Post by iris89 on Oct 20, 2011 15:46:37 GMT -5
What Are The Differences Between Mainstream Religions and Monotheistic Bible is the Standard Religions?
There has been much contention with respect just what are the REAL differences between mainstream religions and monotheistic Bible is the standard religions. So let's clear the air so to speak and cut right to the chase or basics with respect this question. First, although let's look at the guiding principle for all monotheistic Bible is the standard Christian religions, 2 Timothy 2:15, "Give diligence to present thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, handling aright the word of truth." (American Standard Version; ASV).
Now let's consider the real and NOT the hyped differences between monotheistic Bible is the standard religions such as the Christedelphians, the Jehovah Witnesses, the IBS, the Church of Bishop Arius (Norge), the Old Brethren, etc. all reject all doctrines accepted by the Council of Nicea of 325 A.D. and the Council of Ephesus of 431 A.D. The Council of Nicea of 325 A.D. was called and followed the bidding of a pagan Roman Emperor, Constantine; Whereas most mainline religions accept all or most of the doctrines spewed forth by this council, the monotheistic Bible is the standard religions accept NONE. Now a quote on this council to give all an understanding about it.
"By the third and fourth centuries, Christians were weary of Pagan persecution. The temptation was to compromise. Besides, the Pagan emperor Constantine needed Christians to salvage his shaky empire. Constantine embraced; howbeit only on his deathbed. However, he saw Christianity as a tool he could use to firm up his shaky empire. To this opportunity for political intrigue, and happy blend of politics and people was the chief triumvirate of Roman gods Jupiter, Juno and Minerva. Jupiter was the principal deity of Roman mythology and Juno was the next highest divinity. Minerva, the "offspring of the brain of Jupiter" was regarded as the "personification of divine thought, the plan of the material universe of which Jupiter was the creator and Juno the representative" (26). Many Pagan ideas, in fact, were incorporated into Christianity. "Christianity did not destroy paganism; it adopted it" (*26).
Roman Emperor Constantine needed to make his subjects feel secure if he were to maintain control of the empire; he wanted to rule a unified empire, be it pagan and/or Christian. But first he would have to find a way to end the dispute over the divinity of Jesus-was he a man or God? So he ordered his Christian bishops to meet at Nicaea in 325 A.D. to settle the matter once and for all. To do this, "he made himself the head of the church, and thus the problems of the church became his responsibilities. As a whole the Western Empire with its Roman influence, with some exceptions, had accepted Tertullian and his new theory of the Trinity in the early part of the previous century, but in the East the church adhered more closely to the older formula of baptism in the name of Jesus, or Jesus the Christ. Especially was this true with the Armenians, who specified that baptism "into the death of Christ" was that which alone was essential (*28) .
Now let's see how Constantine got the Trinity. As previously shown, The Roman Empire at this time was being torn apart by religious differences between pagans, mostly Sun God worshippers, and Christianity. Constantine the Emporer was a worshipper of the Unconquered Sun, but he was a very pragmatic individual and saw the need to bring religious unity to his empire. The central doctrine of the pagans was the dogma of a Trinity that they had received from earlier pagans in Babylon (Chaldea). In this, the pagan Emperor, Constantine, saw a possibility for unifying his empire if he could only lead the majority of the Christians to accept a Trinity or a Duality. He knew however that he had to make them think it was their own idea. To this end, he, the Roman emperor Constantine summoned all bishops to Nicaea, about 300, but even though it was the emperor's direction, only a fraction actually attended.
This council went on for a very long time and the emperor worked behind the scene to get support for a Trinity or a Duality. This effort was not completely successful, but finally he got a majority and declared under imperial degree
that this hence forth would be the central doctrinal pillar of the Christian church, which by this time was apostate. Even with this declaration by the emperor himself not all bishops signed the creed. (*29).
So is was the political product of an apostate church, an apostate church that allowed a pagan Roman Emporer, Constantine, to tell it which dogma to accept at the Council of Nicea in 325 A.D., and then have it rammed down their throats as blessed dogma by another Roman Emporer, Theodosius, at the Council of Constantinople in 381 A.D. This in direct violation of God's (YHWH's) word found in the Bible " Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God." (James 4:4 AV), " If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you." (John 15:19 AV).
Their solution was to create a creed making it illegal for anyone to believe Jesus was not the same as God by inventing the notion of a Trinity. This intellectual tower remained in full force for well over a thousand years, until the Reformation. (*29)." [Discourse on Mainstream Religion by Iris the Preacher, for more information see the starting post on the The Endless Dogmatic Scourge of the World thread.].
Most mainline religions accept all or most of the doctrines that came out of this Council and that of Ephesus with the salient ones being:
The Trinity and its concomitant connected celebrations such as Christmas.
That Sunday is the Sabbath whereas God (YHWH) declared Saturday was [note, this has nothing to do with the day of the week religious services are held].
The ever virginity of Mary which clearly goes against Matthew 1:24-25, "And Joseph arose from his sleep, and did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and took unto him his wife; 25 and knew her not till she had brought forth a son: and he called his name JESUS." (ASV).
The genius or worship of the Emperor or the state.
That the Bible is not the sole source of truth.
The Mother of God doctrine of the Council of Ephesus in 431 A.D.
The liturgical year of the apostate church.
The superiority of the Church hierarchy over others.
Now all of the monotheistic Bible is the Standard Christian groups accept only the written word of God (YHWH) as the ultimate standard with special emphasis on: (all from the American Standard Version; ASV).
John 3:17, "For God sent not the Son into the world to judge the world; but that the world should be saved through him." (ASV)
John 3:3, "Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except one be born anew, he cannot see the kingdom of God." (see also 1 Corinthians 15:50).
John 14:6, "Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, and the truth, and the life: no one cometh unto the Father, but by me".
Matthew 6:33, "But seek ye first his kingdom, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you."
Matthew 24:14, "And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world for a testimony unto all the nations; and then shall the end come".
1 Corinthians 3:19, "For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, He that taketh the wise in their craftiness:"
1 Peter 1:14-16, "as children of obedience, not fashioning yourselves according to your former lusts in [the time of] your ignorance: 15 but like as he who called you is holy, be ye yourselves also holy in all manner of living; 16 because it is written, Ye shall be holy; for I am holy."
1 Peter 4:3-4, "For the time past may suffice to have wrought the desire of the Gentiles, and to have walked in lasciviousness, lusts, winebibbings, revellings, carousings, and abominable idolatries: 4 wherein they think strange that ye run not with [them] into the same excess of riot, speaking evil of [of]: "
Romans 8:14-17, "For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. 15 For ye received not the spirit of bondage again unto fear; but ye received the spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. 16 The Spirit himself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are children of God: 17 and if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with [him], that we may be also glorified with [him]. "
Matthew 28:19-20, "Go ye therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit: 20 teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I commanded you: and lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world."
John 6:39-40, "And this is the will of him that sent me, that of all that which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day. 40 For this is the will of my Father, that every one that beholdeth the Son, and believeth on him, should have eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day."
James 4:11-12, "Speak not one against another, brethren. He that speaketh against a brother, or judgeth his brother, speaketh against the law, and judgeth the law: but if thou judgest the law, thou art not a doer of the law, but a judge. 12 One [only] is the lawgiver and judge, [even] he who is able to save and to destroy: but who art thou that judgest thy neighbor?"
Matthew 23:13-23, "But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye shut the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye enter not in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering in to enter. 14 [Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows' houses, even while for a pretence ye make long prayers: therefore ye shall receive greater condemnation.] 15 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte; and when he is become so, ye make him twofold more a son of hell than yourselves. 16 Woe unto you, ye blind guides, that say, Whosoever shall swear by the temple, it is nothing; but whosoever shall swear by the gold of the temple, he is a debtor. 17 Ye fools and blind: for which is greater, the gold, or the temple that hath sanctified the gold? 18 And, Whosoever shall swear by the altar, it is nothing; but whosoever shall swear by the gift that is upon it, he is a debtor. 19 Ye blind: for which is greater, the gift, or the altar that sanctifieth the gift? 20 He therefore that sweareth by the altar, sweareth by it, and by all things thereon. 21 And he that sweareth by the temple, sweareth by it, and by him that dwelleth therein. 22 And he that sweareth by the heaven, sweareth by the throne of God, and by him that sitteth thereon. 23 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye tithe mint and anise and cummin, and have left undone the weightier matters of the law, justice, and mercy, and faith: but these ye ought to have done, and not to have left the other undone."
1 John 4:3, "and every spirit that confesseth not Jesus is not of God: and this is the [spirit] of the antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it cometh; and now it is in the world already.
Revelation 3:14, "And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write: These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God:
All these monotheistic Bible is the Standard Christian groups reject all the apostate baggage of the Council of Nicea 325 A.D. and the Council of Ephesus of 431 A.D.; whereas, all mainline groups accept most of it. Foremost is the rejection of the Trinity as false doctrine of men, but this in no way means the rejection of the divinity of Jesus (Yeshua). In fact, all these monotheistic Bible is the Standard Christian groups declare this fact and that his Father (YHWH) has given all judging onto his Son, Jesus (Yeshua) as shown by Matthew 25:31-32, "But when the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the angels with him, then shall he sit on the throne of his glory: 32 and before him shall be gathered all the nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as the shepherd separateth the sheep from the goats;" (ASV).
In fact, all criticism of these groups is due to what is stated at 1 Peter 4:3-4, "For the time past may suffice to have wrought the desire of the Gentiles, and to have walked in lasciviousness, lusts, winebibbings, revellings, carousings, and abominable idolatries: 4 wherein they think strange that ye run not with [them] into the same excess of riot, speaking evil of [of]: " (ASV)
In summary, Isaiah 5:20, says it all, "For the time past may suffice to have wrought the desire of the Gentiles, and to have walked in lasciviousness, lusts, winebibbings, revellings, carousings, and abominable idolatries:" (ASV)
Thus the difference between so called mainstream Christian religions is that asking what doctrine or belief one has is a legitimate question as it depends on what the denomination accepts or rejects of the false doctrines adopted at the Council of Nicea and/or of Ephesus; Whereas, it is a defective question when asked of a monotheistic Bible is the Standard Christian groups for whom the Bible is the only standard. To these groups, one should ask what does the Bible say as this is their only theology. They follow Romans 12:1-2, "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, [which is] your spiritual service. 2 And be not fashioned according to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, and ye may prove what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God." (ASV).
REFERENCES:
*26 - McClintock & Strong's Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological, and Ecclesiastical Literature, Vol. 6
*27 - Lamson, Newton & Durant, Will, "Caesar and Christ," cited from Charles Redeker Caesar and Christ, W. Duran (page 595).
*28 - ENCYLOPEDIA BRITANNICA, 11th Edition, Vol. 3, (page 366).
*29 - Payne, Robert, "The Holy Fire: The Story of the Early Centuries of the Christian Churches in the Near East" (1957); BETHUNE-BAKER, J,F. "An Introduction to the Early History of Christian Doctrine". Methuen; 5th Ed., 1933 and ENCYLOPEDIA BRITANNICA, 11th Edition, Vol. 3, (page 366); David, Francis and Blandrata, Georgio, "De falsa et vera unius Dei Patris, Filii, et Spiritus Sancti cognitone" [Latin](The False and True Knowledge of the Unity of God the Father, Son, and Holy spirit), 1566 A.D.; Eklof, Todd F., "David's Francis Tower, Strength through Peace," (06-16-02); The New Encyclopedia Britannica: " Micropædia, Vol. X, p. 126. (1976); Parkes, James, "The Foundation of Judaism and Christianity," 1960; Durant, Will. "Caesar and Christ." New York: Simon. 1944. Vol. 3 of The Story of Civilization. 11 vols. 1935-75.
Your Friend in Christ Iris89
There has been much contention with respect just what are the REAL differences between mainstream religions and monotheistic Bible is the standard religions. So let's clear the air so to speak and cut right to the chase or basics with respect this question. First, although let's look at the guiding principle for all monotheistic Bible is the standard Christian religions, 2 Timothy 2:15, "Give diligence to present thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, handling aright the word of truth." (American Standard Version; ASV).
Now let's consider the real and NOT the hyped differences between monotheistic Bible is the standard religions such as the Christedelphians, the Jehovah Witnesses, the IBS, the Church of Bishop Arius (Norge), the Old Brethren, etc. all reject all doctrines accepted by the Council of Nicea of 325 A.D. and the Council of Ephesus of 431 A.D. The Council of Nicea of 325 A.D. was called and followed the bidding of a pagan Roman Emperor, Constantine; Whereas most mainline religions accept all or most of the doctrines spewed forth by this council, the monotheistic Bible is the standard religions accept NONE. Now a quote on this council to give all an understanding about it.
"By the third and fourth centuries, Christians were weary of Pagan persecution. The temptation was to compromise. Besides, the Pagan emperor Constantine needed Christians to salvage his shaky empire. Constantine embraced; howbeit only on his deathbed. However, he saw Christianity as a tool he could use to firm up his shaky empire. To this opportunity for political intrigue, and happy blend of politics and people was the chief triumvirate of Roman gods Jupiter, Juno and Minerva. Jupiter was the principal deity of Roman mythology and Juno was the next highest divinity. Minerva, the "offspring of the brain of Jupiter" was regarded as the "personification of divine thought, the plan of the material universe of which Jupiter was the creator and Juno the representative" (26). Many Pagan ideas, in fact, were incorporated into Christianity. "Christianity did not destroy paganism; it adopted it" (*26).
Roman Emperor Constantine needed to make his subjects feel secure if he were to maintain control of the empire; he wanted to rule a unified empire, be it pagan and/or Christian. But first he would have to find a way to end the dispute over the divinity of Jesus-was he a man or God? So he ordered his Christian bishops to meet at Nicaea in 325 A.D. to settle the matter once and for all. To do this, "he made himself the head of the church, and thus the problems of the church became his responsibilities. As a whole the Western Empire with its Roman influence, with some exceptions, had accepted Tertullian and his new theory of the Trinity in the early part of the previous century, but in the East the church adhered more closely to the older formula of baptism in the name of Jesus, or Jesus the Christ. Especially was this true with the Armenians, who specified that baptism "into the death of Christ" was that which alone was essential (*28) .
Now let's see how Constantine got the Trinity. As previously shown, The Roman Empire at this time was being torn apart by religious differences between pagans, mostly Sun God worshippers, and Christianity. Constantine the Emporer was a worshipper of the Unconquered Sun, but he was a very pragmatic individual and saw the need to bring religious unity to his empire. The central doctrine of the pagans was the dogma of a Trinity that they had received from earlier pagans in Babylon (Chaldea). In this, the pagan Emperor, Constantine, saw a possibility for unifying his empire if he could only lead the majority of the Christians to accept a Trinity or a Duality. He knew however that he had to make them think it was their own idea. To this end, he, the Roman emperor Constantine summoned all bishops to Nicaea, about 300, but even though it was the emperor's direction, only a fraction actually attended.
This council went on for a very long time and the emperor worked behind the scene to get support for a Trinity or a Duality. This effort was not completely successful, but finally he got a majority and declared under imperial degree
that this hence forth would be the central doctrinal pillar of the Christian church, which by this time was apostate. Even with this declaration by the emperor himself not all bishops signed the creed. (*29).
So is was the political product of an apostate church, an apostate church that allowed a pagan Roman Emporer, Constantine, to tell it which dogma to accept at the Council of Nicea in 325 A.D., and then have it rammed down their throats as blessed dogma by another Roman Emporer, Theodosius, at the Council of Constantinople in 381 A.D. This in direct violation of God's (YHWH's) word found in the Bible " Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God." (James 4:4 AV), " If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you." (John 15:19 AV).
Their solution was to create a creed making it illegal for anyone to believe Jesus was not the same as God by inventing the notion of a Trinity. This intellectual tower remained in full force for well over a thousand years, until the Reformation. (*29)." [Discourse on Mainstream Religion by Iris the Preacher, for more information see the starting post on the The Endless Dogmatic Scourge of the World thread.].
Most mainline religions accept all or most of the doctrines that came out of this Council and that of Ephesus with the salient ones being:
The Trinity and its concomitant connected celebrations such as Christmas.
That Sunday is the Sabbath whereas God (YHWH) declared Saturday was [note, this has nothing to do with the day of the week religious services are held].
The ever virginity of Mary which clearly goes against Matthew 1:24-25, "And Joseph arose from his sleep, and did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and took unto him his wife; 25 and knew her not till she had brought forth a son: and he called his name JESUS." (ASV).
The genius or worship of the Emperor or the state.
That the Bible is not the sole source of truth.
The Mother of God doctrine of the Council of Ephesus in 431 A.D.
The liturgical year of the apostate church.
The superiority of the Church hierarchy over others.
Now all of the monotheistic Bible is the Standard Christian groups accept only the written word of God (YHWH) as the ultimate standard with special emphasis on: (all from the American Standard Version; ASV).
John 3:17, "For God sent not the Son into the world to judge the world; but that the world should be saved through him." (ASV)
John 3:3, "Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except one be born anew, he cannot see the kingdom of God." (see also 1 Corinthians 15:50).
John 14:6, "Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, and the truth, and the life: no one cometh unto the Father, but by me".
Matthew 6:33, "But seek ye first his kingdom, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you."
Matthew 24:14, "And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world for a testimony unto all the nations; and then shall the end come".
1 Corinthians 3:19, "For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, He that taketh the wise in their craftiness:"
1 Peter 1:14-16, "as children of obedience, not fashioning yourselves according to your former lusts in [the time of] your ignorance: 15 but like as he who called you is holy, be ye yourselves also holy in all manner of living; 16 because it is written, Ye shall be holy; for I am holy."
1 Peter 4:3-4, "For the time past may suffice to have wrought the desire of the Gentiles, and to have walked in lasciviousness, lusts, winebibbings, revellings, carousings, and abominable idolatries: 4 wherein they think strange that ye run not with [them] into the same excess of riot, speaking evil of [of]: "
Romans 8:14-17, "For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. 15 For ye received not the spirit of bondage again unto fear; but ye received the spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. 16 The Spirit himself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are children of God: 17 and if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with [him], that we may be also glorified with [him]. "
Matthew 28:19-20, "Go ye therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit: 20 teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I commanded you: and lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world."
John 6:39-40, "And this is the will of him that sent me, that of all that which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day. 40 For this is the will of my Father, that every one that beholdeth the Son, and believeth on him, should have eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day."
James 4:11-12, "Speak not one against another, brethren. He that speaketh against a brother, or judgeth his brother, speaketh against the law, and judgeth the law: but if thou judgest the law, thou art not a doer of the law, but a judge. 12 One [only] is the lawgiver and judge, [even] he who is able to save and to destroy: but who art thou that judgest thy neighbor?"
Matthew 23:13-23, "But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye shut the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye enter not in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering in to enter. 14 [Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows' houses, even while for a pretence ye make long prayers: therefore ye shall receive greater condemnation.] 15 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte; and when he is become so, ye make him twofold more a son of hell than yourselves. 16 Woe unto you, ye blind guides, that say, Whosoever shall swear by the temple, it is nothing; but whosoever shall swear by the gold of the temple, he is a debtor. 17 Ye fools and blind: for which is greater, the gold, or the temple that hath sanctified the gold? 18 And, Whosoever shall swear by the altar, it is nothing; but whosoever shall swear by the gift that is upon it, he is a debtor. 19 Ye blind: for which is greater, the gift, or the altar that sanctifieth the gift? 20 He therefore that sweareth by the altar, sweareth by it, and by all things thereon. 21 And he that sweareth by the temple, sweareth by it, and by him that dwelleth therein. 22 And he that sweareth by the heaven, sweareth by the throne of God, and by him that sitteth thereon. 23 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye tithe mint and anise and cummin, and have left undone the weightier matters of the law, justice, and mercy, and faith: but these ye ought to have done, and not to have left the other undone."
1 John 4:3, "and every spirit that confesseth not Jesus is not of God: and this is the [spirit] of the antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it cometh; and now it is in the world already.
Revelation 3:14, "And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write: These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God:
All these monotheistic Bible is the Standard Christian groups reject all the apostate baggage of the Council of Nicea 325 A.D. and the Council of Ephesus of 431 A.D.; whereas, all mainline groups accept most of it. Foremost is the rejection of the Trinity as false doctrine of men, but this in no way means the rejection of the divinity of Jesus (Yeshua). In fact, all these monotheistic Bible is the Standard Christian groups declare this fact and that his Father (YHWH) has given all judging onto his Son, Jesus (Yeshua) as shown by Matthew 25:31-32, "But when the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the angels with him, then shall he sit on the throne of his glory: 32 and before him shall be gathered all the nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as the shepherd separateth the sheep from the goats;" (ASV).
In fact, all criticism of these groups is due to what is stated at 1 Peter 4:3-4, "For the time past may suffice to have wrought the desire of the Gentiles, and to have walked in lasciviousness, lusts, winebibbings, revellings, carousings, and abominable idolatries: 4 wherein they think strange that ye run not with [them] into the same excess of riot, speaking evil of [of]: " (ASV)
In summary, Isaiah 5:20, says it all, "For the time past may suffice to have wrought the desire of the Gentiles, and to have walked in lasciviousness, lusts, winebibbings, revellings, carousings, and abominable idolatries:" (ASV)
Thus the difference between so called mainstream Christian religions is that asking what doctrine or belief one has is a legitimate question as it depends on what the denomination accepts or rejects of the false doctrines adopted at the Council of Nicea and/or of Ephesus; Whereas, it is a defective question when asked of a monotheistic Bible is the Standard Christian groups for whom the Bible is the only standard. To these groups, one should ask what does the Bible say as this is their only theology. They follow Romans 12:1-2, "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, [which is] your spiritual service. 2 And be not fashioned according to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, and ye may prove what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God." (ASV).
REFERENCES:
*26 - McClintock & Strong's Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological, and Ecclesiastical Literature, Vol. 6
*27 - Lamson, Newton & Durant, Will, "Caesar and Christ," cited from Charles Redeker Caesar and Christ, W. Duran (page 595).
*28 - ENCYLOPEDIA BRITANNICA, 11th Edition, Vol. 3, (page 366).
*29 - Payne, Robert, "The Holy Fire: The Story of the Early Centuries of the Christian Churches in the Near East" (1957); BETHUNE-BAKER, J,F. "An Introduction to the Early History of Christian Doctrine". Methuen; 5th Ed., 1933 and ENCYLOPEDIA BRITANNICA, 11th Edition, Vol. 3, (page 366); David, Francis and Blandrata, Georgio, "De falsa et vera unius Dei Patris, Filii, et Spiritus Sancti cognitone" [Latin](The False and True Knowledge of the Unity of God the Father, Son, and Holy spirit), 1566 A.D.; Eklof, Todd F., "David's Francis Tower, Strength through Peace," (06-16-02); The New Encyclopedia Britannica: " Micropædia, Vol. X, p. 126. (1976); Parkes, James, "The Foundation of Judaism and Christianity," 1960; Durant, Will. "Caesar and Christ." New York: Simon. 1944. Vol. 3 of The Story of Civilization. 11 vols. 1935-75.
Your Friend in Christ Iris89