other. And to him who wishes to judge and to take your shirt, give to
him also your cloak. And whoever presses you into serving a mile,
go with him two. Give to him who seeks of you, and do not turn
back him who desires to borrow from you.
You heard that it was said, Love your neighbor, and hate your
enemy. But I say to you, love your enemies and pray on behalf of
those who persecute you, in such manner as that you may become
sons of your father who is in the skies, that he makes His sun to
rise upon the evil and the good and rains upon the righteous and
unrighteous. For if you love those who love you, what reward to you
!867
have? Do not the tax-collectors do the same? And if you greet your
brothers alone, what do you exceed? Do not the people of the
nations do the same? Thus you will be complete as your heavenly
Father is complete.
But offer your righteousness that you may not do so before men
so that you may be seen by them. Otherwise, you do not have a
reward from your Father Who is in the skies. Thus whenever you do
a merciful act, do not sound the trumpet before yourself, even as
the actors do in the synagogues and in the streets, in such a
manner as to be glorified by men. Truly I say to you, They received
their reward. But while you do a merciful act, may your left hand not
know what your right hand does, in such a manner so that your
merciful act may be done in secret. And your Father Who seen in
the secret will return to you [your reward].
And whenever you pray, you will not be as the actors, that they
love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corner of
streets, in such a manner as so that they may bee seen by men.
Truly I say to you, they received their reward. But whenever you
pray, go into your inner room, close your door, and pray to your
!868
Father Who is in Secret. And your Father Who sees in the secret
will return to you [your reward]. And when you pray, do not speak
much as do the people of the nations, for they think that in their
many words they will be heard. Thus do not be like them. For your
Father knows of what you hold need before you ask Him. Thus you
will pray in this way: Our Father Who is in the skies. Your name is
to be made holy. Your kingdom is to come. Your will is to come
about. As [things are] in the sky, so also [may they be] upon the
earth. Give us our super-substantial bread. And dismiss our debts
as we dismissed for our debtors. And do not lead us into
temptation, but protect us away from the Evil. For if you dismiss the
sins of men for them, your heavenly Father will also dismiss for
you. And if you do not dismiss for men, neither will your Father
dismiss yours.
And whenever you fast, do not do so as the actors of sad face,
for they hide their faces in such manner so that they may show their
fasting to me. Truly I say to you, They received their reward. But
when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, in such a
manner so that you may not appear as though you were fasting to
!869
men but to your Father who is in the hidden [place]. And your
Father Who sees in the hidden [place] will return to you [your
reward].
Do not store a treasure for yourself upon the earth, where moths
and copper destroy and where thieves break in and steal. For
where your treasure is, there also your heart will be. The lamp of
the body is the eye. Thus if your eye may be pure, your whole body
will be bright. But if your eye may be evil, the whole body will be
dark. Thus if the light which is in you is dark, how great is the
darkness? No one is able to serve two masters. For either he will
hate one and love the other, or he will cling to one and have
contempt for the other. You are not able to serve God and wealth.
Through this I say to you, do not have concern for your soul about
what you may eat or what you may drink, nor what you may wear.
Is not the soul more than meat, and the body more than clothes?
Look into the birds of the sky that do not sow nor reap nor bring
together into storehouses, and your heavenly Father feeds them?
Are you not instead greater than them? But who out of you is able
to place one cubit upon his height by [having] anxieties? And what
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do you care for concerning clothes? Observe how the lilies of the
field grow. They do not work or spin. But I say to you that Solomon
in all his glory clothed as one of these. And if God clothes the hay
of the field, which is [existing] today and is thrown tomorrow into the
oven, , [will he not do so] for you by much more instead, oh you of
little faith? Thus do not be anxious saying, What will we eat? Or,
What will we drink? Or, What will we wear? For all the nations seek
these. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all of these.
But first seek the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all
these things will be placed to you. Thus do not have concern into
tomorrow, for the tomorrow will worry about itself. The day's evil [is]
a sufficient thing for itself.
Do not judge so that you may not be judged. For in what
judgement you judge, you will be judged, and in what meter you
measure, it will be measured to you. And do you see some straw in
the eye of your brother, and in your own eye do you not perceive a
bar? Or how do you say to your brother, Allow that I may pull out
the straw from your eye, and behold, the bar in your eye? Actor,
!871
first pull out the bar from your eye, and then you will see clearly to
pull the straw from your brother's eye.
Do not give your holy thing to the dogs nor throw your pearls
before pigs, so that they may not trample them under their feet and
then turn and break you.
Seek, and it will be given to you. Ask, and you will find. Knock,
and it will open to you. For all who ask receive, and who seeks
finds, and to the one knocking it will be opened. Or who is a man
out of you, whom his son asks for bread, do you give him a stone?
Or also he asks for a fish, do you give him a snake? Thus if you
who are evil know to give good gifts to your children, by how much
instead will the Father who is in the skies give good things to those
who ask Him.
Thus all things, whatever you wish that men may do for you, do
you also for others. For this is the law and the prophets.
Enter in through the narrow gate, that broad [is] the gate and
wide is the road which leads away into the destruction and many
are coming in through it. Because the gate is straight and the road
afflicting which leads off into life and few will be finders of it.
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And when He came across the sea into the region of Gadarenon,
two possessed men came to him out of the cemetery. [They were]
very fierce so that no one was able to go across through that road.
And behold, they cried out and said, What [is there] to us and to
you, Son of God? Did you come here to torture us before the time?
But there was a herd of many pigs feeding far off from them. And
the demons were asking and said to Him, If you cast us out, send
us into the herd of pigs. And He said to them, God. And they left
and went away into the pigs. And behold, the whole herd ran
vigorously down into the sea and died in the waters. And the
shepherds fled, came into the city, and announced everything and
the things concerning the possessed. And behold, the whole town
came out to meet Jesus and seeing Him there were asking so that
He would go across their borders.
And ascending into the boat, he crossed the sea and came into
His own country. And behold, they were bringing to Him a paralytic
lying upon a bed. And seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralytic,
Have courage, child. Your sins are forgiven. And behold, some of
the scribes said in themselves, This one blasphemes. And seeing
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their thoughts at heart, Jesus said, Why do you think evil in your
hearts? For what is easier to say, Your sins are forgiven, or to say,
Rise and walk? And so that you may see that the son of man holds
authority upon the earth to forgive sins, then he said to the
paralytic, Rise and take your bed and go into your house. And he
rose and left into his house. And the crowds saw [this] and were
frightened and gave consent of belief to God Who gave authority
such as this to men.
And when Jesus crossed over from there, He saw a man sitting
upon the custom-house, a man named Matthaios, and He said to
Him, Follow Me. And he rose and hollowed Him. And it happened
that [Jesus] was lying at dinner in his house, an behold, many taxcollectors and sinners were coming and lying at dinner with Jesus
and His disciples. And the Pharisaioi saw [this] and said to His
disciples, Why does you teacher eat with tax-collectors and
sinners? And hearing [this], He said, The strong do not have need
of a doctor but those holding badness. But go and learn what is
[written], I desire mercy and not a sacrifice. For I did not come to
call the righteous but to call sinners.
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!879
And Jesus came into the house of the ruler and saw the musician
and the noisy crowd. He said, Go back, for the girl did not die but is
sleeping. And they were laughing at Him. But when the crowd was
thrown out, He entered and seized her hand and raised up the girl.
And the rumor itself went out into that whole land.
And Jesus left there. Two blind men followed Him while crying
and saying, Have mercy on us, Son of David. And when He came
to the house, the blind men came up to Him, and Jesus said to
them, Have faith that I am ale to do this. They said to Him. Yes,
Master. Then He touched their eyes and said, According to your
faith, may it happen to you. And their eyes were opened, and Jesus
warned them and said, See that no one may know. But they went
out and made it known in all of that land. And as they went out,
behold, they brought Him a mute man with a demon. And when He
threw out the demon, the mute spoke. And the crowds wondered
and said, Never has it appeared thus in Israel. And the Pharisaioi
said, In the ruler of the demons does He cast out demons.
And Jesus went around all the cities and villages and taught in
their synagogues and preached the good news of the kingdom and
!880
took are of all sickness and all softness. And seeing the crowds, He
had compassion concerning them, that they had been troubled and
had been thrown out as though sheep without a shepherd. Then He
said to His disciples, On one hand, the harvest [is] great, but few
work it. Thus pray to the Lord of the harvest so that He may send
out workers into His harvest.
And He called His twelve disciples and gave them authority of
unclean spirits so that they may cast them out and may care for all
sickness and all softness. And of the twelve missionaries, the
names are these: first Simon who is called Peter and Andreas his
brother, and Jakob of Sdebedaios and John his brother, Philip and
Bartholomaios, thomas and Matthaios the tax-collector, Jacob of
Alphaios and Thaddaios, Simon the Kanaanite and Joudas the
Iskariot who also handed Him over.
Jesus sent out these twelve and commanded them, saying, Do
not go off into the road of the nations and do not enter into the city
of the Samaritans. But rather go toward the sheep of the house of
Israel who have been destroyed. And when you go, preach and say
that the kingdom of the skies has approached. Care for the weak,
!881
raise the dad, clean the lepers, cast out demons. Accept gifts, give
gifts. Do not possess gold or silver or copper into your belts. [Do]
not [take] a pouch into the road nor two tunics nor shoes nor a staff.
For the workman is worthy of his food.
And into whatever city or town you enter, inquire who is worthy in
it, and there remain until you leave. And when you enter into the
house, greet it. And if the house may be worthy, your peace is to go
upon nit, but if it is not worthy, your peace is to turn toward you. And
who does not receive you nor listen to your principles, when you
leave out of the house or that city, shake out the dust of your feet.
Truly I say to you, it will be more bearable to the land of Sodom and
Gomorra in the day of judgment than in that city.
Behold, I send you as sheep in the middle of wolves. Thus
become prudent as serpents and as pure as doves. And beware
men. For they will hand you over into the council and will whip you
in their synagogues. And you will be lead upon governors and kings
on account of me so that you may witness to them an to the
nations. And when they hand you over, do not be anxious about
how or what you will speak. For what you will speak will be given to
!882
you in that hour. For you are not the speakers but the Spirit of your
Father [is] Who speaks in you. And brother will hand over brother
into death and a father [the same to his] child, and children will rise
up against upon [their] parents and will kill them. And you will be
hated by all through my name. And who remained into this end will
be saved. And when they persecute you in this city, flee into the
other. For truly I say to you, you will not complete the cities of Israel
until the Son of man comes.
There is not a disciple above the teacher nor a slave above his
master. [It is] sufficient to the disciple so that he may become as his
teacher an the slave as his master. If they called the master of the
house [to be] Beelsdeboul, by how much more [will they malign]
those of his household? Thus do not be afraid of them. For nothing
has been hidden which will not be revealed and that which is hiding
which will not be known. What I say to you in darkness, you are to
say in the light, and what you hear in the ear, announce upon the
houses. And do not fear the those who kill the body but they not
able to kill the soul. But rather fear the one able to kill both the soul
and the body in Gehenna. Are not two sparrows sold for a copper
!883
coin? And one out of them will not fall upon the earth without your
Father. And also all the hairs of your head have been numbered.
Thus do not fear. You are [more valuable] than many sparrows.
Thus all who will confess in me before men, I also will confess in
him before my Father Who [is] in the skies. And who deny me
before men, I also will deny him before My Father who [is] in the
skies.
Do not think that I came to throw peace upon the earth. I did not
come to throw peace but a sword. For I came to divide into two,
man against his father, and, daughter against her mother, and,
bride against her mother-in-law, and, the enemies of a man [to be]
of his own household. Who loves father or mother above me is not
worthy of me, and who loves son or daughter over me is not worthy
of me. And who does not accept his cross and follows behind Me is
not worthy of me. Who found his soul will kill it, and who killed his
soul on account of Me will find it.
Who receives you receives Me, and who receives Me receives
the One Who sent Me. Who receives a prophet into the name of the
prophet will receive the wage of a prophet, who receives a
!884
righteous man into the name of a righteous man will receive the
wage of a righteous man. And who will give to one of these small
ones to drink a cup of cold water only, in the name of a disciple,
truly I say to you, he will not lose his wage. And it happened when
Jesus completed arranging his twelve disciples, He went over from
there to instruct and to preach in their cities.
And John, when he heard in prison about the works of Christ,
sent through his disciples and said, Are you the One Who is coming
or are we expecting another? And Jesus answered and said to
them, When you return, report to John what you hear and see, The
blind look up, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleaned, and The
deaf hear, and, The dead are being awoken, and, The beggars are
told the good news. And wealthy is he who will not be scandalized
in me.
And while they departed, Jesus began to speak to the crowds
concerning John, Why did you go out into the desert? To gaze at a
reed being shaken by the wind? But why did you go out? To see a
man having been clothed in soft things? Behold, those carrying the
soft things are in the houses of the king. But what did you go out to
!885
see? A prophet? Yes, I say to you, and more than a prophet. This is
concerning what has been written, Behold, I send out my angel
before Your face, who will prepare your road in front of You. Truly I
say to you, There has not awoken among those born of women
[one] greater than John the Baptist, and who is the smaller in the
kingdom of the skies is greater than him. And from the days of John
the Baptist until now the kingdom of the skies suffers violence, and
violent men plunder it. For all the prophets and the law until John
prophesied. And if you wish to receive, he is Elias who is later to
come. Who has ears, he is to hear.
And what shall I compare this generation to? It is like children
sitting in the marketplaces who yell to one another and say, We
played the flute to you, and you did not dance. We sang a lament,
and you did not mourn. For John came neither eating nor drinking,
and they said, He has a demon. The Son of man came eating and
drinking, and they said, Behold, the man is a glutton and a drunk, a
friend of tax-collectors and sinners. And is wisdom made righteous
away from her works.
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!887
Come to Me all who labor and have been loaded, and I will make
you cease. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, that I am
mild and humble in the heart, and, You will find cessation in your
souls. For My yoke is kind and My burden is light.
In that time Jesus went through the grain fields on the Sabbath.
And His disciples were hungry and began to pluck the grain and to
eat [them]. And the Pharisaioi saw [this] and said to Him, Behold,
You disciples do what is not allowed to do on the Sabbath. And He
said to them, Do you not know what David did when and those with
him was hungry, how they entered into the house of God and ate
the bread which was place before [God] and which he and those
with him were not allowed to eat in [they were] not of the priests
alone? Or Do you not know in the law that on the Sabbath, the
priests profane the Sabbath in the temple and are blameless? And I
say to you that thus [One] is greater than the temple. And if you had
known what is [written], I desire mercy and not sacrifice, you would
not have given judgment to the blameless. For the Son of man is
the Master of the Sabbath.
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man in the heart of the earth three days and three nights. The
Ninevite men will be made to stand in the judgment with this
generation, and they will pass a sentence on them, that they
changed their minds into the preaching of Jonas, and behold, thus
more than Jonas. The queen of the south will rise up in judgment
with this generation and will judge it greatly, that she came out of
the boundaries of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and
behold, thus [she is] more than Solomon.
And when the unclean spirit comes out from the man, he went
through the waterless place seeking rest and does not find [it].
Then he says, I will return into my house from where they I left. And
when he comes, he finds it vacant, having been swept clean and
having been arranged. Then he advances and takes with Him
seven other of his evil spirits, enters, and dwells there. And the
ends of that man happen worse than the first. Thus will be all to this
evil generation.
Yet, while He was speaking to the crowds, behold, His Mother
and brothers had stood outside seeking to speak to Him. And
someone said to Him, Behold, Your Mother and Your brothers have
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And the disciples came and said to Him, Why do you speak to
them in parables? And He answered and said to them that, to you it
has been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of the skies,
and to those it has not been given. For whoever has, it will be given
to Him and it will abound. And whoever does not have, also what he
does have will be taken away from him. BEcause of this, I speak to
them in parables, that seeing they do not see and hearing they do
not hear nor understand, and the prophecy of Esaias is fulfilled to
them which says, By a sound you hear and do not understand, and
hearing you see and do not perceive. For the heart of this people
was fattened, and they heard heavily by their ears, and they closed
their eyes, that they would never behold by their eyes and hear by
their ears and know by their heart and turn around, and I will heal
them. But wealthy [are] your eyes that they see and your ears that
they hear. For truly I say to you that many prophets and righteous
men desired to perceive what you see and to hear what you hear
and did not hear.
Thus you hear the parable of the sower. All who hear the
principle of the kingdom and do not understand, the evil comes and
!894
carries away that which has been sown in his heart. This is that
which is sown by the road. And what is sown upon the rocks, this is
who hears the principle and immediately takes it with joy, but he
does not have a root in himself but is temporary, and when affliction
or pursuit happens because of the principle, he is immediately
scandalized. And who is sown into the thorns, this is who hear the
principle, and the care of the age and the deceit of the wealth
choke the principle, and he becomes fruitless And who is sown
upon the beautiful earth, this is who hears the word and
understands, who indeed bears fruit and makes what [is] a
hundred, sixty, or thirty.
He gave another parable to them and said, The kingdom of the
skies was made similar to a man who sowed beautiful seed in his
field. But when the men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed
weeds in the middle of the grain and left. And when the grain
sprouted and made fruit, then did the weeds also appear. And the
slaves of the master of the house came and said to him, Master, did
you not sow beautiful seed in the field? Thus from where does the
weeds hold? And he said to them, This hateful man did [this]. And
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the slaves said to him, Do you wish us to go and get them? And he
said, No, when you collect and root out the weeds, at the same
time [you would root out] the grain [with] them. Let them each go to
increase until the reaping, and the time of the reaping, I will say to
the reapers, Gather first the weeds and tie them into bundles to
burn them, and bring the grain together into my storehouse.
He put forth another parable, saying, The kingdom of the skies is
like a seed of mustard, which a man took and planted in his field. It
is smaller than all the seeds, but when it is increased, it is bigger
than the vegetables and becomes a tree, so that, The birds of the
sky come and encamp in its branches.
He spoke another parable to them, saying, The kingdom of the
skies is like a leaven, which a woman took and covered in three
measures of flour until all of it was leavened. Jesus spoke all these
things in parables to the crowds and said nothing to them without
parables, so that the word through the prophet would be fulfilled
which says, I will open my mouth in parables, I will roar the things
which have been hidden from the foundation of the world.
!896
Then he sent away the crowds and came into the house. And His
disciples came to Him and said, Explain the parable of the weeds of
the field to us. And He answered and said, The One sowing the
beautiful seed is the Son of man, and the filed is the world, and the
good seed is those who are the sons of the kingdom, and the
weeds are the sons of the evil, and the enemy is the one who
sowed them, the Devil, and the harvest is the end of the age, and
the harvesters are the messengers. Thus just as if he collects the
weeds and burns them completely by fire, thus it will be in the end
of the age. The Son of man will send away His messengers, and
they will gather all the scandals and those who do lawlessness out
of His kingdom, and, they will throw them into the oven of the fire.
There will be weeping and the biting of teeth at that place. Then the
righteous will shine as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who
has ears, he is to hear.
The kingdom of the skies is like a treasure which has been
hidden in a field, which a man found and hid, and [because of] his
joy, he advances and sells all which he has and buys that field.
!897
!898
the carpenter, is not His Mother called Maria and His brothers
Jakob and Joses and Simon and Joudas? And His sister, are they
not all at us? From where then are all these things to This [Man]?
And they were scandalized in Him, and Jesus said to them, Is a
prophet not dishonored if not in his fatherland and in his house?
And through their unbelief, He did not do many powers there.
!899