THE SEARCH FOR TRUTH IS, OF NECESSITY, HERESY

This is because, the Status Quo (The Establishment) resists change whether it be truth or error. Paul, in addressing the Corinthian Church said, "It is reported there are heresies among you and I believe this to be true, for they must of necessity arise that the Man of God be revealed."

After all, Paul himself was considered a heretic by the Jewish Sanhedrin for his conversion to Christianity, to which he brought change from the stale traditions of the Law into the free air of grace. He knew that "The Way," as Christianity was called by its adherents, was in a search for the higher truths of God (epignosos). The only way to discern truth from error was to examine each heresy (deviation from the majority view). With this in mind, Jesus was probably the worlds greatest heretic.

If nobody spoke up as The Holy Spirit moved them, today we would still be circumcising converts and observing the Jewish Temple rituals with abstinence from pork and other unclean meats. Indeed, Gentiles would be excluded from the fellowship of Christ. We, as laymen, would not even have access to the Bible, itself. All these changes and more, were considered heresies in the early Christian Church.

What other heresies have become standard to our observance; How about Christmas and Easter? Both of those festivals date to pagan origin. The early church didn't observe Easter (The Festival of Astarte'); they observed the Christian Passover with the Lord's Supper and ritual of foot washing. Christmas celebrated the rebirth of the Sun God; not the birth of the Son of God.

How many more can you suggest to the page? And, what heresies
should we discuss for future absorption into the Fellowship of Jesus?

houghfw@aol.com

SEEKING THE TRUTH WHO HEALS: Accessing the Metaphor of Jesus
(Just what does it mean that Jesus is the One Way?)

THE HOPE THAT HEALS: Without vision the people perish
(Since God is omnipotent, WHY the **** is all this **** ALLOWED on His  planet?

houghfw is the Sound of a Sigh: Teaching the Poetry of Expression
(Why is Christian Poetry considered an oxymoron and what can be done about it?

Your Shoe Box: All those questions without answers stored up on the shelf
(share them here and we'll have a free dialog without recrimination).

JESUS PROMISED:
"Ye shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free."

I think it's high time we discovered what He meant. Come, sit a spell and share your thoughts. Whether of milk and cookies, sake' and sushi, or Jack Daniel's and pretzels, this be the place where ALL are welcome. Slip off those sandals, let me wash the dust from your tootsies, and we'll share a few hugs of expression by the fire as they prepare to
burn me.

Wil