you don't have to worship in public.

It says so in the book that he probably hasn't read.

Matthew 6; among the wiser, yet too often forgotten, words of Jesus...

Matthew 6 King James Version (KJV)
6 Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven.

2 Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.

3 But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth:

4 That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly.

5 And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.

6 But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.

7 But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.

8 Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.

9 After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.

10 Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.

11 Give us this day our daily bread.

12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.

13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.

14 For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you:

15 But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

16 Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.

17 But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face;

18 That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly.

19 Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:

20 But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:

21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

22 The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light.

23 But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!

24 No man 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.

25 Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?

26 Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?

27 Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?

28 And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:

29 And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.

30 Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?

31 Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?

32 (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.

33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

34 Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.

thinking of, knew what it said, didn't know where it was! Thanks.

the words of Christ.

Here's a couple more that preachers in Gulfstreams should pay attention to...

People were told to stay home but given a contact number if they needed assistance. No one shut the church down they just shut down the stupid.

He does not have a Constitutional right to make anyone sick.

Last edited Tue Mar 31, 2020, 12:46 PM - Edit history (1)

or Venmo

to create dangerous situations. You dumbass!

Asking for a friend....




[I have a feeling I need to add this to cut & paste slot #2]

What? It does not even apply here, IMHO. It certainly does not give you the right to endanger people or the general public. It is a matter of being able to say what he just said without punishment, but he is stepping into different territory there and his actions are negligent, brash and certainly not about the right to worship, (which can be done at home, in a closet, I hear).

Does he also know that he doesn't have the right to yell FIRE! in a crowded theater unless there is really a fire?

I wanted to add that, from his own, good book, it clearly states:

Matthew:
5 And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. Truly I tell you, they already have their full reward. 6 But when you pray, go into your inner room, shut your door, and pray to your Father, who is unseen. And your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. 7 And when you pray, do not babble on like pagans, for they think that by their many words they will be heard.…

There was a competition going on at that time and paganism was still very prevalent.

One could argue that various pagan symbols and rites were absorbed into Christianity for that very reason and to increase popularity.

I guess thinking, (truly) for one's self is still too much work for people. As you know, it takes investigation of various factors and even withholding judgement and risking being wrong in order to discover and recover from fallacies, etc.

Praise Bob! More Slack!

I agree. The printing press did change the equation and there was, eventually a Protestant response, though it was more of a schism at the time.

There is another danger here, though. I have posted often about the people who think that thinking for yourself is to subscribe to the growing networks of conspiracy theorists who are not only often influenced by Russian and Chinese propaganda in order to exploit their lack of interest in fact finding and evidence, but also creates a false sense of having "forbidden" information. They then ignore or discount any other kinds of information rather than sort through and parse what is available.

That form of self-deception has some interesting psychological underpinnings and ramifications and I think it even displays a quasi-religious form of devotion based on belief, specific terminology, etc. The belief that they are "thinking for themselves" belies the use of much thought and ends up being a regurgitation of some dubious, often manipulative, source, maybe even Joe Blogger or Jane YouTube.

It is not at all similar to really questioning authority, (how would replacing one delusion with another be useful and not lead to more confusion?) It is just shifting one's informational resources to reactionary, paranoid, beliefs, as well as feeling special, being part of an in group, knowing how it all really works, etc. There tends to be a vary narrow band they operate in, and yes, it may be cathartic, but right now, we are seeing the danger in it.

In fact, other governments, as I said, are exploiting it to the point that the conspiracy theories are the conspiracy, which is quite ironic to say the least. They wouldn't know a real conspiracy if it spit in their face, in that respect and there is usually evidence to support one.

I would wish that people could learn from an academic like Noam Chomsky. He carefully investigates the available information and parses it carefully without buying into the "official" narratives that are often a means to manufacture consent.

Last edited Tue Mar 31, 2020, 03:31 PM - Edit history (1)

They were a couple of my favorite authors on certain subjects back in the day, particularly RAW, whom I have a thankful admiration for, may he RIP.

Glad you brought them up.

another monotheistic religion which was the rage of emperors at the time. It was easier to control the masses when the single god could convey its powers directly to a single emperor. He was a worshiper of Sol Invictus and sacrificed a bull every once in a while. Of couse he chose Christianity because the Persians worshiped Sol already and they were enemies so he went with C. There were already a lot of them in Rome. The rest is a nightmare... I mean history.

Yeah, you got the right to remain silent! They'll be informing Mr. Jackson of his rights!

and charge any parents who bring their children with child endangerment.

the way things are going. Do these preachers expect their congregations to grow when people start to associate churches with disease?

Some will die, other will leave on their own for a more reasonable/sensible Church (or leave organized religion all together).

LOCK HIM UP! Before he spreads disease. Conspiracy to commit murder?🤬