1 Jesus went unto the mount of Olives.
2 And early in the morning he came again into the temple, and all the people came unto him; and he sat down, and taught them.
3 And the scribes and Pharisees brought unto him a woman taken in adultery; and when they had set her in the midst,
4 They say unto him, Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act.
5 Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned: but what sayest thou?
6 This they said, tempting him, that they might have to accuse him. But Jesus stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground, as though he heard them not.
7 So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.
8 And again he stooped down, and wrote on the ground.
9 And they which heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even unto the last: and Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst.
10 When Jesus had lifted up himself, and saw none but the woman, he said unto her, Woman, where are those thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee?
11 She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more. - John 8:1-11
Spirituality and the Three Finger Rule - When you point an accusing finger at someone you have three others pointing right back atcha!
In the Protestant Reformation we have fingers pointed at the Catholics... However, at times, the reformation became worse than the Catholic times before them. The Protestants would think that because they arrived at some doctrinal truth they were superior to others, however, you can have a perfect understanding of scripture and still have three fingers looking back atcha! Martin Luther and John Calvin turned out to be terrible men in their old age. And to quote...
"Pure devilry is urging on the peasants . Therefore let all who are able, mow them down, slaughter and stab them, openly or in secret, and remember that there is nothing more poisonous, noxious and utterly devilish than a rebel. You must kill him as you would a mad dog " -Martin Luther
"Whoever shall maintain that wrong is done to heretics and blasphemers in punishing them makes himself an accomplice in their crime and guilty as they are. There is no question here of man's authority; it is God who speaks, and clear it is what law he will have kept in the church, even to the end of the world. Wherefore does he demand of us a so extreme severity, if not to show us that due honor is not paid him, so long as we set not his service above every human consideration, so that we spare not kin, nor blood of any, and forget all humanity when the matter is to combat for His glory." - John Calvin, after the death of Michael Servetus
In which, yes, things like the Catholic inquisition were bad, however, at times, we were no better. Yes there was an accusing finger at Catholics, but we had three fingers looking back at us. This... Though... Is not to down denominations such as the Lutherans. My dad goes to a Lutheran church and the preacher there is an old guy, chaplain at a university, and very saintly in his life. Whenever I visit dad's Lutheran church I take time to thank the guy for his good service in the community. And this is not to say my denomination is any better as our preachers can be just as bad. I went to a Methodist camp meeting and asked an old timer what denomination he was, and he sneered at me and said, "Methodist, what else is there?"
One of my favorite paintings of Paul was by El Greco, a Greek painter who started out Orthodox, converted to Catholicism, and possibly practiced as a Catholic in Spain, where he described himself as a "devout Catholic" in his will. The thing I like about El Greco's painting of the Apostle Paul is that he captured humility and a very non-violent look.
IMPERFECT PAUL. "I’m not perfect yet. I haven’t reached that goal. But I’m running hard for the prize at the end of the race. One day I’ll make that prize my own because Jesus Christ made me his own." Painting by El Greco, Wikimedia, Google Art Project. - Apostle Paul: "I'm not perfect" - Stephen M. Miller
The salvation of the old Saint of the Wilderness Robert Sheffey came at a revival meeting at an old store building. There were drunks there who wold pelt the preacher with corn cobs, but Robert and a few others went up front to make their profession of faith in Christ. Robert wanted to defend the meeting, but the preacher would not hear to it, and maintained the furtherance of the gospel must be non-violent. Which was the correct thing to do!
"I will certainly do my best to see that no rowdy crowd comes up here again and bothers you even if I have to knock them down the stairs with this poker." - Robert Sheffey
"That is not the way of the Savior, my young brother. You do want to be more like Him?" -asked the preacher
"Yes." - Replied Robert
"Then he who would be more like the Christ must study the Bible and learn of His life and works. Imitate Him in all your thoughts and deeds. You are not so foolish as to think that that will come easy?"- The preacher from the readings of "The Saint of the Wilderness" by Jess Carr
And Robert Sheffey would keep his non-violent humility with him all his days...
And to credit the Scribes and Pharisees a little... They did have enough humility to be convicted and shamed!
2 And early in the morning he came again into the temple, and all the people came unto him; and he sat down, and taught them.
3 And the scribes and Pharisees brought unto him a woman taken in adultery; and when they had set her in the midst,
4 They say unto him, Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act.
5 Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned: but what sayest thou?
6 This they said, tempting him, that they might have to accuse him. But Jesus stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground, as though he heard them not.
7 So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.
8 And again he stooped down, and wrote on the ground.
9 And they which heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even unto the last: and Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst.
10 When Jesus had lifted up himself, and saw none but the woman, he said unto her, Woman, where are those thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee?
11 She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more. - John 8:1-11
Spirituality and the Three Finger Rule - When you point an accusing finger at someone you have three others pointing right back atcha!
In the Protestant Reformation we have fingers pointed at the Catholics... However, at times, the reformation became worse than the Catholic times before them. The Protestants would think that because they arrived at some doctrinal truth they were superior to others, however, you can have a perfect understanding of scripture and still have three fingers looking back atcha! Martin Luther and John Calvin turned out to be terrible men in their old age. And to quote...
"Pure devilry is urging on the peasants . Therefore let all who are able, mow them down, slaughter and stab them, openly or in secret, and remember that there is nothing more poisonous, noxious and utterly devilish than a rebel. You must kill him as you would a mad dog " -Martin Luther
"Whoever shall maintain that wrong is done to heretics and blasphemers in punishing them makes himself an accomplice in their crime and guilty as they are. There is no question here of man's authority; it is God who speaks, and clear it is what law he will have kept in the church, even to the end of the world. Wherefore does he demand of us a so extreme severity, if not to show us that due honor is not paid him, so long as we set not his service above every human consideration, so that we spare not kin, nor blood of any, and forget all humanity when the matter is to combat for His glory." - John Calvin, after the death of Michael Servetus
In which, yes, things like the Catholic inquisition were bad, however, at times, we were no better. Yes there was an accusing finger at Catholics, but we had three fingers looking back at us. This... Though... Is not to down denominations such as the Lutherans. My dad goes to a Lutheran church and the preacher there is an old guy, chaplain at a university, and very saintly in his life. Whenever I visit dad's Lutheran church I take time to thank the guy for his good service in the community. And this is not to say my denomination is any better as our preachers can be just as bad. I went to a Methodist camp meeting and asked an old timer what denomination he was, and he sneered at me and said, "Methodist, what else is there?"
One of my favorite paintings of Paul was by El Greco, a Greek painter who started out Orthodox, converted to Catholicism, and possibly practiced as a Catholic in Spain, where he described himself as a "devout Catholic" in his will. The thing I like about El Greco's painting of the Apostle Paul is that he captured humility and a very non-violent look.
IMPERFECT PAUL. "I’m not perfect yet. I haven’t reached that goal. But I’m running hard for the prize at the end of the race. One day I’ll make that prize my own because Jesus Christ made me his own." Painting by El Greco, Wikimedia, Google Art Project. - Apostle Paul: "I'm not perfect" - Stephen M. Miller
The salvation of the old Saint of the Wilderness Robert Sheffey came at a revival meeting at an old store building. There were drunks there who wold pelt the preacher with corn cobs, but Robert and a few others went up front to make their profession of faith in Christ. Robert wanted to defend the meeting, but the preacher would not hear to it, and maintained the furtherance of the gospel must be non-violent. Which was the correct thing to do!
"I will certainly do my best to see that no rowdy crowd comes up here again and bothers you even if I have to knock them down the stairs with this poker." - Robert Sheffey
"That is not the way of the Savior, my young brother. You do want to be more like Him?" -asked the preacher
"Yes." - Replied Robert
"Then he who would be more like the Christ must study the Bible and learn of His life and works. Imitate Him in all your thoughts and deeds. You are not so foolish as to think that that will come easy?"- The preacher from the readings of "The Saint of the Wilderness" by Jess Carr
And Robert Sheffey would keep his non-violent humility with him all his days...
And to credit the Scribes and Pharisees a little... They did have enough humility to be convicted and shamed!
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