dissident (adj.)
c.1534, from L. dissidentem (nom. dissidens), prp. of dissidere “to be remote, disagree, be removed from,” lit. “to sit apart,” from dis- “apart” + sedere “to sit” (see sedentary). The noun in the political sense first used 1940, with rise of totalitarian systems, especially with ref. to the Soviet Union. The noun is first recorded 1766, in allusion to Protestants. (Online Etymology Dictionary)
the dissident
I believe… the Bible we use today, in the most part, is God-breathed (2 Timothy 3:16) with an infallible message of Christ’s redemptive power. Acknowledging the writings of the Old Testament and the Apostles’ writings in the New Testament, we must realize that though these men were inspired by God and were a witness to who He was and is, they were Godly, yet fallible men.
Because of translators of the past and present, the translations used today are, in part, erroneous, and must not be considered infallible and also must not be exalted above or elevated to the importance of the convictions given to us by the Holy Spirit (John 16:13).
The Scriptures are inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, so that the people of God may be adequate and equipped for every good work, but are not a requirement for Salvation. However, I would never encourage anyone to abandon it or go without reading it for long periods of time. It’s like a Christian’s lifetime work book – you are to read AND do what it says.
Jesus Christ is the Word of God (John 1:1-14) who inspires, and no book should be seen as godlike or perfect like He is.
I believe… the trinity consists of The Father, who is God, The Son, who is Jesus, and The Holy Spirit. These are three distinctly separate beings (Mark 1:10-11) whom operate as one in unity (John 10:30) – one as God.
I believe… that Jesus (or Yehoshua), being God and realizing that equality to the Father was something not to be grasped (Philippians 2:6), emptied Himself, and was sent by His Father in an unselfish attempt to rescue us from our state of sin. He became a ransom in order to restore us to having a relationship with God (Matthew 20:28).
Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit (Luke 1:35) and took on the nature of man (Hebrews 2:14, Hebrews 4:15, Hebrews 5:2), but remained sinless and uncorrupted. He slept, laughed, joked, cried, loved, forgave, taught, and grew in favor with God and men (Luke 2:52).
He died on a cross (John 19), shedding his blood for our sins (Matthew 26:28, Hebrews 9:12, Hebrews 9:14), nailing our sins to the cross (Colossians 2:14) and physically rose again in three days (Mark 8:31, 1 Corinthians 15:4). After ascending into Heaven, He now sits at the right hand of the Father (Ephesians 1:20, Colossians 3:1, 1 Peter 3:22).
Jesus is the Messiah prophesied about in the Old Testament (John 5:39, John 5:46), the Son of God (Luke 22:69-70), and is the only way to the Father (John 14:6).
I believe… that the Holy Spirit is the third person of the trinity, and because of Jesus, is now indwelling within every believer (1 Corinthians 6:19, 1 John 2:27). He teaches us, convicts us, comforts us, regenerates us, testifies of Jesus (John 14:26, John 15:26, John 16:8), and by Him, we are “sealed until the day of redemption.” (Ephesians 1:7-14)
I believe… that salvation is through Christ alone and provided to us by the grace and mercy of God (Romans 3:24, Romans 5:15). We are justified by our faith in believing Jesus is the Christ (Romans 3:28, Galatians 2:16), as our works bear witness of us having and keeping the faith (James 2:17).
To be continued…
13 comments
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January 12, 2008 at 1:31 am
joshuathereformist
I’m glad you search for truth. Be careful in your search though. Pagan practices are evident in the church but it doesn’t necessarily make them sinful. There are lots of things we use that are not “christian”. It’s all about the heart. Where’s your heart at? That is more important. You can get over-critical really easy. I DID! When i got out of bible college i thought i knew it all and i was going to teach the world a thing or two. But, instead i became really arrogant and puffed up. I still do at times. Focus on Jesus. All this other crap doesn’t hold a candle up to christ. love you bro. -joshua
January 12, 2008 at 3:35 pm
Joram
Josh, you’re right, but this blog is my “venting zone” for the things that bother me, intrigue me, and for different things that I want to post about. In the process, I hope it educates or hopefully allows other believers to take solace in the fact that there are those out there with similar convictions.
Please don’t think that I walk up to random people or start random conversations about pagan practices. That’s hardly the case, but if someone were to ask me about my view, I would, in love, explain my evidence and/or belief.
As for me, I see no need for paganism in the church, and I doubt Christ does also. I understand that it is a heart issue, but as one matures in their faith, and is constantly yearning for more truth, there should be a constant learning process and willingness to learn from the Holy Spirit as He exposes or enlightens us to the things we have not yet seen.
I don’t expect a baby to eat steak, nor do I expect an adult to live on milk.
January 22, 2008 at 6:55 pm
Joram
Updating…
the original was a copy and paste job from my original website from a year ago. I thought it would be better to actually write out what I believe.
March 6, 2008 at 10:20 pm
Carl
I arrived at your nexus by a different path, and believe that the ten virgins had to go OUT. What did they leave? Those that “buy and sell”. That’s where the wise sent the foolish once they had realized their mistake. The bible has much to say about mystery Babylon, and her daughters. I recomend you also visit http://hushmoney.org/501c3-facts.htm for another view of the machine. Would appreciate haring your updates as they occur.
March 20, 2008 at 3:36 pm
Patrick Heron
Came across your youtube on the Sons of God.
Scripture interprets scripture…That way, “no prophecy of the scripture is of any PRIVATE interpretation.”
Read each of the 8 places the term Bene Elohim, (sons of God), occurs in the Old Testement. The meaning is quite clear and the scripture interprets the scripture.
You left something out when you quoted Jesus speaking of angels marrying. He said, “In heaven…it is not given to the angels to marry.”
It is a serious thing to omit parts of the Word of God.
In Jude 6 we are told that it was “the angels that kept not their first estate, and left their own habitation” that came to earth and sinned. In 1 Peter 4 and 2 Peter 2 it fills in the rest of the story of these fallen angels.
And in Rev 9, they will be released from the bottomless pit once again.
So they were no “in heaven” when they sinned.
Hope this helps.
God bless,
Patrick Heron http://www.neph.ie
Dublin, Ireland
May 16, 2008 at 10:13 am
Christoferl
Nice new look bro!
June 8, 2008 at 4:48 pm
ovadyah
Dissident/Joram,
Do you belong to a congregation in B.R./Louisiana area?
June 8, 2008 at 8:44 pm
Joram
Not anymore, no. I grew up in Bethany, then it was between Household of Faith and Healing Place before we moved to California.
I have been thoroughly disappointed in the “selection” around here.
I’d much rather attend a home church meeting.
June 23, 2009 at 1:41 pm
D33PPURPLE
Joram, you seem to know quite a bit from the bible. I am a Christian but have two big questions, perhaps you could help me out here:
1. If God knows everything why does he allow people who he knows are not going to change to carry out their evil deeds just for them to end up in eternal damnation. What was the point of creating them?
2. Why was God so easily influenced by Satan in the story of Job? Why did God just let Satan kill Job’s sons?
July 1, 2009 at 12:21 pm
Wade
Dear “D33PPURPLE”,
If I may, I would like to respond to your first question and share something that God imparted to me about 20 years ago. I was struggling, as many of us do, with the understanding of how God can be all-knowing, yet how man can have a free will and not be “pre-destined” to heaven or hell.
The answer actually came through an old Atari checkers video game. On the front of the game it had listed beginner, intermediate, and expert. On the beginner, it stated that the game played 2-3 plays ahead; on the intermediate, the game played 4-5 plays ahead; and on the expert, the game played 8-9 plays ahead (it’s been many, many years since I’ve read the game case, so the actualy wording & numbers may be different).
If a game that is VERY simple by today’s gaming standards is capable of something like this, how much MORE capable is God in his omnipresence? In other words, God is capable of looking at every single person individually, as well as EVERY single choice that they will have at ANY given point in time. Then, no matter which choices you or I make, God’s already there, WITH a plan in place for our redemption or for us to follow in His will. So, we can choose to follow God’s will, or we can choose to follow our own path.
The most important part is….WE choose!
We, however, can get to the point that God will no longer deal with us (i.e.: mark of the Beast, grieving the Holy Spirit, etc). Again, WE have chosen. God will put every warning sign possible in our path to attempt to redeem us (and He already has), but ultimately….WE DECIDE!
I sincerely hope this helps. I’ll be watching for any responses.
God Bless,
Wade
June 9, 2008 at 1:54 pm
ovadyah
Shalom Joram,
Sorry to tie up your board but didn’t see a contact link. Please pray for me, I’m in the exact same situation. I started at Bethany and tried Healing Place and was appalled at the disorder and greed in both.
I’m attempting Istrouma Baptist as a last resort and coincidently I’ve decided the same thing but my wife needs the fellowship. She believes in Stockstill’s “give to get” plans which utterly disgust me.
Anywho wish you were here,
Ovadyah
February 14, 2009 at 4:30 pm
Jake
I saw the youtube video titled BEWARE:False prophets(for profit). Was wondering if someone could tell me who the artist is that is playing in the background as the scripture verse is scrolling up?
Sad to see so many people following false teachers.
October 30, 2009 at 7:36 pm
Justin
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ovV1rBWq3Dg
Can anyone tell me what the song is at the end of this video please?!?