This mono-theistic doctrine (of one God manifesting as 3 persons) came about to distinguish Christianity from the poly-theistic (many gods) pagan religions and from the doctrine of Arius (a priest of Libya) who said "If the Father begat the Son, then he who was begotten had a beginning in existence, and from this it follows there was a time when the Son was not". The doctrine of the Trinity emerged and evolved from the councils of Nicea and Constantinople starting from 325 AD. Those were basically councils of the early leaders of the developing Catholic church. They didn't want people to think of the Father, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit as 3 different gods. But in reality they are 3 different deities (gods) although God the Father has pre-eminence as the originator. Also they wanted to emphasize the divinity of Jesus. The doctrine of the Trinity is not taught in the scriptures. It is a man-made doctrine. Poor 'ol Arius was declared a heretic by the bishops at the first council of Nicea. I know how that feels. Complete honesty before God and man is rarely rewarded when it counters popular beliefs.

The scriptures do demonstrate unity between God the Father and Jesus (John 10), and between God the Father and the Holy Spirit. But that unity is obviously of mind and purpose, not of singularity (sameness). Why else would the scriptures show each as unique and separate in essence? Why would Jesus pray to the Father if he was the Father? Was he deceiving his disciples? He did say that seeing him was seeing the Father, but he meant that he was showing the attributes (love, peace, joy, etc) of God the Father (indwelling him) through his life and therefore was "showing God".

Jesus said in John 10:30 "I and my Father are one". and further explaining in 10:38 "...the Father is in me, and I in him".

In John 14:28 Jesus said "my Father is greater than I".

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Many of the pastors truly believe that requiring 10% (called “tithing”, giving a tenth) from all members is endorsed by the bible, although that is not true. In old testament times (before Christ's death) God required 10% in the form of food for the Levites (the priestly tribe). But the new testament standard was stated by Paul in 1 Cor 16:2 as being giving “as God has prospered you”. In other words, if you are not financially prospering then you shouldn’t give. God doesn’t require poor people to give. Paul said there is no necessity to give: 2 Cor 9:7 "Every man according as he purposes in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loves a cheerful giver". Where it talks about tithing in the new testament letter to the Hebrews in chapter 7 it is talking about orthodox Jews and their orthodox old testament system which they were still practicing. It was not talking about it in relation to followers of Christ. Click here to read a complete discussion about the topic of tithing. Even worse than the pastors requiring members to tithe, is the sin that they don't make a good portion of these gifts freely available to the poor, which is part of the old testament tithing laws. If they are going to act like Jewish priests they should at least carry out the Jewish laws correctly. In Deuteronomy 26:12 tithes were to be given "to the LEVITE, the STRANGER, the FATHERLESS and the WIDOW". (The Levites were the Jews serving in the priesthood. In that culture the fatherless and widows were the poor.)  In Deuteronomy 27:19 it reads "Cursed is the one who perverts the justice due the stranger, the fatherless and the widow." [Refer to Deu. 14:27-29] Modern churches pervert justice.

The pastor is just the shepherd, the one who is supposed to care for the sheep. According to 1 Cor 12 above him are the apostles and prophets who are given by God more authority in the church. They aren't a thing of a past church age. Christians right now have these gifts. But in false religions when an apostle or prophet shows up they are either subjugated under the pastor or they are kicked out. These false shepherds are not caring for Christian souls, they are in the business of fleecing the sheep, all for profit. Just another business. (1 Cor 12:28 "And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues.")

To me a belief in reincarnation is just common sense. It makes no sense to believe our good and merciful God (Jer 33:11) will judge people who have had little or no time to chose his side. Many kids die right at the age of reason (around 12). Let's say someone lives only one month as a human with the ability to chose right from wrong. Would it be right for God to judge that person to hell because he didn't immediately get saved? The question is a ridiculous one but shows how ridiculous people are in their belief systems. It is no sweat off God's back for him to let us reincarnate as a human over and over again until we make a fully informed decision to live in the light or the darkness. Nothing else would be fair. Only the terrible Old Testament God of the Jews could be so quick to send people to hell. I don't believe in that God. He was invented by the Jews to keep people in line and to try to strike fear in the hearts of their enemies. Religion is famous for using fear of judgment and hell to keep people from misbehaving. But my God, Jesus' God of love, doesn't use scare tactics. He just keeps loving us all and giving us as many opportunities as we all need to make the right decision and stick to it. I believe that we come back here time and again until we make a final decision. I believe that God, in all his longsuffering and kindness, lets us reincarnate.

The Catholic Church formulated its position against reincarnation in response to the controversy surrounding the Christian scholar Origen. He believed the human soul exists before it is incarnated into a physical body and then passes from one body to another until it is reunited with God. (Eccl 12:7 "the spirit shall return unto God who gave it."), after which it no longer takes on a physical form. He thought that while Christ could greatly speed the reconciliation with God, such reconciliation would not take place without effort by the individual. Although Origen died in 284 A.D., debate over his theories continued until 553 when he was officially cursed by the Second Council of Constantinople. Catholics were not to believe in the pre-existence of souls, the existence of consciousness as a spirit without a body, or that a person has any more than this one lifetime to turn to the Christian God without being subject to eternal damnation. Unfortunately, this Catholicism has permeated the Protestant world as well.

Rom 2:13-16 "For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified. For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves: Which show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the meanwhile accusing or else excusing one another in the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel."

This scripture itself refutes the idea that only the "saved" go to heaven. Jesus said, in Matthews 25:31-46, that the main criteria for the judgment day is whether or not people acted compassionately on the behalf of believers, not whether or not they had ever prayed a salvation prayer. Matt 25:34-36 "Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, you blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: For I was hungry, and you gave me meat: I was thirsty, and you gave me drink: I was a stranger, and you took me in: Naked, and you clothed me: I was sick, and you visited me: I was in prison, and you came unto me."

Isaiah 7:
1. Rezin the king of Syria, and Pekah the ... king of Israel, went up toward Jerusalem to war against it, but could not prevail against it.  7. Thus says the Lord GOD, It shall not stand, neither shall it come to pass. 8. ...within threescore and five years shall Ephraim be broken, that it be not a people.  9. If you will not believe, surely you shall not be established.  10. Moreover the LORD spoke again unto Ahaz (king of Judah), saying,  11. Ask for a sign from the LORD thy God; ask it either in the depth, or in the height above.  12. But Ahaz said, I will not ask, neither will I tempt the LORD.  14. Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a young maiden shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.  16. For before the child shall know to refuse the evil, and choose the good, the land that you abhor shall be forsaken of both her kings. (This chapter is about how the two mentioned kings would not prevail against Jerusalem and that Ahaz, the king of Judah, would see it in his time, the proof being that a child will be born and named Immanuel, and that before he reaches the age of reasoning that the kings would leave their own land. This is a prediction concerning his time, not for later centuries (the time of Christ). It was a sign for Ahaz. It is utterly ridiculous to think that God would promise Ahaz a sign but then not show it to him. Signs are to be seen, not just heard of. (v 14 "the Lord himself shall give you a sign").  Why would God promise Ahaz a sign that wouldn't show itself until hundreds of years later? He wouldn't. God promised Ahaz a sign to be seen by him soon. There is no way in the world that Jesus fulfilled this prophecy because it was fulfilled in the time of Ahaz. The sign that Ahaz saw was a young child named Immanuel, knowing that before the boy knew how to choose the good that the kings of Israel and Syria would leave their lands (probably forcibly by an invading force).

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Fundamentalist Christian are always talking about how the United States of America was founded by a group of church-going Christians. That's the hype, but here's the facts:

Something like 98% of the Founding Fathers of the United States were MASONS. Their main religious affiliation was UNITARIAN. The rest were either Catholic or Church of England. If you will look at the Masonic rolls of Boston (MA), New York (NY), Philadelphia (PA), Richmond (VA) and a dozen other cities lining the east coast, it reads like a Who's Who in American History. Many of the historical figures who came to help The Colonies in their break from England (e.g. Lafayette from France and Polaski from Poland) were also Masons. Masons, at that time, were DEISTS. A deist is one who believes that a God created the world but that same God doesn't interfere with it. Most Christians are theists. A theist sees God interfering with, or can interfere with, what's happening in the world. (This isn't any different than the Pagans who believed that the gods interfered with the lives of humans.) In other words, the Founding Fathers of this country saw that what happens here was up to them. In their minds it wasn't God's will that The Colonies break away from England. It wasn't God's will that there be a United States of America. Nor was Manifest Destiny God's will. It wasn't God's will that the United States eventually become a world power. They just didn't believe that God was exerting his will upon the world. The author of the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson, was a Deist but worded his document to also be acceptable to Christians by referring to the supreme deity not only as "Nature's God" but also as "Creator", "Supreme Judge of the World", and "Divine Providence".

The Masonic tradition at that time was highly steeped in OCCULTISM. The Masons were all practicing CEREMONIAL MAGICIANS. George Washington, wearing a Masonic apron, actually performed a Masonic (occult) rite when the cornerstone of the capital was laid and he placed a box containing Masonic medallions in that cornerstone. The signing of the Declaration of Independence was based on astrological timing worked out by one of the Founding Fathers. July 4th, 1776 at 12:00 noon at Philadelphia (PA) was very significant. That very time is when John Hancock placed his signature on the Declaration. They wanted to make sure that all of the "signs" were propitious for this infant country. Would Christians go to this trouble? Absolutely NOT! Consequently, the United States was founded by occultists based on occult principles.

The Founding Fathers did NOT care for people who would manipulate The Bible for their own purposes. Their disdain for manipulative Christian religious philosophies and manipulative preachers is well-documented. People like Jerry Fallwell, Billy Graham, Oral Roberts, Kenneth Copeland, Gene Scott, Jimmy Swaggart, Peter Popov, Benny Hinn, and others of their kind would bring out their anger. Read the works of Thomas Paine ("Common Sense") and Thomas Jefferson. (Fundamentalists conveniently over-look Jefferson's scathing attacks on these kinds of preachers.) Jefferson, himself, was so angry with these kinds of philosophies and people that he even wrote his own version of The Bible. The Bible that George Washington and many of the presidents took the oath of office on was, in fact, a Masonic Bible. That Bible is now in the Smithsonian.

The Masonic tradition at that time was a powerful influence on the world. For centuries just about every Pope, Cardinal, Bishop, nobleman, the royalty, and many generals were Masons. Many important people were also Masons. Joseph Smith, the founder of the Mormons, was a Mason, as were many of the Baroque and Classical composers. Daniel Boone, Davy Crockett, Sam Houston, and more than half of the U.S. presidents were Masons. It was in the middle of the 19th century that THE CHURCH condemned the Masonic tradition and said they were all a bunch of devil worshippers. After The Church's condemnation of the Masonic tradition, the manipulative branches of Christianity took up the banner to promote their own cause.

In 1785 Thomas Jefferson said "Millions of innocent men, women, and children, since the introduction of Christianity, have been burnt, tortured, fined, and imprisoned; yet we have not advanced one inch towards uniformity." In 1796 George Washington said "The government of the Untied States is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion."

It's time that the facts be presented. Most people will not take the time to research and find the truth. Fundamentalists are always going around talking about The Truth, but when they are confronted by it they refuse to accept it. There are two types of ignorance: The first type of ignorance is that brought about by nature where an individual doesn't have the mental capacities to seek and/or understand it. The second type of ignorance is chosen ignorance. This is the byword of fundamentalist Christianity. Through half-truths (half-truths are whole lies), purposeful semantic manipulations, and feigned knowledge and wisdom they "trapped you with gile (lies)" (as Paul said to the Corinthians). The Truth is out there. You need to find it for yourself.

The truth is more like that the pastors want you rich so that they can get more money from your tithes. Jesus said, in Matthew 6, that you can't serve both God and material wealth (mammon).
Matt 6:19-21 "Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust corrupts, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust corrupts, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also."
Matt 6:24 "No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon."
Mark 10:25 "It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God."
James 2:5 "Hearken, my beloved brethren, Has not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he has promised to them that love him?"
1 John 2:15-17 "Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passes away, and the lust thereof: but he that does the will of God abides for ever."
Hebrews 13:5 "Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as you have: for he has said, I will never leave you, nor forsake you."
1 Timothy 6:8-10 "And having food and clothing let us be therewith content. But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows."

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