Ant Writes

http://antwrites.com

Ant Writes — Sun, 03 Apr 2011 08:45:24 +0000

This blog is now here ————>> http://antwrites.com

AntWrites has Moved!

Ant Writes — Sun, 13 Mar 2011 06:46:40 +0000

NOTICE! WE HAVE NOW MOVED!

We have moved to a dedicated server, so our address is no longer

http://antwrites.wordpress.com

We are now at http://www.antwrites.com !

You can visit that website now, it will work, and we are officially there since Sunday March 13, 2011. (Which means all posts and comments will be on at the new location. This wordpress blog will no longer be updated. (Although I may check it from time to time). All RSS feeds are moved as well.

WE apologize for any shenanigans, nonsense and foolishness this may have caused. It’s a good thing it’s early in this blog’s life, so there won’t be too many growing pains.

There notice will be on the front page of the wordpress site just in case you forget

God bless and enjoy the ride.

Evangelicals hate Jesus?

Ant Writes — Sat, 12 Mar 2011 22:53:06 +0000

Evangelicals hate Jesus?.

John Piper On The Indifferent Minister (via Samuel at Gilgal)

Ant Writes — Fri, 11 Mar 2011 22:12:23 +0000

A good read although I’m against his belief in the clergy system.

Quoting John Piper: Gladness and gravity should be woven together in the life and preaching of a pastor in such a way as to sober the careless soul and sweeten the burdens of the saints. I say "sweeten" because it connotes some of the poignancy of the gladness I have in mind, and sets it off from the glib and petty attempts to stir up lightheartedness in a … Read More

via Samuel at Gilgal

9.0 Earthquake hits Tokyo,Japan

Ant Writes — Fri, 11 Mar 2011 09:25:03 +0000

Although this is not something I would normally write about, I think this is serious. An 8.9 Magnitude earthquake hit Northern japan today (Mar 11, 2010). This is the third worst earthquake on planet earth since 1900. A tsunami warning has been issued for the country’s pacific coast along with Hawaii, Russia, Indonesia, Australia and the south American pacific coast including Mexico, Chile and Peru according to the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, the Associated Press reported.

In Hawaii, tsunami warning sirens began sounding in coastal areas and residents are being told to begin preparations to evacuate to higher ground if they’re in flood zones.

If the tsunami waves hit Hawaii, the estimated arrival of the initial wave is 2:59 a.m. HST Friday, according to the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center.

Things are getting worse. These are definitely the end times, as the Old Testament prophets and Jesus Christ predicted. Let us pray for the people in Japan, and the surrounding countries, and most importantly, repent.

Tsunami Hits Japan After 8.8 Earthquake (news.sky.com)
Japan earthquake: Tsunami causes major damage after large earthquake hits Japan (dailymail.co.uk)
Japan rocked by powerful earthquake and tsunami (theglobeandmail.com)
8.9 Earthquake, Tsunami Rock Japan (theundergroundconservative.wordpress.com)

The Law and Grace part I

Ant Writes — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 06:23:51 +0000

I have been a Christian for quite sometime now and I have met plenty of believers who had their own convictions about the boundaries of God‘s will for their life that was not shared with other believers. Moses delivered the Law from Mount Sinai. Those are the 613 laws found in the Old Covenant. (This includes both moral and ritual law, that is, do not kill, and do not cut your beard). However, Christians are no longer under the Old Covenant law! (Moral law still stands however), but Christians have devised their OWN set of laws that even exceeds the Jewish law! Here is a list of convictions held by various Christians:

- KJV only

-never listen to secular music

-vote Republican

-vote Democrat

-help the homeless

-fight abortion, pornography and gay marriage

-not own a TV

-not own more than 1 TV

-never use the Internet

-never support the military

-be against all wars

-only do home births

-homeschool their children

-NEVER homeschool their children

- never use birth control

-become quiverfull have as many kids as possible)

-watch only G or PG movies

-never watch ANY movies, or go to a theater

-never dance unless it’s to worship music

-never dance EVER

-never drink alcohol

-never see a psychologist or psychiatrist

- speak in tongues

-NEVER speak in tongues

-never see a doctor, but believe in God for healing

-never use medicine, only herbal or holistic remedies

-never eat meat

-become vegan (eat nothing with a face or any product of anything with a face)

-keep the Sabbath (Saturday) holy

-keep Sunday holy

tithe your net income

tithe your gross income

give as you have purposed in your heart to give

keep Kosher

read your Bible every day

never use an instrument in worship (a Capella)

lift up your hands in worship

never lift your hands above your waist in worship

witness to one person a day

never celebrate Christmas (no presents, no trees, no lights)

no Easter egg hunts or trick or treating

no birthdays

never own an expensive car (rust buckets only)

never own insurance

never lock your car or house doors

Also, Christ‘s will for ALL Christian women:

never wear jewelry

wear a veil and/or head covering in a church gathering

never cut their hair

wear clothing that never exposes the legs

be silent in church meetings

never wear a bikini

Many of these are good ideas, but most are not even biblical! Why do we put a heavier burden than Christ himself put on us? But I may do something that my conscience condemns (like missing a day of Bible reading), then that is sin to me.. However, you may do the same exact thing with nary an issue, and your conscience will not condemn you. Why? Because our conscience is limited by our knowledge of the Word. As a child, I was taught that secular music was of the devil. So if I purchased a record, my conscience would condemn me. For me, to do such a thing was willfully sinning against the Lord.

For other Christians, this was not the case at all. They could have bought the newest KISS album without even wincing. And they can glorify God in doing so.

So, the conscience is the current standard of God’s will for our lives. It must be obeyed, otherwise it will condemn us. Mature Christians have MUCH more freedom than immature Christians. This because mature Christians have more knowledge from reading the Word.

Paul says in 1 Corinthians 6:12 and 10:23 “All things are lawful, but not all things are profitable or edifying“..example, I am allowed as a Christian to eat opossum, but it’s really not the best thing for me. I am allowed to eat Twinkies all day. (Twinkies aren’t Kosher), but it’s probably not edifying.

…continued….

Covenant Theology and Dispensationalsim: a Comparison (sovereigngod.wordpress.com)
Book of Leviticus. (greatriversofhope.wordpress.com)

Why This Book Review Is The Most Important Article I Have Ever Written (via illuminate)

Ant Writes — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 09:38:01 +0000

If this review doesn’t make you buy this book, nothing will.

I have been a Christian for almost 18 years, and I can tell you that I have not known the meaning of the gospel until very recently. That might sound a bit shocking to you, but unfortunately, I am convinced that is the norm for most people who name the name of Jesus Christ in Christendom. The tragedy is, the more time & training we have had in our current system, the less we probably understand why the good news is actually good. Yes I love … Read More

via illuminate

Oral or Sacred Tradition

Ant Writes — Mon, 07 Mar 2011 09:38:37 +0000

Oral Tradition

This is another bone of contention within both the Catholic and non-Catholic camps. Oral or Sacred Tradition is the passing down of teaching and the examples of other saints. However, in the Catholic Church, tradition is passed down and understood to be embodied in the episcopacy (the Pope, priests, etc.) While I don’t think there is anything wrong with following the traditions of the 1st century Christians, after the last apostle died, much wrong teaching came into the body. For example, in the Epistle to the Trallians by Ignatius of Antioch written around 95 A.D., it says that Christians are to obey the bishop as they are to obey God! Wow. He didn’t even let John the Apostle’s grave get cold! John the apostle warned us about this: http://www.housechurchconnections.com/?p=138 The Trallians were a Thracian tribe who were a violent, mercenary people. We don’t know if the Trallian church was planted in the way of Paul or one of the other apostles, but even if they were a hard church to handle, like the Corinthian church, the point that he said to “obey your bishop like you would obey God”, is the first step of our downward spiral into the clergy – laity divide. Now for the but. There are 3 verses (which I will post below) that seem to support tradition.

Acts 8:30-31 So Philip ran up and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. He asked him, “Do you understand what you’re reading?” The man replied, “How in the world can I, unless someone guides me?” So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.

This is obviously Phillip teaching another individual orally.

2 Peter 1:20 “no prophecy in Scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation”

This seems to say we can’t interpret the Bible for ourselves. The Greek says ἰδίας ἐπιλύσεως which means “one’s own interpretation.”, but many translations say “no prophecy of scripture come from the prophet’s own interpretation.”. 1 point for Catholicism, 1 point for the opposing team. But there’s another but. The passage does not say scripture isn’t a matter of one’s own interpretation, but a prophecy of scripture isn’t a matter of one’s own interpretation. So this text is not talking about understanding scripture at all. It seems to be talking about prophecy. The verses just before 2 Peter 1:20 were speaking of the prophecies the disciples were given. Peter isn’t talking about every prophecy in the future, since the devil can and does disguise himself as an angel of light, but we are to “search the scriptures daily, whether those things were so” (Acts 17:11). Another point for the opposing team
Catholics 1 Non-Catholics 2
Why do I use the term non-Catholics? Because the Lord has kept a remnant alive that were not necessarily Protestants. Some call them Anabaptists, Waldensians, etc. There are a host of Christians who are not cut from the same cloth as the “Protestant” churches. There were saints who were martyred when Constantine made the state religion who did not bow down to that watered down church.
This is a fictitious dialogue between Martin Luther and his Catholic prosecutors posed by Dave Armstrong:
Luther: (L) The Catholic church is wrong about a b and c.
Catholic (C) Why do you say that?
L: because it’s unbiblical
C: Who gave you the authority to claim such a thing?
L: My authority is the Word of God
C: We grant you sincerity, but not everyone agrees with you. Why should we believe YOU over against 1500 years of Church tradition?
L: Because the Holy Spirit has told me
C: He has told us too! So we either accept what you say as authoritative or what the Church says?
L: Yes, because you are wrong, because what I teach lines up with scripture. You disagree with me not because of any lack of clarity in Scripture but because of your own blindness.

This can go on all day. While these words are fictional, they were modified from Against the Spiritual Estate of the Pope, July 1522 Diet of Worms

Now for some more
I praise you because you remember me in everything and maintain the traditions just as I passed them on to you. 1 Corinthians 11:2

But we command you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to keep away from any brother who lives an undisciplined life and not according to the tradition they received from us. 2 Thessalonians 3:6

stand firm and hold on to the traditions that we taught you, whether by speech or by letter. 2 Thessalonians 2:15

If you say these all refer to the authority of the first disciples only, prove it biblically.Was Timothy allowed to pass down the traditions he was taught? Why can’t Ignatius or the Pope be followed but Calvin, Luther, Zwingli, and Wesley can?

These are rhetorical questions posed to promote discussion. We must have a reason why we believe what we believe.

Comments? The floor is yours.

Are there other sources of authority for Christians besides the Bible? (askthepastors.wordpress.com)
Tradition and Scripture (wateristhickerthanblood.wordpress.com)
Catholics and Scripture (A Post on Verbum Domini) (practicalcatholic.wordpress.com)

Commandment of Christ #2

Ant Writes — Mon, 07 Mar 2011 07:19:27 +0000

Matthew 4:7

ἔφη αὐτῷ ὁ Ἰησοῦς πάλιν γέγραπται οὐκ ἐκπειράσεις κύριον τὸν θεόν σου.

Jesus said to him, “Once again it is written: ‘You are not to put the Lord your God to the test.’”

Jesus Christ said these words to Satan, after Satan tempted Jesus to prove His deity by throwing himself off the roof of the temple. This in fact reminds me of when people drink poison and handle snakes to somehow prove that what Jesus Christ has said is true. No mortal, nor spiritual being has any right to demand that the eternal God proves himself. He doesn’t need your belief. So don’t do it! Instead of trying to get God to prove Himself, you should die daily. Pass the daily tests of character he gives you on a daily basis. In other words, you will notice it will be YOU who needs to prove yourself to Him! Carry your cross and follow Him.

Jesuo diris al li: Ankaŭ estas skribite: Ne provu la Eternulon, vian Dion.

Jesuo Kristo diris al Satano ĉi tiujn vortojn, post Satano tentas Jesuon, ke Li pruvu Sian Diecon, per la sinĵetado lin el la tegmento de la templo. Fakte, ĉi tion memoras min kiam homoj trinkas venenon kaj tenas sepentojn por provi la veron de Jesuo. Nek neniu mortonto nek spirita estanto havas iun rajton postuli, ke la Eternulo pruvas Sin. Li ne bezonas vian kredon. Do ne faru ĝin! Anstataŭ la penado de Dio pruvigu Sin, vi ĉiutage devus morti. Sukcesu en la testo ĉiutage, kiu Li donas al vi. Aliavorte, vi notos, ke ĝi estos “VI” kiu bezonas pruvi vin al Li! Portu la kruco kaj sekvu Lin.

If you thought the TV show “Skins” was bad…

Ant Writes — Sat, 05 Mar 2011 20:04:26 +0000

Tweet
It’s a good thing we don’t watch TV, but

An ABC pilot called “Good Christian Bitches” has religious and women’s groups up in arms over what they describe as an extremely offensive and distasteful show title. The dramedy, based on Kim Gatlin’s novel of the same name, will be brought to life by famed “Sex and the City” and “90210” executive producer Darren Star. The plot centers on the life of reformed “mean girl” Amanda, played by “Talladega Nights” actress Leslie Bibb, who returns to her hometown of Dallas to find herself fodder for malicious gossip from the women in the Christian community. Still in the early stages, the pilot has not been guaranteed a spot on ABC’s lineup. And though the show’s title may change before it goes to broadcast, “Good Christian Bitches” is already causing uproar.

If you ever thought TV had some redeeming qualities, think again.

via Zwinglius Revivibus

Ant Writes

http://antwrites.com

AntWrites has Moved!

NOTICE! WE HAVE NOW MOVED!

We are now at http://www.antwrites.com !

Evangelicals hate Jesus?

John Piper On The Indifferent Minister (via Samuel at Gilgal)

9.0 Earthquake hits Tokyo,Japan

Related Articles

The Law and Grace part I

Related Articles

Why This Book Review Is The Most Important Article I Have Ever Written (via illuminate)

Oral or Sacred Tradition

Related Articles

Commandment of Christ #2

If you thought the TV show “Skins” was bad…