Newsletter: 2007-13 Reformation - Religious Freedom - Day

Happy Reformation Day
Greetings from HomeWorship 101™

Attention:
“…non-Catholic Christian communities
are either defective or not true churches,
and the Roman Catholic Church
provides the only true path to salvation.”
- Pope Benedict XVI

“Pope Benedict XVI has ignited controversy across the world by approving a document saying non-Catholic Christian communities are either defective or not true churches, and the Roman Catholic Church provides the only true path to salvation.

"Christ 'established here on earth' only one church," said the document, reasserting the primacy of Catholicism.

It said other Christian communities such as Protestants "cannot be called 'churches' in the proper sense" since they don't have what's known as apostolic succession – that is, the ability to trace their bishops back to the original 12 apostles of Jesus.

The document said the Orthodox church suffered from a "wound" because it did not recognize the primacy of the pope, adding the wound was "still more profound" among Protestant denominations.

It was "difficult to see how the title of 'Church' could possibly be attributed to them," said the statement from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, purporting Roman Catholicism was "the one true Church of Christ."” Quoted from the World Net Daily (wnd.com)

Huh-oh, there they go again. If the above quote was from 500 years ago one wouldn’t mind so much anymore, but that statement was made in July 11, 2007. This war of Catholic supremacy was fought over 500 years ago, and they lost – obviously they are still in denial. At the very least, Pope Benedict XVI is no John Paul II. I apologize to my Catholic readers, it is not the rank and file or lay Catholics that I have a problem with, it is the Vatican leadership. Who can stand such arrogance? It seems offensive and insincere considering the Roman Catholic Church preaches about reaching out to other Christian and non-Christian faiths. Do they just want to reach out to us to reconvert us? It seems they still have designs on world domination.

There is even a wild card Catholic Bishop Tiny Muskens from the Netherlands, who promotes the idea that we should learn to say our prayers in the name of Allah. He makes the point that GOD does not care what we call HIM. He was on local TV saying, “Allah is a very beautiful word for GOD.” His argument is that this would help in easing tensions with the Muslim communities. Oh please. I wonder, do they ever read their Bibles? For example, the true church, “For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them,” Matthew 18:20. “…the name of God and His doctrine may not be blasphemed,” 1Timothy 6:1, see also Exodus 20:7. For more info on GOD’s Name log on: http://www.homeworship101.com/bb-c1_top_god.htm

Faithful Believing people are the church, not the building! A major point that is not often explained by the Catholics is based on Acts ch.2. In that chapter, when the Holy Spirit came onto the faithful, it wasn’t first sent to the Apostles and then distributed by them, the Holy Spirit was sent directly from Heaven to the faithful. Based on this example, the Protestant Reformation leaders also believed the GOD directly empowers the people and they wanted to break the yoke of the Roman Catholics version of Nicolaitanism (Rev.2:6). The doctrine of Nicolaitanism has it’s roots in paganism where you paid a priest to send your prayers to the gods. It always puts a priest, (a pope, a rabbi, or some mere mortal), between you and GOD – and YHWH/GOD hates that! Yahshua also chastised many rabbis of His time for having the same Nicolaitanism attitude (Mat.23:1-23). In the Catholic churches there is a bit of a schism as the traditional European Catholics still hold to their Nicolaitian attitude and criticize the American Catholics as being too Protestant. The traditional Catholics call their more liberal brethren the neo protestants. I could go on and on but you get the idea. For more info on the Sacred Assembly log on: http://www.homeworship101.com/sp-t7_sacred_assembly.htm

"You cannot drink the cup of the LORD and the cup of demons;
you cannot partake of the LORD'S table
and of the table of demons." - 1Corrinthins 10:21

I always wonder why don’t the Protestant churches speak out in protest? But this month I realized when I saw the pumpkin patches springing up in many churchyards. They have lost their way. Many churches spend more time celebrating Halloween then giving recognition to what is really important on October 31^st. The above quote clearly warns the faithful not to dance with demons – so to speak. I wonder, do they know what the word “Protestant church” even means? Do they ever read their Bibles anymore? If it weren’t for many brave men 500 years ago the Protestant churches wouldn’t even have a Bible or be allowed to exist as a church – sadly, they have grown complacent and have forgotten their roots.

What’s a poor Protestant to do? The Catholics are tellin’ us to give up our misguided faith and know that only the pope has the keys to heaven. (Oy vey.) The Muslims want to rule us, and the radical ones want to blow us up. (Oh sure like that’s gonna happen, please explain why I should give myself over to another strict, authoritarian religious dictatorship – and do it slowly.) The Protestants are thinking something like this, “Catholics, Muslims, whatever, we fought this religious fascism thing hundreds of years ago and now it’s getting boring – so lets go sell pumpkins and ignore them!”

Critically thinking is a lost art, think about it, what does the term “Protestant” Christian mean? Most do not even know that October 31, is their holiday. It’s really a shame because so much blood was spilt to break the chains of religious dictatorship, give most of the world the Bible, and give most of the western world religious freedom. America was founded as a Protestant nation, but watch the news tomorrow; you will not hear anything regarding the great Reformation movement. At the very least it should be called Religious Freedom Day! Unfortunately, the only thing you will hear a lot about is Halloween, and that’s pitiful. (The stories of the Bible translators and Protestant reformers are heartbreaking, read through chapters 9-20 of Fox’s Book of Martyrs for the complete story.)

There is another reason why this day is hardly mentioned, it is because reformation - reform, or the idea of turning away from bad habits and adopting good new ones is probably one of the hardest Biblical mandates to accomplish – that is because Satan hates people getting closer to their CREATOR YHWH.

“The reasonable man adapts himself to the world,
the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself.
Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man.”
- George Bernard Shaw

The movement began when one man called Martin Luther stood up against the most powerful force on earth, the Roman Catholic Pope, and challenged the church’s (mans) laws added on to GOD’s Laws. Jews, Lutherans, Baptist, Pentecostal, Sabbath Keeper, Messianic, Sacred Name, whatever, all of today’s churches owe Martin Luther a debt of thanks, or we would all still be Catholics. Unfortunately, most of the churches have forgotten their history. The term “Protestant” Christian means, “protesting” Christians. They protest against the dictatorial rule of a centralized religious authority. They protest against any human being placed between them and GOD. And they stand for the right of anyone to have a copy of the Holy Scriptures in their native language for personal study. The story goes something like this.

“Unless I am convicted by scripture and plain reason,
I do not accept the authority of the popes and councils,
for they have contradicted each other,
my conscience is captive to the Word of God.
I cannot and I will not recant anything
for to go against conscience is neither right nor safe. God help me. Amen.”
- Martin Luther’s defense at his Catholic inquisition, April 1521.

Most know of the story of Martin Luther the lawyer/scholar turned Catholic monk, who in 1517 C.E. sounded the call to religious change in an unchanging world by calling for a debate on his 95 theses of church reform. To make his theses public, he daringly posted them on the castle church door in Wittenburg, Germany, and by his act he unknowingly ignited a religious explosion called the Protestant Reformation. His 95 points of reform rebukes various traditions added on to YAHWEH’S Law by the feudalistic Roman Catholic Church. As always, challenging the Roman status quo was done at your own peril. Luther would have been branded a heretic and swept away to a dark jail cell like many before him, but paper making and moveable type were invented in his time, and his open letters of debate appearing in print for all to see helped fuel the protesting movement against the dogmatic Roman Catholic rule.

Martin Luther began the Protestant revolution and America was founded as a Protestant nation, but few today even know what the word Protestant means or represents. Generally, the religious powers to be do not like any talk of a protesting laity, being lovers of their own words the religious scholars over time covered up and smothered the original meaning of the Reformation movement. As regular readers of my work know, I specialize in removing the layers of tradition and get down to the pure original truths. The pure Protestant beliefs or concepts are a philosophy not a religion, and the Protestant philosophy still causes some hand ringing amongst the traditional Jews, Catholics, and other religious leaders who want to control people via dogmatic purity and mute obedience.

If you think about it, it really doesn’t matter if the majority of a nation is Jewish, Christian, or Muslim, the Protestant concept that GOD equally grants rights ‘directly to every human’ which no mere mortal can take away, and free people join together to form a representative republic government, can be applied to any nation – Israel, Iran, Iraq, etc. - regardless of their religious affiliations. Unfortunately today, as in ancient times, the majority of the political and religious leadership is reluctant to give up their control over the people, and therein lays their hypocrisy. They are in business for themselves, and not for the good of the people – or our CREATOR & Messiah.

“I hate, I despise your feast days,
And I do not savor your sacred assemblies.
Though you offer Me burnt offerings and your grain offerings,
I will not accept them,
Nor will I regard your fattened peace offerings.
Take away from Me the noise of your songs,
For I will not hear the melody of your stringed instruments.
But let justice run down like water,
And righteousness like a mighty stream.”
- Amos 5:14-15, 21-24

Protesting against dictatorial religious leadership goes way back. Martin Luther’s is only one in a long line of religious leaders pleading with the faithful and religious hierarchy to reform their pagan tainted spiritual habits and festivals. Reformation was a common topic preached by the Prophets YHWH sent to ancient Israel. Unfortunately, like today, the people didn’t want to hear it. They mostly ignored their Prophets, and sometimes they (ancient Israelites) killed them for suggesting it. Yahshua was also a Prophet of His FATHER YHWH with a startling frank message of reform to His contemporaries. In my strange way of looking at the world I believe that Christ, His Apostles, and the very-first Christians, were Protestant-Jews! Most Christians forget that Christ and the Apostles also protested against the dictatorial rule of the rabbis. They believed in an educated laity, not a subjugated one. They believed in building a personal relationship with YHWH, as opposed to the rabbi’s demand for mute obedience to ritual purity.

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!
...Serpents, brood of vipers!
How can you escape the condemnation of hell?”
- Matthew 23:29-33

One can’t help but wonder:
What would the church do?
If they had Yahshua the Reformer, in front of them.

As the reformer Yahshua challenged the orthodoxy. No one had ever before denounced the priests and Pharisees, or dared to question the doctrine of the elders. He expertly quoted the Prophets as He strongly rebuked Judaism’s stiff-necked religious hierarchy - the establishment religionists who never lived the righteous life. They were corrupt. They were blind guides. They were play-actors, and did not live according to the spirit of the Law (Mat.3:7, 5:20, 23:1-36; Luk.11:37-54, 18:9-14; Jno.8:44).

Yahshua challenged the doctrines of the scribes and rabbis, telling them bluntly that they did not know the Scriptures (Mat.22:29). At least eight times Yahshua scornfully denounced them for being legalistic and fourteen times for being hypocritical. They were excellent in reading and quoting Scripture, to keep the people on a tight leash, but in practice they themselves disobey by following their own ritualized customs.

Yahshua detested some of the Pharisees, the religious fundamentalists of the day, because they did not have a heart for the sinners, and were not sensitive to the needs and hurts of the individual. Yahshua taught of YAHWEH’S free salvation by grace, not by law - very revolutionary. And He taught in His Sermon on the Mount that He brought a Kingdom for the meek and for the poor in spirit (Mat.5:5-11), which clearly was just as opposite as you can get to what the Pharisees taught.

Yahshua strongly scolded the religious leaders because they were always bitter, constantly finding faults, and tearing everyone apart. This, the “holier than thou” crowd, by their own attitude, promoted bigotry, prejudice and hatred. He showed them that their religious worship was mere ritual, with emphasis on minor details, “while ignoring the weightier matters of the Law,” such as “justice, mercy and faith.” He taught that the motive of the heart was important, not just the outward action (Mat.23:1-23).

Yahshua chastised them for the many traditions they added to YAHWEH’S Law, making the Law a hardship on the people. The religious authorities pretend to love you, but in reality they just want to hold you hostage. The Pharisees slowly gained power over Jewish society by being the overseers of the many elaborate and intricate Jewish oral laws that they required the people to live by. These “traditions of men,” in an effort to micro manage the people, only burden the community, and has reduced righteousness to mere ceremonialism of outward splendor (Mar.7:6-13). YAHWEH calls HIS people to unity, not uniformity. The simple - common sense - Laws of YAHWEH do not enslave people, it sets them free!

Do not let your religion keep you from a truth!

As we all know the religious leadership that heard Yahshua didn’t like Him very much and they generally ran him out of town and wanted to silence Him. (I wonder would it be any different in today’s churches.) Discussing points of reform with religious leaders is like talking to a bulkhead – they just ain’t getting it. Today the mainline Protestant churches may have some slight variation on theology, but generally they still mirror the holidays and habits of the Catholic Church. For example, the Easter and Christmas holidays, Sunday worship and the design of the service, church buildings, special robes, pulpits, browbeating sermons, using fear of damnation, etc., are from the Roman church, not from Yahshua’s’ first-century church. Even the spirit of Roman-control still manifests itself in the Protestants bishops. The laity may elect them, but once elected many backslide into becoming protestant dictators over their followers. Surely in the past 480 years there has been enough time to study the Bible, learn from Biblical archeology, and find more points of reform, but their silence is deafening.

The early believers would say: When I pray, I talk to GOD; when I study, GOD talks to me. They would verify their teachers lessons, as it says in Acts 17:11 “. . . in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so;” only then would they share their new found truths with others. They would trust no one with their soul, except YAHWEH!

“He who has an ear,
let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
To him who overcomes I will give some of the hidden manna to eat.
And I will give him a white stone,
and on the stone a new name written
which no one knows except him who receives it.”
- Revelation 2:17

Christian faith is not just believing in Christ and sitting there like a church of potted plants, it is also discipleship – living as he taught us to live. One must remember we are learning about YHWH’s plan of salvation – not mans idea of salvation. Learning YHWH’s higher spiritual truths shouldn’t start wars or break families apart – that only happens when the influential are afraid of losing their power over the people. I named my company “White Stone Communications” because when I learned of YAHWEH’s real spiritual truths and mysteries I discussed them with my wife and then we adopted them. For my wife and I it has been a fascinating journey of learning. Learning about YHWH’s Covenants, learning about YHWH’s Holy Days, learning about YHWH’s Spiritual Power-tools, and learning about YHWH’s plan to save us from the evil chaos of this world has been a great comfort to us. All the spiritual lessons point to YHWH’S Kingdom and understanding them brings us peace. Peace of the mind, peace of the heart, peace for the growth of the spirit, peace in our house, peace in our community, and peace to our nation. The greatest joy any soul can experience is sharing this knowledge with someone else.

Come let us reason together (Isa.1:18),
and take comfort in the future paradise
that YHWH is working so hard to give us – enjoy the journey of learning.

May YHWH bless the freedom of information loving Americans and their revolutionary invention called the Internet. It is as powerful an invention as book printing was in Martin Luther’s day, and its worldwide power has yet to be realized.

Shalom and blessings, Errol.
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Errol Mueller, chronicler extraordinaire
e-mail: errol@homeworship101.com
website: www.homeworship101.com
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WSC Newsletter 2007-13, posted 10/30/07.
Copyright © 2007 Errol Mueller. All rights reserved. Short quotations, page copying, or redistribution for personal or non-commercial group study is permitted and encouraged, provided they are copied in total with no alterations or deletions. Author’s name, website address, and copyright notice must be included. If any other use is desired, written permission is required.
For information, email or call toll free (877) 375-7878. White Stone Communications (Rev.2:17), Dothan, AL.
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Scripture quotations are from the New King James Version of the Holy Bible.

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