POP QUIZ

Pop quiz – Does the Holy Bible provide its readers with the precise date of Jesus Christ’s birth?  Is said date important, or vital or otherwise critical to living the Christian life?  How about the person Jesus Christ, is the baby Jesus, more important than the boy, or man Jesus?

Recently someone made a comment to me about a song which contained some lyrics “…man from Galilee…” and “… reason for the season…”; their comment went something like this, “ha… shows what they know, Jesus was from Bethlehem NOT (expletive) Galilee!  Bloody idiots…  Sure, Jesus is the Reason for the Season, but ‘man from Galilee, get real!’ ?” 

This exchange got me thinking.  It had me thinking a whole lot about human nature, and our tendencies towards silly-arsed nit-picking.  I mean sure, true story, the Christmas Season is about the birth of Jesus (Yeshua), but is it really specifically and exclusively about the Baby Jesus (born in Bethlehem), or more generally perhaps the Person of Jesus? (And what His life and death means to and for us?)

So just who is “the man from Galilee” anyways?  Well according to:

This Facebook Group - http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Man-from-Galilee/37970972332?sk=wall, [The Man from Galilee] the man from Galilee is quite obviously believed to be none other than Jesus Christ; and

Yourdictionary.com - http://www.yourdictionary.com/man-of-galilee the man from Galilee is defined as Jesus Christ; and

G. Maclellan's song "Put your hand in the hand" - http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20060712112153AABZDI6  the man from Galilee here, once again, appears to be understood to be Jesus Christ

But was Jesus actually from Galilee?  “Hey man, doesn’t the Bible say that it was just a bunch of folk who were looking desperately for Jesus after His Resurrection thast were from Galilee, and NOT Jesus Himself, per Acts 1:11?”  “Men of Galilee," they said, "why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven”

Well according to Matthew 3:13 Jesus arrived from Galilee at the Jordan River, thus to those observing His arrival at the Jordan River on that occasion, Jesus was in fact FROM Galilee.  So what?  ‘The “Christmas Season” is about celebrating the birth of Jesus’ you may say… and “DECEMBER 25^th is HIS BIRTHDAY!!!”  Oh really… is it?  According to whom or what?  Tradition?  Fact is folks, the Holy Bible tells us of the general events of the population surrounding Christ’s birth, but not his precise birthdate (not the month, day or even year).

Should we then abandon all celebrations of or at Christmas… I think not.  Although it’s NOT about December 25^th, and over-spending on your personal budgets to the tune of some 35%, 40% or even 60% plus, in well intended attempts at lavishing your loved ones with gifts (many of whom will just be exchanging them [those expensive gifts] on December 26^th anyways) that you really cannot afford to give.   Christmas, at its core, is about recognizing the BIRTH of the Messiah, Jesus and what that means to and for human kind!

To that end, whether our thoughts are turned to Him (God, Jesus Christ, Yeshuah HaMashiach) by way of a reference to His birth in Bethlehem, His travels from Galilee to other areas, or His Wisdom being poured for at the approximate age of 12 (Luke 2:47), the truly important part is that our hearts, and our thoughts, and our faith become FOCUSSED on Him. 

The baby Jesus, the boy Jesus and the man Jesus and individual exploits related thereto, although important in helping us understand more about His life incarnate here on earth roughly 2000 years ago, remain secondary to the simple fact that Jesus Christ, Lived, Died and Rose again.  As many of the Ecumenical Churches refer to it, “The Mystery (or one of the Mysteries) of Faith” – “Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again”

Perhaps then, rather than spending time, energy and other resources arguing with one another about whether or not Christmas is about a man from Galilee or a baby from Bethlehem, we might better expend our energies studying the “Aleph Tav” or “את”.  That, along with many other wonderful things relating to Jesus’ Jewishness, the incredible love He showed and continues to show for His creation as outlined in John 3:16 and that He is the only way to Eternal Salvation (John 14:6). 

And once again, that’s DaBauz’s Take.  As always, please don’t take my word for anything, research and read for yourselves.  Discover the incredible message that is Jesus Christ, Yeshuah HaMashiach “חהמשי ועיש” 

IS ISLAM ALONE IN COMMITTING EVIL HEINOUS DEEDS

Clearly, there is no point denying that many evil deeds have been done, in the name of Christianity in her 2,000 year history.  Nor is there any point in denying, or even trying to deny that many of those same said evils were done by folk claiming, and perhaps even believing, that what they were doing was precisely what their "guide-book" instructed.

What is perhaps very critical to note, is that the Holy Bible does not teach, condone or otherwise instruct one to behave in such a fashion.  The problem is, too many of us form our opinions and / or beliefs based upon what we heard from someone else.  “So-and-so told me the Bible says __________________________.”  But they lack perhaps the opportunity, or “WILL” to seek out and read the Book for themselves.

For example, if I were to say to you the Bible says:  “Judas hanged himself, then Jesus said, "Yes, now go and do the same."”  Would anyone believe me?  It’s there, right there in the Bible, albeit completely out of context, nonetheless those words are there.  Matt 27:5 and Luke 10:37 And the two passages quoted are taken wildly out of context.  Text, taken out of context, becomes pretext, PERIOD.

The point is two-fold. 

First, the era of the Crusades was one of limited access to the Bible, or most any book.  Only those of royal blood, or the priesthood were legally allowed to read the Holy Scriptures.  It was believed (very foolishly believed) that the common man (or woman) could not possibly understand God’s Holy Word.  Thus the margin for erroneous interpretation was HUGE. (not making excuses, simply reiterating history)

Second, if one wants to really know what any given religion’s “holy” book teaches, one needs to (I mean one absolutely MUST) read full passages, in FULL context and NOT take either what they heard someone else say, or a single passage (out-of-context) by itself.

Many argue that there are Christians, even today, who are doing evil… Sadly that is true, there are.  Does that not make Christianity evil?  Well let’s consider this for a moment.  What does it mean if a Christian breaks a law, or lies, or cheats?  Does that not prove Christianity is evil?  Well it shouldn’t.  The Bible certainly neither teaches nor even condones such behaviour.  So why then do people do such things?  Human (Carnal) nature, simple, that’s why. (again, not making excuses, just stating fact)

Question: 

Isn’t Islam really just terribly misunderstood, and at its core basically a variant of Judaism, or Christianity? 

Answer: “NO!” 

There is absolutely NOTHING genuinely similar about Christianity (Jesus - the Son of God, Jesus - is GOD, Word of God, Word made flesh) and Islam. Any perceived similarities between Judeo / Christian teachings (the Holy Bible) and Islam's teachings from the Qur’an are based upon Islam’s gross bastardizations of the Judeo/Christian writings.

Additionally, yes there were many who during the Crusades that did terribly evil deeds, oft times in the name of Christ.  Bear in mind, those days are what some call the dark ages.  Sadly Islam seems to be stuck in the 7th century.

Fast forward to the 21st century and alas, there are folk, in all circles of life, Atheists, Christians, Hindus, Buddhists etc., who commit heinous crimes. The point here is not so much about the specific crime(s), as it about the rationale (or motivation) behind the commission of said crime(s).

These heinous crimes are committed against society in general and sadly... very very sadly, against their own families / family members. What's the difference between some Christian father who abuses his own daughter and the example of honour killings by a Muslim father / husband? You may ask...

Simple - The "Guide Book", if you will for the Christian (Holy Bible) absolutely and unequivocally condemns such behaviour.  Whereas the "Guide Book" of the Muslim, the Qur'an, not only condones these so-called Honour Killings, it COMMANDS it of its followers.  Think about this – If Muslims believe that it’s Okay for a man to kill his wife or children, simply because one feels that the wife’s or child’s behaviour may bring shame to his name, and therefore his family would be seen as an embarrassment to Islam; how much more readily do you think Muslims will be willing to exterminate the us, the Infidel(s)…

Don't believe that the Qur'an teaches such things... READ one.

In order to be a Muslim, one must first and foremost worship Allah (a devil really), and second MUST follow all of the precepts of the Qur'an.... precepts such as these set out in the following passages:

(Qur’an 5:33): The Punishment for those who oppose Allah and his messenger is: Execution or Crucifixion or the cutting off of hands and feet from opposite sides or exile from the land.

(Qur’an 9:5): Then when the sacred months have passed, slay the idolaters wherever ye find them, and take them (captive), and besiege them, and prepare for them each ambush.

(Qur’an 8:12): Remember Thy Lord inspired the angels (with the message): "I am with you: give firmness to the believers, I will instill terror into the hearts of the unbelievers, Smite ye above their necks and smite all their finger tips of them."

(Qur’an 2:193) "And fight with them until there is no persecution, and religion should be only for Allah

(Qur’an 76: 4): Lo! We have prepared for disbelievers chains, yokes and a blazing fire.

(Qur’an 47:4): When you meet the disbelievers in the Jihad strike off their heads and, when you have laid them low, bind your captives firmly.

Islam, the religion of PIECE(s) . . . L

Please remember, first do not take what I have written at face value, READ for yourselves. And second read full passages, not just what has been quoted, but preferably read entire chapters.  Context, context, CONTEXT!

Finally read two chapters from the Bible – (don’t own one, sorry NO excuse, if you’re reading this, you can access this: http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John%203:16&version=NIV) John 3 and John 14!

John 3:16 says:  “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

And John 14:6 says: “Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

Blessings in Christ’s Holy name, and for now that’s Da Bauz’s take

JESUS IN THE OLD TESTAMENT

Can Jesus Christ be found in the Old Testament?

Aleph-Tav – “...in the midst of...”, notice the letters Aleph-Tav “את” ^[1] in the middle of the following seven Hebrew words.  These seven words are, by the way folks, are the FIRST seven words of the Torah (Old Testament).  Additionally, the ancient Hebrew “pictograph” for the letter “Tav” or “ת” is a cross (two sticks, laid out in the shape of a CROSS).

בראשית ברא אלוהים את השמים ואת הארץ

Translated to English they read:

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth

בראשית ברא אלוהים את השמים ואת הארץ

In the Hebrew language, as with many ancient texts, the writing (and therefore reading) is done from right to left.  Thus the FIRST word in the above Hebrew passage is “בראשית”.  Check out a future Da Bauz’s Take for more on this first “word”, which means GENESIS, coming soon.

For now, let’s focus on the letters Aleph-Tav “את”, or the ‘Aleph-Tav’ “את”, meaning the First and the Last.  Alpha “a” is in fact the first letter of the Greek alphabet, just as Aleph “א” is the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet.  Whilst Omega “Ω” is the last letter of the Greek alphabet, similarly Tav “ת” is the last letter of the Hebrew alphabet.  Remember what was said above, that the ancient Hebrew “pictograph” for this letter is a cross (two sticks, laid out in the shape of a CROSS)?  “T”  Before I continue, one more point about the letters Aleph-Tav or the “את”, they have no direct translation, into English.  The first line of the Holy Bible, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” can translated from the three Hebrew words preceding, and the three Hebrew words following the “את”.  Odly the “את”, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last just sits there in the middle.  What could this mean?

This, it turns out, is a foreshadowing of Jesus Christ.  Jesus Christ said “I am the Alpha and Omega…” {Revelation 1:8] or I AM the Aleph-Tav “את”.  Jesus Christ, is the Aleph-Tav “את”, in the midst of the seven words. 

Now think about this, the Bible says “… in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man…” (Jesus Christ) Revelations 1:13  Additionally, if one considers the “Seven Candle Menorah” ^[2], which by the way is the Emblem ^[3], or “Coat of Arms” of Israel, this Aleph-Tav “את” in the midst of those first Seven Words of the Bible take on an even more special meaning!

Is it possible, that God in His infinite wisdom, knowing what things “would be”, ordained the coming (first coming) of the Messiah Jesus Christ (Yeshua Ha'Mashiach) right from the beginning, at the very instigation of Creation?  Consider: Isaiah 41:4 – “Who has done such mighty deeds, summoning each new generation from the beginning of time? It is I, the LORD, the First and the Last. I alone am he.” Or Isaiah 46:9-10 – “Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure” Based upon the above few samplings, the evidence looks pretty good indeed, for Jesus Christ being presented in the Torah.

More later, for now that’s Da Bauz’s take on the Aleph-Tav “את”.

References:

^[1] The Aleph-Tav “את” - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wSBndzuOASA

^[2] Standard Menorah – Seven Candles -  http://candles.lovetoknow.com/How_Many_Candles_Are_on_a_Menorah

^[3] Israel’s Emblem, or Coat of Arms - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Emblem_of_Israel.svg

Additional “food” for thought, from whence do these words come?

“For he grew up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of dry ground.  He has no form nor comeliness.  When we see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.  He was despised, and rejected by men; a man of suffering, and acquainted with disease. He was despised as one from whom men hide their face; and we didn't respect him.

Surely he has borne our sickness, and carried our suffering; yet we considered him plagued, struck by God, and afflicted.  But he was pierced for our transgressions.  He was crushed for our iniquities.  The punishment that brought our peace was on him; and by his wounds we are healed.

All we like sheep have gone astray.  Everyone has turned to his own way; and Yahweh has laid on him the iniquity of us all.  He was oppressed, yet when he was afflicted he didn't open his mouth. As a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and as a sheep that before its shearers is mute, so he didn't open his mouth.

He was taken away by oppression and judgment; and as for his generation, who considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living and stricken for the disobedience of my people?  They made his grave with the wicked, and with a rich man in his death; although he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth.” 

STOP HATING

A good friend of mine recently made the bold statement to “Stop Hate of all kinds, against everyone” as protest to a rather sinister graphic.  Following is the graphic in question:

Figure 1 http://zapaterolandia.blogspot.com

I have to admit that I was led to take her comment under significant advisement.  Alas, I am constantly drawn back to something I heard from “Bibi”, Israeli P.M. Benjamin Netanyahu citing a quote from former Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir: “If the Arabs would put down their weapons, there would be no more violence.  However, if the Israel Defense Force would put down its weapons, there would be no more Israel.”  For more on the one-sidedness of the Middle East conflict, see my Blog “Where is home” [http://dabauzstake.blogspot.com/2011/10/where-is-home.html]  And that leads me to both my query and the quandary I feel we all face.

First my “query” – Part one: “is the goal or objective of stopping hatred of all kinds, against everyone even possible, or even plausible?”  Notwithstanding the fact that each of us has control of but one person, which would take this ideal straight into the realm of impossible, there are those who insist that we should nonetheless try.  And now for Part two: “at what cost do we pursue this mutuality of not hating?”

When we look at the situation in the Middle East, if one were to develop his or her opinions based solely upon the input of our “western media”, one can hardly be blamed for thinking it both possible, and even perhaps quite plausible I suppose.  Alas, our western media is actually quite remiss with respect to the issue of reporting on Israeli / Palestine Authority (PA) Middle Eastern issues.

Take for example the events of just the past 45 days, or so.  During one recent four or five day span, the Terror organization Hamas, provided backing and hardware for a daily bombardment of rocket fire into civilian areas of Israel.  Rocket fire that entailed scores of attacks each and every single day.  Killing several, wounding scores more, and yet hardly a word was heard over Television or Radio broadcasts, nor was there any printed matter reporting on the attacks.  Yet as tragic as this is let one lone five-year-old child, who was being used as a human shield by some Hamas coward in Gaza, become wounded from Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) retaliatory fire, and the news of Israel’s brutality is all over CNN, ABC, NBC, BBC, CBC, CTV, Global, even Fox and Sun News.

When this writer considers the sheer gravity of the situation between the PA and Israel, the answer to the query seems to be clear.   There is a slim possibility, with a highly implausible outlook for success at stopping all hatred.  Add to this mix, the horribly skewed media reporting, and the outlook for the possibility drops from slim to very remote and, as for the plausibility this too drops from highly implausible to not plausible. 

I can already hear some of you saying, (thinking) ‘yeah, that’s the Middle East, what about here, at home in Canada, the US, the UK, or Australia etc., “the west”?  Can’t we all just get along, and stop being so damned hateful towards Islam?’  Well in the three (3) days that have passed since my friend presented me with that challenge, statistically speaking, Islamicism and her many Terror counterparts have shed the blood of 15 more innocent people(Infidels), source http://www.thereligionofpeace.com.  Almost 18,000 Deadly Terror Attacks since 9/11, in just 10 years.  That’s roughly five (5) deaths per day folks!  Simply put, I do not think T'is possible to “Stop Hate of all kinds, against everyone.”

With respect to Part two of this query, at what cost, do we pursue these lofty goals?  Given that each of us is able only to control the behaviour of one person, that being our selves, not only is the objective a virtual impossibility the cost in terms of human lives lost would be staggering.  Why staggering, in terms of human life cost, might you ask?  Simple, Islam shows absolutely zero regard for human life, more on this later.

And now for the quandary we all face; oddly the quandary is not one of ‘to hate or not to hate’ Islam, per se.  Rather the quandary is how to strike that balance between being a ‘people pleaser’ and doing what is right.  IE kowtowing to the expectations of friends and /or associates, with extreme views on opposing sides of a volatile issue.  One where people either on the one hand call for us to “make love not war man” vis-à-vis 60’s styled love-ins, or on the other hand call for the whole-sale obliteration of Muslims; and doing the right thing.  What is the right thing?  The right thing is to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ with everyone including members of Islam.  Obviously sharing Christ with those who know Jesus by His Arabic name, Isa can be difficult if not problematic.

Isa, as the he is known in Arabic, to the Muslim is not God.  He was a prominent man, a prophet of the god Allah, nonetheless just a man.  Islam views Isa as a man who pointed to (points to) the greater prophet of Islam, the one the only, the misogynistic paedophile Mohammad.  He (Jesus / Isa) to the Muslim is not the Son of God, nor was he born of a virgin, certainly Christ is not God to the Muslim.  Essentially Islam is pretty messed up. 

The god of Islam, Allah, is not god or even a god at all.  Allah is one of thousands of tiny rock Idols which had been worshipped by a host of wandering nomadic Arabic tribesmen, well that was until Mohammad realized some 1,400 years ago that the Arab people could accomplish so much more if only they were united.  Thus, united they became, under the banner of Islam.  And the god of Islam, Allah, hates all of human kind.  He (she??) has absolutely zero regard for human life; none for the life / lives of the Infidels, and not even the lives of members of Islam.

Fact is folks, Jesus Christ is God, He created you and He loves His creation.  Don’t believe me?  That’s okay, I did not make the claim, Jesus Christ did!  And no I am not talking about “hey Zeus”, from Greek mythology, but Jesus Christ, Yeshua Ha'Mashiach.  God loves His creation so much that “… he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” [John 3:16 NIV]  His love for His creation is so great that He is not willing that any (nope, not even one Muslim) should perish, “…not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” 2 [Peter 3:9 NIV 1984]  Having said that, Jesus also makes it clear that there is but ONE WAY to get in right standing with God, and that is through Him: “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”  [John 14:6  NIV]  Ah, you say that you know that there is but one God, and I say good, “..Even the demons believe that--and shudder.” [James 2:19 NIV]  But do you “know” Jesus Christ?

At the end of the day folks, there is but one way to know peace on this earth, ergo only one-way for “everyone to stop hating everyone else”.  It sounds perhaps a little cliché alas; “Know Jesus, know peace whereas no Jesus, no peace”  How does one get to “know” Jesus?  Simple, invite Him into your heart, as Jesus says: “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.” [Revelations 3:20 NIV] How can we be assured that this Jesus stuff means anything, well because the Bible tells us so.  The Apostle Paul wrote:

“If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.” [Romans 10:9-10]

And for those of you who say to me, I can’t be bothered reading the Bible, it’s confusing or it’s a waste of time, may I draw your attention to what the Bible says about wisdom: “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.” [Proverbs 9:10]

Well, that’s it again, Da Bauz’s take on the “why can’t we all just get along” love fest notion.  Read your Bible, pray to Jesus Christ, and most importantly give Christ your heart and “give God a chance”!