Book of James vs. Books of Paul

Here is a good topic for reflection and feedback:

James 2: 14-20:

James says: If you are saved you have good works,
if you have no good works, you are not saved.

Paul in Ephesians 2:1-9:

Paul says: You are saved by Grace and nothing else.

Questions:
1) What is a good work and how is it good if it is what you should have done in the first place?

2) Where does Jesus command good works?

3) Jesus does command to love and act in love to others; is this the same as a good work?

4) By James emphasizing good works doesn't that make these works of the flesh?

5) If Jesus said: "do them in secret and dont let your right hand know what the left is doing", then why does James proudly proclaim; "I'LL SHOW YOU MY WORKS"?

Our commentary:
Are you part of the Church?
Is James writing to the Church? No! (James 1:1)
Was Paul writing to the Church? Yes!
Then why are you trying to reconcile the two? James had no intent on writing to you, unless you have a family tree that traces you all the way back to one of Jacob's 12 sons.
Where does James get the authority to write Scripture? If our Lord often skips the oldest son in the Old Testament and gives the birthright to a younger sibling, then what makes you think that James' position as the 1st oldest half-brother of Jesus will be honored?

Did Jesus personally call Paul? Did Jesus call James?

Paul killed Christians and Jesus called Paul. James grew up with Jesus and knew Him his entire life and Jesus NEVER called him.
It would have been much easier to call James and have him follow Jesus while Jesus was here instead of having to blind Paul on the road side and send him to the other disciples...right?
James comes to Him with His mother and Jesus says: "who are my brothers and my mother?" (Mark 3:33)
Whom does Jesus find worthy of his time...Paul or James?
On what basis is James' writing Scripture?
By what authority or right are men calling it equal or better than Paul's?

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Christian Persecution- SUDAN ATROCITIES

Let us re-state a fundamental fact:
Christianity IS THE MOST persecuted religion! We find it ironic that this fact stirs so many people to anger! People, look at the facts, and before jumping to irrational conclusions...do some research yourself.
(We have links to the facts ready to go if you are in need of knowledge on this subject.)

Join the battle to educate the world! Sign up at www.persecution.com

Christians on the Run in Sudan
(From VOM Magazine Special Issue 2006, p.10-11)

Paul Idris, a Suadanese Christian, was running from the Muslim militias. He was captured and held in a concentration camp where he was tortured before being taken to prison in Khartoum. In agony in the detention camp, Paul refused to deny Jesus Christ when his Muslim torturers demanded, "GIVE UP THIS JESUS." When he continued to claim Jesus, his tormenters took polyethylene sheets of plastic and burned them, dripping hot plastic on his naked back. The torture was repeated many times during the month he was in prison. Now back home in the South, he remains weak, but we help him. Paul's father was killed during the Muslim invasions; he cannot find his brothers and sisters who are on the run, but his mother is alive, living in another area.

Five million Sudanese Christians have lost their homes and possessions and remain "refugees" in their own country. This genocide was driven by radical ISLAMIST forces in Khartoum. VOM has participated in flying, driving, and walking with aid since 1996 to our brothers and sisters who suffer as "infidels" in this Islamist-directed Jihad.

Sudan is Africa's largest country. The MUSLIM government of Khartoum in the North has waged a jihad against the mostly CHRISTIAN South. In January 2005, a peace agreement was signed....however, deliberate attempts to eliminate a viable Christian presence have been extreme and have included the destruction of hospitals, schools, churches, and Christian villages. Pastors and church leaders have been murdered. Men, women and children have been threatened with death or torture if they refuse to convert to Islam.

Those in the United States need to be aware that it is rarely mentioned in our wonderfully controlled media, that the Sudanese government waged a jihad on CHRISTIANS and that this government is ISLAMIC! Our brothers and sisters have been systematically murdered!

WE PRAY: Lord, please deliver your brothers and sisters in the Sudan from the hand of Satan. Through the Evil One's deception, Muslims are murdering your sons and daughters. Please Lord, end this evil however You see fit, Lord. Allow all of your sheep to withstand persecution and martyrdom brought about in Your name Lord. Please forgive the Muslims for they know no better when under the influence of the Devil.

JOHN 15:18-19
“If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world therefore the world hates you.”

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christian persecution

The CASHLESS SOCIETY

In 1991, people thought we were off the wall for talking about the debit card/cash card taking the place of cash and the use of "computer" cash. Well, it happened. We will stand behind the following article which was sent to us by a fellow Christian. The 666 in Revelation may be purposely ignored by the Catholic Church and other denominations of Christianity but there is no longer any excuse when there is blatant truth to it appearing in our world. We could understand why so many were "cautious" and failed to ask or answer any questions about the number 666. For centuries the fact was that many readers of the Word could not comprehend or understand how the number 666 would wind up on all items bought and sold (Revelation Chapter 13). How easy is it for us in 2006 to comprehend the significance of 666 with knowledge of the binary code and the fact that UPC codes are organized/stored by computers using 6 as the first bar, 6 as the direct middle bar, and 6 as the last bar? There are many other examples...

The Coming Cashless Society
by Jan Markell

Author and financial planner Ethan Pope is hardly a sensationalist. Pope believes the coming one world global currency, all electronic, will be here in a few short years. Not a prophet, obviously he will not put a date on this. But we see shades of it even now with debit cards, credit cards, electronic banking, and more. The effort is global, not just the Western world. Pope frankly says, "change or be left behind."

Since at some point all of this will require technology, all will need to be familiar with a computer or have a family member or friend deal with the issue. It is likely that someday the Antichrist will also communicate en mass via the computer. The world is pressing forward with this; it is just a matter of time.
Already some consumers are ready to sacrifice some privacy due to the threat of more terrorist attacks. But how much will we be willing to compromise? Maybe a lot when the "benefits" are realized, but remember, for each benefit, there is a down side.

• There would be a decrease in crime and as a result a savings to Americans alone of about $1 billion a year.
• Expect a decrease in all violent crime related to money.
• The elimination of counterfeit money.
• The elimination of money laundering and a decrease in drug trafficking.
• No check writing, stolen checks, or lost checks.
• Global transactions will be easy. You can buy anything simply all over the world.

Since everything will have an RFID chip nothing will ever be lost. However, there is huge potential for abuse here.
And what about the negatives?
Hackers and other criminals can get your information through identity theft. They may not be able to steal your wallet with $25 in it, but they can steal ALL of your money electronically.
Someone will view every transaction you make. This will require a national identification system and every transaction you make will be recorded.

Some segments of society are already 80% cashless. The IRS wants forms filed electronically though it is not yet mandatory.
E-cash is on the way. Will this just play out in the Tribulation with the one world system when cash is worthless anyway and a "mark" necessary? The author speculates that this is a run-up to that and I would second that. However, there is nothing intrinsically bad about a cashless society UNLESS evil people control it and monitor it. But the further we move into the last days, the more evil will intensify.

If you have eyes to see, things are coming to pass as predicted. For the believer, we look up. For the unbeliever, is it any wonder the Bible says that men's hearts would fail them for fear? Only "God is the stability of our times," (Is. 33:6).
To learn more about issues related to current events and Bible prophecy, check out the "Prophecy Watch" link at http://www.olivetreeviews.org/topics/prophecy.shtml There are many stories there to substantiate this issue and dozens more.

Awaiting His return,
Jan Markell

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10 Questions for Evolutionists (PART 2)

EVOLUTION VS. CREATIONISTS

Evolutionists: Answer ANY ONE of these 10 questions, and we may give you some respect for your THEORY of evolution:

1) What is the end result of a belief in evolution (lifestyle, society, attitude about others, eternal destiny, etc.)?

2) Do you honestly believe that everything came from nothing?

3) What is so scientific about the idea of hydrogen gas becoming human?

4) What kind of evolutionist are you? Why are you not one of the other eight or ten kinds?

5) How did photosynthesis evolve?

6) When, where, why, and how did man evolve feelings? Love, mercy, guilt, etc. would never evolve in the theory of evolution.

7) Are you sure your answers are reasonable, right, and scientifically provable, or do you just believe that it may have happened the way you have answered? (Do these answers reflect your religion or your science?)

8) Do your answers show more or less faith than the person who says, "God must have designed it"?

9) Is it wise and fair to present the theory of evolution to students as fact?

10) What are you risking if you are wrong because either there is a God or there is not. Both possibilities are frightening.

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Christian Persecution in India

Let us re-state a fundamental fact: Christianity IS THE MOST persecuted religion!
We find it ironic that this fact stirs so many people to anger!
People, look at the facts, and before jumping to irrational conclusions...do some research yourself.
Join the battle to educate the world! Sign up at www.persecution.com

From Voice of the Martyrs Magazine, May 2006, p. 6:

RISE OF HINDU RADICALS

Established in 1925, the purpose of the Rashtria Swayamsevak Sang (RSS), also known as the Indian Volunteers Corp, was to strengthen India's cultural heritage. The RSS was originally considered a social organization that assisted Hindu refugees who fled Pakistan for India at the time of partitioning in 1947. The RSS advanced the ideology of Hindutva-one common nation, one common race closely associated with Hinduism. The RSS also formed a political wing, the Jan Sangh Party, which became the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in 1980. The BJP controlled the federal government from 1998 until April 2004, when it lost the national election to the Congress Party. Dalit voters were believed responsible for the Congress Party victory.

Christian leaders say RSS members now feel deprived of their right to rule INdia. Christians and other non-Hindus are unlikely to support the BJP becasue of its close connection to the RSS and the Hindutva ideology. Thus, the RSS and BJP believe the Dalits should remain as Hindus- not only for ideological reasons, but also for political ones. In their minds, Hindus are more likely to support the political parites that advance Hinduvta.

Since losing the national election in 2004, the RSS hass stepped up efforts to establish a Defense Army- training up young Hindu recruits in order to defend Hinduism and prevent Indians (especially the Dalits) from converting to Christianity. An estimated 3 million Indians are believed to have participated in Defense Army training exercises. RSS officials now oversee a network of some 70-plus Hindu groups called the Sangh Parivar. They preach that only "true" Indians accept and respect Hindutva. The Sangh Parivar's Bajrang Dal and Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) groups are responsible for many of the recent attacks against Christians. They are also invovled in conducting routine "reconversion" camps and ceremonies.

DIGNITY FOR THE DALITS!!!!

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