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St. John of the Cross Novena, Day 8: Eternal Silence
Reading
The Father spoke one Word, which was his Son, and this Word he speaks always in eternal silence, and in silence must it be heard by the soul.
Sayings of Light and Love, 100
Scripture
I have made your name known to those whom you gave me from the world. They were yours, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. Now they know that everything you have given me is from you; for the words that you gave to me I have given to them, and they have received them and know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me. I am asking on their behalf; I am not asking on behalf of the world, but on behalf of those whom you gave me, because they are yours. All mine are yours, and yours are mine; and I have been glorified in them. And now I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one, as we are one. While I was with them, I protected them in your name that you have given me. I guarded them, and not one of them was lost except the one destined to be lost, so that the scripture might be fulfilled. But now I am coming to you, and I speak these things in the world so that they may have my joy made complete in themselves. I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. I am not asking you to take them out of the world, but I ask you to protect them from the evil one. They do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. As you have sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. And for their sakes I sanctify myself, so that they also may be sanctified in truth.
Meditation
“What is truth?” (Jn 18:38)
Pontius Pilate’s rhetorical question echoes through the centuries.
St. Edith Stein reminds us that Pilate could have asked a more essential question: Who is truth?
In her meditation, The Hidden Life and Epiphany, Edith touches on this question as she makes use of the Epiphany manger scene to make an analogy for the Church and its development.
The kings at the manger represent seekers from all lands and peoples. Grace led them before they ever belonged to the external church. There lived in them a pure longing for truth that did not stop at the boundaries of native doctrines and traditions. Because God is truth and because he wants to be found by those who seek him with their whole hearts, sooner or later that star had to appear to show these wise men the way to truth. And so they now stand before the Incarnate Truth, bow down and worship it, and place their crowns at its feet, because all the treasures of the world are but a little dust compared to it.
“God is truth… he wants to be found… that star had to appear.” Edith, in her matter-of-fact, German way, minces no words. God isn’t hiding after all, he’s in our midst, standing before our eyes, just as Jesus stood before Pilate. Jesus, Incarnate Truth, was standing before the governor who asked him, “what is truth?”
St. Elizabeth of the Trinity seems to be speaking to us when she writes:
I understand that you need an ideal, something that will draw you out of yourself and raise you to greater heights. But, you see, there is only One; it is He, the Only Truth! Ah, if you only knew Him a little as your Sabeth does! He fascinates, He sweeps you away; under His gaze, the horizon becomes so beautiful, so vast, so luminous…. My dear one, do you want to turn with me toward this sublime Ideal? It is no fiction but a reality. (Letter 128)
Are you serious? Where is this horizon? Because in the darkness where we’re hiding, it’s difficult to see. And once again, it is St. John himself who responds:
Mine are the heavens and mine is the earth. Mine are the nations, the just are mine, and mine the sinners. The angels are mine, and the Mother of God, and all things are mine; and God himself is mine and for me, because Christ is mine and all for me. What do you ask, then, and seek, my soul? Yours is all of this, and all is for you. Do not engage yourself in something less or pay heed to the crumbs that fall from your Father’s table. Go forth and exult in your Glory! Hide yourself in it and rejoice, and you will obtain the supplications of your heart. (Sayings 27)
Hiding in glory… there’s a concept that we don’t see or hear every day. Sometimes, maybe most of the time, it seems that God is the one who is doing all the hiding while we’re waiting around for him to show up. Is there anyone who understands what St. John of the Cross means?
St. Thérèse does! The language of “hiding” was one of her favorite concepts, especially in her poetry, and it’s a transferable concept, meaning that it’s not strictly applicable to the cloistered life. For example:
My Sweet Jesus, on your Mother’s breast
You appear to me, glowing with Love.
Love—this is the indescribable mystery
That exiled you from the Heavenly Abode…
Ah! Let me hide under the veil
That hides you from all mortal eyes
And close to you, O Morning Star!
I’ll find a foretaste of Heaven.
(Pn 1)Here, Thérèse is talking about hiding under the Blessed Virgin’s veil, not necessarily hiding under the veil of a Carmelite nun. Hiding under the veil of the Virgin Mary is an image that is more approachable for us, perhaps. But the Infant is glowing on Mary’s breast, glowing with Love, and is there a hint of glory in that image, too?
Here’s another example from the poetry of St. Thérèse:
The unspeakable gaze of your Son—
Upon my poor soul he deigned to look down;
I looked for his adorable face
And in Him, I want to be hidden.
I’ll have to stay little forever
To deserve the glances from his eyes;
But by virtue of that, I will soon grow up
Under the heat of this heavenly star.
(Pn 11)Now, we are getting more of a sense of how Thérèse has captured St. John’s profound concept of hiding in glory, yet she has expressed it in the language of littleness, that loving gaze of Jesus, and yet at the same time—while remaining hidden—there is light and heat generated by the Lord, having a direct effect on her spiritual life.
This is all very heady stuff. But it seems that for Thérèse, the key to hiding in glory is to be found in the face of Jesus. The Gospel of John and St. Paul testify to this:
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it. (…) And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth. (Jn 1:1-5,14)
All of us, gazing with unveiled face on the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, as from the Lord who is the Spirit. (2 Cor 3:18)
Well if that’s the case, gazing on the face of Christ and hiding in the face of Christ, must be a key to “growing up” as Thérèse said; growing in prayer, growing in faith, growing in hope, and our goal… growing in love. After all, that’s our aim.
We’ll let St. Thérèse have the last word, then, about hiding in the face of Jesus:
Ah! Let me, Lord, hide in your Face.
There I will no longer hear the trivial noise from the world.
Give me your love, preserve me in your grace
Just for today.
(Pn 5)Ah…. silence.
Prayer
O St. John of the Cross
You were endowed by our Lord with the spirit of self-denial
and a love of the cross.
Obtain for us the grace to follow your example
that we may come to the eternal vision of the glory of God.O Saint of Christ’s redeeming cross
the road of life is dark and long.
Teach us always to be resigned to God’s holy will
in all the circumstances of our lives
and grant us the special favor
which we now ask of you.Mention your request
Above all, obtain for us the grace of final perseverance,
a holy and happy death and everlasting life with you
and all the saints in heaven.
Amen.Let’s continue in prayer
Day 1 — Self-trust
St. John of the Cross in prayer
Day 2 — Self-giving
Day 3 — Cleansing
Day 4 — Walking in love
Day 5 — Trust
Day 6 — Prayer
Day 7 — Humility
Day 8 — Eternal Silence
Day 9 — Silent love
French, late 16th-17th c.
Oil on canvas, no date
Carmel of Pontoise
© Ministère de la Culture (France), Médiathèque de l’architecture et du patrimoine, Diffusion RMN-GP. Used by permission.The novena prayer was composed from approved sources by Professor Michael Ogunu, a member of the Discalced Carmelite Secular Order in Nigeria.
John of the Cross, St 1991, The Collected Works of St. John of the Cross, rev. edn, Kavanaugh, K & Rodriguez, O (trans.), ICS Publications, Washington DC.
Elizabeth of the Trinity, S 2003, The Complete Works of Elizabeth of the Trinity volume 2: Letters from Carmel, Nash, A (trans.), ICS Publications, Washington DC.
Stein, E 2014, The Hidden Life: hagiographic essays, meditations, spiritual texts, Stein, W (trans.), ICS Publications, Washington DC.
We always refer to the website of the Archives of the Carmel of Lisieux for the vast majority of our quotes concerning Saint Thérèse, Saint Zélie, and Saint Louis Martin. If you would like to purchase English translations for the collected works of St. Thérèse, please visit the website of our Discalced Carmelite friars at ICS Publications.
All scripture references in this novena are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1989, 1993 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America as accessed from the Bible Gateway website.
Don’t become discouraged and give up prayer, says St. John of the Cross. We offer varying novenas to Our Lady of Mount Carmel, as well as novenas to St. Teresa of Avila, St. John of the Cross, St. Thérèse of Lisieux, Sts. Louis and Zélie Martin, St. Elizabeth of the Trinity, and St. Joseph.
#archives #edithStein #elizabethCatez #glory #hiding #icsPublications #johnOfTheCross #letter #letters #love #loveOfGod #novena #poetry #sabeth #sanJuanDeLaCruz #sayingsOfLightAndLove #silence #stEdithStein #stElizabethOfTheTrinity #stJohnOfTheCross #stTeresaBenedictaOfTheCross #stTherese #stThereseOfLisieux #stThereseOfTheChildJesus #theHiddenLife #truth
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I Visited The Western Wall Twice
Disclaimer: This is my original work with details sourced from my personal experiences and observations during the Israel pilgrimage tour I joined and what happened during my free time. Anyone who wants to use this article, in part or in whole, needs to secure first my permission and agree to cite me as the source and author. Let it be known that any unauthorized use of this article will constrain the author to pursue the remedies under R.A. No. 8293, the Revised Penal Code, and/or all applicable legal actions under the laws of the Philippines.
Welcome back, readers and fellow followers of the Lord! This is the 11th chapter of my ongoing series of articles about the holy nation of Israel with recollections about the experiences and discoveries I had during the pilgrimage tour I joined with my local church (hosted by strategic partner Behold Israel) in 2023. To see my previous Israel tour articles, click here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here. No matter what happens in this unpredictable and chaotic world we live in, I will always stand with Israel and my faith in the Lord remains uncompromising!
In this latest edition of my Israel 2023 series, I share with you what I experienced when I visited Western Wall in the Old City of Jerusalem not once but twice. Also referred to as the Wailing Wall, the Western Wall is a very holy site and is one of the most definitive places to be in with regards to worshiping the Lord.
For starters, I share with you the very video I recorded about my first time ever to arrive at the Western Wall Plaza (note: I was with my pilgrimage tour group companions, our pastors and our hard-working local tour guide) as well as my first-ever approach (starts at 2:01 in the video) to the Western Wall itself. It’s a video of more than three minutes and it’s available for public viewing via YouTube. Watch the video below and pay attention to the details closely.
As you can see in the above video, I stopped recording before entering the perimeter to get closer to the Western Wall. What happened after was my personal discovery and my personal sensing of the Lord’s presence.
About The Western Wall
To put things in perspective, the Western Wall is a retaining wall which was part of the Temple Mount expansion that King Herod (Herod the Great) did in around 19 BC. It is one of the four supporting walls of the Temple Mount which remained intact after the destruction of the Second Jewish Temple many decades later. Above it is the Temple Mount already.
Historically, the First Jewish Temple was built on the top of Mount Moriah during the time of King Solomon. The temple was destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 BCE. In 19 BC, King Herod started rebuilding a new temple and this includes enlarging the Temple Mount platform a lot which made it 1,575 feet long and 985 feet wide. Herod had ten thousand men working and trained a thousand priests to work on the most sacred parts of the Second Jewish Temple.
The construction was done after several years but the decoration was completed in 64 AD. Six years after the Second Jewish Temple was fully completed, the Romans destroyed it but the western side of the Temple Mount survived. This happened in 70 AD, long after Lord Jesus conquered death and ascended to Heaven.
At the part of the Western Wall near the corner of the Southern Wall is this area that was massively damaged when the Romans destroyed the Second Jewish Temple. Several huge rocks that fell from above during the 70 AD destruction have remained.The Western Wall faces westward and it is the closest in proximity to the site of the Holy of Holies, the most sacred location in the Temple for the Jewish people. Be aware that Mount Moriah is the same exact mountain where Abraham almost sacrificed his son Isaac before God sent the angel to intervene and provided the ram as the sacrifice.
For centuries, the Western Wall became a great source of influence and inspiration. It became the focus of yearning and prayer for the Jewish people for countless generations. The open-air section of the Western Wall serves as a place of worshipping the Lord and it is officially a synagogue. Apart from worship, the Western Wall keeps the memory of the Jewish Temples alive and it has also been used by the State of Israel for formal ceremonies. For centuries, pilgrims from around world came to the wall to pray and leave written noted in its ancient stones.
Physically, the Western Wall is 488 meters long and the height of the exposed section reaches a height of 40 meters above the bedrock of the eastern hill of Jerusalem (Mount Moriah). The open-air section of the wall (visible to the Prayer Plaza) is comprised of 46 layers of stone and the very large stones (that many are able to touch) were put in place during the time of King Herod (Second Jewish Temple period).
My First Visit – February 13, 2023
The widest shot of the Western Wall I managed to take during my first-ever visit.After recording the video, I placed my smartphone into my pocket, entered the worship area and gradually made my way to the wall.
With my Holy Bible in my left hand, I touched the Western Wall with my right hand and started spending quality time with the Lord God, praying to Him. With all my heart, I expressed my thanks and dedication to Lord Jesus there at the wall. I also prayed in support of Israel and the peace of Jerusalem.
Each moment I had there, I truly felt God’s presence and I did not confuse it with the wall’s visual magnificence. As I prayed, I felt the unction from the Lord to open my eyes and look straight up at the blue sky above knowing that He is spiritual, and He is in Heaven. The Lord is not inside the stones of the wall but in His Kingdom. That said, I did not worship the stones (reminder: idolatry is foolish and unholy) as I directed my worship directly to the Lord knowing He is in Heaven.
Many people praying at the wall touching it. There were others who did the same while standing or seating on a chair. In the lower-left corner of the picture is Wilson’s Arch which leads into the indoor synagogue. Partly seen in the background is the fence that separates the men from the women. Above everyone at the right is the platform leading to Temple Mount. The men’s side on the left and women’s side on the right. More of the high platform leading to the Temple Mount.Because we only had fifteen minutes to spend as our tour group had a schedule to follow, I wisely spent time to praising and honoring the Lord. Let me remind you all that Lord Jesus will someday return and He will fulfill His promise. He will return in Israel and Jerusalem will be His destination.
After praying to Him, I spent the remaining minutes looking around and observing. I was surrounded by Ultra-Orthodox Jews, National Religious Jews, rabbis, tourists and Christians. I witnessed the religious rituals and practices of the Jewish people and I know deep inside that the ties between Jews and Christians are biblical.
As I walked out to rejoin my pilgrimage tour group, I took shot of the women’s area of the Western Wall.The whole area is indeed sacred and that means visitors should be respectful and should practice decency near the Western Wall. People praying to God are to be respected and when there are many others praying while touching the wall, you will really have to wait for your turn. Be mindful that the Lord is always watching you as there is simply no reason to cause disrespect, playing around and causing trouble at the Western Wall.
When my fifteen minutes ran out, I went to the exit to rejoin my tour group.
My Second Visit – February 15, 2023
I took this shot of the Western Wall after making my way through from the Temple Mount.Two days later, it was our tour group’s one and only rest day. After having a really early breakfast at our hotel, I marched to the Old City of Jerusalem and visited the Temple Mount for the first time ever. After spending time up there, I took the exit and made my way down to return to the Western Wall.
Once again I took time touching the wall and praying to the Lord and expressing my thanks to Him with a lot of heart. After several minutes, I took a seat to pray to Him while resting my legs. Then I noticed a North American man (who looked so much like Hillsong Church’s Phil Dooley) with the Holy Bible at one end of the fence (separating the men and the women) by the wall facing at the other direction (his back on the wall). He preached the Word of God and asked the Lord to save everyone. What he said reminded me that God has a plan for everyone, including the Jews (His chosen people) and there is still time for the lost and unsaved to realize Jesus as the Lord and the Savior of all.
My hand touching the Western Wall. I spent much more time praying to the Lord during my 2nd visit there.After I was done praying by the wall, I decided to visit Wilson’s Arch as I was so curious why a lot of people had been entering and exiting it. It turned out to be Western Wall tunnel (with an arch area) and inside was a synagogue where there lots of Jews read the Old Testament, the Torah and pray. At the entrance/exit, a Jewish rabbi invited me in and assured me that foreigners and non-Jews were welcome. So I went in and he showed some parts of the indoor synagogue.
As it was a place of worship by the Jews, I was cautious moving inside and spending time observing. Carefully I only took a few photos for this feature article and it was astonishing to see more of the Western Wall indoors. Not only that, it was impressive to see the arches – including those huge stones above our heads – and it turns out they were constructed during Herod’s time and without any cement at all. There were also lots of shelves of books on both sides.
I took this shot during my short visit inside the Western Wall tunnel. See those huge stones above everyone? Those were put into place during the time of King Herod and no cement was ever used. It is amazing to see as it was constructed without any of the modern construction technologies of today. The Western Wall tunnel synagogue is one of the holiest synagogues in Israel due to its proximity to where the First Jewish Temple was wherein the Holy of Holies resided.The indoor synagogue is one of the holiest synagogues in Israel due to its proximity to where the original Jewish Temple was wherein the Holy of Holies resided. Since it was my plan to revisit the Upper Room and visit both King David’s Tomb and Oskar Schindler’s grave, I eventually left the Western Wall tunnel. Before tracing my way back to the Jewish Quarter (where we visited two days prior), I took one last look back at the Western Wall. I intend to revisit it and spend quality time with the Lord there again in the future.
Biblical Significance
While it is a fact that the Western Wall was not explicitly mentioned in the Holy Bible, it has always been part of the Temple Mount since Herod’s time. To put things in perspective, we need to go back to the time when King Solomon dedicated the First Temple asking God to hear the prayers made toward it. Learn from the holy scriptures below.
that Your eyes may be open toward this temple night and day, toward the place of which You said, ‘My name shall be there,’ that You may hear the prayer which Your servant makes toward this place. And may You hear the supplication of Your servant and of Your people Israel, when they pray toward this place. Hear in heaven Your dwelling place; and when You hear, forgive.
1 Kings 8:29-30 (NKJV)
“Moreover, concerning a foreigner, who is not of Your people Israel, but has come from a far country for Your name’s sake (for they will hear of Your great name and Your strong hand and Your outstretched arm), when he comes and prays toward this temple, hear in heaven Your dwelling place, and do according to all for which the foreigner calls to You, that all peoples of the earth may know Your name and fear You, as do Your people Israel, and that they may know that this temple which I have built is called by Your name.
1 Kings 8:41-43 (NKJV)
The First Jewish Temple eventually got destroyed by the Babylonians. Centuries later, Herod executed the massive rebuilding of the Temple (Second Jewish Temple) in Jerusalem as well as the expansion of the Temple Mount itself. What was achieved drew reactions from many people who saw it and there were references of such reactions in the New Testament. For insight, read the scriptures below.
Then as He went out of the temple, one of His disciples said to Him, “Teacher, see what manner of stones and what buildings are here!”
Mark 13:1 (NKJV)
Then the Jews replied, It took forty-six years to build this temple (sanctuary), and will You raise it up in three days?
John 2:20 (AMPC)
To be clear, the forty-six years mentioned in John 2:20 refers to the massive renovation and the expansion of the Second Jewish Temple.
Long before the Second Temple got destroyed, Lord Jesus prophesied its destruction. By the time Lord Jesus made the prophesy, He was already rejected by the religious Jews. Those people refused to accept Him as their Messiah and they had disobeyed God as a result. Lord Jesus wept for Jerusalem knowing that suffering and destruction would come and it happened in 70 AD. Learn from the scriptures below.
Now as He drew near, He saw the city and wept over it, saying,
“If you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things that make for your peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. For days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment around you, surround you and close you in on every side, and level you, and your children within you, to the ground; and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not know the time of your visitation.”
Luke 19:41-44 (NKJV)
Then Jesus went out and departed from the temple, and His disciples came up to show Him the buildings of the temple. And Jesus said to them,
“Do you not see all these things? Assuredly, I say to you, not one stone shall be left here upon another, that shall not be thrown down.”
Matthew 24:1-2 (NKJV)
As it is very clear that God always has a plan for the faithful and His chosen people, it was prophesied that He would bring the Jews (scattered around the world) back to Israel in the last days. This prophecy was fulfilled in May 1948 when the modern State of Israel was formally established and a lot of Jews returned or settled in since then. Lord Jesus will return to us some time in the future and there is time for the Jews to accept Him as their Messiah, to repent and submit to Him. The other lost and unsaved people of the world still have opportunities to realize Jesus as their Lord and Savior. Very clearly, Lord Jesus is the hope of ALL nations! Learn from the scriptures below.
If any of you are driven out to the farthest parts under heaven, from there the Lord your God will gather you, and from there He will bring you. Then the Lord your God will bring you to the land which your fathers possessed, and you shall possess it. He will prosper you and multiply you more than your fathers.
Deuteronomy 30:4-5 (NKJV)
Jesus answered him,
“I assure you and most solemnly say to you, unless a person is born again [reborn from above—spiritually transformed, renewed, sanctified], he cannot [ever] see and experience the kingdom of God.”
John 3:3 (AMP)
Beloved ones, let me repeat emphatically that the gospel entrusted to me was not given to me by any man. No one taught me this revelation, for it was given to me directly by the unveiling of Jesus Christ.
By now you have heard stories of how severely I harassed and persecuted Christians and how systematically I endeavored to destroy God’s church, all because of my radical devotion to the Jewish religion. My zeal and passion for the doctrines of Judaism distinguished me among my people, for I was far more advanced in my religious instruction than others my age.
But then God called me by his grace, and chose me from my birth to be his. He was pleased to unveil his Son in me so that I would proclaim him to the peoples of the world. After I had this encounter, I kept it a secret for some time, sharing it with no one. And I had no desire to run to Jerusalem and try to impress those who had become apostles before me. Instead, I withdrew into the Arabian Desert. Then I returned to Damascus, where I had first encountered Jesus.
Galatians 1:11-17 (TPT)
For He is [Himself] our peace (our bond of unity and harmony). He has made us both [Jew and Gentile] one [body], and has broken down (destroyed, abolished) the hostile dividing wall between us,
By abolishing in His [own crucified] flesh the enmity [caused by] the Law with its decrees and ordinances [which He annulled]; that He from the two might create in Himself one new man [one new quality of humanity out of the two], so making peace.
And [He designed] to reconcile to God both [Jew and Gentile, united] in a single body by means of His cross, thereby killing the mutual enmity and bringing the feud to an end.
And He came and preached the glad tidings of peace to you who were afar off and [peace] to those who were near.
For it is through Him that we both [whether far off or near] now have an introduction (access) by one [Holy] Spirit to the Father [so that we are able to approach Him].
Therefore you are no longer outsiders (exiles, migrants, and aliens, excluded from the rights of citizens), but you now share citizenship with the saints (God’s own people, consecrated and set apart for Himself); and you belong to God’s [own] household.
You are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets with Christ Jesus Himself the chief Cornerstone.
In Him the whole structure is joined (bound, welded) together harmoniously, and it continues to rise (grow, increase) into a holy temple in the Lord [a sanctuary dedicated, consecrated, and sacred to the presence of the Lord].
In Him [and in fellowship with one another] you yourselves also are being built up [into this structure] with the rest, to form a fixed abode (dwelling place) of God in (by, through) the Spirit.
Ephesians 2:14-22 (AMPC)
Conclusion
This was me during my first-ever Western Wall visit on February 13, 2023. I had The Passion Translation (TPT) Holy Bible with me. My thanks to the guy who took this picture for me.My two visits to the Western Wall were very significant to me personally. As seen above, each visit has been different, new discoveries happened and I spent quality time with Lord. The place is holy and it is a must-visit for anyone going to Israel. If I ever visit Israel again, I would return to the Western Wall to praise, thank and honor the Lord. If you are a person of faith who is about to visit Israel for the first time, I urge you to visit the Western Wall in Jerusalem. Learn from my experiences. I also encourage you all to stand united in support of Israel, learn to love and bless the Jewish people, help the lost and unsaved come to Lord Jesus and always pray for the peace of Jerusalem.
Pray for the peace of Jerusalem! May they prosper who love you [the Holy City]!
May peace be within your walls and prosperity within your palaces!
For my brethren and companions’ sake, I will now say, Peace be within you!
For the sake of the house of the Lord our God, I will seek, inquire for, and require your good.
Psalm 122:6-9 (AMPC)
Israel is the holiest place to visit in the whole world! Visit Israel with the Holy Bible! Pray to the Lord wholeheartedly and reveal to Him your heart’s desire to visit Israel to deepen your faith in Him. Always be the fearless and aggressive church of Lord Jesus! Follow the light of Lord Jesus, keep on praying to support Israel, learn to love and bless the Jewish people and pray for the peace of Jerusalem.
Watch out for more Israel 2023 travel articles here. There is more to come! Thank you for reading.
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Thank you for reading. If you find this article engaging, please click the like button below, share this article to others and also please consider making a donation to support my publishing. If you are looking for a copywriter to create content for your special project or business, check out my services and my portfolio. Feel free to contact me with a private message. Also please feel free to visit my Facebook page Author Carlo Carrasco and follow me on Twitter at @HavenorFantasy as well as on Tumblr at https://carlocarrasco.tumblr.com/ and on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/authorcarlocarrasco
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I Visited The Western Wall Twice
Disclaimer: This is my original work with details sourced from my personal experiences and observations during the Israel pilgrimage tour I joined and what happened during my free time. Anyone who wants to use this article, in part or in whole, needs to secure first my permission and agree to cite me as the source and author. Let it be known that any unauthorized use of this article will constrain the author to pursue the remedies under R.A. No. 8293, the Revised Penal Code, and/or all applicable legal actions under the laws of the Philippines.
Welcome back, readers and fellow followers of the Lord! This is the 11th chapter of my ongoing series of articles about the holy nation of Israel with recollections about the experiences and discoveries I had during the pilgrimage tour I joined with my local church (hosted by strategic partner Behold Israel) in 2023. To see my previous Israel tour articles, click here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here. No matter what happens in this unpredictable and chaotic world we live in, I will always stand with Israel and my faith in the Lord remains uncompromising!
In this latest edition of my Israel 2023 series, I share with you what I experienced when I visited Western Wall in the Old City of Jerusalem not once but twice. Also referred to as the Wailing Wall, the Western Wall is a very holy site and is one of the most definitive places to be in with regards to worshiping the Lord.
For starters, I share with you the very video I recorded about my first time ever to arrive at the Western Wall Plaza (note: I was with my pilgrimage tour group companions, our pastors and our hard-working local tour guide) as well as my first-ever approach (starts at 2:01 in the video) to the Western Wall itself. It’s a video of more than three minutes and it’s available for public viewing via YouTube. Watch the video below and pay attention to the details closely.
As you can see in the above video, I stopped recording before entering the perimeter to get closer to the Western Wall. What happened after was my personal discovery and my personal sensing of the Lord’s presence.
About The Western Wall
To put things in perspective, the Western Wall is a retaining wall which was part of the Temple Mount expansion that King Herod (Herod the Great) did in around 19 BC. It is one of the four supporting walls of the Temple Mount which remained intact after the destruction of the Second Jewish Temple many decades later. Above it is the Temple Mount already.
Historically, the First Jewish Temple was built on the top of Mount Moriah during the time of King Solomon. The temple was destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 BCE. In 19 BC, King Herod started rebuilding a new temple and this includes enlarging the Temple Mount platform a lot which made it 1,575 feet long and 985 feet wide. Herod had ten thousand men working and trained a thousand priests to work on the most sacred parts of the Second Jewish Temple.
The construction was done after several years but the decoration was completed in 64 AD. Six years after the Second Jewish Temple was fully completed, the Romans destroyed it but the western side of the Temple Mount survived. This happened in 70 AD, long after Lord Jesus conquered death and ascended to Heaven.
At the part of the Western Wall near the corner of the Southern Wall is this area that was massively damaged when the Romans destroyed the Second Jewish Temple. Several huge rocks that fell from above during the 70 AD destruction have remained.The Western Wall faces westward and it is the closest in proximity to the site of the Holy of Holies, the most sacred location in the Temple for the Jewish people. Be aware that Mount Moriah is the same exact mountain where Abraham almost sacrificed his son Isaac before God sent the angel to intervene and provided the ram as the sacrifice.
For centuries, the Western Wall became a great source of influence and inspiration. It became the focus of yearning and prayer for the Jewish people for countless generations. The open-air section of the Western Wall serves as a place of worshipping the Lord and it is officially a synagogue. Apart from worship, the Western Wall keeps the memory of the Jewish Temples alive and it has also been used by the State of Israel for formal ceremonies. For centuries, pilgrims from around world came to the wall to pray and leave written noted in its ancient stones.
Physically, the Western Wall is 488 meters long and the height of the exposed section reaches a height of 40 meters above the bedrock of the eastern hill of Jerusalem (Mount Moriah). The open-air section of the wall (visible to the Prayer Plaza) is comprised of 46 layers of stone and the very large stones (that many are able to touch) were put in place during the time of King Herod (Second Jewish Temple period).
My First Visit – February 13, 2023
The widest shot of the Western Wall I managed to take during my first-ever visit.After recording the video, I placed my smartphone into my pocket, entered the worship area and gradually made my way to the wall.
With my Holy Bible in my left hand, I touched the Western Wall with my right hand and started spending quality time with the Lord God, praying to Him. With all my heart, I expressed my thanks and dedication to Lord Jesus there at the wall. I also prayed in support of Israel and the peace of Jerusalem.
Each moment I had there, I truly felt God’s presence and I did not confuse it with the wall’s visual magnificence. As I prayed, I felt the unction from the Lord to open my eyes and look straight up at the blue sky above knowing that He is spiritual, and He is in Heaven. The Lord is not inside the stones of the wall but in His Kingdom. That said, I did not worship the stones (reminder: idolatry is foolish and unholy) as I directed my worship directly to the Lord knowing He is in Heaven.
Many people praying at the wall touching it. There were others who did the same while standing or seating on a chair. In the lower-left corner of the picture is Wilson’s Arch which leads into the indoor synagogue. Partly seen in the background is the fence that separates the men from the women. Above everyone at the right is the platform leading to Temple Mount. The men’s side on the left and women’s side on the right. More of the high platform leading to the Temple Mount.Because we only had fifteen minutes to spend as our tour group had a schedule to follow, I wisely spent time to praising and honoring the Lord. Let me remind you all that Lord Jesus will someday return and He will fulfill His promise. He will return in Israel and Jerusalem will be His destination.
After praying to Him, I spent the remaining minutes looking around and observing. I was surrounded by Ultra-Orthodox Jews, National Religious Jews, rabbis, tourists and Christians. I witnessed the religious rituals and practices of the Jewish people and I know deep inside that the ties between Jews and Christians are biblical.
As I walked out to rejoin my pilgrimage tour group, I took shot of the women’s area of the Western Wall.The whole area is indeed sacred and that means visitors should be respectful and should practice decency near the Western Wall. People praying to God are to be respected and when there are many others praying while touching the wall, you will really have to wait for your turn. Be mindful that the Lord is always watching you as there is simply no reason to cause disrespect, playing around and causing trouble at the Western Wall.
When my fifteen minutes ran out, I went to the exit to rejoin my tour group.
My Second Visit – February 15, 2023
I took this shot of the Western Wall after making my way through from the Temple Mount.Two days later, it was our tour group’s one and only rest day. After having a really early breakfast at our hotel, I marched to the Old City of Jerusalem and visited the Temple Mount for the first time ever. After spending time up there, I took the exit and made my way down to return to the Western Wall.
Once again I took time touching the wall and praying to the Lord and expressing my thanks to Him with a lot of heart. After several minutes, I took a seat to pray to Him while resting my legs. Then I noticed a North American man (who looked so much like Hillsong Church’s Phil Dooley) with the Holy Bible at one end of the fence (separating the men and the women) by the wall facing at the other direction (his back on the wall). He preached the Word of God and asked the Lord to save everyone. What he said reminded me that God has a plan for everyone, including the Jews (His chosen people) and there is still time for the lost and unsaved to realize Jesus as the Lord and the Savior of all.
My hand touching the Western Wall. I spent much more time praying to the Lord during my 2nd visit there.After I was done praying by the wall, I decided to visit Wilson’s Arch as I was so curious why a lot of people had been entering and exiting it. It turned out to be Western Wall tunnel (with an arch area) and inside was a synagogue where there lots of Jews read the Old Testament, the Torah and pray. At the entrance/exit, a Jewish rabbi invited me in and assured me that foreigners and non-Jews were welcome. So I went in and he showed some parts of the indoor synagogue.
As it was a place of worship by the Jews, I was cautious moving inside and spending time observing. Carefully I only took a few photos for this feature article and it was astonishing to see more of the Western Wall indoors. Not only that, it was impressive to see the arches – including those huge stones above our heads – and it turns out they were constructed during Herod’s time and without any cement at all. There were also lots of shelves of books on both sides.
I took this shot during my short visit inside the Western Wall tunnel. See those huge stones above everyone? Those were put into place during the time of King Herod and no cement was ever used. It is amazing to see as it was constructed without any of the modern construction technologies of today. The Western Wall tunnel synagogue is one of the holiest synagogues in Israel due to its proximity to where the First Jewish Temple was wherein the Holy of Holies resided.The indoor synagogue is one of the holiest synagogues in Israel due to its proximity to where the original Jewish Temple was wherein the Holy of Holies resided. Since it was my plan to revisit the Upper Room and visit both King David’s Tomb and Oskar Schindler’s grave, I eventually left the Western Wall tunnel. Before tracing my way back to the Jewish Quarter (where we visited two days prior), I took one last look back at the Western Wall. I intend to revisit it and spend quality time with the Lord there again in the future.
Biblical Significance
While it is a fact that the Western Wall was not explicitly mentioned in the Holy Bible, it has always been part of the Temple Mount since Herod’s time. To put things in perspective, we need to go back to the time when King Solomon dedicated the First Temple asking God to hear the prayers made toward it. Learn from the holy scriptures below.
that Your eyes may be open toward this temple night and day, toward the place of which You said, ‘My name shall be there,’ that You may hear the prayer which Your servant makes toward this place. And may You hear the supplication of Your servant and of Your people Israel, when they pray toward this place. Hear in heaven Your dwelling place; and when You hear, forgive.
1 Kings 8:29-30 (NKJV)
“Moreover, concerning a foreigner, who is not of Your people Israel, but has come from a far country for Your name’s sake (for they will hear of Your great name and Your strong hand and Your outstretched arm), when he comes and prays toward this temple, hear in heaven Your dwelling place, and do according to all for which the foreigner calls to You, that all peoples of the earth may know Your name and fear You, as do Your people Israel, and that they may know that this temple which I have built is called by Your name.
1 Kings 8:41-43 (NKJV)
The First Jewish Temple eventually got destroyed by the Babylonians. Centuries later, Herod executed the massive rebuilding of the Temple (Second Jewish Temple) in Jerusalem as well as the expansion of the Temple Mount itself. What was achieved drew reactions from many people who saw it and there were references of such reactions in the New Testament. For insight, read the scriptures below.
Then as He went out of the temple, one of His disciples said to Him, “Teacher, see what manner of stones and what buildings are here!”
Mark 13:1 (NKJV)
Then the Jews replied, It took forty-six years to build this temple (sanctuary), and will You raise it up in three days?
John 2:20 (AMPC)
To be clear, the forty-six years mentioned in John 2:20 refers to the massive renovation and the expansion of the Second Jewish Temple.
Long before the Second Temple got destroyed, Lord Jesus prophesied its destruction. By the time Lord Jesus made the prophesy, He was already rejected by the religious Jews. Those people refused to accept Him as their Messiah and they had disobeyed God as a result. Lord Jesus wept for Jerusalem knowing that suffering and destruction would come and it happened in 70 AD. Learn from the scriptures below.
Now as He drew near, He saw the city and wept over it, saying,
“If you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things that make for your peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. For days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment around you, surround you and close you in on every side, and level you, and your children within you, to the ground; and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not know the time of your visitation.”
Luke 19:41-44 (NKJV)
Then Jesus went out and departed from the temple, and His disciples came up to show Him the buildings of the temple. And Jesus said to them,
“Do you not see all these things? Assuredly, I say to you, not one stone shall be left here upon another, that shall not be thrown down.”
Matthew 24:1-2 (NKJV)
As it is very clear that God always has a plan for the faithful and His chosen people, it was prophesied that He would bring the Jews (scattered around the world) back to Israel in the last days. This prophecy was fulfilled in May 1948 when the modern State of Israel was formally established and a lot of Jews returned or settled in since then. Lord Jesus will return to us some time in the future and there is time for the Jews to accept Him as their Messiah, to repent and submit to Him. The other lost and unsaved people of the world still have opportunities to realize Jesus as their Lord and Savior. Very clearly, Lord Jesus is the hope of ALL nations! Learn from the scriptures below.
If any of you are driven out to the farthest parts under heaven, from there the Lord your God will gather you, and from there He will bring you. Then the Lord your God will bring you to the land which your fathers possessed, and you shall possess it. He will prosper you and multiply you more than your fathers.
Deuteronomy 30:4-5 (NKJV)
Jesus answered him,
“I assure you and most solemnly say to you, unless a person is born again [reborn from above—spiritually transformed, renewed, sanctified], he cannot [ever] see and experience the kingdom of God.”
John 3:3 (AMP)
Beloved ones, let me repeat emphatically that the gospel entrusted to me was not given to me by any man. No one taught me this revelation, for it was given to me directly by the unveiling of Jesus Christ.
By now you have heard stories of how severely I harassed and persecuted Christians and how systematically I endeavored to destroy God’s church, all because of my radical devotion to the Jewish religion. My zeal and passion for the doctrines of Judaism distinguished me among my people, for I was far more advanced in my religious instruction than others my age.
But then God called me by his grace, and chose me from my birth to be his. He was pleased to unveil his Son in me so that I would proclaim him to the peoples of the world. After I had this encounter, I kept it a secret for some time, sharing it with no one. And I had no desire to run to Jerusalem and try to impress those who had become apostles before me. Instead, I withdrew into the Arabian Desert. Then I returned to Damascus, where I had first encountered Jesus.
Galatians 1:11-17 (TPT)
For He is [Himself] our peace (our bond of unity and harmony). He has made us both [Jew and Gentile] one [body], and has broken down (destroyed, abolished) the hostile dividing wall between us,
By abolishing in His [own crucified] flesh the enmity [caused by] the Law with its decrees and ordinances [which He annulled]; that He from the two might create in Himself one new man [one new quality of humanity out of the two], so making peace.
And [He designed] to reconcile to God both [Jew and Gentile, united] in a single body by means of His cross, thereby killing the mutual enmity and bringing the feud to an end.
And He came and preached the glad tidings of peace to you who were afar off and [peace] to those who were near.
For it is through Him that we both [whether far off or near] now have an introduction (access) by one [Holy] Spirit to the Father [so that we are able to approach Him].
Therefore you are no longer outsiders (exiles, migrants, and aliens, excluded from the rights of citizens), but you now share citizenship with the saints (God’s own people, consecrated and set apart for Himself); and you belong to God’s [own] household.
You are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets with Christ Jesus Himself the chief Cornerstone.
In Him the whole structure is joined (bound, welded) together harmoniously, and it continues to rise (grow, increase) into a holy temple in the Lord [a sanctuary dedicated, consecrated, and sacred to the presence of the Lord].
In Him [and in fellowship with one another] you yourselves also are being built up [into this structure] with the rest, to form a fixed abode (dwelling place) of God in (by, through) the Spirit.
Ephesians 2:14-22 (AMPC)
Conclusion
This was me during my first-ever Western Wall visit on February 13, 2023. I had The Passion Translation (TPT) Holy Bible with me. My thanks to the guy who took this picture for me.My two visits to the Western Wall were very significant to me personally. As seen above, each visit has been different, new discoveries happened and I spent quality time with Lord. The place is holy and it is a must-visit for anyone going to Israel. If I ever visit Israel again, I would return to the Western Wall to praise, thank and honor the Lord. If you are a person of faith who is about to visit Israel for the first time, I urge you to visit the Western Wall in Jerusalem. Learn from my experiences. I also encourage you all to stand united in support of Israel, learn to love and bless the Jewish people, help the lost and unsaved come to Lord Jesus and always pray for the peace of Jerusalem.
Pray for the peace of Jerusalem! May they prosper who love you [the Holy City]!
May peace be within your walls and prosperity within your palaces!
For my brethren and companions’ sake, I will now say, Peace be within you!
For the sake of the house of the Lord our God, I will seek, inquire for, and require your good.
Psalm 122:6-9 (AMPC)
Israel is the holiest place to visit in the whole world! Visit Israel with the Holy Bible! Pray to the Lord wholeheartedly and reveal to Him your heart’s desire to visit Israel to deepen your faith in Him. Always be the fearless and aggressive church of Lord Jesus! Follow the light of Lord Jesus, keep on praying to support Israel, learn to love and bless the Jewish people and pray for the peace of Jerusalem.
Watch out for more Israel 2023 travel articles here. There is more to come! Thank you for reading.
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Thank you for reading. If you find this article engaging, please click the like button below, share this article to others and also please consider making a donation to support my publishing. If you are looking for a copywriter to create content for your special project or business, check out my services and my portfolio. Feel free to contact me with a private message. Also please feel free to visit my Facebook page Author Carlo Carrasco and follow me on Twitter at @HavenorFantasy as well as on Tumblr at https://carlocarrasco.tumblr.com/ and on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/authorcarlocarrasco
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I Visited The Western Wall Twice
Disclaimer: This is my original work with details sourced from my personal experiences and observations during the Israel pilgrimage tour I joined and what happened during my free time. Anyone who wants to use this article, in part or in whole, needs to secure first my permission and agree to cite me as the source and author. Let it be known that any unauthorized use of this article will constrain the author to pursue the remedies under R.A. No. 8293, the Revised Penal Code, and/or all applicable legal actions under the laws of the Philippines.
Welcome back, readers and fellow followers of the Lord! This is the 11th chapter of my ongoing series of articles about the holy nation of Israel with recollections about the experiences and discoveries I had during the pilgrimage tour I joined with my local church (hosted by strategic partner Behold Israel) in 2023. To see my previous Israel tour articles, click here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here. No matter what happens in this unpredictable and chaotic world we live in, I will always stand with Israel and my faith in the Lord remains uncompromising!
In this latest edition of my Israel 2023 series, I share with you what I experienced when I visited Western Wall in the Old City of Jerusalem not once but twice. Also referred to as the Wailing Wall, the Western Wall is a very holy site and is one of the most definitive places to be in with regards to worshiping the Lord.
For starters, I share with you the very video I recorded about my first time ever to arrive at the Western Wall Plaza (note: I was with my pilgrimage tour group companions, our pastors and our hard-working local tour guide) as well as my first-ever approach (starts at 2:01 in the video) to the Western Wall itself. It’s a video of more than three minutes and it’s available for public viewing via YouTube. Watch the video below and pay attention to the details closely.
As you can see in the above video, I stopped recording before entering the perimeter to get closer to the Western Wall. What happened after was my personal discovery and my personal sensing of the Lord’s presence.
About The Western Wall
To put things in perspective, the Western Wall is a retaining wall which was part of the Temple Mount expansion that King Herod (Herod the Great) did in around 19 BC. It is one of the four supporting walls of the Temple Mount which remained intact after the destruction of the Second Jewish Temple many decades later. Above it is the Temple Mount already.
Historically, the First Jewish Temple was built on the top of Mount Moriah during the time of King Solomon. The temple was destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 BCE. In 19 BC, King Herod started rebuilding a new temple and this includes enlarging the Temple Mount platform a lot which made it 1,575 feet long and 985 feet wide. Herod had ten thousand men working and trained a thousand priests to work on the most sacred parts of the Second Jewish Temple.
The construction was done after several years but the decoration was completed in 64 AD. Six years after the Second Jewish Temple was fully completed, the Romans destroyed it but the western side of the Temple Mount survived. This happened in 70 AD, long after Lord Jesus conquered death and ascended to Heaven.
At the part of the Western Wall near the corner of the Southern Wall is this area that was massively damaged when the Romans destroyed the Second Jewish Temple. Several huge rocks that fell from above during the 70 AD destruction have remained.The Western Wall faces westward and it is the closest in proximity to the site of the Holy of Holies, the most sacred location in the Temple for the Jewish people. Be aware that Mount Moriah is the same exact mountain where Abraham almost sacrificed his son Isaac before God sent the angel to intervene and provided the ram as the sacrifice.
For centuries, the Western Wall became a great source of influence and inspiration. It became the focus of yearning and prayer for the Jewish people for countless generations. The open-air section of the Western Wall serves as a place of worshipping the Lord and it is officially a synagogue. Apart from worship, the Western Wall keeps the memory of the Jewish Temples alive and it has also been used by the State of Israel for formal ceremonies. For centuries, pilgrims from around world came to the wall to pray and leave written noted in its ancient stones.
Physically, the Western Wall is 488 meters long and the height of the exposed section reaches a height of 40 meters above the bedrock of the eastern hill of Jerusalem (Mount Moriah). The open-air section of the wall (visible to the Prayer Plaza) is comprised of 46 layers of stone and the very large stones (that many are able to touch) were put in place during the time of King Herod (Second Jewish Temple period).
My First Visit – February 13, 2023
The widest shot of the Western Wall I managed to take during my first-ever visit.After recording the video, I placed my smartphone into my pocket, entered the worship area and gradually made my way to the wall.
With my Holy Bible in my left hand, I touched the Western Wall with my right hand and started spending quality time with the Lord God, praying to Him. With all my heart, I expressed my thanks and dedication to Lord Jesus there at the wall. I also prayed in support of Israel and the peace of Jerusalem.
Each moment I had there, I truly felt God’s presence and I did not confuse it with the wall’s visual magnificence. As I prayed, I felt the unction from the Lord to open my eyes and look straight up at the blue sky above knowing that He is spiritual, and He is in Heaven. The Lord is not inside the stones of the wall but in His Kingdom. That said, I did not worship the stones (reminder: idolatry is foolish and unholy) as I directed my worship directly to the Lord knowing He is in Heaven.
Many people praying at the wall touching it. There were others who did the same while standing or seating on a chair. In the lower-left corner of the picture is Wilson’s Arch which leads into the indoor synagogue. Partly seen in the background is the fence that separates the men from the women. Above everyone at the right is the platform leading to Temple Mount. The men’s side on the left and women’s side on the right. More of the high platform leading to the Temple Mount.Because we only had fifteen minutes to spend as our tour group had a schedule to follow, I wisely spent time to praising and honoring the Lord. Let me remind you all that Lord Jesus will someday return and He will fulfill His promise. He will return in Israel and Jerusalem will be His destination.
After praying to Him, I spent the remaining minutes looking around and observing. I was surrounded by Ultra-Orthodox Jews, National Religious Jews, rabbis, tourists and Christians. I witnessed the religious rituals and practices of the Jewish people and I know deep inside that the ties between Jews and Christians are biblical.
As I walked out to rejoin my pilgrimage tour group, I took shot of the women’s area of the Western Wall.The whole area is indeed sacred and that means visitors should be respectful and should practice decency near the Western Wall. People praying to God are to be respected and when there are many others praying while touching the wall, you will really have to wait for your turn. Be mindful that the Lord is always watching you as there is simply no reason to cause disrespect, playing around and causing trouble at the Western Wall.
When my fifteen minutes ran out, I went to the exit to rejoin my tour group.
My Second Visit – February 15, 2023
I took this shot of the Western Wall after making my way through from the Temple Mount.Two days later, it was our tour group’s one and only rest day. After having a really early breakfast at our hotel, I marched to the Old City of Jerusalem and visited the Temple Mount for the first time ever. After spending time up there, I took the exit and made my way down to return to the Western Wall.
Once again I took time touching the wall and praying to the Lord and expressing my thanks to Him with a lot of heart. After several minutes, I took a seat to pray to Him while resting my legs. Then I noticed a North American man (who looked so much like Hillsong Church’s Phil Dooley) with the Holy Bible at one end of the fence (separating the men and the women) by the wall facing at the other direction (his back on the wall). He preached the Word of God and asked the Lord to save everyone. What he said reminded me that God has a plan for everyone, including the Jews (His chosen people) and there is still time for the lost and unsaved to realize Jesus as the Lord and the Savior of all.
My hand touching the Western Wall. I spent much more time praying to the Lord during my 2nd visit there.After I was done praying by the wall, I decided to visit Wilson’s Arch as I was so curious why a lot of people had been entering and exiting it. It turned out to be Western Wall tunnel (with an arch area) and inside was a synagogue where there lots of Jews read the Old Testament, the Torah and pray. At the entrance/exit, a Jewish rabbi invited me in and assured me that foreigners and non-Jews were welcome. So I went in and he showed some parts of the indoor synagogue.
As it was a place of worship by the Jews, I was cautious moving inside and spending time observing. Carefully I only took a few photos for this feature article and it was astonishing to see more of the Western Wall indoors. Not only that, it was impressive to see the arches – including those huge stones above our heads – and it turns out they were constructed during Herod’s time and without any cement at all. There were also lots of shelves of books on both sides.
I took this shot during my short visit inside the Western Wall tunnel. See those huge stones above everyone? Those were put into place during the time of King Herod and no cement was ever used. It is amazing to see as it was constructed without any of the modern construction technologies of today. The Western Wall tunnel synagogue is one of the holiest synagogues in Israel due to its proximity to where the First Jewish Temple was wherein the Holy of Holies resided.The indoor synagogue is one of the holiest synagogues in Israel due to its proximity to where the original Jewish Temple was wherein the Holy of Holies resided. Since it was my plan to revisit the Upper Room and visit both King David’s Tomb and Oskar Schindler’s grave, I eventually left the Western Wall tunnel. Before tracing my way back to the Jewish Quarter (where we visited two days prior), I took one last look back at the Western Wall. I intend to revisit it and spend quality time with the Lord there again in the future.
Biblical Significance
While it is a fact that the Western Wall was not explicitly mentioned in the Holy Bible, it has always been part of the Temple Mount since Herod’s time. To put things in perspective, we need to go back to the time when King Solomon dedicated the First Temple asking God to hear the prayers made toward it. Learn from the holy scriptures below.
that Your eyes may be open toward this temple night and day, toward the place of which You said, ‘My name shall be there,’ that You may hear the prayer which Your servant makes toward this place. And may You hear the supplication of Your servant and of Your people Israel, when they pray toward this place. Hear in heaven Your dwelling place; and when You hear, forgive.
1 Kings 8:29-30 (NKJV)
“Moreover, concerning a foreigner, who is not of Your people Israel, but has come from a far country for Your name’s sake (for they will hear of Your great name and Your strong hand and Your outstretched arm), when he comes and prays toward this temple, hear in heaven Your dwelling place, and do according to all for which the foreigner calls to You, that all peoples of the earth may know Your name and fear You, as do Your people Israel, and that they may know that this temple which I have built is called by Your name.
1 Kings 8:41-43 (NKJV)
The First Jewish Temple eventually got destroyed by the Babylonians. Centuries later, Herod executed the massive rebuilding of the Temple (Second Jewish Temple) in Jerusalem as well as the expansion of the Temple Mount itself. What was achieved drew reactions from many people who saw it and there were references of such reactions in the New Testament. For insight, read the scriptures below.
Then as He went out of the temple, one of His disciples said to Him, “Teacher, see what manner of stones and what buildings are here!”
Mark 13:1 (NKJV)
Then the Jews replied, It took forty-six years to build this temple (sanctuary), and will You raise it up in three days?
John 2:20 (AMPC)
To be clear, the forty-six years mentioned in John 2:20 refers to the massive renovation and the expansion of the Second Jewish Temple.
Long before the Second Temple got destroyed, Lord Jesus prophesied its destruction. By the time Lord Jesus made the prophesy, He was already rejected by the religious Jews. Those people refused to accept Him as their Messiah and they had disobeyed God as a result. Lord Jesus wept for Jerusalem knowing that suffering and destruction would come and it happened in 70 AD. Learn from the scriptures below.
Now as He drew near, He saw the city and wept over it, saying,
“If you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things that make for your peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. For days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment around you, surround you and close you in on every side, and level you, and your children within you, to the ground; and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not know the time of your visitation.”
Luke 19:41-44 (NKJV)
Then Jesus went out and departed from the temple, and His disciples came up to show Him the buildings of the temple. And Jesus said to them,
“Do you not see all these things? Assuredly, I say to you, not one stone shall be left here upon another, that shall not be thrown down.”
Matthew 24:1-2 (NKJV)
As it is very clear that God always has a plan for the faithful and His chosen people, it was prophesied that He would bring the Jews (scattered around the world) back to Israel in the last days. This prophecy was fulfilled in May 1948 when the modern State of Israel was formally established and a lot of Jews returned or settled in since then. Lord Jesus will return to us some time in the future and there is time for the Jews to accept Him as their Messiah, to repent and submit to Him. The other lost and unsaved people of the world still have opportunities to realize Jesus as their Lord and Savior. Very clearly, Lord Jesus is the hope of ALL nations! Learn from the scriptures below.
If any of you are driven out to the farthest parts under heaven, from there the Lord your God will gather you, and from there He will bring you. Then the Lord your God will bring you to the land which your fathers possessed, and you shall possess it. He will prosper you and multiply you more than your fathers.
Deuteronomy 30:4-5 (NKJV)
Jesus answered him,
“I assure you and most solemnly say to you, unless a person is born again [reborn from above—spiritually transformed, renewed, sanctified], he cannot [ever] see and experience the kingdom of God.”
John 3:3 (AMP)
Beloved ones, let me repeat emphatically that the gospel entrusted to me was not given to me by any man. No one taught me this revelation, for it was given to me directly by the unveiling of Jesus Christ.
By now you have heard stories of how severely I harassed and persecuted Christians and how systematically I endeavored to destroy God’s church, all because of my radical devotion to the Jewish religion. My zeal and passion for the doctrines of Judaism distinguished me among my people, for I was far more advanced in my religious instruction than others my age.
But then God called me by his grace, and chose me from my birth to be his. He was pleased to unveil his Son in me so that I would proclaim him to the peoples of the world. After I had this encounter, I kept it a secret for some time, sharing it with no one. And I had no desire to run to Jerusalem and try to impress those who had become apostles before me. Instead, I withdrew into the Arabian Desert. Then I returned to Damascus, where I had first encountered Jesus.
Galatians 1:11-17 (TPT)
For He is [Himself] our peace (our bond of unity and harmony). He has made us both [Jew and Gentile] one [body], and has broken down (destroyed, abolished) the hostile dividing wall between us,
By abolishing in His [own crucified] flesh the enmity [caused by] the Law with its decrees and ordinances [which He annulled]; that He from the two might create in Himself one new man [one new quality of humanity out of the two], so making peace.
And [He designed] to reconcile to God both [Jew and Gentile, united] in a single body by means of His cross, thereby killing the mutual enmity and bringing the feud to an end.
And He came and preached the glad tidings of peace to you who were afar off and [peace] to those who were near.
For it is through Him that we both [whether far off or near] now have an introduction (access) by one [Holy] Spirit to the Father [so that we are able to approach Him].
Therefore you are no longer outsiders (exiles, migrants, and aliens, excluded from the rights of citizens), but you now share citizenship with the saints (God’s own people, consecrated and set apart for Himself); and you belong to God’s [own] household.
You are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets with Christ Jesus Himself the chief Cornerstone.
In Him the whole structure is joined (bound, welded) together harmoniously, and it continues to rise (grow, increase) into a holy temple in the Lord [a sanctuary dedicated, consecrated, and sacred to the presence of the Lord].
In Him [and in fellowship with one another] you yourselves also are being built up [into this structure] with the rest, to form a fixed abode (dwelling place) of God in (by, through) the Spirit.
Ephesians 2:14-22 (AMPC)
Conclusion
This was me during my first-ever Western Wall visit on February 13, 2023. I had The Passion Translation (TPT) Holy Bible with me. My thanks to the guy who took this picture for me.My two visits to the Western Wall were very significant to me personally. As seen above, each visit has been different, new discoveries happened and I spent quality time with Lord. The place is holy and it is a must-visit for anyone going to Israel. If I ever visit Israel again, I would return to the Western Wall to praise, thank and honor the Lord. If you are a person of faith who is about to visit Israel for the first time, I urge you to visit the Western Wall in Jerusalem. Learn from my experiences. I also encourage you all to stand united in support of Israel, learn to love and bless the Jewish people, help the lost and unsaved come to Lord Jesus and always pray for the peace of Jerusalem.
Pray for the peace of Jerusalem! May they prosper who love you [the Holy City]!
May peace be within your walls and prosperity within your palaces!
For my brethren and companions’ sake, I will now say, Peace be within you!
For the sake of the house of the Lord our God, I will seek, inquire for, and require your good.
Psalm 122:6-9 (AMPC)
Israel is the holiest place to visit in the whole world! Visit Israel with the Holy Bible! Pray to the Lord wholeheartedly and reveal to Him your heart’s desire to visit Israel to deepen your faith in Him. Always be the fearless and aggressive church of Lord Jesus! Follow the light of Lord Jesus, keep on praying to support Israel, learn to love and bless the Jewish people and pray for the peace of Jerusalem.
Watch out for more Israel 2023 travel articles here. There is more to come! Thank you for reading.
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I Visited The Western Wall Twice
Disclaimer: This is my original work with details sourced from my personal experiences and observations during the Israel pilgrimage tour I joined and what happened during my free time. Anyone who wants to use this article, in part or in whole, needs to secure first my permission and agree to cite me as the source and author. Let it be known that any unauthorized use of this article will constrain the author to pursue the remedies under R.A. No. 8293, the Revised Penal Code, and/or all applicable legal actions under the laws of the Philippines.
Welcome back, readers and fellow followers of the Lord! This is the 11th chapter of my ongoing series of articles about the holy nation of Israel with recollections about the experiences and discoveries I had during the pilgrimage tour I joined with my local church (hosted by strategic partner Behold Israel) in 2023. To see my previous Israel tour articles, click here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here. No matter what happens in this unpredictable and chaotic world we live in, I will always stand with Israel and my faith in the Lord remains uncompromising!
In this latest edition of my Israel 2023 series, I share with you what I experienced when I visited Western Wall in the Old City of Jerusalem not once but twice. Also referred to as the Wailing Wall, the Western Wall is a very holy site and is one of the most definitive places to be in with regards to worshiping the Lord.
For starters, I share with you the very video I recorded about my first time ever to arrive at the Western Wall Plaza (note: I was with my pilgrimage tour group companions, our pastors and our hard-working local tour guide) as well as my first-ever approach (starts at 2:01 in the video) to the Western Wall itself. It’s a video of more than three minutes and it’s available for public viewing via YouTube. Watch the video below and pay attention to the details closely.
As you can see in the above video, I stopped recording before entering the perimeter to get closer to the Western Wall. What happened after was my personal discovery and my personal sensing of the Lord’s presence.
About The Western Wall
To put things in perspective, the Western Wall is a retaining wall which was part of the Temple Mount expansion that King Herod (Herod the Great) did in around 19 BC. It is one of the four supporting walls of the Temple Mount which remained intact after the destruction of the Second Jewish Temple many decades later. Above it is the Temple Mount already.
Historically, the First Jewish Temple was built on the top of Mount Moriah during the time of King Solomon. The temple was destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 BCE. In 19 BC, King Herod started rebuilding a new temple and this includes enlarging the Temple Mount platform a lot which made it 1,575 feet long and 985 feet wide. Herod had ten thousand men working and trained a thousand priests to work on the most sacred parts of the Second Jewish Temple.
The construction was done after several years but the decoration was completed in 64 AD. Six years after the Second Jewish Temple was fully completed, the Romans destroyed it but the western side of the Temple Mount survived. This happened in 70 AD, long after Lord Jesus conquered death and ascended to Heaven.
At the part of the Western Wall near the corner of the Southern Wall is this area that was massively damaged when the Romans destroyed the Second Jewish Temple. Several huge rocks that fell from above during the 70 AD destruction have remained.The Western Wall faces westward and it is the closest in proximity to the site of the Holy of Holies, the most sacred location in the Temple for the Jewish people. Be aware that Mount Moriah is the same exact mountain where Abraham almost sacrificed his son Isaac before God sent the angel to intervene and provided the ram as the sacrifice.
For centuries, the Western Wall became a great source of influence and inspiration. It became the focus of yearning and prayer for the Jewish people for countless generations. The open-air section of the Western Wall serves as a place of worshipping the Lord and it is officially a synagogue. Apart from worship, the Western Wall keeps the memory of the Jewish Temples alive and it has also been used by the State of Israel for formal ceremonies. For centuries, pilgrims from around world came to the wall to pray and leave written noted in its ancient stones.
Physically, the Western Wall is 488 meters long and the height of the exposed section reaches a height of 40 meters above the bedrock of the eastern hill of Jerusalem (Mount Moriah). The open-air section of the wall (visible to the Prayer Plaza) is comprised of 46 layers of stone and the very large stones (that many are able to touch) were put in place during the time of King Herod (Second Jewish Temple period).
My First Visit – February 13, 2023
The widest shot of the Western Wall I managed to take during my first-ever visit.After recording the video, I placed my smartphone into my pocket, entered the worship area and gradually made my way to the wall.
With my Holy Bible in my left hand, I touched the Western Wall with my right hand and started spending quality time with the Lord God, praying to Him. With all my heart, I expressed my thanks and dedication to Lord Jesus there at the wall. I also prayed in support of Israel and the peace of Jerusalem.
Each moment I had there, I truly felt God’s presence and I did not confuse it with the wall’s visual magnificence. As I prayed, I felt the unction from the Lord to open my eyes and look straight up at the blue sky above knowing that He is spiritual, and He is in Heaven. The Lord is not inside the stones of the wall but in His Kingdom. That said, I did not worship the stones (reminder: idolatry is foolish and unholy) as I directed my worship directly to the Lord knowing He is in Heaven.
Many people praying at the wall touching it. There were others who did the same while standing or seating on a chair. In the lower-left corner of the picture is Wilson’s Arch which leads into the indoor synagogue. Partly seen in the background is the fence that separates the men from the women. Above everyone at the right is the platform leading to Temple Mount. The men’s side on the left and women’s side on the right. More of the high platform leading to the Temple Mount.Because we only had fifteen minutes to spend as our tour group had a schedule to follow, I wisely spent time to praising and honoring the Lord. Let me remind you all that Lord Jesus will someday return and He will fulfill His promise. He will return in Israel and Jerusalem will be His destination.
After praying to Him, I spent the remaining minutes looking around and observing. I was surrounded by Ultra-Orthodox Jews, National Religious Jews, rabbis, tourists and Christians. I witnessed the religious rituals and practices of the Jewish people and I know deep inside that the ties between Jews and Christians are biblical.
As I walked out to rejoin my pilgrimage tour group, I took shot of the women’s area of the Western Wall.The whole area is indeed sacred and that means visitors should be respectful and should practice decency near the Western Wall. People praying to God are to be respected and when there are many others praying while touching the wall, you will really have to wait for your turn. Be mindful that the Lord is always watching you as there is simply no reason to cause disrespect, playing around and causing trouble at the Western Wall.
When my fifteen minutes ran out, I went to the exit to rejoin my tour group.
My Second Visit – February 15, 2023
I took this shot of the Western Wall after making my way through from the Temple Mount.Two days later, it was our tour group’s one and only rest day. After having a really early breakfast at our hotel, I marched to the Old City of Jerusalem and visited the Temple Mount for the first time ever. After spending time up there, I took the exit and made my way down to return to the Western Wall.
Once again I took time touching the wall and praying to the Lord and expressing my thanks to Him with a lot of heart. After several minutes, I took a seat to pray to Him while resting my legs. Then I noticed a North American man (who looked so much like Hillsong Church’s Phil Dooley) with the Holy Bible at one end of the fence (separating the men and the women) by the wall facing at the other direction (his back on the wall). He preached the Word of God and asked the Lord to save everyone. What he said reminded me that God has a plan for everyone, including the Jews (His chosen people) and there is still time for the lost and unsaved to realize Jesus as the Lord and the Savior of all.
My hand touching the Western Wall. I spent much more time praying to the Lord during my 2nd visit there.After I was done praying by the wall, I decided to visit Wilson’s Arch as I was so curious why a lot of people had been entering and exiting it. It turned out to be Western Wall tunnel (with an arch area) and inside was a synagogue where there lots of Jews read the Old Testament, the Torah and pray. At the entrance/exit, a Jewish rabbi invited me in and assured me that foreigners and non-Jews were welcome. So I went in and he showed some parts of the indoor synagogue.
As it was a place of worship by the Jews, I was cautious moving inside and spending time observing. Carefully I only took a few photos for this feature article and it was astonishing to see more of the Western Wall indoors. Not only that, it was impressive to see the arches – including those huge stones above our heads – and it turns out they were constructed during Herod’s time and without any cement at all. There were also lots of shelves of books on both sides.
I took this shot during my short visit inside the Western Wall tunnel. See those huge stones above everyone? Those were put into place during the time of King Herod and no cement was ever used. It is amazing to see as it was constructed without any of the modern construction technologies of today. The Western Wall tunnel synagogue is one of the holiest synagogues in Israel due to its proximity to where the First Jewish Temple was wherein the Holy of Holies resided.The indoor synagogue is one of the holiest synagogues in Israel due to its proximity to where the original Jewish Temple was wherein the Holy of Holies resided. Since it was my plan to revisit the Upper Room and visit both King David’s Tomb and Oskar Schindler’s grave, I eventually left the Western Wall tunnel. Before tracing my way back to the Jewish Quarter (where we visited two days prior), I took one last look back at the Western Wall. I intend to revisit it and spend quality time with the Lord there again in the future.
Biblical Significance
While it is a fact that the Western Wall was not explicitly mentioned in the Holy Bible, it has always been part of the Temple Mount since Herod’s time. To put things in perspective, we need to go back to the time when King Solomon dedicated the First Temple asking God to hear the prayers made toward it. Learn from the holy scriptures below.
that Your eyes may be open toward this temple night and day, toward the place of which You said, ‘My name shall be there,’ that You may hear the prayer which Your servant makes toward this place. And may You hear the supplication of Your servant and of Your people Israel, when they pray toward this place. Hear in heaven Your dwelling place; and when You hear, forgive.
1 Kings 8:29-30 (NKJV)
“Moreover, concerning a foreigner, who is not of Your people Israel, but has come from a far country for Your name’s sake (for they will hear of Your great name and Your strong hand and Your outstretched arm), when he comes and prays toward this temple, hear in heaven Your dwelling place, and do according to all for which the foreigner calls to You, that all peoples of the earth may know Your name and fear You, as do Your people Israel, and that they may know that this temple which I have built is called by Your name.
1 Kings 8:41-43 (NKJV)
The First Jewish Temple eventually got destroyed by the Babylonians. Centuries later, Herod executed the massive rebuilding of the Temple (Second Jewish Temple) in Jerusalem as well as the expansion of the Temple Mount itself. What was achieved drew reactions from many people who saw it and there were references of such reactions in the New Testament. For insight, read the scriptures below.
Then as He went out of the temple, one of His disciples said to Him, “Teacher, see what manner of stones and what buildings are here!”
Mark 13:1 (NKJV)
Then the Jews replied, It took forty-six years to build this temple (sanctuary), and will You raise it up in three days?
John 2:20 (AMPC)
To be clear, the forty-six years mentioned in John 2:20 refers to the massive renovation and the expansion of the Second Jewish Temple.
Long before the Second Temple got destroyed, Lord Jesus prophesied its destruction. By the time Lord Jesus made the prophesy, He was already rejected by the religious Jews. Those people refused to accept Him as their Messiah and they had disobeyed God as a result. Lord Jesus wept for Jerusalem knowing that suffering and destruction would come and it happened in 70 AD. Learn from the scriptures below.
Now as He drew near, He saw the city and wept over it, saying,
“If you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things that make for your peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. For days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment around you, surround you and close you in on every side, and level you, and your children within you, to the ground; and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not know the time of your visitation.”
Luke 19:41-44 (NKJV)
Then Jesus went out and departed from the temple, and His disciples came up to show Him the buildings of the temple. And Jesus said to them,
“Do you not see all these things? Assuredly, I say to you, not one stone shall be left here upon another, that shall not be thrown down.”
Matthew 24:1-2 (NKJV)
As it is very clear that God always has a plan for the faithful and His chosen people, it was prophesied that He would bring the Jews (scattered around the world) back to Israel in the last days. This prophecy was fulfilled in May 1948 when the modern State of Israel was formally established and a lot of Jews returned or settled in since then. Lord Jesus will return to us some time in the future and there is time for the Jews to accept Him as their Messiah, to repent and submit to Him. The other lost and unsaved people of the world still have opportunities to realize Jesus as their Lord and Savior. Very clearly, Lord Jesus is the hope of ALL nations! Learn from the scriptures below.
If any of you are driven out to the farthest parts under heaven, from there the Lord your God will gather you, and from there He will bring you. Then the Lord your God will bring you to the land which your fathers possessed, and you shall possess it. He will prosper you and multiply you more than your fathers.
Deuteronomy 30:4-5 (NKJV)
Jesus answered him,
“I assure you and most solemnly say to you, unless a person is born again [reborn from above—spiritually transformed, renewed, sanctified], he cannot [ever] see and experience the kingdom of God.”
John 3:3 (AMP)
Beloved ones, let me repeat emphatically that the gospel entrusted to me was not given to me by any man. No one taught me this revelation, for it was given to me directly by the unveiling of Jesus Christ.
By now you have heard stories of how severely I harassed and persecuted Christians and how systematically I endeavored to destroy God’s church, all because of my radical devotion to the Jewish religion. My zeal and passion for the doctrines of Judaism distinguished me among my people, for I was far more advanced in my religious instruction than others my age.
But then God called me by his grace, and chose me from my birth to be his. He was pleased to unveil his Son in me so that I would proclaim him to the peoples of the world. After I had this encounter, I kept it a secret for some time, sharing it with no one. And I had no desire to run to Jerusalem and try to impress those who had become apostles before me. Instead, I withdrew into the Arabian Desert. Then I returned to Damascus, where I had first encountered Jesus.
Galatians 1:11-17 (TPT)
For He is [Himself] our peace (our bond of unity and harmony). He has made us both [Jew and Gentile] one [body], and has broken down (destroyed, abolished) the hostile dividing wall between us,
By abolishing in His [own crucified] flesh the enmity [caused by] the Law with its decrees and ordinances [which He annulled]; that He from the two might create in Himself one new man [one new quality of humanity out of the two], so making peace.
And [He designed] to reconcile to God both [Jew and Gentile, united] in a single body by means of His cross, thereby killing the mutual enmity and bringing the feud to an end.
And He came and preached the glad tidings of peace to you who were afar off and [peace] to those who were near.
For it is through Him that we both [whether far off or near] now have an introduction (access) by one [Holy] Spirit to the Father [so that we are able to approach Him].
Therefore you are no longer outsiders (exiles, migrants, and aliens, excluded from the rights of citizens), but you now share citizenship with the saints (God’s own people, consecrated and set apart for Himself); and you belong to God’s [own] household.
You are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets with Christ Jesus Himself the chief Cornerstone.
In Him the whole structure is joined (bound, welded) together harmoniously, and it continues to rise (grow, increase) into a holy temple in the Lord [a sanctuary dedicated, consecrated, and sacred to the presence of the Lord].
In Him [and in fellowship with one another] you yourselves also are being built up [into this structure] with the rest, to form a fixed abode (dwelling place) of God in (by, through) the Spirit.
Ephesians 2:14-22 (AMPC)
Conclusion
This was me during my first-ever Western Wall visit on February 13, 2023. I had The Passion Translation (TPT) Holy Bible with me. My thanks to the guy who took this picture for me.My two visits to the Western Wall were very significant to me personally. As seen above, each visit has been different, new discoveries happened and I spent quality time with Lord. The place is holy and it is a must-visit for anyone going to Israel. If I ever visit Israel again, I would return to the Western Wall to praise, thank and honor the Lord. If you are a person of faith who is about to visit Israel for the first time, I urge you to visit the Western Wall in Jerusalem. Learn from my experiences. I also encourage you all to stand united in support of Israel, learn to love and bless the Jewish people, help the lost and unsaved come to Lord Jesus and always pray for the peace of Jerusalem.
Pray for the peace of Jerusalem! May they prosper who love you [the Holy City]!
May peace be within your walls and prosperity within your palaces!
For my brethren and companions’ sake, I will now say, Peace be within you!
For the sake of the house of the Lord our God, I will seek, inquire for, and require your good.
Psalm 122:6-9 (AMPC)
Israel is the holiest place to visit in the whole world! Visit Israel with the Holy Bible! Pray to the Lord wholeheartedly and reveal to Him your heart’s desire to visit Israel to deepen your faith in Him. Always be the fearless and aggressive church of Lord Jesus! Follow the light of Lord Jesus, keep on praying to support Israel, learn to love and bless the Jewish people and pray for the peace of Jerusalem.
Watch out for more Israel 2023 travel articles here. There is more to come! Thank you for reading.
+++++
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Engaging the culture without losing the gospel
As the culture changes all around us, it is no longer possible to pretend that Christians are a Moral Majority. For the Christadelphian community it was already very clear that Christendom had gone astray and that not many people knew the essence of the Divine Creator and His Plan.
Guestspeaker’s 1° article 2014 March 26 on “From Guestwriters”In certain parts of the world we may find mega churches, like in the United states of America. But what we also see in those countries is that there is a very strange discrepancy between the way of life and the way presented in the Holy Scriptures. In the talks about pro-life issues and arguments at our website From Guestwriters this is made clear in the different reactions where some readers point out at the huge amount of abortions been done every day. Such points of discussion as the abortion debate show how values and attitudes have changed over the years.
Those people who call themselves Christian either are not so much interested in having an active faith or going to worship services or when they want to go to worship services they expect them to be relaxing and entertaining. For many the entertaining factor receives priority. This makes it understandable why certain churches in the States get full house whilst the churches really interested in and giving eye and ear for the Word of God do not have so many people coming to their service.
In general people are very much influenced by the media and television and show business are not the instruments who, today, bring the people to God. the television church services are full of show elements and short quoting form a few words taken from Scripture but also taken out of context. No time is given to sincerely listen and to sincerely study a full paragraph of a Bible chapter.
Our very fast changing world can do with a sort of new reformation. What’s needed now, in shifting times, is neither a doubling-down on the status quo nor a pullback into isolation. Instead, we need a church that speaks to social and political issues with a bigger vision in mind: that of the gospel of Jesus Christ. As Christianity seems increasingly strange, and even subversive, to our culture, we have the opportunity to reclaim the freakishness of the gospel, which is what gives it its power in the first place.
We should seek the kingdom of God, before everything else and we should love to bring others to the entrance gate of that Kingdom. We connect that kingdom agenda to the culture around us, both by speaking it to the world and by showing it in our churches. As we do so, we remember our mission to oppose demons, not to demonise opponents. As we advocate for human dignity, for religious liberty, for family stability, let’s do so as those with a prophetic word that turns everything upside down.
Today more than ever those who feel the connection with the Nazarene master teacher Jeshua should connect with each other as brothers and sisters in Christ and show their love for each other. Not staying in their small local cocoon, but also connecting to other brethren and sisters from all over. They should be welcoming any visiting brother or sister and when they receive mail from some brother or sister form somewhere in the world they should take time to answer that mail and to show their love to that correspondent by not ignoring him or her but letting those writers be feeling recognised as brothers and sisters of the body of Christ.
Though that Body of Christ may be composed of different nationalities, different cultured races, they should all show that they have union in that body of Christ by the unity of spirit in Christ. Unity should be shown by their willingness to communicate with each other and to be respectful for the different characters and different opinions. Unity does not have to mean that all have to say exactly the same or have to use the same bible translation, read the same books, may not have different ways of civilian life, may not have different tastes. Those differences make the world coloured and not boring. We should be happy with such diversity and the differences between ecclesiae may provide different pastures for bible believers to find themselves at ease in one or the other ecclesia.
Jubilant Joel Osteen Juice MegachurchIn Jesus time the apostles were also of different character and different opinion or used not always the same words. We should neither. In our way of reaching people we should recognise that they should not know Christadelphianisms and may have a religious vocabulary closer to the denomination to which they belonged originally or still belong. By preaching to them we do have to be able to use different words and different Bible translations so that they can come to understand what the Word of God is saying. We are just some intermediaries who want to show them that Jesus is our mediator and the Way to God.
The Lord’s Hall a Christian megachurch in the Philippines that is managed by the Day by Day Christian Ministries DBD since 2005 situated and leased from the CCP, due to numerous concerns at the time though the church is known as DBD’s flagship church, and is known for being a venue for massive Christian gatherings by Rev Gamaliel Alba and Sun Cruises, CCP Complex, Roxas Blvd.Those we want to attract to the Word of God we have to convince that it are not the megachurches or the churches with the most members that are really following the Word of God and would not have false teachings or wrong doctrines. Lots of people may also put their hope in such megachurches because they expect megachurch pastors to have all the answers and that those churches could grow so much because those pastors are personally successful as well as leaders of successful churches because they can offer the best for man.
At conferences such preachers also may attract a lot of attention because many think they have the solution for today’s problem, a diminishing church.
and so we come to see what crumbs of wisdom they might cast our way that will help us and our small churches be”successful” like they are.
writes pastor Jim in his article “Is “Bigger Better” in Churches?“. Like many of us in the Christadelphian community is has seen Abraham and should have gathered enough experience to have some sound opinion. He believes that such leaders of mega churches may deliver good sermons. For sure they probably are good administrators, very good players with words or good speakers having a good deal of charisma. He correctly points out
Their churches offer tons of programs for children and adults—from support groups for people with various problems to children’s ministry and everything in between. But are a variety of programs offered to attract large numbers of people to their church a measure of success as Jesus defined success? I’m not so sure of this… {Is “Bigger Better” in Churches?}
He is leading a Home Fellowship Group in a Bible Study of the Gospel of Mark. At their last session they discussed this question of “supersize” as Jesus seemed to see it.
He accepted the large crowds he attracted—some so large along the Sea of Galilee that he acquired a boat to get in so he would not be crushed by the crowds seeking to touch him and be healed. But Jesus tends to see those crowds as no reason for gratification. He feels that many of them are there for the wrong reason, to be healed of their infirmities and to see the miraculous. Jesus heals them and has compassion for them, but proclaiming the good news of the Kingdom of God is his main mission. That proclamation is his main mission because it has the power to transform people’s lives, and sometimes people who are only seeking physical healing and entertainment can get in the way of that proclamation. {Is “Bigger Better” in Churches?}
In those days Jesus also had to get listening ears. In that age people were much more willing to listen and to go into discussion about religious and spiritual matters. There was much more interest in God than today. But Jesus knew that from the many that came around to hear him speak, there were also many who came out of curiosity or wanted to see miracles or hear controversial talks.
Jesus saw the crowds to whom he sought to proclaim the good news of the Kingdom of God in the same way as a sower.
Only a small portion of the crowd would actually be transformed by the good news of the Kingdom of God. The rest would let other things choke it out of their lives and die unchanged. Thus I feel Jesus was not impressed with numbers but with changes in the lives of people who heard him. {Is “Bigger Better” in Churches?} {Please do read also Mark 4: 1-9}
Too often people think it our the numbers that make it to be good. Perhaps the numbers show the popularity, but for sure they do not always show the integrity or the good value of a product or group.
The pastor thinks the answer to his and our question “Is Bigger Better?” as it pertains to churches is this:
it is not size alone that leads to success of any church, large or small, but it is its ability to follow Jesus and in doing so transform the lives of those who are a part of that church and those who that church reaches out to. The measure of a church’s success is the number of lives that have been changed and transformed due to its proclamation both in word and in deed of the Kingdom of God. The successful church is the “good soil” in the Parable of the Sower” that brings forth transformation of people’s lives and nurtures their growth in relationship to God and God’s Kingdom.
A successful church, regardless of the names on the roster, changes people into devoted followers of Jesus and his teachings as they live their lives each day. Small churches can be just as successful as large churches in changing people’s lives as they live the great commandment to love God and neighbor as yourself.” Sometimes because small churches are more personal, they are able to live this better than those with thousands on their membership roster. {Is “Bigger Better” in Churches?}
The Christadelphians are a very tiny community. We only can hope that all people in this small community bear their hearts on the right place. God knows the heart and it is for him that we should work and go out in the world getting people to know the Master works of God.
We may not forget that by being such a small community we have the advantage that we can get together in small cosy groups and feel much more the unity of the small group than in such mega churches were everybody can sit next to each other without knowing the other. When sitting in a stadium, arena or in such a huge church were there are hundreds or thousands of people it can well be that the individual may be drowning in the numbers.
We should be ready to throw out the lifeline and to pull those people who are looking for the Truth, to get to our meetings and let them feel that we are real followers of Jesus, keeping to his teachings and not adoring human doctrines, but keeping to Biblical doctrines, studying the infallible Word of God daily.
+
Preceding:
Personal thoughts, communication, establishing ecclesia and guest writings
The Big Conversation follow up
Evangelisation, local preaching opposite overseas evangelism
The Right One to follow and to worship
Wanting to live in Christ’s city
A participation in the body of Christ
Ecclesia to exist, grow and communities to have people communicating with each other
++
Additional reading:
- Who are the Christadelphians
- What are Brothers in Christ
- Christadelphian people
- Small churches of the few Christadelphians
- Strange Fire conference 2013
- Bloggers for Christ and Bloggers for Peace
- Being Missional
- Atonement And Fellowship 4/8
- Atonement And Fellowship 5/8
- Good or bad preacher
- Quibbling siblings united or allied children of an organisation or a church
- Reflection for today: hating your brother
+++
Further reading:
- Lessons Learned at Strange Fire
- A Vision of Holiness
- Praying in Circles
- In this Moment
- Wanting to be Heard
- truth nugget #66
- Unite against their corruption, not our church’s
- Prosperity Gospel – The Bane of The True Gospel
- The Conference Every Mega-Church Pastor Should Attend
- Millennials And Christianity!
- In Delight of the Deca-Church
- [TL;DR] In Defense of the Mega-Church
- Agree to Disagree
- Kingdom Building: The Large Church and the Small Church Working Together
- Mega Churches: What’s the big deal?
- 3 Reasons Why You Should Go To A Small Church
- Missed Opportunities
- Pastoral Environment and the Fight for Holiness
- Welcome to the Club
- 365 Day Photo Challenge 167/365 “Church on the Hill”
- Extravaganza City
- Instructed In God’s Ways
- Why Black Mega Church Pastors Catch Such Heat
- Book Review: The Blessed Church
- My Two Cents… conderning a famous mega-church preacher
- I don’t believe in mega churches
- American Christian Idol
+++
Related articles
- LISTEN: The Body of Believers, Part 2 (Onward Christian Soldiers #98 with Daniel Whyte III) (blackchristiannews.com)
- The Truth About The Roman Catholic Church (nowtheendbegins.com)
- 1 Corinthians 11:27-34 Taking a Spiritual Self-Exam (jimerwin.com)
- Lessons From The Road (beyondthemiryclay.wordpress.com)
- The Daily Gospel and Readings 21 September 2015 (prayersandmeditations.com)
- Such A Time As This (mylordmyfriend.com)
- A Perfect Inheritance (birdchirp.wordpress.com)
- How Long Will You Waver? (juicyecumenism.com)
- Pastors & Patriots Dinner – for such a time as this! (christian-reporter-news.ticketleap.com)
- No More Youth Pastors? (Part I) (joshuaziefle.net)
Rate this:
#BeingInUnion #BodyOfChrist #BrotherInChrist #Brotherhood #BrothersAndSistersInChrist #BrothersInChrist #Charisma #ChristadelphianCommunity #Christadelphianisms #Christian #ChristianChurch #ChurchService #Communication #Denomination #Disunion #Diversity #EntertainmentInChurch #GoodSoil #HomeFellowship #HumanDoctrines #Ignoring #IgnoringOthers #Lifeline #Media #MegaChurch #Mission #MoralMajority #NeglectingOthers #NewReformation #NoticingOthers #NumbersAmount_ #Opinion #Orator #ParticipationInBodyOfChrist #Pastor #Preaching #PreachingWork #Proclaiming #Proclamation #Quantity #ReligiousCommunity #ReligiousDiversity #ReligiousFreedom #ReligiousVocabulary #SisterInChrist #SistersInChrist #SmallGroup #SpiritInChrist #Successfulness #UnitedStatesOfAmerica #Unity #UnityInChrist #UnityInDiversity #WorshipService
-
Engaging the culture without losing the gospel
As the culture changes all around us, it is no longer possible to pretend that Christians are a Moral Majority. For the Christadelphian community it was already very clear that Christendom had gone astray and that not many people knew the essence of the Divine Creator and His Plan.
Guestspeaker’s 1° article 2014 March 26 on “From Guestwriters”In certain parts of the world we may find mega churches, like in the United states of America. But what we also see in those countries is that there is a very strange discrepancy between the way of life and the way presented in the Holy Scriptures. In the talks about pro-life issues and arguments at our website From Guestwriters this is made clear in the different reactions where some readers point out at the huge amount of abortions been done every day. Such points of discussion as the abortion debate show how values and attitudes have changed over the years.
Those people who call themselves Christian either are not so much interested in having an active faith or going to worship services or when they want to go to worship services they expect them to be relaxing and entertaining. For many the entertaining factor receives priority. This makes it understandable why certain churches in the States get full house whilst the churches really interested in and giving eye and ear for the Word of God do not have so many people coming to their service.
In general people are very much influenced by the media and television and show business are not the instruments who, today, bring the people to God. the television church services are full of show elements and short quoting form a few words taken from Scripture but also taken out of context. No time is given to sincerely listen and to sincerely study a full paragraph of a Bible chapter.
Our very fast changing world can do with a sort of new reformation. What’s needed now, in shifting times, is neither a doubling-down on the status quo nor a pullback into isolation. Instead, we need a church that speaks to social and political issues with a bigger vision in mind: that of the gospel of Jesus Christ. As Christianity seems increasingly strange, and even subversive, to our culture, we have the opportunity to reclaim the freakishness of the gospel, which is what gives it its power in the first place.
We should seek the kingdom of God, before everything else and we should love to bring others to the entrance gate of that Kingdom. We connect that kingdom agenda to the culture around us, both by speaking it to the world and by showing it in our churches. As we do so, we remember our mission to oppose demons, not to demonise opponents. As we advocate for human dignity, for religious liberty, for family stability, let’s do so as those with a prophetic word that turns everything upside down.
Today more than ever those who feel the connection with the Nazarene master teacher Jeshua should connect with each other as brothers and sisters in Christ and show their love for each other. Not staying in their small local cocoon, but also connecting to other brethren and sisters from all over. They should be welcoming any visiting brother or sister and when they receive mail from some brother or sister form somewhere in the world they should take time to answer that mail and to show their love to that correspondent by not ignoring him or her but letting those writers be feeling recognised as brothers and sisters of the body of Christ.
Though that Body of Christ may be composed of different nationalities, different cultured races, they should all show that they have union in that body of Christ by the unity of spirit in Christ. Unity should be shown by their willingness to communicate with each other and to be respectful for the different characters and different opinions. Unity does not have to mean that all have to say exactly the same or have to use the same bible translation, read the same books, may not have different ways of civilian life, may not have different tastes. Those differences make the world coloured and not boring. We should be happy with such diversity and the differences between ecclesiae may provide different pastures for bible believers to find themselves at ease in one or the other ecclesia.
Jubilant Joel Osteen Juice MegachurchIn Jesus time the apostles were also of different character and different opinion or used not always the same words. We should neither. In our way of reaching people we should recognise that they should not know Christadelphianisms and may have a religious vocabulary closer to the denomination to which they belonged originally or still belong. By preaching to them we do have to be able to use different words and different Bible translations so that they can come to understand what the Word of God is saying. We are just some intermediaries who want to show them that Jesus is our mediator and the Way to God.
The Lord’s Hall a Christian megachurch in the Philippines that is managed by the Day by Day Christian Ministries DBD since 2005 situated and leased from the CCP, due to numerous concerns at the time though the church is known as DBD’s flagship church, and is known for being a venue for massive Christian gatherings by Rev Gamaliel Alba and Sun Cruises, CCP Complex, Roxas Blvd.Those we want to attract to the Word of God we have to convince that it are not the megachurches or the churches with the most members that are really following the Word of God and would not have false teachings or wrong doctrines. Lots of people may also put their hope in such megachurches because they expect megachurch pastors to have all the answers and that those churches could grow so much because those pastors are personally successful as well as leaders of successful churches because they can offer the best for man.
At conferences such preachers also may attract a lot of attention because many think they have the solution for today’s problem, a diminishing church.
and so we come to see what crumbs of wisdom they might cast our way that will help us and our small churches be”successful” like they are.
writes pastor Jim in his article “Is “Bigger Better” in Churches?“. Like many of us in the Christadelphian community is has seen Abraham and should have gathered enough experience to have some sound opinion. He believes that such leaders of mega churches may deliver good sermons. For sure they probably are good administrators, very good players with words or good speakers having a good deal of charisma. He correctly points out
Their churches offer tons of programs for children and adults—from support groups for people with various problems to children’s ministry and everything in between. But are a variety of programs offered to attract large numbers of people to their church a measure of success as Jesus defined success? I’m not so sure of this… {Is “Bigger Better” in Churches?}
He is leading a Home Fellowship Group in a Bible Study of the Gospel of Mark. At their last session they discussed this question of “supersize” as Jesus seemed to see it.
He accepted the large crowds he attracted—some so large along the Sea of Galilee that he acquired a boat to get in so he would not be crushed by the crowds seeking to touch him and be healed. But Jesus tends to see those crowds as no reason for gratification. He feels that many of them are there for the wrong reason, to be healed of their infirmities and to see the miraculous. Jesus heals them and has compassion for them, but proclaiming the good news of the Kingdom of God is his main mission. That proclamation is his main mission because it has the power to transform people’s lives, and sometimes people who are only seeking physical healing and entertainment can get in the way of that proclamation. {Is “Bigger Better” in Churches?}
In those days Jesus also had to get listening ears. In that age people were much more willing to listen and to go into discussion about religious and spiritual matters. There was much more interest in God than today. But Jesus knew that from the many that came around to hear him speak, there were also many who came out of curiosity or wanted to see miracles or hear controversial talks.
Jesus saw the crowds to whom he sought to proclaim the good news of the Kingdom of God in the same way as a sower.
Only a small portion of the crowd would actually be transformed by the good news of the Kingdom of God. The rest would let other things choke it out of their lives and die unchanged. Thus I feel Jesus was not impressed with numbers but with changes in the lives of people who heard him. {Is “Bigger Better” in Churches?} {Please do read also Mark 4: 1-9}
Too often people think it our the numbers that make it to be good. Perhaps the numbers show the popularity, but for sure they do not always show the integrity or the good value of a product or group.
The pastor thinks the answer to his and our question “Is Bigger Better?” as it pertains to churches is this:
it is not size alone that leads to success of any church, large or small, but it is its ability to follow Jesus and in doing so transform the lives of those who are a part of that church and those who that church reaches out to. The measure of a church’s success is the number of lives that have been changed and transformed due to its proclamation both in word and in deed of the Kingdom of God. The successful church is the “good soil” in the Parable of the Sower” that brings forth transformation of people’s lives and nurtures their growth in relationship to God and God’s Kingdom.
A successful church, regardless of the names on the roster, changes people into devoted followers of Jesus and his teachings as they live their lives each day. Small churches can be just as successful as large churches in changing people’s lives as they live the great commandment to love God and neighbor as yourself.” Sometimes because small churches are more personal, they are able to live this better than those with thousands on their membership roster. {Is “Bigger Better” in Churches?}
The Christadelphians are a very tiny community. We only can hope that all people in this small community bear their hearts on the right place. God knows the heart and it is for him that we should work and go out in the world getting people to know the Master works of God.
We may not forget that by being such a small community we have the advantage that we can get together in small cosy groups and feel much more the unity of the small group than in such mega churches were everybody can sit next to each other without knowing the other. When sitting in a stadium, arena or in such a huge church were there are hundreds or thousands of people it can well be that the individual may be drowning in the numbers.
We should be ready to throw out the lifeline and to pull those people who are looking for the Truth, to get to our meetings and let them feel that we are real followers of Jesus, keeping to his teachings and not adoring human doctrines, but keeping to Biblical doctrines, studying the infallible Word of God daily.
+
Preceding:
Personal thoughts, communication, establishing ecclesia and guest writings
The Big Conversation follow up
Evangelisation, local preaching opposite overseas evangelism
The Right One to follow and to worship
Wanting to live in Christ’s city
A participation in the body of Christ
Ecclesia to exist, grow and communities to have people communicating with each other
++
Additional reading:
- Who are the Christadelphians
- What are Brothers in Christ
- Christadelphian people
- Small churches of the few Christadelphians
- Strange Fire conference 2013
- Bloggers for Christ and Bloggers for Peace
- Being Missional
- Atonement And Fellowship 4/8
- Atonement And Fellowship 5/8
- Good or bad preacher
- Quibbling siblings united or allied children of an organisation or a church
- Reflection for today: hating your brother
+++
Further reading:
- Lessons Learned at Strange Fire
- A Vision of Holiness
- Praying in Circles
- In this Moment
- Wanting to be Heard
- truth nugget #66
- Unite against their corruption, not our church’s
- Prosperity Gospel – The Bane of The True Gospel
- The Conference Every Mega-Church Pastor Should Attend
- Millennials And Christianity!
- In Delight of the Deca-Church
- [TL;DR] In Defense of the Mega-Church
- Agree to Disagree
- Kingdom Building: The Large Church and the Small Church Working Together
- Mega Churches: What’s the big deal?
- 3 Reasons Why You Should Go To A Small Church
- Missed Opportunities
- Pastoral Environment and the Fight for Holiness
- Welcome to the Club
- 365 Day Photo Challenge 167/365 “Church on the Hill”
- Extravaganza City
- Instructed In God’s Ways
- Why Black Mega Church Pastors Catch Such Heat
- Book Review: The Blessed Church
- My Two Cents… conderning a famous mega-church preacher
- I don’t believe in mega churches
- American Christian Idol
+++
Related articles
- LISTEN: The Body of Believers, Part 2 (Onward Christian Soldiers #98 with Daniel Whyte III) (blackchristiannews.com)
- The Truth About The Roman Catholic Church (nowtheendbegins.com)
- 1 Corinthians 11:27-34 Taking a Spiritual Self-Exam (jimerwin.com)
- Lessons From The Road (beyondthemiryclay.wordpress.com)
- The Daily Gospel and Readings 21 September 2015 (prayersandmeditations.com)
- Such A Time As This (mylordmyfriend.com)
- A Perfect Inheritance (birdchirp.wordpress.com)
- How Long Will You Waver? (juicyecumenism.com)
- Pastors & Patriots Dinner – for such a time as this! (christian-reporter-news.ticketleap.com)
- No More Youth Pastors? (Part I) (joshuaziefle.net)
Rate this:
#BeingInUnion #BodyOfChrist #BrotherInChrist #Brotherhood #BrothersAndSistersInChrist #BrothersInChrist #Charisma #ChristadelphianCommunity #Christadelphianisms #Christian #ChristianChurch #ChurchService #Communication #Denomination #Disunion #Diversity #EntertainmentInChurch #GoodSoil #HomeFellowship #HumanDoctrines #Ignoring #IgnoringOthers #Lifeline #Media #MegaChurch #Mission #MoralMajority #NeglectingOthers #NewReformation #NoticingOthers #NumbersAmount_ #Opinion #Orator #ParticipationInBodyOfChrist #Pastor #Preaching #PreachingWork #Proclaiming #Proclamation #Quantity #ReligiousCommunity #ReligiousDiversity #ReligiousFreedom #ReligiousVocabulary #SisterInChrist #SistersInChrist #SmallGroup #SpiritInChrist #Successfulness #UnitedStatesOfAmerica #Unity #UnityInChrist #UnityInDiversity #WorshipService
-
Engaging the culture without losing the gospel
As the culture changes all around us, it is no longer possible to pretend that Christians are a Moral Majority. For the Christadelphian community it was already very clear that Christendom had gone astray and that not many people knew the essence of the Divine Creator and His Plan.
Guestspeaker’s 1° article 2014 March 26 on “From Guestwriters”In certain parts of the world we may find mega churches, like in the United states of America. But what we also see in those countries is that there is a very strange discrepancy between the way of life and the way presented in the Holy Scriptures. In the talks about pro-life issues and arguments at our website From Guestwriters this is made clear in the different reactions where some readers point out at the huge amount of abortions been done every day. Such points of discussion as the abortion debate show how values and attitudes have changed over the years.
Those people who call themselves Christian either are not so much interested in having an active faith or going to worship services or when they want to go to worship services they expect them to be relaxing and entertaining. For many the entertaining factor receives priority. This makes it understandable why certain churches in the States get full house whilst the churches really interested in and giving eye and ear for the Word of God do not have so many people coming to their service.
In general people are very much influenced by the media and television and show business are not the instruments who, today, bring the people to God. the television church services are full of show elements and short quoting form a few words taken from Scripture but also taken out of context. No time is given to sincerely listen and to sincerely study a full paragraph of a Bible chapter.
Our very fast changing world can do with a sort of new reformation. What’s needed now, in shifting times, is neither a doubling-down on the status quo nor a pullback into isolation. Instead, we need a church that speaks to social and political issues with a bigger vision in mind: that of the gospel of Jesus Christ. As Christianity seems increasingly strange, and even subversive, to our culture, we have the opportunity to reclaim the freakishness of the gospel, which is what gives it its power in the first place.
We should seek the kingdom of God, before everything else and we should love to bring others to the entrance gate of that Kingdom. We connect that kingdom agenda to the culture around us, both by speaking it to the world and by showing it in our churches. As we do so, we remember our mission to oppose demons, not to demonise opponents. As we advocate for human dignity, for religious liberty, for family stability, let’s do so as those with a prophetic word that turns everything upside down.
Today more than ever those who feel the connection with the Nazarene master teacher Jeshua should connect with each other as brothers and sisters in Christ and show their love for each other. Not staying in their small local cocoon, but also connecting to other brethren and sisters from all over. They should be welcoming any visiting brother or sister and when they receive mail from some brother or sister form somewhere in the world they should take time to answer that mail and to show their love to that correspondent by not ignoring him or her but letting those writers be feeling recognised as brothers and sisters of the body of Christ.
Though that Body of Christ may be composed of different nationalities, different cultured races, they should all show that they have union in that body of Christ by the unity of spirit in Christ. Unity should be shown by their willingness to communicate with each other and to be respectful for the different characters and different opinions. Unity does not have to mean that all have to say exactly the same or have to use the same bible translation, read the same books, may not have different ways of civilian life, may not have different tastes. Those differences make the world coloured and not boring. We should be happy with such diversity and the differences between ecclesiae may provide different pastures for bible believers to find themselves at ease in one or the other ecclesia.
Jubilant Joel Osteen Juice MegachurchIn Jesus time the apostles were also of different character and different opinion or used not always the same words. We should neither. In our way of reaching people we should recognise that they should not know Christadelphianisms and may have a religious vocabulary closer to the denomination to which they belonged originally or still belong. By preaching to them we do have to be able to use different words and different Bible translations so that they can come to understand what the Word of God is saying. We are just some intermediaries who want to show them that Jesus is our mediator and the Way to God.
The Lord’s Hall a Christian megachurch in the Philippines that is managed by the Day by Day Christian Ministries DBD since 2005 situated and leased from the CCP, due to numerous concerns at the time though the church is known as DBD’s flagship church, and is known for being a venue for massive Christian gatherings by Rev Gamaliel Alba and Sun Cruises, CCP Complex, Roxas Blvd.Those we want to attract to the Word of God we have to convince that it are not the megachurches or the churches with the most members that are really following the Word of God and would not have false teachings or wrong doctrines. Lots of people may also put their hope in such megachurches because they expect megachurch pastors to have all the answers and that those churches could grow so much because those pastors are personally successful as well as leaders of successful churches because they can offer the best for man.
At conferences such preachers also may attract a lot of attention because many think they have the solution for today’s problem, a diminishing church.
and so we come to see what crumbs of wisdom they might cast our way that will help us and our small churches be”successful” like they are.
writes pastor Jim in his article “Is “Bigger Better” in Churches?“. Like many of us in the Christadelphian community is has seen Abraham and should have gathered enough experience to have some sound opinion. He believes that such leaders of mega churches may deliver good sermons. For sure they probably are good administrators, very good players with words or good speakers having a good deal of charisma. He correctly points out
Their churches offer tons of programs for children and adults—from support groups for people with various problems to children’s ministry and everything in between. But are a variety of programs offered to attract large numbers of people to their church a measure of success as Jesus defined success? I’m not so sure of this… {Is “Bigger Better” in Churches?}
He is leading a Home Fellowship Group in a Bible Study of the Gospel of Mark. At their last session they discussed this question of “supersize” as Jesus seemed to see it.
He accepted the large crowds he attracted—some so large along the Sea of Galilee that he acquired a boat to get in so he would not be crushed by the crowds seeking to touch him and be healed. But Jesus tends to see those crowds as no reason for gratification. He feels that many of them are there for the wrong reason, to be healed of their infirmities and to see the miraculous. Jesus heals them and has compassion for them, but proclaiming the good news of the Kingdom of God is his main mission. That proclamation is his main mission because it has the power to transform people’s lives, and sometimes people who are only seeking physical healing and entertainment can get in the way of that proclamation. {Is “Bigger Better” in Churches?}
In those days Jesus also had to get listening ears. In that age people were much more willing to listen and to go into discussion about religious and spiritual matters. There was much more interest in God than today. But Jesus knew that from the many that came around to hear him speak, there were also many who came out of curiosity or wanted to see miracles or hear controversial talks.
Jesus saw the crowds to whom he sought to proclaim the good news of the Kingdom of God in the same way as a sower.
Only a small portion of the crowd would actually be transformed by the good news of the Kingdom of God. The rest would let other things choke it out of their lives and die unchanged. Thus I feel Jesus was not impressed with numbers but with changes in the lives of people who heard him. {Is “Bigger Better” in Churches?} {Please do read also Mark 4: 1-9}
Too often people think it our the numbers that make it to be good. Perhaps the numbers show the popularity, but for sure they do not always show the integrity or the good value of a product or group.
The pastor thinks the answer to his and our question “Is Bigger Better?” as it pertains to churches is this:
it is not size alone that leads to success of any church, large or small, but it is its ability to follow Jesus and in doing so transform the lives of those who are a part of that church and those who that church reaches out to. The measure of a church’s success is the number of lives that have been changed and transformed due to its proclamation both in word and in deed of the Kingdom of God. The successful church is the “good soil” in the Parable of the Sower” that brings forth transformation of people’s lives and nurtures their growth in relationship to God and God’s Kingdom.
A successful church, regardless of the names on the roster, changes people into devoted followers of Jesus and his teachings as they live their lives each day. Small churches can be just as successful as large churches in changing people’s lives as they live the great commandment to love God and neighbor as yourself.” Sometimes because small churches are more personal, they are able to live this better than those with thousands on their membership roster. {Is “Bigger Better” in Churches?}
The Christadelphians are a very tiny community. We only can hope that all people in this small community bear their hearts on the right place. God knows the heart and it is for him that we should work and go out in the world getting people to know the Master works of God.
We may not forget that by being such a small community we have the advantage that we can get together in small cosy groups and feel much more the unity of the small group than in such mega churches were everybody can sit next to each other without knowing the other. When sitting in a stadium, arena or in such a huge church were there are hundreds or thousands of people it can well be that the individual may be drowning in the numbers.
We should be ready to throw out the lifeline and to pull those people who are looking for the Truth, to get to our meetings and let them feel that we are real followers of Jesus, keeping to his teachings and not adoring human doctrines, but keeping to Biblical doctrines, studying the infallible Word of God daily.
+
Preceding:
Personal thoughts, communication, establishing ecclesia and guest writings
The Big Conversation follow up
Evangelisation, local preaching opposite overseas evangelism
The Right One to follow and to worship
Wanting to live in Christ’s city
A participation in the body of Christ
Ecclesia to exist, grow and communities to have people communicating with each other
++
Additional reading:
- Who are the Christadelphians
- What are Brothers in Christ
- Christadelphian people
- Small churches of the few Christadelphians
- Strange Fire conference 2013
- Bloggers for Christ and Bloggers for Peace
- Being Missional
- Atonement And Fellowship 4/8
- Atonement And Fellowship 5/8
- Good or bad preacher
- Quibbling siblings united or allied children of an organisation or a church
- Reflection for today: hating your brother
+++
Further reading:
- Lessons Learned at Strange Fire
- A Vision of Holiness
- Praying in Circles
- In this Moment
- Wanting to be Heard
- truth nugget #66
- Unite against their corruption, not our church’s
- Prosperity Gospel – The Bane of The True Gospel
- The Conference Every Mega-Church Pastor Should Attend
- Millennials And Christianity!
- In Delight of the Deca-Church
- [TL;DR] In Defense of the Mega-Church
- Agree to Disagree
- Kingdom Building: The Large Church and the Small Church Working Together
- Mega Churches: What’s the big deal?
- 3 Reasons Why You Should Go To A Small Church
- Missed Opportunities
- Pastoral Environment and the Fight for Holiness
- Welcome to the Club
- 365 Day Photo Challenge 167/365 “Church on the Hill”
- Extravaganza City
- Instructed In God’s Ways
- Why Black Mega Church Pastors Catch Such Heat
- Book Review: The Blessed Church
- My Two Cents… conderning a famous mega-church preacher
- I don’t believe in mega churches
- American Christian Idol
+++
Related articles
- LISTEN: The Body of Believers, Part 2 (Onward Christian Soldiers #98 with Daniel Whyte III) (blackchristiannews.com)
- The Truth About The Roman Catholic Church (nowtheendbegins.com)
- 1 Corinthians 11:27-34 Taking a Spiritual Self-Exam (jimerwin.com)
- Lessons From The Road (beyondthemiryclay.wordpress.com)
- The Daily Gospel and Readings 21 September 2015 (prayersandmeditations.com)
- Such A Time As This (mylordmyfriend.com)
- A Perfect Inheritance (birdchirp.wordpress.com)
- How Long Will You Waver? (juicyecumenism.com)
- Pastors & Patriots Dinner – for such a time as this! (christian-reporter-news.ticketleap.com)
- No More Youth Pastors? (Part I) (joshuaziefle.net)
Rate this:
#BeingInUnion #BodyOfChrist #BrotherInChrist #Brotherhood #BrothersAndSistersInChrist #BrothersInChrist #Charisma #ChristadelphianCommunity #Christadelphianisms #Christian #ChristianChurch #ChurchService #Communication #Denomination #Disunion #Diversity #EntertainmentInChurch #GoodSoil #HomeFellowship #HumanDoctrines #Ignoring #IgnoringOthers #Lifeline #Media #MegaChurch #Mission #MoralMajority #NeglectingOthers #NewReformation #NoticingOthers #NumbersAmount_ #Opinion #Orator #ParticipationInBodyOfChrist #Pastor #Preaching #PreachingWork #Proclaiming #Proclamation #Quantity #ReligiousCommunity #ReligiousDiversity #ReligiousFreedom #ReligiousVocabulary #SisterInChrist #SistersInChrist #SmallGroup #SpiritInChrist #Successfulness #UnitedStatesOfAmerica #Unity #UnityInChrist #UnityInDiversity #WorshipService
-
Engaging the culture without losing the gospel
As the culture changes all around us, it is no longer possible to pretend that Christians are a Moral Majority. For the Christadelphian community it was already very clear that Christendom had gone astray and that not many people knew the essence of the Divine Creator and His Plan.
Guestspeaker’s 1° article 2014 March 26 on “From Guestwriters”In certain parts of the world we may find mega churches, like in the United states of America. But what we also see in those countries is that there is a very strange discrepancy between the way of life and the way presented in the Holy Scriptures. In the talks about pro-life issues and arguments at our website From Guestwriters this is made clear in the different reactions where some readers point out at the huge amount of abortions been done every day. Such points of discussion as the abortion debate show how values and attitudes have changed over the years.
Those people who call themselves Christian either are not so much interested in having an active faith or going to worship services or when they want to go to worship services they expect them to be relaxing and entertaining. For many the entertaining factor receives priority. This makes it understandable why certain churches in the States get full house whilst the churches really interested in and giving eye and ear for the Word of God do not have so many people coming to their service.
In general people are very much influenced by the media and television and show business are not the instruments who, today, bring the people to God. the television church services are full of show elements and short quoting form a few words taken from Scripture but also taken out of context. No time is given to sincerely listen and to sincerely study a full paragraph of a Bible chapter.
Our very fast changing world can do with a sort of new reformation. What’s needed now, in shifting times, is neither a doubling-down on the status quo nor a pullback into isolation. Instead, we need a church that speaks to social and political issues with a bigger vision in mind: that of the gospel of Jesus Christ. As Christianity seems increasingly strange, and even subversive, to our culture, we have the opportunity to reclaim the freakishness of the gospel, which is what gives it its power in the first place.
We should seek the kingdom of God, before everything else and we should love to bring others to the entrance gate of that Kingdom. We connect that kingdom agenda to the culture around us, both by speaking it to the world and by showing it in our churches. As we do so, we remember our mission to oppose demons, not to demonise opponents. As we advocate for human dignity, for religious liberty, for family stability, let’s do so as those with a prophetic word that turns everything upside down.
Today more than ever those who feel the connection with the Nazarene master teacher Jeshua should connect with each other as brothers and sisters in Christ and show their love for each other. Not staying in their small local cocoon, but also connecting to other brethren and sisters from all over. They should be welcoming any visiting brother or sister and when they receive mail from some brother or sister form somewhere in the world they should take time to answer that mail and to show their love to that correspondent by not ignoring him or her but letting those writers be feeling recognised as brothers and sisters of the body of Christ.
Though that Body of Christ may be composed of different nationalities, different cultured races, they should all show that they have union in that body of Christ by the unity of spirit in Christ. Unity should be shown by their willingness to communicate with each other and to be respectful for the different characters and different opinions. Unity does not have to mean that all have to say exactly the same or have to use the same bible translation, read the same books, may not have different ways of civilian life, may not have different tastes. Those differences make the world coloured and not boring. We should be happy with such diversity and the differences between ecclesiae may provide different pastures for bible believers to find themselves at ease in one or the other ecclesia.
Jubilant Joel Osteen Juice MegachurchIn Jesus time the apostles were also of different character and different opinion or used not always the same words. We should neither. In our way of reaching people we should recognise that they should not know Christadelphianisms and may have a religious vocabulary closer to the denomination to which they belonged originally or still belong. By preaching to them we do have to be able to use different words and different Bible translations so that they can come to understand what the Word of God is saying. We are just some intermediaries who want to show them that Jesus is our mediator and the Way to God.
The Lord’s Hall a Christian megachurch in the Philippines that is managed by the Day by Day Christian Ministries DBD since 2005 situated and leased from the CCP, due to numerous concerns at the time though the church is known as DBD’s flagship church, and is known for being a venue for massive Christian gatherings by Rev Gamaliel Alba and Sun Cruises, CCP Complex, Roxas Blvd.Those we want to attract to the Word of God we have to convince that it are not the megachurches or the churches with the most members that are really following the Word of God and would not have false teachings or wrong doctrines. Lots of people may also put their hope in such megachurches because they expect megachurch pastors to have all the answers and that those churches could grow so much because those pastors are personally successful as well as leaders of successful churches because they can offer the best for man.
At conferences such preachers also may attract a lot of attention because many think they have the solution for today’s problem, a diminishing church.
and so we come to see what crumbs of wisdom they might cast our way that will help us and our small churches be”successful” like they are.
writes pastor Jim in his article “Is “Bigger Better” in Churches?“. Like many of us in the Christadelphian community is has seen Abraham and should have gathered enough experience to have some sound opinion. He believes that such leaders of mega churches may deliver good sermons. For sure they probably are good administrators, very good players with words or good speakers having a good deal of charisma. He correctly points out
Their churches offer tons of programs for children and adults—from support groups for people with various problems to children’s ministry and everything in between. But are a variety of programs offered to attract large numbers of people to their church a measure of success as Jesus defined success? I’m not so sure of this… {Is “Bigger Better” in Churches?}
He is leading a Home Fellowship Group in a Bible Study of the Gospel of Mark. At their last session they discussed this question of “supersize” as Jesus seemed to see it.
He accepted the large crowds he attracted—some so large along the Sea of Galilee that he acquired a boat to get in so he would not be crushed by the crowds seeking to touch him and be healed. But Jesus tends to see those crowds as no reason for gratification. He feels that many of them are there for the wrong reason, to be healed of their infirmities and to see the miraculous. Jesus heals them and has compassion for them, but proclaiming the good news of the Kingdom of God is his main mission. That proclamation is his main mission because it has the power to transform people’s lives, and sometimes people who are only seeking physical healing and entertainment can get in the way of that proclamation. {Is “Bigger Better” in Churches?}
In those days Jesus also had to get listening ears. In that age people were much more willing to listen and to go into discussion about religious and spiritual matters. There was much more interest in God than today. But Jesus knew that from the many that came around to hear him speak, there were also many who came out of curiosity or wanted to see miracles or hear controversial talks.
Jesus saw the crowds to whom he sought to proclaim the good news of the Kingdom of God in the same way as a sower.
Only a small portion of the crowd would actually be transformed by the good news of the Kingdom of God. The rest would let other things choke it out of their lives and die unchanged. Thus I feel Jesus was not impressed with numbers but with changes in the lives of people who heard him. {Is “Bigger Better” in Churches?} {Please do read also Mark 4: 1-9}
Too often people think it our the numbers that make it to be good. Perhaps the numbers show the popularity, but for sure they do not always show the integrity or the good value of a product or group.
The pastor thinks the answer to his and our question “Is Bigger Better?” as it pertains to churches is this:
it is not size alone that leads to success of any church, large or small, but it is its ability to follow Jesus and in doing so transform the lives of those who are a part of that church and those who that church reaches out to. The measure of a church’s success is the number of lives that have been changed and transformed due to its proclamation both in word and in deed of the Kingdom of God. The successful church is the “good soil” in the Parable of the Sower” that brings forth transformation of people’s lives and nurtures their growth in relationship to God and God’s Kingdom.
A successful church, regardless of the names on the roster, changes people into devoted followers of Jesus and his teachings as they live their lives each day. Small churches can be just as successful as large churches in changing people’s lives as they live the great commandment to love God and neighbor as yourself.” Sometimes because small churches are more personal, they are able to live this better than those with thousands on their membership roster. {Is “Bigger Better” in Churches?}
The Christadelphians are a very tiny community. We only can hope that all people in this small community bear their hearts on the right place. God knows the heart and it is for him that we should work and go out in the world getting people to know the Master works of God.
We may not forget that by being such a small community we have the advantage that we can get together in small cosy groups and feel much more the unity of the small group than in such mega churches were everybody can sit next to each other without knowing the other. When sitting in a stadium, arena or in such a huge church were there are hundreds or thousands of people it can well be that the individual may be drowning in the numbers.
We should be ready to throw out the lifeline and to pull those people who are looking for the Truth, to get to our meetings and let them feel that we are real followers of Jesus, keeping to his teachings and not adoring human doctrines, but keeping to Biblical doctrines, studying the infallible Word of God daily.
+
Preceding:
Personal thoughts, communication, establishing ecclesia and guest writings
The Big Conversation follow up
Evangelisation, local preaching opposite overseas evangelism
The Right One to follow and to worship
Wanting to live in Christ’s city
A participation in the body of Christ
Ecclesia to exist, grow and communities to have people communicating with each other
++
Additional reading:
- Who are the Christadelphians
- What are Brothers in Christ
- Christadelphian people
- Small churches of the few Christadelphians
- Strange Fire conference 2013
- Bloggers for Christ and Bloggers for Peace
- Being Missional
- Atonement And Fellowship 4/8
- Atonement And Fellowship 5/8
- Good or bad preacher
- Quibbling siblings united or allied children of an organisation or a church
- Reflection for today: hating your brother
+++
Further reading:
- Lessons Learned at Strange Fire
- A Vision of Holiness
- Praying in Circles
- In this Moment
- Wanting to be Heard
- truth nugget #66
- Unite against their corruption, not our church’s
- Prosperity Gospel – The Bane of The True Gospel
- The Conference Every Mega-Church Pastor Should Attend
- Millennials And Christianity!
- In Delight of the Deca-Church
- [TL;DR] In Defense of the Mega-Church
- Agree to Disagree
- Kingdom Building: The Large Church and the Small Church Working Together
- Mega Churches: What’s the big deal?
- 3 Reasons Why You Should Go To A Small Church
- Missed Opportunities
- Pastoral Environment and the Fight for Holiness
- Welcome to the Club
- 365 Day Photo Challenge 167/365 “Church on the Hill”
- Extravaganza City
- Instructed In God’s Ways
- Why Black Mega Church Pastors Catch Such Heat
- Book Review: The Blessed Church
- My Two Cents… conderning a famous mega-church preacher
- I don’t believe in mega churches
- American Christian Idol
+++
Related articles
- LISTEN: The Body of Believers, Part 2 (Onward Christian Soldiers #98 with Daniel Whyte III) (blackchristiannews.com)
- The Truth About The Roman Catholic Church (nowtheendbegins.com)
- 1 Corinthians 11:27-34 Taking a Spiritual Self-Exam (jimerwin.com)
- Lessons From The Road (beyondthemiryclay.wordpress.com)
- The Daily Gospel and Readings 21 September 2015 (prayersandmeditations.com)
- Such A Time As This (mylordmyfriend.com)
- A Perfect Inheritance (birdchirp.wordpress.com)
- How Long Will You Waver? (juicyecumenism.com)
- Pastors & Patriots Dinner – for such a time as this! (christian-reporter-news.ticketleap.com)
- No More Youth Pastors? (Part I) (joshuaziefle.net)
Rate this:
#BeingInUnion #BodyOfChrist #BrotherInChrist #Brotherhood #BrothersAndSistersInChrist #BrothersInChrist #Charisma #ChristadelphianCommunity #Christadelphianisms #Christian #ChristianChurch #ChurchService #Communication #Denomination #Disunion #Diversity #EntertainmentInChurch #GoodSoil #HomeFellowship #HumanDoctrines #Ignoring #IgnoringOthers #Lifeline #Media #MegaChurch #Mission #MoralMajority #NeglectingOthers #NewReformation #NoticingOthers #NumbersAmount_ #Opinion #Orator #ParticipationInBodyOfChrist #Pastor #Preaching #PreachingWork #Proclaiming #Proclamation #Quantity #ReligiousCommunity #ReligiousDiversity #ReligiousFreedom #ReligiousVocabulary #SisterInChrist #SistersInChrist #SmallGroup #SpiritInChrist #Successfulness #UnitedStatesOfAmerica #Unity #UnityInChrist #UnityInDiversity #WorshipService
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Blog/Apologetics: Where Should the Ethical Lines be Drawn in the Online Christian Space?
Last week, there was somewhat of a stir in the Christian space on YouTube. The reason for this is because Bryce Crawford (who I’ve spoken extensively about here on the blog) had the highly controversial and greatly deceptive Kenneth Copeland on his show. There was a lot of buzz about this since not only was it Copeland’s first interview in 15 years, but it was one of the biggest Christian voices online giving him a platform. This news was so big that Good Fight Ministries did an hour-and-a-half-long livestream talking about why this was a bad thing.
Then, on Monday, the interview came out. Bryce made it very clear that he does not agree with the prosperity gospel and acknowledged that Copeland teaches a “different gospel” (“false gospel” is more accurate.) From there, the interview was 70% Copeland telling stories about his life, 29% him defending the prosperity gospel by taking Scripture out of context, and 1% Bryce asking softball questions.
However, while I could dedicate this entire blog post to talking about everything wrong with that interview, or how people like Good Fight Ministries are starting to notice that Bryce is a false teacher, the thing I want to focus on today are the ethics. Should Christians online be platforming certain people who teach a false gospel? Where do we draw the line in the sand?
Though I have seen some people do a good job of bringing on people with differing religious backgrounds in the name of a common goal without promoting one view or another (for example: David Wood and Apostate Prophet (Ridvan Aydemir) often collab though Wood is Protestant and Aydemir is Eastern Orthodox) I do think it can be a bad idea. This isn’t anything against these people, but as a Christian influencer, you have a responsibility to vet who you’re platforming and, likewise, allowing to influence your followers. And in the case of known heretics who try to pass themselves off as believing the same or similar things as other believers while teaching something that’s incredibly deceptive, you shouldn’t give them the light of day, especially if you yourself are ill-equipped or unwilling to push back on their beliefs.
In the case of Bryce bringing on Kenneth Copeland, this is absolutely something where he shouldn’t be given the light of day. His main power is manipulation. He has the ability to cover deception with misquoted Scripture that he knows most people won’t catch and a charismatic personality. He tries to play himself off as a normal Christian like anyone else who has just figured out how to get God’s blessings. He makes it sound like the Prosperity Gospel that he preaches is an accurate reading of the Bible – just turn your brain off, listen to him, and you’ll be fine.
Further, when bringing on someone of differing beliefs, ask yourself if the collab will actually be good for the audience. Remember, most of your audience probably doesn’t have good discernment, so if you’re platforming someone that teaches a gospel that doesn’t line up with the Bible, it’s possible that many of them won’t catch the issues. While you might get plenty of clicks and views, if they can’t distinguish a wolf from a sheep, then you end up hurting them more than you’re helping them.
On that note, if you’re bringing on someone controversial who you know is a false teacher just for views and attention, then you shouldn’t have them on period. In Bryce’s case, while I don’t claim to know his heart, it seems very much like his interview with Copeland was done to generate views. After all, it was Copeland’s first interview in 15 years, and he rightly has drawn the ire of many in the church. Add on that this isn’t Bryce’s first time having a controversial figure on, collaborating with Carl Lentz back in December of 2024 and January of 2025, and this seems like a trend.
Thus, I think it needs to be a rule of thumb for Christian influencers that if they want to bring someone on their podcast who’s controversial or believes in questionable doctrines, they need to first ask themselves if the discussion will truly benefit the audience or if it will simply give the guest access to a broader range of people who they may end up deceiving. If the latter, then it’s best not to have them on.
On that note, the second thing the influencer needs to ask themselves is if they’re actually prepared and willing to give a respectful, but firm and clear rebuttal against anything that the guest may say that goes against Scripture (basically, they need to be prepared to do the discernment part that the audience may not be willing or equipped to do.) They need to understand the arguments and be willing to protect the flock if the guest tries preying on the audience with a nice sounding, but false message. Just saying that you don’t agree with the person or that they teach a different gospel is not enough. You need to demonstrate for the audience how they’re teaching a false gospel via a sound rebuttal.
And third, they need to ask themselves the reason for bringing on the person. Is it to have a discussion and respectful debate about the points of contention? Or is it simply to garner attention online, even if it means potentially harming your audience’s spiritual walk because they don’t know how to tell a wolf from a sheep?
If you’re not willing to ask these questions, or you’re just doing it for the clicks, then you shouldn’t be bringing the person on.
Until next time,
M.J.
#Bible #Blog #BryceCrawford #ChristianInfluencers #Christianity #Church #Ethics #faith #FalseTeachers #god #Influencers #jesus #KennethCopeland #OpinionPeice #Writing #YouTube -
Tauya Chinama on Theodicy, Humanism, and Preserving Zimbabwe’s Cultural Heritage
Scott Douglas Jacobsen (Email: [email protected])
Publisher, In-Sight Publishing
Fort Langley, British Columbia, Canada
Received: October 19, 2025
Accepted: December 15, 2025
Published: December 15, 2025Abstract
This interview with Tauya Chinama—a Zimbabwean freethinker, educator, and human-rights advocate—traces an intellectual and moral transition from religious training toward agnosticism and, ultimately, apatheism. Chinama recounts how sustained engagement with theodicy (the attempt to reconcile an all-good, all-powerful God with pervasive suffering) undermined his prior commitments, as real-world pain and injustice outpaced the explanatory power of familiar theological defences. He critiques common responses to evil grounded in free will or determinism, arguing that each fails to preserve the traditional attributes of God while offering little ethical clarity for human responsibility. Alongside philosophical concerns, Chinama highlights the psychological and social costs of departing faith-based institutions—stigmatization, ostracism, and the demand for personal resilience. The conversation culminates in a secular moral orientation: that human beings are “on our own” in the sense that alleviating suffering and building justice are human tasks, not deferred to divine intervention.
Keywords
Agnosticism, Apatheism, Augustine of Hippo, Catholicism, Determinism, Dasein, Ethics, Free Will, Human Responsibility, Logical Analysis, Problem of Evil, Theodicy
Introduction
Tauya Chinama is a Zimbabwean freethinker, educator, and advocate for human rights and cultural preservation whose intellectual path runs through the dense intersection of philosophy, theology, and lived moral experience. Trained in religious study and once oriented toward priesthood, he gradually came to view the traditional problem of evil not as a technical puzzle for theologians, but as a sustained challenge to intellectual honesty. For Chinama, theodicy is not merely a debate about metaphysical consistency; it is a test of whether a worldview can confront the reality of disability, disease, natural disasters, and human vulnerability without dissolving into contradiction or moral deflection.
In this short exchange, Scott Douglas Jacobsen invites Chinama to articulate the central question that shaped his training and the turning points that reoriented his identity—from believer, to agnostic, to what he calls an apatheist with “a touch of cosmopolitanism.” Chinama examines standard theological responses to suffering, critiques their logical coherence, and describes the personal consequences of choosing candour over conformity inside religious institutions. The interview also gestures beyond metaphysics toward a practical ethical conclusion: if suffering persists without reliable divine remedy, then responsibility for justice and compassion rests squarely with human beings and the societies they build.
Main Text (Interview)
Title: Tauya Chinama on Theodicy, Humanism, and Preserving Zimbabwe’s Cultural Heritage
Interviewer: Scott Douglas Jacobsen
Interviewees: Tauya Chinama
Tauya Chinama is a Zimbabwean freethinker, educator, and advocate for human rights and cultural preservation. Trained in philosophy and theology, he transitioned from religious study to humanism, emphasizing intellectual honesty, dialogue, and heritage-based education. As a teacher of heritage studies, he works to integrate indigenous knowledge and languages into learning systems, arguing that language carries culture, history, and identity. Chinama is active in Zimbabwe’s humanist movement, contributing to interfaith dialogues, academic research, and public discourse on secularism, ethics, and education reform. He champions the preservation of Shona and Ndebele while critiquing systemic barriers that weaken local language education.
Scott Douglas Jacobsen: When you were doing your training, what was your main specialization? What was the core research question?
Tauya Chinama: I had several questions, but my primary focus was on theodicy: the relationship between the existence of God and the problem of evil.
That was the question that led me to think more deeply. Years ago, I preached about an omniscient, omnipotent, all-good God. But then I looked at the reality: people who are disabled, people dying in natural disasters, people dying from diseases. Why is God not ending all this suffering? Where is he? Is he enjoying it?
The key issue is theodicy. The Greek words are theos (God) and dike (justice). Is it just for God to allow these things to happen? That question pulled me further. I came to feel that I could act more justly as a human being than the God being preached, who supposedly is capable of ending poverty, disease, disability, and natural disasters, but does not. Why should I believe in him? Why should I revere him?
The realization was: we are on our own. We are responsible, and we must act to address what is happening to us. That was the key lesson that pushed me from being a believer to an agnostic, and then to what I now call an apatheist—a person indifferent to God’s existence. Today, I describe myself as an apatheist with a touch of cosmopolitanism.
Jacobsen: For theodicy, what were the standard arguments? How did theologians justify evil, suffering, and pain?
Chinama: A number of them talked about free will. Others leaned on determinism. But this did not make sense to me. If we say that human beings have free will, then it means God is not omniscient—he does not know everything that will happen before it occurs. If he knows it all, then free will does not exist.
On the other hand, if determinism is true, then we are simply victims of a plan. We cannot resist; we can only follow the flow. We are what Martin Heidegger might call Dasein—a being-toward-death. We are thrown into existence, moving toward death, with limited choice. That line of argument, whether from free will or determinism, did not make sense to me.
It could not resolve the harm and suffering I saw in the world. The defences of theologians like St. Augustine of Hippo also did not persuade me. Augustine introduced the doctrine of original sin and linked sexuality to sin, claiming virginity was a higher state. But none of this made sense to me. He had emerged from Manichaean philosophy, which emphasized dualism—light and darkness, good and evil as opposing forces. His framework seemed more like a leftover from dualism than a convincing defence of Christian doctrine.
Jacobsen: Was it the weakness of the theological arguments for God in the face of evil that made you drift away? Or was it the strength of non-religious arguments that convinced you to adopt a non-religious way of looking at life?
Chinama: It was both. When you look at the theological arguments and test them through logic—a branch of philosophy about correct reasoning—you quickly see the conclusions do not follow from the premises. That leaves you confused.
So I moved from being a believer to an agnostic, saying, “Perhaps I am wrong, perhaps I am right.” Over time, you sober up. Sometimes you even become militant, but then you realize militancy does not work. You calm down, or you risk messing things up.
I remember when I was training to be a priest. I confided in a particular Indian priest—I will not give his name—that I was slowly losing my faith. He told me something shocking: that many high-ranking figures in the Catholic Church, including bishops and cardinals, do not actually believe the doctrines they defend.
I was surprised. Here were people defending the Church’s teachings every day, yet privately admitting they did not believe them. He even told me he had gone through the same phase and had never fully recovered his faith. His advice was: “Do not fight it. Just go with the flow.”
But I felt I was too honest to live that way. I could not simply go along with something I did not believe.
Jacobsen: In the end, was your decision to leave a faith-based position and move to a non-religious position more an intellectual exercise, or more about changing how you felt? Or was it a little of both?
Chinama: It was both. Several factors led me to change. It was an intellectual practice, but also an emotional realization that what I thought religion was turned out not to be. The whole motivation collapsed, and I was left with no choice but to withdraw.
I do not regret it, but it was a hard decision. There is stigmatization, ostracism, and other consequences that come with choosing such a path. It is serious—you need to be mentally strong. For me, it was primarily intellectual, but I also required mental resilience to overcome it.
Jacobsen: Thank you for your time today, Tauya.
Discussion
Chinama’s account frames apostasy (or, more precisely, disengagement) less as rebellion than as an evidence-driven recalibration: when the promises of an omniscient, omnipotent, all-good deity collide with a world saturated in undeserved suffering, the explanatory burden becomes acute. The interview’s philosophical centre is his dissatisfaction with the standard repertoire of theodicies—especially those that appeal to free will or determinism. In his reading, free-will defences struggle to preserve divine foreknowledge without hollowing out freedom, while deterministic accounts risk portraying human beings as trapped in a plan that renders moral protest performative. The result is not merely a theoretical impasse; it is a moral one, because the justifications appear unable to honour the gravity of suffering they seek to explain.
A second theme is integrity under institutional pressure. Chinama’s recollection of confiding in a priest—who suggested that some senior Church figures privately disbelieve doctrines they publicly defend—introduces a sociological dimension: religious systems can incentivize outward loyalty even when inward conviction erodes. Chinama presents his exit as a refusal to inhabit that split. This casts “deconversion” not only as an intellectual event but as an ethical stance against performative belief, sustained by psychological resilience in the face of stigma and ostracism.
Finally, the conversation resolves toward a secular ethic of responsibility. Chinama’s apatheism is not portrayed as cynicism; it is a posture of indifference toward unverifiable divine claims paired with heightened concern for human action. The implicit thesis is that moral seriousness survives the collapse of theological certainty—and may even sharpen under it—because the work of reducing suffering cannot be outsourced to providence. In that sense, the interview is less about losing faith than about relocating duty: from the heavens, back to the hands of human beings.
Methods
The interview was conducted via typed questions—with explicit consent—for review, and curation. This process complied with applicable data protection laws, including the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), Canada’s Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA), and Europe’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), i.e., recordings if any were stored securely, retained only as needed, and deleted upon request, as well in accordance with Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Advertising Standards Canada guidelines.
Data Availability
No datasets were generated or analyzed during the current article. All interview content remains the intellectual property of the interviewer and interviewee.
References
(No external academic sources were cited for this interview.)
Journal & Article Details
Publisher: In-Sight Publishing
Publisher Founding: March 1, 2014
Web Domain: http://www.in-sightpublishing.com
Location: Fort Langley, Township of Langley, British Columbia, Canada
Journal: In-Sight: Interviews
Journal Founding: August 2, 2012
Frequency: Four Times Per Year
Review Status: Non-Peer-Reviewed
Access: Electronic/Digital & Open Access
Fees: None (Free)
Volume Numbering: 13
Issue Numbering: 4
Section: A
Theme Type: Idea
Theme Premise: Humanism
Theme Part: None.
Formal Sub-Theme: None.
Individual Publication Date: December 15, 2025
Issue Publication Date: January 1, 2026
Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen
Word Count: 944
Image Credits: Photo by Damian Patkowski on Unsplash
ISSN (International Standard Serial Number): 2369-6885
Acknowledgements
The author acknowledges Tauya Chinama for his time, expertise, and valuable contributions. His thoughtful insights and detailed explanations have greatly enhanced the quality and depth of this work, providing a solid foundation for the discussion presented herein.
Author Contributions
S.D.J. conceived the subject matter, conducted the interview, transcribed and edited the conversation, and prepared the manuscript.
Competing Interests
The author declares no competing interests.
License & Copyright
In-Sight Publishing by Scott Douglas Jacobsen is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
© Scott Douglas Jacobsen and In-Sight Publishing 2012–Present.Unauthorized use or duplication of material without express permission from Scott Douglas Jacobsen is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links must use full credit to Scott Douglas Jacobsen and In-Sight Publishing with direction to the original content.
Supplementary Information
Below are various citation formats for Tauya Chinama on Theodicy, Humanism, and Preserving Zimbabwe’s Cultural Heritage (Scott Douglas Jacobsen, December 15, 2025).
American Medical Association (AMA 11th Edition)
Jacobsen SD. Tauya Chinama on Theodicy, Humanism, and Preserving Zimbabwe’s Cultural Heritage. In-Sight: Interviews. 2025;13(4). Published December 15, 2025. http://www.in-sightpublishing.com/tauya-chinama-theodicy-humanism-preserving-zimbabwe-cultural-heritage
American Psychological Association (APA 7th Edition)
Jacobsen, S. D. (2025, December 15). Tauya Chinama on Theodicy, Humanism, and Preserving Zimbabwe’s Cultural Heritage. In-Sight: Interviews, 13(4). In-Sight Publishing. http://www.in-sightpublishing.com/tauya-chinama-theodicy-humanism-preserving-zimbabwe-cultural-heritage
Brazilian National Standards (ABNT)
JACOBSEN, Scott Douglas. Tauya Chinama on Theodicy, Humanism, and Preserving Zimbabwe’s Cultural Heritage. In-Sight: Interviews, Fort Langley, v. 13, n. 4, 15 dez. 2025. Disponível em: http://www.in-sightpublishing.com/tauya-chinama-theodicy-humanism-preserving-zimbabwe-cultural-heritage
Chicago/Turabian, Author-Date (17th Edition)
Jacobsen, Scott Douglas. 2025. “Tauya Chinama on Theodicy, Humanism, and Preserving Zimbabwe’s Cultural Heritage.” In-Sight: Interviews 13 (4). http://www.in-sightpublishing.com/tauya-chinama-theodicy-humanism-preserving-zimbabwe-cultural-heritage.
Chicago/Turabian, Notes & Bibliography (17th Edition)
Jacobsen, Scott Douglas. “Tauya Chinama on Theodicy, Humanism, and Preserving Zimbabwe’s Cultural Heritage.” In-Sight: Interviews 13, no. 4 (December 15, 2025). http://www.in-sightpublishing.com/tauya-chinama-theodicy-humanism-preserving-zimbabwe-cultural-heritage.
Harvard
Jacobsen, S.D. (2025) ‘Tauya Chinama on Theodicy, Humanism, and Preserving Zimbabwe’s Cultural Heritage’, In-Sight: Interviews, 13(4), 15 December. Available at: http://www.in-sightpublishing.com/tauya-chinama-theodicy-humanism-preserving-zimbabwe-cultural-heritage.
Harvard (Australian)
Jacobsen, SD 2025, ‘Tauya Chinama on Theodicy, Humanism, and Preserving Zimbabwe’s Cultural Heritage’, In-Sight: Interviews, vol. 13, no. 4, 15 December, viewed 15 December 2025, http://www.in-sightpublishing.com/tauya-chinama-theodicy-humanism-preserving-zimbabwe-cultural-heritage.
Modern Language Association (MLA, 9th Edition)
Jacobsen, Scott Douglas. “Tauya Chinama on Theodicy, Humanism, and Preserving Zimbabwe’s Cultural Heritage.” In-Sight: Interviews, vol. 13, no. 4, 2025, http://www.in-sightpublishing.com/tauya-chinama-theodicy-humanism-preserving-zimbabwe-cultural-heritage.
Vancouver/ICMJE
Jacobsen SD. Tauya Chinama on Theodicy, Humanism, and Preserving Zimbabwe’s Cultural Heritage [Internet]. 2025 Dec 15;13(4). Available from: http://www.in-sightpublishing.com/tauya-chinama-theodicy-humanism-preserving-zimbabwe-cultural-heritage
Note on Formatting
This document follows an adapted Nature research-article format tailored for an interview. Traditional sections such as Methods, Results, and Discussion are replaced with clearly defined parts: Abstract, Keywords, Introduction, Main Text (Interview), and a concluding Discussion, along with supplementary sections detailing Data Availability, References, and Author Contributions. This structure maintains scholarly rigor while effectively accommodating narrative content.
#agnosticism #Apatheism #AugustineOfHippo #Catholicism #Dasein #determinism #ethics #freeWill #HumanResponsibility #LogicalAnalysis #problemOfEvil #theodicy
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The 1st Adam in the Hebrew Scriptures #1 Beginning of everything
Thousands of years ago there was a void, but there also was the Eternal Being that ever was and always shall be, having had no birth and never having an end or not able to die. That divine Eternal Being “That is” or “I Am“, the “I Am Who Am” or the “I Am Who Is” has a Voice and that Voice spoke in the darkness and when it spoke that what it expressed came into being. In this way That Spiritual Being “The I Am that I Am” took care that things came into being. Every time This I am that I am Ehyeh-Asher-Ehyeh אהיה אשר אהיה saw it was alright and when it was good The Cause of Being brought an other thing into existence. Every time The Being “That Is” spoke Its Word became a reality. The incorruptible Word spoken brought into existence.
It was God’s Power (the Holy Spirit) that brought things to life. It was God His Word which was spoken, brought into reality and was there to stay for ever in truth, never telling lies. As such later in history the carnal beings created by that Most High Eternal Being received in their hands the greatest source of the greatest ideas known to man. First the Word went from one being to an other vocally, but later it became recorded on stone plates, than on papyrus and parchment roles. First those words of the Most High were notated in Hebrew, than Aramaic words and Greek words supplemented the documents written down in the name of God by set apart (holy) men. This way man got the Scriptures, and for this series on the new or 2nd Adam we shall also look into the wisdom of the theological minds who brought forth the 1599 Geneva Bible Patriot’s Edition, which will enable you to think God’s thoughts after Him because the Bible is His special revelation. Herewith is a resource that you are sure to find indispensable for the study and interpretation of creation as God would have you see it.
A 1581 edition of the Geneva Bible. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)The Geneva Bible once changed the world. With that Bible man can hold in their hands something that is about to change the world — again. For those who find that bible we ask them to use this Bible with care. Use it faithfully with faith. Then watch God once more do above and beyond all that we can ask or imagine.
{For this series we use the revised 2010 Tolle Lege Press (United States of America) edition of the 1599 Geneva Bible Restoration Project}
To come to know why Jesus is so important for us and to come to see who he is and what purpose he served, we have to go back to the beginning of everything. We have to listen to the Word which sounded in the void.
In Genesis chapter one we are told how everything started and that first of all, and before that any creature was, God made heaven and earth of nothing.
Genesis 1
1 God created the heaven and the earth. 3 The light
and the darkness, 8 The firmament, 9 He separateth
the water from the earth. 16 He createth the sun, the moon,
and the stars. 21 He createth the fish, birds, beasts, 26 He
createth man, and giveth him rule over all creatures, 29 And
provideth nurture for man and beast.
The Creation – James Tissot (1836–1902)1 In the 1beginning aGod created the heaven and the earth.
2 And the earth was 1,2without form and void, and 3darkness was upon the 4deep, and the Spirit of God 5moved upon the 6waters.
3 Then God said, bLet there be light: And there was 1light.
4 And God saw the light that it was good, and God separated 1the light from the darkness.
5 And God called the Light, Day, and the darkness he called Night. 1So the evening and the morning
were the first day.Next we come to hear that it is the only power of God’s Word, His speaking, that makes the earth fruitful, which else naturally is barren. In Scriptures also more than once shall it be repeated that God made all His creatures to serve to His glory and God wanting to see that all is good, but that in the world there is seed, the matter that brings forth new matter, good or bad, depending on how the seed is and where the seed lands, in what sort of soil.
9 God said again, eLet the waters under the heaven be gathered into one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so.
10 And God called the dry land, Earth, and he called the gathering together of the waters, Seas: and God saw that it was good.
11 Then God said, 1Let the earth bud forth the bud of the herb, that seedeth seed, the fruitful tree, which beareth fruit according to his kind, which hath his seed in itself upon the earth: and it was so.
12 And the earth brought forth the bud of the herb, that seedeth seed according to his kind, also the tree that beareth fruit, which hath his seed in itself according to his kind: and God 1saw that it was good.Too many christians do forget that the Bible also tells us clearly that there were animals and plants before man.
20 Afterward God said, Let the waters bring forth in abundance every 1creeping thing that hath 2life: and let the fowl fly upon the earth in the 3open firmament of the heaven.
21 Then God created the great whales, and everything living and moving, which the 1waters brought forth in abundance according to their kind, and every feathered fowl according to his kind: and God saw that it was good.
22 Then God 1blessed them, saying, Bring forth fruit and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let the fowl multiply in the earth.
23 So the evening and the morning were the fifth day.Only after all the planets, waters and earth, creeping beings it became time for an other creeping being of flesh and blood, in a system where there would be light and darkness as instruments appointed to serve to man’s use.
Every time God spoke, the “soul of life” came into the beings (Hebrew for the “living thing” verse 24).
24 Moreover God said, Let the earth bring forth the 1living thing according to his kind, cattle, and that which creepeth, and the beast of the earth according to his kind, and it was so.
25 And God made the beast of the earth according to his kind, and the cattle according to his kind, and every creeping thing of the earth according to his kind: and God saw that it was good.It was only after God had commanded the water and the earth to bring forth other creatures, that He said of man “Let us make”, signifying, that He the Most Highest, Who speaks with the ‘Royal We’ (Royal plural or Pluralis majestatis), God
The Earthly Paradise – Jan Brueghel the Elder (1568–1625)“taketh counsel with his wisdom and virtue, purposing to make an excellent work above all the rest of his creation.” (1599 Geneva Patriot’s Edition)
26 Furthermore God said, h,1Let us make man in our 2image according to our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the heaven, and over the beasts, and over all the earth, and over everything that creepeth and moveth on the earth.
27 Thus God created the man in his image: in the image of God created he him: he created them imale and female.
28 And God 1blessed them, and God said to them, jBring forth fruit, and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it, and rule over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the heaven, and over every beast that moveth upon the earth.
29 And God said, Behold, I have given unto you 1every herb bearing seed, which is upon all the earth, and every tree, wherein is the fruit of a tree bearing seed: kthat shall be to you for meat.
30 Likewise to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the heaven, and to everything that moveth
upon the earth, which hath life in itself, every green herb shall be for meat, and it was so.
31 lAnd God saw all that he had made, and lo, it was very good. So the evening and the morning were the sixth day.+
Preceding introductory article: Geneva Bible, Source text for our series on the beginning of Jesus
Next: The 1st Adam in the Hebrew Scriptures #2 Beginning of mankind
++
Additional reading
- I am that I am Ehyeh-Asher-Ehyehאהיה אשר אהיה
- Hashem השם, Hebrew for “the Name”
- Why think there’s a God? (1): Something from Nothing
- Where did God come from?
- Does He exists?
- Attributes to God
- El-Shaddai God Almighty Who no-one may see and live
- Bible, helmet of health, salvation and sword of the spirit
- Bible, sword of the Spirit to come into the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man
- Written down in God’s Name for righteousness
- Glory of only One God Who gives His Word
- Written and translated by different men over thousands of years
- Focussing on oneness with Jesus like Jesus is one with God
- See God’s wonderworks and hear His Voice
- The very very beginning 2 The Word and words
- The Word being a quality or aspect of God Himself
- Creator and Blogger God 1 Emptiness and mouvement
- The very very beginning 1 Creating Gods
- The very very beginning 2 The Word and words
- Creation Creator and Creation
- Means of creations
- From waste and void coming into being by God’s Word
- Creation of the earth out of something
- Between Alpha and Omega – The plan of creation
- Scripture about Creation and Creator Deity
- Genesis 1 story does not take away an evolution
- Genesis – Story of creation 1 Genesis 1:1-25 Creation of things
- God’s Word Framing universe
- The World framed by the Word of God
- Al-Fatiha [The Opening] Süra 1: 4-7 Merciful Lord of the Creation to show us the right path
- Creation purpose and warranty
- Different principle about the origin and beginning of everything
- Cosmos creator and human destiny
- Blackness, nothingness, something, void
- Nothingness
- Something from nothing
- Accommodation of the Void
- From waste and void coming into being by God’s Word
- “Before” and “after” the Big Bang
- Creation of the earth and man #1 Planet for living beings in a pre-Adamic world
- God’s Word is like the rain
- Other stories about the beginning of times
- Not about personal salvation but about a bigger Plan
- Is it “Wrong” to Believe that the Earth is a Sphere?
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Further readings of interest:
- Essential Doctrines (Part 1): The Doctrine of God’s Existence
- What About Those Who Do Not Know The Name of God?
- To Know God in Six Days
- The Great Architect
- Please!!! Don’t tell me that you honestly think the universe is 6000 years old!!!!
- The universe is not 6000 years old
- Proof that the Bible cannot be taken literally
- Life & Light
- Isaiah 41:10
- The #Genesis Theory – (Part 1) – YouTube
- Creation: In the Beginning
- Entry No.1 – A Creation Myth
- What happened on each of the days of Creation?
- The Divine Presence
- God’s Attention Is On You!
- Big Bang Theory & Life
- In His image…
- Be fruitful and multiply…
- God-Authenticated Togetherness
- Live your life in tandem with God
- Law versus Law
- “In Christ” #897
- What do you have your eyes on?
- Science vs Bible
- God Turns Darkness Into Light
+++
Related articles
- Mercy: A mission of Christian love for the Americas…
- What We Believe – Unleashing Purpose Ministries
- Separate but equal in His eyes
- The Bible extols meekness but it’s important not to confuse being a ‘softy’ with being weak
- Why is the Holy Spirit sometimes called the Holy Ghost?
- If you’re not baptized in Jesus’ Name according to Acts 2:38, do you need to be re-baptized from Father, Son, and Holy Ghost (Matthew 28:19)?
- Different assessment criteria and a new language to be found for communicating the faith
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#10Commandments #1599GenevaBiblePatriotSEdition #1599GenevaBiblePatriotSEdition2010TolleLegePressEdition_ #1599GenevaBibleRestorationProject #Animal #BeginningOfTheUniverse #Bible #BookOfGenesis #CauseOfBeing #Creation #Earth #EternalBeing #FruitfulEarth #Genesis #Genesis1 #GenevaBible #GodSpeaking #GodSPurpose #GodsWord #Heaven #HumanBeing #IAm #IAmThatIAm #IAmWhoAm #Image #ImageOfGod #InImageOfGod #InfallibleWordOfGod #Land #Light #LivingCreature #Man #OriginOfTheUniverse #PatriotSGenevaEdition #PlanetEarth #Planets #Plant #PluralisMajestatis #PowerOfGod #PurposeOfCreation #RevelationOfGod #RoyalPlural #RoyalWe #Scriptures #Seed #Soul #SoulOfLife #TheWord #Universe #VoiceOfGod #Void #Water #Word
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Spirituality & Religious Studies @spiritualityreligiousstudies.wordpress.com@spiritualityreligiousstudies.wordpress.com ·
CW: This has a mention of LBGTQ+ un-inclusion. If you aren't comfortable with this, please check out 1 of our other posts.
Two By Twos
Also known as 2x2s, The Truth, & The Way.
This is an international home-based Christian religious movement that was founded in 1897 by William Irvine in Ireland. Mr. Irvine was an evangelist with the interdominational Faith Mission. He began preaching independently that the intinerant ministry outlined in Matthew, chapter 10 (“The Little Commission”) was the only real way of evangelism.
This church grew quickly. It eventually spread outside Ireland. Eventually Irvine began preaching a new order in which the hierarchy developed within the Church would have no placement. This teaching became controversial within the church. This led to his expulsion by the church’s most prominent evangelists. Edward Cooney was expelled 10 years later after Irvine. The church then became much less visible to outsiders for the next 50 years.
Some in the church state it’s a direct continuation of the 1st century Christian church. Others in the church believe that a restoration occurred in the late 19th century. Ministers are itinerant & work in pairs. Hence the name of Two by Twos. Members hold regular twice weekly worship gatherings in local homes on Sunday & midweek. (Like on Wednesday or Thursday. There are other Christian denominations that also have twice a week services.)
The Church also holds annual regional conventions for members & public Gospel meetings. Baptism by immersion, as performed by 1 of the church’s workers, is required to partake in the emblems of bread & wine (or Communion) at the fellowship gathering(s).
The orthodox Christian Trinitarian doctrine is rejected. Doctrine of the church teaches that salvation is reached by attending the group’s home meetings, accepting the preaching of its itinerant, unsalaried ministry workers, & “professing.”
The church teaches that salvation isn’t achieved through faith alone but only through a combination of faith & “works.” Works are considered acts of self-denial such as wearing modest clothes & wearing long hair in a bun (if you’re a woman) or attending all meetings regardless how far away they are. The church doesn’t do any outreach programs or encourage its members to participate in charities.
The church doesn’t have an official HQ or publications. It doesn’t explicitly publish any doctrinal statements, insisting that such tenets may only be directly imparted orally by its ministers, referred to as “workers.” Its hymnbook & various other material for internal use are produced by outside publishers & printing firms. Printed invitations & advertisements for its open gospel services are the only written materials that those outside the church are likely to encounter.
Among members, the church is usually referred to as “The Truth,” “Meetings,” or “the workers & friends.” But members deny an official church/denomination name (like Baptist, United Brethern, etc.).
Those outside the group refer to it as: “Two by Twos,” “The Black Stockings,” “No-Name Church,” “Cooneyites,” “Workers & Friends,” or “Christians Anonymous,” & journalists call it: “2×2” for short. The church has a variety of registered names: “Christian Conventions” (US); “Assemblies of Christians” & “The Alberta Society of Christian Assemblies” (Canada); “The Testimony of Jesus” (UK); “Kristna i Sverige” (Sweden); & “United Christian Conventions” (Australia).
These registered names are used only for specific purposes (like to register for conscientious objection during wartime or taxes) & aren’t routinely used by members.
In 1896, William Irvine was sent from Scotland to southern Ireland as a missionary by John George Govan’s Faith Mission. Because his mission was successful, he was promoted to superintendent of Faith Mission in southern Ireland. Within a few months of his arrival in Ireland, Irvine became disillusioned with the Faith Mission.
Irvine was increasingly intolerant of the Faith Mission’s cooperation with other churches & clergy in various communities of southern Ireland. In 1897, he started independently preaching, saying that true/real ministries must have no home & take no salary. He also held that the manner in which the disciples had been sent out in chapter 10 of Matthew’s Gospel was a permanent commandment which must still be observed.
Irvine’s preaching during his latest mission influenced others who began to leave their respective churches & join Irvine to form an initial core of followers. The church founded by Irvine is the only religion known to have had its origin, & early development, in Ireland.
All the church’s teachings are conveyed orally. The church doesn’t publish doctrine or statements of faith. “Workers” hold that all church teachings are based solely on the Bible. Church members & “workers” will publicly declare that the church doesn’t own any buildings. However, members own rural, or semi-rural, properties dedicated to worship, housing workers, & church gatherings. Its ministers don’t own homes or take salaries.
The King James Version Bible is the only scripture used in English-language services. The Bible itself is held as insufficient for salvation unless its words are “made alive” through the preaching of church ministers. The offhand preaching of the ministry is considered to be guided by God & must be heard directly. Great weight is given to the thoughts of workers, especially more senior workers.
Salvation is achieved through willingness to uphold the church’s standards, by faithfully following in “the way,” & by personal worthiness. Doctrines such as predestination, original sin, justification by faith alone, & redemption as the sole basis of salvation are rejected. The church is exclusivist & salvation is only through the Two by Two ministry & meetings.
Other standards include modest dress, not wearing jewelry, long hair for women & short hair for me, not getting piercing, not dying hair, not getting tattoos, & avoinding activities deemed to be worldly or frivolous (like smoking, drinking alcohol, watching TV & watching movies). The church has actively condemned pre-marital relations & don’t care for LGBTQ+ persons/identities.
The church has rejected the doctrine of the Trinity since its inception. Though the members believe in the Father, Son, & Holy Spirit, the have a Unitarian view of Jesus. Jesus is God’s son, a fully human figure who came to Earth to establish a way of ministry & salvation, but not God’s Himself.
Baptism by 1 of the church’s ministers is considered a necessary step for salvation & full participation, including re-baptism of people by other churches. Candidates are approved by the local workers & are baptized by immersion. Baptisms are often scheduled for 1 morning during a Convention & are typically performed in small ponds on the property.
Members state that the church doesn’t have a formal organization. Members don’t participate in, & many are unaware of, the church’s governance. Both expenditures & funds collected remain secret from the membership & no accounting is made public. Funds are handled through stewardships, trusts, & cash transactions.
The church is controlled by a small group of senior male overseers with each having oversight of a specific geographic region. These head workers handle the 2-by-2 pairing & field assignments with the workers for that area.
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#1896 #1897 #1stCentury #2x2s #AssembliesOfChristians #Australia #BaptismByImmersion #bible #Canada #Christian #ChristianConventions #Christianity #ChristiansAnonymous #Cooneyites #Disciples #EdwardCooney #Evangelism #Evangelist #Exclusivist #faith #FaithMission #God #Ireland #Jesus #KingJamesBible #KristinaISverige #Late19thCentury #Matthew10 #NoNameChurch #OriginalSin #OrthodoxChristian #Predestination #Redemption #Salvation #Scotland #SouthernScotland #Sunday #Sweden #TheAlbertaSocietyOfChristianAssemblies #TheBlackStockings #TheLittleCommission #TheTestimonyOfJesus #Trinitarianism #TwoByTwos #UnitedConventions #UnitedKingdom #UnitedStatesOfAmerica #WilliamIrvine #WorkersFriends -
Tauya Chinama on Theodicy, Humanism, and Preserving Zimbabwe’s Cultural Heritage
Scott Douglas Jacobsen (Email: [email protected])
Publisher, In-Sight Publishing
Fort Langley, British Columbia, Canada
Received: October 19, 2025
Accepted: December 15, 2025
Published: December 15, 2025Abstract
This interview with Tauya Chinama—a Zimbabwean freethinker, educator, and human-rights advocate—traces an intellectual and moral transition from religious training toward agnosticism and, ultimately, apatheism. Chinama recounts how sustained engagement with theodicy (the attempt to reconcile an all-good, all-powerful God with pervasive suffering) undermined his prior commitments, as real-world pain and injustice outpaced the explanatory power of familiar theological defences. He critiques common responses to evil grounded in free will or determinism, arguing that each fails to preserve the traditional attributes of God while offering little ethical clarity for human responsibility. Alongside philosophical concerns, Chinama highlights the psychological and social costs of departing faith-based institutions—stigmatization, ostracism, and the demand for personal resilience. The conversation culminates in a secular moral orientation: that human beings are “on our own” in the sense that alleviating suffering and building justice are human tasks, not deferred to divine intervention.
Keywords
Agnosticism, Apatheism, Augustine of Hippo, Catholicism, Determinism, Dasein, Ethics, Free Will, Human Responsibility, Logical Analysis, Problem of Evil, Theodicy
Introduction
Tauya Chinama is a Zimbabwean freethinker, educator, and advocate for human rights and cultural preservation whose intellectual path runs through the dense intersection of philosophy, theology, and lived moral experience. Trained in religious study and once oriented toward priesthood, he gradually came to view the traditional problem of evil not as a technical puzzle for theologians, but as a sustained challenge to intellectual honesty. For Chinama, theodicy is not merely a debate about metaphysical consistency; it is a test of whether a worldview can confront the reality of disability, disease, natural disasters, and human vulnerability without dissolving into contradiction or moral deflection.
In this short exchange, Scott Douglas Jacobsen invites Chinama to articulate the central question that shaped his training and the turning points that reoriented his identity—from believer, to agnostic, to what he calls an apatheist with “a touch of cosmopolitanism.” Chinama examines standard theological responses to suffering, critiques their logical coherence, and describes the personal consequences of choosing candour over conformity inside religious institutions. The interview also gestures beyond metaphysics toward a practical ethical conclusion: if suffering persists without reliable divine remedy, then responsibility for justice and compassion rests squarely with human beings and the societies they build.
Main Text (Interview)
Title: Tauya Chinama on Theodicy, Humanism, and Preserving Zimbabwe’s Cultural Heritage
Interviewer: Scott Douglas Jacobsen
Interviewees: Tauya Chinama
Tauya Chinama is a Zimbabwean freethinker, educator, and advocate for human rights and cultural preservation. Trained in philosophy and theology, he transitioned from religious study to humanism, emphasizing intellectual honesty, dialogue, and heritage-based education. As a teacher of heritage studies, he works to integrate indigenous knowledge and languages into learning systems, arguing that language carries culture, history, and identity. Chinama is active in Zimbabwe’s humanist movement, contributing to interfaith dialogues, academic research, and public discourse on secularism, ethics, and education reform. He champions the preservation of Shona and Ndebele while critiquing systemic barriers that weaken local language education.
Scott Douglas Jacobsen: When you were doing your training, what was your main specialization? What was the core research question?
Tauya Chinama: I had several questions, but my primary focus was on theodicy: the relationship between the existence of God and the problem of evil.
That was the question that led me to think more deeply. Years ago, I preached about an omniscient, omnipotent, all-good God. But then I looked at the reality: people who are disabled, people dying in natural disasters, people dying from diseases. Why is God not ending all this suffering? Where is he? Is he enjoying it?
The key issue is theodicy. The Greek words are theos (God) and dike (justice). Is it just for God to allow these things to happen? That question pulled me further. I came to feel that I could act more justly as a human being than the God being preached, who supposedly is capable of ending poverty, disease, disability, and natural disasters, but does not. Why should I believe in him? Why should I revere him?
The realization was: we are on our own. We are responsible, and we must act to address what is happening to us. That was the key lesson that pushed me from being a believer to an agnostic, and then to what I now call an apatheist—a person indifferent to God’s existence. Today, I describe myself as an apatheist with a touch of cosmopolitanism.
Jacobsen: For theodicy, what were the standard arguments? How did theologians justify evil, suffering, and pain?
Chinama: A number of them talked about free will. Others leaned on determinism. But this did not make sense to me. If we say that human beings have free will, then it means God is not omniscient—he does not know everything that will happen before it occurs. If he knows it all, then free will does not exist.
On the other hand, if determinism is true, then we are simply victims of a plan. We cannot resist; we can only follow the flow. We are what Martin Heidegger might call Dasein—a being-toward-death. We are thrown into existence, moving toward death, with limited choice. That line of argument, whether from free will or determinism, did not make sense to me.
It could not resolve the harm and suffering I saw in the world. The defences of theologians like St. Augustine of Hippo also did not persuade me. Augustine introduced the doctrine of original sin and linked sexuality to sin, claiming virginity was a higher state. But none of this made sense to me. He had emerged from Manichaean philosophy, which emphasized dualism—light and darkness, good and evil as opposing forces. His framework seemed more like a leftover from dualism than a convincing defence of Christian doctrine.
Jacobsen: Was it the weakness of the theological arguments for God in the face of evil that made you drift away? Or was it the strength of non-religious arguments that convinced you to adopt a non-religious way of looking at life?
Chinama: It was both. When you look at the theological arguments and test them through logic—a branch of philosophy about correct reasoning—you quickly see the conclusions do not follow from the premises. That leaves you confused.
So I moved from being a believer to an agnostic, saying, “Perhaps I am wrong, perhaps I am right.” Over time, you sober up. Sometimes you even become militant, but then you realize militancy does not work. You calm down, or you risk messing things up.
I remember when I was training to be a priest. I confided in a particular Indian priest—I will not give his name—that I was slowly losing my faith. He told me something shocking: that many high-ranking figures in the Catholic Church, including bishops and cardinals, do not actually believe the doctrines they defend.
I was surprised. Here were people defending the Church’s teachings every day, yet privately admitting they did not believe them. He even told me he had gone through the same phase and had never fully recovered his faith. His advice was: “Do not fight it. Just go with the flow.”
But I felt I was too honest to live that way. I could not simply go along with something I did not believe.
Jacobsen: In the end, was your decision to leave a faith-based position and move to a non-religious position more an intellectual exercise, or more about changing how you felt? Or was it a little of both?
Chinama: It was both. Several factors led me to change. It was an intellectual practice, but also an emotional realization that what I thought religion was turned out not to be. The whole motivation collapsed, and I was left with no choice but to withdraw.
I do not regret it, but it was a hard decision. There is stigmatization, ostracism, and other consequences that come with choosing such a path. It is serious—you need to be mentally strong. For me, it was primarily intellectual, but I also required mental resilience to overcome it.
Jacobsen: Thank you for your time today, Tauya.
Discussion
Chinama’s account frames apostasy (or, more precisely, disengagement) less as rebellion than as an evidence-driven recalibration: when the promises of an omniscient, omnipotent, all-good deity collide with a world saturated in undeserved suffering, the explanatory burden becomes acute. The interview’s philosophical centre is his dissatisfaction with the standard repertoire of theodicies—especially those that appeal to free will or determinism. In his reading, free-will defences struggle to preserve divine foreknowledge without hollowing out freedom, while deterministic accounts risk portraying human beings as trapped in a plan that renders moral protest performative. The result is not merely a theoretical impasse; it is a moral one, because the justifications appear unable to honour the gravity of suffering they seek to explain.
A second theme is integrity under institutional pressure. Chinama’s recollection of confiding in a priest—who suggested that some senior Church figures privately disbelieve doctrines they publicly defend—introduces a sociological dimension: religious systems can incentivize outward loyalty even when inward conviction erodes. Chinama presents his exit as a refusal to inhabit that split. This casts “deconversion” not only as an intellectual event but as an ethical stance against performative belief, sustained by psychological resilience in the face of stigma and ostracism.
Finally, the conversation resolves toward a secular ethic of responsibility. Chinama’s apatheism is not portrayed as cynicism; it is a posture of indifference toward unverifiable divine claims paired with heightened concern for human action. The implicit thesis is that moral seriousness survives the collapse of theological certainty—and may even sharpen under it—because the work of reducing suffering cannot be outsourced to providence. In that sense, the interview is less about losing faith than about relocating duty: from the heavens, back to the hands of human beings.
Methods
The interview was conducted via typed questions—with explicit consent—for review, and curation. This process complied with applicable data protection laws, including the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), Canada’s Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA), and Europe’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), i.e., recordings if any were stored securely, retained only as needed, and deleted upon request, as well in accordance with Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Advertising Standards Canada guidelines.
Data Availability
No datasets were generated or analyzed during the current article. All interview content remains the intellectual property of the interviewer and interviewee.
References
(No external academic sources were cited for this interview.)
Journal & Article Details
Publisher: In-Sight Publishing
Publisher Founding: March 1, 2014
Web Domain: http://www.in-sightpublishing.com
Location: Fort Langley, Township of Langley, British Columbia, Canada
Journal: In-Sight: Interviews
Journal Founding: August 2, 2012
Frequency: Four Times Per Year
Review Status: Non-Peer-Reviewed
Access: Electronic/Digital & Open Access
Fees: None (Free)
Volume Numbering: 13
Issue Numbering: 4
Section: A
Theme Type: Idea
Theme Premise: Humanism
Theme Part: None.
Formal Sub-Theme: None.
Individual Publication Date: December 15, 2025
Issue Publication Date: January 1, 2026
Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen
Word Count: 944
Image Credits: Photo by Damian Patkowski on Unsplash
ISSN (International Standard Serial Number): 2369-6885
Acknowledgements
The author acknowledges Tauya Chinama for his time, expertise, and valuable contributions. His thoughtful insights and detailed explanations have greatly enhanced the quality and depth of this work, providing a solid foundation for the discussion presented herein.
Author Contributions
S.D.J. conceived the subject matter, conducted the interview, transcribed and edited the conversation, and prepared the manuscript.
Competing Interests
The author declares no competing interests.
License & Copyright
In-Sight Publishing by Scott Douglas Jacobsen is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
© Scott Douglas Jacobsen and In-Sight Publishing 2012–Present.Unauthorized use or duplication of material without express permission from Scott Douglas Jacobsen is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links must use full credit to Scott Douglas Jacobsen and In-Sight Publishing with direction to the original content.
Supplementary Information
Below are various citation formats for Tauya Chinama on Theodicy, Humanism, and Preserving Zimbabwe’s Cultural Heritage (Scott Douglas Jacobsen, December 15, 2025).
American Medical Association (AMA 11th Edition)
Jacobsen SD. Tauya Chinama on Theodicy, Humanism, and Preserving Zimbabwe’s Cultural Heritage. In-Sight: Interviews. 2025;13(4). Published December 15, 2025. http://www.in-sightpublishing.com/tauya-chinama-theodicy-humanism-preserving-zimbabwe-cultural-heritage
American Psychological Association (APA 7th Edition)
Jacobsen, S. D. (2025, December 15). Tauya Chinama on Theodicy, Humanism, and Preserving Zimbabwe’s Cultural Heritage. In-Sight: Interviews, 13(4). In-Sight Publishing. http://www.in-sightpublishing.com/tauya-chinama-theodicy-humanism-preserving-zimbabwe-cultural-heritage
Brazilian National Standards (ABNT)
JACOBSEN, Scott Douglas. Tauya Chinama on Theodicy, Humanism, and Preserving Zimbabwe’s Cultural Heritage. In-Sight: Interviews, Fort Langley, v. 13, n. 4, 15 dez. 2025. Disponível em: http://www.in-sightpublishing.com/tauya-chinama-theodicy-humanism-preserving-zimbabwe-cultural-heritage
Chicago/Turabian, Author-Date (17th Edition)
Jacobsen, Scott Douglas. 2025. “Tauya Chinama on Theodicy, Humanism, and Preserving Zimbabwe’s Cultural Heritage.” In-Sight: Interviews 13 (4). http://www.in-sightpublishing.com/tauya-chinama-theodicy-humanism-preserving-zimbabwe-cultural-heritage.
Chicago/Turabian, Notes & Bibliography (17th Edition)
Jacobsen, Scott Douglas. “Tauya Chinama on Theodicy, Humanism, and Preserving Zimbabwe’s Cultural Heritage.” In-Sight: Interviews 13, no. 4 (December 15, 2025). http://www.in-sightpublishing.com/tauya-chinama-theodicy-humanism-preserving-zimbabwe-cultural-heritage.
Harvard
Jacobsen, S.D. (2025) ‘Tauya Chinama on Theodicy, Humanism, and Preserving Zimbabwe’s Cultural Heritage’, In-Sight: Interviews, 13(4), 15 December. Available at: http://www.in-sightpublishing.com/tauya-chinama-theodicy-humanism-preserving-zimbabwe-cultural-heritage.
Harvard (Australian)
Jacobsen, SD 2025, ‘Tauya Chinama on Theodicy, Humanism, and Preserving Zimbabwe’s Cultural Heritage’, In-Sight: Interviews, vol. 13, no. 4, 15 December, viewed 15 December 2025, http://www.in-sightpublishing.com/tauya-chinama-theodicy-humanism-preserving-zimbabwe-cultural-heritage.
Modern Language Association (MLA, 9th Edition)
Jacobsen, Scott Douglas. “Tauya Chinama on Theodicy, Humanism, and Preserving Zimbabwe’s Cultural Heritage.” In-Sight: Interviews, vol. 13, no. 4, 2025, http://www.in-sightpublishing.com/tauya-chinama-theodicy-humanism-preserving-zimbabwe-cultural-heritage.
Vancouver/ICMJE
Jacobsen SD. Tauya Chinama on Theodicy, Humanism, and Preserving Zimbabwe’s Cultural Heritage [Internet]. 2025 Dec 15;13(4). Available from: http://www.in-sightpublishing.com/tauya-chinama-theodicy-humanism-preserving-zimbabwe-cultural-heritage
Note on Formatting
This document follows an adapted Nature research-article format tailored for an interview. Traditional sections such as Methods, Results, and Discussion are replaced with clearly defined parts: Abstract, Keywords, Introduction, Main Text (Interview), and a concluding Discussion, along with supplementary sections detailing Data Availability, References, and Author Contributions. This structure maintains scholarly rigor while effectively accommodating narrative content.
#agnosticism #Apatheism #AugustineOfHippo #Catholicism #Dasein #determinism #ethics #freeWill #HumanResponsibility #LogicalAnalysis #problemOfEvil #theodicy
-
Tauya Chinama on Theodicy, Humanism, and Preserving Zimbabwe’s Cultural Heritage
Scott Douglas Jacobsen (Email: [email protected])
Publisher, In-Sight Publishing
Fort Langley, British Columbia, Canada
Received: October 19, 2025
Accepted: December 15, 2025
Published: December 15, 2025Abstract
This interview with Tauya Chinama—a Zimbabwean freethinker, educator, and human-rights advocate—traces an intellectual and moral transition from religious training toward agnosticism and, ultimately, apatheism. Chinama recounts how sustained engagement with theodicy (the attempt to reconcile an all-good, all-powerful God with pervasive suffering) undermined his prior commitments, as real-world pain and injustice outpaced the explanatory power of familiar theological defences. He critiques common responses to evil grounded in free will or determinism, arguing that each fails to preserve the traditional attributes of God while offering little ethical clarity for human responsibility. Alongside philosophical concerns, Chinama highlights the psychological and social costs of departing faith-based institutions—stigmatization, ostracism, and the demand for personal resilience. The conversation culminates in a secular moral orientation: that human beings are “on our own” in the sense that alleviating suffering and building justice are human tasks, not deferred to divine intervention.
Keywords
Agnosticism, Apatheism, Augustine of Hippo, Catholicism, Determinism, Dasein, Ethics, Free Will, Human Responsibility, Logical Analysis, Problem of Evil, Theodicy
Introduction
Tauya Chinama is a Zimbabwean freethinker, educator, and advocate for human rights and cultural preservation whose intellectual path runs through the dense intersection of philosophy, theology, and lived moral experience. Trained in religious study and once oriented toward priesthood, he gradually came to view the traditional problem of evil not as a technical puzzle for theologians, but as a sustained challenge to intellectual honesty. For Chinama, theodicy is not merely a debate about metaphysical consistency; it is a test of whether a worldview can confront the reality of disability, disease, natural disasters, and human vulnerability without dissolving into contradiction or moral deflection.
In this short exchange, Scott Douglas Jacobsen invites Chinama to articulate the central question that shaped his training and the turning points that reoriented his identity—from believer, to agnostic, to what he calls an apatheist with “a touch of cosmopolitanism.” Chinama examines standard theological responses to suffering, critiques their logical coherence, and describes the personal consequences of choosing candour over conformity inside religious institutions. The interview also gestures beyond metaphysics toward a practical ethical conclusion: if suffering persists without reliable divine remedy, then responsibility for justice and compassion rests squarely with human beings and the societies they build.
Main Text (Interview)
Title: Tauya Chinama on Theodicy, Humanism, and Preserving Zimbabwe’s Cultural Heritage
Interviewer: Scott Douglas Jacobsen
Interviewees: Tauya Chinama
Tauya Chinama is a Zimbabwean freethinker, educator, and advocate for human rights and cultural preservation. Trained in philosophy and theology, he transitioned from religious study to humanism, emphasizing intellectual honesty, dialogue, and heritage-based education. As a teacher of heritage studies, he works to integrate indigenous knowledge and languages into learning systems, arguing that language carries culture, history, and identity. Chinama is active in Zimbabwe’s humanist movement, contributing to interfaith dialogues, academic research, and public discourse on secularism, ethics, and education reform. He champions the preservation of Shona and Ndebele while critiquing systemic barriers that weaken local language education.
Scott Douglas Jacobsen: When you were doing your training, what was your main specialization? What was the core research question?
Tauya Chinama: I had several questions, but my primary focus was on theodicy: the relationship between the existence of God and the problem of evil.
That was the question that led me to think more deeply. Years ago, I preached about an omniscient, omnipotent, all-good God. But then I looked at the reality: people who are disabled, people dying in natural disasters, people dying from diseases. Why is God not ending all this suffering? Where is he? Is he enjoying it?
The key issue is theodicy. The Greek words are theos (God) and dike (justice). Is it just for God to allow these things to happen? That question pulled me further. I came to feel that I could act more justly as a human being than the God being preached, who supposedly is capable of ending poverty, disease, disability, and natural disasters, but does not. Why should I believe in him? Why should I revere him?
The realization was: we are on our own. We are responsible, and we must act to address what is happening to us. That was the key lesson that pushed me from being a believer to an agnostic, and then to what I now call an apatheist—a person indifferent to God’s existence. Today, I describe myself as an apatheist with a touch of cosmopolitanism.
Jacobsen: For theodicy, what were the standard arguments? How did theologians justify evil, suffering, and pain?
Chinama: A number of them talked about free will. Others leaned on determinism. But this did not make sense to me. If we say that human beings have free will, then it means God is not omniscient—he does not know everything that will happen before it occurs. If he knows it all, then free will does not exist.
On the other hand, if determinism is true, then we are simply victims of a plan. We cannot resist; we can only follow the flow. We are what Martin Heidegger might call Dasein—a being-toward-death. We are thrown into existence, moving toward death, with limited choice. That line of argument, whether from free will or determinism, did not make sense to me.
It could not resolve the harm and suffering I saw in the world. The defences of theologians like St. Augustine of Hippo also did not persuade me. Augustine introduced the doctrine of original sin and linked sexuality to sin, claiming virginity was a higher state. But none of this made sense to me. He had emerged from Manichaean philosophy, which emphasized dualism—light and darkness, good and evil as opposing forces. His framework seemed more like a leftover from dualism than a convincing defence of Christian doctrine.
Jacobsen: Was it the weakness of the theological arguments for God in the face of evil that made you drift away? Or was it the strength of non-religious arguments that convinced you to adopt a non-religious way of looking at life?
Chinama: It was both. When you look at the theological arguments and test them through logic—a branch of philosophy about correct reasoning—you quickly see the conclusions do not follow from the premises. That leaves you confused.
So I moved from being a believer to an agnostic, saying, “Perhaps I am wrong, perhaps I am right.” Over time, you sober up. Sometimes you even become militant, but then you realize militancy does not work. You calm down, or you risk messing things up.
I remember when I was training to be a priest. I confided in a particular Indian priest—I will not give his name—that I was slowly losing my faith. He told me something shocking: that many high-ranking figures in the Catholic Church, including bishops and cardinals, do not actually believe the doctrines they defend.
I was surprised. Here were people defending the Church’s teachings every day, yet privately admitting they did not believe them. He even told me he had gone through the same phase and had never fully recovered his faith. His advice was: “Do not fight it. Just go with the flow.”
But I felt I was too honest to live that way. I could not simply go along with something I did not believe.
Jacobsen: In the end, was your decision to leave a faith-based position and move to a non-religious position more an intellectual exercise, or more about changing how you felt? Or was it a little of both?
Chinama: It was both. Several factors led me to change. It was an intellectual practice, but also an emotional realization that what I thought religion was turned out not to be. The whole motivation collapsed, and I was left with no choice but to withdraw.
I do not regret it, but it was a hard decision. There is stigmatization, ostracism, and other consequences that come with choosing such a path. It is serious—you need to be mentally strong. For me, it was primarily intellectual, but I also required mental resilience to overcome it.
Jacobsen: Thank you for your time today, Tauya.
Discussion
Chinama’s account frames apostasy (or, more precisely, disengagement) less as rebellion than as an evidence-driven recalibration: when the promises of an omniscient, omnipotent, all-good deity collide with a world saturated in undeserved suffering, the explanatory burden becomes acute. The interview’s philosophical centre is his dissatisfaction with the standard repertoire of theodicies—especially those that appeal to free will or determinism. In his reading, free-will defences struggle to preserve divine foreknowledge without hollowing out freedom, while deterministic accounts risk portraying human beings as trapped in a plan that renders moral protest performative. The result is not merely a theoretical impasse; it is a moral one, because the justifications appear unable to honour the gravity of suffering they seek to explain.
A second theme is integrity under institutional pressure. Chinama’s recollection of confiding in a priest—who suggested that some senior Church figures privately disbelieve doctrines they publicly defend—introduces a sociological dimension: religious systems can incentivize outward loyalty even when inward conviction erodes. Chinama presents his exit as a refusal to inhabit that split. This casts “deconversion” not only as an intellectual event but as an ethical stance against performative belief, sustained by psychological resilience in the face of stigma and ostracism.
Finally, the conversation resolves toward a secular ethic of responsibility. Chinama’s apatheism is not portrayed as cynicism; it is a posture of indifference toward unverifiable divine claims paired with heightened concern for human action. The implicit thesis is that moral seriousness survives the collapse of theological certainty—and may even sharpen under it—because the work of reducing suffering cannot be outsourced to providence. In that sense, the interview is less about losing faith than about relocating duty: from the heavens, back to the hands of human beings.
Methods
The interview was conducted via typed questions—with explicit consent—for review, and curation. This process complied with applicable data protection laws, including the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), Canada’s Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA), and Europe’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), i.e., recordings if any were stored securely, retained only as needed, and deleted upon request, as well in accordance with Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Advertising Standards Canada guidelines.
Data Availability
No datasets were generated or analyzed during the current article. All interview content remains the intellectual property of the interviewer and interviewee.
References
(No external academic sources were cited for this interview.)
Journal & Article Details
Publisher: In-Sight Publishing
Publisher Founding: March 1, 2014
Web Domain: http://www.in-sightpublishing.com
Location: Fort Langley, Township of Langley, British Columbia, Canada
Journal: In-Sight: Interviews
Journal Founding: August 2, 2012
Frequency: Four Times Per Year
Review Status: Non-Peer-Reviewed
Access: Electronic/Digital & Open Access
Fees: None (Free)
Volume Numbering: 13
Issue Numbering: 4
Section: A
Theme Type: Idea
Theme Premise: Humanism
Theme Part: None.
Formal Sub-Theme: None.
Individual Publication Date: December 15, 2025
Issue Publication Date: January 1, 2026
Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen
Word Count: 944
Image Credits: Photo by Damian Patkowski on Unsplash
ISSN (International Standard Serial Number): 2369-6885
Acknowledgements
The author acknowledges Tauya Chinama for his time, expertise, and valuable contributions. His thoughtful insights and detailed explanations have greatly enhanced the quality and depth of this work, providing a solid foundation for the discussion presented herein.
Author Contributions
S.D.J. conceived the subject matter, conducted the interview, transcribed and edited the conversation, and prepared the manuscript.
Competing Interests
The author declares no competing interests.
License & Copyright
In-Sight Publishing by Scott Douglas Jacobsen is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
© Scott Douglas Jacobsen and In-Sight Publishing 2012–Present.Unauthorized use or duplication of material without express permission from Scott Douglas Jacobsen is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links must use full credit to Scott Douglas Jacobsen and In-Sight Publishing with direction to the original content.
Supplementary Information
Below are various citation formats for Tauya Chinama on Theodicy, Humanism, and Preserving Zimbabwe’s Cultural Heritage (Scott Douglas Jacobsen, December 15, 2025).
American Medical Association (AMA 11th Edition)
Jacobsen SD. Tauya Chinama on Theodicy, Humanism, and Preserving Zimbabwe’s Cultural Heritage. In-Sight: Interviews. 2025;13(4). Published December 15, 2025. http://www.in-sightpublishing.com/tauya-chinama-theodicy-humanism-preserving-zimbabwe-cultural-heritage
American Psychological Association (APA 7th Edition)
Jacobsen, S. D. (2025, December 15). Tauya Chinama on Theodicy, Humanism, and Preserving Zimbabwe’s Cultural Heritage. In-Sight: Interviews, 13(4). In-Sight Publishing. http://www.in-sightpublishing.com/tauya-chinama-theodicy-humanism-preserving-zimbabwe-cultural-heritage
Brazilian National Standards (ABNT)
JACOBSEN, Scott Douglas. Tauya Chinama on Theodicy, Humanism, and Preserving Zimbabwe’s Cultural Heritage. In-Sight: Interviews, Fort Langley, v. 13, n. 4, 15 dez. 2025. Disponível em: http://www.in-sightpublishing.com/tauya-chinama-theodicy-humanism-preserving-zimbabwe-cultural-heritage
Chicago/Turabian, Author-Date (17th Edition)
Jacobsen, Scott Douglas. 2025. “Tauya Chinama on Theodicy, Humanism, and Preserving Zimbabwe’s Cultural Heritage.” In-Sight: Interviews 13 (4). http://www.in-sightpublishing.com/tauya-chinama-theodicy-humanism-preserving-zimbabwe-cultural-heritage.
Chicago/Turabian, Notes & Bibliography (17th Edition)
Jacobsen, Scott Douglas. “Tauya Chinama on Theodicy, Humanism, and Preserving Zimbabwe’s Cultural Heritage.” In-Sight: Interviews 13, no. 4 (December 15, 2025). http://www.in-sightpublishing.com/tauya-chinama-theodicy-humanism-preserving-zimbabwe-cultural-heritage.
Harvard
Jacobsen, S.D. (2025) ‘Tauya Chinama on Theodicy, Humanism, and Preserving Zimbabwe’s Cultural Heritage’, In-Sight: Interviews, 13(4), 15 December. Available at: http://www.in-sightpublishing.com/tauya-chinama-theodicy-humanism-preserving-zimbabwe-cultural-heritage.
Harvard (Australian)
Jacobsen, SD 2025, ‘Tauya Chinama on Theodicy, Humanism, and Preserving Zimbabwe’s Cultural Heritage’, In-Sight: Interviews, vol. 13, no. 4, 15 December, viewed 15 December 2025, http://www.in-sightpublishing.com/tauya-chinama-theodicy-humanism-preserving-zimbabwe-cultural-heritage.
Modern Language Association (MLA, 9th Edition)
Jacobsen, Scott Douglas. “Tauya Chinama on Theodicy, Humanism, and Preserving Zimbabwe’s Cultural Heritage.” In-Sight: Interviews, vol. 13, no. 4, 2025, http://www.in-sightpublishing.com/tauya-chinama-theodicy-humanism-preserving-zimbabwe-cultural-heritage.
Vancouver/ICMJE
Jacobsen SD. Tauya Chinama on Theodicy, Humanism, and Preserving Zimbabwe’s Cultural Heritage [Internet]. 2025 Dec 15;13(4). Available from: http://www.in-sightpublishing.com/tauya-chinama-theodicy-humanism-preserving-zimbabwe-cultural-heritage
Note on Formatting
This document follows an adapted Nature research-article format tailored for an interview. Traditional sections such as Methods, Results, and Discussion are replaced with clearly defined parts: Abstract, Keywords, Introduction, Main Text (Interview), and a concluding Discussion, along with supplementary sections detailing Data Availability, References, and Author Contributions. This structure maintains scholarly rigor while effectively accommodating narrative content.
#agnosticism #Apatheism #AugustineOfHippo #Catholicism #Dasein #determinism #ethics #freeWill #HumanResponsibility #LogicalAnalysis #problemOfEvil #theodicy
-
Tauya Chinama on Theodicy, Humanism, and Preserving Zimbabwe’s Cultural Heritage
Scott Douglas Jacobsen (Email: [email protected])
Publisher, In-Sight Publishing
Fort Langley, British Columbia, Canada
Received: October 19, 2025
Accepted: December 15, 2025
Published: December 15, 2025Abstract
This interview with Tauya Chinama—a Zimbabwean freethinker, educator, and human-rights advocate—traces an intellectual and moral transition from religious training toward agnosticism and, ultimately, apatheism. Chinama recounts how sustained engagement with theodicy (the attempt to reconcile an all-good, all-powerful God with pervasive suffering) undermined his prior commitments, as real-world pain and injustice outpaced the explanatory power of familiar theological defences. He critiques common responses to evil grounded in free will or determinism, arguing that each fails to preserve the traditional attributes of God while offering little ethical clarity for human responsibility. Alongside philosophical concerns, Chinama highlights the psychological and social costs of departing faith-based institutions—stigmatization, ostracism, and the demand for personal resilience. The conversation culminates in a secular moral orientation: that human beings are “on our own” in the sense that alleviating suffering and building justice are human tasks, not deferred to divine intervention.
Keywords
Agnosticism, Apatheism, Augustine of Hippo, Catholicism, Determinism, Dasein, Ethics, Free Will, Human Responsibility, Logical Analysis, Problem of Evil, Theodicy
Introduction
Tauya Chinama is a Zimbabwean freethinker, educator, and advocate for human rights and cultural preservation whose intellectual path runs through the dense intersection of philosophy, theology, and lived moral experience. Trained in religious study and once oriented toward priesthood, he gradually came to view the traditional problem of evil not as a technical puzzle for theologians, but as a sustained challenge to intellectual honesty. For Chinama, theodicy is not merely a debate about metaphysical consistency; it is a test of whether a worldview can confront the reality of disability, disease, natural disasters, and human vulnerability without dissolving into contradiction or moral deflection.
In this short exchange, Scott Douglas Jacobsen invites Chinama to articulate the central question that shaped his training and the turning points that reoriented his identity—from believer, to agnostic, to what he calls an apatheist with “a touch of cosmopolitanism.” Chinama examines standard theological responses to suffering, critiques their logical coherence, and describes the personal consequences of choosing candour over conformity inside religious institutions. The interview also gestures beyond metaphysics toward a practical ethical conclusion: if suffering persists without reliable divine remedy, then responsibility for justice and compassion rests squarely with human beings and the societies they build.
Main Text (Interview)
Title: Tauya Chinama on Theodicy, Humanism, and Preserving Zimbabwe’s Cultural Heritage
Interviewer: Scott Douglas Jacobsen
Interviewees: Tauya Chinama
Tauya Chinama is a Zimbabwean freethinker, educator, and advocate for human rights and cultural preservation. Trained in philosophy and theology, he transitioned from religious study to humanism, emphasizing intellectual honesty, dialogue, and heritage-based education. As a teacher of heritage studies, he works to integrate indigenous knowledge and languages into learning systems, arguing that language carries culture, history, and identity. Chinama is active in Zimbabwe’s humanist movement, contributing to interfaith dialogues, academic research, and public discourse on secularism, ethics, and education reform. He champions the preservation of Shona and Ndebele while critiquing systemic barriers that weaken local language education.
Scott Douglas Jacobsen: When you were doing your training, what was your main specialization? What was the core research question?
Tauya Chinama: I had several questions, but my primary focus was on theodicy: the relationship between the existence of God and the problem of evil.
That was the question that led me to think more deeply. Years ago, I preached about an omniscient, omnipotent, all-good God. But then I looked at the reality: people who are disabled, people dying in natural disasters, people dying from diseases. Why is God not ending all this suffering? Where is he? Is he enjoying it?
The key issue is theodicy. The Greek words are theos (God) and dike (justice). Is it just for God to allow these things to happen? That question pulled me further. I came to feel that I could act more justly as a human being than the God being preached, who supposedly is capable of ending poverty, disease, disability, and natural disasters, but does not. Why should I believe in him? Why should I revere him?
The realization was: we are on our own. We are responsible, and we must act to address what is happening to us. That was the key lesson that pushed me from being a believer to an agnostic, and then to what I now call an apatheist—a person indifferent to God’s existence. Today, I describe myself as an apatheist with a touch of cosmopolitanism.
Jacobsen: For theodicy, what were the standard arguments? How did theologians justify evil, suffering, and pain?
Chinama: A number of them talked about free will. Others leaned on determinism. But this did not make sense to me. If we say that human beings have free will, then it means God is not omniscient—he does not know everything that will happen before it occurs. If he knows it all, then free will does not exist.
On the other hand, if determinism is true, then we are simply victims of a plan. We cannot resist; we can only follow the flow. We are what Martin Heidegger might call Dasein—a being-toward-death. We are thrown into existence, moving toward death, with limited choice. That line of argument, whether from free will or determinism, did not make sense to me.
It could not resolve the harm and suffering I saw in the world. The defences of theologians like St. Augustine of Hippo also did not persuade me. Augustine introduced the doctrine of original sin and linked sexuality to sin, claiming virginity was a higher state. But none of this made sense to me. He had emerged from Manichaean philosophy, which emphasized dualism—light and darkness, good and evil as opposing forces. His framework seemed more like a leftover from dualism than a convincing defence of Christian doctrine.
Jacobsen: Was it the weakness of the theological arguments for God in the face of evil that made you drift away? Or was it the strength of non-religious arguments that convinced you to adopt a non-religious way of looking at life?
Chinama: It was both. When you look at the theological arguments and test them through logic—a branch of philosophy about correct reasoning—you quickly see the conclusions do not follow from the premises. That leaves you confused.
So I moved from being a believer to an agnostic, saying, “Perhaps I am wrong, perhaps I am right.” Over time, you sober up. Sometimes you even become militant, but then you realize militancy does not work. You calm down, or you risk messing things up.
I remember when I was training to be a priest. I confided in a particular Indian priest—I will not give his name—that I was slowly losing my faith. He told me something shocking: that many high-ranking figures in the Catholic Church, including bishops and cardinals, do not actually believe the doctrines they defend.
I was surprised. Here were people defending the Church’s teachings every day, yet privately admitting they did not believe them. He even told me he had gone through the same phase and had never fully recovered his faith. His advice was: “Do not fight it. Just go with the flow.”
But I felt I was too honest to live that way. I could not simply go along with something I did not believe.
Jacobsen: In the end, was your decision to leave a faith-based position and move to a non-religious position more an intellectual exercise, or more about changing how you felt? Or was it a little of both?
Chinama: It was both. Several factors led me to change. It was an intellectual practice, but also an emotional realization that what I thought religion was turned out not to be. The whole motivation collapsed, and I was left with no choice but to withdraw.
I do not regret it, but it was a hard decision. There is stigmatization, ostracism, and other consequences that come with choosing such a path. It is serious—you need to be mentally strong. For me, it was primarily intellectual, but I also required mental resilience to overcome it.
Jacobsen: Thank you for your time today, Tauya.
Discussion
Chinama’s account frames apostasy (or, more precisely, disengagement) less as rebellion than as an evidence-driven recalibration: when the promises of an omniscient, omnipotent, all-good deity collide with a world saturated in undeserved suffering, the explanatory burden becomes acute. The interview’s philosophical centre is his dissatisfaction with the standard repertoire of theodicies—especially those that appeal to free will or determinism. In his reading, free-will defences struggle to preserve divine foreknowledge without hollowing out freedom, while deterministic accounts risk portraying human beings as trapped in a plan that renders moral protest performative. The result is not merely a theoretical impasse; it is a moral one, because the justifications appear unable to honour the gravity of suffering they seek to explain.
A second theme is integrity under institutional pressure. Chinama’s recollection of confiding in a priest—who suggested that some senior Church figures privately disbelieve doctrines they publicly defend—introduces a sociological dimension: religious systems can incentivize outward loyalty even when inward conviction erodes. Chinama presents his exit as a refusal to inhabit that split. This casts “deconversion” not only as an intellectual event but as an ethical stance against performative belief, sustained by psychological resilience in the face of stigma and ostracism.
Finally, the conversation resolves toward a secular ethic of responsibility. Chinama’s apatheism is not portrayed as cynicism; it is a posture of indifference toward unverifiable divine claims paired with heightened concern for human action. The implicit thesis is that moral seriousness survives the collapse of theological certainty—and may even sharpen under it—because the work of reducing suffering cannot be outsourced to providence. In that sense, the interview is less about losing faith than about relocating duty: from the heavens, back to the hands of human beings.
Methods
The interview was conducted via typed questions—with explicit consent—for review, and curation. This process complied with applicable data protection laws, including the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), Canada’s Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA), and Europe’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), i.e., recordings if any were stored securely, retained only as needed, and deleted upon request, as well in accordance with Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Advertising Standards Canada guidelines.
Data Availability
No datasets were generated or analyzed during the current article. All interview content remains the intellectual property of the interviewer and interviewee.
References
(No external academic sources were cited for this interview.)
Journal & Article Details
Publisher: In-Sight Publishing
Publisher Founding: March 1, 2014
Web Domain: http://www.in-sightpublishing.com
Location: Fort Langley, Township of Langley, British Columbia, Canada
Journal: In-Sight: Interviews
Journal Founding: August 2, 2012
Frequency: Four Times Per Year
Review Status: Non-Peer-Reviewed
Access: Electronic/Digital & Open Access
Fees: None (Free)
Volume Numbering: 13
Issue Numbering: 4
Section: A
Theme Type: Idea
Theme Premise: Humanism
Theme Part: None.
Formal Sub-Theme: None.
Individual Publication Date: December 15, 2025
Issue Publication Date: January 1, 2026
Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen
Word Count: 944
Image Credits: Photo by Damian Patkowski on Unsplash
ISSN (International Standard Serial Number): 2369-6885
Acknowledgements
The author acknowledges Tauya Chinama for his time, expertise, and valuable contributions. His thoughtful insights and detailed explanations have greatly enhanced the quality and depth of this work, providing a solid foundation for the discussion presented herein.
Author Contributions
S.D.J. conceived the subject matter, conducted the interview, transcribed and edited the conversation, and prepared the manuscript.
Competing Interests
The author declares no competing interests.
License & Copyright
In-Sight Publishing by Scott Douglas Jacobsen is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
© Scott Douglas Jacobsen and In-Sight Publishing 2012–Present.Unauthorized use or duplication of material without express permission from Scott Douglas Jacobsen is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links must use full credit to Scott Douglas Jacobsen and In-Sight Publishing with direction to the original content.
Supplementary Information
Below are various citation formats for Tauya Chinama on Theodicy, Humanism, and Preserving Zimbabwe’s Cultural Heritage (Scott Douglas Jacobsen, December 15, 2025).
American Medical Association (AMA 11th Edition)
Jacobsen SD. Tauya Chinama on Theodicy, Humanism, and Preserving Zimbabwe’s Cultural Heritage. In-Sight: Interviews. 2025;13(4). Published December 15, 2025. http://www.in-sightpublishing.com/tauya-chinama-theodicy-humanism-preserving-zimbabwe-cultural-heritage
American Psychological Association (APA 7th Edition)
Jacobsen, S. D. (2025, December 15). Tauya Chinama on Theodicy, Humanism, and Preserving Zimbabwe’s Cultural Heritage. In-Sight: Interviews, 13(4). In-Sight Publishing. http://www.in-sightpublishing.com/tauya-chinama-theodicy-humanism-preserving-zimbabwe-cultural-heritage
Brazilian National Standards (ABNT)
JACOBSEN, Scott Douglas. Tauya Chinama on Theodicy, Humanism, and Preserving Zimbabwe’s Cultural Heritage. In-Sight: Interviews, Fort Langley, v. 13, n. 4, 15 dez. 2025. Disponível em: http://www.in-sightpublishing.com/tauya-chinama-theodicy-humanism-preserving-zimbabwe-cultural-heritage
Chicago/Turabian, Author-Date (17th Edition)
Jacobsen, Scott Douglas. 2025. “Tauya Chinama on Theodicy, Humanism, and Preserving Zimbabwe’s Cultural Heritage.” In-Sight: Interviews 13 (4). http://www.in-sightpublishing.com/tauya-chinama-theodicy-humanism-preserving-zimbabwe-cultural-heritage.
Chicago/Turabian, Notes & Bibliography (17th Edition)
Jacobsen, Scott Douglas. “Tauya Chinama on Theodicy, Humanism, and Preserving Zimbabwe’s Cultural Heritage.” In-Sight: Interviews 13, no. 4 (December 15, 2025). http://www.in-sightpublishing.com/tauya-chinama-theodicy-humanism-preserving-zimbabwe-cultural-heritage.
Harvard
Jacobsen, S.D. (2025) ‘Tauya Chinama on Theodicy, Humanism, and Preserving Zimbabwe’s Cultural Heritage’, In-Sight: Interviews, 13(4), 15 December. Available at: http://www.in-sightpublishing.com/tauya-chinama-theodicy-humanism-preserving-zimbabwe-cultural-heritage.
Harvard (Australian)
Jacobsen, SD 2025, ‘Tauya Chinama on Theodicy, Humanism, and Preserving Zimbabwe’s Cultural Heritage’, In-Sight: Interviews, vol. 13, no. 4, 15 December, viewed 15 December 2025, http://www.in-sightpublishing.com/tauya-chinama-theodicy-humanism-preserving-zimbabwe-cultural-heritage.
Modern Language Association (MLA, 9th Edition)
Jacobsen, Scott Douglas. “Tauya Chinama on Theodicy, Humanism, and Preserving Zimbabwe’s Cultural Heritage.” In-Sight: Interviews, vol. 13, no. 4, 2025, http://www.in-sightpublishing.com/tauya-chinama-theodicy-humanism-preserving-zimbabwe-cultural-heritage.
Vancouver/ICMJE
Jacobsen SD. Tauya Chinama on Theodicy, Humanism, and Preserving Zimbabwe’s Cultural Heritage [Internet]. 2025 Dec 15;13(4). Available from: http://www.in-sightpublishing.com/tauya-chinama-theodicy-humanism-preserving-zimbabwe-cultural-heritage
Note on Formatting
This document follows an adapted Nature research-article format tailored for an interview. Traditional sections such as Methods, Results, and Discussion are replaced with clearly defined parts: Abstract, Keywords, Introduction, Main Text (Interview), and a concluding Discussion, along with supplementary sections detailing Data Availability, References, and Author Contributions. This structure maintains scholarly rigor while effectively accommodating narrative content.
#agnosticism #Apatheism #AugustineOfHippo #Catholicism #Dasein #determinism #ethics #freeWill #HumanResponsibility #LogicalAnalysis #problemOfEvil #theodicy
-
Tauya Chinama on Theodicy, Humanism, and Preserving Zimbabwe’s Cultural Heritage
Scott Douglas Jacobsen (Email: [email protected])
Publisher, In-Sight Publishing
Fort Langley, British Columbia, Canada
Received: October 19, 2025
Accepted: December 15, 2025
Published: December 15, 2025Abstract
This interview with Tauya Chinama—a Zimbabwean freethinker, educator, and human-rights advocate—traces an intellectual and moral transition from religious training toward agnosticism and, ultimately, apatheism. Chinama recounts how sustained engagement with theodicy (the attempt to reconcile an all-good, all-powerful God with pervasive suffering) undermined his prior commitments, as real-world pain and injustice outpaced the explanatory power of familiar theological defences. He critiques common responses to evil grounded in free will or determinism, arguing that each fails to preserve the traditional attributes of God while offering little ethical clarity for human responsibility. Alongside philosophical concerns, Chinama highlights the psychological and social costs of departing faith-based institutions—stigmatization, ostracism, and the demand for personal resilience. The conversation culminates in a secular moral orientation: that human beings are “on our own” in the sense that alleviating suffering and building justice are human tasks, not deferred to divine intervention.
Keywords
Agnosticism, Apatheism, Augustine of Hippo, Catholicism, Determinism, Dasein, Ethics, Free Will, Human Responsibility, Logical Analysis, Problem of Evil, Theodicy
Introduction
Tauya Chinama is a Zimbabwean freethinker, educator, and advocate for human rights and cultural preservation whose intellectual path runs through the dense intersection of philosophy, theology, and lived moral experience. Trained in religious study and once oriented toward priesthood, he gradually came to view the traditional problem of evil not as a technical puzzle for theologians, but as a sustained challenge to intellectual honesty. For Chinama, theodicy is not merely a debate about metaphysical consistency; it is a test of whether a worldview can confront the reality of disability, disease, natural disasters, and human vulnerability without dissolving into contradiction or moral deflection.
In this short exchange, Scott Douglas Jacobsen invites Chinama to articulate the central question that shaped his training and the turning points that reoriented his identity—from believer, to agnostic, to what he calls an apatheist with “a touch of cosmopolitanism.” Chinama examines standard theological responses to suffering, critiques their logical coherence, and describes the personal consequences of choosing candour over conformity inside religious institutions. The interview also gestures beyond metaphysics toward a practical ethical conclusion: if suffering persists without reliable divine remedy, then responsibility for justice and compassion rests squarely with human beings and the societies they build.
Main Text (Interview)
Title: Tauya Chinama on Theodicy, Humanism, and Preserving Zimbabwe’s Cultural Heritage
Interviewer: Scott Douglas Jacobsen
Interviewees: Tauya Chinama
Tauya Chinama is a Zimbabwean freethinker, educator, and advocate for human rights and cultural preservation. Trained in philosophy and theology, he transitioned from religious study to humanism, emphasizing intellectual honesty, dialogue, and heritage-based education. As a teacher of heritage studies, he works to integrate indigenous knowledge and languages into learning systems, arguing that language carries culture, history, and identity. Chinama is active in Zimbabwe’s humanist movement, contributing to interfaith dialogues, academic research, and public discourse on secularism, ethics, and education reform. He champions the preservation of Shona and Ndebele while critiquing systemic barriers that weaken local language education.
Scott Douglas Jacobsen: When you were doing your training, what was your main specialization? What was the core research question?
Tauya Chinama: I had several questions, but my primary focus was on theodicy: the relationship between the existence of God and the problem of evil.
That was the question that led me to think more deeply. Years ago, I preached about an omniscient, omnipotent, all-good God. But then I looked at the reality: people who are disabled, people dying in natural disasters, people dying from diseases. Why is God not ending all this suffering? Where is he? Is he enjoying it?
The key issue is theodicy. The Greek words are theos (God) and dike (justice). Is it just for God to allow these things to happen? That question pulled me further. I came to feel that I could act more justly as a human being than the God being preached, who supposedly is capable of ending poverty, disease, disability, and natural disasters, but does not. Why should I believe in him? Why should I revere him?
The realization was: we are on our own. We are responsible, and we must act to address what is happening to us. That was the key lesson that pushed me from being a believer to an agnostic, and then to what I now call an apatheist—a person indifferent to God’s existence. Today, I describe myself as an apatheist with a touch of cosmopolitanism.
Jacobsen: For theodicy, what were the standard arguments? How did theologians justify evil, suffering, and pain?
Chinama: A number of them talked about free will. Others leaned on determinism. But this did not make sense to me. If we say that human beings have free will, then it means God is not omniscient—he does not know everything that will happen before it occurs. If he knows it all, then free will does not exist.
On the other hand, if determinism is true, then we are simply victims of a plan. We cannot resist; we can only follow the flow. We are what Martin Heidegger might call Dasein—a being-toward-death. We are thrown into existence, moving toward death, with limited choice. That line of argument, whether from free will or determinism, did not make sense to me.
It could not resolve the harm and suffering I saw in the world. The defences of theologians like St. Augustine of Hippo also did not persuade me. Augustine introduced the doctrine of original sin and linked sexuality to sin, claiming virginity was a higher state. But none of this made sense to me. He had emerged from Manichaean philosophy, which emphasized dualism—light and darkness, good and evil as opposing forces. His framework seemed more like a leftover from dualism than a convincing defence of Christian doctrine.
Jacobsen: Was it the weakness of the theological arguments for God in the face of evil that made you drift away? Or was it the strength of non-religious arguments that convinced you to adopt a non-religious way of looking at life?
Chinama: It was both. When you look at the theological arguments and test them through logic—a branch of philosophy about correct reasoning—you quickly see the conclusions do not follow from the premises. That leaves you confused.
So I moved from being a believer to an agnostic, saying, “Perhaps I am wrong, perhaps I am right.” Over time, you sober up. Sometimes you even become militant, but then you realize militancy does not work. You calm down, or you risk messing things up.
I remember when I was training to be a priest. I confided in a particular Indian priest—I will not give his name—that I was slowly losing my faith. He told me something shocking: that many high-ranking figures in the Catholic Church, including bishops and cardinals, do not actually believe the doctrines they defend.
I was surprised. Here were people defending the Church’s teachings every day, yet privately admitting they did not believe them. He even told me he had gone through the same phase and had never fully recovered his faith. His advice was: “Do not fight it. Just go with the flow.”
But I felt I was too honest to live that way. I could not simply go along with something I did not believe.
Jacobsen: In the end, was your decision to leave a faith-based position and move to a non-religious position more an intellectual exercise, or more about changing how you felt? Or was it a little of both?
Chinama: It was both. Several factors led me to change. It was an intellectual practice, but also an emotional realization that what I thought religion was turned out not to be. The whole motivation collapsed, and I was left with no choice but to withdraw.
I do not regret it, but it was a hard decision. There is stigmatization, ostracism, and other consequences that come with choosing such a path. It is serious—you need to be mentally strong. For me, it was primarily intellectual, but I also required mental resilience to overcome it.
Jacobsen: Thank you for your time today, Tauya.
Discussion
Chinama’s account frames apostasy (or, more precisely, disengagement) less as rebellion than as an evidence-driven recalibration: when the promises of an omniscient, omnipotent, all-good deity collide with a world saturated in undeserved suffering, the explanatory burden becomes acute. The interview’s philosophical centre is his dissatisfaction with the standard repertoire of theodicies—especially those that appeal to free will or determinism. In his reading, free-will defences struggle to preserve divine foreknowledge without hollowing out freedom, while deterministic accounts risk portraying human beings as trapped in a plan that renders moral protest performative. The result is not merely a theoretical impasse; it is a moral one, because the justifications appear unable to honour the gravity of suffering they seek to explain.
A second theme is integrity under institutional pressure. Chinama’s recollection of confiding in a priest—who suggested that some senior Church figures privately disbelieve doctrines they publicly defend—introduces a sociological dimension: religious systems can incentivize outward loyalty even when inward conviction erodes. Chinama presents his exit as a refusal to inhabit that split. This casts “deconversion” not only as an intellectual event but as an ethical stance against performative belief, sustained by psychological resilience in the face of stigma and ostracism.
Finally, the conversation resolves toward a secular ethic of responsibility. Chinama’s apatheism is not portrayed as cynicism; it is a posture of indifference toward unverifiable divine claims paired with heightened concern for human action. The implicit thesis is that moral seriousness survives the collapse of theological certainty—and may even sharpen under it—because the work of reducing suffering cannot be outsourced to providence. In that sense, the interview is less about losing faith than about relocating duty: from the heavens, back to the hands of human beings.
Methods
The interview was conducted via typed questions—with explicit consent—for review, and curation. This process complied with applicable data protection laws, including the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), Canada’s Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA), and Europe’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), i.e., recordings if any were stored securely, retained only as needed, and deleted upon request, as well in accordance with Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Advertising Standards Canada guidelines.
Data Availability
No datasets were generated or analyzed during the current article. All interview content remains the intellectual property of the interviewer and interviewee.
References
(No external academic sources were cited for this interview.)
Journal & Article Details
Publisher: In-Sight Publishing
Publisher Founding: March 1, 2014
Web Domain: http://www.in-sightpublishing.com
Location: Fort Langley, Township of Langley, British Columbia, Canada
Journal: In-Sight: Interviews
Journal Founding: August 2, 2012
Frequency: Four Times Per Year
Review Status: Non-Peer-Reviewed
Access: Electronic/Digital & Open Access
Fees: None (Free)
Volume Numbering: 13
Issue Numbering: 4
Section: A
Theme Type: Idea
Theme Premise: Humanism
Theme Part: None.
Formal Sub-Theme: None.
Individual Publication Date: December 15, 2025
Issue Publication Date: January 1, 2026
Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen
Word Count: 944
Image Credits: Photo by Damian Patkowski on Unsplash
ISSN (International Standard Serial Number): 2369-6885
Acknowledgements
The author acknowledges Tauya Chinama for his time, expertise, and valuable contributions. His thoughtful insights and detailed explanations have greatly enhanced the quality and depth of this work, providing a solid foundation for the discussion presented herein.
Author Contributions
S.D.J. conceived the subject matter, conducted the interview, transcribed and edited the conversation, and prepared the manuscript.
Competing Interests
The author declares no competing interests.
License & Copyright
In-Sight Publishing by Scott Douglas Jacobsen is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
© Scott Douglas Jacobsen and In-Sight Publishing 2012–Present.Unauthorized use or duplication of material without express permission from Scott Douglas Jacobsen is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links must use full credit to Scott Douglas Jacobsen and In-Sight Publishing with direction to the original content.
Supplementary Information
Below are various citation formats for Tauya Chinama on Theodicy, Humanism, and Preserving Zimbabwe’s Cultural Heritage (Scott Douglas Jacobsen, December 15, 2025).
American Medical Association (AMA 11th Edition)
Jacobsen SD. Tauya Chinama on Theodicy, Humanism, and Preserving Zimbabwe’s Cultural Heritage. In-Sight: Interviews. 2025;13(4). Published December 15, 2025. http://www.in-sightpublishing.com/tauya-chinama-theodicy-humanism-preserving-zimbabwe-cultural-heritage
American Psychological Association (APA 7th Edition)
Jacobsen, S. D. (2025, December 15). Tauya Chinama on Theodicy, Humanism, and Preserving Zimbabwe’s Cultural Heritage. In-Sight: Interviews, 13(4). In-Sight Publishing. http://www.in-sightpublishing.com/tauya-chinama-theodicy-humanism-preserving-zimbabwe-cultural-heritage
Brazilian National Standards (ABNT)
JACOBSEN, Scott Douglas. Tauya Chinama on Theodicy, Humanism, and Preserving Zimbabwe’s Cultural Heritage. In-Sight: Interviews, Fort Langley, v. 13, n. 4, 15 dez. 2025. Disponível em: http://www.in-sightpublishing.com/tauya-chinama-theodicy-humanism-preserving-zimbabwe-cultural-heritage
Chicago/Turabian, Author-Date (17th Edition)
Jacobsen, Scott Douglas. 2025. “Tauya Chinama on Theodicy, Humanism, and Preserving Zimbabwe’s Cultural Heritage.” In-Sight: Interviews 13 (4). http://www.in-sightpublishing.com/tauya-chinama-theodicy-humanism-preserving-zimbabwe-cultural-heritage.
Chicago/Turabian, Notes & Bibliography (17th Edition)
Jacobsen, Scott Douglas. “Tauya Chinama on Theodicy, Humanism, and Preserving Zimbabwe’s Cultural Heritage.” In-Sight: Interviews 13, no. 4 (December 15, 2025). http://www.in-sightpublishing.com/tauya-chinama-theodicy-humanism-preserving-zimbabwe-cultural-heritage.
Harvard
Jacobsen, S.D. (2025) ‘Tauya Chinama on Theodicy, Humanism, and Preserving Zimbabwe’s Cultural Heritage’, In-Sight: Interviews, 13(4), 15 December. Available at: http://www.in-sightpublishing.com/tauya-chinama-theodicy-humanism-preserving-zimbabwe-cultural-heritage.
Harvard (Australian)
Jacobsen, SD 2025, ‘Tauya Chinama on Theodicy, Humanism, and Preserving Zimbabwe’s Cultural Heritage’, In-Sight: Interviews, vol. 13, no. 4, 15 December, viewed 15 December 2025, http://www.in-sightpublishing.com/tauya-chinama-theodicy-humanism-preserving-zimbabwe-cultural-heritage.
Modern Language Association (MLA, 9th Edition)
Jacobsen, Scott Douglas. “Tauya Chinama on Theodicy, Humanism, and Preserving Zimbabwe’s Cultural Heritage.” In-Sight: Interviews, vol. 13, no. 4, 2025, http://www.in-sightpublishing.com/tauya-chinama-theodicy-humanism-preserving-zimbabwe-cultural-heritage.
Vancouver/ICMJE
Jacobsen SD. Tauya Chinama on Theodicy, Humanism, and Preserving Zimbabwe’s Cultural Heritage [Internet]. 2025 Dec 15;13(4). Available from: http://www.in-sightpublishing.com/tauya-chinama-theodicy-humanism-preserving-zimbabwe-cultural-heritage
Note on Formatting
This document follows an adapted Nature research-article format tailored for an interview. Traditional sections such as Methods, Results, and Discussion are replaced with clearly defined parts: Abstract, Keywords, Introduction, Main Text (Interview), and a concluding Discussion, along with supplementary sections detailing Data Availability, References, and Author Contributions. This structure maintains scholarly rigor while effectively accommodating narrative content.
#agnosticism #Apatheism #AugustineOfHippo #Catholicism #Dasein #determinism #ethics #freeWill #HumanResponsibility #LogicalAnalysis #problemOfEvil #theodicy
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Psalm 23:1-3 Abba God is my shepherd; I shall not be in want. Abba God makes me lie down in green pastures and leads me beside still waters. God revives my soul and guides me along right pathways for God’s Name’s sake.
Introduction
At the end of last’s week sermon, we ended talking about remembrance, hope, and prayer. For Christians, when we gather to speak of, read of, hear of, and consume together with Christ in our weekly fellowship and worship, we are remembering Christ and by the power of the Holy Spirit, we are not just remembering Christ but participating the work of God made tangible in Christ: the divine revolution and mission of love, life, and liberation in the world for the beloved. This is truly εὐαγγέλιον. And if this is truly εὐαγγέλιον, then it is also the source and foundation of our hope that exists to sustain us today.
In remembering and having hope we are led to pray, to bring ourselves deeply into God, to bend our knee (literal or figurative), to be creatures fully dependent on God. We remember, we have hope, and we pray, and it is this that is the beginning of all our activity within the walls of the church and without. As mentioned last week, “Prayer does not resign the believer to non-activity as if it is the final act in the face of trouble; it is the starting point. Prayer is how the believer unites with God and God’s passion for life, love, and liberation.[1] It is the bold request for God to enter in, to act; in prayer God is spoken to and from, in prayer God is remembered, so, too, the neighbor.”[2]
But the author of Ephesians isn’t done with us yet as if it’s just about remembering and hoping and praying. But that this remembering, hoping, and praying participates in making believers one with God and with each other in Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit and bringing them into the true peace that surpasses all understanding.
Ephesians 2:11-22
For [Christ] is our peace, the one who made both [the Israelites and the Gentiles] one and [the one who] destroyed in his flesh the division-wall of the fence, [and] the enmity [between the two], and [the one who] rendered inoperative the law of the commands and public decrees, so that the two might build in him one new peace-making humanity… (Eph. 2:14-15)
So, the author of Ephesians verbally exhorts us (using an imperative!) to remember. To remember what? Not only Christ but who we were prior to being encountered by Christ in the event of faith. …remember that in the past you [were] Gentiles in the flesh, the ones who were called “The Uncircumcised” by the ones who were called “The Circumcised” in the flesh done by [human] hands (v. 11). But that isn’t enough; Paul asks his audience to remember, further, that they were for a time without Christ, having been alienated from the citizenship of Israel and a stranger of the covenant of the promise, not possessing hope and [were] without God in the cosmos (v 12). Paul is eager to recreate the situation for the Ephesians to cause more than just recall but real, heart-felt remembering,[3] pressing into the reality that apart from Christ they were dead in their false-steps and missing the mark (sin) (v 1), they were strangers to the promises of God, to Christ, and to the hope of God which is the hope of the reign of God in Christ.[4],[5] According to Ephesians, the Gentiles were overcome by their own desires, turned in on themselves, stuck in place by division, and consumed by hostility. This isn’t something that someone can work themselves out of, no matter how hard they try. For Paul, it is only through the encounter with Christ where one finds God, finds their neighbor, and finds themself; it is only in Christ where one finds true life, love, and liberation.[6] But at this time you who were once far off you became near by the blood of Christ (v 13). In other words, this is not done by human hands (χειροποιήτου in v 11), but by the love of God in Christ done by the power of the Spirit[7] as the down-payment in lives of the believers in Ephesus.
This is why Christ is the peace of everyone—for [Christ] is our peace (v 14a)—Children of Israel and Gentiles combined. Because, as Paul writes, the one who made both [the Israelites and the Gentiles] one and [the one who] destroyed in his flesh the division-wall of the fence, [and] the enmity [between the two], and [the one who] rendered inoperative the law of the commands and public decrees, so that the two might build in him one new peace-making humanity (vv 14b-15). There is now no longer us v. them, insiders v. outsiders, elected v. not-elected, Israel v. Gentiles, the circumcised v. the not circumcised.[8] There are not two groups, but one group. Thus, this peace Jesus brings in his own flesh, by the blood of the cross event and the glory of his resurrection is not just for privatized souls but for deprivatized humanity; it’s a socio-political event.[9] There is now no wall that keeps some in and some out, some included and some excluded; there is now (absolutely) no line—whether 2-D or 3-D—that can render some humans “good” and others “bad” based on which side of that line they fall because that line has been destroyed[10] and is now anathema for the believers and followers of Christ who benefit from the destruction of the division-wall of the fence by being included in to the heredity and mission of God by the work of Christ on the cross and the power of the Holy Spirits dwelling in their hearts.
And if the wall has been destroyed, so, too, division according to enmity,[11] which is the hostility and intolerance fomented between the two groups that was the fruit of the division wall; it is the anger of the kingdoms of humanity turned inward to tear humanity apart.[12] This includes the laws and public commandments used to make some clean and some unclean, some righteous and others unrighteous; these, too, like the wall and the enmity, have become inoperative in solidifying groups of people against each other. For Paul then writes, and so he might completely reconcile both in one body for God through the cross he killed the hostility in himself (v 16).By Christ’s work[13]—the mission of God’s revolution of love, life, and liberation for the world—there is now no wall, thus no enmity, thus no law[14] that can keep anyone out and in this radical establishment of divine equity, there is peace[15]—true peace that is not contingent on one group suffering under the weight of another.
Then the letter continues, [Christ] came and brought peace to you (all) who were far-off and peace to you (all) who were near because through him we—both in one spirit—possess access to God therefore now you are no longer a stranger and sojourner but you are a fellow citizens with the saints and of the family of God (vv 17-19). In Christ, these two have become one[16] and together they will dwell in and with God and they will have real peace—the type of peace that threatens the principalities and powers of the kingdom of humanity. [17] But this peace brought by Christ is more than reconciliation with each other, it is also reconciliation with God, thus, these two who are now one become the dwelling place of God. [18] As Paul continues, being built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets—Jesus Christ himself being the cornerstone—in whom all building is being fitted together and grows itself into a holy temple in the lord in whom you, you also were built together into the dwelling place of God in Spirit (vv 20-22). Boldly Ephesians declares, where there is a lack of enmity and hostility, division walls and lines, laws and commands geared to keep some in and some out, there God is and there the saints of God are; no one is excluded and left out and the church is caught up in this radical inclusion and equity, snatched into this divine peace that knows absolutely positively no walls or dividing lines.[19],[20]
Conclusion
The church is without excuse here, according to Ephesians. Peace—the very peace Christ brings through his birth, life, death, resurrection and ascension—is peace that is not contingent on the kingdom of humanity but dependent on the reign of God. It is peace that arises in the communion of humanity with humanity, humanity with God, and humanity with creation; it is peace that manifests within and among humanity in its unity to the glory of God, which is in opposition to the “peace” (i.e. “security” (“control”)) of the kingdom of humanity that thrives on the humanity’s disunity. None of us who claim to follow Christ can afford to support systems dead set on dividing and conquering, oppressing and marginalizing, and fostering anger and fear; these systems are antithetical to the gospel of Christ and to the faith and praxis of the believer in the world before God and neighbor. None of us who claim to follow Christ can find peace (and hope) anywhere else apart from God: not in federal positions and presidents, not in parties and platforms, not in promises and progress made with human hands. We can only find true peace in our reconciliation with God, which is reconciliation with our neighbor, and, thus, these two combined give us reconciliation with ourselves because we have been made one with our neighbor and thus have become the dwelling place of God.
We cannot find peace by building the world we long for with human hands because as soon as we build it it has expired and must be torn down to allow something new to be born. We cannot find peace by turning the gospel into a law as if it can found a nation that would only gift life, love, and liberation to those who qualify. We cannot find peace by letting enmity and hostility be the mortar holding the bricks of the division-wall together. We cannot find peace by legislating Christianity because the doctrines born of the second word of God that form the tissue of the Christian Church inherently resist such socio-political ossification. We can and will only find peace by pressing further into God, clinging to God’s Word in Christ, and leaning into the guidance and leading of the Spirit of God, the guarantor of the new covenant, the down payment of our adoption into God, and the fertile soil making us one with God, with our neighbor, thus, with ourselves. It is only here, in God and with God, do we find true and lasting peace that surpasses all understanding.
[1] See Sölle, Choosing Life, pp. 92-93
[2] This portion is taken from, Lauren R.E. Larkin, “Leaving Heaven Behind: Paradoxical Identity as the Anchor of Dorothee Sölle’s Theology of Political Resistance,” PhD Dissertation (University of Aberdeen, 2024), 202.
[3] Barth, Markus, Ephesians: Introduction, Translation, and Commentary on Chapters 1-3, The Anchor Bible Series (Garden City: Doubleday, 1971), 254. “Repentance, decision, and gratitude are called for, not a mental recollection only.”
[4] Barth, Ephesians, 257. “In Eph 2:12 a status of strangership is described, not an event leading to estrangement.”
[5] Barth, Ephesians, 259. \“Unless Paul flippantly denied or dispossessed the Gentiles of any hope he must have meant a specific hope. This ‘hope,’ then, could be understood as fostered in the minds of the Jews, because it was founded and guaranteed in the heart of God or ‘laid up in heaven’……It is the hope for the promised messiah from the root of David…”
[6] Barth, Ephesians, 254. “Paul’s thought moves from men in the grip of ‘flesh’ (2:11), over the work performed in ‘Christ’s flesh’ (2:14, to the operation of the ‘Spirit’ (2:18). Nothing can prevent the ‘Spirit’ from operating ‘in the realm of flesh.’”
[7] Barth, Ephesians, 255. “As the building of the temple by God is contrasted to the construction of temples by men, so circumcision of the heart…highly excels handmade circumcision.”
[8] Allen Verhey and Joseph S. Harvard, Ephesians, Belief: A Theological Commentary on the Bible, eds. Amy Plantinga Pauw and William C. Placher (Louisville: WJK, 2011), 93. “If it was especially the Jewish Christian who needed to be reminded earlier that all are ‘sinners,’ not just the ‘uncircumcised,’ not just the Gentiles, and that all are brought from death to life by the gift of God’s grace, not by ‘works’ of the law, the Gentiles are now reminded of the promises to Israel and that it is in the Jewish Messiah that they are given a share in them.”
[9] Barth, Ephesians, 262. “Christ is praised here not primarily for the peace he bring to individual souls; rather the peace he brings is a social and political event…”
[10] Barth, Ephesians, 263-264. “The combination of the two Greek nouns yields a composite sense: it is a wall that prevents certain person from entering a house or a city (cf. 2:19), and is as much a mark of hostility (2:14, 16) as, e.g. a ghetto wall, the Iron Curtain the Berlin Wall, a racial barrier, or a railroad track that separates the right from the wrong side of the city, not to speak of the wall between state and church.”
[11] Barth, Ephesians, 264. “In this case, the ‘enmity’ is as much the object of destruction as the wall.”
[12] Barth, Ephesians, 264. “The word ‘enmity’ defines the separation between Jews and Gentiles more specifically: this segregation implies intolerance, and is a passionate, totalitarian, bellicose affair. While the ‘enmity’ mentioned at the end of vs. 16 is the one-sided enmity of man against God, the ‘enmity’ of vs. 14 is mutual among men.”
[13] Barth, Ephesians, 265. “…the context of Eph 2:15 reveals that for the author (as much as for Paul himself) the death of Christ rather than the promulgation of new decrees stood behind the abolition of the divisive statutes.”
[14] Barth, Ephesians, 264. Wall, enmity, and law “Each of these terms throws light on the others; the author wants them to be considered as synonyms.”
[15] Verhey and Harvard, Ephesians, 96. “…God seals a ‘new covenant’ in ‘the blood of Christ.” And in that ‘new covenant’ there is a new community, a community of both Jew and Gentile, a community that shares the memory of Christ and the hope of God’s promises with a common meal.”
[16] Barth, Ephesians, 272. “After showing that the church exists only as a unity, that is, as one new man created out of Jews and Gentiles, the apostle does not proceed to split t into halves.”
[17] Verhey and Harvard, Ephesians, 97. “But this was not merely an idea, as the reality of baptism makes clear. This was not merely an ideal that exists outside history and toward which we must strive. This was and is a reality wrought in Christ on the cross and displayed in the churches when God initiates diverse people into Christ and into the church. Ideals are powerless against the forces in this world that divide and abuse, against the principalities and power that nurture cultures of enmity. But those forces are and will be finally powerless against the promise and reality of God’s future.”
[18] Barth, Ephesians, 274. “The church herself is not reconciliation but she lives form it and manifests it. She serves the glory of God inasmuch as her members mutually assist, support, and strengthen one another. Neither jews nor Gentiles nor any individual can independently claim after Christ’s coming to offer an appropriate residence For God but Jews and Gentiles together are now ordained by God to become his temple.”
[19] Barth, Ephesians, 324-325. “Now the church is the sign of his mercy, his peace, and his nearness the whole world. If God can and will use people are who are as tempted and weak as the Christian are, then he is certainly able and willing to exclude no one from his realm. The church lives by this hope and bears witness to it publicly.”
[20] Verhey and Harvard, Ephesians, 98. “They are called to break down the walls and to perform this new social reality by forming friendships with the people on the other side of the aisle, or on the other side of town.”
https://laurenrelarkin.com/2024/07/21/6623/
#Beloved #ChoosingLife #ChristianNationalism #DividingWall #DivineLove #DivinePeace #Division #DorotheeSölle #Ephesians #Hope #Jesus #LawAndGospel #Love #LoveOfNeighbor #MarkusBarth #Peace #UnionWithGod #UnionWithSelf #UnionWithTheNeighbor
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Unlikely Kindred Spirits: Kripke, Heaney, and Elizabeth I: A Linguistic and Philosophical Analysis
At first glance, the analytic philosophy of Saul Kripke, the dramatic poetry of Seamus Heaney, and the political statecraft of Queen Elizabeth I could not seem more disparate. What could a 20th-century logician, a Nobel Prize-winning Irish poet, and a 16th-century monarch possibly share? Yet, beneath the surface, each grappled with language, identity, and authority in redemptive ways. Each, in their own silo, understood that naming and narrative wield power – whether it’s designating a possible world in logic, naming the unnameable traumas of Irish history, or styling oneself “Virgin Queen” to command a realm. In this exploratory conversation, we’ll sink into Kripke’s revolutionary ideas about reference and necessity, examine Heaney’s dramatic explorations of history and identity, and uncover how Elizabeth I engineered her political identity through language. We’ll reveal subtle connections – the resonances in their treatment of naming, authority, and the notion of necessity – to see how each shaped their world and left a lasting impact on the future. The journey is a thoughtful occupation: part historical detective work, part philosophical reflection, as we uncover lessons and methods from this unlikely trio.
Saul Kripke: Naming, Necessity, and the Nature of Identity
Saul Kripke’s contributions transformed analytic philosophy by showing that language is not just a game of labels, but a key to metaphysical insight. In his seminal work Naming and Necessity (1980), Kripke tackled fundamental questions: How do names refer to things in the world? What is the nature of identity? Are there truths that are necessary (true in all possible worlds) even if we discover them empirically? His answers shook the foundations of philosophy of language. Kripke argued against the then-dominant view that a name is essentially a description of an object. According to those older descriptivist theories (attributed to Frege, Russell, and others), calling someone “Aristotle” might implicitly mean “the student of Plato who taught Alexander” or any cluster of facts we associate with Aristotle. But Kripke pointed out a startling problem: what if Aristotle had died as a toddler, fulfilling none of those famous descriptions? Would we say “Aristotle never existed” simply because he didn’t do what we expected of him? Of course not – he would still be Aristotle. This thought experiment undermined the idea that names get their meaning wholly from descriptive facts. Instead, Kripke proposed that names are “rigid designators,” pointing to the same entity in every possible scenario.
Rigid designation means that a name like “Aristotle” or “Elizabeth I” refers to that person in any conceivable world where they exist – the name locks onto the individual’s identity, regardless of whether their life stories unfolded differently. For example, the name “Richard Nixon” denotes the same historic person in every hypothetical scenario (every “possible world”) where Nixon exists, whereas a description like “the winner of the 1968 U.S. presidential election” could denote Nixon in our world but someone else (say, Hubert Humphrey) in another imaginable world. The name tags the identity directly, while a description might accidentally switch referents if circumstances were different. In making this case, Kripke gave intellectual muscle to the idea that individual identity is something real and essential, not just a collection of properties that can change. A proper name, once attached via a historical/causal link to its bearer, sticks. This suggests a metaphysical reality to individual identity, not just a collection of changeable properties. It’s as if the universe recognizes “Aristotle-ness” or “Nixon-ness” beyond any particular story or trait – a view that quietly revives a more metaphysical notion of essence.
Kripke didn’t stop there. He famously introduced the concept of “a posteriori necessities,” truths that are necessarily true in all possible worlds yet are known only through experience. Classic examples include identity statements like “Hesperus is Phosphorus” (the evening star and morning star turned out to be the same planet Venus) or “Water is H₂O.” These facts, once discovered empirically, aren’t just true – they couldn’t have been otherwise (you can’t have water that isn’t H₂O in any world). In short, Kripke drew a bold line between what is contingent (could have been otherwise) and what is necessary (true no matter what), while also separating how we know a truth from what makes it true. This was radical: even a contingent-looking thing like the historical identity of a star could mask an underlying necessity. Through such arguments, Kripke revitalized metaphysics within analytic philosophy, insisting that questions of essence and necessity are meaningful and not just “wordplay”. His work gave philosophers a formal tool – possible world semantics – to talk about alternate scenarios rigorously, mapping out worlds where different facts hold, yet where “Aristotle” or “Elizabeth” still denote the same individuals.
Kripke’s insights into naming and necessity may seem abstract, but they reveal a faith in the stability of reference: words can latch onto the world with a kind of permanence. This almost poetic idea – that a name carries the essence of its bearer through every storm of possibility – will echo unexpectedly when we look at Heaney and Elizabeth. Kripke, in essence, handed us a concept of identity as destiny (if “water” truly must be H₂O, if “Elizabeth I” once named always refers to that same woman in any scenario) and of language as power: our choice of words — name versus description — can determine whether something is deemed necessarily or just accidentally true. Keep these ideas in mind as we shift from pure philosophy to poetry and politics. The other two figures, in their own ways, grappled with naming, meaning, and the weight of necessity in human life, albeit in far more narrative and practical contexts.
Seamus Heaney’s Dramatic Voice: Identity, History, and the Language of the Past
Seamus Heaney, best known as a poet, also celebrated for his adaptations of ancient Greek plays, poured his linguistic genius into drama – particularly through adaptations of ancient Greek plays. His dramatic works like The Cure at Troy (1990, based on Sophocles’ Philoctetes) and The Burial at Thebes (2004, based on Antigone) are steeped in questions of identity, moral necessity, and historical burden. Heaney was an Irish writer deeply attuned to the legacy of history – especially the traumas and politics of Northern Ireland’s “Troubles.” In these plays, Heaney uses the classical past to reflect modern struggles, substantially naming contemporary pains in the language of myth. Identity is central: Heaney’s characters must decide who they are in the face of conflicting loyalties and narratives (just as people in Heaney’s own Ireland grappled with British vs. Irish identity, or Protestant vs. Catholic labels). Heaney’s Philoctetes, for instance, is not just a Greek hero wounded and abandoned – he becomes a symbol for the marginalized and oppressed of Northern Ireland, left to suffer until others realize they cannot win the “war” without reconciliation.
The play asks: can old wounds be healed? Who gets to tell the story of those wounds? In The Cure at Troy, the act of forgiveness and returning Philoctetes to the Greek camp is a kind of renaming of him from outcast to comrade, an assertion of a new identity that helps end the war. Heaney uses this myth to explore the necessity of healing – a moral necessity as binding as any logical axiom. “History says, don’t hope // On this side of the grave,” the chorus intones, acknowledging how the cycles of vengeance feel inevitable. Yet the play famously continues: “once in a lifetime // the longed-for tidal wave // of justice can rise up, // and hope and history rhyme.” Here Heaney practically sings of a miracle: that fate (history) might align with our deepest hopes. This resonates with a Kripkean flavor – the idea of an unexpected necessary truth emerging from the grim facts of the world. In context, it’s a call for believing that the seemingly immutable historical antagonisms can necessarily give way, as if justice is an essential property of history that will manifest eventually.
Heaney’s engagement with language in these plays is particularly striking. Just as Kripke dissected how naming functions, Heaney explores what it means to call something by its true name – whether it’s naming injustices or naming one’s own identity. In The Cure at Troy, he doesn’t just transplant Sophocles; he infuses the dialogue with the cadences of Irish speech and landscape, translating the Greek story into the “language” of Irish historical experience. Notably, characters at times speak in a mixture of English and Irish (Gaelic) terms. This bilingual texture is more than stylistic – it reflects the “complex cultural and linguistic identity” of Ireland. By switching tongues, Heaney is naming identity itself as hybrid, a product of layered history. Much as Kripke might say an object can have an essential origin, Heaney suggests his people’s identity essentially includes both English and Irish elements – an unavoidable truth of who they are.
In The Burial at Thebes, Heaney again uses language pointedly. The play deals with Antigone defying King Creon’s edict to deny her brother a burial (because the state has named the brother a traitor). Here the power of names is deadly serious: being labeled “traitor” vs. “kin” means the difference between an ignoble exposure or honorable interment. Heaney emphasizes the conflict between personal conscience and state labels. Antigone insists on calling her brother family and worthy of rites, challenging the state’s naming of him as enemy. This mirrors Northern Ireland too, where one person’s “freedom fighter” was another’s “terrorist” – the crux of identity resting on who controls the narrative. Through these dramas, Heaney is wrestling with the meaning of meaning: does moral truth have an essential, necessary character (Antigone feels it does – divine law trumping man’s decree), or is it contingent on who’s in power (Creon’s view)? Heaney sides with the former, portraying the tragic costs when language and authority part ways with justice. In doing so, he echoes Kripke’s bold separation of truth from consensus – truth (whether moral or factual) isn’t just whatever description the powerful choose; it has its own reality. One can almost hear a Kripkean Antigone: “Polynices is Polynices” – my brother in every possible world – and no decree can make him not my brother. The necessity of that familial identity drives her actions, much as the necessity of reference anchors a name to its bearer.
Heaney also plays with the poetic power of history, much like a queen might wield propaganda. In The Cure at Troy, the chorus serves as the voice of collective memory and prophecy, blending past and future in resonant oratory. Heaney understood that to control the narrative of the past is to shape the future – a theme we’ll see explicitly with Elizabeth I. In his Nobel lecture, Heaney spoke of the “redress of poetry,” how art can adjust our angle on reality. His dramas attempt exactly that: to redeem the past’s pain by reframing it. By invoking ancient names (Philoctetes, Antigone) in modern contexts, he claims that some human experiences are universal and necessary – the names change (Greek or Irish) but the essence (suffering, loyalty, courage) remains rigidly the same across cultures and eras. This nearly philosophical stance – that a story or name can be a rigid designator for certain human truths – feels akin to Kripke’s insistence that some meanings hold steady across possible worlds. Heaney, of course, approaches it emotionally and culturally. But when he ensures that hope and history rhyme, he is, in a sense, uniting two “worlds” (the ideal and the actual) under one name, one meaning.
Crucially, Heaney’s linguistic choices also reflect a strategy of identity. In the North, language itself was politicized (English vs. Irish, even accents marking you as one side or another). Heaney often incorporates Gaelic phrases or Irish place-names into his English texts, a deliberate celebration of dual identity. Critics have noted that this merging of Irish words into English poems reflects Heaney’s own identity – rooted in a land of two tongues. On stage, this might appear as a character slipping into an Irish idiom at a key moment, grounding a universal tale in local reality. It’s a reminder that what we name things (and in what language) shapes our reality. A field in Ulster might be called the bog in English, but “the Strand at Lough Beg” in Irish memory – each naming carries different connotations, different histories. Heaney knew this power of naming intimately (he once wrote an essay on place-names in Irish poetry). In sum, Heaney’s dramas grapple with the interplay of name, narrative, and necessity just as surely as Kripke’s lectures did, albeit in a very different key. Where Kripke is analytical, Heaney is lyrical – yet both concern themselves with how what we say connects with what is real, and how identity persists.
Queen Elizabeth I: The Politician as Poet of Her Own Identity
If Kripke philosophized about names and Heaney poetically reinvented them, Queen Elizabeth I lived the reality of wielding names and narratives as tools of power. Ruling from 1558 to 1603, Elizabeth Tudor faced a maelstrom of political and personal challenges: religious schism, gender prejudice, foreign threats, and succession crises. She survived and thrived largely by mastering language and image – essentially turning her reign into a grand performative act of self-definition. In an age when a woman on the throne was met with skepticism, Elizabeth realized she had to control her identity narrative absolutely. She became, in effect, the author of “Queen Elizabeth” as a concept, engaging in what we might call a linguistic and existential project to secure her authority. She is perhaps history’s greatest example of “the naming of self” as political strategy: she carefully chose her titles, her epithets, her public words to shape how others perceived reality.
One striking example is how Elizabeth managed her role as the head of the Church of England. Her father, Henry VIII, had been declared “Supreme Head” of the Church, but many in the 16th century balked at a woman assuming such a title (either for sexist reasons or out of Catholic belief that the Pope was the true head). Elizabeth’s solution was brilliant in its phrasing: in the Act of Supremacy 1559, she took the title “Supreme Governor” of the Church instead of “Head.” This subtle change of wording placated critics – it suggested a caretaker role rather than an overt appropriation of spiritual headship. By renaming her authority, she neutralized opposition: Catholics could imagine the Pope remained the “head” in spiritual terms, and conservatives uncomfortable with a female leader could accept “governor” as sufficiently modest. As one historian notes, Elizabeth favored “Supreme Governor” perhaps “to appease those who believed a woman could not be head of the church.” In essence, she redefined the narrative through a single word, proving that in politics, as in philosophy, names and descriptions carry real power.
The difference between head and governor was the difference between deadlock and an “easy” passage of the Act. This recalls Kripke’s point about descriptions vs. names: change just a description and people’s entire perspective can shift, even while the underlying reality (Elizabeth leading the church) remains the same. It’s as if Elizabeth intuitively grasped a lesson: when confronted with an identity paradox, adjust the language around it to preserve the essential truth. She maintained her authority (essential role) by tweaking the accidental detail of its label – a very pragmatic deployment of something akin to rigid designation of her position (the position stays the same, but she found a label everyone could accept in all “worlds” of opinion).
Elizabeth’s speeches and public letters were likewise carefully crafted to shape perceptions – she used rhetoric to command both loyalty and a sense of mythos. A famous example is her 1588 speech to the troops at Tilbury as the Spanish Armada loomed. Facing professional soldiers who might question a woman leading defense, Elizabeth uttered the immortal lines: “I have the heart and stomach of a king, and of a king of England too.” In this moment, she explicitly redefined her identity in language: acknowledging her female body (“a weak and feeble woman”) yet claiming a male, kingly courage and resolve. By proclaiming within herself both woman and king, she solved the existential dilemma of her queenship – she named herself as essentially two-in-one. This is more than inspirational oratory; it’s a wild act of self-naming that gave her the authority of a man without sacrificing her role as a woman monarch.
It was psychologically necessary for her troops to believe in her, so she adjusted the modal identity: in any possible world, Elizabeth asserts, my inner essence is that of England’s sovereign, undiminished by gender. The rallying effect was tremendous – the speech “boosted morale” and solidified her image as a courageous leader. In the eyes of her people, she became something almost beyond ordinary categories – Gloriana, the Virgin Queen who could be both mother and father to the nation. This public persona was nurtured through an early form of propaganda that Elizabeth both encouraged and curated.
Indeed, Elizabeth orchestrated what’s often called the “Cult of Elizabeth” — an early form of what would later be termed propaganda. She recognized that controlling the narrative was as important as wielding the sword. Under her guidance, portraits, pageants, poems, and plays all served to project a consistent image of her virtue and power. Her portraits were laden with symbolism (roses for Tudor lineage, pearls for chastity, a globe under her hand for imperial dominion). These visual “texts” were carefully disseminated to shape public perception, portraying her as ageless, wise, and nearly divine. Writers like Edmund Spenser flattered her through literature – The Faerie Queene allegorizes her as Gloriana, an immortal fairy queen symbolizing glory and rightful rule. Even Shakespeare, while more subtle, wrote strong, wise monarchs and themes of legitimacy that resonated with her reign’s ideology. All of this was early modern spin-doctoring: Elizabeth named herself in so many ways – as Astraea (the just maiden of myth), as Cynthia (the chaste moon goddess), as the mother of her people married only to England.
This last identity, “married to the realm,” was one she explicitly cultivated. After years of pressure to wed (which could have cost her independence or sparked factional conflict), she declared she would have no husband but England itself. As one account puts it, “she declared herself to be married to England” – a shocking notion at the time, but one that allowed her to retain sole power. In other words, she turned a personal “failure” to produce an heir into a virtuous myth: the nation itself became her progeny. By manipulating the language of marriage and motherhood, Elizabeth flipped the script of her narrative from “last of her line” to “virgin matriarch of a golden age.” The political necessity of not marrying (to avoid foreign entanglement and domestic rivalry) was thus elevated to an almost sacred choice, woven into the legend of her reign.
Language was Elizabeth’s gilded armor. She used it not just to inspire or to spin, but to negotiate power in real time. Her letters and diplomatic missives often played people against each other with careful ambiguity and flattery. She even used plural personae: sometimes signing as “Elizabeth R” (Regina, the queen) and other times writing more intimately to her subjects or suitors. We see in her a keen understanding that what is said and unsaid can control outcomes. A scholar of her language, analyzing a 1586 speech about Mary Queen of Scots’ fate, notes how Elizabeth conjured an “imagined group of ‘we princes'” to justify her hesitation to execute Mary. By linguistically grouping herself with other monarchs (we princes), Elizabeth bolstered her stance as one sovereign judging another, as if speaking for all royalty.
Such rhetorical moves gave her moral cover and collective authority in sticky situations. Over and over, she proved adept at adopting different personae: one moment the humble “weak woman” seeking counsel, the next the imperious ruler by divine right – each role invoked through carefully chosen words. This fluidity recalls Heaney’s ability to switch languages in a play to convey layered identity, although Elizabeth shifted between roles rather than linguistic codes. Elizabeth treated her public identity as a poet treats a poem: every word, every symbol was deliberate, aimed at an effect. In doing so, she ensured that her story would be the one remembered. Indeed, by the time of her death, she had so successfully imprinted her chosen image that history largely remembers her as she intended – Gloriana, the victorious, wise, virgin queen of a glorious era. It’s notable that even after four centuries, popular memory of Elizabeth I is full of the mythic qualities she cultivated rather than, say, her personal foibles or policy missteps. That is the testament to her total control of narrative.
Intersections: Language, Identity, and Authority Across Three Lives
Bringing Kripke, Heaney, and Elizabeth into the same frame, we can now trace some unexpected similarities in how they each dealt with identity, authority, language, and necessity. They operated in different spheres – abstract philosophy, literary imagination, and realpolitik – yet a few common threads emerge, almost as if they were conversing across time.
The Power of Naming and Reference
All three demonstrate that what we call something has meaningful consequences. Kripke formalized this idea: a name isn’t just a convenient tag; it connects an object’s identity across a range of scenarios. In a way, he gave philosophical backing to the notion that names have power – a truth long known in poetry and politics. Heaney, as poet and playwright, instinctively understood this. In his works, to name the past (the bog bodies in his poems, or the analogues of Ireland’s trauma in Greek myth) is to claim it and possibly heal it. In The Burial at Thebes, when Antigone insists on naming her brother honorable through burial, she’s fighting Creon’s attempt to redefine him as “traitor” by leaving him unburied – it’s a battle of naming, where each name carries a different truth.
Heaney’s use of Gaelic terms in an English text likewise is an act of naming that carries identity: Broagh, dinnshenchas, Ulster, Troy – these names evoke worlds of meaning. By embedding Irish names and references, Heaney is asserting that the reference of those words must be honored in the shared world (much as Kripke argued a name’s reference isn’t up for subjective debate. Queen Elizabeth, on the other hand, used naming in the arena of power. She named herself and her role in carefully crafted ways – Supreme Governor, virgin, mother of England – and by doing so, she changed how others had to relate to her. There’s a nearly magical sense in which once she established herself as the “Virgin Queen,” that name took on a life of its own, referencing not just Elizabeth Tudor the person, but an idea of a semi-sacred monarch married to her land. It became a rigid designator of a political myth.
Enemies at home and abroad tried to label her differently (usurper, heretic, “bastard” daughter of Anne Boleyn), but her narrative ultimately prevailed. We see in all three the idea that who controls the naming controls the reality. Kripke wrested the control of naming away from subjective impressions and gave it to objective links; Heaney gave naming back to the marginalized, using poetic language to reassert their identity; Elizabeth seized the power to name herself before others could. Each, in essence, demonstrates that naming is an assertion of identity’s permanence.
Language as a Tool of Authority and Authenticity
For Kripke, language (especially logical language) was a tool to access truths about the world. By analyzing how we talk about possibility and necessity, he was reclaiming a kind of authoritative knowledge – saying that our words can genuinely latch onto reality’s structure. In doing so, he challenged the authority of earlier philosophers (like Quine or Russell) who were skeptical about talking of “essences” or possible worlds. Kripke’s confidence in language’s ability to refer clearly and fixedly is a kind of intellectual authority: it makes language a trustworthy bridge to reality, not a misleading veil. Heaney, too, treats language as something that can carry moral and historical authority.
Think of the chorus in The Cure at Troy commenting on justice – those words come charged with a moral weight that politicians of Heaney’s day explicitly drew upon (lines from that play were quoted during the Northern Ireland peace process because they carried the authority of shared hope and suffering). Heaney’s adaptation of Sophocles was used by figures like Bill Clinton and Joe Biden in speeches, borrowing Heaney’s language to lend authenticity and depth to political rhetoric. This is not unlike Elizabeth enlisting Shakespeare and Spenser – in both cases, the authority of art bolsters the authority of rule or political action. Elizabeth herself was a supreme example of language conferring authority. She knew that if she spoke like a monarch, in the cadence of Scripture or classical oration, she would be accepted as one. Her speeches are remembered as masterpieces of persuasive authority – consider how her Tilbury speech simultaneously quelled doubt and stirred fervor simply through words. Moreover, by maintaining control over her public narrative, she ensured that her authority remained legitimate in the public’s eyes.
This is analogous to a Kripkean name maintaining a single reference – Elizabeth made sure the “Queen Elizabeth” the people imagined was always her, always authoritative, never undermined by some alternate image. She and her council even suppressed portraits that didn’t match the official image of her ageless beauty. In essence, she curated the truth that people could know about her – an ethically gray move, perhaps, but one that underscores the raw power of controlling language. The through-line here is that language can actualize power: for Kripke it actualizes intellectual power (clarity about reality), for Heaney cultural power (shaping understanding of history), for Elizabeth sovereign power (commanding allegiance).
Identity, Essence, and the Idea of Necessity
Each of our three figures deals with the tension between what is contingent and what is necessary in identity. Kripke gave us the clearest formulation: an object or person might have accidental properties (Aristotle might have had a different hair color or even no hair, he might have not taught Alexander) but also has essential ones (Aristotle could not have been anyone other than himself, nor could anyone else have been Aristotle). This notion of an immutable core identity finds echoes in Heaney’s and Elizabeth’s realms. Heaney’s characters often sense a pull of destiny or essential duty – Antigone feels it is necessary that she honor her brother according to divine law (her identity as a pious sister compels it), and that necessity is worth dying for.
In The Cure at Troy, there is a prophecy that Troy cannot fall without Philoctetes – a necessity of fate that drives the plot. Odysseus and Neoptolemus must recognize that despite all their schemes, they need Philoctetes; they cannot rewrite that necessity. How they achieve it (trickery or honesty) is up to them – just as Elizabeth’s counselors recognized certain political necessities (securing succession, placating both religious factions) and had to cleverly navigate how to meet them. Elizabeth herself constantly balanced what was necessary against what was contingent. She famously said she did not want to “make windows into men’s souls” – acknowledging she couldn’t control private conscience, only public conformity. Thus it was necessary for national unity that people outwardly follow the Church of England, but she let it remain contingent what they inwardly believed. This pragmatic separation of inner essence from outer behavior is almost Kripkean: she distinguished between the essential loyalty (no foreign Pope’s authority, which she required) and the accidental details of personal faith (which she was comparatively lenient about).
Moreover, Elizabeth seemed to believe in a kind of destiny for her reign. After the Armada defeat, the legend grew that she was the Protestant Deliverer, guarded by Providence. Her existence became entangled with a sense of historical necessity – that England’s flourishing needed Gloriana. By the end of her life, people had trouble conceiving England without her; indeed, a cult of memory grew that the time of “Good Queen Bess” was a golden age that had to end when she died, as if by a cosmic script.
Another interesting commonality: the interplay of personal identity and broader identity. Kripke talks about identity mostly at the level of individuals and natural kinds. Heaney deals with identity at individual (his characters) and collective levels (Irish identity, human identity in the shadow of history). Elizabeth’s very personal identity (her virginity, her femininity, her lineage) became symbolic of a national identity (England as a “virgin” unconquered island, or as a unified Protestant realm). All three thus confront how an identity can resonate outward. Kripke might say that the name “Elizabeth I” in 1600 rigidly designates one woman, but that name also became shorthand for an era – “the Elizabethan age.” Similarly, “Heaney” as a name now rigidly refers to Seamus Heaney, but also evokes a broader cultural voice (people say “In Heaney’s Ireland…” as if he embodies a whole tradition). This broadening of identity through linguistic reference is a phenomenon none of them would likely have predicted, yet it happened. The lesson here could be that when language captures an identity powerfully, that identity can transcend itself – a person becomes an icon, a name an institution. Elizabeth consciously wanted this – to be an icon in her own time.
Heaney perhaps more humbly became an icon of conscience through his words. Kripke, ironically, became an icon in analytic philosophy for reasserting the importance of reference and identity (some have dubbed it the “Kripkean revolution” in philosophy. The necessity aspect comes in when we consider how each dealt with inevitable constraints: Kripke argued some truths are inevitable (necessary) even if we don’t know them immediately; Heaney grappled with inevitable cycles of history but sought moments of grace when fate could change (as if invoking a new necessity – the necessity of justice); Elizabeth confronted the seemingly inevitable doubts about a female ruler and the inexorability of time (no heir, aging body) by creating a counter-narrative of necessity – it became necessary in people’s minds that she remain single and ageless for England’s sake. She turned what many saw as her biggest vulnerability (no husband, no heir) into a mark of providential design (the country needed a Virgin Queen). It’s a remarkable example of using narrative to alter what people consider historically necessary or inevitable.
Controlling Narrative and Historical Perception
Underlying these similarities is a fundamental theme: the control of narrative – be it logical narrative, poetic narrative, or historical narrative. Kripke controlled the narrative in philosophy by reframing how we talk about language and reality. He changed the story from “names are just descriptions we can swap out” to “names forge a stable link to reality that shapes what’s possible”. This influenced not only philosophy but linguistics and cognitive science, braying into the future of those fields. Heaney, in writing and re-writing ancient stories, was explicitly attempting to control the narrative of history’s impact on the present. By choosing which myths to retell and how to infuse them with modern urgency, he tried to guide how people in late 20th-century Ireland might view their own struggles – not as endless sectarian conflict, but as an ancient drama that might find resolution and catharsis. His famous lines about hope and history have indeed entered the narrative of peace and reconciliation; they’re quoted in political speeches and memorials, showing that he succeeded in altering the perception of what was possible.
Queen Elizabeth, of course, was all about narrative control: she and her advisors put forth an official story of her reign – one of benevolent success, national glory, and religious providence – and worked hard to suppress or discredit competing narratives (like those of Catholic detractors or of Mary Stuart’s claim). The propaganda of the Cult of Elizabeth was essentially a massive narrative project: through art and text, convince the populace (and posterity) that Elizabeth is a legendary good ruler. It succeeded to a remarkable degree. Even centuries later, popular culture loves the Elizabeth story (films, biographies, etc.), and it’s usually a sympathetic if not hagiographic tale. In a sense, she wrote the history before it happened. This is not unlike how Heaney, through dramatizing historical themes, aimed to rewrite the future by influencing hearts in the present; or how Kripke, by rewriting philosophical doctrines, influenced future research.
One could even say there’s a warning embedded across these stories: beware who authors the narrative. Kripke’s lesson is that if we get the theory of reference wrong, we might tie ourselves in philosophical knots and deny real truths (imagine if descriptivism were true – we might absurdly say “Aristotle never existed” if he didn’t match our description. In other words, a misnaming can obliterate reality. Heaney’s work warns that if we let others narrate our history (for instance, let hate or hurt dictate the story), we remain victims of it. But by seizing the narrative – telling our own story with honesty and hope – we can change the future’s course.
Elizabeth’s life is a case study in narrative as double-edged sword: wield it well and you gain power and unity; use it to mask truth and it can become propaganda. She largely used it to positive effect (for stability and loyalty), but the concept in less scrupulous hands can be dangerous. Modern politics is full of “alternative facts” and spin – a lineage traceable to the Tudors’ mastery of image. The lesson for us is to strive for authenticity even as we craft narratives. Each of our three figures, at their best, aligned narrative with a deep sense of truth or necessity: Kripke aligned it with metaphysical truth, Heaney with moral truth, Elizabeth with a vision of national stability (arguably a political truth of what England needed at the time).
Conclusion: Past as Prologue – Organic Revelations Across Time
Exploring Saul Kripke, Seamus Heaney, and Queen Elizabeth I side by side, we uncover a surprisingly coherent conversation about how words shape worlds. In each domain – logic, literature, leadership – we see that identity is both discovered and invented through language. Kripke teaches us that there’s an underlying order to how words latch onto reality, a lesson in humility and precision: some things are what they are, no matter what we call them, so we’d better call them rightly.
Heaney teaches us that while history may weigh like fate, language can illuminate paths through the darkness: by naming our demons and our hopes, we can find meaning and maybe even healing in what seemed necessary suffering. Elizabeth shows us that perception can be as powerful as truth – but also that a leader who understands the poetry of power can steer a nation’s fate. She intuitively grasped, as Kripke did philosophically, that naming is an act of creation: by naming herself and her story on her own terms, she in effect created a new political reality, one where a queen could be as revered as a king (and in her case, far more successful than many).
There is a compelling coherence in these connections. It’s as if Kripke provides the theory that words have fixed referents, Heaney provides the humane practice of using words to anchor meaning in a tumultuous world, and Elizabeth provides the proof in action – showing that by fixing the meaning of her role (in the minds of her people) she attained a kind of necessary place in history. All three legacies continue to resonate. Kripke’s ideas about naming and necessity still influence debates in philosophy, cognitive science, and linguistics – shaping how future thinkers conceive of meaning. Heaney’s lines and reimagined myths continue to give solace and insight – their use by peacemakers and readers ensures that the past’s lessons are not forgotten, that the future can be approached with “hope and history” in harmony.
Elizabeth’s reign, often romanticized, stands as both inspiration and caution: a woman who led with wisdom and words, yet whose very success depended on a kind of constructed reality. Modern leaders study her for tips on public image and statecraft – the notion of the “media monarch” arguably begins with her. The past, in these stories, isn’t past at all; it actively shapes the future, as each of these figures understood.
In drawing together Kripke, Heaney, and Elizabeth I, we’re reminded that human beings live at the intersection of language and reality. Our philosophies, our arts, and our politics are all attempts to bridge the world as it is with the world as articulate it. There’s a kind of revelation in seeing these threads: it shows that truth and story, necessity and freedom, logic and poetry are not opposites but partners in the grand narrative of human civilization. Each of these individuals, in their own way, cautions us to use our words wisely – to seek the true names of things, to speak with integrity about our history, and to recognize the creative power we wield whenever we declare “this is who I am” or “this is what must be.”
And perhaps the final insight here is this: by examining such unlikely companions side by side, we engage in the very process they all cared about – connecting names to meaning. We connect their names – Kripke, Heaney, Elizabeth – and find a meaningful constellation. In doing so, we participate in that endless project of making sense of the world, one connection at a time, guided by those who came before and lighting a way for those who come after.
Sources
Kripke, Saul. Naming and Necessity. Harvard Univ. Press, 1980. (Summary of key concepts en.wikipedia.org en.wikipedia.org en.wikipedia.org )
Heaney, Seamus. The Cure at Troy (1990) and The Burial at Thebes (2004). (Analysis of themes of identity, history, language literarysum.com en.wikipedia.org )
Historical accounts of Queen Elizabeth I’s speeches and propaganda (Tilbury speech, 1588 tutorchase.com ; Act of Supremacy title, 1559 elizabethi.org ; Cult of Elizabeth questionai.com tutorchase.com )
“The Elizabethan Religious Settlement (1559)” – Elizabeth I’s title “Supreme Governor” and its significance elizabethi.org .
Literary analyses of Heaney’s adaptations (e.g., use of Irish linguistic elements literarysum.com literarysum.com ).
Melvyn Bragg’s The Adventure of English and other works (context on Elizabethan language and identity crafting).
#cureAtTroy #drama #england #Heaney #insight #irish #kripke #labeling #literature #meaning #nebraska #philosophy #politics #QueenElizabeth #theatre
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Prophecies over coming days
We can get pictures of what went on in the past by the many research papers, historical books and documentaries. Many empires have come and gone. Throughout the centuries many battles were fought. After World War I people even thought there would never come a war again.
Part 5Peace and progress?
What a shock the events of the 20th century turned out to be! The dream of progress and peace faded. Two terrible world wars, with millions of slain and untold damage and suffering, were followed by the development of the most frightfully destructive weapons ever invented. The varying solutions in which the “wise men” of the 19th century put their trust have all been exposed as false. More widespread education has not been followed by higher moral standards, but by a growth in dishonesty, greed, violence and crime. The Christian religion, far from converting the nations, is in decline all over the earth. Democracy in politics has not proved the magic cure for social evils that was expected. Finally – cruellest blow of all – science has proved a frighteningly double-edged weapon. Far from being an era of peace, this “civilised” age has become a time of strife and violence. No wonder the attitude of so many people is one of pessimistic resignation. There seems little any one can do.
Now what has Bible prophecy to say about all this?
It has a clear forecast of the “last days”, “the time of the end”, when the career of mankind in the earth will come to a critical point. It is not a picture of continuing progress and peace, but rather of world trouble and fear. The clearest and most striking example of this is found in what Jesus says to his disciples, when they asked him what would be the sign of his return to the earth and of “the end of the world”. He tells them first about the fate of the Jewish people:
“They (the Jews) shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles (the nations), until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.” (Luke 21:24)
Now this is a brief description of what we have already considered in prophecy concerning Israel. The Jews were to be driven as captives into all nations; Jerusalem was to be subject to Gentile powers. Note that Jesus implies a limit to this:
“until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled”.
We have seen the beginning of this in our own days: Jerusalem is no longer dominated by “foreign” powers – it is under the control of Israel itself.
World distress and fear
So what he says next must also apply to the same days – the days of Israel’s restoration to their own land. This is what he foretells:
“And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after (for expectation of, R.V.) those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.” (verses 25,26)
This is no picture of peace and progress. It is a world of distress and perplexity, of fear seizing men’s hearts as they contemplate the events taking place on “the inhabited earth” (as the word Jesus used literally means).
The Apostle Paul, writing about 35 years after the time of Jesus’ prophecy, has this to say about the character of the last days:
“In the last days there will come times of stress. For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, inhuman, implacable, slanderers, profligates, fierce, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding the form of religion but denying the power of it.” (2 Timothy 3:1-5, RSV)
This is an astonishing picture of a civilisation; mankind is throwing off all restraint and indulging its own desires, reckless of consequences. Its uncanny resemblance to the developments in our own world cannot be denied.
So this is the position: whereas the “wise men” of only 100 years ago were confidently anticipating an era of progress and peace for the nations of the world, the Bible, in the words of Jesus and Paul, was foretelling a world of distress, fear, and perplexity, an age of violence, self-indulgence and hatred. Our human philosophers were wrong; Jesus and Paul were right. But they spoke and wrote over 1,900 years ago! How could they have known? Only because neither of them spoke his own words, but the words of God Himself. It was God who knew, and inspired His Son and His apostle to reveal the character of the last days.
CONCLUSIONS
There are certain important conclusions to be drawn from our consideration of these Bible prophecies.
If the Bible has proved to be so right in its predictions about events in human history – the fates of Babylon, Egypt, and Israel, as well as the rise and fall of empires, and the state of the modern world – is it not just as likely to be right in its predictions of events which have not yet come to pass?
Take that image vision in Daniel, for instance. We have not so far commented upon the final development: the stone, “cut out of the mountain without hands”, smote the image on the feet, destroyed it, and then itself “became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth” (Daniel 2:35). Now the general sense of this is plain: a new element, not part of the image empires and kingdoms, destroys them and takes their place in the earth. And since “without hands” must mean “without human hands” the stone must represent no ordinary human power.
But Daniel tells us himself what it means:
“In the days of those kings (that is, the various kingdoms that followed the Roman Empire) shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed … it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever.” (verse 44)
The present governments and powers of the world are to be removed, in a sudden dramatic event, when God intervenes and sets up His own government. To avoid misunderstanding it should be said that it is not the populations of the earth who are to be destroyed: it is the power and authority of their human governments, to be replaced by the new kingdom of God. Many other prophecies tell us of the nature of this Kingdom; the uprightness of its rule, the truth of its teaching, and the peace it will at last bring to mankind through their recognition of “the God of heaven”. Read for instance Isaiah 2:1-4 for a clear and striking picture of the nations in that age to come.
But how exactly is this great change in the earth to be accomplished? The New Testament tells us. In fact Jesus himself tells us in that prophecy of times of trouble and fear for all nations. His next words are these:
“Then shall they see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.” (Luke 21:27)
He is saying that he will come back himself. The return of Christ to the earth is a frequent theme in the teachings of Jesus and the apostles in the New Testament. They agree completely with the prophets. Read Psalm 72 for a picture of his reign.
Now this surely is what should concern us: if the prophecies of the Bible about nations and empires have proved so true over a period of more than 2,000 years, are not those other things they predict also likely to come to pass? Is it not unreasonable to say:
“Well, I accept that the prophets were right in their predictions in these historical matters, but I can’t believe what they say about the future for us.”
Why not? They have given evidence that they were setting out not their own ideas, but the very purposes of God. Whatever else they say must surely claim from us all the most careful attention.
The vital element
But of course there is more. These remarkable prophecies are found in the Bible, and nowhere else in the world. There are no other writings, no other books, no other human pronouncements which can even begin to compare with the Bible. But the Bible tells us that Jesus was the Son of God; the things he said are preserved for us in the Gospels of the New Testament. Together with the teachings of his inspired apostles Peter, John and Paul, they reveal to us truths we cannot know otherwise. They warn us of the reality of death; they explain why the Gospel is “the good news”, “the power of God unto salvation” (Romans 1:16). They encourage us with the promise of a lasting life in the new order which Christ will establish when he comes. That is why we ought to be reading the Bible. It can make the vital difference to us between the hopelessness of death and the confident hope of everlasting life.
Careful reading of the Bible will convince us that God exists, that He is in control, and that He calls us to be disciples of His Son. The Bible is the book for us. We do well to pay attention to what it says.
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Preceding
The Greatness of the eternal God
The New Testament and Judgement
To be prepared for the Day of Judgment
Living as a believer in Christ
A participation in the body of Christ
Do you believe what Christ’s Apostles taught?
Bible Reading: is it worthwhile?
The importance of Reading the Scriptures
The Bible: is it contradictory?
The Development of Differences
Bible Teaching and Vital Doctrines to Discover
Avoiding friction and distraction in the body of Christ
A participation in the body of Christ
Brothers and sisters in Christ for you
The Christadelphians or “Brethren in Christ”
Video: Introducing the Christadelphian Community
Who has the power of prophecy?
Prophecy concerning Babylon and Israel
The most incredible feature of the prophecies
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Increase our zeal for the Holy scriptures
To be prepared and very well oiled
January’s issue of The Christadelphian
Memorizing wonderfully 20 Mountain and Kingdom of God
Next
The revival of Israel
Why is the nation of Israel being restored?
The Jews have fulfilled Bible Prophecy
Will There Ever be Peace on Earth?
Sign of the Times and the Last Days
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Additional reading
- A look at On Science & Religion
- Not about personal salvation but about a bigger Plan
- God’s Plan, Purpose and teachings
- Necessity of a revelation of creation 9 Searching the Scriptures
- Messianic prophesies 2 Adversary – Root of the first prophecy
- High time to show the way to peace
- Devotees and spotters
- Signs of the Last Days
- Seeds and weeds for being the greatest nation
- A New Reformation
- Americans their stars, pretension, God, Allah and end of times signs #3 Cyberwars and prophesy
- Need to reject an archaic, racist inspired interpretation of the Bible and animosity against other believers
- Christians at War? Christians using violence?
- Shariah and child abuse – Is there a connection?
- The Rapture Wars
- A Church without Faith!
- Honest-hearted people are losing faith in humanity and humanity losing faith in God
- Back from gone #4 Your inner feelings and actions
- What I Hope For Is What You Hope For
- Jesus … will come in the same way as you saw him go
+++
Related
- On Expectations and Moral Standards
- Where Does the Broader Society Get Its Standard for Correct Behavior?
- “There Is Something Wrong”
- Are we guilty? Self-definition & the matter of “right” and “wrong”.
- He will show you a good standard of living! (Not as in where you live)
- Nebuchadnezzar’s Metal Man
- Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream
Rate this:
#19Century #20Century #ApostlePaul #Bible #BookOfDaniel #ChristianReligion #Crime #Dishonesty #Distress #DreamOfPeace #DreamOfProgress #Education #EndTime #EndTimes #EndTimeProphecies #Endtimes #FateOfBabylon #FateOfEgypt #FateOfIsrael #Greed #Jerusalem #LastDays #MoralStandardS_ #PresentAge #RestorationOfIsrael #RestorationOfJerusalem #ReturnOfChrist #Science #Sign #SignOfTheReturnOfChrist #SignsOfEndtimes #Strife #TimesOfTheGentiles #Violence #WorldWarI #WorldWarII #WorldWarS_
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Spirituality & Religious Studies @spiritualityreligiousstudies.wordpress.com@spiritualityreligiousstudies.wordpress.com ·CW: This has a mention of LBGTQ+ un-inclusion. If you aren't comfortable with this, please check out 1 of our other posts.
Two By Twos
Also known as 2x2s, The Truth, & The Way.
This is an international home-based Christian religious movement that was founded in 1897 by William Irvine in Ireland. Mr. Irvine was an evangelist with the interdominational Faith Mission. He began preaching independently that the intinerant ministry outlined in Matthew, chapter 10 (“The Little Commission”) was the only real way of evangelism.
This church grew quickly. It eventually spread outside Ireland. Eventually Irvine began preaching a new order in which the hierarchy developed within the Church would have no placement. This teaching became controversial within the church. This led to his expulsion by the church’s most prominent evangelists. Edward Cooney was expelled 10 years later after Irvine. The church then became much less visible to outsiders for the next 50 years.
Some in the church state it’s a direct continuation of the 1st century Christian church. Others in the church believe that a restoration occurred in the late 19th century. Ministers are itinerant & work in pairs. Hence the name of Two by Twos. Members hold regular twice weekly worship gatherings in local homes on Sunday & midweek. (Like on Wednesday or Thursday. There are other Christian denominations that also have twice a week services.)
The Church also holds annual regional conventions for members & public Gospel meetings. Baptism by immersion, as performed by 1 of the church’s workers, is required to partake in the emblems of bread & wine (or Communion) at the fellowship gathering(s).
The orthodox Christian Trinitarian doctrine is rejected. Doctrine of the church teaches that salvation is reached by attending the group’s home meetings, accepting the preaching of its itinerant, unsalaried ministry workers, & “professing.”
The church teaches that salvation isn’t achieved through faith alone but only through a combination of faith & “works.” Works are considered acts of self-denial such as wearing modest clothes & wearing long hair in a bun (if you’re a woman) or attending all meetings regardless how far away they are. The church doesn’t do any outreach programs or encourage its members to participate in charities.
The church doesn’t have an official HQ or publications. It doesn’t explicitly publish any doctrinal statements, insisting that such tenets may only be directly imparted orally by its ministers, referred to as “workers.” Its hymnbook & various other material for internal use are produced by outside publishers & printing firms. Printed invitations & advertisements for its open gospel services are the only written materials that those outside the church are likely to encounter.
Among members, the church is usually referred to as “The Truth,” “Meetings,” or “the workers & friends.” But members deny an official church/denomination name (like Baptist, United Brethern, etc.).
Those outside the group refer to it as: “Two by Twos,” “The Black Stockings,” “No-Name Church,” “Cooneyites,” “Workers & Friends,” or “Christians Anonymous,” & journalists call it: “2×2” for short. The church has a variety of registered names: “Christian Conventions” (US); “Assemblies of Christians” & “The Alberta Society of Christian Assemblies” (Canada); “The Testimony of Jesus” (UK); “Kristna i Sverige” (Sweden); & “United Christian Conventions” (Australia).
These registered names are used only for specific purposes (like to register for conscientious objection during wartime or taxes) & aren’t routinely used by members.
In 1896, William Irvine was sent from Scotland to southern Ireland as a missionary by John George Govan’s Faith Mission. Because his mission was successful, he was promoted to superintendent of Faith Mission in southern Ireland. Within a few months of his arrival in Ireland, Irvine became disillusioned with the Faith Mission.
Irvine was increasingly intolerant of the Faith Mission’s cooperation with other churches & clergy in various communities of southern Ireland. In 1897, he started independently preaching, saying that true/real ministries must have no home & take no salary. He also held that the manner in which the disciples had been sent out in chapter 10 of Matthew’s Gospel was a permanent commandment which must still be observed.
Irvine’s preaching during his latest mission influenced others who began to leave their respective churches & join Irvine to form an initial core of followers. The church founded by Irvine is the only religion known to have had its origin, & early development, in Ireland.
All the church’s teachings are conveyed orally. The church doesn’t publish doctrine or statements of faith. “Workers” hold that all church teachings are based solely on the Bible. Church members & “workers” will publicly declare that the church doesn’t own any buildings. However, members own rural, or semi-rural, properties dedicated to worship, housing workers, & church gatherings. Its ministers don’t own homes or take salaries.
The King James Version Bible is the only scripture used in English-language services. The Bible itself is held as insufficient for salvation unless its words are “made alive” through the preaching of church ministers. The offhand preaching of the ministry is considered to be guided by God & must be heard directly. Great weight is given to the thoughts of workers, especially more senior workers.
Salvation is achieved through willingness to uphold the church’s standards, by faithfully following in “the way,” & by personal worthiness. Doctrines such as predestination, original sin, justification by faith alone, & redemption as the sole basis of salvation are rejected. The church is exclusivist & salvation is only through the Two by Two ministry & meetings.
Other standards include modest dress, not wearing jewelry, long hair for women & short hair for me, not getting piercing, not dying hair, not getting tattoos, & avoinding activities deemed to be worldly or frivolous (like smoking, drinking alcohol, watching TV & watching movies). The church has actively condemned pre-marital relations & don’t care for LGBTQ+ persons/identities.
The church has rejected the doctrine of the Trinity since its inception. Though the members believe in the Father, Son, & Holy Spirit, the have a Unitarian view of Jesus. Jesus is God’s son, a fully human figure who came to Earth to establish a way of ministry & salvation, but not God’s Himself.
Baptism by 1 of the church’s ministers is considered a necessary step for salvation & full participation, including re-baptism of people by other churches. Candidates are approved by the local workers & are baptized by immersion. Baptisms are often scheduled for 1 morning during a Convention & are typically performed in small ponds on the property.
Members state that the church doesn’t have a formal organization. Members don’t participate in, & many are unaware of, the church’s governance. Both expenditures & funds collected remain secret from the membership & no accounting is made public. Funds are handled through stewardships, trusts, & cash transactions.
The church is controlled by a small group of senior male overseers with each having oversight of a specific geographic region. These head workers handle the 2-by-2 pairing & field assignments with the workers for that area.
Make a one-time donation
Your contribution is appreciated.
DonateMake a monthly donation
Your contribution is appreciated.
Donate monthlyMake a yearly donation
Your contribution is appreciated.
Donate yearlyRate this:
#1896 #1897 #1stCentury #2x2s #AssembliesOfChristians #Australia #BaptismByImmersion #bible #Canada #Christian #ChristianConventions #Christianity #ChristiansAnonymous #Cooneyites #Disciples #EdwardCooney #Evangelism #Evangelist #Exclusivist #faith #FaithMission #God #Ireland #Jesus #KingJamesBible #KristinaISverige #Late19thCentury #Matthew10 #NoNameChurch #OriginalSin #OrthodoxChristian #Predestination #Redemption #Salvation #Scotland #SouthernScotland #Sunday #Sweden #TheAlbertaSocietyOfChristianAssemblies #TheBlackStockings #TheLittleCommission #TheTestimonyOfJesus #Trinitarianism #TwoByTwos #UnitedConventions #UnitedKingdom #UnitedStatesOfAmerica #WilliamIrvine #WorkersFriends -
Spirituality & Religious Studies @spiritualityreligiousstudies.wordpress.com@spiritualityreligiousstudies.wordpress.com ·CW: This has a mention of LBGTQ+ un-inclusion. If you aren't comfortable with this, please check out 1 of our other posts.
Two By Twos
Also known as 2x2s, The Truth, & The Way.
This is an international home-based Christian religious movement that was founded in 1897 by William Irvine in Ireland. Mr. Irvine was an evangelist with the interdominational Faith Mission. He began preaching independently that the intinerant ministry outlined in Matthew, chapter 10 (“The Little Commission”) was the only real way of evangelism.
This church grew quickly. It eventually spread outside Ireland. Eventually Irvine began preaching a new order in which the hierarchy developed within the Church would have no placement. This teaching became controversial within the church. This led to his expulsion by the church’s most prominent evangelists. Edward Cooney was expelled 10 years later after Irvine. The church then became much less visible to outsiders for the next 50 years.
Some in the church state it’s a direct continuation of the 1st century Christian church. Others in the church believe that a restoration occurred in the late 19th century. Ministers are itinerant & work in pairs. Hence the name of Two by Twos. Members hold regular twice weekly worship gatherings in local homes on Sunday & midweek. (Like on Wednesday or Thursday. There are other Christian denominations that also have twice a week services.)
The Church also holds annual regional conventions for members & public Gospel meetings. Baptism by immersion, as performed by 1 of the church’s workers, is required to partake in the emblems of bread & wine (or Communion) at the fellowship gathering(s).
The orthodox Christian Trinitarian doctrine is rejected. Doctrine of the church teaches that salvation is reached by attending the group’s home meetings, accepting the preaching of its itinerant, unsalaried ministry workers, & “professing.”
The church teaches that salvation isn’t achieved through faith alone but only through a combination of faith & “works.” Works are considered acts of self-denial such as wearing modest clothes & wearing long hair in a bun (if you’re a woman) or attending all meetings regardless how far away they are. The church doesn’t do any outreach programs or encourage its members to participate in charities.
The church doesn’t have an official HQ or publications. It doesn’t explicitly publish any doctrinal statements, insisting that such tenets may only be directly imparted orally by its ministers, referred to as “workers.” Its hymnbook & various other material for internal use are produced by outside publishers & printing firms. Printed invitations & advertisements for its open gospel services are the only written materials that those outside the church are likely to encounter.
Among members, the church is usually referred to as “The Truth,” “Meetings,” or “the workers & friends.” But members deny an official church/denomination name (like Baptist, United Brethern, etc.).
Those outside the group refer to it as: “Two by Twos,” “The Black Stockings,” “No-Name Church,” “Cooneyites,” “Workers & Friends,” or “Christians Anonymous,” & journalists call it: “2×2” for short. The church has a variety of registered names: “Christian Conventions” (US); “Assemblies of Christians” & “The Alberta Society of Christian Assemblies” (Canada); “The Testimony of Jesus” (UK); “Kristna i Sverige” (Sweden); & “United Christian Conventions” (Australia).
These registered names are used only for specific purposes (like to register for conscientious objection during wartime or taxes) & aren’t routinely used by members.
In 1896, William Irvine was sent from Scotland to southern Ireland as a missionary by John George Govan’s Faith Mission. Because his mission was successful, he was promoted to superintendent of Faith Mission in southern Ireland. Within a few months of his arrival in Ireland, Irvine became disillusioned with the Faith Mission.
Irvine was increasingly intolerant of the Faith Mission’s cooperation with other churches & clergy in various communities of southern Ireland. In 1897, he started independently preaching, saying that true/real ministries must have no home & take no salary. He also held that the manner in which the disciples had been sent out in chapter 10 of Matthew’s Gospel was a permanent commandment which must still be observed.
Irvine’s preaching during his latest mission influenced others who began to leave their respective churches & join Irvine to form an initial core of followers. The church founded by Irvine is the only religion known to have had its origin, & early development, in Ireland.
All the church’s teachings are conveyed orally. The church doesn’t publish doctrine or statements of faith. “Workers” hold that all church teachings are based solely on the Bible. Church members & “workers” will publicly declare that the church doesn’t own any buildings. However, members own rural, or semi-rural, properties dedicated to worship, housing workers, & church gatherings. Its ministers don’t own homes or take salaries.
The King James Version Bible is the only scripture used in English-language services. The Bible itself is held as insufficient for salvation unless its words are “made alive” through the preaching of church ministers. The offhand preaching of the ministry is considered to be guided by God & must be heard directly. Great weight is given to the thoughts of workers, especially more senior workers.
Salvation is achieved through willingness to uphold the church’s standards, by faithfully following in “the way,” & by personal worthiness. Doctrines such as predestination, original sin, justification by faith alone, & redemption as the sole basis of salvation are rejected. The church is exclusivist & salvation is only through the Two by Two ministry & meetings.
Other standards include modest dress, not wearing jewelry, long hair for women & short hair for me, not getting piercing, not dying hair, not getting tattoos, & avoinding activities deemed to be worldly or frivolous (like smoking, drinking alcohol, watching TV & watching movies). The church has actively condemned pre-marital relations & don’t care for LGBTQ+ persons/identities.
The church has rejected the doctrine of the Trinity since its inception. Though the members believe in the Father, Son, & Holy Spirit, the have a Unitarian view of Jesus. Jesus is God’s son, a fully human figure who came to Earth to establish a way of ministry & salvation, but not God’s Himself.
Baptism by 1 of the church’s ministers is considered a necessary step for salvation & full participation, including re-baptism of people by other churches. Candidates are approved by the local workers & are baptized by immersion. Baptisms are often scheduled for 1 morning during a Convention & are typically performed in small ponds on the property.
Members state that the church doesn’t have a formal organization. Members don’t participate in, & many are unaware of, the church’s governance. Both expenditures & funds collected remain secret from the membership & no accounting is made public. Funds are handled through stewardships, trusts, & cash transactions.
The church is controlled by a small group of senior male overseers with each having oversight of a specific geographic region. These head workers handle the 2-by-2 pairing & field assignments with the workers for that area.
Make a one-time donation
Your contribution is appreciated.
DonateMake a monthly donation
Your contribution is appreciated.
Donate monthlyMake a yearly donation
Your contribution is appreciated.
Donate yearlyRate this:
#1896 #1897 #1stCentury #2x2s #AssembliesOfChristians #Australia #BaptismByImmersion #bible #Canada #Christian #ChristianConventions #Christianity #ChristiansAnonymous #Cooneyites #Disciples #EdwardCooney #Evangelism #Evangelist #Exclusivist #faith #FaithMission #God #Ireland #Jesus #KingJamesBible #KristinaISverige #Late19thCentury #Matthew10 #NoNameChurch #OriginalSin #OrthodoxChristian #Predestination #Redemption #Salvation #Scotland #SouthernScotland #Sunday #Sweden #TheAlbertaSocietyOfChristianAssemblies #TheBlackStockings #TheLittleCommission #TheTestimonyOfJesus #Trinitarianism #TwoByTwos #UnitedConventions #UnitedKingdom #UnitedStatesOfAmerica #WilliamIrvine #WorkersFriends -
Spirituality & Religious Studies @spiritualityreligiousstudies.wordpress.com@spiritualityreligiousstudies.wordpress.com ·CW: This has a mention of LBGTQ+ un-inclusion. If you aren't comfortable with this, please check out 1 of our other posts.
Two By Twos
Also known as 2x2s, The Truth, & The Way.
This is an international home-based Christian religious movement that was founded in 1897 by William Irvine in Ireland. Mr. Irvine was an evangelist with the interdominational Faith Mission. He began preaching independently that the intinerant ministry outlined in Matthew, chapter 10 (“The Little Commission”) was the only real way of evangelism.
This church grew quickly. It eventually spread outside Ireland. Eventually Irvine began preaching a new order in which the hierarchy developed within the Church would have no placement. This teaching became controversial within the church. This led to his expulsion by the church’s most prominent evangelists. Edward Cooney was expelled 10 years later after Irvine. The church then became much less visible to outsiders for the next 50 years.
Some in the church state it’s a direct continuation of the 1st century Christian church. Others in the church believe that a restoration occurred in the late 19th century. Ministers are itinerant & work in pairs. Hence the name of Two by Twos. Members hold regular twice weekly worship gatherings in local homes on Sunday & midweek. (Like on Wednesday or Thursday. There are other Christian denominations that also have twice a week services.)
The Church also holds annual regional conventions for members & public Gospel meetings. Baptism by immersion, as performed by 1 of the church’s workers, is required to partake in the emblems of bread & wine (or Communion) at the fellowship gathering(s).
The orthodox Christian Trinitarian doctrine is rejected. Doctrine of the church teaches that salvation is reached by attending the group’s home meetings, accepting the preaching of its itinerant, unsalaried ministry workers, & “professing.”
The church teaches that salvation isn’t achieved through faith alone but only through a combination of faith & “works.” Works are considered acts of self-denial such as wearing modest clothes & wearing long hair in a bun (if you’re a woman) or attending all meetings regardless how far away they are. The church doesn’t do any outreach programs or encourage its members to participate in charities.
The church doesn’t have an official HQ or publications. It doesn’t explicitly publish any doctrinal statements, insisting that such tenets may only be directly imparted orally by its ministers, referred to as “workers.” Its hymnbook & various other material for internal use are produced by outside publishers & printing firms. Printed invitations & advertisements for its open gospel services are the only written materials that those outside the church are likely to encounter.
Among members, the church is usually referred to as “The Truth,” “Meetings,” or “the workers & friends.” But members deny an official church/denomination name (like Baptist, United Brethern, etc.).
Those outside the group refer to it as: “Two by Twos,” “The Black Stockings,” “No-Name Church,” “Cooneyites,” “Workers & Friends,” or “Christians Anonymous,” & journalists call it: “2×2” for short. The church has a variety of registered names: “Christian Conventions” (US); “Assemblies of Christians” & “The Alberta Society of Christian Assemblies” (Canada); “The Testimony of Jesus” (UK); “Kristna i Sverige” (Sweden); & “United Christian Conventions” (Australia).
These registered names are used only for specific purposes (like to register for conscientious objection during wartime or taxes) & aren’t routinely used by members.
In 1896, William Irvine was sent from Scotland to southern Ireland as a missionary by John George Govan’s Faith Mission. Because his mission was successful, he was promoted to superintendent of Faith Mission in southern Ireland. Within a few months of his arrival in Ireland, Irvine became disillusioned with the Faith Mission.
Irvine was increasingly intolerant of the Faith Mission’s cooperation with other churches & clergy in various communities of southern Ireland. In 1897, he started independently preaching, saying that true/real ministries must have no home & take no salary. He also held that the manner in which the disciples had been sent out in chapter 10 of Matthew’s Gospel was a permanent commandment which must still be observed.
Irvine’s preaching during his latest mission influenced others who began to leave their respective churches & join Irvine to form an initial core of followers. The church founded by Irvine is the only religion known to have had its origin, & early development, in Ireland.
All the church’s teachings are conveyed orally. The church doesn’t publish doctrine or statements of faith. “Workers” hold that all church teachings are based solely on the Bible. Church members & “workers” will publicly declare that the church doesn’t own any buildings. However, members own rural, or semi-rural, properties dedicated to worship, housing workers, & church gatherings. Its ministers don’t own homes or take salaries.
The King James Version Bible is the only scripture used in English-language services. The Bible itself is held as insufficient for salvation unless its words are “made alive” through the preaching of church ministers. The offhand preaching of the ministry is considered to be guided by God & must be heard directly. Great weight is given to the thoughts of workers, especially more senior workers.
Salvation is achieved through willingness to uphold the church’s standards, by faithfully following in “the way,” & by personal worthiness. Doctrines such as predestination, original sin, justification by faith alone, & redemption as the sole basis of salvation are rejected. The church is exclusivist & salvation is only through the Two by Two ministry & meetings.
Other standards include modest dress, not wearing jewelry, long hair for women & short hair for me, not getting piercing, not dying hair, not getting tattoos, & avoinding activities deemed to be worldly or frivolous (like smoking, drinking alcohol, watching TV & watching movies). The church has actively condemned pre-marital relations & don’t care for LGBTQ+ persons/identities.
The church has rejected the doctrine of the Trinity since its inception. Though the members believe in the Father, Son, & Holy Spirit, the have a Unitarian view of Jesus. Jesus is God’s son, a fully human figure who came to Earth to establish a way of ministry & salvation, but not God’s Himself.
Baptism by 1 of the church’s ministers is considered a necessary step for salvation & full participation, including re-baptism of people by other churches. Candidates are approved by the local workers & are baptized by immersion. Baptisms are often scheduled for 1 morning during a Convention & are typically performed in small ponds on the property.
Members state that the church doesn’t have a formal organization. Members don’t participate in, & many are unaware of, the church’s governance. Both expenditures & funds collected remain secret from the membership & no accounting is made public. Funds are handled through stewardships, trusts, & cash transactions.
The church is controlled by a small group of senior male overseers with each having oversight of a specific geographic region. These head workers handle the 2-by-2 pairing & field assignments with the workers for that area.
Make a one-time donation
Your contribution is appreciated.
DonateMake a monthly donation
Your contribution is appreciated.
Donate monthlyMake a yearly donation
Your contribution is appreciated.
Donate yearlyRate this:
#1896 #1897 #1stCentury #2x2s #AssembliesOfChristians #Australia #BaptismByImmersion #bible #Canada #Christian #ChristianConventions #Christianity #ChristiansAnonymous #Cooneyites #Disciples #EdwardCooney #Evangelism #Evangelist #Exclusivist #faith #FaithMission #God #Ireland #Jesus #KingJamesBible #KristinaISverige #Late19thCentury #Matthew10 #NoNameChurch #OriginalSin #OrthodoxChristian #Predestination #Redemption #Salvation #Scotland #SouthernScotland #Sunday #Sweden #TheAlbertaSocietyOfChristianAssemblies #TheBlackStockings #TheLittleCommission #TheTestimonyOfJesus #Trinitarianism #TwoByTwos #UnitedConventions #UnitedKingdom #UnitedStatesOfAmerica #WilliamIrvine #WorkersFriends -
Spirituality & Religious Studies @spiritualityreligiousstudies.wordpress.com@spiritualityreligiousstudies.wordpress.com ·CW: This has a mention of LBGTQ+ un-inclusion. If you aren't comfortable with this, please check out 1 of our other posts.
Two By Twos
Also known as 2x2s, The Truth, & The Way.
This is an international home-based Christian religious movement that was founded in 1897 by William Irvine in Ireland. Mr. Irvine was an evangelist with the interdominational Faith Mission. He began preaching independently that the intinerant ministry outlined in Matthew, chapter 10 (“The Little Commission”) was the only real way of evangelism.
This church grew quickly. It eventually spread outside Ireland. Eventually Irvine began preaching a new order in which the hierarchy developed within the Church would have no placement. This teaching became controversial within the church. This led to his expulsion by the church’s most prominent evangelists. Edward Cooney was expelled 10 years later after Irvine. The church then became much less visible to outsiders for the next 50 years.
Some in the church state it’s a direct continuation of the 1st century Christian church. Others in the church believe that a restoration occurred in the late 19th century. Ministers are itinerant & work in pairs. Hence the name of Two by Twos. Members hold regular twice weekly worship gatherings in local homes on Sunday & midweek. (Like on Wednesday or Thursday. There are other Christian denominations that also have twice a week services.)
The Church also holds annual regional conventions for members & public Gospel meetings. Baptism by immersion, as performed by 1 of the church’s workers, is required to partake in the emblems of bread & wine (or Communion) at the fellowship gathering(s).
The orthodox Christian Trinitarian doctrine is rejected. Doctrine of the church teaches that salvation is reached by attending the group’s home meetings, accepting the preaching of its itinerant, unsalaried ministry workers, & “professing.”
The church teaches that salvation isn’t achieved through faith alone but only through a combination of faith & “works.” Works are considered acts of self-denial such as wearing modest clothes & wearing long hair in a bun (if you’re a woman) or attending all meetings regardless how far away they are. The church doesn’t do any outreach programs or encourage its members to participate in charities.
The church doesn’t have an official HQ or publications. It doesn’t explicitly publish any doctrinal statements, insisting that such tenets may only be directly imparted orally by its ministers, referred to as “workers.” Its hymnbook & various other material for internal use are produced by outside publishers & printing firms. Printed invitations & advertisements for its open gospel services are the only written materials that those outside the church are likely to encounter.
Among members, the church is usually referred to as “The Truth,” “Meetings,” or “the workers & friends.” But members deny an official church/denomination name (like Baptist, United Brethern, etc.).
Those outside the group refer to it as: “Two by Twos,” “The Black Stockings,” “No-Name Church,” “Cooneyites,” “Workers & Friends,” or “Christians Anonymous,” & journalists call it: “2×2” for short. The church has a variety of registered names: “Christian Conventions” (US); “Assemblies of Christians” & “The Alberta Society of Christian Assemblies” (Canada); “The Testimony of Jesus” (UK); “Kristna i Sverige” (Sweden); & “United Christian Conventions” (Australia).
These registered names are used only for specific purposes (like to register for conscientious objection during wartime or taxes) & aren’t routinely used by members.
In 1896, William Irvine was sent from Scotland to southern Ireland as a missionary by John George Govan’s Faith Mission. Because his mission was successful, he was promoted to superintendent of Faith Mission in southern Ireland. Within a few months of his arrival in Ireland, Irvine became disillusioned with the Faith Mission.
Irvine was increasingly intolerant of the Faith Mission’s cooperation with other churches & clergy in various communities of southern Ireland. In 1897, he started independently preaching, saying that true/real ministries must have no home & take no salary. He also held that the manner in which the disciples had been sent out in chapter 10 of Matthew’s Gospel was a permanent commandment which must still be observed.
Irvine’s preaching during his latest mission influenced others who began to leave their respective churches & join Irvine to form an initial core of followers. The church founded by Irvine is the only religion known to have had its origin, & early development, in Ireland.
All the church’s teachings are conveyed orally. The church doesn’t publish doctrine or statements of faith. “Workers” hold that all church teachings are based solely on the Bible. Church members & “workers” will publicly declare that the church doesn’t own any buildings. However, members own rural, or semi-rural, properties dedicated to worship, housing workers, & church gatherings. Its ministers don’t own homes or take salaries.
The King James Version Bible is the only scripture used in English-language services. The Bible itself is held as insufficient for salvation unless its words are “made alive” through the preaching of church ministers. The offhand preaching of the ministry is considered to be guided by God & must be heard directly. Great weight is given to the thoughts of workers, especially more senior workers.
Salvation is achieved through willingness to uphold the church’s standards, by faithfully following in “the way,” & by personal worthiness. Doctrines such as predestination, original sin, justification by faith alone, & redemption as the sole basis of salvation are rejected. The church is exclusivist & salvation is only through the Two by Two ministry & meetings.
Other standards include modest dress, not wearing jewelry, long hair for women & short hair for me, not getting piercing, not dying hair, not getting tattoos, & avoinding activities deemed to be worldly or frivolous (like smoking, drinking alcohol, watching TV & watching movies). The church has actively condemned pre-marital relations & don’t care for LGBTQ+ persons/identities.
The church has rejected the doctrine of the Trinity since its inception. Though the members believe in the Father, Son, & Holy Spirit, the have a Unitarian view of Jesus. Jesus is God’s son, a fully human figure who came to Earth to establish a way of ministry & salvation, but not God’s Himself.
Baptism by 1 of the church’s ministers is considered a necessary step for salvation & full participation, including re-baptism of people by other churches. Candidates are approved by the local workers & are baptized by immersion. Baptisms are often scheduled for 1 morning during a Convention & are typically performed in small ponds on the property.
Members state that the church doesn’t have a formal organization. Members don’t participate in, & many are unaware of, the church’s governance. Both expenditures & funds collected remain secret from the membership & no accounting is made public. Funds are handled through stewardships, trusts, & cash transactions.
The church is controlled by a small group of senior male overseers with each having oversight of a specific geographic region. These head workers handle the 2-by-2 pairing & field assignments with the workers for that area.
Make a one-time donation
Your contribution is appreciated.
DonateMake a monthly donation
Your contribution is appreciated.
Donate monthlyMake a yearly donation
Your contribution is appreciated.
Donate yearlyRate this:
#1896 #1897 #1stCentury #2x2s #AssembliesOfChristians #Australia #BaptismByImmersion #bible #Canada #Christian #ChristianConventions #Christianity #ChristiansAnonymous #Cooneyites #Disciples #EdwardCooney #Evangelism #Evangelist #Exclusivist #faith #FaithMission #God #Ireland #Jesus #KingJamesBible #KristinaISverige #Late19thCentury #Matthew10 #NoNameChurch #OriginalSin #OrthodoxChristian #Predestination #Redemption #Salvation #Scotland #SouthernScotland #Sunday #Sweden #TheAlbertaSocietyOfChristianAssemblies #TheBlackStockings #TheLittleCommission #TheTestimonyOfJesus #Trinitarianism #TwoByTwos #UnitedConventions #UnitedKingdom #UnitedStatesOfAmerica #WilliamIrvine #WorkersFriends -
Comment définir l’extrême droite ?
Première version : Nicolas Lebourg, « Définir l’extrême droite », Après-demain, vol. 73, n°2, 2025, pp. 8-11.
Le terme « extrême droite » se rencontre en France dès la Restauration, durant les années 1820. L’argument selon lequel son emploi devrait être réservé aux régimes fasciste ou nazi apparus un siècle plus tard est donc particulièrement irrationnel. Il ne doit cependant pas nous surprendre, les enjeux autour de l’« extrême droite » en faisant un objet de constantes polémiques, nourries par l’idée que ce syntagme ne serait pas « définissable ». Cette idée revient à acter une difficulté à circonscrire historiquement un phénomène et n’est pas sans arrière-pensée quant au présent. Ainsi les représentants de mouvements politiques actuels dont le corpus idéologique tend à les classer à l’extrême droite peuvent avoir un intérêt électoral à rejeter cette dénomination[1]. Toutefois, revenir aux sciences humaines et sociales permet de dégager les limites de l’objet « extrême droite », ainsi que la structure de sa dynamique.
Convergences national-populistes
C’est sous le règne de Charles X (1824-1830) qu’est publié le premier document que nous connaissons comportant une définition de l’extrême droite. Ce libelle présente « l’électeur d’extrême droite » comme étant :
- hostile aux choses en état comme aux élites en place,
- sceptique,
- adepte de la table rase pour rétablir l’ordre,
- méprisant les hommes politiques mais louant l’action et la force, et
- craignant une révolution à venir[2].
Cette première approche est aussi anthropologique que politique : la question centrale est celle de la colère quant au cours social du temps.
C’est en 1887-1889, avec le général Boulanger, que l’extrême droite se constitue pour la première fois en force politique électorale. Georges Boulanger est alors à la tête d’un mouvement populaire nourri par le désir de revanche contre l’Allemagne, suite à la défaite de 1870 qui amputa la France de ses territoires orientaux. Depuis les travaux du politiste Pierre-André Taguieff, dans les années 1980, on qualifie ce mouvement de « national-populiste », en considérant que ses traits spécifiques recouvrent également le Front national (FN), fondé en 1972[3].
Il y a là :
1° une offre, un leader censé sauver la nation au nom de l’ordre et de la justice sociale, en la codirigeant avec le peuple, à coups de référendums, par-delà les élites « parasitaires », et
2° une demande, que l’historien du boulangisme Bertrand Joly ramène à ces termes : « les mécontents de tous bords jettent ce candidat hors système à la face du régime comme un reproche et non comme un espoir ».
Tout en soulignant le risque de schématisation qu’il y a à vouloir tout faire tenir ensemble (le boulangisme et les lepénismes), les historiens Betrand Joly et Grégoire Kaufmann mettent cependant en évidence qu’une dynamique s’est effectivement instaurée, marquée par une volonté d’agréger les classes sociales au sein d’un exclusivisme nationaliste et populiste[4].
Néanmoins, on objectera aisément que le recours au « populisme » ne clarifie pas forcément l’approche, tant ce terme est lui aussi polysémique et polémique[5]. En France, en effet, on parla d’abord des « populistes » à la fin du XIXe siècle, pour désigner les militants russes narodniki (« ceux du peuple »), une mouvance socialiste agraire interclassiste[6]. Cette acception du mot « populisme » s’impose avec la parution, en 1912, d’un ouvrage du romancier Grégoire Alexisnsky : La Russie moderne. Député de la deuxième Douma, une assemblée instaurée puis dissoute par le tsar Nicolas II en 1907, Alexisnsky s’est réfugié en France en 1917, où il est un auteur respecté, critiquant la Russie soviétique avec pondération. Politiquement, il participe à l’Union panrusse des paysans, et est le premier président de l’Union nationale révolutionnaire, organisation qui cherche à unifier la mouvance russe antibolchevique, en remettant la question de la forme républicaine ou monarchique de l’État à l’après-URSS, et en affirmant la nécessité que les paysans conservent les terres qu’ils ont acquises[7]. En somme, le populisme comme mot et comme dynamique se pense bien a minima comme un dépassement empirique du clivage droite-gauche et du système partisan, avec un volontarisme social n’éliminant pas l’interclassisme. Pourtant, « populisme » et « extrême droite » ne se réduisent pas l’un à l’autre : on peut être populiste sans être d’extrême droite ou même de droite.
Ce qui, depuis deux siècles et à travers le monde, permet de rassembler des mouvements politiques divers sous l’étiquette « extrême droite » est 1) avant tout leur façon commune de se concevoir comme une élite de rechange dont l’ambition est 2) de régénérer la société sous une forme organiciste[8], 3) en articulant cela à une révision des relations internationales.
À partir de ce corpus, il est possible développer de nombreux aspects connexes.
Par exemple, l’utopie organiciste implique le rejet de tout universalisme au bénéfice de l’autophilie (la valorisation du « nous ») et de l’altérophobie (le rejet de l’« autre »[9]).
- Les extrêmes droites absolutisent ainsi les différences (entre nations, « races », individus, cultures).
- Elles tendent à assimiler les inégalités aux différences, ce qui crée parmi leurs sympathisants un climat anxiogène car perturbateur de leur volonté d’organiser de manière homogène la communauté.
- Elles cultivent l’utopie d’une « société fermée » propre à assurer la « renaissance » communautaire.
En outre :
- Les extrêmes droites récusent le système politique en vigueur, dans ses institutions et dans ses valeurs (le libéralisme politique et l’humanisme égalitaire).
- La société leur paraît décadente et l’État, selon elles, aggrave ce fait : elles se croient en conséquence investies d’une mission perçue comme salvatrice.
- Leur fonctionnement interne ne repose pas sur des règles démocratiques, mais sur la production d’« élites véritables ».
- Leur imaginaire renvoie l’histoire et la société à de grandes figures archétypales (l’âge d’or, le sauveur, la décadence, le complot, etc.) et exalte des valeurs irrationnelles non matérialistes (la jeunesse, le culte des morts, etc.).
- Enfin, elles rejettent l’ordre géopolitique tel qu’il est.
L’extrême droite apparaît ainsi comme un champ où évoluent et interagissent des groupements aux projets très variés, mais toujours globalement conformes à cette vision du monde.
Après la Première Guerre mondiale, un sous-champ est apparu en son sein : l’extrême droite radicale. Celle-ci ne se contente pas de vouloir changer les institutions : elle considère qu’il faut une révolution anthropologique, un « homme nouveau » défait de tous les traits du libéralisme. Les représentants les plus emblématiques de cette radicalité sont les fascistes italiens et les nationaux-socialistes allemands, mais d’autres courants ont existé (les nationaux-bolchéviques allemands, le néofascisme de l’Italien Julius Evola, les solidaristes ou les néoeurasistes russes, etc.), souvent remis à l’honneur par les radicaux après l’effondrement de l’Axe.
En somme, le champ extrême droitier accorde une importance fondamentale à l’articulation entre l’interne et l’externe. Ainsi le fascisme historique est-il le régime d’un parti-milice qui souhaite créer un homme nouveau en mettant en œuvre un État totalitaire à l’intérieur et une guerre impérialiste à l’extérieur, ces deux aspects étant indissociables dans leurs motivations et buts utopiques. Ces divers éléments correspondent aux items de la définition de l’extrême droite. Dès lors, le positionnement dans le champ politique d’un mouvement qui les réunit ne fait aucun doute. À ce sujet, les polémiques autour du mot « socialisme » à l’intérieur du syntagme « national-socialisme » ne sont que de la rhétorique. Arthur Moeller van den Bruck, intellectuel majeur du nationalisme allemand et auteur du Troisième Reich (1923), l’écrivait clairement : le socialisme n’est que « le fait qu’une Nation tout entière se sent vivre ensemble » : c’est encore de la vision organiciste de la société dont il est question[10], et en aucun cas des analyses et doctrines économiques, sociales et philosophiques de la gauche.
Crises internationales et crises internes
Les progrès et novations des extrêmes droites s’avèrent structurellement liés aux crises des relations internationales. Le terme « géopolitique » apparaît d’ailleurs dans le même contexte que les termes désignant les différents types d’altérophobie (« antisémitisme » en 1879, « racisme » en 1892, « xénophobie » en 1901, « islamophobie » en 1910). Il est installé dans le débat en 1899 par le Suédois Johan Rudolf Kjellén, qui estimait que, face à la Russie et son aire asiatique, l’Allemagne devait contrôler un espace allant de Dunkerque à Bagdad – Kjellén était l’élève de Friedrich Ratzel, l’inventeur du concept d’« espace vital ».
L’ensemble des courants dont nous avons traité sont liés à ce contexte. Ainsi :
- Le national-populisme est né de la défaite française de 1870.
- L’extrême droite radicale est née de la Première Guerre mondiale.
- La globalisation du second conflit mondial, avec l’ouverture du front de l’Est en 1942, a produit un néofascisme européiste qui a évolué en nationalisme blanc, dont la forme la plus radicalisée est l’accélérationnisme (courant terroriste millénariste néonazi né en 2015, qui s’est particulièrement fait connaître par l’attentat de Christchurch[11]).
- Le 11 septembre a provoqué l’émergence d’un « néopopulisme » qui prétend défendre les libertés contre le « totalitarisme musulman », et d’un parti pris occidentaliste qui a souvent mué en russophilie, Moscou étant perçu comme un dernier recours contre la société multiethnique et multiculturelle.
- La guerre en Ukraine depuis 2014, la crise des réfugiés de 2015, les prétentions néo-impérialites actuelles de la Chine, des États-Unis et de la Russie, correspondent certes à la phase de l’accélerationnisme dans le domaine de la radicalité violente mais à celle de l’extension de l’illibéralisme dans le secteur du marché politique.
On le voit, chaque situation critique de redistribution du système de relations internationales engendre une évolution des offres d’extrême droite, et, pour elles, de nouveaux horizons. Cette interaction internationale entre en résonnance avec les situations intérieures. En effet, les transformations et crises internes aux sociétés sont tout autant créatrices d’évolutions dans l’offre politique des extrêmes droites et d’opportunité d’accession au pouvoir – ainsi, le sujet de l’immigration est systématiquement exploité par les extrêmes droites européennes depuis le dernier quart du XXe siècle.
Notes
[1] Le sujet appelle à la modestie quant aux effets de l’intervention sociale du chercheur : la définition que nous proposons à la suite est celle, certes affinée, que nous répétons depuis la soutenance de notre thèse de doctorat il y a tout juste vingt ans.
[2]Dialogue entre trois électeurs, ou la clef des trois opinions, Paris, s.d., 16 p.
[3] À l’initiative du groupuscule néofasciste Ordre Nouveau, pour servir de « vitrine » et de plateforme électorales à diverses familles de l’extrême droite.
[4] Bertrand Joly, Aux origines du populisme. Histoire du boulangisme (1889-1891), Paris, CNRS Éditions, 2022 ; Grégoire Kauffmann, Le Nouveau FN. Les vieux habits du populisme, Paris, Seuil, 2016 ; Pierre-André Taguieff, « La rhétorique du national-populisme. Les règles élémentaires de la propagande xénophobe », Mots, n°9 octobre 1984, pp. 113-139.
[5] Humberto Cucchetti, Alexandre Dézé et Emmanuelle Reungoat, Au nom du peuple ? Idées reçues sur le populisme, Paris, Cavalier bleu, 2021.
[6] Fondé sur l’idée d’une solidarité entre les classes plutôt que d’une lutte entre les classes.
[7] Préfecture de police, « Union panrusse des paysans », 2 février 1925, 2 p., AN/19940500/305 ; id., « L’Union Révolutionnaire », 20 août 1926, 7 p., AN/19940500/306 ; Serge Rolet, « L’Union soviétique vue de Paris par Grégoire Alexisnsky », Modernités russes, n° 13, 2012, pp. 115-128 ; Juan Francisco Fuentes, « Populism, The timeline of a concept », Contributions to the History of Concepts, vol. 15, n°1, 2020 pp. 47-68.
[8] L’approche organiciste conçoit la société comme une forme biologique, donc mortelle, où chaque personne doit participer de l’unité du tout.
[9] Opérant une péjoration par permutation entre l’ethnique et le culturel.
[10] Louis Dupeux, Aspects du fondamentalisme national en Allemagne, Strasbourg, Presses universitaires de Strasbourg, 2001.
[11] Attentat commis dans deux mosquées de la ville néo-zélandaise de Christchurch, le 15 mars 2019, par le terroriste Brenton Tarrant, ayant causé 51 morts et presque autant de blessés.
-
Chuck Baldwin: Christian Zionism is DEAD; The World We Knew is Gone Forever.
Article republished by Jerry Alatalo | April 17, 2026
(Source: Lew Rockwell.com)
[Editor’s note: Please share Chuck Baldwin’s valuable message far and wide. Feel free to share your thoughts/responses in the comments. Thank you very much. Peace.]
*
The World We Knew Is Gone Forever!
By Chuck Baldwin
Chuck Baldwin LiveApril 17, 2026
Most people may not realize it, although some do, but the last six weeks have forever changed the world. The world we knew six weeks ago is gone forever. For sure, it will take months and years for this global change to culminate, but the culmination is inevitable. Nothing can stop it.
As long as the United States is tied at the hip with Israel, we will never know peace.
The Zionist State of Israel is a system of hatred, death and conflict at its very core. Everything it touches quickly corrupts and dies. But now, Israel itself is the one that is dying. And when Israel dies, the entire world will spring to life.
I find it interesting that the first beast in Daniel Seven’s prophecy features Nebuchadnezzar, the Babylonian king who made his nation a global empire—and the man who destroyed the Southern Kingdom of Israel (Judah) and its capital, Jerusalem.
Nebuchadnezzar himself succumbed to madness and insanity.
And the fourth beast Daniel saw in that prophecy was the Roman Empire, which, as did the first beast, destroyed the Jewish remnant and totally annihilated the rebuilt city of Jerusalem and the rebuilt Jewish temple.
So, two out of the four empires Daniel saw were used by God to destroy the apostate, wicked city of Jerusalem and Israelite kingdoms.
They say history repeats itself. If so, we may be seeing a repeat of history right now with President Donald Trump.
As with Nebuchadnezzar, Donald Trump has descended into madness and insanity. His illegal and insane war of aggression against Iran is living proof of his madness. His vulgar-laced, blasphemous post on Easter Sunday morning is living proof of his madness. His post declaring to the world his intention to commit war crimes and genocide by wiping out the entire civilization of Iran is living proof of his madness. And his meme portraying himself as Jesus Christ is living proof of his madness.
Evangelicals were right: They just got their kings mixed up. Trump is God’s instrument, reminiscent NOT of Persia’s King Cyrus but of Babylon’s King Nebuchadnezzar.
Let me here provide a partial transcript of CJ Werleman’s recent podcast:
This week we reveal a dozen reasons why Israel will soon be defeated, dismantled and dead.
Peace talks and ceasefire agreements mean absolutely nothing to the State of Israel, because Zionists have handcuffed themselves to a self-imposed binary choice, that either they expand the Jewish state deep into Arab lands or the Jewish state dies.
The status quo is never an option. International law is never a constraint. Human life amounts to nothing more than a meaningless statistic. Because at the end of the day, there’s never a ceasefire with Israel. Just ask your local Zionist.
The Zionist lobby is now pulling every stunt in its big bag of tricks to kill the ceasefire and drag the United States deeper into the quagmire, because a retreat or even partial retreat by the United States from this conflict leaves Israel dangerously exposed at a time its defenses have never been weaker.
You see, contrary to heavily censored reports in the Western media, Israel is taking a catastrophic pounding across multiple fronts and from a multitude of directions. Iran annex proxies are inflicting devastating blows to critical infrastructure that the Zionist regime is powerless to stop and even more powerless to hide. Not only do Israel’s enemies know this all too well, but so does the head of the Israeli military who warns the IDF is on the brink of collapse, saying it will soon need forced conscription to save it from total annihilation.
What Zionist-friendly outlets like FOX News and CNN aren’t showing you is that soon Israel will be totally defenseless. Let me say that again, because I want it to land: Israel is becoming defenseless.
The Iron Dome, the multi-billion-dollar American taxpayer-funded air defense system that Israel has used as both a shield and a political prop, is running out of interceptors faster than it can replace them. The production lines cannot keep up. The math does not work in Israel’s favor, and Tehran knows it, as does China, which is now putting its superpower-sized weight behind Iranian missile supplies.
With a new U.S. intelligence report saying that Iran maintains enough missile capacity to attack Israel for at least another 12 to 24 months, a shock that Israeli military planners were totally unprepared for, as evident in the way Israel has already begun rationing use of its best intercepted missiles.
So, every time that Iran or its allies fires a drone, ballistic missile or cruise missile, they’re not only testing Israel’s defenses, they’re depleting them. This is a strategy of attrition, and it is causing unprecedented destruction on Israeli cities, a reality that even pro-Israel media outlets can no longer deny.
Now, when I say Israel is getting pounded, I mean absolutely pulverized. Iran is turning major Israeli cities into Gaza, with Israeli civilians now trapped under the rubble of their own homes, reminiscent of the way that Israeli warplanes mass murdered more than 100,000 Palestinians.
Israelis will spend the rest of their days in bunkers, because in the words of Professor Robert Pape, Iran will soon dwarf Israel militarily and economically.
CJ is absolutely right.
As I have said before, the Zionist experiment is over! A majority of both Republicans and Democrats now oppose the Israeli state. The Zionist-bought congressmen on the Hill are either going to openly divorce themselves from the Zionist state (and the bribe money from AIPAC) or be thrown out of office. This will become obvious to everyone during the Republican and Democrat national conventions in 2028.
Iran has won the war with Benjamin Netanyahu and Donald Trump. And over the next few months, the American people will learn the truth that over 900 of our servicemen have been killed and over 5,000 have been wounded in the Iran war—all of them killed or wounded for Israel. (For the time being, killed and wounded American service personnel are being sent to Germany, to keep U.S. casualties hidden from the American public.)
No matter what Trump does between now and November, the pre-Iran War world is gone forever. As Julius Caesar said when he crossed the Rubicon River: Alea iacta est (the die is cast).
When I say the world we knew is gone forever, here are examples of what I mean:
*American global hegemony is gone.
*Israeli Middle Eastern hegemony is gone.
*The petrodollar as the world’s reserve currency is gone.
*British colonialism is finally gone.
*Christian Zionism is gone.
*The multipolar world is here.
In the short term, this means we will face some very challenging days—especially economically.
Without the petrodollar, America will be forced to get its finances in order. No more unlimited deficit spending; no more printing money for endless wars around the world; no more U.S. military bases in almost every nation on earth; no more free rides for politicians who pad their corrupt pockets with blood money from anti-America special interest groups such as the Israeli lobby and military-industrial complex.
Of course, the political and business elites in this country will NOT take this lying down. They will scratch and claw to hold on to every ounce of their corrupt power, unfettered influence and extorted money that they have flaunted over the people of the United States since the end of World War II. Average Americans WILL pay an economic price as this inevitable realignment of the world emerges. But the corrupt Epstein class will not be able to stop the unpreventable. In the end, many of them will see the handwriting on the (Western) wall and relocate to China, which is destined to become the world’s foremost economic power for decades to come.
Right here, I need to encourage my Christian readers to watch this short video that chronicles the explosive growth of Christianity in China. The video will also help viewers understand why China has experienced such exponential economic growth during this same period.
But in the long term, it means no more televangelists and evangelical pastors spewing out the damnable doctrines of Christian Zionism. John Hagee will have to either retire or find himself another racket, because Christian Zionism is DEAD.
It means the government in Washington, D.C., will be forced to focus on the legitimate needs and priorities of the United States—and stop using the American taxpayer as a piggy bank for their own corrupt ambitions.
It means a lot less money to fight undeclared, unnecessary foreign wars for Zionist bankers. It means a lot less bloodshed from America’s sons and daughters fighting and dying for Israel.
And, yes, it means the death knell of Scofield’s “rapture” claptrap. Books such as The Great Late Planet Earth and Left Behind will be relegated to museums, NOT to be found in the current events sections of America’s bookstores.
The world we knew is gone forever!
We Christians should feel honored to be alive at this moment in history. We, of all generations, have the opportunity to take the New Covenant Gospel—which evangelicals have abandoned over the past almost one hundred years—into a new generation, a new world, in which once again believers throughout the world are recognized as being ONE BODY, neither Jew nor Gentile, but ONE BODY in Jesus Christ. And where, God willing, we will once again be able to see all humanity as human beings, where little girls in Iran are not targets for incineration by Pete Hegseth’s Tomahawk missiles, and where in Sunday School, boys and girls will again sing the song of yesteryear:
Jesus loves the little children,
All the children of the world.
Red and Yellow, Black and White,
They are precious in His sight.
Jesus loves the little children of the world.Yes, the world we knew is gone forever!
Reprinted with permission from Chuck Baldwin Live.
#25thAmendment #ChristianZionism #Iran #Israel #Philosophy #Psychology #Religion #ZionistIsrael -
Chuck Baldwin: Christian Zionism is DEAD; The World We Knew is Gone Forever.
Article republished by Jerry Alatalo | April 17, 2026
(Source: Lew Rockwell.com)
[Editor’s note: Please share Chuck Baldwin’s valuable message far and wide. Feel free to share your thoughts/responses in the comments. Thank you very much. Peace.]
*
The World We Knew Is Gone Forever!
By Chuck Baldwin
Chuck Baldwin LiveApril 17, 2026
Most people may not realize it, although some do, but the last six weeks have forever changed the world. The world we knew six weeks ago is gone forever. For sure, it will take months and years for this global change to culminate, but the culmination is inevitable. Nothing can stop it.
As long as the United States is tied at the hip with Israel, we will never know peace.
The Zionist State of Israel is a system of hatred, death and conflict at its very core. Everything it touches quickly corrupts and dies. But now, Israel itself is the one that is dying. And when Israel dies, the entire world will spring to life.
I find it interesting that the first beast in Daniel Seven’s prophecy features Nebuchadnezzar, the Babylonian king who made his nation a global empire—and the man who destroyed the Southern Kingdom of Israel (Judah) and its capital, Jerusalem.
Nebuchadnezzar himself succumbed to madness and insanity.
And the fourth beast Daniel saw in that prophecy was the Roman Empire, which, as did the first beast, destroyed the Jewish remnant and totally annihilated the rebuilt city of Jerusalem and the rebuilt Jewish temple.
So, two out of the four empires Daniel saw were used by God to destroy the apostate, wicked city of Jerusalem and Israelite kingdoms.
They say history repeats itself. If so, we may be seeing a repeat of history right now with President Donald Trump.
As with Nebuchadnezzar, Donald Trump has descended into madness and insanity. His illegal and insane war of aggression against Iran is living proof of his madness. His vulgar-laced, blasphemous post on Easter Sunday morning is living proof of his madness. His post declaring to the world his intention to commit war crimes and genocide by wiping out the entire civilization of Iran is living proof of his madness. And his meme portraying himself as Jesus Christ is living proof of his madness.
Evangelicals were right: They just got their kings mixed up. Trump is God’s instrument, reminiscent NOT of Persia’s King Cyrus but of Babylon’s King Nebuchadnezzar.
Let me here provide a partial transcript of CJ Werleman’s recent podcast:
This week we reveal a dozen reasons why Israel will soon be defeated, dismantled and dead.
Peace talks and ceasefire agreements mean absolutely nothing to the State of Israel, because Zionists have handcuffed themselves to a self-imposed binary choice, that either they expand the Jewish state deep into Arab lands or the Jewish state dies.
The status quo is never an option. International law is never a constraint. Human life amounts to nothing more than a meaningless statistic. Because at the end of the day, there’s never a ceasefire with Israel. Just ask your local Zionist.
The Zionist lobby is now pulling every stunt in its big bag of tricks to kill the ceasefire and drag the United States deeper into the quagmire, because a retreat or even partial retreat by the United States from this conflict leaves Israel dangerously exposed at a time its defenses have never been weaker.
You see, contrary to heavily censored reports in the Western media, Israel is taking a catastrophic pounding across multiple fronts and from a multitude of directions. Iran annex proxies are inflicting devastating blows to critical infrastructure that the Zionist regime is powerless to stop and even more powerless to hide. Not only do Israel’s enemies know this all too well, but so does the head of the Israeli military who warns the IDF is on the brink of collapse, saying it will soon need forced conscription to save it from total annihilation.
What Zionist-friendly outlets like FOX News and CNN aren’t showing you is that soon Israel will be totally defenseless. Let me say that again, because I want it to land: Israel is becoming defenseless.
The Iron Dome, the multi-billion-dollar American taxpayer-funded air defense system that Israel has used as both a shield and a political prop, is running out of interceptors faster than it can replace them. The production lines cannot keep up. The math does not work in Israel’s favor, and Tehran knows it, as does China, which is now putting its superpower-sized weight behind Iranian missile supplies.
With a new U.S. intelligence report saying that Iran maintains enough missile capacity to attack Israel for at least another 12 to 24 months, a shock that Israeli military planners were totally unprepared for, as evident in the way Israel has already begun rationing use of its best intercepted missiles.
So, every time that Iran or its allies fires a drone, ballistic missile or cruise missile, they’re not only testing Israel’s defenses, they’re depleting them. This is a strategy of attrition, and it is causing unprecedented destruction on Israeli cities, a reality that even pro-Israel media outlets can no longer deny.
Now, when I say Israel is getting pounded, I mean absolutely pulverized. Iran is turning major Israeli cities into Gaza, with Israeli civilians now trapped under the rubble of their own homes, reminiscent of the way that Israeli warplanes mass murdered more than 100,000 Palestinians.
Israelis will spend the rest of their days in bunkers, because in the words of Professor Robert Pape, Iran will soon dwarf Israel militarily and economically.
CJ is absolutely right.
As I have said before, the Zionist experiment is over! A majority of both Republicans and Democrats now oppose the Israeli state. The Zionist-bought congressmen on the Hill are either going to openly divorce themselves from the Zionist state (and the bribe money from AIPAC) or be thrown out of office. This will become obvious to everyone during the Republican and Democrat national conventions in 2028.
Iran has won the war with Benjamin Netanyahu and Donald Trump. And over the next few months, the American people will learn the truth that over 900 of our servicemen have been killed and over 5,000 have been wounded in the Iran war—all of them killed or wounded for Israel. (For the time being, killed and wounded American service personnel are being sent to Germany, to keep U.S. casualties hidden from the American public.)
No matter what Trump does between now and November, the pre-Iran War world is gone forever. As Julius Caesar said when he crossed the Rubicon River: Alea iacta est (the die is cast).
When I say the world we knew is gone forever, here are examples of what I mean:
*American global hegemony is gone.
*Israeli Middle Eastern hegemony is gone.
*The petrodollar as the world’s reserve currency is gone.
*British colonialism is finally gone.
*Christian Zionism is gone.
*The multipolar world is here.
In the short term, this means we will face some very challenging days—especially economically.
Without the petrodollar, America will be forced to get its finances in order. No more unlimited deficit spending; no more printing money for endless wars around the world; no more U.S. military bases in almost every nation on earth; no more free rides for politicians who pad their corrupt pockets with blood money from anti-America special interest groups such as the Israeli lobby and military-industrial complex.
Of course, the political and business elites in this country will NOT take this lying down. They will scratch and claw to hold on to every ounce of their corrupt power, unfettered influence and extorted money that they have flaunted over the people of the United States since the end of World War II. Average Americans WILL pay an economic price as this inevitable realignment of the world emerges. But the corrupt Epstein class will not be able to stop the unpreventable. In the end, many of them will see the handwriting on the (Western) wall and relocate to China, which is destined to become the world’s foremost economic power for decades to come.
Right here, I need to encourage my Christian readers to watch this short video that chronicles the explosive growth of Christianity in China. The video will also help viewers understand why China has experienced such exponential economic growth during this same period.
But in the long term, it means no more televangelists and evangelical pastors spewing out the damnable doctrines of Christian Zionism. John Hagee will have to either retire or find himself another racket, because Christian Zionism is DEAD.
It means the government in Washington, D.C., will be forced to focus on the legitimate needs and priorities of the United States—and stop using the American taxpayer as a piggy bank for their own corrupt ambitions.
It means a lot less money to fight undeclared, unnecessary foreign wars for Zionist bankers. It means a lot less bloodshed from America’s sons and daughters fighting and dying for Israel.
And, yes, it means the death knell of Scofield’s “rapture” claptrap. Books such as The Great Late Planet Earth and Left Behind will be relegated to museums, NOT to be found in the current events sections of America’s bookstores.
The world we knew is gone forever!
We Christians should feel honored to be alive at this moment in history. We, of all generations, have the opportunity to take the New Covenant Gospel—which evangelicals have abandoned over the past almost one hundred years—into a new generation, a new world, in which once again believers throughout the world are recognized as being ONE BODY, neither Jew nor Gentile, but ONE BODY in Jesus Christ. And where, God willing, we will once again be able to see all humanity as human beings, where little girls in Iran are not targets for incineration by Pete Hegseth’s Tomahawk missiles, and where in Sunday School, boys and girls will again sing the song of yesteryear:
Jesus loves the little children,
All the children of the world.
Red and Yellow, Black and White,
They are precious in His sight.
Jesus loves the little children of the world.Yes, the world we knew is gone forever!
Reprinted with permission from Chuck Baldwin Live.
#25thAmendment #ChristianZionism #Iran #Israel #Philosophy #Psychology #Religion #ZionistIsrael -
Chuck Baldwin: Christian Zionism is DEAD; The World We Knew is Gone Forever.
Article republished by Jerry Alatalo | April 17, 2026
(Source: Lew Rockwell.com)
[Editor’s note: Please share Chuck Baldwin’s valuable message far and wide. Feel free to share your thoughts/responses in the comments. Thank you very much. Peace.]
*
The World We Knew Is Gone Forever!
By Chuck Baldwin
Chuck Baldwin LiveApril 17, 2026
Most people may not realize it, although some do, but the last six weeks have forever changed the world. The world we knew six weeks ago is gone forever. For sure, it will take months and years for this global change to culminate, but the culmination is inevitable. Nothing can stop it.
As long as the United States is tied at the hip with Israel, we will never know peace.
The Zionist State of Israel is a system of hatred, death and conflict at its very core. Everything it touches quickly corrupts and dies. But now, Israel itself is the one that is dying. And when Israel dies, the entire world will spring to life.
I find it interesting that the first beast in Daniel Seven’s prophecy features Nebuchadnezzar, the Babylonian king who made his nation a global empire—and the man who destroyed the Southern Kingdom of Israel (Judah) and its capital, Jerusalem.
Nebuchadnezzar himself succumbed to madness and insanity.
And the fourth beast Daniel saw in that prophecy was the Roman Empire, which, as did the first beast, destroyed the Jewish remnant and totally annihilated the rebuilt city of Jerusalem and the rebuilt Jewish temple.
So, two out of the four empires Daniel saw were used by God to destroy the apostate, wicked city of Jerusalem and Israelite kingdoms.
They say history repeats itself. If so, we may be seeing a repeat of history right now with President Donald Trump.
As with Nebuchadnezzar, Donald Trump has descended into madness and insanity. His illegal and insane war of aggression against Iran is living proof of his madness. His vulgar-laced, blasphemous post on Easter Sunday morning is living proof of his madness. His post declaring to the world his intention to commit war crimes and genocide by wiping out the entire civilization of Iran is living proof of his madness. And his meme portraying himself as Jesus Christ is living proof of his madness.
Evangelicals were right: They just got their kings mixed up. Trump is God’s instrument, reminiscent NOT of Persia’s King Cyrus but of Babylon’s King Nebuchadnezzar.
Let me here provide a partial transcript of CJ Werleman’s recent podcast:
This week we reveal a dozen reasons why Israel will soon be defeated, dismantled and dead.
Peace talks and ceasefire agreements mean absolutely nothing to the State of Israel, because Zionists have handcuffed themselves to a self-imposed binary choice, that either they expand the Jewish state deep into Arab lands or the Jewish state dies.
The status quo is never an option. International law is never a constraint. Human life amounts to nothing more than a meaningless statistic. Because at the end of the day, there’s never a ceasefire with Israel. Just ask your local Zionist.
The Zionist lobby is now pulling every stunt in its big bag of tricks to kill the ceasefire and drag the United States deeper into the quagmire, because a retreat or even partial retreat by the United States from this conflict leaves Israel dangerously exposed at a time its defenses have never been weaker.
You see, contrary to heavily censored reports in the Western media, Israel is taking a catastrophic pounding across multiple fronts and from a multitude of directions. Iran annex proxies are inflicting devastating blows to critical infrastructure that the Zionist regime is powerless to stop and even more powerless to hide. Not only do Israel’s enemies know this all too well, but so does the head of the Israeli military who warns the IDF is on the brink of collapse, saying it will soon need forced conscription to save it from total annihilation.
What Zionist-friendly outlets like FOX News and CNN aren’t showing you is that soon Israel will be totally defenseless. Let me say that again, because I want it to land: Israel is becoming defenseless.
The Iron Dome, the multi-billion-dollar American taxpayer-funded air defense system that Israel has used as both a shield and a political prop, is running out of interceptors faster than it can replace them. The production lines cannot keep up. The math does not work in Israel’s favor, and Tehran knows it, as does China, which is now putting its superpower-sized weight behind Iranian missile supplies.
With a new U.S. intelligence report saying that Iran maintains enough missile capacity to attack Israel for at least another 12 to 24 months, a shock that Israeli military planners were totally unprepared for, as evident in the way Israel has already begun rationing use of its best intercepted missiles.
So, every time that Iran or its allies fires a drone, ballistic missile or cruise missile, they’re not only testing Israel’s defenses, they’re depleting them. This is a strategy of attrition, and it is causing unprecedented destruction on Israeli cities, a reality that even pro-Israel media outlets can no longer deny.
Now, when I say Israel is getting pounded, I mean absolutely pulverized. Iran is turning major Israeli cities into Gaza, with Israeli civilians now trapped under the rubble of their own homes, reminiscent of the way that Israeli warplanes mass murdered more than 100,000 Palestinians.
Israelis will spend the rest of their days in bunkers, because in the words of Professor Robert Pape, Iran will soon dwarf Israel militarily and economically.
CJ is absolutely right.
As I have said before, the Zionist experiment is over! A majority of both Republicans and Democrats now oppose the Israeli state. The Zionist-bought congressmen on the Hill are either going to openly divorce themselves from the Zionist state (and the bribe money from AIPAC) or be thrown out of office. This will become obvious to everyone during the Republican and Democrat national conventions in 2028.
Iran has won the war with Benjamin Netanyahu and Donald Trump. And over the next few months, the American people will learn the truth that over 900 of our servicemen have been killed and over 5,000 have been wounded in the Iran war—all of them killed or wounded for Israel. (For the time being, killed and wounded American service personnel are being sent to Germany, to keep U.S. casualties hidden from the American public.)
No matter what Trump does between now and November, the pre-Iran War world is gone forever. As Julius Caesar said when he crossed the Rubicon River: Alea iacta est (the die is cast).
When I say the world we knew is gone forever, here are examples of what I mean:
*American global hegemony is gone.
*Israeli Middle Eastern hegemony is gone.
*The petrodollar as the world’s reserve currency is gone.
*British colonialism is finally gone.
*Christian Zionism is gone.
*The multipolar world is here.
In the short term, this means we will face some very challenging days—especially economically.
Without the petrodollar, America will be forced to get its finances in order. No more unlimited deficit spending; no more printing money for endless wars around the world; no more U.S. military bases in almost every nation on earth; no more free rides for politicians who pad their corrupt pockets with blood money from anti-America special interest groups such as the Israeli lobby and military-industrial complex.
Of course, the political and business elites in this country will NOT take this lying down. They will scratch and claw to hold on to every ounce of their corrupt power, unfettered influence and extorted money that they have flaunted over the people of the United States since the end of World War II. Average Americans WILL pay an economic price as this inevitable realignment of the world emerges. But the corrupt Epstein class will not be able to stop the unpreventable. In the end, many of them will see the handwriting on the (Western) wall and relocate to China, which is destined to become the world’s foremost economic power for decades to come.
Right here, I need to encourage my Christian readers to watch this short video that chronicles the explosive growth of Christianity in China. The video will also help viewers understand why China has experienced such exponential economic growth during this same period.
But in the long term, it means no more televangelists and evangelical pastors spewing out the damnable doctrines of Christian Zionism. John Hagee will have to either retire or find himself another racket, because Christian Zionism is DEAD.
It means the government in Washington, D.C., will be forced to focus on the legitimate needs and priorities of the United States—and stop using the American taxpayer as a piggy bank for their own corrupt ambitions.
It means a lot less money to fight undeclared, unnecessary foreign wars for Zionist bankers. It means a lot less bloodshed from America’s sons and daughters fighting and dying for Israel.
And, yes, it means the death knell of Scofield’s “rapture” claptrap. Books such as The Great Late Planet Earth and Left Behind will be relegated to museums, NOT to be found in the current events sections of America’s bookstores.
The world we knew is gone forever!
We Christians should feel honored to be alive at this moment in history. We, of all generations, have the opportunity to take the New Covenant Gospel—which evangelicals have abandoned over the past almost one hundred years—into a new generation, a new world, in which once again believers throughout the world are recognized as being ONE BODY, neither Jew nor Gentile, but ONE BODY in Jesus Christ. And where, God willing, we will once again be able to see all humanity as human beings, where little girls in Iran are not targets for incineration by Pete Hegseth’s Tomahawk missiles, and where in Sunday School, boys and girls will again sing the song of yesteryear:
Jesus loves the little children,
All the children of the world.
Red and Yellow, Black and White,
They are precious in His sight.
Jesus loves the little children of the world.Yes, the world we knew is gone forever!
Reprinted with permission from Chuck Baldwin Live.
#25thAmendment #ChristianZionism #Iran #Israel #Philosophy #Psychology #Religion #ZionistIsrael -
Chuck Baldwin: Christian Zionism is DEAD; The World We Knew is Gone Forever.
Article republished by Jerry Alatalo | April 17, 2026
(Source: Lew Rockwell.com)
[Editor’s note: Please share Chuck Baldwin’s valuable message far and wide. Feel free to share your thoughts/responses in the comments. Thank you very much. Peace.]
*
The World We Knew Is Gone Forever!
By Chuck Baldwin
Chuck Baldwin LiveApril 17, 2026
Most people may not realize it, although some do, but the last six weeks have forever changed the world. The world we knew six weeks ago is gone forever. For sure, it will take months and years for this global change to culminate, but the culmination is inevitable. Nothing can stop it.
As long as the United States is tied at the hip with Israel, we will never know peace.
The Zionist State of Israel is a system of hatred, death and conflict at its very core. Everything it touches quickly corrupts and dies. But now, Israel itself is the one that is dying. And when Israel dies, the entire world will spring to life.
I find it interesting that the first beast in Daniel Seven’s prophecy features Nebuchadnezzar, the Babylonian king who made his nation a global empire—and the man who destroyed the Southern Kingdom of Israel (Judah) and its capital, Jerusalem.
Nebuchadnezzar himself succumbed to madness and insanity.
And the fourth beast Daniel saw in that prophecy was the Roman Empire, which, as did the first beast, destroyed the Jewish remnant and totally annihilated the rebuilt city of Jerusalem and the rebuilt Jewish temple.
So, two out of the four empires Daniel saw were used by God to destroy the apostate, wicked city of Jerusalem and Israelite kingdoms.
They say history repeats itself. If so, we may be seeing a repeat of history right now with President Donald Trump.
As with Nebuchadnezzar, Donald Trump has descended into madness and insanity. His illegal and insane war of aggression against Iran is living proof of his madness. His vulgar-laced, blasphemous post on Easter Sunday morning is living proof of his madness. His post declaring to the world his intention to commit war crimes and genocide by wiping out the entire civilization of Iran is living proof of his madness. And his meme portraying himself as Jesus Christ is living proof of his madness.
Evangelicals were right: They just got their kings mixed up. Trump is God’s instrument, reminiscent NOT of Persia’s King Cyrus but of Babylon’s King Nebuchadnezzar.
Let me here provide a partial transcript of CJ Werleman’s recent podcast:
This week we reveal a dozen reasons why Israel will soon be defeated, dismantled and dead.
Peace talks and ceasefire agreements mean absolutely nothing to the State of Israel, because Zionists have handcuffed themselves to a self-imposed binary choice, that either they expand the Jewish state deep into Arab lands or the Jewish state dies.
The status quo is never an option. International law is never a constraint. Human life amounts to nothing more than a meaningless statistic. Because at the end of the day, there’s never a ceasefire with Israel. Just ask your local Zionist.
The Zionist lobby is now pulling every stunt in its big bag of tricks to kill the ceasefire and drag the United States deeper into the quagmire, because a retreat or even partial retreat by the United States from this conflict leaves Israel dangerously exposed at a time its defenses have never been weaker.
You see, contrary to heavily censored reports in the Western media, Israel is taking a catastrophic pounding across multiple fronts and from a multitude of directions. Iran annex proxies are inflicting devastating blows to critical infrastructure that the Zionist regime is powerless to stop and even more powerless to hide. Not only do Israel’s enemies know this all too well, but so does the head of the Israeli military who warns the IDF is on the brink of collapse, saying it will soon need forced conscription to save it from total annihilation.
What Zionist-friendly outlets like FOX News and CNN aren’t showing you is that soon Israel will be totally defenseless. Let me say that again, because I want it to land: Israel is becoming defenseless.
The Iron Dome, the multi-billion-dollar American taxpayer-funded air defense system that Israel has used as both a shield and a political prop, is running out of interceptors faster than it can replace them. The production lines cannot keep up. The math does not work in Israel’s favor, and Tehran knows it, as does China, which is now putting its superpower-sized weight behind Iranian missile supplies.
With a new U.S. intelligence report saying that Iran maintains enough missile capacity to attack Israel for at least another 12 to 24 months, a shock that Israeli military planners were totally unprepared for, as evident in the way Israel has already begun rationing use of its best intercepted missiles.
So, every time that Iran or its allies fires a drone, ballistic missile or cruise missile, they’re not only testing Israel’s defenses, they’re depleting them. This is a strategy of attrition, and it is causing unprecedented destruction on Israeli cities, a reality that even pro-Israel media outlets can no longer deny.
Now, when I say Israel is getting pounded, I mean absolutely pulverized. Iran is turning major Israeli cities into Gaza, with Israeli civilians now trapped under the rubble of their own homes, reminiscent of the way that Israeli warplanes mass murdered more than 100,000 Palestinians.
Israelis will spend the rest of their days in bunkers, because in the words of Professor Robert Pape, Iran will soon dwarf Israel militarily and economically.
CJ is absolutely right.
As I have said before, the Zionist experiment is over! A majority of both Republicans and Democrats now oppose the Israeli state. The Zionist-bought congressmen on the Hill are either going to openly divorce themselves from the Zionist state (and the bribe money from AIPAC) or be thrown out of office. This will become obvious to everyone during the Republican and Democrat national conventions in 2028.
Iran has won the war with Benjamin Netanyahu and Donald Trump. And over the next few months, the American people will learn the truth that over 900 of our servicemen have been killed and over 5,000 have been wounded in the Iran war—all of them killed or wounded for Israel. (For the time being, killed and wounded American service personnel are being sent to Germany, to keep U.S. casualties hidden from the American public.)
No matter what Trump does between now and November, the pre-Iran War world is gone forever. As Julius Caesar said when he crossed the Rubicon River: Alea iacta est (the die is cast).
When I say the world we knew is gone forever, here are examples of what I mean:
*American global hegemony is gone.
*Israeli Middle Eastern hegemony is gone.
*The petrodollar as the world’s reserve currency is gone.
*British colonialism is finally gone.
*Christian Zionism is gone.
*The multipolar world is here.
In the short term, this means we will face some very challenging days—especially economically.
Without the petrodollar, America will be forced to get its finances in order. No more unlimited deficit spending; no more printing money for endless wars around the world; no more U.S. military bases in almost every nation on earth; no more free rides for politicians who pad their corrupt pockets with blood money from anti-America special interest groups such as the Israeli lobby and military-industrial complex.
Of course, the political and business elites in this country will NOT take this lying down. They will scratch and claw to hold on to every ounce of their corrupt power, unfettered influence and extorted money that they have flaunted over the people of the United States since the end of World War II. Average Americans WILL pay an economic price as this inevitable realignment of the world emerges. But the corrupt Epstein class will not be able to stop the unpreventable. In the end, many of them will see the handwriting on the (Western) wall and relocate to China, which is destined to become the world’s foremost economic power for decades to come.
Right here, I need to encourage my Christian readers to watch this short video that chronicles the explosive growth of Christianity in China. The video will also help viewers understand why China has experienced such exponential economic growth during this same period.
But in the long term, it means no more televangelists and evangelical pastors spewing out the damnable doctrines of Christian Zionism. John Hagee will have to either retire or find himself another racket, because Christian Zionism is DEAD.
It means the government in Washington, D.C., will be forced to focus on the legitimate needs and priorities of the United States—and stop using the American taxpayer as a piggy bank for their own corrupt ambitions.
It means a lot less money to fight undeclared, unnecessary foreign wars for Zionist bankers. It means a lot less bloodshed from America’s sons and daughters fighting and dying for Israel.
And, yes, it means the death knell of Scofield’s “rapture” claptrap. Books such as The Great Late Planet Earth and Left Behind will be relegated to museums, NOT to be found in the current events sections of America’s bookstores.
The world we knew is gone forever!
We Christians should feel honored to be alive at this moment in history. We, of all generations, have the opportunity to take the New Covenant Gospel—which evangelicals have abandoned over the past almost one hundred years—into a new generation, a new world, in which once again believers throughout the world are recognized as being ONE BODY, neither Jew nor Gentile, but ONE BODY in Jesus Christ. And where, God willing, we will once again be able to see all humanity as human beings, where little girls in Iran are not targets for incineration by Pete Hegseth’s Tomahawk missiles, and where in Sunday School, boys and girls will again sing the song of yesteryear:
Jesus loves the little children,
All the children of the world.
Red and Yellow, Black and White,
They are precious in His sight.
Jesus loves the little children of the world.Yes, the world we knew is gone forever!
Reprinted with permission from Chuck Baldwin Live.
#25thAmendment #ChristianZionism #Iran #Israel #Philosophy #Psychology #Religion #ZionistIsrael -
Chuck Baldwin: Christian Zionism is DEAD; The World We Knew is Gone Forever.
Article republished by Jerry Alatalo | April 17, 2026
(Source: Lew Rockwell.com)
[Editor’s note: Please share Chuck Baldwin’s valuable message far and wide. Feel free to share your thoughts/responses in the comments. Thank you very much. Peace.]
*
The World We Knew Is Gone Forever!
By Chuck Baldwin
Chuck Baldwin LiveApril 17, 2026
Most people may not realize it, although some do, but the last six weeks have forever changed the world. The world we knew six weeks ago is gone forever. For sure, it will take months and years for this global change to culminate, but the culmination is inevitable. Nothing can stop it.
As long as the United States is tied at the hip with Israel, we will never know peace.
The Zionist State of Israel is a system of hatred, death and conflict at its very core. Everything it touches quickly corrupts and dies. But now, Israel itself is the one that is dying. And when Israel dies, the entire world will spring to life.
I find it interesting that the first beast in Daniel Seven’s prophecy features Nebuchadnezzar, the Babylonian king who made his nation a global empire—and the man who destroyed the Southern Kingdom of Israel (Judah) and its capital, Jerusalem.
Nebuchadnezzar himself succumbed to madness and insanity.
And the fourth beast Daniel saw in that prophecy was the Roman Empire, which, as did the first beast, destroyed the Jewish remnant and totally annihilated the rebuilt city of Jerusalem and the rebuilt Jewish temple.
So, two out of the four empires Daniel saw were used by God to destroy the apostate, wicked city of Jerusalem and Israelite kingdoms.
They say history repeats itself. If so, we may be seeing a repeat of history right now with President Donald Trump.
As with Nebuchadnezzar, Donald Trump has descended into madness and insanity. His illegal and insane war of aggression against Iran is living proof of his madness. His vulgar-laced, blasphemous post on Easter Sunday morning is living proof of his madness. His post declaring to the world his intention to commit war crimes and genocide by wiping out the entire civilization of Iran is living proof of his madness. And his meme portraying himself as Jesus Christ is living proof of his madness.
Evangelicals were right: They just got their kings mixed up. Trump is God’s instrument, reminiscent NOT of Persia’s King Cyrus but of Babylon’s King Nebuchadnezzar.
Let me here provide a partial transcript of CJ Werleman’s recent podcast:
This week we reveal a dozen reasons why Israel will soon be defeated, dismantled and dead.
Peace talks and ceasefire agreements mean absolutely nothing to the State of Israel, because Zionists have handcuffed themselves to a self-imposed binary choice, that either they expand the Jewish state deep into Arab lands or the Jewish state dies.
The status quo is never an option. International law is never a constraint. Human life amounts to nothing more than a meaningless statistic. Because at the end of the day, there’s never a ceasefire with Israel. Just ask your local Zionist.
The Zionist lobby is now pulling every stunt in its big bag of tricks to kill the ceasefire and drag the United States deeper into the quagmire, because a retreat or even partial retreat by the United States from this conflict leaves Israel dangerously exposed at a time its defenses have never been weaker.
You see, contrary to heavily censored reports in the Western media, Israel is taking a catastrophic pounding across multiple fronts and from a multitude of directions. Iran annex proxies are inflicting devastating blows to critical infrastructure that the Zionist regime is powerless to stop and even more powerless to hide. Not only do Israel’s enemies know this all too well, but so does the head of the Israeli military who warns the IDF is on the brink of collapse, saying it will soon need forced conscription to save it from total annihilation.
What Zionist-friendly outlets like FOX News and CNN aren’t showing you is that soon Israel will be totally defenseless. Let me say that again, because I want it to land: Israel is becoming defenseless.
The Iron Dome, the multi-billion-dollar American taxpayer-funded air defense system that Israel has used as both a shield and a political prop, is running out of interceptors faster than it can replace them. The production lines cannot keep up. The math does not work in Israel’s favor, and Tehran knows it, as does China, which is now putting its superpower-sized weight behind Iranian missile supplies.
With a new U.S. intelligence report saying that Iran maintains enough missile capacity to attack Israel for at least another 12 to 24 months, a shock that Israeli military planners were totally unprepared for, as evident in the way Israel has already begun rationing use of its best intercepted missiles.
So, every time that Iran or its allies fires a drone, ballistic missile or cruise missile, they’re not only testing Israel’s defenses, they’re depleting them. This is a strategy of attrition, and it is causing unprecedented destruction on Israeli cities, a reality that even pro-Israel media outlets can no longer deny.
Now, when I say Israel is getting pounded, I mean absolutely pulverized. Iran is turning major Israeli cities into Gaza, with Israeli civilians now trapped under the rubble of their own homes, reminiscent of the way that Israeli warplanes mass murdered more than 100,000 Palestinians.
Israelis will spend the rest of their days in bunkers, because in the words of Professor Robert Pape, Iran will soon dwarf Israel militarily and economically.
CJ is absolutely right.
As I have said before, the Zionist experiment is over! A majority of both Republicans and Democrats now oppose the Israeli state. The Zionist-bought congressmen on the Hill are either going to openly divorce themselves from the Zionist state (and the bribe money from AIPAC) or be thrown out of office. This will become obvious to everyone during the Republican and Democrat national conventions in 2028.
Iran has won the war with Benjamin Netanyahu and Donald Trump. And over the next few months, the American people will learn the truth that over 900 of our servicemen have been killed and over 5,000 have been wounded in the Iran war—all of them killed or wounded for Israel. (For the time being, killed and wounded American service personnel are being sent to Germany, to keep U.S. casualties hidden from the American public.)
No matter what Trump does between now and November, the pre-Iran War world is gone forever. As Julius Caesar said when he crossed the Rubicon River: Alea iacta est (the die is cast).
When I say the world we knew is gone forever, here are examples of what I mean:
*American global hegemony is gone.
*Israeli Middle Eastern hegemony is gone.
*The petrodollar as the world’s reserve currency is gone.
*British colonialism is finally gone.
*Christian Zionism is gone.
*The multipolar world is here.
In the short term, this means we will face some very challenging days—especially economically.
Without the petrodollar, America will be forced to get its finances in order. No more unlimited deficit spending; no more printing money for endless wars around the world; no more U.S. military bases in almost every nation on earth; no more free rides for politicians who pad their corrupt pockets with blood money from anti-America special interest groups such as the Israeli lobby and military-industrial complex.
Of course, the political and business elites in this country will NOT take this lying down. They will scratch and claw to hold on to every ounce of their corrupt power, unfettered influence and extorted money that they have flaunted over the people of the United States since the end of World War II. Average Americans WILL pay an economic price as this inevitable realignment of the world emerges. But the corrupt Epstein class will not be able to stop the unpreventable. In the end, many of them will see the handwriting on the (Western) wall and relocate to China, which is destined to become the world’s foremost economic power for decades to come.
Right here, I need to encourage my Christian readers to watch this short video that chronicles the explosive growth of Christianity in China. The video will also help viewers understand why China has experienced such exponential economic growth during this same period.
But in the long term, it means no more televangelists and evangelical pastors spewing out the damnable doctrines of Christian Zionism. John Hagee will have to either retire or find himself another racket, because Christian Zionism is DEAD.
It means the government in Washington, D.C., will be forced to focus on the legitimate needs and priorities of the United States—and stop using the American taxpayer as a piggy bank for their own corrupt ambitions.
It means a lot less money to fight undeclared, unnecessary foreign wars for Zionist bankers. It means a lot less bloodshed from America’s sons and daughters fighting and dying for Israel.
And, yes, it means the death knell of Scofield’s “rapture” claptrap. Books such as The Great Late Planet Earth and Left Behind will be relegated to museums, NOT to be found in the current events sections of America’s bookstores.
The world we knew is gone forever!
We Christians should feel honored to be alive at this moment in history. We, of all generations, have the opportunity to take the New Covenant Gospel—which evangelicals have abandoned over the past almost one hundred years—into a new generation, a new world, in which once again believers throughout the world are recognized as being ONE BODY, neither Jew nor Gentile, but ONE BODY in Jesus Christ. And where, God willing, we will once again be able to see all humanity as human beings, where little girls in Iran are not targets for incineration by Pete Hegseth’s Tomahawk missiles, and where in Sunday School, boys and girls will again sing the song of yesteryear:
Jesus loves the little children,
All the children of the world.
Red and Yellow, Black and White,
They are precious in His sight.
Jesus loves the little children of the world.Yes, the world we knew is gone forever!
Reprinted with permission from Chuck Baldwin Live.
#25thAmendment #ChristianZionism #Iran #Israel #Philosophy #Psychology #Religion #ZionistIsrael