[TruthTalk] arophobia: fear of reason

[jandgtaylor1]

From: "Blaine Borrowman" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> **Blaine:  I respectfully (DavidH has taught me a few things) disagree.  (:>)  They definitely were keeping their fingers on the pulse of the common folk, I have no contention with that.  But they did it because these folks were the source of their power, wealth and social status.    Judy: They weren't elected officials Blaine. The seat of Moses was something instituted by God.   Blaine: These men--scribes and Pharisees-- were the ones who bought and sold in the temple, and were the ones Jesus drove out on two different occasions.   Judy: I understand there to have been just  one of these incidents; but yes the religious leaders were in charge of what went on at the temple.   Blaine: They clearly saw Jesus Christ as a rival to their own control over the source (the people) of what they valued most--money, power, status.  Their hearts were so much preoccupied with these things, they rationalized to themselves they had cause against him sufficient to kill him.    Judy: Is killing another human being ever a rational deed even when pre meditated and planned?  More likely it is something done irrationally in the passion of the moment.   Blaine: Yet, as Jesus said, they "hated me without a cause."   If they had no cause, they must have therefore known who he was.  But they chose to get rid of him anyway ...   Judy: I do not get the connection above. How is hating him for no apparent reason proof that they actually knew who he was? They rejected his  teaching and would not believe him for his works sake.  Only a few  of them such as Nicodemus who visited him at night with questions understood and believed the rest had darkened hearts and were as blind as bats. Understand that noone is able to come to Jesus unless they are drawn by the Father so apparently these religious men did not qualify.   Blaine: thus preserving their valued positions in the then current socio- economic  status system.  Satan has power to tempt people to go for the short-term goals in preference to the long term ones, and they often do cave in.    Judy: The Romans had the socio economic power in Israel during the time of Jesus earthly ministry; the scribes and pharisees were religious people who could not have had him legally killed without the Roman Governor's consent.   Blaine: As Jesus said, "What does it profit a man to gain the whole world, but lose his own soul."  This is a good question, but the answer is, people often do exactly that, and this is my whole point.  These men preferred the short term goal over the longer term one.  They sold their souls for a few pieces of silver, so to speak, just as did Judas Iscariot.    Judy: The outcome may have been the same but this was not a mental or rational issue Blaine.  These are spiritual realities - the Jewish leaders were full of religious spirits and rather than embrace the truth and allow the truth to make them free they rejected the Lord of Glory and chose to remain in their chains of hypocrisy and religious bondage.  Their system went down along with the temple.    Blaine: To use an experience I had once with a woman who confessed she knew Mormonism was true--once having confessed this, she nevertheless refused to be baptized, because, as she later admitted, she didn't want to give up her alcoholic beverages, she didn't want to have to pay a 10% tithe, and most of all she did not want to give up her friends and family, who were all against her becoming a member of the LDS Church.    Judy: The woman was apparently confused but I can't grieve for her any more than for you and DaveH because if you guys had a genuine revelation of the real Jesus you would burn your books of Mormon, fall at his feet and follow him becoming a sheep rather than a god, because He is in fact the Word of God, the living Word, and the ONLY way to  the Kingdom of God and eternal life.    Judy