worldmag, 10.23.2010, p8..thecase against dutch politician geert wilders went to court in amsterdam starting oct. 4 and could land the 47 year old conservative lawmaker and head of the freedom party up to a year in jail and a fine. wilders is charged with inciting discrimaination and hatred and with insulting a people on religious grounds. responding to what he calls muslim-led 'street terror', wilders has called for banning the quran and further immigration from islamic countries to the netherlands. in the u.s. he has been a vocal critic of building a new mosque near new your's ground zero. muslims in the netherlands charge that his remarks have poisoned attitudes toward them: 'my family and i no longer feel safe in the netherlands because mr. wilders is continually making hateful remarks about islamic dutch people, ' said one complaint read out by the judge. wilders said in an opening statement, 'i am standing trial..because of my opinions on islam..and because the dutch establishment - most of them non-muslims - wants to silence me. i have been dragged to court beuse in my country freedom can no longer be fully enjoyed. in europe the national state and increasingly the eu, prescribes how citizens - including democratically elected politiicians such as myself - should think and what we are allowed to say'.
it is interesting, as we enter another dark age, to live through this major 'turn' of history that has been experienced before...but never experienced by so many! the m.o. is rapidly moving toward the mode of communication in 'the emporer's new clothing' once again. there will however be a few who will flame out in the dense darkness of untruth...and maybe an errant spark from their extinction will create a new fire..and light!! long live geert wilder's spirit..truth speakers of the world speak and, preferably, live truth to the death.
moishe rosen, founder of jews for jesus recently entered the heavenly hosts. this from his biography..'in late summer of 1961 the couple (moishe and ceil) were surprised to find out the ceil was pregnant. originally they had talked about having 4 children, but ruth's severe illness at birth had confirmed tha additional pregnancies would exacerbate the rh incompatibility and result in fetal death. now, despite conscientious birth control, ceil was expecting. she could tell by comparing it with the other preganancies that something was wrong. moishe kept reassuring her that everything would be okay, but early in her 8th month, she went into labor and their little boy was stillborn.
in describing the experience decades later, moishe said, "both of us went numb. i backslid. i didn't run around and get drunk. i didn't do anything different at all. it's just that i emotionally shut down. i threw myself into the work. i stopped praying. ididn't read the scripture. when it came to sensing any presence of God, i was just numb. but the day after the baby died i preached in 2 different churches.
here's the surprise: that backslidden state lasted most of that year and it was a most successful year in ministry. i prayed in public like i had always prayed. i preached what i had always believed. but i didn't have any strength, or to use the yiddish word, coyach. it was like sleepwalking. i just went from one thing to another..everything became a duty that i did well.
then something happened. i became spiritually awakened...i feel that God reached down and lifted me. i feel that the many achievements were just due to the fact that i did my duty. and God soke trough me, even though for that period of time i was not acquainted with Him".
for moishe, the tragic experience was the polar opposite of his joyous discovery of God's care for him as a new believer in new jersey, as God provided in ways he never would have expected. having experienced such wonderful provision and protection, moishe was stunned by the firsthand knowledge that truly terrible things not only can, but do happen even to those who trust God. he doubtless knew it intellectually, but now he knew it personally and was shaken to his core.
there was no single event that reconnected moishe's emotions to his intellect, no particular revelation that resored his spirit. what he described as 'God lifting me' others might call healing. even so, he never again responded to an impending crisis by assuring himself or others involdved that everything would be ok'.
'christian' prayer requests which do not at all reflect true prayer...
1. for abul who is branded falsely as a thief so that others in his bangladeshi village won't listen to him about his faith..'pray for abul's acquittal and that his name will be cleared.'
how about, Lord, in light of Your words, 'blessed are you when men cast insults at you and persecute you and say all kinds of evil against you falsely on account of Me. rejoice and be glad for your reward in heaven is great. for in this way they persecuted the prophets who were before you', we exult with abul in the reward he has waiting in heaven. thank You for helping abul to live the blessed life here! we pray that Your will will be done in all of our lives no matter what that means. give abul and each of this the blessedness of suffering with You, as You dear Lord suffer so much for, with and often because of (!) us. we praise you.
2. the bodies of 3 foreign christian relief workers were found..in pakistan on august 25..pray for the safety of christian aid workers there'.
how about, Lord, You have said, 'precious in the sight of the Lord are the death of His saints'. it is so heartening, in this heartless, rejecting world full of sinners to know that a vast, almost incomprehensible change awaits! we are a moment from being welcomed into Your presence, the only One who looks at us who are Your children as precious!! Your word says, '..if we live we live for the Lord and if we die we die for the Lord. therefore whether we live or die we are the Lord's' help us to live with all confidence that nothing can or will happen to us outside of Your will. so let us be as bold as lions...as a lamb surrounded by wolves..confident that wherever You have us doing Your will - that we will remain there confidently doing Your will until You decide to welcome us in!!!! (also, Lord, if there are aid workers there who don't know and trust You please get them safely out of there.)..
3. christian students in zanzibar recently were prohibited from worshipping at a university..pray for restoration of christian students' right to worship at ..the university..
how about, Lord help us not to have any' rights'. isn't that strange when the disciples have rights when the master they are seeking to become like had none? instead help us to joyfully 'not resist the evil man' but instead try to help him. whatever he demands help us to do more than what he demands, overcoming his evil with our good. but as far as what You command help as to be careful to do it exactly. You say, 'sing unto the Lord a new song. sing unto the Lord all the earth. shew forth His salvation from day to day. declare His glory among the heathens, His wonders among all peoples. for the Lord is great and greatly to be praised....and 'make disciples..of all nations. so help these students and myself to openly conduct worship wherever we are and are going to or from if they don't want us to at a set place. actually we can't obey the above in a set place as well as on the move or wherever we happen to be at any time. open Thou our lips that our mouths may sing forth Your praise. put a new song in our mouths telling of all the good that the Lord is and is doing for us so that many will see and fear and will trust in You. help us to do this to the death if need be so that we might be obedient to Your words. for, Lord, You say whoever shall annul one of the least of Your commandments and so teach others shall be called least in Your kingdom and this is involving Your great commission to us while we are here...hardy the least of Your commandment. what shall we be called if we annul this because of the words of a puny little man?
oct. 2010, voice of the martyrs...testimony from uzbekistan before the court in a situation where this member of a church which the government was seeking to destroy had been harassed and jailed by the authorities. ..'at the trial, which lasted about 6 weeks, aimurat finally testified on his own behalf. "honored court. i listened to the testimonies of all the witnessed on this case and not one of them testified to anything about a crime based on charges against me teaching religious doctrines and organization or participation in a fundamentalist religious organization. i never persuaded anyone to believe or not to believe in Jesus Christ - that is a personal matter of each individual person.
my who guilt is that i believe and will continue to believe with all my heart, in Jesus Christ, and i will never conceal from anyone what i believe in. this faith helped me change for the better and my father and my brother are witnesses to this, as they know what i was like before i believed.
my only request to the court, which the Almighty God i believe in gave the power to judge people on this earth, is to make a fair decision on my case. i believe that justice will triumph. God bless you'.
when lenin landed in st. petersburg during the russian revolution of 1917, he had 2 goals - eliminate the capitalist bourgeois system and eradicate christianity. he failed on both accounts..
after seizing control of russia in the 1917 revolution, lenin wrote a 'call to the muslime'. he declared, 'muslimpeople of russia..all of your mosand religious places were being destroyd during the reign of the czar..from today your beliefs and ideals will prevail and should remain free forever'.
lenin's
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Sunday, October 10, 2010
10.10.2010 MORAVIANS or BOHEMIAN BRETHREN
in recently reading several books about william carey, the father of modern missions, i once again, surprisingly found reference in passing to the moravians and so was attracted to try to learn more about them. the following is taken from 'history of the moravian church' by hutton (1909).
i had always wondered if there was any connection between the waldensians, who i believe mainly lived in northern italy and the moravians who, i learned, started out in czechoslovakia and this author did say that a number of them came to czechoslovakia when the moravian church started and that they had their first bishops ordained by stephen a bishop among the waldenses.
the key waldensian scriptures at the beginning were: matt. 18.19-20;jer. 3.15; jn. 20.23; rev. 18.4-5; lk. 6.12-6; acts 4.32
they followed the sermon on the mount. their early writings, filled with scripture references, were very centered on Christ and the writings of john rather than on those of paul. they were more focused on a life of obedience rather than on doctrinal correctness. this was eye-opening to me and fruitful for personal spiritual growth perhaps.
czechoslovakia (bohemia) was surrounded by germany on 3 sides and at the end of the 14th century germans were infiltrating czech society and were very unwelcome in spite of their inroads. this book pointed out influential men in the formation of the moravian church:
1. conrad of waldhausen (1364-9) a german augustinian friar who denounced corruption among the clergy.
2. milic of kremsir (1363-74), a bohemian who left the orders to minister to the poor and denounce the evil in the church.
3. thomas of stitny (1370-1401), a writer who denounced the immorality among the monks.
4. matthew of janow (1381-93) who, at this period of the papal schism where there were 2, and for a period 3, popes vying for ecclesiastical authority, criticized the church. the former 3 men were loyal to the church of rome.
5. around this time the writings of john wycliffe of england made there way here and made quite an impact emanating out from the university of prague. he taught: a. that the bible not the pope was the final authority, b. that transubstantiation - the elements of the communion are literally the body and blood of Christ - was not true and therefore denied the priests' power 'to make the body of Christ', c. that men do not have to come to God thru a priest but that all have direct access thru the shed blood of Jesus.
6. john hus took these ideas and attacked the church of rome. he was burned at the stake on july 6, 1415 at the council of constance.
7. hussite wars (1415-34) was the result of the national chaos following hus' burning..all kinds of wierd splinter groups warring against each other.
8. peter of chelcic (1419-50) an influential writer whose ideas further removed the people from the church of rome.
9. gregory the patriarch (1457-73) during this time gregory became the first actual leader of the moravians/bohemian brethren/church of the brethren (they called themselves jednota (literally, union) bratrska). they established their first society at knuwald and they followed the teachings of peter.
10.luke of prague (1473-1530) church decided to not follow peter or gregory's teachings but only the bible (1495).
11. by 1500 there were reported to be over 100,000 brethren in bohemia. on feb. 4 a papal bull was issued pursuant to their destruction. they were greatly persecuted until 1516 when other conflicts drew the malignant attention away from them.
12. john augusta (1531-48), the bohemian luther, sought to move the brethren into the mainstream of the reformation. he desired: a. friendly relations with protestants in other countries, b. legal recognition of the brethren in bohemia, c. union of all bohemian protestants.
as the brethren, for the first time, got out and talked with others they were universally believed to be superior because of their church discipline and focus on good works. in time they were to experience the folly of this course of action. the smalkald war went against the german lutherans and the negative fallout came back on the brethren who had begun to associate with the various protestant groups.
various observations about the brethren at their beginning:
the MINISTER was chosen for Christlike character rather than for his education..'we despise the learning of tongues'. he was to earn his bread by manual labor. celibacy was considered spiritually superior for the minister. his title was servant of the church ...all true believers were priests and another could fulfill ministry functions in his absence. he heard confessions, expelled sinners, welcomed penitents, preached on the previously determined scripture of the day, visited everyone once a quarter, undertook any journey at the command of the elders, was not allowed to visit unmarried women (this was done by the committee of women), lived at the brethren's house where he trained young men under his charge (all were taught a useful trade)
the DEACON was to supply outpreaching stations, repeat the pastor's sermon to those who were not present, assist in holy communion, occasionally preach in the village church to give the pastor the opportunity to criticize/correct/encourage them, managed the domestic affairs of the brethren's house, assisted in the distributions of alms and..in their spare time, study the bible.
the ACOLUTH was a boy trained by the pastor to be a deacon who took turns in conducting household worship, gave an occasional short address in the village church and when accepted by the synod of acoluths generally received some biblical name intended to express some character feature.
the BRETHREN'S HOUSE was governed by rules. they rose at the bell, had united prayer and scripture reading. an hour later they had a service then morning study. the afternoons were reserved for manual labor, the mind not being quite as sharp, where they did weaving, gardening, tailoring and other trades. the evening was reserved for sacred music and singing (the moravian hymnal in 1501 was the first in europe). at meals the acolutes recited passages of scripture, read discourses and took part in theological discussions. no one could leave the house without permission. the pastor could not leave the parish without the bishop's permission. when traveling the pastor would stay at other brethren's houses.
although the brethren hated higher education they were universally literate, being able to all read and write they were the most enlightened segment of a mostly illiterate population. they also taught others to read. why? so that they would be able to read the bible. this led to persecution as being able to read was considered almost miraculous (demonic?). the common thot was that if a person joined the brethren the devil taught him the art of reading and if he departed the devil promptly robbed him of the power.
PICARD was the common term for anyone who disagreed with the church of rome.
bishop luke of prague wrote the 'catechism for children' commonly called 'the children's questions'. this was found in every brethren home and was used to teach children to read and write.
CHURCH was composed of 1. beginners (who were learning the first elements of religion). these, usually children, were prepared for confirmation by their parents and friends. 2. proficients, who were steady members of the church. 3. the perfect, those who were so established in faith, hope and love so as to be enabled to enlighten others. all 3 had their own catechism. the elders were elected from the perfect, who then assisted the pastor in parish duties. they acted as poor-law guardians, lawyers, magistrates and umpires working to keep people at peace and prevent them from going to law against one another. every quarter the elders visited the members' homes and inquired whether their business was being conducted honestly, whether family worship was being held daily and the status of the children's training. ie. talking with the children about the message at church etc. they were able to assess for themselves what was happening by questioning the children.
WORK was all considered sacred. determination about every occupation of the fathers, etc. was made on the basis of: is your trade according to the law of Christ and of direct service to His holy cause. if 'no' this had to be changed or the family (?) had to leave the church. there was a contempt for art, music, letters and pleasure occupations.
ALMS fund was called korbona. it was managed by 3 officials. 1 kept the box, 1 the key and 1 the account book.
PUNISHMENT for the 1st offense was a private admonition. the 2nd offense was rebuked before the elders and the person was excluded from communion until repentance. the 3rd was denounced in the church before the whole congregation and the loud 'amen' of the assembled members proclaimed banishment from the church.
CHURCH GOVERNMENT's center was the synod. the synod elected the inner council and these bishops had ultimate authority. however, in case of dispute, final appeal was to the synod. the synod also settled all questions on doctrine and policy.
the DOCTRINE was simple and broad. the brethren never had a formal creed and never used their confessions of faith as tests..the catechism had 76 questions. the answers are remarkably full..it has no distinct and definite reference to paul's doctrine of justification by faith. it is johannine rather than pauline in tone. it contains a great deal of the teaching of Christ and very little of paul. less dogmatic and theological and less concerned with accurate definition. theological terms are used in a broader and freer way.
for example, take their definition of faith. luther had said, 'there are two kinds of believing: first, a believing about God which means that i believe that what is said of god is true. this faith is rather a form of knowledge than a faith. there is, secondly, a believing in god which means that i put my trust in him, give myself up to thinking that i can have dealings with Him, and believe without any doubt that He will be and do to me according to the things said of Him. such faith, which throws itself upon god, whether in life or in death, alone makes a christian man.' but the brethren gave faith a richer meaning. they made it signify more than thrust in God. they made it include both hope and love. they made it include obedience to the Law of Christ.
'what is faith in the Lord God? ' was one question. 'it is to know God, to know His word; above all, to love Him, to do His commandments and to submit to His will'. 'what is faith in Christ?' 'it is to listen to His word, to know Him, to honour Him, to love Him and to join the company of His followers.'
and this is the tone through the catechism and in all the early writings of the brethren. as a ship, said luke, is not made of one plank, so a christian cannot live on one religious doctrine. the brethren had no pet doctrines whatever. they had none of the distinctive marks of a sect. they taught their children the apostles' creed, the 10 commandments, the Lord's prayer, the 8 beatitudes and the 6 commandments of the sermon on the mount.
1. thou shalt not be angry with thy brother matt. 5.22
2. thou shalt not look upon a woman to lust after her. v.28
3. thou shalt not commit adultery or divorce thy wife. v.32
4. thou shalt not take an oath. v.34
5. thou shalt not go to law. v.39-40
6. thou shalt love thy enemy v.44
they taught the orthodox catholic doctrines of the holy trinity and the virgin birth. they held, they said , the universal christian faith. they enjoined the children to honour, but not worship, the virgin mary and the saints, and they warned them against the adoration of pictures. if the brethren had any peculiarity at all, it was not any distinctive doctrine, but rather their insistence on the practical duties of the believer. with luther, paul's theology was foremost; with the brethren (though not denied) it fell into the background. with luther the favorite court of appeal was paul's epistle to the galatians; with the brethren it was rather the sermon on the mout and the tender epistles of john.
again the brethern differed from luther in their doctrine of the Lord's supper...at firs they endeavoured to avoid the issue by siding with neither of the 2 great parties and falling back on the simple words of scripture. 'some say, they said, it is only a memorial feast, that Christ simply gave the bread as a memorial. others say that the bread is really the body of Christ, who is seated at the right hand of God. we reject both these views; they were not taught by Christ Himself. and if anyone asks us to say in what way Christ is present in the sacrament , we reply that we have nothing to say on the subject. we simply believe what he Himself said, and enjoy what He has given'.
*compare our queen elizabeth's view (the author is english)
Christ was the Word that spake it
He took the bread and brake it
and what that Word did make it
that i believe, and take it.
so they did not believe transubstantiation (bread and wine = Jesus) or consubstantiation (bread and wine coexist with Christ's flesh and blood); they denied that the words in john about eating the flesh and drinking the blood of Christ had any reference to the Lord's supper...that it was purely spiritual. if those words, said bishop luke, referred to the sacrament, then all catholics, except the priests, would be lost for catholics only ate the flesh and did not drink the blood and therefore could not possess eternal life. they denied that communion had any value apart from the faith of the believer...the Lord Christ, they said, had existed in 3 modes of existence. He was present bodily at the right hand of God; He was present spiritually in the heart of every believer; He was present sacramentally, but not personally, in the bread and wine; and therefore, when the believer knelt in prayer he must kneel, not to the bread and wine, but only to the exalted Lord in heaven.
again, the brethren differed from luther in their doctrine of infant baptism. if a child, said luther, was prayed for by the church, he was thereby cleansed from his unbelief, delivered from the power of the devil, and endowed with faith; and therefore the child was baptised as a believer. the brethren rejected this..calling it romish.they held that no child could be a believer until he had been instructed in the faith. they had no belief in baptismal regeneration..with them baptism was the outward and visible sign of admission to the church. as soon as the child was baptised he belonged to the class of the beginners and when he was 12 years old he was taken by his godfather to the minister examined in his 'questions' and asked if he would hold true to the faith he had been taught. if he said yes, the minister struck him in the face to teach him that he would have to suffer for Christ. then after further instruction he was confirmed by the minister, admitted to the communion and entered the ranks of the proficient.
i had always wondered if there was any connection between the waldensians, who i believe mainly lived in northern italy and the moravians who, i learned, started out in czechoslovakia and this author did say that a number of them came to czechoslovakia when the moravian church started and that they had their first bishops ordained by stephen a bishop among the waldenses.
the key waldensian scriptures at the beginning were: matt. 18.19-20;jer. 3.15; jn. 20.23; rev. 18.4-5; lk. 6.12-6; acts 4.32
they followed the sermon on the mount. their early writings, filled with scripture references, were very centered on Christ and the writings of john rather than on those of paul. they were more focused on a life of obedience rather than on doctrinal correctness. this was eye-opening to me and fruitful for personal spiritual growth perhaps.
czechoslovakia (bohemia) was surrounded by germany on 3 sides and at the end of the 14th century germans were infiltrating czech society and were very unwelcome in spite of their inroads. this book pointed out influential men in the formation of the moravian church:
1. conrad of waldhausen (1364-9) a german augustinian friar who denounced corruption among the clergy.
2. milic of kremsir (1363-74), a bohemian who left the orders to minister to the poor and denounce the evil in the church.
3. thomas of stitny (1370-1401), a writer who denounced the immorality among the monks.
4. matthew of janow (1381-93) who, at this period of the papal schism where there were 2, and for a period 3, popes vying for ecclesiastical authority, criticized the church. the former 3 men were loyal to the church of rome.
5. around this time the writings of john wycliffe of england made there way here and made quite an impact emanating out from the university of prague. he taught: a. that the bible not the pope was the final authority, b. that transubstantiation - the elements of the communion are literally the body and blood of Christ - was not true and therefore denied the priests' power 'to make the body of Christ', c. that men do not have to come to God thru a priest but that all have direct access thru the shed blood of Jesus.
6. john hus took these ideas and attacked the church of rome. he was burned at the stake on july 6, 1415 at the council of constance.
7. hussite wars (1415-34) was the result of the national chaos following hus' burning..all kinds of wierd splinter groups warring against each other.
8. peter of chelcic (1419-50) an influential writer whose ideas further removed the people from the church of rome.
9. gregory the patriarch (1457-73) during this time gregory became the first actual leader of the moravians/bohemian brethren/church of the brethren (they called themselves jednota (literally, union) bratrska). they established their first society at knuwald and they followed the teachings of peter.
10.luke of prague (1473-1530) church decided to not follow peter or gregory's teachings but only the bible (1495).
11. by 1500 there were reported to be over 100,000 brethren in bohemia. on feb. 4 a papal bull was issued pursuant to their destruction. they were greatly persecuted until 1516 when other conflicts drew the malignant attention away from them.
12. john augusta (1531-48), the bohemian luther, sought to move the brethren into the mainstream of the reformation. he desired: a. friendly relations with protestants in other countries, b. legal recognition of the brethren in bohemia, c. union of all bohemian protestants.
as the brethren, for the first time, got out and talked with others they were universally believed to be superior because of their church discipline and focus on good works. in time they were to experience the folly of this course of action. the smalkald war went against the german lutherans and the negative fallout came back on the brethren who had begun to associate with the various protestant groups.
various observations about the brethren at their beginning:
the MINISTER was chosen for Christlike character rather than for his education..'we despise the learning of tongues'. he was to earn his bread by manual labor. celibacy was considered spiritually superior for the minister. his title was servant of the church ...all true believers were priests and another could fulfill ministry functions in his absence. he heard confessions, expelled sinners, welcomed penitents, preached on the previously determined scripture of the day, visited everyone once a quarter, undertook any journey at the command of the elders, was not allowed to visit unmarried women (this was done by the committee of women), lived at the brethren's house where he trained young men under his charge (all were taught a useful trade)
the DEACON was to supply outpreaching stations, repeat the pastor's sermon to those who were not present, assist in holy communion, occasionally preach in the village church to give the pastor the opportunity to criticize/correct/encourage them, managed the domestic affairs of the brethren's house, assisted in the distributions of alms and..in their spare time, study the bible.
the ACOLUTH was a boy trained by the pastor to be a deacon who took turns in conducting household worship, gave an occasional short address in the village church and when accepted by the synod of acoluths generally received some biblical name intended to express some character feature.
the BRETHREN'S HOUSE was governed by rules. they rose at the bell, had united prayer and scripture reading. an hour later they had a service then morning study. the afternoons were reserved for manual labor, the mind not being quite as sharp, where they did weaving, gardening, tailoring and other trades. the evening was reserved for sacred music and singing (the moravian hymnal in 1501 was the first in europe). at meals the acolutes recited passages of scripture, read discourses and took part in theological discussions. no one could leave the house without permission. the pastor could not leave the parish without the bishop's permission. when traveling the pastor would stay at other brethren's houses.
although the brethren hated higher education they were universally literate, being able to all read and write they were the most enlightened segment of a mostly illiterate population. they also taught others to read. why? so that they would be able to read the bible. this led to persecution as being able to read was considered almost miraculous (demonic?). the common thot was that if a person joined the brethren the devil taught him the art of reading and if he departed the devil promptly robbed him of the power.
PICARD was the common term for anyone who disagreed with the church of rome.
bishop luke of prague wrote the 'catechism for children' commonly called 'the children's questions'. this was found in every brethren home and was used to teach children to read and write.
CHURCH was composed of 1. beginners (who were learning the first elements of religion). these, usually children, were prepared for confirmation by their parents and friends. 2. proficients, who were steady members of the church. 3. the perfect, those who were so established in faith, hope and love so as to be enabled to enlighten others. all 3 had their own catechism. the elders were elected from the perfect, who then assisted the pastor in parish duties. they acted as poor-law guardians, lawyers, magistrates and umpires working to keep people at peace and prevent them from going to law against one another. every quarter the elders visited the members' homes and inquired whether their business was being conducted honestly, whether family worship was being held daily and the status of the children's training. ie. talking with the children about the message at church etc. they were able to assess for themselves what was happening by questioning the children.
WORK was all considered sacred. determination about every occupation of the fathers, etc. was made on the basis of: is your trade according to the law of Christ and of direct service to His holy cause. if 'no' this had to be changed or the family (?) had to leave the church. there was a contempt for art, music, letters and pleasure occupations.
ALMS fund was called korbona. it was managed by 3 officials. 1 kept the box, 1 the key and 1 the account book.
PUNISHMENT for the 1st offense was a private admonition. the 2nd offense was rebuked before the elders and the person was excluded from communion until repentance. the 3rd was denounced in the church before the whole congregation and the loud 'amen' of the assembled members proclaimed banishment from the church.
CHURCH GOVERNMENT's center was the synod. the synod elected the inner council and these bishops had ultimate authority. however, in case of dispute, final appeal was to the synod. the synod also settled all questions on doctrine and policy.
the DOCTRINE was simple and broad. the brethren never had a formal creed and never used their confessions of faith as tests..the catechism had 76 questions. the answers are remarkably full..it has no distinct and definite reference to paul's doctrine of justification by faith. it is johannine rather than pauline in tone. it contains a great deal of the teaching of Christ and very little of paul. less dogmatic and theological and less concerned with accurate definition. theological terms are used in a broader and freer way.
for example, take their definition of faith. luther had said, 'there are two kinds of believing: first, a believing about God which means that i believe that what is said of god is true. this faith is rather a form of knowledge than a faith. there is, secondly, a believing in god which means that i put my trust in him, give myself up to thinking that i can have dealings with Him, and believe without any doubt that He will be and do to me according to the things said of Him. such faith, which throws itself upon god, whether in life or in death, alone makes a christian man.' but the brethren gave faith a richer meaning. they made it signify more than thrust in God. they made it include both hope and love. they made it include obedience to the Law of Christ.
'what is faith in the Lord God? ' was one question. 'it is to know God, to know His word; above all, to love Him, to do His commandments and to submit to His will'. 'what is faith in Christ?' 'it is to listen to His word, to know Him, to honour Him, to love Him and to join the company of His followers.'
and this is the tone through the catechism and in all the early writings of the brethren. as a ship, said luke, is not made of one plank, so a christian cannot live on one religious doctrine. the brethren had no pet doctrines whatever. they had none of the distinctive marks of a sect. they taught their children the apostles' creed, the 10 commandments, the Lord's prayer, the 8 beatitudes and the 6 commandments of the sermon on the mount.
1. thou shalt not be angry with thy brother matt. 5.22
2. thou shalt not look upon a woman to lust after her. v.28
3. thou shalt not commit adultery or divorce thy wife. v.32
4. thou shalt not take an oath. v.34
5. thou shalt not go to law. v.39-40
6. thou shalt love thy enemy v.44
they taught the orthodox catholic doctrines of the holy trinity and the virgin birth. they held, they said , the universal christian faith. they enjoined the children to honour, but not worship, the virgin mary and the saints, and they warned them against the adoration of pictures. if the brethren had any peculiarity at all, it was not any distinctive doctrine, but rather their insistence on the practical duties of the believer. with luther, paul's theology was foremost; with the brethren (though not denied) it fell into the background. with luther the favorite court of appeal was paul's epistle to the galatians; with the brethren it was rather the sermon on the mout and the tender epistles of john.
again the brethern differed from luther in their doctrine of the Lord's supper...at firs they endeavoured to avoid the issue by siding with neither of the 2 great parties and falling back on the simple words of scripture. 'some say, they said, it is only a memorial feast, that Christ simply gave the bread as a memorial. others say that the bread is really the body of Christ, who is seated at the right hand of God. we reject both these views; they were not taught by Christ Himself. and if anyone asks us to say in what way Christ is present in the sacrament , we reply that we have nothing to say on the subject. we simply believe what he Himself said, and enjoy what He has given'.
*compare our queen elizabeth's view (the author is english)
Christ was the Word that spake it
He took the bread and brake it
and what that Word did make it
that i believe, and take it.
so they did not believe transubstantiation (bread and wine = Jesus) or consubstantiation (bread and wine coexist with Christ's flesh and blood); they denied that the words in john about eating the flesh and drinking the blood of Christ had any reference to the Lord's supper...that it was purely spiritual. if those words, said bishop luke, referred to the sacrament, then all catholics, except the priests, would be lost for catholics only ate the flesh and did not drink the blood and therefore could not possess eternal life. they denied that communion had any value apart from the faith of the believer...the Lord Christ, they said, had existed in 3 modes of existence. He was present bodily at the right hand of God; He was present spiritually in the heart of every believer; He was present sacramentally, but not personally, in the bread and wine; and therefore, when the believer knelt in prayer he must kneel, not to the bread and wine, but only to the exalted Lord in heaven.
again, the brethren differed from luther in their doctrine of infant baptism. if a child, said luther, was prayed for by the church, he was thereby cleansed from his unbelief, delivered from the power of the devil, and endowed with faith; and therefore the child was baptised as a believer. the brethren rejected this..calling it romish.they held that no child could be a believer until he had been instructed in the faith. they had no belief in baptismal regeneration..with them baptism was the outward and visible sign of admission to the church. as soon as the child was baptised he belonged to the class of the beginners and when he was 12 years old he was taken by his godfather to the minister examined in his 'questions' and asked if he would hold true to the faith he had been taught. if he said yes, the minister struck him in the face to teach him that he would have to suffer for Christ. then after further instruction he was confirmed by the minister, admitted to the communion and entered the ranks of the proficient.
Sunday, October 3, 2010
10.3.2010 MAY YOU LIVE FOREVER!
reported..nearly 40% of india's 1 billion people live on less than $1.25 a day...india just spent an estimated $6 billion to prepare for the commonwealth games.
william carey said, and lived, 'attempt great things for God; expect great things from God.
toward the end of his life alexander duff, who would in a sense be carey's successor in india, when frist meeting carey had a time to talk with him the two had reviewed carey's long and famed missionary life. duff's praise of carey's work went on until finally the dying man whispered, 'pray'. duff prayed and arose to say his last goodbye. as he passed from the room he thot he heard a feeble voice pronouncing his name. he turned to find the aged missionary calling him again to his side. ..in a solemn, gracious, barely audible voice carey said, ' mr. duff, you have been speaking about dr. carey, dr carey. when i am gone say nothing about dr. carey - speak about dr. carey's savior.'
another recounted, he was seated near his desk in the study, dressed in his usual neat attire. his eyes were closed..his appearance, as he sat there, with his few white locks and his placid, colorless face, filled me with a kind of awe, for he seemed as one listening to his master's summons, and ready to go. i sat there for about half an hour without a word, for i feared to break that silence, and to call back to earth the spirit that seemed almost in heaven. at last, however, i spoke, and well do i remember the ..words that passed..'dear friend..i said..you seem to be standing on the very border of eternity. do not think it wrong then that i ask your thots and feelings'.
the question aroused carey. slowly he opened his eyes and then with a feeble though earnest voice he answered, 'i know in whom i have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which i have committed unto Him against that day. but when i think i am about to appear in God's holy presence, and i remember all my sins, i tremble'.
in his last will and testament he said, 'i direct that before every other thing all my lawful debts be paid, that my funeral be as plain as possible, that i may be buried by the side of my second wife, charlotte emilia carey, and that the following inscription, and nothing more, may be cut on the stone which commemorates her, either above or below as there may be room:
william carey
born august 17, 1761: died -
a wretched, poor and helpless worm,
on Thy kind arms i fall.
mission thots from one of carey's letters...'i must now just tell you my thots about the mission. brother fountain is safely arrived and gives us pleasure but our affairs as a mission are in a delicate situation..the experiences obtained here i look upon as the very thing which will tend to support the mission...'
(my note)carey's mission was, i believe, almost totally self supporting from the time of his arrival. carey and his fellow missionaries go income from carey's professorship, in the area of linguistics, at a local college along with a bit of translation work he undertook for the government. he also translated parts of the bible, and in some cases the whole bible into 40 different languages of the east. the press that they had set up at the mission station printed almost continuously, another source of income. they also established a boy's and (first) girls school at the station which soon multiplied into many schools in the surrounding region. most of the european population sent their children to these schools. they were however looked at and most widely used to prepare a reading population who could then read and communicate the truths of the bible to those around them. they were a third source of income. with this income, after a very minute portion was used to provide the missionaries' needs, was used to disseminate the bible and to support native ministry involved in evangelizing and establishing churches throughout india and other countries in this area.
...'i now know all the methods of agriculture that are used here. i know the tricks of the natives, and the nature of the lowest rate of house-experiments on those heads which could not have been made without ruin had i not had those resources and i will now propose to you what i would recommend to the society - you will find it similar to what the moravians do. 7 or 8 families can be maintained for nearly the same expenses as 1, if this method is pursued. i then earnestly entreat the society to set their faces this way and send out more missionaries. we ought to be 7 or 8 families together - and it is absolutely necessary for the wives of missionaries to be as hearty in the work as their husbands. our families should be considered as nurseries for the mission and among us should be a person capable of teaching school, so as to educate our children.
i recommend all living together in a number of little straw houses forming a line or a square and of having nothing of our own but all the general stock. one or two should be elected stewards to provide over all the management which should with respect to eating, drinking , working, worship, learning, preaching excursions yet be reduced to fixed rules. should the above mentioned natives join us all should be considered equal and come under the same regulations. (part of the vision was to provide a ready-made christian community for indians who were totally rejected by the surrounding society because of their faith in Christ)
william carey said, and lived, 'attempt great things for God; expect great things from God.
toward the end of his life alexander duff, who would in a sense be carey's successor in india, when frist meeting carey had a time to talk with him the two had reviewed carey's long and famed missionary life. duff's praise of carey's work went on until finally the dying man whispered, 'pray'. duff prayed and arose to say his last goodbye. as he passed from the room he thot he heard a feeble voice pronouncing his name. he turned to find the aged missionary calling him again to his side. ..in a solemn, gracious, barely audible voice carey said, ' mr. duff, you have been speaking about dr. carey, dr carey. when i am gone say nothing about dr. carey - speak about dr. carey's savior.'
another recounted, he was seated near his desk in the study, dressed in his usual neat attire. his eyes were closed..his appearance, as he sat there, with his few white locks and his placid, colorless face, filled me with a kind of awe, for he seemed as one listening to his master's summons, and ready to go. i sat there for about half an hour without a word, for i feared to break that silence, and to call back to earth the spirit that seemed almost in heaven. at last, however, i spoke, and well do i remember the ..words that passed..'dear friend..i said..you seem to be standing on the very border of eternity. do not think it wrong then that i ask your thots and feelings'.
the question aroused carey. slowly he opened his eyes and then with a feeble though earnest voice he answered, 'i know in whom i have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which i have committed unto Him against that day. but when i think i am about to appear in God's holy presence, and i remember all my sins, i tremble'.
in his last will and testament he said, 'i direct that before every other thing all my lawful debts be paid, that my funeral be as plain as possible, that i may be buried by the side of my second wife, charlotte emilia carey, and that the following inscription, and nothing more, may be cut on the stone which commemorates her, either above or below as there may be room:
william carey
born august 17, 1761: died -
a wretched, poor and helpless worm,
on Thy kind arms i fall.
mission thots from one of carey's letters...'i must now just tell you my thots about the mission. brother fountain is safely arrived and gives us pleasure but our affairs as a mission are in a delicate situation..the experiences obtained here i look upon as the very thing which will tend to support the mission...'
(my note)carey's mission was, i believe, almost totally self supporting from the time of his arrival. carey and his fellow missionaries go income from carey's professorship, in the area of linguistics, at a local college along with a bit of translation work he undertook for the government. he also translated parts of the bible, and in some cases the whole bible into 40 different languages of the east. the press that they had set up at the mission station printed almost continuously, another source of income. they also established a boy's and (first) girls school at the station which soon multiplied into many schools in the surrounding region. most of the european population sent their children to these schools. they were however looked at and most widely used to prepare a reading population who could then read and communicate the truths of the bible to those around them. they were a third source of income. with this income, after a very minute portion was used to provide the missionaries' needs, was used to disseminate the bible and to support native ministry involved in evangelizing and establishing churches throughout india and other countries in this area.
...'i now know all the methods of agriculture that are used here. i know the tricks of the natives, and the nature of the lowest rate of house-experiments on those heads which could not have been made without ruin had i not had those resources and i will now propose to you what i would recommend to the society - you will find it similar to what the moravians do. 7 or 8 families can be maintained for nearly the same expenses as 1, if this method is pursued. i then earnestly entreat the society to set their faces this way and send out more missionaries. we ought to be 7 or 8 families together - and it is absolutely necessary for the wives of missionaries to be as hearty in the work as their husbands. our families should be considered as nurseries for the mission and among us should be a person capable of teaching school, so as to educate our children.
i recommend all living together in a number of little straw houses forming a line or a square and of having nothing of our own but all the general stock. one or two should be elected stewards to provide over all the management which should with respect to eating, drinking , working, worship, learning, preaching excursions yet be reduced to fixed rules. should the above mentioned natives join us all should be considered equal and come under the same regulations. (part of the vision was to provide a ready-made christian community for indians who were totally rejected by the surrounding society because of their faith in Christ)
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