See the parallelism?
listen to words but don't do them because they
aren't part of the "core." This parallels listeing to mouth religion exuding
"loovveee."
> The mouth worship is
parallel to playing a musical
instrument.
> The
search for money or attendance
is parallel to hearing
the words but not doing
them.
Surely
the removal of doctrine, speaking
against
God
by claiming that
the squabbling apostles were involved in their own interpretation and
forming waring churches, the introduction of female musicians and
singers clearly connected to temple-building and reputation-building
is God at work:
Therefore,
behold,
I will proceed to do a marvellous work among this people, even a
marvellous work and a wonder: for the wisdom of their wise men
shall perish, and the understanding of their
prudent men shall be
hid.
Isaiah 29:14
Isaiah
58 Slogan
If
thou turn away
thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy
pleasure on my holy
day;
and call the
sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord,
honourable; and
shalt honour
him,
not
doing thine own
ways,
nor finding thine
own
pleasure, nor speaking
thine own words: Isaiah
58:13
Jeremiah
Slogan
Jesus
fired the "doctors of the
law" and sent simple people out into the world with the Gospel. He
knew that the doctors would be too concerned with "hermeneutics" and
would just take away the key to knowledge. To keep the people from
catching on, the doctors of the law concocted "bread and circus" type
rituals and even turned the Feast of Tabernacles into a talent fair
for book sellers, poets, musicians, and preachers. The "burden" of
the clergy laded on the backs of the people was "spiritual anxiety
created by religious ceremony." This sermon being reviewed says
nothing about the "core gospel" but seeks to lade the people down
with hatred of anyone who would question the use of instruments as
the most powerful "burden" creator. But God is listen.
I
have heard
what
the prophets said, that prophesy
lies
in my name, saying,
I have dreamed, I have dreamed.
Jeremiah 23: 25
How long shall this be in the heart of
the prophets that prophesy lies?
yea, they are prophets
of the deceit of their own heart;
Jeremiah 23: 26
Which
think to cause my
people
to forget
my
name
by their dreams,
which they tell every man to his neighbour, as their fathers
have
forgotten my name for Baal.
Jeremiah 23: 27
- The
prophet that hath a
dream, let him tell a
dream;
- and
he that hath my
word, let him speak my
word faithfully.
- What
is the chaff to the
wheat? saith the Lord. Jeremiah 23: 28
Is
not my word like as a fire? saith the Lord; and
like a hammer that breaketh the rock
in pieces?
Jeremiah 23: 29
Therefore,
behold, I am against the
prophets, saith the
Lord, that steal my
words
every one from
his neighbour. Jeremiah 23: 30
(giant Jubilee festivals?)
Behold,
I am
against the prophets, saith the Lord, that use their tongues, and
say, He
saith.
Jeremiah 23: 31
Behold,
I am
against them that prophesy
false
dreams, saith the
Lord, and do tell them, and cause my
people to err by their
lies,
and by their lightness; yet I sent them not,
nor commanded
them: therefore
they shall not profit this people at all, saith the Lord. Jeremiah
23: 32
Jeremiah
then prophesies
about the burdens which the clergy will try to lade upon
people.
Massa
(h4853) mas-saw'; from 5375; a burden; spec. tribute, or (abstr.) porterage;
fig. an utterance, chiefly a doom, espec. singing;
mental, desire: - burden, carry
away, prophecy, they set, song,
tribute.
Nasa
(h5375) naw-saw' to lift,
burn, carry
away,
cast, contain,
desire, ease, exact, exalt
(self), extol, lade,
lay, lift self up,
David's
"praise" was
similar:
Halal
(h1984) haw-lal'; a prim. root; to be clear (orig. of sound, but
usually of color); to shine; hence to make a show, to boast;
and thus to be (clamorously) foolish; to rave; causat. to celebrate;
also to stultify: - (make) boast
(self),
celebrate,
commend, (deal, make), fool (- ish,
-ly), glory, give [light], be (make, feign self) mad, give in marriage, [sing,
be worthy of] praise, rage,
renowned, shine.
The
king of Tyre who came
equipped with musical instruments burdened people often by the use of
the King who is identified as a prostitute as Lucifer (light, shine)
was gender-confused:
THE burden (song)
of Tyre. Howl (unnatural tone), ye
ships of Tarshish; for it is laid waste, so that there is no house,
no entering in: from the land of Chittim it is revealed to them.
Is.23:1
At
that time Tyre will be
forgotten for seventy years, the span of a king's life. But at the
end of these seventy years, it will happen to Tyre as in the song of the
prostitute:
Is.23:15
The "song of the
prostitute" is:
"Take
up a harp,
walk through the city, O prostitute forgotten; play the harp well,
sing many a song, so that you will be remembered." Is.23:16
Jeremiah
continues to prophesy
of those just laying burdens on people by deliberately dividing them
from their non-instrumental families:
Look
again
and hear Ezekiel's parallel and see
that the burden
was the musical prostitutes:
Also,
thou son of
man, the children of thy people still are talking against thee by the walls (just
broke them
down) and in the doors of the houses,
and speak one to
another, (grand
meetings) every one to his brother,
- saying,
Come, I pray you,
and hear
what is the word that cometh
forth
from the Lord.
Ezekiel 33:30
- And
they come unto thee as
the people cometh,
- and
they sit before thee as my
people,
- and
they hear
thy words,
- but
they will not do
them:
- for
with their mouth
they shew much love,
- but
their heart goeth
after their covetousness. Ezekiel 33:31
-
- And,
lo, thou art unto them
- as
a very lovely song
(amourous love song)
- of
one that hath a
pleasant voice,
- and
can play
well on an instrument:
- for
they hear thy
words,
- but
they do them not.
Ezekiel 33:32
Now,
look at Jeremiah speaking
of the same "seekers" who will no longer be tolerated:
And
when this
people, or the prophet, or a priest, shall ask thee, saying, What is
the burden of the Lord? thou shalt then say unto
them,
What
burden? I will even
forsake you, saith the Lord. Jeremiah 23: 33
- And
as for the prophet,
and the priest, and the people, that shall say,
- The
burden (song) of the
Lord,
- I
will even punish that man and his house.
Jeremiah 23: 34
- Thus
shall ye say every
one to his neighbour,
- and
every one to his
brother,
- What
hath the Lord answered? and,
- What
hath the Lord spoken? Jeremiah 23: 35
And
the burden of the Lord
shall ye mention no
more;
for every
mans word shall be his
burden (song):
for ye have perverted the words of
the living God, of the
Lord of hosts our God. Jeremiah
23:36
A burden is:
Massa (h4853) mas-saw'; from
5375; a burden; spec. tribute, or
(abstr.) porterage;
fig. an utterance, chiefly
a
doom, espec. singing; mental,
desire:
-
burden,
carry away,
prophecy, * they set, song, tribute.
- Also,
thou son of man,
shall it not be in the day when I take from them their strength, the
joy of their glory, the desire of their eyes, and that whereupon they
set their minds, their sons and their daughters, Eze.24:25
-
- THE burden of the word of the Lord
for Israel,
saith the Lord, which stretcheth forth the heavens, and layeth the
foundation of the earth, and formeth the spirit of man within him. Zech
12:1
-
- Behold,
I will make
Jerusalem a cup of
trembling unto all
the people round about, when they shall be in the siege both against Judah and against Jerusalem. Zech 12:2
-
- And
in that day will I
make Jerusalem a
burdensome stone
for all people: all
that burden themselves with it shall be cut in
pieces, though all the people of
the earth be gathered together against it. Zech 12:3
-
- Ro.15:1 WE then
that are strong
ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to PLEASE ourselves.
-
- Aresko
(g700) ar-es'-ko;
prob. from 142 (through the idea of exciting emotion); to be agreeable
(or by impl. to seek to be so): - please.
Areskô I. of pers. only, make
good, make amends, spondas theois
aresasthai make full
drink-offerings to the gods, please, satisfy, be Lord and Master.
IV. areskei is used impers. to
express the opinion
or resolution of a public body, also of prevailing opinions; ta
areskonta the dogmas of philosophers
please,
satisfy, despozô 2. c. gen., to be lord
or master of,
h.Cer.365, Hdt.3.142 as law-term, to be the legal proprietor,
Nasa (h5347)
accept,
advance,
arise, (able to, [armour],
suffer
to)
bear (-er, up), bring
(forth), burn, carry (away), cast, contain,
desire, ease, exact,
exalt
(self), extol...
utterly, wear, yield
- Airo (h142) ah'ee-ro; a
prim. verb; to lift;
by impl. to take up or away; fig. to raise
(the voice), keep in suspense (the mind); spec. to
sail away (i.e. weigh anchor); by
Heb. [comp. 5375] to expiate sin: - away
with, bear (up),
carry, lift up, loose, make to doubt, put away, remove, take (away,
up).
The burden in Greek
includes:
Phortizo (g5412) for-tid'-zo; to load up (as a vessel or animal), figurative: to overburden with ceremony
or spiritual anxiety:
-
lade,
be
heavy
laden.
(Lots of
"invoices")
- Phoros (g5411) for'-os; from
5342; a load (as
borne,) i.e. (fig.) a tax
(prop. an individ. assessment on persons or property;
whereas 5056 is usually a gen.
toll on goods or travel): - tribute.
Epôidos , on, epaidô
A. singing to or over, using songs
or charms to heal wounds, epôidoi muthoi
Pl.Lg.903b .
b. Subst., enchanter, e. kai goęs E.Hipp.
1038 (but
goęs e. Ba.234):
c. gen., a charm for or against,
c. c. dat., assisting, profitable,
2. Pass., sung to
music, phônai
Plu.2.622d ; fit for singing, poiętikęn e. parechein
S.E.M.6.16 .
2. epôidos, ho, verse or passage returning at intervals, in
Alcaics and Sapphics, D.H.Comp.19 ; chorus,
burden,
We believe that this shows that
the false prophets, were replacing the Words of God with musical
performance right out of the "places." The comparison shows that
music and perverting the Word are the same thing because they appeal
to people who just don't care what God says beyond His little,
allowable core.
The
Christian result was that
the wineskin performers were not allowed but were replaced by
non-performers speaking the Words of Christ one to another.
To
deny that God
Incarnate has any words beyond those spoken to the first people as
the "gospel" is to pervert the words of the living God: Jesus is
still living and is the Spirit in His Word.
In
habbakuk
2:19-20 the people
tried to get their idols (often musical devices) to speak to them.
However, the prophet said: "But the Lord is in his holy temple: let
all the earth keep silence before him." You see, that passage and 1
Corinthians 14 includes women as well as men who are not inspired!
See more below about the harp from which the people of Ur got their
message from the gods.
This
is why Jesus fired the
clergy who are still fully occupied in laying burdens on people --
such as mentally conditioning them to see the non-use of instruments
in worship and trying to warn people as guilty of every word one can
possibly garner in one Phd quest.
The
honest evangelist will be
faithful to the Word.
The
Hebrews
Slogan
THEREFORE we ought to give the more earnest heed
(honor
or worship) to the things
which we have
heard, lest at any time we should let them slip. Hebrews 2:1
For
if the word spoken by
angels was stedfast, and every transgression and disobedience
received a just recompence of reward; Hebrews
2:2
How
shall we escape, if we
neglect so great
salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by
the Lord, and was confirmed
unto us by them that heard
him;
Hebrews 2:3
God
also bearing
them witness, both with signs and wonders,
and with divers miracles, and gifts
of the Holy Ghost, according to his own will (pattern)? Hebrews 2:4
The
Peter Slogan
And
this voice
which came from heaven we
heard, when we were with him in the holy mount. 2 Peter 1:18
And
we have the word of the
prophets
made more certain, and you will do
well to pay attention to
it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day
dawns
and the morning star
rises
in
your hearts. 2 Peter
1:19
Knowing
this first, that no
prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. 2 Peter 1:20
For
the prophecy
came not in old time by the will of
man: but holy men of God
spake
as they were
moved by the Holy
Ghost.
2 Peter 1:21
As
Jesus fired the "doctors of the
Law" for taking away the key to
knowledge, Peter warned preachers or "mediators" for all times that
they have no right to explicate or applicate the inspired Words of
the Spirit of Christ (1 Pet 1:11) without endangering their own souls
and the souls of the church for which Christ died.
Private
interpretation is really contemporary preaching:
Epilusis (g1955)ep-il'-oo-sis;
from 1956;
explanation, i.e.
application: - interpretation.
Epiluo
(g1956) ep-ee-loo'-o; from 1909 and 3089; to solve further, i.e.
(fig.) to explain, decide: - determine, expound.
That
means that no book
writer,
preacher or presumed prophet can add one bit to the free Word (Isaiah
55:1f). How then is the Word to be used. Well remember the
context:
So,
we have commands,
examples and inferences from God and we have anyone who would assign
it to just the interpretation of waring apostles is in
trouble.
The
Epistle of Ignatius to the
Ephesians: also called Ignatius
Theophoros (Greek: "God
Bearer") bishop of Antioch,
Syria,
born
in
Syria,
around the year 50; died at Rome between
98 and 117.
Ignatius introduced the practice of alternating sections of the church
chanting the Word. Ignatius
d.
c
110
Chapter IX.-Ye Have Given No Heed to False
Teachers.
Nevertheless,
I have heard of
some who have passed on from this to you, having false doctrine, whom ye did not suffer to
sow
among you, but stopped
your
ears,
that ye might not receive those things
which were sown by
them, as being stones 58 of the temple of the
Father, prepared
for the building of God the Father, and drawn up on high by the instrument of Jesus Christ, which
is the cross, 59 making use of the Holy Spirit as a rope, while your
faith was the
means by which
you ascended, and your love the way which led up to God.
Ye,
therefore, as
well as all your fellow-travellers, are God-bearers,
temple-bearers, Christ-bearers,
bearers
of holiness, adorned in all respects with the commandments of
Jesus
Christ, in whom also I exult that I have been thought worthy,
by
means of this Epistle, to converse and rejoice with you, because with
respect to your Christian life ye love nothing but God only.
Nevertheless,
I have heard
of some who have passed in among you, holding the wicked doctrine of
the strange and evil spirit; to whom ye did not allow entrance to sow
their tares, but stopped your ears that ye might not receive that error
which was proclaimed by them,
as being persuaded that that spirit which deceives
the people does not speak the things of Christ,
but his own, for he is a lying spirit.
Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will
do.
He was a murderer from the beginning,
and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him.
When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own:
for he is a liar, and the father of it. Jn. 8:44
Now, Jesus did not say THOU SHALT
NOT MAKE UP
THY SONGS AND SERMONS: He just said "for he is a liar and the father of
it." Now that sounds pretty LOUD to me.
NOW DON'T WE WONDER WHY PEOPLE GIVE THEMSELVES THE RIGHT THAT NEITHER
CHRIST NOR HIS SPIRIT HAD A RIGHT TO?
But
the Holy
Spirit does not speak His own things, but those of Christ, and that not from
himself, but from the Lord;
even as the Lord also announced to us the things that He received from the
Father.
For,
says He, "the word which ye hear
is not Mine, but the Father's, who sent Me.
And says He of the
Holy Spirit, "He shall not
speak
of
Himself, but
whatsoever things He
shall hear from Me."
And
He says of Himself to the Father, "I have," says He,
"glorified Thee
upon the earth; I have finished the work which, Thou gavest Me; I
have manifested Thy
name
to men." And of
the Holy
Ghost,
"He shall
glorify Me, for He receives
of
Mine."
But
the spirit
of deceit
preaches himself, and speaks his own
things, for he seeks to please
himself. He glorifies
himself, for he is full of
arrogance.
He
is lying, fraudulent,
soothing, flattering,
treacherous, rhapsodical,
trifling, inharmonious,
verbose, sordid,
and timorous.
From his power Jesus Christ will
deliver you, who has founded
you upon the rock,
as being chosen
stones, well fitted for
the divine
edifice of the Father,
and who are raised up on high by Christ, who was crucified for you,
making use of the Holy
Spirit as a rope, and
being borne up by faith, while exalted by love from earth to heaven,
walking in company with those that are undefiled.
For,
says [the Scripture],
"Blessed are the undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of the
Lord." Now the way is unerring, namely, Jesus Christ. For, says He,
"I am the way and the life." And this way leads to the Father.
For
"no man," says He,
"cometh
to the Father
but by Me." Blessed,
then, are ye who are God-bearers, spirit-bearers,
temple-bearers, bearers of holiness, adorned in all
respects with the commandments of Jesus Christ, being
"a royal
priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people," on whose account I
rejoice exceedingly, and have had the privilege, by this Epistle, of
conversing with "the saints which are at Ephesus, the faithful in
Christ Jesus." I rejoice, therefore, over you, that ye do not give
heed to vanity, and love nothing according to the flesh, but
according to God.
Chapter XV.-Exhortation to Confess Christ by
Silence
as Well as Speech.
It is
better for a man to be
silent and be [a
Christian], than to talk and not to be one. It is
good
to teach, if he
who speaks also acts.
There
is then one
Teacher, who spake and it was done; while
even those
things which He did in silence
are worthy
of the
Father. He who possesses
the word of Jesus, is truly able to hear even
His
very silence, that he may be perfect,
and may both act as he speaks, and be recognised by his
silence.
There
is nothing
which is hid from God, but our very secrets are near to Him.
Let
us therefore do all
things as those who have
Him
dwelling in us, that we
may be His temples, and He may be in us as our God,
which indeed He is, and will manifest
Himself before our
faces.
Wherefore we justly love Him.
It is
better for a man to
be silent and be [a Christian],
than to talk and not to be
one. "The kingdom of God is not in word,
but in power."
Men "believe with the heart,
and confess
with the mouth," the one "unto righteousness," the other "unto
salvation." It is good to teach, if he who speaks also acts. For he who shall both
"do and teach, the same shall
be great in the kingdom." Our Lord and God, Jesus Christ, the Son of
the living God, first did and then taught, as Luke testifies,
"whose
praise is in the
Gospel through all the Churches." There is nothing
which is hid from the Lord, but
our very secrets are near to Him. Let us therefore do all things as
those who have Him dwelling
in
us,
that we may be His
temples, and He may be in us as
God.
Let Christ
speak
in us,
even as He did in Paul.
Let the Holy Spirit
teach
us to speak the things of
Christ in like manner as He
did.
Arnobius
Heresies
Book
One.
27.
This is not the place to
examine all our traducers, who they are, or
whence they are, what
is their
power, what their knowledge, why they tremble at the mention
of Christ, why
they
regard his disciples as
enemies and as hateful persons; but with regard to ourselves to state expressly to
those who will exercise common
reason, in terms applicable to all of us alike,-We Christians are
nothing else than worshippers of the Supreme King and Head, under our
Master, Christ.
If
you examine carefully, you
will find that nothing
else
is
implied
in that religion.
This is the sum of all
that we do; this is the
proposed end and limit of sacred duties.
Before
Him we all prostrate
ourselves,
according to
our custom
; Him we adore in joint prayers
;
from Him we beg things just and
honourable, and worthy of His ear.
Not
that He needs our supplications, or loves to see the homage of so many thousands
laid at His feet.
This
is our benefit, and has a
regard to our advantage. For since we
are prone to err, and to
yield to various lusts and appetites through the fault of our innate
weakness,
He allows Himself at all times to be comprehended
in our
thoughts, that
whilst we
entreat Him and strive
to merit His
bounties,we
may receive a
desire for
purity, and may free ourselves from every stain by the removal of all
our shortcomings. 31. O
greatest, O Supreme
Creator of things invisible! O Thou who art Thyself unseen, and who art incomprehensible! Thou art worthy, Thou
art verily worthy-if only
mortal tongue may speak of Thee-that all breathing and intelligent
nature should never cease to feel and to return thanks;that it should
throughout the whole of life fall on bended knee,
and offer supplication with
never-ceasing prayers. For
Thou
art the first cause; in Thee created
things exist,
and Thou art the space
in which rest the foundations of all things, whatever they be. Thou
art illimitable, unbegotten, immortal,
enduring for aye,
God Thyself alone, whom no bodily shape may
represent, no
outline
delineate; of virtues inexpressible,
of greatness indefinable; unrestricted as to
locality,
movement, and condition,
concerning whom nothing
can
be
clearly
expressed by the significance of man's
words.
That Thou
mayest be understood,
we
must be silent ;
and that
erring conjecture may
track Thee through the shady cloud,
no word
must
be uttered.
Arnobius
Heresies
Book
One.[
And
therefore Christ
the divine,-although
you
are
unwilling
to
allow
it,-Christ
the
divine, I repeat, for this must be said often, that the ears of
unbelievers may burst and be rent asunder,
speaking
in the form of man by command of
the Supreme God, because He knew that
men are naturally
[that the
nature of man is] blind, and cannot
grasp the
truth at all, or
regard as sure and
certain what they might have persuaded themselves as to things set
before their eyes, and do not hesitate, for the sake of their conjectures,
to
raise and bring up
questions
that cause much
strife,-bade us
abandon and disregard all these things of
which you speak, and not waste our thoughts upon things which have
been removed far from our knowledge,
but,
as much as possible, seek
the
Lord of the
universe with the whole
mind
and
spirit; be
raised above these subjects,
and give over to
Him our
hearts, as yet
hesitating whither to
turn;
[transfer
to Him the undecided conversions of the breast] be ever mindful of Him;
and although no imagination
can set Him forth as He is, [He can
be formed by no imagination] yet
form
some
faint
conception
of Him.
For Christ
said that, of
all who are comprehended
in the vague notion of what is sacred and divine, 424 He alone is beyond
the
reach of doubt,
alone true, and one
about whom only a raving and reckless madman can be in doubt; to know
whom is enough, although you have learned nothing besides; and if by
knowledge you have indeed been related to[ [and
being fixed on] God, the
head of the world, you have gained
the true
and most important knowledge.
424
Lit., "which
the obscurity of sacred divinity contains;" which Orelli interprets,
"the most exalted being holds concealed from mortals."
Deut.
29:29 The secret things belong unto Jehovah our God; but the things
that are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we
may do all the words of this law.
Tatian born AD 120,
, Syria
died April 173
Chapter
XXXII.-The Doctrine
of the Christians, is Opposed to Dissensions, and Fitted for
All.
But
with us there is no
desire of
vainglory, nor do
we
indulge in a variety of opinions.
For
having
renounced the popular and earthly,
and obeying the commands of God,
and following the law of the Father of immortality,
we
reject everything
which rests upon human opinion.
Not
only do the rich among us pursue our
philosophy,
but
the poor enjoy instruction
gratuitously,
( [Compare
cap.
xi. p. 69.
And note, thus early, the Christian
freeschools, such as Julian closed
and then
imitated, confessing their power.])
for
the things which come
from God surpass the requital of worldly gifts.
Thus
we admit all who
desire
to hear, even old women
and striplings; and, in short, persons
of every age are
treated by
us with respect, but every kind of licentiousness is kept at a
distance.
And
in speaking we
do not utter
falsehood. It
would be
an excellent thing if your continuance in unbelief should receive a
check;
but, however that may be, let
our cause remain confirmed by the judgment pronounced by God.
Laugh,
if you please; but you will have to weep hereafter. Is it not absurd
that Nestor, who was slow at cutting his horses' reins owing to his
weak and sluggish old age, is, according to you, to be admired for
attempting to rival the young men in fighting, while you deride those
among us who struggle against old age and occupy themselves with the
things pertaining to God?
Who
would not laugh when you tell us that
the Amazons, and Semiramis,
and
certain other warlike
women existed,
while you
cast
reproaches on
our maidens?
Achilles was a youth, yet is believed to have been very magnanimous;
and Neoptolemus was younger, but strong; Philoctetes was weak, but
the divinity had need of him against Troy. What sort of man was
Thersites? yet he held a command in the army, and, if he had not
through doltishness had such an unbridled tongue, he would not have
been reproached for being peak-headed and bald.
As
for those who
wish to learn our philosophy, we do not test
them by their
looks,
nor do we judge of those who
come to us by their outward appearance;
for
we
argue that there may be strength of mind in
all, though they may be weak in body.
But
your
proceedings are full of envy and abundant stupidity.
Clement
of
Alexandria
- b. AD 150, Athens
- d. between 211 and 215
Clement Pedegogue 1: Vol III Commands,
Examples and
Inferences Chapter 3
But
what is
loveable, and is not also loved by Him? And man has been proved to be
loveable; consequently man is loved by God. For how shall he not be
loved for whose sake the only-begotten Son is sent from the Father's
bosom, the Word of faith, the faith which is superabundant; the Lord
Himself distinctly confessing and saying, "For the Father Himself
loveth you, because ye have loved Me; " and again, "And hast loved
them as Thou hast loved Me? "
What,
then, the Master desires
and
declares, and how He is
disposed in deed and word,
how He commands what is to be done, and forbids
the
opposite, has already
been shown.
Plainly,
then, the other kind
of discourse, the didactic, is powerful and
spiritual, observing
precision,
occupied in the contemplation of mysteries.
But
let it stand over for
the present.
Now,
it is incumbent on
us to return His
love,
who lovingly
guides us to that life which is best;
and
to live in
accordance with the injunctions
of
His
will, not only
fulfilling what is commanded,
or guarding against
what is forbidden,
but turning
away
from some examples, and imitating
others as much as we
can, and thus to
perform the
works of the Master according to His similitude,
and
so fulfil what
Scripture says as to our being made in His image and likeness.
For,
wandering in life as
in
deep darkness, we need a guide that cannot stumble or stray; and our
guide is the best, not blind, as the Scripture
says, "leading the blind into pits."
But
the Word is keen-sighted, and
scans the recesses of the
heart. As, then, that is not light which enlightens
not, nor motion that
moves not, nor loving which
loves not, so neither is that good which profits not, nor guides to
salvation.
Let
us then aim at the fulfilment
of
the
commandments by the works of the
Lord;
for the Word
Himself also, having openly become flesh, exhibited the same virtue,
both practical and contemplative.
Wherefore
let us
regard the Word as law,
and His commands and counsels
as
the short and straight paths to immortality; for
His precepts are full of persuasion, not of fear.
And there are three departments of
counsel:
That
which takes examples from past
times;
as
what the Hebrews
suffered when they worshipped
the
golden
calf, and what
they suffered when they
committed fornication, and the like.
The second, whose meaning is
understood from the present times,
as being apprehended by perception;
as
it was said to
those who asked the Lord, "If He was the Christ, or shall we wait for
another? Go and tell John, the blind receive their sight, the deaf
hear, the lepers are cle [Matt. xi. 3-6; Luke vii. 19, 22, 23.]
Such was that which David aid
when he prophesied, "As we have heard, so have we seen."
[ Ps. xlviii. 8.]
And
the third department
of counsel consists of
what is future,
by
which we are bidden guard
against what is to
happen; as also that was said, "They that fall into sins shall be
cast into outer darkness, where there shall be wailing and gnashing
of teeth," [Matt. xxii. 13, xxv. 30.] and the like. So that from
these things it is clear that the Lord, going the round of all the
methods of curative treatment, calls humanity to salvation.
Tertullian
of Carthage
(Quintus Septimius Florens Terullianus, b. 155 - 160 Carthage - d.
220? AD)
He
specificially uses
exclusion or necessary inference to repudiate music.
"Fortified
by this
knowledge against heathen
views,
let us rather turn
to the unworthy reasonings of
our own people; for the faith of some, either too simple or too
scrupulous,
demands direct
authority from Scripture for giving up the shows,
and holds out that the matter
is a doubtful
one,
because such
abstinence is not
clearly and in words
imposed upon God's servants.
"Well, we never find it expressed with the same
precision,
"Thou shalt
not
enter circus or theatre,
thou shalt not look on
combat or show; "
as it is plainly
laid down, "Thou shalt not kill; thou shalt not worship an idol; thou shalt not commit
adultery or
fraud." Ex. xx. 14.
"But we find that that first
word of David
bears on this very sort of thing: "Blessed," he says, "is the man who
has not gone
into the assembly of the impious, nor stood
in the way of sinners, nor sat in
the seat of scorners."
Ps.
i. 1.
Though
he seems to
have predicted beforehand of that just man, that he took no part in
the meetings and deliberations of the Jews, taking counsel about the
slaying of our Lord,
yet
divine Scripture has ever far-reaching
applications:
after the
immediate sense has been exhausted, in all directions it
fortifies the practice of the
religious life, so that here also you have an
utterance which is not far from a plain interdicting of the shows. Tertullian, De Spectaculis
"Tertullian,
with
his
characteristic
energy, takes up the same
argument in his famous work "On Prescription Against Heretics". His
general process of reasoning runs thus: Christ chose twelve Apostles
to whom he communicated His doctrine. The Apostles preached this
doctrine to the churches they founded, and thence the same doctrine
came to the more recent churches. Neither did the Apostles corrupt
Christ's
doctrine, nor have the Apostolic Churches
corrupted the preaching
of the Apostles. Heresy is always posterior, and, therefore,
erroneous.
"We
have to show,"
he says (c. xxi), "whether our doctrine . . . is derived from Apostolic teaching, and whether,
therefore, other doctrines have their origin in a lie.
We
are in communion with
the
Apostolic Churches, because we have the same doctrine; that is the testimony of the truth (Communicamus cum
Ecclesiis
apostolicis, quod nulla doctrina diversa; hoc est testimonium
veritatis).
In
Tertullian's writings
against Marcion (IV, v) we find an application of this apologetic argument. Having developed the
historical
argument founded on the preservation, as a matter of fact,
of the Apostolic doctrine
in the chief
Apostolic Churches, we
must add that, besides it, such writers as Irenaeus and others used
often also a dogmatic argument founded on the necessary preservation
of Christian truth in the whole Church and in the Roman Church in
particular. The two arguments are to be carefully distinguished. Apostolic
Churches
Those who OPPOSE THE WORD
but still ride on the
backs of working people and widows have NO RESPONSE but their own
SELF-REFERENCE. Or, as the ultimate emotional violence, they think
that he will stop if they CLAIM that the Holy Spirit (Jesus) tells
them that PAUL WAS A LIAR and He has given "them" an AUDIBLE
replacement for the OLDEN Bible. But, the HOLY SPIRIT was unable to
preserve and test EACH DOCTRINE by the CONTEMPORARY CULTURE and find
that the Bible says the same thing to ALL CULTURES. Those who HAZE
the mirror by speaking of church pews assuredly cannot bring the nose
of their brain face to face with the Mind of Christ, the Holy
Spirit.
We, in our RACA minds,
continue to refute the
lie that non-instrumental churches of Christ INVENTED the notion of
commands, examples and inferences "out of the mind of southern,
red-necked" culture. A NEW HERMENEUTIC built on a lie will die on a
lie:
Cyprian of Carthage on THE SHOWS speaking to
much
church "worship."
b.
AD 200,, Carthage. d.
Sept. 14, 258, Carthage
2.
Believers, and men who claim
for themselves the authority of the Christian name, are not
ashamed-are not, I repeat, ashamed to find a defence in the
heavenly Scriptures for the
vain superstitions associated with the public exhibitions of the
heathens,
and
thus to
attribute divine authority to idolatry.
For
how is it, that what is
done by the heathens in honour of any idol is resorted to in a public
show
by faithful
Christians, and the heathen idolatry is maintained, and the true and
divine religion is trampled upon in contempt of God? Shame binds me
to relate their pretexts and defences in this behalf.
"Where,"
say they,
"are there such Scriptures? where are these things prohibited? On the
contrary, both Elias
is the charioteer of Israel, and David himself danced before the ark.
We
read of psalteries, horns, 6 trumpets, drums, pipes,
harps, and
choral dances. Moreover, the apostle, in his struggle, puts before us
the contest
of the
Caestus, and of our
wrestle against the spiritual things of wickedness.
Again,
when he borrows his
illustrations from the racecourse, he also proposes the
prize of the
crown. Why, then, may not
a faithful
Christian man gaze upon that which the divine pen might write
about? "At this point I
might not unreasonably say that it would have been far better for
them not to know any writings at all, than thus to read the
Scriptures. 7
For
words and illustrations
which
are recorded
by way of exhortation to
evangelical virtue, are
translated by them into pleas for vice; because those things are
written of, not that they should be gazed upon, but that a greater
eagerness might be aroused in our minds in respect of things that
will benefit us, seeing that among the heathens there is manifest so
much eagerness in respect of things which will be of no
advantage.
3.
These are therefore an
argument to stimulate
virtue, not a
permission or a liberty to look
upon
heathen
error, that
by this consideration the mind may be more
inflamed to Gospel virtue for the sake of the divine rewards, since
through the suffering of all these labours and pains it is granted to
attain to eternal benefits.
For
that Elias is the charioteer of
Israel is no
defence for gazing upon the public games; for he ran his race in no
circus. And that David in the presence of God
led the dances,
is no
sanction for faithful Christians to occupy seats in the public
theatre; for David did
not twist his limbs about in obscene movements, to represent in his dancing
the story of
Grecian lust.
Psalteries, horns, pipes, drums, harps, were used in the service of
the Lord, and not of idols.
David
was moving
the Ark of the Covenant with frequent stops to offer animal
sacrifices. This was in mortal fear that something wrong would
happen. David was the KING and it was not uncommon for the king to
participate in rituals. However, he was not a priest and was not
leading the public worship of the people.
Let
it not on this account be
objected that unlawful things may be gazed upon; for by the artifice of the
devil
these are changed
from things holy to things unlawful. Then let shame demur to these
things, even if the Holy Scriptures cannot. For there are certain
things wherein the Scripture is more careful in giving
instruction.
Acquiescing
in the claim of
modesty,
it has
forbidden more where it
has been
silent.
The
truth, if it descended
low enough
to
deal with such things,
would think very badly of its faithful votaries.
[God
does not think that we
are
FOOLS]
For
very often, in matters of precept, some things are advantageously said
nothing
about;
they
often remind
when they are expressly forbidden.
So
also there is an implied
silence even in
the writings of the Scripture;
and severity speaks in the place of precepts;
and reason
teaches where Scripture has held its peace.
Let
every man only take
counsel
with himself, and let him speak consistently with the character of
his profession, and then he will never do any of these things. For
that conscience will have more weight which shall be indebted to none
other than itself.
4.
What has Scripture interdicted? Certainly it has forbidden gazing upon what it forbids to
be done. It
condemned, I
say, all those kinds of exhibitions when it abrogated idolatry-the mother of all public
amusements, whence these
prodigies of vanity and lightness
came.
For
what public
exhibition is without an idol?
what amusement without a sacrifice? what contest is not consecrated to some dead
person?
3.
For there are certain things
wherein the Scripture is more
careful in giving instruction.
Acquiescing
in the
claim of modesty,
it
has forbidden more where
it has been silent.
The truth, if it descended low
enough to deal with such things, would think very badly
of its faithful
votaries.
For
very often, in matters of
precept, some things are advantageously said nothing about;
they often
remind when they are expressly
forbidden.
So
also there is
an implied
silence even in the
writings of the Scripture;
and severity speaks in the place of precepts;and
reason teaches where Scripture has held its peace.
Those
Grecian contests, whether
in poems, or in instrumental
music,
or in words,
or in personal
prowess, have as their guardians various demons;
and
whatever else
there is which either attracts
the
eyes
or
allures
the
ears
of the spectators,
if it be investigated in
reference to its origin and institution, presents as its reason
either an idol,
or a demon,
or a dead
man.
Thus
the devil,
who
is their original
contriver, because he
knew that naked idolatry
would by itself excite repugnance,
associated
it with public
exhibitions, that for the sake of their attraction it might be
loved.
I
have the Bible and 3 dozen
ancient documents which GIVES CREDIT to Satan for being the original
contriver of entertainment "worship" especially MUSIC.
Those
who call that DEMENTED
have only their own sound-byte mind to boast their whiney piney
hearts.
Cyprian
writes:
It
is not lawful, I say, for
faithful Christians to be present; it is not lawful, I say, at all,
even for those whom for the delight
of their ears
Greece sends everywhere to all who are instructed in her vain
arts.
One imitates the hoarse warlike
clangours of the trumpet; another with his
breath blowing into a pipe regulates its mournful sounds; another with dances,
and
with the musical voice of
a
man,
strives with his
breath, which by an effort he had drawn from his bowels into the
upper parts of his body, to
play
upon
the
stops
of
pipes;
now letting forth the
sound, and now
closing it up inside, and forcing it into the air by certain openings
of the stops;
now breaking the sound in measure,
he endeavours
to speak with his
fingers, ungrateful to
the Artificer who gave him a tongue.
Why should I speak of comic and useless efforts? Why of those great
tragic vocal ravings?
Why of strings set vibrating with noise? These
things, even if they were not
dedicated
to
idols, ought
not to be approached and gazed upon by
faithful Christians; because, even if they were not criminal, they
are characterized by a worthlessness which is extreme, and
which is little suited to
believers.
10.
Let the faithful
Christian,
I say, devote himself to
the sacred
Scriptures, and there he
shall find worthy
exhibitions for his faith.