Oath of Poverty?

The New Testament says (in multiple places) that the wealthy are not going to reach heaven.

However, the OLD TESTAMENT SEEMS TO CONDONE WEALTH. (and tithes, charity)

GIVE (everything?) TO THE POOR
Matthew 19
  16And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?
  17And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.
  18He saith unto him, Which? Jesus said, Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness,
  19Honour thy father and thy mother: and, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
  20The young man saith unto him, All these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet?
  21Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me.
  22But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions.
  23Then said Jesus unto his disciples, Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven.
  24And again I say unto you, 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.
  25When his disciples heard it, they were exceedingly amazed, saying, Who then can be saved?
  26But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.
see also Mark 10:16-18
see also Luke 18:18

CANNOT SERVE GOD AND MONEY
Luke 16
  11If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches?
  12And if ye have not been faithful in that which is another man's, who shall give you that which is your own?
  13No servant 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. Ye cannot serve God and *mammon.
*mammon = wealth
see also Matthew 6:23-25

LOVE OF MONEY IS THE ROOT OF ALL EVIL
1 Timothy 6
  6But godliness with contentment is great gain.
  7For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out.
  8And having food and raiment let us be therewith content.
  9But 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.
  10For 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.
  11But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness.
  12Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses.

ANANIAS HELD BACK MONEY AND DIED ON THE SPOT
Acts 5
  1But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession,
  2And kept back part of the price, his wife also being privy to it, and brought a certain part, and laid it at the apostles' feet.
  3But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land?
  4Whiles it remained, was it not thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart? thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God.
  5And Ananias hearing these words fell down, and gave up the ghost: and great fear came on all them that heard these things.
  6And the young men arose, wound him up, and carried him out, and buried him.
  7And it was about the space of three hours after, when his wife, not knowing what was done, came in.
  8And Peter answered unto her, Tell me whether ye sold the land for so much? And she said, Yea, for so much.
  9Then Peter said unto her, How is it that ye have agreed together to tempt the Spirit of the Lord? behold, the feet of them which have buried thy husband are at the door, and shall carry thee out.
  10Then fell she down straightway at his feet, and yielded up the ghost: and the young men came in, and found her dead, and, carrying her forth, buried her by her husband.
  11And great fear came upon all the church, and upon as many as heard these things.

Good LORD! If this is the only way then I don't know how anybody's gonna get to heaven. I'll pray and ask if the LORD if he wanted only the first disciples to walk that way, or if it was planned for EVERY Christian. Well. Can you imagine living life that way?

Matthew 10

  5These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not:
  6But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
  7And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand.
  8Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give.
  9Provide neither gold, nor silver, nor brass in your purses,
  10Nor scrip for your journey, neither two coats, neither shoes, nor yet staves: for the workman is worthy of his meat.
  11And into whatsoever city or town ye shall enter, enquire who in it is worthy; and there abide till ye go thence.
  12And when ye come into an house, salute it.
  13And if the house be worthy, let your peace come upon it: but if it be not worthy, let your peace return to you.
  14And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words, when ye depart out of that house or city, shake off the dust of your feet.
  15Verily I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrha in the day of judgment, than for that city.
  16Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.
  17But beware of men: for they will deliver you up to the councils, and they will scourge you in their synagogues;
  18And ye shall be brought before governors and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them and the Gentiles.
  19But when they deliver you up, take no thought how or what ye shall speak: for it shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak.
  20For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you.
  21And the brother shall deliver up the brother to death, and the father the child: and the children shall rise up against their parents, and cause them to be put to death.
  22And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved.
  23But when they persecute you in this city, flee ye into another: for verily I say unto you, Ye shall not have gone over the cities of Israel, till the Son of man be come.
  24The disciple is not above his master, nor the servant above his lord.
  25It is enough for the disciple that he be as his master, and the servant as his lord. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more shall they call them of his household?
  26Fear them not therefore: for there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; and hid, that shall not be known.
  27What I tell you in darkness, that speak ye in light: and what ye hear in the ear, that preach ye upon the housetops.
  28And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
  29Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father.
  30But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.
  31Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows.
  32Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven.
  33But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.
  34Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword.
  35For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law.
  36And a man's foes shall be they of his own household.
  37He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.
  38And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me.
  39He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.
  40He that receiveth you receiveth me, and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me.

JESUS SAID LIVE ACCORDING TO THESE GUIDELINES:

love your enemy,
always forgive,
never retaliate,
never judge one another,
give what is asked of you, and then some,
Spread the Word,
love your neighbor as yourself,
keep the commandments, keep faith,
and love the LORD with all your heart, all your mind and all your soul.

THE GOOD SAMARITAN
  25And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?
  26He said unto him, What is written in the law? how readest thou?
  27And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself.
  28And he said unto him, Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live.
  29But he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbour?
  30And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead.
  31And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.
  32And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side.
  33But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him,
  34And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him.
  35And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee.
  36Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves?
  37And he said, He that shewed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise.

AND BY THESE MEANS
ask and ye shall receive,
knock and it shall be opened to you,
what is asked in Jesus' name and it will be given,
faith can move mountains, with GOD all things are possible.

Specifics of the Gospel:
Around the time of 0 AD, The LORD was looking for someone to fill the role of "sacrificial lamb" for man kind. He looked over the entire earth and didn't find even ONE person who was pure enough to fill the role. So he sent his holy spirit to the womb of the virgin Mary, and Jesus Christ was conceived.

MIRACLES
Christ lived for about 33 years; In the time he was on the earth he performed miracles such as: feeding 5000 people with a single basket of loaves and fishes, curing blindness, curing leprosy, curing those who couldn't walk, raising the dead, walking on water, transforming water into wine, casting out of demons and devils. He fulfilled every single prophecy of the messiah, and there WERE MANY prophecies of his arrival, some of them quite specific.

Christ was killed by means of Crucifixion: nailed to a cross and suspended from his nailed hands and feet; those who are crucified eventually die of asphyxiation. His body was laid into a tomb, and a heavy stone was rolled over the front; 3 days later Christ rose from the dead and spoke with his apostles. Then he ascended into heaven and sat at the right hand of the LORD, the Almighty, God the Father, the Creator of Heaven and Earth, God of Abraham, of Isaac and of Moses.

The Holy Spirit (aka Holy Ghost) then entered the place in Jerusalem where the apostles were waiting. When the spirit arrived, They were conferred with the ability to speak any language or dialect, to heal others, to cast out demons and devils, to perform all kinds of miracles, etc. And that is how the Church was born.

There is a long and short of the question and of the answer.

The EASIEST account: Salvation occurs when a person accepts the fact that Jesus Christ was the Son of God, and that he died on the cross in order to win forgiveness for the sins of all mankind.

John 3:16-17
"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved."

However, if you read on, you'll see that Jesus instructed his disciples to do considerably more than believe in his sacrifice.

I've Heard some people try to make the claim that since Jesus died on the cross we no longer need to keep the commandments or the law. IT IS SIMPLY NOT TRUE.
Jesus instructed his apostles NOT TO SIN, and he, of all people, knew of the role he was going to fill [with regard to salvation].

Matthew 5
  17Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.
  18For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.
  19Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

Matthew 6:9

  9After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.
  10Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
  11Give us this day our daily bread.
  12And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
  13And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.
  14For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you:
  15But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

**********************

Some people have tried to tell me that Christ IS the Lord. However, I must observe that Jesus MADE the Lord's Prayer, and that it has the words "our father". NOT "your father". THAT means Jesus prayed to the LORD who SENT him. AND THAT, my friends, means Christ WASN'T the Lord, but rather somebody that the LORD sent to help us get salvation.

Furthermore, Christ said in Matthew 10:40, "He that receiveth you receiveth me, and HE THAT RECEIVETH ME RECEIVETH HIM THAT SENT ME." That further indicates that Christ and GOD are NOT the same thing, but rather that GOD SENT CHRIST.

THAT is why I specify that I pray to the LORD, the ALMIGHTY FATHER IN HEAVEN, the creator of Heaven and Earth, the God of Abraham, and Isaac, of Moses and of Joshua, and FATHER of Jesus Christ.

The first of the 10 commandments says don't pray to "other gods", and that is why I am so stubborn about it.

Even if Christ and God were the same thing, Satan has a reputation of pretending to be Jesus, and therefore, of the Holy Trinity, praying to the Heavenly FATHER, God the Almighty, and NOT to Jesus would secure a person from accepting a false Christ as their Lord.

It means I accept Christ as the savior, whom the LORD sent for the purpose of winning redemption, but I do not accept Christ as the LORD. I have too many questions about the relationship between the Father, Son and Holy Ghost to accept it any other way.

The best way to look at it is "If God and Christ are the same, then praying to God IS praying to Christ, but if they're NOT, then praying to GOD is making sure that you don't break the first commandment."

This Sermon has always seemed useful to me, but I cannot claim to fully understand portions of it.

From Matthew 5, the Sermon on the Mount

  3Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
  4Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.
  5Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.
  6Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.
  7Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.
  8Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.
  9Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.
  10Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
  11Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.
  12Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.

Psalm 23
  1The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
  2He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.
  3He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
  4Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
  5Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
  6Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.

SOME OLD TESTAMENT RULES:
don't use magic or sorcery
don't use divination, mediums, shamen, tarot or fortune tellers
don't practice homosexuality, bestiality, incest, extramarrital sex, etc.

THE 10 COMMANDMENTS:
don't worship false gods
don't commit idolatry
do not work on the sabbath day, nor your family or servants, etc. that means keep the day sabbath holy;
don't take the LORD's name in vain
don't steal
don't kill
don't give false testimony against your neighbor
don't commit adultery
don't covet your neighbor's house, wife, servants, possessions, animals, etc
honor your father and your mother

OUTSIDE REFERENCE:
The full account of the 10 commandments is here:
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=exodus%2020&version=9

NEED HELP WITH REPENTANCE?
If you cannot repent on your own, PRAY and ask the LORD for help and he will certainly help.

Can a pagan child enter heaven? According to Christian doctrine the answer is NO? Well, if it's true, it's troubling.

But they once told me "God is LOVE." I don't see any reason to ask if the LORD would do something cruel beyond comprehension.

Somewhere along the way I learned to call this apparent paradox "the clash" -- meaning that it is the segment of Christian doctrine which puts the whole religion into a sketchy light.

I cannot help but think about all the people who never heard about Christ, and I DON'T BELIEVE THEY COULD POSSIBLY BE CONDEMNED FOR NEVER HEARING. (or for not believing?)

Perhaps the best way to think of it is from the Sermon on the Mount:

"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for they shall be sheltered."

I'm speculating a little, but I believe ^that^ means if a person doesn't have the wherewithal to see sin and avoid it, and they don't know anything about salvation, or about God, or Spirit, then they will be sheltered..?

THEN you might ask, "well then, ISN'T it BETTER not to KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT IT?"

No, it's not better, because there is more to Christs' teachings that just salvation. There is also the fact that he teaches us to LOVE and FORGIVE one another, even our enemies, and to repent from sin, etc. Making a personal commitment to such things results in a huge boost in the quality life.

Slashdot does not have a category for "religion," or for Christianity.

"Enlightenment" is not the same thing.

Therefore I put the first of these Christian entries under slashdot's "censorship" category, in pseudo-protest.

=P

Well, it certainly doesn't fall under the "Enlightenment" or the "Moon" category.