Mortal Danger
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Mortal Danger: Goof Faith
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| Young teenager girls believed Jesus literally and drowned from it. |
Now, Cho tells in a book of young Chorean girls who were taught they could work miracles in Christ. They had come to believe it, and were headed for a Bible camp when they had to stop. A swelling river had carried away the bridge they were to cross over in order to get to the camp. What to do?
They reminded each other of the promises of Jesus, held hands and went into the surging water, intent on walking on it and over to the other side. They were found some time later further down the stream. All were dead.
The unfortunate deaths grieved and upsed Cho and many others. What went wrong? he pondered. They had taken Jesus on his word. They did their part in the faith thing, it seems.
But then it occurred to the minister that they had acted on general statements from a long time ago, and not on personal guidance directly to any of them. That was their error, he concluded in a book of his. (Cho 1977 or 1980)
Do not welcome danger, and do not seek it out either, no matter what
idiotic figures say and want you to.When you have to make a good choice and do not make it, that in itself is a bad choice [cf. William James].
Bad Choices, or Bad timing
Tao has many meanings. Here it stands for handling routines, handling ways, proficient and savoury outlets.There is something to learn from church history. He who said, "Why do you call me good?" let millions of the early Christians suffer and die, despite his claimed authority on earth and in heaven. They thought theirs was a good deal, firmly believing the end of the times was about anyway. They were wrong in the matter, and so were apostles. many get fooled by "God".
Now, do not get fooled and outsmarted by "God". All the apostles and that Spirit used it to drop all the bestial commands of Jesus for Jews to pluck out their eyes and similar unkind doings: Gentile followers escaped the tyranny of Jesus, we might add - if they were not outwitted and made martyrs for "the cause" and such infantile things. [Acts 15; 21:25]
You probably do well to refrain from great-looking sayings that have only affection-value or crank affectation value. [Matthew 19;26; Mark 9;23; Matthew 17:21; John 14;12]
To be a winner starts and ends with being yourself well, and let things evolve.
Like a Tree
Putting well aside the erroneous understanding of Jesus as to how tall the mustard becomes (it does not become a tree at all, to be true), the lesson is that the secret kingdom within you is like a tree, and growing, spreading trees may be expected to differ somewhat from one another. [Matthew 13:31-32, Mark 30-2; Luke 18-9; compare Gospel of Thomas 20]Trees compete for soil and light and space. Branches may get hurt and wither: This is a part of what ecumenism is about. Others may remain, but rotten and infested along with the fresh, sappy ones. For the lack of light and nourishment (opportunity) even the wise man may dwindle. Trees and their branches seem to co-operate, and have similar orientations and in some case even share bees or ministers.
We should hardly expect all branches in a tree to point in the same direction and be of the same size and height. Most trees are not like that.
To be involved in institutions means in part to be sucked up by them. Being faithful to one's Self is vital.
Jesus allegedly sacrificed himself according to the corrupt plan of his "righteous Father" by letting Jewish leaders have their way and get him executed. Sacrificing innocents to let bandits go on is unfit - the Father's way it was, the Bible tells. It is basically corrupt and works evil. Vicarious sacrifice is a bad idea. It also showed up that the claimed sacrifice for Jews (later all mankind) was quite in vain, and quite foolish too.
As interesting as such claims of "saving the world" are to some, two goats might have done just as good a trick. It was not even necessary for the Father and Jesus to have him butchered: two goats would do - says the Bible clearly in one of its chapters, giving directives that were to last forever, it stands. [Leviticus 16]
Do not sacrifice yourself for very little. Instead keep to: "Charity begins at home" - with yourself as the centre of your perceived world. And an American proverb adds "- but it does not have to stop there". Not when you can afford it, that is.
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Literature
Cho, Paul Yonggi. Skapende tro. Oslo: Filadelfia, 1977.
Cho, Paul Yonggi. Suksess (Successful Living). Kvinesdal: Logos, 1980.
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