“Christian” Feis wea Go Ahed for Change—Waswe, God Acceptim?
TINGIM sapos iu askem wanfala man for draw for drawim iu. Taem hem finis, iu barava hapi; piksa hem barava iu. Iu tingim go taem wea olketa pikinini bilong iu, granpikinini bilong iu, and granpikinini bilong olketa, bae lukim disfala piksa witim hapi.
Bat samfala genereson bihaen, wanfala laen pikinini bilong iu tingse bolhed hem no luk gud long piksa, so hem drawim go hair. Narawan no laekem sheip bilong nose, so hem changem datwan. Olketa nara change kamap long olketa genereson bihaen, wea gogo datfala piksa nating luk olsem iu nao. Sapos iu savve olketa samting hia bae happen, hao nao bae iu feel? Bae iu feel kros.
Sorre tumas, story abaotem piksa hia hem really story abaotem Christian church wea hem Christian long nem nomoa. History showimaot hao no longtaem bihaen olketa aposol bilong Christ dae, datfala firstfala feis bilong “Christian Wei” hem start for change, barava olsem Bible talem finis.—Matthew 13:24-30, 37-43; Acts 20:30.a
Hem tru, hem stret nomoa for iusim olketa Bible principle for fitim eni kaen living and taem. Hem barava difren samting moa for changem teaching bilong Bible for fitim tingting bilong staka pipol. Nomata olsem, datwan nao barava samting wea happen. Olsem example, tingim olketa change wea kamap long samfala important samting.
Church Wan Mind Witim Gavman
Jesus teachim hao long taem wea olketa markem, rul or Kingdom bilong hem wea stap long heven bae distroem evri rul bilong man and hem bae rul ovarem full earth. (Daniel 2:44; Matthew 6:9, 10) Hem bae no rul thru long politik bilong man. “Kingdom bilong mi hem no part bilong disfala world,” Jesus hem sei. (John 17:16; 18:36) Dastawe, olketa disaepol bilong Jesus, nomata olketa obey long law, olketa stap klia from politik.
Bat, kasem taem bilong Roman Emperor Constantine long mek-foa century, staka wea sei olketa Christian kamap taed for weitim kam bak bilong Christ and for start bilong Kingdom bilong God. Isisi, wei wea olketa ting long politik hem change. “Bifor Constantine,” disfala buk Europe—A History hem talem, “olketa Christian nating aftarem paoa [long politik] for helpem olketa for kasem goal bilong olketa. Bihaen Constantine, Christian Wei and politik barava waka tugeta.” Disfala Christian Wei wea difren hem kamap religion bilong rul bilong Rome wea hem for evriwan.
Disfala encyclopedia Great Ages of Man hem sei from disfala Church-Gavman marit, “long A.D. 385, 80 year nomoa bihaen lastfala persecution againstim olketa Christian, Church seleva start for killim dae olketa wea no agree witim hem, and olketa bigman bilong hem iusim paoa bilong olketa wea klosap semsem witim olketa ruler.” So wanfala sekson bilong taem kamap wea sword hem changem wei for iusim tingting for muvim man for kamap Christian, and olketa bigman bilong religion wea garem hae title and wea aftarem paoa nomoa changem olketa hambol preacher bilong first century. (Matthew 23:9, 10; 28:19, 20) Man for raetem history, H. G. Wells, hem raet abaotem “olketa bigfala difren midolwan” mek-foa century Christian Wei “and datfala teaching bilong Jesus bilong Nazareth.” Olketa “bigfala difren” hia affectim tu olketa main teaching abaotem God and Christ.
Changem God
Christ and olketa disaepol bilong hem teachim wei wea “wanfala God datfala Dadi” nomoa hem stap, wea pipol savve long hem thru long nem bilong hem, Jehovah, wea kamap samting olsem 7,000 taem insaed olketa firstfala Bible raeting. (1 Corinthians 8:6; Psalm 83:18) God hem creatim Jesus; Colossians 1:15 insaed Catholic Douay Version bilong Bible sei hem “firstborn bilong evri creation.” So, olsem wan wea God creatim, Jesus talem stret: “Dadi hem hae winim mi.”—John 14:28.
Bat long mek-thri century, samfala bigman bilong religion wea garem big paoa, wea laekem tumas trinity teaching bilong heathen Greek savveman Plato, start for changem God for fitim Trinity idea. Insaed olketa handred year bihaen, disfala teaching apim position bilong Jesus long wei wea no followim Bible for semsem witim God and mekem holy spirit, or paoa, bilong God for olsem wanfala man.
Abaotem wei wea church acceptim heathen idea bilong Trinity, New Catholic Encyclopedia hem sei: “Disfala idea ‘wanfala God insaed thrifala Man’ hem no garem strongfala faondeson, hem nating insaed Christian laef and faith, bifor end bilong mek-4 century. Bat disfala idea nao hem first wan wea savve garem disfala title Trinity teaching. Midolwan olketa firstfala man wea raet for church, nating eniting showaot olketa garem kaen tingting or idea olsem.”
Olsem tu, The Encyclopedia Americana hem sei: “Trinity teaching bilong mek-foa century hem no followim teaching bilong olketa firstfala Christian abaotem God; hem go difren from datfala teaching.” The Oxford Companion to the Bible hem kolem Trinity wanfala long olketa “change long biliv wea kamap bihaen.” Nomata olsem, no Trinity nomoa hem heathen teaching wea olketa joinim go long church.
Changem Soul
Staka pipol distaem bilivse man garem soul wea kanduit dae wea go ahed for laef bihaen body hem dae. Bat waswe, iu savve hao disfala church teaching tu hem wanfala wea olketa joinim go bihaen? Jesus strongim truth from Bible hao olketa wea dae finis “olketa nating savve long eni samting,” hem olsem olketa sleep. (Ecclesiastes 9:5; John 11:11-13) Man bae laef bak moa thru long resurrection—‘for standap moa’ from sleep bilong dae. (John 5:28, 29) Wanfala soul wea kanduit dae, sapos hem stap, bae no needim resurrection, from hem nating dae.
Jesus hem pruvim Bible teaching abaotem resurrection taem hem resurrectim pipol from dae. Tingim example bilong Lazarus, wea dae for fofala day. Taem Jesus resurrectim hem, Lazarus kamaot from grev olsem man wea laef, wea breath moa. No eni soul wea kanduit dae hem lusim nambawan living long heven for go bak long body bilong Lazarus taem hem wekap. Sapos diswan happen, Jesus no duim eni gud samting long hem taem hem resurrectim hem!—John 11:39, 43, 44.
So, wanem nao startim idea bilong soul wea kanduit dae? The Westminster Dictionary of Christian Theology hem sei disfala idea hem “barava kamaot from olketa Greek teaching and no from samting wea Bible showimaot.” The Jewish Encyclopedia minim olsem: “Datfala biliv hao soul go ahed for laef bihaen body hem dae hem idea nomoa or tingting wea pipol ting raonem winim really faith, and dastawe no eniwea long Holy Scripture hem teachim.”
Planti taem, wanfala laea lead go long narawan, and diswan hem tru for teaching bilong soul wea kanduit dae. Hem openem wei for heathen idea bilong wei for safa for olowe long hellfire.b Bat, Bible talem klia hao “pei bilong sin hem dae”—no wei for safa for olowe. (Romans 6:23) Dastawe taem hem storyim resurrection King James Version hem sei: “Sea givim goolketa wea dae insaed long hem, and dae and hell givim kam olketa wea dae insaed long olketa.” Olsem tu, Douay Bible hem sei “sea . . . and dae and hell givim go olketa wea dae insaed long olketa.” Tru nao, for talem klia, olketa insaed hell olketa dae, ‘sleep,’ olsem Jesus talem.—Revelation 20:13.
Waswe, iu barava biliv teaching bilong wei for safa for olowe hem pullim pipol for klos long God? Nomoa. For tingim diswan hem barava nogud long mind bilong pipol wea followim justice and love! Long narasaed, Bible teachim hao “God hem love” and hao wei for no kaen, nomata long olketa animal, God hem heitim.—1 John 4:8; Proverbs 12:10; Jeremiah 7:31; Jonah 4:11.
Wei for Spoelem “Piksa” Distaem
Wei for changem feis bilong God and Christian Wei go ahed distaem. Wanfala professor bilong religion no longtaem go nomoa storyim faet insaed Protestant church bilong hem olsem faet “midolwan long paoa and biliv bilong Bible and paoa bilong tingting wea difren and wea kam from man, midolwan long wei for faithful long paoa bilong Christ and wei for acceptim tingting bilong pipol long datfala taem and changem Christian Wei for followim datwan. Main problem hem: Hu nao disaedem wei bilong church . . . Holy Scripture or main tingting bilong pipol long datfala taem?”
Sorre tumas, luk olsem “tingting bilong pipol” nao evritaem win. Olsem example, hem no secret hao olketa church changem samfala biliv bilong olketa mekem pipol ting long olketa olsem olketa muv ahed and garem open mind. Olketa church free tumas especially saed long fasin, olsem iumi storyim long start bilong firstfala article. Nomata olsem, Bible mekem barava klia hao fornication, adultery, and homosexual fasin hem barava nogud sin long eye bilong God and olketa wea duim kaen sin olsem “bae no kasem kingdom bilong God.”—1 Corinthians 6:9, 10; Matthew 5:27-32; Romans 1:26, 27.
Taem aposol Paul raetem toktok antap, wicked fasin bilong Greek and Roman pipol raonem hem barava tumas nao. Paul savve garem tingting: ‘Hem tru, God burnim Sodom and Gomorrah from barava dirty fasin bilong hem, bat datwan hem 2,000 year bifor! Hem no fitim taem bilong bigfala savve bilong distaem.’ Nomata olsem, Paul nating mek excuse; hem nating willing for spoelem truth bilong Bible.—Galatians 5:19-23.
Luk Go Long Firstfala “Piksa”
Taem hem tok long olketa bigman bilong Jew religion long taem bilong hem, Jesus sei worship bilong olketa hem ‘iusles nomoa, bikos olketa teachim olketa komand bilong man olsem trufala teaching.’ (Matthew 15:9) Olketa bigman hia duim sem samting long Law bilong Jehovah thru long Moses wea olketa bigman bilong Christendom duim, and go ahed for duim, long teaching bilong Christ—olketa splasem “paint” bilong kastom ovarem truth from God. Bat Jesus aotem evri laea samting for helpem pipol wea garem honest heart. (Mark 7:7-13) Jesus talem truth, nomata pipol laekem or nomoa. Word bilong God nao hem evritaem faondeson for teaching bilong hem.—John 17:17.
Jesus showimaot hem barava difren from staka wea sei olketa Christian! Tru nao, Bible talem finis: “Pipol bae wantem tumas niu samting and kolektem . . . olketa teacher wea followim mind bilong olketa seleva; and then, winim wei for lisin long truth, olketa bae tan go long olketa kastom story.” (2 Timothy 4:3, 4, The Jerusalem Bible) Olketa “kastom story” hia, wea iumi storyim samfala finis, olketa spoelem man long spiritual wei, bat truth from Word bilong God hem buildimap man, and hem lead go long laef olowe. Diswan nao truth wea Olketa Jehovah’s Witness encouragem iu for chekim gud.—John 4:24; 8:32; 17:3.
[Olketa Footnote]
a Olsem Jesus showimaot thru long tokpiksa abaotem wheat and rabis grass and insaed tokpiksa bilong hem abaotem road wea big tumas and taet (Matthew 7:13, 14), samfala bae followim tru Christian Wei insaed olketa year bihaen. Nomata olsem, namba bilong wheat hem smol nomoa sapos iu markem witim rabis grass wea staka, wea olketa bae apim olketa seleva and sei teaching bilong olketa nao hem tru feis bilong Christian Wei. Diswan nao feis disfala article story abaotem.
b “Hell” hem transleison bilong Hebrew word Sheol and Greek word Hades, wea tufala evriwan minim “grev.” Dastawe, nomata olketa wea transleitem King James Version transleitem Sheol 31 taem olsem “hell,” olketa transleitem 31 taem tu olsem “grev” and 3 taem olsem “hol,” wea showaot olketa evriwan minim sem samting nomoa.
[Piksa long page 7]
Thru long pablik ministry bilong olketa, Olketa Jehovah’s Witness leadim pipol go long Word bilong God, Bible
[Piksa Credit Line long page 4]
Mek-thri from leftsaed: United Nations/Photo by Saw Lwin