I'm learning a great deal from Tom Wright, and I am eternally grateful to him for sharing his scholarship in a way that I can appreciate and understand.
Excellent lecture perfectly delivered. As I heard it from R.C. Sproul, the one correct understanding of the Bible is "what they (the prophets) meant by what they said when they said it". N. T. Wright gives us that understanding, clearly spoken and interesting to the end. No wonder that he is in demand to speak around the world on Christianity. It is a great blessing that some of his excellent lectures are available on UA-cam.
I agree. I am really blessed by Mark Lanier and The Lanier Theological Library's approval for me to share what they have done in inviting such wonderful lectures to bless the world with out charge. please support them by spreading the word. www.laniertheologicallibrary.org/
N.T. Wright has caused me to be so much more careful when I read the bible. I also have renewed passion to spend time digging into the history, culture and context of the bible. A great blessing to me.
N.T. Wright has caused me to be so much more careful when I read the bible. I also have renewed passion to spend time digging into the history, culture and context of the bible. A great blessing to me.
I like the "launching a new creation from within the old." No reason to escape or "retreat" from what's around us if indeed it reveals at the same time, something that we need.
I am very blessed to have Mark Lanier and the Lanier Theological Library's permission to share their video creations. please support the library by sharing their webpage link www.laniertheologicallibrary.org/
Years ago I was lead to believe that to practice Nichiren’s Buddhism correctly, one had to attend meetings and belong to an organisation. Nowadays I’ve come to understand that anyone, regardless of whether they become a ‘member’ of a group or not, can benefit from their own personal practice. The universal Law of myoho-renge-kyo represents the identity of what some now refer to as the ‘unified field of all consciousnesses’. In other words, it’s the essence behind all existence and non-existence, the ultimate creative force behind planets, stars, nebulae, people, animals, trees, fish, birds and all phenomena, manifest or latent. All matter and intelligence is simply waves or ripples manifesting to and from this core source. Consciousness (enlightenment) is itself the true creator of everything that is, ever was and ever will be, right down to the minutest particles of dust, each being an individual ripple or wave. The big difference between chanting ‘Nam-myoho-renge-kyo’ (Nam is like a password to our deepest inner-self) and most conventional prayers is that instead of depending on a middle man to connect us to our state of enlightenment, we’re able to do it ourselves by tapping directly into it by way of self-produced sound vibration. On the subject of ‘what or who is God?’, when we compare the concept of ‘God’, as a separate entity that is forever watching down on us, to Nichiren’s teachings, the true omnipotence, omniscience and omnipresence of what most people call ‘God’ is our enlightenment, which exists nowhere else but within us. When the disciples asked Jesus where the Kingdom of God is, didn’t he tell them that it was within them? Some say that ‘God’ is an entity that can never be seen. I think that the vast amount of information that is constantly being conveyed via electromagnetic waves gives us proof of how an invisible state of what many call ‘God’ could actually exist. It’s widely known that certain data being relayed by way of electromagnetic waves has the potential to help bring about extraordinary and powerful effects, including instant global awareness of something or mass emotional reaction. As well as many other things, it’s also common knowledge that these waves can be used to detonate a bomb or to even enable NASA to control the movements of a robot as far away as the Moon or Mars. However, none of this is possible without a receiver to decode the information that is being transmitted. Without the receiver, the information would remain impotent. In a similar way, it’s very important for us to have our receiver switched on, so that we can activate a clear and precise understanding of our life, all other life and who we and all else that exists truly is. Chanting ‘Nam-myoho-renge-kyo’ allows us to achieve this, because it lets us to reach into the core of our enlightenment and switch it on. That’s because, as I mentioned before, the sound vibration of ‘myoho-renge-kyo’ represents the combination of the three major laws that underlie all existence. ‘Myoho’ represents the Law of latency and manifestation (Nature), and consists of two alternating states. One state of ‘myo’ is where everything in life that’s not obvious to us exists. This includes our stored memories when we’re not thinking about them, our hidden potential and inner emotions whenever they’re not being expressed, our desires, our fears, our wisdom, happiness, karma, and more importantly, our enlightenment. The other state, ‘ho’, is where everything in Life exists whenever it becomes obvious to us, such as when a thought pops up from our memory, whenever we experience or express our emotions, or whenever a good or bad effect comes forth from our karma. When anything becomes apparent, it simply means that it has come out of the state of ‘myo’ (dormancy/latency) and into a state of ‘ho’ (manifestation). It’s the difference between consciousness and unconsciousness, being awake or asleep, or knowing and not knowing something. The second law, ‘renge’, governs and controls the functions of ‘myoho’ - ‘ren’ meaning cause and ‘ge’ meaning effect. These two laws, ‘myoho’ and ‘renge’, work together simultaneously and underlie all spiritual and physical existence. The final and third part of the tri-combination, ‘kyo’, is what allows the law ‘myoho’ to integrate with the law ‘renge’. It’s the great, invisible thread of energy that fuses and connects together all Life and matter, as well as the past, present and future. It is often termed the Universal Law of Communication. Perhaps it could even be compared to the ‘string theory’ that some scientists now suspect exists. Just as our body cells, thoughts, feelings and all else are constantly fluctuating within us, everything in the world around us and beyond is also in a constant state of flux, in accordance with these three laws. In fact, more things are going back and forth between the two states of ‘myo’ and ‘ho’ in a single moment than it would ever be possible for us to calculate or describe. And it doesn't matter how big, small, important or trivial anything may appear to be, everything that’s ever existed in the past, exists now, or will exist in the future, exists only because of the workings of 'myoho-renge-kyo'. These three laws are also the basis of the four fundamental forces and if they didn't function, neither we nor anything else could go on existing. Simply put, all forms of existence, including the seasons, day and night, birth, death and so on, are moving forward in an ongoing flow of continuation, rhythmically reverting back and forth between the two states of ‘myo’ and ‘ho’ in accordance with ‘renge’ and by way of ‘kyo’. Even stars are dying and being reborn again in accordance with the workings of ‘myoho-renge-kyo’. ‘Nam’ is like a password or key; it allows us to reach deep within our life and fuse with or become one with ‘myoho-renge-kyo’. On a more personal basis, nothing ever happens by chance or coincidence, it’s the causes that we’ve made in our past, or are presently making, that determine how these laws function uniquely in each of our lives from moment to moment, as well as our environment. By facing east, in harmony with the direction that the Earth turns and rhythmically chanting ‘Nam-myoho-renge-kyo’ repeatedly for a minimum of ten minutes daily, any of us can gain actual proof of its effects in our life. By building up a force from within, it allows us to pierce through even the thickest layers of our karma and reach directly into the ultimate wisdom of our and all other life. Unlike the fantasy of a magic wand to make our problems vanish, chanting ‘Nam-myoho-renge-kyo’ awakens our innate wisdom and brings to the surface our hidden potential, a much clearer realisation and understanding of our good and bad karma, and positive ways that we can both cope with and change our negative circumstances into positive ones. It brings forth the wisdom that can free us from the ignorance and stupidity that is preventing us from accepting and being proud of who we truly are, regardless of our race, colour, gender or sexual preference. It also allows us to see and understand things outside of ourselves more clearly and, by way of the electromagnetic forces of which we are all a part, helps us to connect with, or draw towards us, any external circumstances or help that we need. Proof of this effect soon becomes obvious to anyone who chants ‘Nam-myoho-renge-kyo’ on a regular basis. Of course, the more sincerely we chant, the more powerful and faster its effect will be. ua-cam.com/video/KfRcUpoPl7w/v-deo.html
You write: "When the disciples asked Jesus where the Kingdom of God is, didn’t he tell them that it was within them?" There are Christians that will say this, or something similar but it is an error. It is based upon an older translation of the bible and is now rendered in newer translations more accurately as, "The Kingdom of God is in your midst." This is because Jesus was God's kingdom personified and they were witnessing the effects of the kingdom through his ministry which was in their midst, or their surroundings. so the phrase "The Kingdom of God is within you" is not accurate based on the words from the Greek. it is a mistranslation of the Greek text. See Luke 17:21 in the New American Standard Bible "behold the kingdom of God is in your midst." the New International Version reads, "because the kingdom of God is in your midst." The English Standard Version reads, "for behold the kingdom of God is in the midst of you." It is the King James Version which was translated in the 1600s that renders this text "the kingdom of God is within you." most newer translations will be like the 3 above the NASB, the NIV and the ESV and these are more accurate than the older KJV bible.
There are so many different ways to interpret much of what the Bible and other writings tell us, and this has and continues to cause just as much disharmony. There are also many explanations, like those that you have mentioned, that have been presented by 'so-called' experts. But the bottom line is, all of these writings have been interfered with for various reasons over the ages. So neither you or I can possibly stand accurate because we don't really know, and to say or think that we do is ridiculous. We can see absolute evidence of these interference's by fundamentally examining the story of Jesus, as presented in the scriptures. I'm not sure if he was sent here to die for our sins, I think he was murdered because he presented wisdom that belittled and threatened the power of the hierarchy of the day. However, the one thing that does stand out to me, is his mission to clean up the Old Testament, and in particular, awaken people to the highest powers of all, which are love, forgiveness and compassion. The fact that the Old Testament needed cleaning up, to me, is perfect proof that the original teachings had been tampered with. Sadly, he was killed before he was able to complete his work, so now we have a mixture of love, forgiveness and compassion, happening along side many of the harsh beliefs he didn't have time to change, and which are still having an ongoing effect. In other words, no one seems to have had the insight to follow the example Jesus set and try to complete what he started. Worse than this, so many teach stuff from the OT that Jesus didn't mention, and lead people to believe that he had. So with all due respect fleetwd1, I stand by what I believe because it has no limitations, it is what it is and it produces actual proof in ones life. It has also helped me to have a greater respect for Jesus than I ever did as a practicing Christian. Thank you for your comment and may wisdom and good fortune shine forth from your life. Nam-myoho-renge-kyo... :o)
he says he has seven points, only seven . then he tells a joke about someone who learns he is from Oxford. They say to him what i think of people from Oxford is two men in tweed suites talking and one says Ninthly..., Everyone laughs. He is from Oxford and he has only seven points but seven is a bit much so they are laughing only seven. Most people from Oxford would be making more points than he. Which says he is being a bit reserved for being from Oxford. But every one knows that is still a lot. after the laughing stops He says, so you are only getting seven tonight.
Great talk, so far, but I had to jump in after the Leibniz comment about 'best of all possible worlds.' Within the context of your talk and how he was mentioned, it's a gross misrepresentation of Leibniz which is not only misleading to that congregation and us out here in UA-cam land. I find this sad since I found Leibniz a bright spot along the road to my philosophy degree years ago.
Of the seven "hard-to-answer-questions," eliminate the first question, Justice is moot having been satisfied with God's mercy and replaced with his grace. This will lead directly into discovering the answers to the other six questions.
There is no point in digging deeply into Christianity without recognizing what it is to be Christian. You spoke of spirituality and religion. You ask what is spirituality without religion? But you don’t ask what is religion? There are thousands of religions perhaps tens of thousands and in each is a man with a determined worldview. That man may feel that the good life is a matter of being as perfect a physical specimen as can be; So every day he lifts weights religiously . Most religions though center on god in some way and how we as humans get to heaven, our works…the first story I remember hearing like that took place in Babylon. I want to say moreover that the French had every reason to through off the tyranny of the RC church small c and that every act which brings our lord to reproach is in fact a person with some religious bent living out a world view that is never Christian. That is religion. So what then is Christianity? We are born in Adam and made a new creation in Yashua, we are literally remade and being so we are Christian. You can go to a church, be religious, follow the law as best you can, and the teaching of your religion; sing and worship, give away all your money to the poor, go on missions, bring people to the Lord…..none of which will bring you to salvation. If that is the sum of your experience you are lost and bound for hell. To be Christian is to know and be known. To be in Christ. People speak of believing/faith in the same breath as things that are equal. They believe they have power over that, they can read, can study, can come to a conclusion of God, and so they see themselves as Christian. That is not scriptural, it is a false belief and a false teaching of what is called church today. I will agree that a person who holds a belief in God may be closer to God than one who does not; however believing in the Living God, the God who speaks, but has never spoken to you is not cause for celebration. Why hasn’t this God, this Father, this creator of all that is seen and unseen, this God willing to hang on a cross for your salvation ever spoken to you? Everything in scripture describing faith stand in opposition to the normal view of faith. Faith is described first as a gift from God. In fact, Yashua is described as the faith that came. But before faith came, we were kept under guard by the law, kept for the faith which would afterward be revealed. To have true and saving faith is to have Christ, a relationship with Him. My sheep know MY voice. Christianity has nothing to do with a denomination, a building, a service, the law, or even baptism as He is able to baptize with the Spirit and water is only an agreement with that greater act which has transformed us. Far to many think I go to church, again small c, I am Christian, I am saved praise God; but on the last day they will not be children but cast into outer darkness. Yet still there is a concern for religion. Please know that to know God is absolutely possible and it is there that the journey to the city we hope for begins. If you are a believer that has never encountered Him you should wonder deeply why that is? There could only be a few reasons. He’s too busy? He lacks the power? He lacks the interest? Your not one of His children. For whom the LORD loves He chastens, and scourges every son whom He receives.” Seek Him, beseech Him, call and call and call again. Ask and go on asking until you hear Him say YES. When He does, when you have encountered Him something new will result. No longer will you say I believe; you will say I know God; He knows me. Religion can be comforting, entertaining, a grad social event where God is celebrated, but it is not Christianity.
Thomas Jefferson had John Adams and others as a foil against his Epicurean beliefs. That's the beauty of the Founders. But I'm trying to figure out how your King George was not an Epicurean in a more entitled sense as a ruler.
Ideas don't just spring up from the ground, nor do they succeed or fail purely on their own merits or for no reason. Epicureanism didn't create secularism. Rather the bourgeois revolution desacralised and immoralised economic and political decisionmaking, forcing owners of wealth into the viciousness of market competition as bourgeois rather than as landowners and farmers, a viciousness which included chattel slavery and working people to death in large numbers to produce the most expensive luxury then known to man in unprecedented quantity - Sugar - which demoralised people of wealth and influence as a culture and as the leaders of society and alienated them from the morality and spirituality of their official faith. The spread of epicureanism merely tracks that detachment from conscience in relation to business and the sources and uses they put their money to, and the growing difficulty they had squaring orthodoxy with what they were doing, couldn't stop doing, and had no intention of challenging in any serious way including trading, owning and working slaves to generate unearned income and plenty of it. Likewise with the spread of a certain kind of alienated Christian spirituality which relegated actual morality and the teachings of Christ to the end of the world or the disembodied paradise false cosmology, where people treat church-going as another consumer experience, where you expect to be made to feel good about yourself while changing nothing about how you live, work and spend. Deism and its derivatives were stages in the rationalisation of those men's discomfort with the teaching of Jesus resulting from their means of living, and their increasing avoidance of wanting to engage with and think about what Christianity really says and means.
Patrick Holt What does Christianity really mean? Does it really believe that Jesus died on account of the sins of humanity-when the gospels show that he was in fact executed for treason?
@@edwardlongfellow5819 Yes. Those are in no way mutually exclusive. For God to become king, the kingdoms of the earth have to be dethroned. That's the origin of anarchist thinking in western history, and one of the political consequences of what Jesus said and did which religious conservatism tries to hide, and hides from.
@@edwardlongfellow5819 Because there is a difference between overseeing the universe and actually being in charge of how humans live on planet earth. I assumed you would understand by the world 'king' the meaning of political power. In the original cosmology, heaven is the realm of God, where his presence and glory are visible and inarguable, above the highest of the planetary spheres and the firmament in which are set the stars. That's why the Bible in old and new testaments includes prophesies of heaven descending to earth, the new Jerusalem descending from heaven, and so on. The meaning being that God's place and our place in the universe meet and join, and we get to live in heaven on earth. For that to happen, since we have free will, and since the sin of mankind, including all manner of oppressions and exploitations and injustices and violence, which drove the ruling presence of God away from Israel, has to be overcome, and people have to be reconciled to him and embrace his love. So that's the cosmic and transcendent work of Christ and the crucifixion and resurrection.
@@patrickholt2270 A New Jerusalem? Ah! The things that dreams are made of! There would be no need for dreams and wishful thinking-prophesies if you will if God had managed his affairs in a more orderly way. One thing then is very clear God cannot see the future. And even if such a thing was ever possible he certainly had no power to change it.
He says, “a danger of presenting a Jesus who isn’t really huma”. The fact that NT Wright embraces the Trinity as truth, I ask you, how in any way is Jesus human? The definition of being human necessitates not being God! Jesus was The 2nd Adam, Human Messiah, first born son of God. NOT GOD THE SON!!! And if you comment on my comment please be kind enough to first answer my question. Thank you
You assert this is the definition? Why? And if God made man, why can He not chose to be one, (especially as he made man in His image and vivified him by the breath of his Spirit.)?
@@greenchristendom4116 first of all the scriptures say in black and white that “God is NOT a man”! Secondly the scripture says that “God can NOT die”! Lastly please try to be reasonable, The scripture says God is numerically ONE God, so how is ONE God 2 or 3 Gods? How is God a man when He is God? It’s like saying that dog is at the same time a dog and a cat. NO, a dog is NEVER a cat and a cat is NEVER a dog! The uncreated God can NOT be a created being! The eternal can NOT also be temporal! These are contradictions in terms and basic logic. Trinitarianism is not only unbiblical but illogical, and simply a LIE!
@@GatheringJacob God is not a man in his Divine nature, he cannot die in the same, he took on a human nature, he became man. Thus he was able to die, and did so and rose again on the third day, and apointed men to preach this and that God's kingdom had come through this event. The New Testament, the work of these men and of their associates testifies to his Divinity. It does so precisely by putting Him by clear echoes into Israel's profession of faith the Shema, seeing Him as the LORD (YHWH) testefied to in that profession. Thus they see him as one with God in the most monotheistic statements of the Old Testament, "Hear O Israel the Lord your God the Lord is one." St. Paul and St. John put this identity of Christ in terms of the "Word" and "Wisdom" of God spoken of in the Old Testament, showing the manner in which he is both one with and differentiated from the Father. These men were Jews and put their beliefs about Jesus in terms of Jewish monotheism. In latter terms we say he is one Divine Substance in three Divine persons (the primary purpose of saying he is "one" in the Old Testament is to say that he is the one God, there is no other, not to say anything about whether He has internal differentiations. Christian Theologians have spent much time showing the Divine simplicity too, but this isn't so much the emphasis of the Old Testament itself). You can believe they failed if you wish. But they certainly said it, and they suffered much for it, many of the Apostles, like Peter and Paul going to their deaths for their testimony.
I am Daniel. There is only one of me. I am a son. I am a father. I am a husband. According to the Catechism of the Roman Catholic Church, the trinity is a mystery which man cannot fully grasp. Who are you or I to have the right to demand to know what constitutes, binds and upholds the Trinity? I am still a novice Bible reader, but I have been led to believe that there are extremely few references to the Trinity in the New Testament. Yet as John Barton cleverly puts forth, the Bible and its religions (Jewish and Christian) can be compared to overlapping circles where it is only in the overlap zone (so to speak) that book and faiths harmonize. If you do not accept the Trinity, then you do not accept the authority of the Roman Catholic Church - the only Christian denomination until 1517. What motivation would God have to mislead his Church for the first 3/4 of its existence? Take care. Dan.
Glory to God, His wisdom is just beyond our human comprehension but makes it known to us in Christ Jesus. Amen
I loved the message. The new dawn the new creation in an old world
I'm learning a great deal from Tom Wright, and I am eternally grateful to him for sharing his scholarship in a way that I can appreciate and understand.
Excellent lecture perfectly delivered.
As I heard it from R.C. Sproul, the one correct understanding of the Bible is "what they (the prophets) meant by what they said when they said it".
N. T. Wright gives us that understanding, clearly spoken and interesting to the end. No wonder that he is in demand to speak around the world on Christianity. It is a great blessing that some of his excellent lectures are available on UA-cam.
I agree. I am really blessed by Mark Lanier and The Lanier Theological Library's approval for me to share what they have done in inviting such wonderful lectures to bless the world with out charge. please support them by spreading the word. www.laniertheologicallibrary.org/
N.T. Wright has caused me to be so much more careful when I read the bible. I also have renewed passion to spend time digging into the history, culture and context of the bible. A great blessing to me.
N.T. Wright has caused me to be so much more careful when I read the bible. I also have renewed passion to spend time digging into the history, culture and context of the bible. A great blessing to me.
I like the "launching a new creation from within the old." No reason to escape or "retreat" from what's around us if indeed it reveals at the same time, something that we need.
VERY INTERESTING TEACHING / SHALOM !
i learn so much from nt wright thank you!
I am very blessed to have Mark Lanier and the Lanier Theological Library's permission to share their video creations. please support the library by sharing their webpage link www.laniertheologicallibrary.org/
Years ago I was lead to believe that to practice Nichiren’s Buddhism correctly, one had to attend meetings and belong to an organisation. Nowadays I’ve come to understand that anyone, regardless of whether they become a ‘member’ of a group or not, can benefit from their own personal practice.
The universal Law of myoho-renge-kyo represents the identity of what some now refer to as the ‘unified field of all consciousnesses’. In other words, it’s the essence behind all existence and non-existence, the ultimate creative force behind planets, stars, nebulae, people, animals, trees, fish, birds and all phenomena, manifest or latent. All matter and intelligence is simply waves or ripples manifesting to and from this core source.
Consciousness (enlightenment) is itself the true creator of everything that is, ever was and ever will be, right down to the minutest particles of dust, each being an individual ripple or wave. The big difference between chanting ‘Nam-myoho-renge-kyo’ (Nam is like a password to our deepest inner-self) and most conventional prayers is that instead of depending on a middle man to connect us to our state of enlightenment, we’re able to do it ourselves by tapping directly into it by way of self-produced sound vibration.
On the subject of ‘what or who is God?’, when we compare the concept of ‘God’, as a separate entity that is forever watching down on us, to Nichiren’s teachings, the true omnipotence, omniscience and omnipresence of what most people call ‘God’ is our enlightenment, which exists nowhere else but within us. When the disciples asked Jesus where the Kingdom of God is, didn’t he tell them that it was within them?
Some say that ‘God’ is an entity that can never be seen. I think that the vast amount of information that is constantly being conveyed via electromagnetic waves gives us proof of how an invisible state of what many call ‘God’ could actually exist. It’s widely known that certain data being relayed by way of electromagnetic waves has the potential to help bring about extraordinary and powerful effects, including instant global awareness of something or mass emotional reaction. As well as many other things, it’s also common knowledge that these waves can be used to detonate a bomb or to even enable NASA to control the movements of a robot as far away as the Moon or Mars. However, none of this is possible without a receiver to decode the information that is being transmitted. Without the receiver, the information would remain impotent. In a similar way, it’s very important for us to have our receiver switched on, so that we can activate a clear and precise understanding of our life, all other life and who we and all else that exists truly is.
Chanting ‘Nam-myoho-renge-kyo’ allows us to achieve this, because it lets us to reach into the core of our enlightenment and switch it on. That’s because, as I mentioned before, the sound vibration of ‘myoho-renge-kyo’ represents the combination of the three major laws that underlie all existence. ‘Myoho’ represents the Law of latency and manifestation (Nature), and consists of two alternating states. One state of ‘myo’ is where everything in life that’s not obvious to us exists. This includes our stored memories when we’re not thinking about them, our hidden potential and inner emotions whenever they’re not being expressed, our desires, our fears, our wisdom, happiness, karma, and more importantly, our enlightenment. The other state, ‘ho’, is where everything in Life exists whenever it becomes obvious to us, such as when a thought pops up from our memory, whenever we experience or express our emotions, or whenever a good or bad effect comes forth from our karma. When anything becomes apparent, it simply means that it has come out of the state of ‘myo’ (dormancy/latency) and into a state of ‘ho’ (manifestation). It’s the difference between consciousness and unconsciousness, being awake or asleep, or knowing and not knowing something.
The second law, ‘renge’, governs and controls the functions of ‘myoho’ - ‘ren’ meaning cause and ‘ge’ meaning effect. These two laws, ‘myoho’ and ‘renge’, work together simultaneously and underlie all spiritual and physical existence. The final and third part of the tri-combination, ‘kyo’, is what allows the law ‘myoho’ to integrate with the law ‘renge’. It’s the great, invisible thread of energy that fuses and connects together all Life and matter, as well as the past, present and future. It is often termed the Universal Law of Communication. Perhaps it could even be compared to the ‘string theory’ that some scientists now suspect exists.
Just as our body cells, thoughts, feelings and all else are constantly fluctuating within us, everything in the world around us and beyond is also in a constant state of flux, in accordance with these three laws. In fact, more things are going back and forth between the two states of ‘myo’ and ‘ho’ in a single moment than it would ever be possible for us to calculate or describe. And it doesn't matter how big, small, important or trivial anything may appear to be, everything that’s ever existed in the past, exists now, or will exist in the future, exists only because of the workings of 'myoho-renge-kyo'. These three laws are also the basis of the four fundamental forces and if they didn't function, neither we nor anything else could go on existing. Simply put, all forms of existence, including the seasons, day and night, birth, death and so on, are moving forward in an ongoing flow of continuation, rhythmically reverting back and forth between the two states of ‘myo’ and ‘ho’ in accordance with ‘renge’ and by way of ‘kyo’. Even stars are dying and being reborn again in accordance with the workings of ‘myoho-renge-kyo’.
‘Nam’ is like a password or key; it allows us to reach deep within our life and fuse with or become one with ‘myoho-renge-kyo’. On a more personal basis, nothing ever happens by chance or coincidence, it’s the causes that we’ve made in our past, or are presently making, that determine how these laws function uniquely in each of our lives from moment to moment, as well as our environment. By facing east, in harmony with the direction that the Earth turns and rhythmically chanting ‘Nam-myoho-renge-kyo’ repeatedly for a minimum of ten minutes daily, any of us can gain actual proof of its effects in our life. By building up a force from within, it allows us to pierce through even the thickest layers of our karma and reach directly into the ultimate wisdom of our and all other life. Unlike the fantasy of a magic wand to make our problems vanish, chanting ‘Nam-myoho-renge-kyo’ awakens our innate wisdom and brings to the surface our hidden potential, a much clearer realisation and understanding of our good and bad karma, and positive ways that we can both cope with and change our negative circumstances into positive ones. It brings forth the wisdom that can free us from the ignorance and stupidity that is preventing us from accepting and being proud of who we truly are, regardless of our race, colour, gender or sexual preference. It also allows us to see and understand things outside of ourselves more clearly and, by way of the electromagnetic forces of which we are all a part, helps us to connect with, or draw towards us, any external circumstances or help that we need. Proof of this effect soon becomes obvious to anyone who chants ‘Nam-myoho-renge-kyo’ on a regular basis. Of course, the more sincerely we chant, the more powerful and faster its effect will be.
ua-cam.com/video/KfRcUpoPl7w/v-deo.html
You write: "When the disciples asked Jesus where the Kingdom of God is, didn’t he tell them that it was within them?" There are Christians that will say this, or something similar but it is an error. It is based upon an older translation of the bible and is now rendered in newer translations more accurately as, "The Kingdom of God is in your midst." This is because Jesus was God's kingdom personified and they were witnessing the effects of the kingdom through his ministry which was in their midst, or their surroundings. so the phrase "The Kingdom of God is within you" is not accurate based on the words from the Greek. it is a mistranslation of the Greek text. See Luke 17:21 in the New American Standard Bible "behold the kingdom of God is in your midst." the New International Version reads, "because the kingdom of God is in your midst." The English Standard Version reads, "for behold the kingdom of God is in the midst of you." It is the King James Version which was translated in the 1600s that renders this text "the kingdom of God is within you." most newer translations will be like the 3 above the NASB, the NIV and the ESV and these are more accurate than the older KJV bible.
There are so many different ways to interpret much of what the Bible and other writings tell us, and this has and continues to cause just as much disharmony. There are also many explanations, like those that you have mentioned, that have been presented by 'so-called' experts. But the bottom line is, all of these writings have been interfered with for various reasons over the ages. So neither you or I can possibly stand accurate because we don't really know, and to say or think that we do is ridiculous.
We can see absolute evidence of these interference's by fundamentally examining the story of Jesus, as presented in the scriptures. I'm not sure if he was sent here to die for our sins, I think he was murdered because he presented wisdom that belittled and threatened the power of the hierarchy of the day.
However, the one thing that does stand out to me, is his mission to clean up the Old Testament, and in particular, awaken people to the highest powers of all, which are love, forgiveness and compassion. The fact that the Old Testament needed cleaning up, to me, is perfect proof that the original teachings had been tampered with. Sadly, he was killed before he was able to complete his work, so now we have a mixture of love, forgiveness and compassion, happening along side many of the harsh beliefs he didn't have time to change, and which are still having an ongoing effect. In other words, no one seems to have had the insight to follow the example Jesus set and try to complete what he started. Worse than this, so many teach stuff from the OT that Jesus didn't mention, and lead people to believe that he had.
So with all due respect fleetwd1, I stand by what I believe because it has no limitations, it is what it is and it produces actual proof in ones life. It has also helped me to have a greater respect for Jesus than I ever did as a practicing Christian. Thank you for your comment and may wisdom and good fortune shine forth from your life. Nam-myoho-renge-kyo... :o)
my words were not meant to condemn but simply to inform. I would hope you would want to be as accurate as you can be.
❤💕❤💕❤💕❤
I didnt get the joke at the 25 minute mark?
he says he has seven points, only seven . then he tells a joke about someone who learns he is from Oxford. They say to him what i think of people from Oxford is two men in tweed suites talking and one says Ninthly..., Everyone laughs. He is from Oxford and he has only seven points but seven is a bit much so they are laughing only seven. Most people from Oxford would be making more points than he. Which says he is being a bit reserved for being from Oxford. But every one knows that is still a lot. after the laughing stops He says, so you are only getting seven tonight.
Great talk, so far, but I had to jump in after the Leibniz comment about 'best of all possible worlds.' Within the context of your talk and how he was mentioned, it's a gross misrepresentation of Leibniz which is not only misleading to that congregation and us out here in UA-cam land. I find this sad since I found Leibniz a bright spot along the road to my philosophy degree years ago.
Of the seven "hard-to-answer-questions," eliminate the first question, Justice is moot having been satisfied with God's mercy and replaced with his grace. This will lead directly into discovering the answers to the other six questions.
There is no point in digging deeply into Christianity without recognizing what it is to be Christian.
You spoke of spirituality and religion. You ask what is spirituality without religion? But you don’t ask what is religion?
There are thousands of religions perhaps tens of thousands and in each is a man with a determined worldview. That man may feel that the good life is a matter of being as perfect a physical specimen as can be; So every day he lifts weights religiously .
Most religions though center on god in some way and how we as humans get to heaven, our works…the first story I remember hearing like that took place in Babylon.
I want to say moreover that the French had every reason to through off the tyranny of the RC church small c and that every act which brings our lord to reproach is in fact a person with some religious bent living out a world view that is never Christian.
That is religion.
So what then is Christianity?
We are born in Adam and made a new creation in Yashua, we are literally remade and being so we are Christian.
You can go to a church, be religious, follow the law as best you can, and the teaching of your religion; sing and worship, give away all your money to the poor, go on missions, bring people to the Lord…..none of which will bring you to salvation. If that is the sum of your experience you are lost and bound for hell.
To be Christian is to know and be known. To be in Christ.
People speak of believing/faith in the same breath as things that are equal. They believe they have power over that, they can read, can study, can come to a conclusion of God, and so they see themselves as Christian.
That is not scriptural, it is a false belief and a false teaching of what is called church today. I will agree that a person who holds a belief in God may be closer to God than one who does not; however believing in the Living God, the God who speaks, but has never spoken to you is not cause for celebration.
Why hasn’t this God, this Father, this creator of all that is seen and unseen, this God willing to hang on a cross for your salvation ever spoken to you? Everything in scripture describing faith stand in opposition to the normal view of faith.
Faith is described first as a gift from God. In fact, Yashua is described as the faith that came. But before faith came, we were kept under guard by the law, kept for the faith which would afterward be revealed.
To have true and saving faith is to have Christ, a relationship with Him.
My sheep know MY voice.
Christianity has nothing to do with a denomination, a building, a service, the law, or even baptism as He is able to baptize with the Spirit and water is only an agreement with that greater act which has transformed us.
Far to many think I go to church, again small c, I am Christian, I am saved praise God; but on the last day they will not be children but cast into outer darkness. Yet still there is a concern for religion.
Please know that to know God is absolutely possible and it is there that the journey to the city we hope for begins. If you are a believer that has never encountered Him you should wonder deeply why that is?
There could only be a few reasons. He’s too busy? He lacks the power? He lacks the interest? Your not one of His children.
For whom the LORD loves He chastens, and scourges every son whom He receives.”
Seek Him, beseech Him, call and call and call again. Ask and go on asking until you hear Him say YES.
When He does, when you have encountered Him something new will result. No longer will you say I believe; you will say I know God; He knows me. Religion can be comforting, entertaining, a grad social event where God is celebrated, but it is not Christianity.
The faultline of the physical wreaks havoc on the wishful thinking of the spiritual. Think Lisbon Earthquake.
Thomas Jefferson had John Adams and others as a foil against his Epicurean beliefs. That's the beauty of the Founders. But I'm trying to figure out how your King George was not an Epicurean in a more entitled sense as a ruler.
Ideas don't just spring up from the ground, nor do they succeed or fail purely on their own merits or for no reason. Epicureanism didn't create secularism. Rather the bourgeois revolution desacralised and immoralised economic and political decisionmaking, forcing owners of wealth into the viciousness of market competition as bourgeois rather than as landowners and farmers, a viciousness which included chattel slavery and working people to death in large numbers to produce the most expensive luxury then known to man in unprecedented quantity - Sugar - which demoralised people of wealth and influence as a culture and as the leaders of society and alienated them from the morality and spirituality of their official faith. The spread of epicureanism merely tracks that detachment from conscience in relation to business and the sources and uses they put their money to, and the growing difficulty they had squaring orthodoxy with what they were doing, couldn't stop doing, and had no intention of challenging in any serious way including trading, owning and working slaves to generate unearned income and plenty of it. Likewise with the spread of a certain kind of alienated Christian spirituality which relegated actual morality and the teachings of Christ to the end of the world or the disembodied paradise false cosmology, where people treat church-going as another consumer experience, where you expect to be made to feel good about yourself while changing nothing about how you live, work and spend. Deism and its derivatives were stages in the rationalisation of those men's discomfort with the teaching of Jesus resulting from their means of living, and their increasing avoidance of wanting to engage with and think about what Christianity really says and means.
Patrick Holt
What does Christianity really mean? Does it really believe that Jesus died on account of the sins of humanity-when the gospels show that he was in fact executed for treason?
@@edwardlongfellow5819 Yes. Those are in no way mutually exclusive. For God to become king, the kingdoms of the earth have to be dethroned. That's the origin of anarchist thinking in western history, and one of the political consequences of what Jesus said and did which religious conservatism tries to hide, and hides from.
@@patrickholt2270
Why would God need a kingdom when he already owns the world?
@@edwardlongfellow5819 Because there is a difference between overseeing the universe and actually being in charge of how humans live on planet earth. I assumed you would understand by the world 'king' the meaning of political power. In the original cosmology, heaven is the realm of God, where his presence and glory are visible and inarguable, above the highest of the planetary spheres and the firmament in which are set the stars. That's why the Bible in old and new testaments includes prophesies of heaven descending to earth, the new Jerusalem descending from heaven, and so on. The meaning being that God's place and our place in the universe meet and join, and we get to live in heaven on earth. For that to happen, since we have free will, and since the sin of mankind, including all manner of oppressions and exploitations and injustices and violence, which drove the ruling presence of God away from Israel, has to be overcome, and people have to be reconciled to him and embrace his love. So that's the cosmic and transcendent work of Christ and the crucifixion and resurrection.
@@patrickholt2270
A New Jerusalem? Ah! The things that dreams are made of! There would be no need for dreams and wishful thinking-prophesies if you will if God had managed his affairs in a more orderly way. One thing then is very clear God cannot see the future. And even if such a thing was ever possible he certainly had no power to change it.
N.T. Wright, clever, deceptive, dangerous.
Can you show us this by exegesis your proof.
Because?
That about sums up correctly this wonderful person!
He says, “a danger of presenting a Jesus who isn’t really huma”. The fact that NT Wright embraces the Trinity as truth, I ask you, how in any way is Jesus human? The definition of being human necessitates not being God! Jesus was The 2nd Adam, Human Messiah, first born son of God. NOT GOD THE SON!!! And if you comment on my comment please be kind enough to first answer my question. Thank you
You assert this is the definition? Why? And if God made man, why can He not chose to be one, (especially as he made man in His image and vivified him by the breath of his Spirit.)?
@@greenchristendom4116 first of all the scriptures say in black and white that “God is NOT a man”! Secondly the scripture says that “God can NOT die”! Lastly please try to be reasonable, The scripture says God is numerically ONE God, so how is ONE God 2 or 3 Gods? How is God a man when He is God? It’s like saying that dog is at the same time a dog and a cat. NO, a dog is NEVER a cat and a cat is NEVER a dog! The uncreated God can NOT be a created being! The eternal can NOT also be temporal! These are contradictions in terms and basic logic. Trinitarianism is not only unbiblical but illogical, and simply a LIE!
@@GatheringJacob God is not a man in his Divine nature, he cannot die in the same, he took on a human nature, he became man. Thus he was able to die, and did so and rose again on the third day, and apointed men to preach this and that God's kingdom had come through this event. The New Testament, the work of these men and of their associates testifies to his Divinity. It does so precisely by putting Him by clear echoes into Israel's profession of faith the Shema, seeing Him as the LORD (YHWH) testefied to in that profession. Thus they see him as one with God in the most monotheistic statements of the Old Testament, "Hear O Israel the Lord your God the Lord is one." St. Paul and St. John put this identity of Christ in terms of the "Word" and "Wisdom" of God spoken of in the Old Testament, showing the manner in which he is both one with and differentiated from the Father. These men were Jews and put their beliefs about Jesus in terms of Jewish monotheism. In latter terms we say he is one Divine Substance in three Divine persons (the primary purpose of saying he is "one" in the Old Testament is to say that he is the one God, there is no other, not to say anything about whether He has internal differentiations. Christian Theologians have spent much time showing the Divine simplicity too, but this isn't so much the emphasis of the Old Testament itself). You can believe they failed if you wish. But they certainly said it, and they suffered much for it, many of the Apostles, like Peter and Paul going to their deaths for their testimony.
I am Daniel. There is only one of me. I am a son. I am a father. I am a husband.
According to the Catechism of the Roman Catholic Church, the trinity is a mystery which man cannot fully grasp. Who are you or I to have the right to demand to know what constitutes, binds and upholds the Trinity? I am still a novice Bible reader, but I have been led to believe that there are extremely few references to the Trinity in the New Testament. Yet as John Barton cleverly puts forth, the Bible and its religions (Jewish and Christian) can be compared to overlapping circles where it is only in the overlap zone (so to speak) that book and faiths harmonize. If you do not accept the Trinity, then you do not accept the authority of the Roman Catholic Church - the only Christian denomination until 1517. What motivation would God have to mislead his Church for the first 3/4 of its existence?
Take care.
Dan.
@@danielwhelan1622 God did not mislead His church, Satan did, and man did!