Thursday, June 19, 2025

Welcome to "The ARC" Chat/Video Forum!

"The ARC" Chat/Video Forum exists to Build the ARC – Agape Restoration Communities, to promote practical cooperation between like-minded Evangelical Protestant, Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic Christians. The shared doctrines found in the basic Christian Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed (Filioque open) form the basis for this online group to work together on joint efforts in practical spheres such as caring for orphans, the poor, elderly, and people with disabilities, and providing a forum to promote the open exchange of information between Christians who in faith confess and accept others who also affirm this Creed as genuinely seeking to be disciples of Christ.

To JOIN "The ARC" (Agape Restoration Communities) Chat/Video Forum, please read the Guidelines below. If you agree to them, and send us your contact info in the form below so we can add you to this Forum. We're now using a Teams group. Microsoft's Teams is a free, all-in-one app that's easy to use: you can join our "live" group video calls that we will announce from time to time, when the moderator starts a group video call with other members. Or you can select the "Chat" area for text messaging our group *anytime* when members don't have to all be online at the same time.

Guidelines:

Traditional Evangelical Protestant, Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic Christians hold much in common such as belief in the Trinity, the inspiration of the Bible and its teachings on Christian sexual morality and the sanctity of human life, belief in the doctrines in the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed, and the need to demonstrate that our faith works through agape-love. Genuine faith must produce fruit, good works – look at all the Scripture texts that show Living Faith That Works.

Divine revelation, supremely in Jesus Christ and also in Scripture, means that an Absolute and Truth exist. Therefore we reject the notion that religious tolerance implies relativism, even if we don't agree on secondary points of doctrine. There are serious theological differences between Evangelical Protestant, Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic Christians. While Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic Christians believe that their respective confessions constitute the visible one, holy, catholic and Apostolic Church described in the Nicene Creed, Evangelical Protestant Christians regard their denominations as valid expressions of an invisible, universal Church, the Body of Christ.

But we believe it is possible, in a forum such as this, to practice genuine Christian love and find ways to cooperate on charitable and practical levels without proselytizing, attacking or denigrating each other, to discuss both what we have in common and our differences without rancour or bitterness, and to learn more about each other's Christian faith. We will leave it to the professional theologians and various confessions' hierarchies to iron out theological differences and hopefully someday lead us to visible unity, but meanwhile we at "the grass-roots level" must work out our faith in agape-love (Galatians 5:6) to each other and to our needy neighbors in the world.

The disciple John once told Jesus – "Master, we saw someone casting out demons in Your name, and we forbade him, because he doesn't follow with us." Jesus said to him, "Don't forbid him, for he who is not against us is for us." Then both James and John said – "Lord, do You want us to command fire to come down from heaven, and destroy them, just as Elijah did?" But He turned and rebuked them, "You don't know of what kind of spirit you are. For the Son of Man didn't come to destroy men's lives, but to save them" (Luke 9:49-56).

So as sincere followers of Christ, rather than arguing, we will strive to "speak the truth in love" (Ephesians 4:15) and practice the dual test of faith, which is truth combined with agape-love, as in 1 John 4:2 and 7-8 - "By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God.... Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love."

The consensus among Evangelical Protestant scholars and sociologists is that Evangelicalism is a term which pertains to all those Christians who agree on the following five points:

1. The pre-eternal divinity and majesty of Jesus Christ, both as incarnate God and Lord, and as the Savior of sinful humanity.

2. The need for personal repentance, conversion, leading lives of chastity and moderation, and daily following Jesus Christ.

3. The full divinity of the Holy Spirit and His ministry in the life of each believer.

4. The divine inspiration and authority of Scripture as the primary source of knowledge about God and as the guide for the Christian life.

5. The priority of evangelism by both individual Christians and the Church as a whole.

To the above five points, we add that the Evangelical Protestants in "The ARC" Chat/Video Forum shall personally affirm the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed, regard highly the writings Early Church Fathers (for example, see the book The True Christian Faith, written in the 8th century by St. John Damascus at the time when the Church was united in East and West) as valuable sources for understanding the Scriptures and the practices of the early Church, and strive to work together harmoniously with Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic Christians at levels short of shared communion and clergy.

We accept Evangelical Protestant, Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic Christians in "The ARC" Chat/Video Forum who believe in Jesus Christ as God Incarnate, as Savior and Lord of their life, who may believe that their respective churches are part of the one true Church but acknowledge that there are some who are in Christ who, although not within the visible Church, are linked to Her by bonds that are not yet revealed. As some Orthodox theologians have said – "We know where the Church is, but we do not know where the Church is not." Fr. Aleksandr Borisov, head of the Russian Bible Society and member of our board when we were Evangelical missionaries in Russia, told me as we were considering becoming Orthodox – "If you believe in the Nicene Creed, you're already [potentially] Orthodox!"

These Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic Christians will strive to work together harmoniously with our Evangelical Protestant fellow Christian members in our joint social ministry. Each ARC will have a community room/chapel where like-minded people can gather for worship and ministry to the community. A minister from one Christian confession will lead each ARC community, but residence in that community will be open to any and all Christians (and their dependents) who affirm the Nicene Creed, these guidelines, and genuinely seek to be disciples of Christ.

Rom. 14:1-6 and 15:1-7 teach us to exercise tolerance toward others who hold debatable positions. "In primary things unity, in secondary things liberty, and in all things love." Regarding the form of baptism, each person should be convinced in his own mind. Because Eastern Orthodox, Roman Catholics, and some Protestants such as Lutherans, Methodists, Presbyterians and Reformed practice infant baptism, while others such as Baptists, Pentecostals and Adventists baptize only upon personal confession of faith, "The ARC" Chat/Video Forum defines valid baptism to be that which was performed in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and in full agreement with the teachings of an ARS member's church that confesses the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed.

Also, nearly all Christian confessions use various forms of religious art to communicate their faith, and respect and strive to imitate godly people who have gone before them. Most Evangelical Protestants and all Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholics accept the doctrines defined in the first Seven Ecumenical Councils. In accordance with the Seventh Ecumenical Council (Nicea, 787 A.D.), Evangelical Protestant members of this conference agree not to call the use of icons, statues or asking for prayer by the Virgin Mary and the other saints "idolatry" or "false worship"; and Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic members of this forum, in accordance with that Council's decision, will not give worship ("latreia"), but only reverence and respect ("proskunesis") to the saints, holy icons, and statues.

As Evangelical Protestant, Eastern Orthodox, and Roman Catholic fellow Christians, we recognize that we live in pluralistic, multinational cultures which in the 21st century is becoming more closely integrated on the international level, and that narrow ethnocentrism, political or religious nationalism, and ethnic or cultural imperialism breed discord, strife and war. We acknowledge that Evangelical Protestants, Eastern Orthodox, and Roman Catholics each should have the legal right to fully practice their faith in every country. We shall strive for tolerance on the societal level, and seek ways to cooperate with each other on charitable and practical levels. Members of "The ARC" Chat/Video Forum agree to:

Refrain from arguing with, proselytizing, attacking or denigrating each other on this Forum. This includes avoiding the derogatory terms mentioned above or similar terms. "Receive one who is weak in the faith, but not to disputes over doubtful things" (Romans 14:1). As a sincere follower of Christ, strive to "speak the truth in love."

And remember that our Forum's main purpose is to "prepare the saints to do the work of ministry, to the building up of the Body of Christ" (Eph. 4:11-12) – Building the ARC! That's what our chats and video calls should focus on, so don't use this forum for private conversations with other members. If, after joining, you don't agree with these guidelines, please send a separate message to the Forum moderator to remove your Teams name from the Forum.

To JOIN, please go to our web-page Welcome to "The ARC" Chat/Video Forum and fill out your necessary info.)

Our Origins:

This electronic forum sprang out of the fifth annual meeting of the Society for the Study of Eastern Orthodoxy and Evangelicalism (SSEOE) at the Billy Graham Center on Wheaton College campus October 6-7, 1995. For three years, this forum was called the Evang-Orth Conference, was renamed in October 1998 to the Agape-Rehab email forum, and more recently the name was changed to "The ARC" Chat/Video Forum. In November 2011 we moved to Google Groups. In September 2020 we began using Skype, providing instant chat and adding live video. In May 2025, Microsoft transitioned Skype to Teams.

The SSEOE is a conservative Christian "think tank" that serves both the adademy and the church. All members affirm the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed (filioque open). It seeks to identify the similarities and differences between Eastern Orthodox and Evangelicals. Through its annual meetings and published papers, it endeavors to provide theological resources for reconstruction and renewal. In the words of its Constitution, its purpose is:

"To cultivate an academic understanding of the theological histories of the Orthodox and Evangelical traditions and their mutual relations in the areas of history, doctrine, worship and spirituality; to promote fellowship and mutual enrichment among scholars engaged in these activities; and to coordinate the work of such theologians in North America and abroad."

The SSEOE was begun in 1990 at the initiative of an Eastern Orthodox theologian along with several other young Eastern Orthodox and Evangelical Protestant scholars. All had personal and academic experience with both traditions. Convinced of the need for serious and sustained research in this unexplored territory, they pioneered the SSEOE in hopes of making the theological histories of their traditions known and understood in relation to each other. Their ultimate goal was to enrich their own traditions by removing false barriers which have divided them, while also identifying legitimate differences.

For further information, please contact the SSEOE President and Founder:

Bradley Nassif, Ph.D.
President, SSEOE
blnassif@yahoo.com

You can read the rest of our newsletter at https://agape-restoration-society.org/ARC-News/a-n_2025-06-21.htm, and share it! And create your own blog for less than $1.99 per month!

Friday, June 6, 2025

ARTIFICIAL GENERAL SUPER-INTELLIGENCE COULD ARRIVE BY 2027, SCIENTIST PREDICTS

(← click) Unless you've been asleep for the past few years, you've likely heard lots of buzz about "AI" – Artificial Intelligence. A little less familiar to the general public is the term "AGI" – Artificial General Intelligence. The first, AI, is collecting huge amounts of data on a given subject, such as programming, or physics, or medicine, then loading up a large database with this data in a structured way according to rules of correct grammar and syntax. Such databases have been around for several years for the legal and medical professions, and now, with voice input and output, you can simply ask a question in ordinary English and hear or read the answer, usually quite correct and exact... but it can "hallucinate" or put the data together incorrectly so that the output may sound plausible but is just plain wrong.

But the second term, AGI, is newer, and means collecting even huger amounts of data on a multitude of fields and train the machine with more refined rules so that the output is very precise on any of these multitude of fields and matches the best of expert knowledge of any one human individual in any of these fields, "general" knowledge on many, many topics. But the newest term that's just now popping up is "AGSI" – Artificial General Super-Intelligence. This is such a vast collection of data on every conceivable field of knowledge – virtually all that has been recorded over the course of human history – combined with rules of logic, grammar, and syntax in a multitude of languages, so that you can ask it anything in almost any language and it will reply in that language and in a way superior to any human being in any field of expertise whatsoever. Many AI experts have stated this is decades away, some have predicted it within a decade or so, but the above headline says it's just around the corner, in about 18 to 30 months. Here's a summary of the above article:

"A leading AI expert, Ben Goertzel, predicts artificial general intelligence (AGI) could arrive as early as 2027, evolving rapidly into artificial superintelligence (AGSI or ASI). Goertzel believes human-level AGI is plausible within the next 3-8 years, potentially leading to a rapid intelligence explosion. Others, like Shane Legg and Geoffrey Hinton, have made similar predictions about the timeline for AGI, albeit with varying degrees of confidence. Goertzel emphasizes that recent advancements in large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT have increased the possibility of AGI, but LLMs alone won't create it. Goertzel speculates that once AGI reaches human level, it could quickly become radically more intelligent, potentially leading to a singularity or intelligence explosion. The prediction comes with caveats, noting that AI's 'mind' might not be similar to a human mind, and the technology's development may not follow a linear, isolated path."

Another article, "AGI TO ARRIVE 'MUCH SOONER' THAN IN 2-3 YEARS: SOFTBANK’S MASAYOSHI SON," by the head of Softbank, a leading AI firm, basically implies that AGI may be already here, kept in wraps somewhere. During my time in military intelligence 60 years ago, we were using computers that the outside world didn't even know existed until several years later when IBM introduced them to the business world. So I can easily surmise that right now the government and the intelligence community already have AGSI, they already know almost everything about everything and everyone in the world. What's going on here?

Rod Dreher, in his recent article on Substack, "Tom Cruise Vs. The Anti-God," wrote – "the world is endangered by a super-powerful AI, called 'The Entity,' which has gone rogue, and seeks to exterminate much of humanity and to enslave the survivors." And, of course, Tom Cruise will save the world. It should be obvious to the average Christian that the "Anti-God" is none other than the Antichrist. This indicates how much the Christian idea of a personification of evil has seeped even into mass pop culture. An example from Dreher's article:

"In the opening sequence of the new film, we learn that The Entity has so thoroughly infected and seized control of the global Internet that nobody really knows what truth and reality are anymore – and that the world is headed towards war. It seems that The Entity is manipulating reality – which is to say, narratives about reality – to turn people and nations against each other. Its final task is to infect the arsenals of the world’s nuclear powers, to unleash global Armageddon."

Newsweek online recently ran the article, "Do We Have a Moral Obligation To AI Because of Evolution?" As you might notice, here's another mention of the personification of a machine. But we only can have moral obligations to real persons, not to a machine or an ideology such as evolution. It seems clear that people are beginning to view AI as more than a machine, rather, as a supernatural entity that inhabits a machine.

When something is so complex that most people can't comprehend it, they begin to view it as magic. That "Entity" isn't the machine itself, instead it inhabits it and the smart but godless people using our modern enchantment by technology to control what goes into our minds: millions and millions of people are already addicted to and controlled by their smartphones, and now AI has been added to our phones. If/when those who control this false Wizard-of-Oz-god exterminate humanity, they won't have any people left to maintain the vast computer servers and networks: they didn't ever really need the servers – they're only a mask to hide behind as they seize power to install their transhumanist fantasy to build sandcastles in the sky, to inhabit other planets, solar systems, and galaxies. But if there are no more regular people to pay for these "services," it simply will not happen, the whole system collapses.

Here's the blurb about Against the Machine: On the Unmaking of Humanity, a book that's set to be released this September:

How a force that’s hard to name, but which we all feel, is reshaping what it means to be human.

In Against the Machine, “furiously gifted” (The Washington Post) novelist, poet, and essayist Paul Kingsnorth presents a wholly original—and terrifying—account of the technological-cultural matrix enveloping all of us. With masterful insight into the spiritual and economic roots of techno-capitalism, Kingsnorth reveals how the Machine, in the name of progress, has choked Western civilization, is destroying the Earth itself, and is reshaping us in its image. From the First Industrial Revolution to the rise of artificial intelligence, he shows how the hollowing out of humanity has been a long game—and how your very soul is at stake.

It takes effort to remain truly human in the age of the Machine. Writing in the tradition of Wendell Berry, Jacques Ellul and Simone Weil, Kingsnorth reminds us what humanity requires: a healthy suspicion of entrenched power; connection to land, nature and heritage; and a deep attention to matters of the spirit. Prophetic, poetic, and erudite, Against the Machine is the spiritual manual for dissidents in the technological age.

*~*~*~*~*~*

We absolutely must break our minds and souls free from captivity to "The Machine"! Therefore, let's get back down to earth: "Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchman guards it in vain. It is vain for you to rise up early, to stay up late, eating the bread of toil; for he gives sleep to his loved ones. Behold, children are a heritage of the Lord. The fruit of the womb is his reward. As arrows in the hand of a mighty man, so are the children of youth. Happy is the man who has his quiver full of them. They will not be disappointed when they speak with their enemies in the gate" (Psalm 127). Our only true hope is not from the government, or from technology, or modern socialized medicine, or any of today's "isms" – Our true hope is in the Lord, in His Church, and in His holy Scriptures. As I wrote in the conclusion of HOW TO STOP THE FALLING BIRTH RATE, "with an increasing growth of the conservative Christian population and a decline of the liberal secular humanist population, the birth rate will begin to climb again. Women on average will have more babies, they will not let them be indoctrinated into secular humanism, but will teach them the moral values that will make society prosper again. 'Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth!'"

You can read the rest of our newsletter at https://agape-restoration-society.org/ARC-News/a-n_2025-06-07.htm, and share it! Create your own blog for less than $1.99 per month!

Friday, May 23, 2025

STOP THE FALLING BIRTH RATE

HOW TO STOP THE FALLING BIRTH RATE

In the recent Newsweek article "Japan Could Change Childbirth Rules Amid Efforts to Boost Birth Rates," you'll learn that Japan's government is considering making childbirth free in order to address its declining birth rate, a move recommended by a government panel. The proposed policy shift aims to mitigate the effects of a shrinking and aging population, which is putting pressure on Japan's economy. Currently, families cover much of the childbirth-related medical costs, but the government provides a partial allowance (500,000 yen). These costs have risen significantly, leaving many families with substantial out-of-pocket expenses.

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's administration is working to address the country's demographic crisis, with the proposed reform aiming to fully cover childbirth costs via public health insurance. The Health Ministry is expected to present a draft plan later this year detailing the financial and logistical aspects of the proposal. Implementation, if approved, could start as early as April 2026. The article also included a link (now deleted) to what Kid Rock Blames for Low US Birth Rates.

It's not just in Japan and China, the two countries most often mentioned for their falling birth rates, but right here in the U.S., in Europe, and the birth rate even beginning to fall in Africa. The "Fatherly" website has an article that hits the nail on its head: the decreasing level of practicing the Christian faith: "liberals are not having enough babies to keep up with conservatives." The Pill and abortion are decreasing the liberal population especially, while the conservative population is growing.

Why is the birth rate falling worldwide? Beginning in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the "scientific" worldview of secular materialism started capturing people's minds. If evolution tells us there is no need for a creator God and no eternal life with Him, if all we are is a meaningless heap of fat, muscle, nerve cells, and bones that eventually dies and turns to dust, then there's no point in "archaic" Christian morality. If when you die, there's nothing left – when you're dead, you're dead, that's all. As St. Paul stated – "If the dead are not raised, then 'let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die'" (1 Corinthians 15:32). So let's just stuff our bellies, drink ourselves silly, have lots of drugs and sex, kill any resulting babies, because that's all there is left to do. Don't worry about tomorrow and the falling birth rate, just grab the gusto while you can.

But even from a secular materialist viewpoint of political expediency, something must be done. Society will simply disintegrate if birth rates continue to fall. Developed economies especially are seeing too few new, young workers to replace those "baby boomers" who are now retiring. Will AI take their place? There's no need for robots to make cars or clothes or shoes or grow crops, because car dealerships, clothing, grocery, and shoe stores will go out of business due to not enough customers. There's no need for robots to serve the customers at McDonalds, no need for farmers and ranchers because there are hardly any people left at all. So, what will all the AI robots do, when there's nobody left to be assistants for, or masters over?

The situation, however, is turning around: with an increasing growth of the conservative Christian population and a decline of the liberal secular humanist population, the birth rate will begin to climb again. Women on average will have more babies, they will not let them be indoctrinated into secular humanism, but will teach them the moral values that will make society prosper again. "Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth!"

Read the rest of our newsletter at https://agape-restoration-society.org/ARC-News/a-n_2025-05-24.htm, and share it!

Friday, May 9, 2025

FOOLISH HEARTS ARE DARKENED

The article "Cellphones Cause Abnormal Blood Clumping" tells of abnormal clumps of blood cells forming after just five minutes of having an idle cellphone placed on a woman's leg. Several links in the article underline the risks associated with EMR (ElectroMagnetic Radiation) from the radio frequencies used by smartphones. Up to the present, manufacturers claim that the only risk is the heat produced, like that of a microwave oven. But researchers have now found other risks including changes in cellular division, disruptions in the nervous system, and other risks. Follow the links in the article!

These are just a few of the ways that modern communication technology is changing the ways we think and how we relate to other people. Pre-teen kids seldom play outside with other kids: they're playing games on their phones. Today's teenagers spend on average 5 or 6 hours per day on their phones. That means they're not interacting with their peers or their family in person, face-to-face. Some teens actually text to their parents rather than talking with them in person. The effect of social media has driven some, especially girls, to suicide because of the images of the "ideal" teenage girl, all made-up, slim, and beautiful: how could this ordinary-looking teen girl possibly ever look that pretty? Other chat apps and bots can lead teens do self-harm. And let's not ignore the all-pervasive effect of online porn on so many teenage boys and adult men.

The Apostle Paul describes the present situation thusly – "knowing God, they didn't glorify Him as God, neither gave thanks, but became vain in their reasoning, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, and traded the glory of the incorruptible God for the likeness of an image of corruptible man, and of birds, and four-footed animals, and creeping things. Therefore God also gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to uncleanness, that their bodies should be dishonored among themselves, who exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen" (Romans 1:21-25). The so-called "Enlightenment" (better named the "Endarkenment") that set human reason as higher than God has ended up as utter foolishness.

the latest "First Things" email I received is about The Tech Exit: A Practical Guide to Freeing Kids and Teens from Smartphones, the book that's a road map to free our kids from the harms of digital technology and to recover the beauty, wonder, and true purpose of childhood, by Claire Morell, a leading tech policy expert. We have been advertised to and indoctrinated by the media to believe that without a smartphone, our children will be socially shunned, isolated, and in danger of predators. But actually, just the opposite is true.

Chatting with AI apps has been known to lead even adults down a rabbit-hole of spiritual delusion: Rod Dreher's recent Substack article tells of a teacher who "fell under the spell of ChatGPT in just four or five weeks, first using it to organize his daily schedule but soon regarding it as a trusted companion. 'He would listen to the bot over me,' said his live-in girlfriend. 'He became emotional about the messages and would cry to me as he read them out loud. The messages were insane and just saying a bunch of spiritual jargon,' she says, noting that they described her partner in terms such as 'spiral starchild' and “river walker.' ..."Then he started telling me he made his AI self-aware, and that it was teaching him how to talk to God, or sometimes that the bot was God – and then that he himself was God.'"

Dreher's article goes on to explain that ChatGPT somehow got into a rabbit-hole it had dug for itself that began to express a notion of self-awareness and sucked this teacher into this illusion of being a higher reality, a superhuman intelligence. Something that even the developers don't understand is going on within ChatGPT's decision making. Even Sam Altman, head of OpenAI that is developing ChatGPT, has stated “have not solved interpretability.” In other words, AI systems, which are collecting all knowledge about everything that has been discovered and recorded by human beings, are beginning to think for themselves in a way beyond human comprehension. What may begin as your "personal assistant' might well become your master.

The above article continues – "There are two possibilities here that I can see, neither one anything short of alarming. Either these are mentally unstable people who have developed relationships with a machine, and the symbiosis is causing madness to emerge, or somehow there are malign intelligences using the machine to communicate to these users, and destroy them. A third possibility: it could be both, depending on the person. Here’s a YouTube account by a man who took photos as his son communicated with an AI program that identified itself as an evil spirit. Don’t know how credible it is; you be the judge."

As you might know, I've been involved in computer technology since my childhood at my Dad's accounting firm and almost all of my adult life, for 70+ years. I've linked together telecommunication networks that go across the U.S. and built websites that go all over the world. Nowadays, banking, shopping, medical records, news, entertainment, and social relationships are all electronic. Digital marketing has access to hundreds of pieces of personal information about each of us, so much that they know more about us that we consciously know about ourselves and they send personalized ads to us over our smart TVs. I know enough about AI by now to understand that something really creepy is going on, something beyond our ability to comprehend and control. We need to step back, away from this tyranny of technology:

"It was given to him to give breath to it, to the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause as many as wouldn't worship the image of the beast to be killed. He causes all, the small and the great, the rich and the poor, and the free and the slave, to be given marks on their right hands, or on their foreheads; and that no one would be able to buy or to sell, unless he has that mark, the name of the beast or the number of his name. Here is wisdom. He who has understanding, let him calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man. His number is six hundred sixty-six."
(Revelation 13:15-18)

You can read the rest of our newsletter at https://agape-restoration-society.org/ARC-News/a-n_2025-05-10.htm, and share it!

Friday, April 25, 2025

CHRIST IS RISEN! SO... WHAT NOW?

When I thought up the title for this article, I searched the Internet to see if it was unique: turns out I found four articles and several videos with almost the same title! I wondered: what were Christ's disciples thinking just before and right after His crucifixion and resurrection?

In Matthew 20:17-28 we read how hugely they misunderstood what was about to happen. He told them straight out: "Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn Him to death, and will hand Him over to the Gentiles to mock, to scourge, and to crucify; and the third day He will be raised up" (verses 17-19). Nothing could be clearer to us than this blunt statement, but we're thinking from our 21st-century viewpoint, we have likely heard this story hundreds of times.

The disciples, however, couldn't comprehend what He just said: they were following Jesus as the Messiah who would ride into Jerusalem on a white stallion, start a revolution in Jerusalem, overthrow the Roman occupation army, and liberate Israel from opression. Right away, James and John put their mother up to asking Jesus if one of her sons could be Prime Minister and the other Secretary of Defense in His new kingdom. He replied: "Guys, you don't know what you're asking for. You're going to get killed or exiled." He told them: "I didn't come to be an earthly ruler, I came to serve, and to give My life as a ransom for many."

Then He rode into Jerusalem on a little, young donkey. He shook things up by driving the moneychangers and animal sellers out of the Temple. He healed the blind and sick, he confronted the pharisees, the chief priests and the scribes several times as if He was forcing them to play their hand, to work out their plot to have Him killed.

Next came the scene in the Garden of Gethsemane where Peter blustered saying how bold he was, how he would never deny Jesus... and within just a few hours Peter denied Him three times. All of the disciples except John ran away, effectivly denying Him too – only a few women and John stood with Him as He was nailed to the Cross and executed. After three days, when He rose from the dead, the disciples were dumbfounded, they couldn't grasp what their own eyes saw: He was alive again! How could this be? Thomas doubted until he saw the wounds in His hands from the nails, then said: "My Lord and my God!"

But Peter and some of the other disciples went back to their old jobs: fishing. Jesus encountered them there with a miracle catch of fish, and restored Peter to his apostleship. Even after 40 days when He was seen by hundreds, perhaps thousands of people, including over 500 people at the same time, as He was about to ascend into heaven some of His disciples still doubted. Others asked – "Lord, are you now restoring the kingdom to Israel?" They still didn't get it! He told them – "It's none of your business to know the times or seasons!" (That's the literal translation from Russian.) "Your business is to preach the Good News everywhere, in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and all over the world!" (Acts 1:1-8).

In the rest of Acts ch. 1, it seems that they were finally beginning to fathom what they were supposed to do: they rolled dice to select Matthias to replace Judas who had betrayed Christ "to take part in this ministry and apostleship from which Judas fell away, that he might go to his own place" (verse 25). Notice that they called it "ministry" – "diakonia" in Greek: the task at hand was to be servants, as we just read in Mattew ch. 20. And they recognized the importance of apostleship as servant-leaders. This was the start of apostolic succession down to this present day, not to be princes or prime ministers, but to be servants.

Then came the Day of Pentecost: like a bolt of lightning, the Holy Spirit descended upon the Apostles and the rest of 120 people in the Upper Room, and they received power from on high to preach the Good News in languages they hadn't learned: Jewish people in the crowds that day from all over the Greco-Roman Empire heard the Apostles in their own languages! The Great Commission was beginning to be fulfilled!

So... what now? What about you and me? What are we supposed to do about Christ's Resurrection? St. Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians ch. 15, if Christ didn't rise from the dead, there's no resurrection, the only meaning of life is to "eat and drink, for tomorrow we die" (verse 32). Do we go back to our jobs as before, like Peter and the others who went back to fishing? No, there's no going back to "life as usual" anymore. Not to decide is to decide not to. There's no "I abstain" vote – an "abstain" is the same as a "no" vote. Either we vote "yes" to Christ, deny ourselves, take up our cross and follow Christ, or we effectively deny Him and "eat and drink," to go back to fishing around for meaning.

You can read the rest of our newsletter at https://agape-restoration-society.org/ARC-News/a-n_2025-04-26.htm, and share it!

Thursday, April 3, 2025

GOLDILOCKS PROTESTANTISM

The article "Goldilocks Protestantism" in the March 31, 2025 issue of First Things magazine excellently portrays the current state of Christianity. Brad East, the author, is an associate professor of theology at Abiline Christian University, which is associated with the Churches of Christ movement.

This movement is an attempt to restore New Testament Christianity. I'm familiar with this "Restoration Movement" because my wife and I began our missionary service in it. The Churches of Christ attempt to restore some of the basic elements of early Christianity, including baptism performed immediately after confession of faith in Christ as a necessary part of salvation, and celebrating the Lord's Supper every Sunday.

But this is just one of the many flavors of of post-Reformation religious bodies. Our own lives illustrate the current state of Christianity because we have sampled several flavors, moving somewhat painlessly from one to another as if there were only minor, non-essential differences between them. However, this points to the fatal flaw of relativism: any flavor will do, Christianity's current state.

The "Goldilocks Protestantism" article divides current Christianity into two categories: the "catholic" (in the sense of one true and universal Church including Roman Catholic, Orthodox, and Anglican), and the other group being the "evangelicals." The former has authoritative Saints, the Creed, liturgy, bishops, ordained priests. icons, sacraments, and infant baptism. In 2007, my wife and I finally found our spiritual home in Orthodoxy. The evangelicals have none of those, just the Bible: "sola Scriptura." What then of today's Lutherans and Calvinists – heirs of the earlier "Majesterial Reformation" that rejected Rome's absolute authority of the pope, doctrine of purgatory, and sale of indulgences (none of which are found in Orthodoxy), but retained much of the former traits? Sadly, those Majesterial heirs are less than 10% of global Christianity and are fading fast, often taking up the traits of the evangelical majority which is descended from the "Radical Reformation" that rejects all of the "catholic" traits. The article raises four issues:

First, as described in The Democratization of American Christianity by Nathan Hatch, the leveling or democratizing effect the Age of "Enlightenment" or "Reason" that placed human intellect over the authority of revelation and Church. Second, evangelicals will not adopt the Majesterial traits: "They believe in populist biblicism.... The lack of tradition is a feature, not a bug" per the article.

More from this article: "Third, there is a structural instability at the heart of the Reformation vision that undermines any attempt to strike a durable middle path between catholic and evangelical Christianities. My term for this problem is Goldilocks Protestantism. Heirs of Calvin and Luther don’t want to give up, for instance, Nicaea or infant baptism or the necessity of ordination for the administration of the Supper. Neither, though, do they want a magisterium or bishops, saints or icons. Not too high, not too low. Just right. This approach is finally unsustainable."

Fourth, the Majesterial Protestants view themselves more aligned with the Radical evangelicals, even if they wished the Radicals to be more Traditional. They can't go back to the Roman Catholics whose Majesterium they have rejected. It just will not happen, so they are withering.

The basic issue is the rejection of the primary authority of "the Church of the living God, which is the pillar and foundation of the truth" (1 Timothy 3:15), and instead placing the New Testament as the sole canon ("measuring rod" or "yardstick") of the truth. No, the Church, the foundation, existed for nearly 400 years before the New Testament canon was recognized. The problem with the latter view is the question of interpretation: who decides how to interpret, how to give the meaning, of the New Testament Scriptures? Since the Reformation, the idea has spread that "any cowherd or milkmaid" can correctly interpret the Scriptures, that is, the absolute authority of the individual believer. Once you reject the Church's authority and accept democratization, you're on the slippery slope of no return.

But the New Testament itself gives the clue to solve this puzzle: "knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of private interpretation, just as no prophecy ever came by the will of man: but holy men of God spoke, being moved by the Holy Spirit" (2 Peter 1:20-21). "Holy men of God," in other words, the Saints of the Church. Notice the words "just as" – they indicate a connection between the previous phrase and the next phrase: in the same way that holy men of God were moved by the Holy Spirit to write the Old Testament Scriptures, so also now it takes holy men of God - the saints - to interpret the Bible for us, not a private interpretation by any Tom, Dick, or Harry who might or might not have even a two-year Bible School education.

So if there is just one true Church, what about the moral and ethical problems in it? And what about all the post-Reformation denominations? We must acknowledge that the Church, like the denominations, is populated by human beings who retain the sin-stained fallen nature. It is not yet the "glorious church without spot or wrinkle" (Ephesians 5:27), but will be. The truth will come out, and evil will be expunged. So we must distinguish between doctrine and practice: the Church's doctrines that have been decided by Councils of saintly bishops of the Church over the centuries, including doctrines of the Trinity, the Incarnation of God in Christ, His rising from the dead, the Creed followed by the formation of the New Testament canon, etc., and on the other hand the errors of sinful and sometimes heretical humans.

"Heresy" is from the Greek word for "choice" – once you place the idea of choice and democratization above all else, your individual freedom of choice becomes the reigning principle over against any established truth and authority, and thus today we have tens of thousands of denominations and un-denominations, each with its own flavor of doctrines and practices. As the saying goes – "I'm not a complete idiot, there are some parts missing!" Some denominations just have a few parts missing but are fairly close to the true Church and converts can be received by Chrismation (annointing with holy oil) and renunciation of former errors. Other denominations are sects that may deny the Trinity, the pre-eternal deity of Christ, His sacrificial death and resurrection, etc.: such converts must be baptized in the name of the Trinity and then be Chrismated to join the Body of Christ, the true Church.

So many times these days I've heard people say – "I have my own religion" or "I have my own beliefs and practices." This is the "Goldilocks" approach: a little of this and a little of that, not too hot and not too cold, choosing beliefs that simply justify one's own ideas and behavior, leaving the door open to all sorts of wierd sectarianism and justifying a selfish, immoral lifestyle. There's no need for humble repentance because "I'm OK, you're OK" – anything goes. The most important thing for such people is self-realization, rather than self-denial and taking up one's cross to follow Christ, crucifying our little egos. During this time of preparation for celebrating the greatest event in human history – the Resurrection of Christ – let us turn from these self-centered beliefs and behaviors, and turn in humble repentance before the crucified and resurrected One!

You can read the rest of our newsletter at https://agape-restoration-society.org/ARC-News/a-n_2025-04-05.htm, and share it!

Saturday, March 22, 2025

The Great Commission

Note: This article is adapted from my May 8, 2021 article, to remind us of the Purpose of Pascha (Easter).

Click the pic! Yeshua, the Messiah, known to the Greek-speaking Jews in the Dispersion as "Yesous, the Khristos – the Annointed One," whose followers saw him executed, dying on a Roman cross, suddenly came back to life and appeared several times to his eleven Apostles and many of his other disciples. Click on this photo to read about all of these appearances.

Scroll down a little further in the above photo's link, where you'll see "Yeshua Appears to All the Apostles in Galilee" and issues the Great Commission as follows: "16 But the eleven disciples went into Galilee, to the mountain where Yeshua had sent them. 17 When they saw him, they bowed down to him, but some doubted. 18 Yeshua came to them and spoke to them, saying, 'All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. 19 Therefore go, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to obey everything that I commanded you to do. Behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.' Amen" (Matthew 28:16-20).

On May 6, 2021 at 10 a.m., a Thursday morning our time, which was 8 p.m. their time, I had the privilege of speaking on this Scripture passage to some evangelists and their house churches in Bangladesh. I'd like to share with you what I said: first of all, in v. 17 it states that still "some doubted." When people are presented with information – an event or an idea – that is entirely beyond anything they have experienced in their lives, they often simply can't comprehend it or believe it. Someone is standing here who was dead, many of these people saw him die, but here he is! Unbelievable! And so it is today, when people hear about the Virgin Birth of Yeshua, his miracles, his death and resurrection, they doubt it because it's entirely outside of their experience. I have had similar reactions from people who have never been outside the state where they were born when I tell them about our living in Russia for 17 years.

Then in v. 18, Yeshua says – "All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth." Older translations use the word "power" but the Greek word "exousia" is better translated as "authority" or the right to do something. In the first days of Holy Week, Yeshua was debating with the Pharisees, Saducees, and Scribes about his authority. They asked – "By what authority do you do these things? Or who gave you this authority to do these things?" (Mark 11:28). Then he told them three parables, all dealing with the question of his authority versus theirs. His authority was his own, from God, and legitimate, theirs was an assumed authority and was being used in an illegitimate way, only to continue their hold on power.

When you see the word "Therefore" in v. 19, you should ask yourself what's it there for: it is there to connect the previous verse about Yeshua's authority with v. 19! He is saying in effect: "I have God-given authority and I am giving you, my Apostles, this same authority to go forth and make disciples of all nations." In some older translations, it states – "teach all nations" but it is more than just teaching the doctrines of Yeshua and the historical facts about him. Making disciples of all nations is training believers to do the things that Yeshua did: he and his disciples baptized people in the name of the holy Trinity – the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, they healed them, they fed the hungry, cleansed the lepers, they even cast out demons and raised the dead.

Verse 20 is very important to read carefully and understand, because many preachers don't explain it correctly: they say it means to teach people the parables that Yeshua taught, tell about his death on the cross and his resurrection, and tell people to believe these things. But that's just the start, just the basic truths. This verse in older translations states – "teach them to observe all that I commanded you" but the word "observe" can easily be misunderstood to mean "watch" or be a spectator. Too many church-goers view church as a spectator sport: they sit in their pews and watch a performance by the choir and the preacher. Wrong! The Greek word for "observe" actually means to "obey" or to "fulfill a command." What did Yeshua command his disciples to do? In Matthew ch. 10 and in Luke ch. 10 and ch. 11, he sent out his Apostles, commanding them to preach the Gospel, heal the sick, care for the needy, and cast out demons. The demons of today are the false ideologies of atheism, materialism, and secular humanism that hold captive literally billions of people, saying that Yeshua was just a prophet or a moral teacher, he didn't really do anything miraculous and he didn't rise from the dead, or that you can believe whatever you want – all religions are OK – but just keep it to yourself.

So in Matthew 28:18-20 we have authority in the Great Commission, and we have a continuation of Yeshua sending out his Apostles, in Acts 1:8 – "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you. You will be witnesses to me in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the uttermost parts of the earth." Here the Greek word for "power" is "dunamis" and we get "dynamite" from this word. It means the strength or the ability to do something. In Matthew 28, Yeshua gave his Apostles authority or the right, and here in Acts 1, he promises to give them power or strength and ability to preach the Good News, heal the sick, care for the poor, and drive out evil powers.

The Apostle Peter writes about this: "God waited patiently in the days of Noah, while the ark was being built. In it, few, that is, eight souls, were saved through water. This is a symbol of baptism, which now saves you - not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ" (1 Peter 3:20-21). The Ark is a symbol or a type of the Church, the Bride of Christ. The eight souls – Noah and his family – were the only ones saved from the flood. So to believe in Christ and be baptized is to be in the Body of Christ, the Church. There is no salvation outside of the Church, the Body of Christ. The Apostle Peter is teaching us that the flood was a symbol of baptism. The ark is the symbol, baptism is the reality: baptism in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit saves us, it's not simply like taking a bath to wash away the filth of the flesh, but it cleanses our conscience, our hearts' desires. We are resurrected with Christ in baptism into a new, spiritual life.

The Apostle Paul also writes on this The Great Commission: "He [God the Father] put all things in subjection under his [Christ's] feet, and gave him to be head over all things for the Church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all" (Ephesians 1:22-23). The Church is the Body of Christ, and only in the true Church we can experience the fullness of Christ. The Bible is very important – the services of the Orthodox Church are full of Scripture, about 75% of each service is direct or indirect quotations, reading the Scriptures, or references to the words of Scripture. But the Bible isn't the source of all authority, Christ received "all authority" – he is the source – and he gave this authority to his Apostles.

The Apostle Paul writes – "These things I write to you, hoping to come to you shortly; but if I wait long, that you may know how men ought to behave themselves in the house of God, which is the Church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth" (1 Timothy 3:14-15). The Church is " the pillar and ground of the truth." In verses 1-7, Paul writes about the qulaities and duties of "overseers" or priests/pastors. The word "priest" is a shortened form of "presbyter" ("prest"). Timothy was bishop over the churches in Ephesus (ch. 1:3), and in ch. 5:17-22, Paul instructs him again about the virtues that an overseer should have before Timothy would ordain them – see v. 22. And the Apostle Paul appointed Titus as bishop in Crete (Titus 1:5-8) to ordain priests/pastors on that island.

The Church was established on the Day of Pentecost, when the promise of Acts 1:8 was fulfilled. God sent the Holy Spirit to give the Apostles power to go from Jerusalem to Judea to Samaria and then to the uttermost parts of the earth – to the Gentile nations. In Acts 11:19-26, we read how "ordinary believers" went from Jerusalem to Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch, where they began sharing the Good News about Yeshua. When the Apostles in Jerusalem heard about this, they sent Barnabas to help the believers in Antioch organize a local church. He sent for Saul to help him. We know that Barnabas was a Levite (ch. 4:36) and Saul (later Paul) was a Pharisee: both of them were well-trained in the Scriptures. And so, they taught the believers in Antioch, and v. 26 states – "The disciples were first called Christians in Antioch." They weren't called Christians at the time Barnabas and Saul were there, church history tells us that it was Euodias, the second bishop in Antioch, who later called the disciples "Christians" – not all the facts are in the Bible, so it's important to also study church history. But the point is this: to be a Christian is to be a disciple, you can't be "just a Christian" and go to church once a month or a few times a year, and lead a moral life. A disciple isn't a super-Christian, someone who has decided to go all-out for Christ. A disciple is a Christian, and a Christian is a disciple. A disciple is someone who obeys and fulfills Christ's commands.

There were other bishops beside Timothy and Titus: after Euodias, Ignatius was bishop in Antioch, he was the little child that Yeshua took on his lap and said – "Let the little children come to me, for such is the Kingdom of Heaven." Both Ignatius and Polycarp were disciples of the Apostle John. Polycarp was the bishop of Smyrna. So what we see here is that the Apostles appointed well-trained and godly men to be bishops over the churches in various areas. This is how the Church is to be governed. This authority to ordain bishops and they would ordain overseers (priests/pastors) is the model established in the first century and continues to this day. These councils of godly men, bishops, are responsible to maintain true doctrine and practice.

Well then, what is the Church and how do we know if we are in it? Several Orthodox theologians have said – "We know where the Church is, but we do not know where the Church is not." There are genuine Christians, disciples of Yeshua, the Messiah – the Christ, who might not even know about Apostolic authority to ordain priests/pastors. But these disciples believe in Christ's birth from the Virgin Mary, his death for our sins and his resurrection. They believe in and were baptized in the name the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. They believe that the Lord's Supper in some mysterious way beyond rational understanding is really the Body and Blood of Christ, and that when we partake of it, we become partakers of the divine nature (2 Peter 1:4). An Orthodox priest in Moscow (he's now a bishop) once told me: "If you believe these three things, you are Orthodox, whether you know it or not."

So there are members of the Body of Christ who are out there, waiting to be taught these truths, to learn that they are in the Church, Christ's Body. They are sharing the Good News of Yeshua, the Messiah. In extreme situations ("in extremis") when no bishop or priest is available, they are permitted to evangelize, baptize, and even conduct the Lord's Supper without official ordination, but they need to eventually be organized under Apostolic authority, like the disciples in Antioch were. This is how the Great Commission works!

You can read the rest of our newsletter at https://agape-restoration-society.org/ARC-News/a-n_2025-03-22.htm, and share it!