Category: Teachings

Facts Lies Mistakes & Pride: The last message in the series Learn Real Christianity from Scratch!

Learning topics of substance, especially something foreign or new, requires working through biases and pre-conceived notions. We are also required to be disciplined, patient, and methodical. I explain how to do this in this installment of the message. I also explain the incredible gravity of why we need to apply these virtues to arrive at the truth.

Discipline is key. Society has great systems for arriving at truth and facts. From childhood, most of us were taught the Scientific Method. This is a recipe for challenging hypotheses until they pass enough tests to become Scientific Law. This method requires patience, discipline, and objectivity. The same virtues are required when we take up matters of law. Our judicial system is set up very similar to that of the Torah. Two or more witnesses are required to establish facts in the Bible, specifically facts about sin and law.

In business, society has systems of standards like the International Standards Organization and the Six Sigma method of improvement. These systems, and their equivalents, are established similar to the Scientific Method. They drive us to challenge norms and constantly improve through methods established to unearth truth.

Facts Lies Mistakes & Pride

Two big examples of how disregarding societal standards come from two instances. One is ancient and biblical. The other is recent and societal. The recent departure was the maniacal usage of hand sanitizer during COVID. Those who work in labs are trained, drilled even, to know how to respond to airborne pathogens. Hand sanitizer has no effect. Yet ALL of society’s leaders in science disregarded their training at the drop of an emotional hat.

The second centers around the mission of these messaged: Christ and Him Crucified. When the people had the Messiah executed, they emotionally disregard a foundation of the Torah. This foundation was part of their core identity: the law of two or more witnesses. They threw all they knew to be true out the window and had an innocent man executed, even shouting they had no king but Caesar. That sentence rejected YHVH as their true King and Yeshua as their Prince. This message, in video above and print below, shows you how to avoid being like these two groups of bad actors.

How to Read the Bible: The bible, like all literature, contains nuances. This is the third installment of the series How to Learn Real Christianity from Scratch. I explain some of these nuances to help you learn scripture the way it was meant to be received.

One first should start with a bible that is literal, accurate, and provides the information in as non-biased fashion as possible. The New American Standard Bible of 1995 fits this bill very well. This version contains hints that enable readers of English to get more out of the bible than previous versions. I show the power of one of those hints in detail in this message.

Another key to learning how to read the bible is to avoid the chapters and verses. This sounds shocking, but those were added over 1000 years after the Messiah ascended. The people who put the chapters and verses in the bible were at least as removed from their original intent of the text than we are today. The chapters and verse often break up thoughts and sentences and give the impression there are gaps in time when there are none. It takes effort, but if you read the bible without the chapters and verses, you will experience the fluidity of how it was originally meant to be read.

How to Read the Bible

In this message, I show the culture of how the New Testament was meant to be read. The Jews of the first century cited scripture by just referring to a phrase or sentence from a passage. Since all believers attended synagogue, they knew Moses and the rest of the Old Testament by heart. Jesus aka Yeshua leveraged this form of communication in His discussion with his detractors. In fact, His dying words “Eli, Eli, llama sabachtani” used this very technique to tell those looking that He was fulfilling a prophecy. Paul expected anyone who read his letters to be familiar with this communication method. This is why his letters oftentimes have sentences that just look out of place.

The key place I use to explain this technique, and the hints built into the NASB95, is the greatest commandment. Yeshua was telling us how to love God when He told his challenger what the greatest commandment was. Listen to the message above or read the pdf below to find out how!

Weighing the Evidence: avoiding key pitfalls. The second message in the series about learning real Christianity from scratch.

This message begins with a recap of the first message titled Learn Real Christianity from Scratch. If you haven’t started with that one, I highly recommend it. Key information is to begin your studies with the NASB95 version of the bible. This translation is literal, readable, and remarkably true to the original texts while removing as much doctrine as humanly possible. You can read about this translation at this link https://www.blueletterbible.org/bibles/preface-to-the-new-american-standard-bible-1995.cfm

Learning when the books of the bible were written, by whom, and what else was going on in the world at the time gives you great insight. This context helps us to learn the scriptures the way they were intended to be read. We should also avoid reading the chapters and verses. This is remarkably important because those were added over 1000 years after the New Testament authors died. The people who added the chapters and verses are just as removed from the first century Christian or Judean culture as we are today. Weighing the evidence of scripture requires us to consume scripture within the culture it was written (as much as possible).

Weighing the Evidence

A key pitfall to avoid is falling into the trap of creeds. Christianity today is a system of memorized doctrines. The folks who do this don’t even realize it because it’s taught from the moment a person begins to talk. Those of us raised in mainstream Christianity are taught it’s biblical. But the way we learn this is to memorize a doctrine with proof texts rather than reading the scriptures and arriving at conclusions. These messages about learning real Christianity from scratch are intended to teach people who have never been indoctrinated how to avoid that trap. Frankly, if the doctrine is true, you’ll get there soon enough!

Understand this path we are on is a long path. It’s a journey. You are not saved by doctrine and you are not in a rush. Imagine if you could have another lifetime with your earthly father. Would you rush through it like you did the first time, making immature mistakes, or would you slow down and savor your time with him? Obviously it’s the latter. Being born again is our chance to learn about our heavenly Father. We need to come at this like children, but children who know we have a new lease on life. Take your time on this journey and weigh the evidence along the way.

Learn Real Christianity from Scratch. This is the first message in a series to help people with little to no education about Christianity or the bible get started. The series is available here https://firstcenturychristianity.net/from-scratch/. Historically, Christianity is taught by comparing the doctrines of denominations. The reality of the 21st century is that half of the population has no foundation in a church setting at all. This is a great place to be because new believers can learn real Christianity without having to sift through the last 1900 years of bad doctrine!

In this message, I explain why Christianity matters at all. This is not a hobby, an academic exercise, or a money making opportunity. Oh, no. Christianity matters because we want to attain eternal life. The only religion that offers this is real Christianity. The key to eternal life is to know Jesus Christ and Him crucified. This is what the Apostle Paul focused on in his evangelistic work throughout the western world in the first century.

How to learn real Christianity

To attain eternal life, we must know Jesus Christ. Jesus, whom I call by His Hebrew Name Yeshua, is not just a man who showed up in the first century with a bunch of new teachings. He is the ultimate Messiah and Son of God. He was explained and prophesied about throughout the Old Testament, and this is where most of His teachings originate. The Old Testament was the only bible they had in the first century. It was also only available to the general population in synagogues.

This message, available above in video and below in print, explains how to begin to learn real Christianity. This is not hard if you choose the right bible and understand what you are reading. I explain some very basic information that will help you on your path to understand who Jesus is, why He came, and how to attain eternal life.