I have a question

[Hidden In Him]

The answer is found in the lives of Jesus of Nazareth and His apostles. Monasticism and asceticism are NOT taught by Christ. Quite the opposite.

COLOSSIANS 2
18 Let no man beguile you of your reward in a voluntary humility and worshipping of angels, intruding into those things which he hath not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind,

19 And not holding the Head, from which all the body by joints and bands having nourishment ministered, and knit together, increaseth with the increase of God.

20 Wherefore if ye be dead with Christ from the rudiments of the world, why, as though living in the world, are ye subject to ordinances,

21 (Touch not; taste not; handle not;

22 Which all are to perish with the using, after the commandments and doctrines of men?

23 Which things have indeed a shew of wisdom in will worship, and humility, and neglecting of the body; not in any honour to the satisfying of the flesh.

We could certainly debate Monasticism and asceticism in light of the NT, Enoch. But while I normally agree with your posts, the above is a misuse of Colossians 2:18-23. The self-abasement being discussed there was Essenism, not asceticism. It's a common mistake that many make by assumption, but the context of the entire letter doesn't bear it out.

 

[Enoch111]

The self-abasement being discussed there was Essenism, not asceticism.

Well since Essenes practiced asceticism, I don't see the point of your argument. Please note: "Philo and Josephus have given prominence to them, because their ascetic practices invested them with the character of philosophers and interested the Greeks and Romans in their history..."
https://www.biblestudytools.com/cla...-apostolic-age/essenism-and-christianity.html

Furthermore, Essenes were remote from Judea and are not even mentioned in the NT with the other sects. In any event, Christ and the apostles did not practice or preach monasticism or asceticism. The Christian is supposed to be salt and light in the world, but when people isolate themselves from the world, they are being self-centered in " a voluntary humility".

 

[Hidden In Him]

I don't see the point of your argument.

The point was that Colossians 2:18-21 has primarily to do with self-abasement to a level below angels, in feeling the need to enter into the worship of the angels in Heaven. Despite the opinion of your source, Colossians has EVERYTHING to do with the Essenes, and it is not accurately understood if this is not taken into consideration. The use of this passage to condemn asceticism is overdone. When Paul made constant reference to the flesh warring against the spirit and the spirit against the flesh, he was not talking about the flesh in some mystical sense of the word. He meant the flesh, plain and simple. It needs to be brought under subjugation to the spirit man, and any practices that encourage denying the flesh including and especially fasting are and should rightly be classified as asceticism. Use of Colossians to supposedly condemn doing so through such practices are IMO making an excuse for not obeying the command to crucify the flesh.

 

[Windmillcharge]

And Christians are to be aware of what is happening around them also. The conspiracy against Trump is not conducive to a free country where there is freedom to preach the Gospel. Indeed the Left-Liberals are attacking free speech and Christianity as we speak.

Every political party is at some point hostile to Christianity.
We have freedom in the west because of Christian influence on society, not because of any political party.
You are free to be involved in supporting your view which is the best political party.

 

[Truth]

Personally I have been educated from a child, from my dad, not to put to much trust in Government! So as Believers we should Put all Trust in Our King! Plan A - It was Love that wrote the Play--{ this came from a song } I have never been able to find it, But it was Great! Herd it a couple of time's!

 

[Phoneman777]

How did you arrive at this conclusion? While Wikipedia calls the identification of the Deep State and its enmity againt Donald Trump a *conspiracy theory*, the fact are all before us now. Peter Strzok -- a Deep State conspirator of the FBI -- has just been fired (finally).

It was indeed a Deep State conspiracy (from 2016 or earlier) to prevent President Trump from becoming president, and now it continues as a conspiracy to try and impeach him, while undermining his agenda to make America great again, and to drain the swamp. Only the Left-Liberals and the Deep State conspirators would call this a *theory* when it is an UGLY FACT.

So what is *cultic* about accepting the reality of what is going on in America, and the reality of the witch hunt that continues even though there is not an iota of truth to any Russian collusion on the side of Trump (rather it points to Russian collusion on the part of Obama and Hillary)?

With the leftist fake news media bias so blatantly out in the open now without any attempt to hide it whatsoever anymore, the degree of effort necessary for them to put forth in order to remain liberal is directly proportional to the degree of effort necessary for them to remain willfully ignorant.

 

[Brakelite]

QAnon. Two years since this thread. And QAnon has become almost mainstream to the point that it has supporters standing for congress, and Christianity Today calling it a cult.
The discussion has two sides.
On Q's side is the contention that there's a deep state conspiracy against Trump because he is at the forefront of a battle against pedophiles and child sex trafficking.
On the other side is the belief, shared by both Christians and left wing liberals, and all the media that such a conspiracy is a ridiculous idea and those supporting Q are crazies.
So. Is it? First, why is it such a strange left field concept to believe that the elite occult rulers of this world are pedophiles? Particularly in light of the fact that we know that trafficking is a growth revenue product exceeding the revenue of illicit drugs. Those missing children aren't being sold to back street slum dwellers. Only the super rich can afford to pay tens of thousands of dollars in order to sustain a deep seated evil abominable dysfunctional demonic addiction.
A further fact. Dozens of high powered politicians and CEOs have been indicted and are now serving time for pedophile related crimes over recent years.
A further fact. Scores of CEOs have mysteriously stepped down from their high powered positions in the last 12 months with no explanation.
And one more fact... The global cabal which we know biblically as Babylon the Great, which as we speak is gaining in influence and power world wide, is a mirror reflection of everything one would imagine was evil in connection with the original Babylon... Occult... Temple prostitution... Child sex slavery... Child sacrifice etc etc. Why should we not expect that they not only exist, but fight tooth and nail against any suggestion of opposition to their demented satanic practices?
I'm not sure why Christians should be so opposed to the idea. And if Trump and certain high powered lawyers and military personnel are involved, then more power to them.