Teaching and Power: Part One

     

When I named my blog "Very Dumb Government" I didn't realize how much material I was going to be able to write about; just within fifteen months.  Given the recent sexual scandals of various politicians and other celebrities, I have been tempted to throw in my two cents.  The problem is that it would not help anyone and just the act of pointing out what is wrong with government and religion would take just too long and accomplish nothing.
     When I was at my free sabbatical in a federally-funded gated community, I decided to make it a point to work with God's commandments and simply try to keep them the best I could.  Nothing else was working, so I asked for and received some of the early Christian writings that were not in the bible.  I found some very simple writings that were actually more instructive and actually helped me to improve my own behavior and gave me the strength to overcome temptations when they came my way.  I learned to have an incredible amount of patience when I didn't have any, and I am able to suppress evil thoughts when they come my way.
     So what I am going to do is post a part of the Epistle of Barnabus and the Shepherd of Hermas.  Then I will post more details in the future as to how and why these things are valuable.  The purpose of this is to help anyone who is interested in improving their life.  It has been my experience, that my life gets better when I keep the commandments.  Keeping the commandments is the only safe haven that I know of against stupid government and religion.  It is the only place where I can think rationally.
    I like to carry this in my pocket as these commandments have served me well in the last seven years.

From the Epistle of Barnabus

There are two ways of teaching and power; the one of light and the other of darkness, and there is a great difference between the two ways.  For on the one are stationed the light giving angels of God, on the other are the angels of Satan.

And the one is the Lord from all eternity and unto all eternity, whereas the other is the Lord of iniquity that now is.

This then is the way of light, if anyone desiring to travel on the way to his appointed place would be zealous in his works.  The knowledge then which is given to us whereby we may walk therein as follows:

Thou shalt love him that made thee,

Thou shalt fear him that created thee,

Thou shalt glorify him that redeemed thee from death,

Thou shalt simple in heart and rich in spirit,

Thou shalt not cleave to those who walk in the way of death,

Thou shalt hate everything that is not pleasing to God,

Thou shalt hate all hypocrisy,

Thou shalt never forsake the commandments of the Lord,

Thou shalt not exalt thyself, but shalt be lowly in all things,

Thou shalt not assume glory to thyself,

Thou shalt not entertain a wicked design against thy neighbor,

Thou shalt not admit boldness into thy soul.

Thou shalt not commit fornication, thou shalt not commit adultery,

Thou shalt not corrupt boys.

The word of God shall not come forth from thee where any are unclean.

Thou shall not make a difference in a person to reprove him for a transgression.

Thou shalt be meek, Thou shalt be quiet, Thou shalt be fearing the words which thou has heard.

Thou shalt not bear a grudge against thy brother.

Thou shalt not doubt whether a thing shall be or not be.

Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord in vain.

Thou shalt love thy neighbor more than thine own soul.

Thou shalt not murder a child by abortion, nor again kill it before it is born.

Thou shalt not withhold thy hand from they son or daughter, but from their youth thou shalt teach them

the fear of God.

Thou shalt not be found coveting thy neighbor's goods;

Thou shalt not be found greedy of gain.

Neither shalt thou cleave with thy soul to the lofty, but thou shalt walk with the humble and the righteous.

The accidents that befall thee thou shalt receive as good, knowing that nothing is done without God.

Thou shalt not be double-minded nor double-tongued.

Thou shalt be subject to thy masters as to a type of God in shame and fear.  

[Only within the context of the commandments; there's no obligation or license to break any commandment.]

Thou shalt not command in bitterness they bondservant or thine handmaid who set their hope on the same God, lest haply, they should cease to fear the God who is over both of you; for he came not to call with respect of persons, but to call those whom the Spirit has prepared.

Thou shalt make thy neighbor partake in all things, and shalt not say anything is thine own.  For if ye are fellow partakers in that which is imperishable, how much rather shall ye be in the things which are perishable.

Thou shalt not be hasty with thine own tongue, for the mouth is the snare of death.

So far as thou are able, thou shalt be pure for thy soul's sake.

Be not thou found of holding thy hands out to receive, and drawing them in to give.

Thou shalt love as the apple of thine eye every one that speaketh unto thee the Word of the Lord.

Thou shalt remember the day of judgment night and day, and thou shalt seek out day by day the persons of the saints, either laboring by word and going to exhort them and meditating how thou mayest save souls by thy word, or thou shalt work with thy hands as a ransom for thy sins.

Thou shalt not hesitate to give, neither shalt thou murmur when giving, but thou shalt know who is the good paymaster of they reward.

Thou shalt keep those things which thou has received, neither adding to them nor taking away from them.

Thou shalt utterly hate the Evil One.

Thou shalt judge righteously.

Thou shalt not make a schism, but thou shalt pacify them that contend by bringing them together.Thou shalt confess thy sins.

Thou shalt not betake thyself to prayer with an evil conscience.  This is the way of light.

The Shepherd of Hermes

I say to him, "Sir, these commandments are great and beautiful and glorious, (and are able to gladden the heart of the (man) who is able to observe them.  But I know not whether these commandments can be kept by a man, for they are very hard."  He answered and said unto me: "If thous set it before thyself that they can be kept, thou wilt easily keep them, and they will not be hard; but if it once enter into thy heart that they cannot be kept by a man, thou wilt not keep them.  But now I say unto thee; if thou keep them not, but neglect them thou shalt not have salvation, neither thy children nor thy household, since thou hast already pronounced judgment against thyself that these commandments cannot be kept by a man."

Mandate 1

     "First of all, believe God is One, even He who created all things set them in order, and brought all things from non-existence into being, who comprehendeth all things being alone incomprenhensable.  Believe Him therefore, and fear Him, and in this fear be continent.  Keep these things, can thou shalt cast off all wickedness from thyself, and shall clothe thyself with every excellence of righteousness, and shalt live unto God, if thou keep this commandment.

Mandate 2

     He saith to me: "Keep simplicity and be guileless, and thou shalt be as little children, and know not the wickedness which destroyeth the life of men."

Mandate 3

     Again he saith to me: "Love truth, and let nothing but truth proceed out of thy mouth, that the spirit which God made to dwell in this flesh may be found true in the sight of all men; and thus shall the Lord who dwelleth in thee, be glorified, for the Lord is true in every word, and with Him there is no falsehood."

Mandate 4

     "I charge thee," saith he, "to keep purity and let not a thought enter into thy heart concerning another's wife, or concerning fornication, or concerning any such evil deeds; for in so doing thou committest a great sin."

Mandate 5

     "Be thou long-suffering and understanding," he saith, "and thou shalt have the mastery over all evil deeds, and shall work all righteousness.

Mandate 6

"Do thou therefore trust righteousness, but trust not unrighteousness; but the way of unrighteousness is crooked.  But walk thou straight [and level] path, and leave the crooked one alone." 

________________________

     In the natural order of life, it is not supposed to be difficult at all to keep God's commandments.  But all of us have been taught just the opposite by satanic religions; some of them feigning Christianity.  If you take the time to read the full versions of these two writings, you will see that these writings are loaded with practical thoughts that make it much easier to understand what mankind is supposed to do and how to do it.  Getting control over our evil inclinations is a challenge, but we can do it if we set our minds to make it happen.  The true spiritual battle is between good and evil.  But remember, evil is incredibly weak.  It can't function in the face of good.  If every man refused to kill another man in war, then there would be no fuel for this kind of chaos.  If every man decided to stop fornicating, the evil would have no one to carry out this evil deed.  If every man decided to stop lying, all of the decisions would be founded upon truth rather than lies and error.  If all of mankind stopped taking oaths, most of the evil of the world would be gone.  Governments and religions as we know them now would go by the wayside.  As it stands now, they are almost completely dysfunctional.  Things would work much better.

     God's laws cannot be defeated.  They are a part of the natural law of the universe and they cannot be defeated successfully.

     While these commandments from the Epistle of Barnabus and the Shepherd of Hermas are important, they are not totally complete.  However, these writings give the reader a better understanding about the responsibilities of mankind to keep the commandments.

     These commandments actually work.  I am using them and nothing is better than knowing when to depart a bad thought, or getting angry in a situation that I have noen control over, and especially keeping me away from idolaters.  Most governments and religions are pagan in influence and are of no service to anyone but themselves.  And even then, they still lose.  Their power is only momentary, but God's judgment will be in their path.

Walter Allen Thompson has a new book called Natural Law: The True Supreme Law of the Land

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