Polycarp's Epistle to the Philipians

Polycarp is a great example of the Apostles teaching. He was a disciple of the Apostle John, and Bishop of Smyrna! Today I wanted to post some excerpts from his Epistle to the Philipians!

Chapter 1:5 

"Into which many desire to enter; I knowing that by grace ye are saved; not by works, but the will of God through Jesus Christ.

1:10

" But remembering what the Lord has taught us saying, Judge not, and ye shall not be judged; forgive and ye shall be forgiven; be ye merciful, and ye shall obtain mercy; for with the same measure that ye meet withal, it shall be measured to you again." Notice Polycarp's teaching from the Gospels.

2:5 

"But the love of money is the root of all evil. Knowing therefore that as we brought nothing into this world, so neither may we carry any thing out; let us arm ourselves with the armor of righteousness."

Polycarp demonstrates great knowledge of the Biblical Canon teachings and was probably familiar with Paul's letters to all the Churches! 

Praise God for the Faith of Orthodoxy that has from the very beginning until now been present in our world.

Today's Gospel Reading: Luke 13:10-17

He was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath day. 11 Behold, there was a woman who had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and she was bent over, and could in no way straighten herself up.12 When Jesus saw her, he called her, and said to her, “Woman, you are freed from your infirmity.”13 He laid his hands on her, and immediately she stood up straight, and glorified God.  

14 The ruler of the synagogue, being indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, said to the multitude, “There are six days in which men ought to work. Therefore come on those days and be healed, and not on the Sabbath day!”  

15 Therefore the Lord answered him, “You hypocrites! Doesn’t each one of you free his ox or his donkey from the stall on the Sabbath, and lead him away to water? 16 Ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan had bound eighteen long years, be freed from this bondage on the Sabbath day?” 17 As he said these things, all his adversaries were disappointed, and all the multitude rejoiced for all the glorious things that were done by him.

This is a powerful passage where Christ really differentiates himself from the typically religious of the day while they are focusing on keep every detail of the law. Christ put faith and people ahead of the "rules". I think it would be wise for us to pay close attention to this passage. In an age where Churches divide over color of carpet, and other insignificant trivialities, we need to be Christ's body in this world, that was the responsibility He left the Church. May God grant us the ability to stop fighting over legalistic trivialities and help us become the Body of Christ! 

Prayer of St. Francis de Sales

O love eternal, my soul needs and chooses you eternally, ah, come Holy Spirit, and inflame our hearts with your love! To love- or to die! To die- and to love! To die to all other love in order to live in Jesus's love, so that we may not die eternally. But that we may live in your eternal love, O Saviour of our souls, we eternally sing, "Live, Jesus! Jesus, I love! Live, Jesus whom I love, Jesus who lives and reigns forever and ever." Amen

Church Father Quotes

"I am writing to all the Churches and I enjoin all, that I am dying willingly for God's sake, if only you do not prevent it. I beg you, do not do me an untimely kindness. Allow me to be eaten by the beasts, which are my way of reaching to God. I am God's wheat, and I am to be ground by the teeth of wild beasts, so that I may become the pure bread of Christ"

"But our Physician is the only true God, the unbegotten and unapproachable, the Lord of all, the Father and Begetter of the only-begotten Son. We have also as a Physician the Lord our God, Jesus the Christ, the only-begotten Son and Word"- Ignatius disciple of the Apostle John and Bishop of Antioch  

"Eighty and six years I have served him, How then can I blaspheme my King and Savior? Bring forth what thou wilt."- Polycarp disciple of the Apostle John and Bishop of Smyrna

Rough Week (Challenging my Spiritual Life)

This week has been rough. Work has been very stressful, finances have been stretched, physically draining, and spiritually dismal. I think God may be showing me that although I may feel my theology is correct that a relationship with Him is more important. I can read theological material, the Bible, go to Church, but if my prayer life is nonexistent then so is my relationship with Him. Thing is it's so hard to make the time for prayer. Sin is like cancer it's common, and it's hard to kill. As soon as I feel like I'm doing good in one area I fall flat on my face. It's sometimes depressing that it's so hard, it's even harder knowing that my own body is the enemy. God's love transcends my failures but it get's old asking forgiveness just to know tomorrow is going to be another screw up. Narrow is the way to Life. I have found the Serenity prayer by German theologian Reinhold Niebuhr a strength and hope that I can live the words found within the prayer. 

Dear God, and Heavenly Father,
Grant to us the serenity of mind to accept that which cannot be changed;
The courage to change that which can be changed;
And the wisdom to know the one from the other.
Living one day at a time,
Enjoying one moment at a time,
Accepting hardship as a pathway to peace,
Taking, as Jesus did,
The sinful world as it is,
Not as I would have it,
Trusting that You will make all things right,
If I surrender to Your will,
So that I may be reasonably happy in this life,
And supremely happy with You forever in the next,
Through Jesus Christ, our Lord, AMEN.

Assumption

Tell us, Mary Mother, how it was,
That day in August (was it?),
When He came for you.

“At sunset we saw, John and I,
How the apricots had ripened,
Turning to gold on the wall.
It was that night I fell asleep.
I thought my heart was awake,
that I dreamed of Him as ever,
but (no dream) He was there:
‘Rise up, my love, my fair one,
And come away!’
His left hand was under my head,
And His right hand embraced me,
And raised me, through light
Full of knowledge and Bodiless Powers,
Until I was there and rested beside Him.
Then I knew with His mind,
And loved with His will,
And felt with His heart,
And was crowned in His Kingdom,
The royalty His, and now mine.

Then, turning, I spoke to the Lamb, to my Son,
‘My Lord and my God,’ (my hour had come!),”

Episcopus Ignotus

Conditional Immortality of the Soul (part 2)

Jesus took our punishment on Himself God's wrath was poured out on Him... And through the greatest act of love and obedience, we can taste of redemption because Jesus Christ rose from the grave allowing Christians to ask “Oh death where is your sting”. If "death" really means "living eternally separated" from God (and it does not), then death really will exist forever. However, in Revelation 21:4 – John specifically states that there will be "no more death"


Turning now to the Traditions of the Holy Church, has innate immortality always been the official position of the Church.The Lateran Council in 1513 declared it a heresy to believe the Soul was not inherently Immortal, this council was a Roman Catholic Council, declaring this “Orthodox” while also getting rich off telling people they could pay to get their families and friends out of “purgatory”. The reason the Bishop of Rome and the Roman Church declared this heresy as orthodox was to scare people into submitting to the Church. John Milton and many of the Anabaptist condemned this Greek philosophical invasion of the Christian faith. In Greek philosophy the only major faction that did not believe in the innate immortality of the Soul was the Epicureans! The following Church Fathers all held the view of Conditional Immortality: Clement of Rome (who died about100 AD), Ignatius (died about 107), the Didache (about 120), Barnabus (died about 140), The Shepherd of Hermas (about 154), Polycarp (died about 155), Justin Martyr (about165), Tatian (about 172), Iranaeus(about 202), Novation (about 280), Arnobius (about 330), and Lactantius (about 330). Athanasius also supported Conditional Immortality but with some confusing statements. John Tyndale also believe in Conditional Immortality, as well as Luther who claimed it was a false teaching of the Pope in the 27th proposition in his 1520 defense of 41 of his thesis he nailed to the Church in Wittenberg.Christianity also traces it's origins to Judaism and look to the Tenach to prove Christ fulfilled the Messianic prophecy. Yet in Judaism and the Old Testament there's never been a belief or Scripture passage in support of man possessing Innate Immortality. If Judaism forms the early basis for our very own faith, and it does, don't you think that they would have also believed in an eternal torment of the soul? Ezekiel 18:4 "Behold, all souls are mine; the soul of the father as well as the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sins shall die." Just a couple verses later we see the fate of the righteous Ezekiel 18:9b "-he is righteous, he shall surely live, says the Lord GOD." Psalms 1:6 " for the LORD knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish." The Old Testament does not support the idea of Natural Immortality!


Does Conditional Immortality seem reasonable? Why would God choose to punish transgressors for all of eternity? The Bible teaches God as being compassionate, merciful, loving, and fair. Sentencing the “lost” to suffer in hell for all eternity just does not seem consistent with God's nature. (Seen in Scripture.) In Scripture we do see that God detests sin but there is always love for the sinner. Rejecting Christ's atonement of course does have a consequence and that is to be 'destroyed, to cease to exist, a final and eternal punishment.' I think as Christian's we have enjoyed Innate immortality because sometimes in this life it seems unfair that the wicked seem to have more success than those who serve God. Not only does it seem fair that God would just annihilate those who rejected him, but also it's easier to get people to convert to Christianity when one convinces them they will spend eternity suffering torment in hell. Which is why Evangelicalism seems hollow to me using hell to motivate people to come to Christ instead of helping them realize the abundant, rewarding life Christ promised. Jesus says in John 10:10b " I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly." Jesus, speaking of living the way he exemplified while on earth, says we will have a much more abundant life than living to the world's model! Christ's earthly ministry is an example to all of us and if we follow it we will have not only a rewarding and abundant life on earth but also be given the gift of eternal life by God. In conclusion, man does not possess Innate Immortality, the punishment for sin is death of the soul, Eternal life is granted by God, as a gift to those who have faith. This is a most Scriptural, Traditional, and Reasonable doctrine. May the Peace of God be with you,


"because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps." 1 Peter 2:21b


All Scripture taken from the RSV unless otherwise stated.

The Conditional Immortality of the Soul (part 1)

I want to explain and defend my view of the soul, God's Infinitely compassionate nature, and what I believe is a heresy that has crept into the Church's Theology through the Greek Culture and Religious mythology. I was raised in a Fundamental Baptist  Sect, which strongly taught the innate Immortality of the Human Soul. Since moving to the Anglican Church, I now create my Theology based on three factors: Scripture, Tradition, and Reason. I affirm the The Creeds of the Early Church: Apostles' and Nicene. Looking to the Book of Common Prayer for practice of things related to my Faith in Jesus Christ and His Holy Catholic Church.

In most Protestant, Evangelical, the Roman Catholic See, and the Eastern Orthodox Churches, the view of the human soul is that it is innately Immortal, that is, that once born, that person will live for the rest of eternity either spending it in Eternal Hellfire with Satan and the fallen angels or in Heaven with God the Father and our Messiah Jesus. There are exceptions in every branch of the above mentioned Churches but still Innate Immortality is widely held as Orthodox. I want to challenge this view of the human soul and assert that Immortality is a gift granted by Jesus Christ and his atonement for fallen humanity.  "and now has manifested through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel." ( 2 Timothy 1:10)

First we will look at Scripture, apply proper hermeneutics, and see if the doctrine of Conditional Immortality is supported in the Book of Life. From the very beginning of the Bible God gave humanity the Choice of whether to follow His commands or to follow our own path.

"And the woman said to the serpent, "We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden but God said, 'You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.'" Genesis 3:2-3 God didn't tell Adam and Eve that if they ate of the fruit they would spend an eternity burning in hell. Of course God made a way for redemption through the shedding of blood, of Christ's atonement on the Cross, and His defeat of DEATH.In 1 Timothy 6:16 Paul tells Timothy, of God, "who alone has immortality and dwells in unapproachable light, whom no man has ever seen or can see. To him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen." Humanity is not given immortality. The dictionary definition of immortal includes- "unending life. not subject to death or decay; having perpetual life" God alone has these attributes. Humanity is only given Immortality as a gift from God, Romans 2:7 " to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life;" Why would God give believers the gift of immortality if we possess it innately? Man is obsessed with never dying. From the very beginning of time, Immortality has been the most sought after ideal of humanity.Above money, sex, fame, has been the desire to live forever.This is why the Gospel of Christ is so appealing, it offers us immortality,an unimaginable paradise, eternal life spent with the God that created us,the Christ that saved us, and the Spirit who guides us.  John 6:51 "I am the living bread which came down from heaven; if any one eats of this bread, he will live for ever; and the bread which I shall give for the life of the world is my flesh." John 3:16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life."  Notice Jesus didn't say burn in hell for eternity, but perish... Die. God created us to worship Him, even after we sinned against His holiness, He loved us enough that He sent His Son to provide a way for us to be with him. Perish in John 3:16 is the Greek word “apollumi” literally meaning to 'be destroyed'. 

Romans 6:23 "For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord" Why would Paul  use eternal life instead of mentioning that sin earns us a one way ticket to an eternity burning in hell? Matthew 10:28 "And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell." Jesus tells us not to fear men but rather fear God who is able to destroy both body and SOUL in hell. That doesn't sound like immortality, lets also look at James 4:12 " There is one lawgiver and judge, he who is able to save and to destroy. But who are you that you judge your neighbor?" God of course is the Lawgiver and he will either save or destroy the Soul. In Philippians 3:19 "Their end is destruction, their god is the belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things." Speaking of those who reject the Cross. Genesis 3:22 "Then the LORD God said, "Behold, the man has become like one of us, knowing good and evil; and now, lest he put forth his hand and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever". Obviously God did not want us to live eternally as sinners, our punishment must be death.1 Corinthians 15:53 "For this perishable nature must put on the imperishable, and this mortal nature must put on immortality." In this passage Paul is speaking of the Saved in Christ victory over Death and from the above verse not just a physical but also a mortality of the Soul. John 12:25 "He who loves his life loses it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life". Romans 8:13 " for if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body you will live." Obviously this is speaking of spiritual death not physical death. We all die the first death, but only those who reject the Gospel will experience the second death. Death is punishment and it lasts forever, that's why Scripture says it's eternal because it is an everlasting punishment! 2 Thessalonians 1:9  "They shall suffer the punishment of eternal destruction and exclusion from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might"