Those of you who preach contrary to the word of God, I have only this to say: you have no idea what you are doing. You sew your seeds of unrighteousness, thinking you are right. You tell people that parenthood is a trap, that life is about the individual and the needs of the one. You teach that whatever a person does is right for them, as long as they feel it is right. They can choose whether or not to have an abortion, they can determine how many children to have purely of their own will, they can leave family and home to pursue a self-fulfilling career, and that is right. You hide from them the consequences of their actions. You lead them into believing that life is a silver platter from which they can pluck only the foods they want and avoid any consequence for their choices. Your work brings disillusionment, pain, shattered lives and pure evil. What you teach is no better than rape, because it leaves minds and lives broken almost beyond all repair. You teach what you do because you think you have a right to do so. You think your tiny mind, with all its human faults, is somehow smarter and greater than the mind of God. You are wrong. You are so very wrong.
And the consequences for your actions are not limited to those deceived by your lies. No, innocent children, husbands and wives are damaged by your teachings. How many broken hearts have been broken not to humility before God, but to the darkest depths of self-hate because of the lies you have spun? How many men and women and children, real living people, have spent how many hours wishing they or their loved ones had never listened to you?
You have shown me that you don't have to say there is no Christ to be an antithesis to all that He is. Someday, oh ye Anti-Christ, someday you will have to face the fruits of your teachings. Someday you will have to answer to the pain you have caused in the lives of innocents, all in the name of your own intellect. Some day you will plead to avoid the consequences of what you have done, you will say, "I always knew that there was a God. But I was deceived. I said what I did because it made people happy. I taught what I did and many believed me, until even I believed that what I taught brought happiness," but it will be too late for you to have the curse removed because the curse is of your own doing. I feel so sorry for you, Anti-Christ, even as I rage at what you have done, helpless to stop your effects in my life even though I, personally, shut you out. I feel sorry for you because you will never understand real joy. You will never discover how to have pure happiness lifting you up even in the midst of your darkest time. You will never understand how to forgive.
I forgive you for what you have done to me and my family. I'm still hurt by it, but even that will pass in time.
Please stop. Please stop teaching all the things you have worked out in your own head and turn back to the scriptures and the prophets. What they teach may seem so restrictive, but once you accept those restrictions, entire worlds of joy and opportunity open to you that you will never find so long as you live in the congratulatory world of your own intellect. Please, please stop pushing your agendas on the weak and innocent. Please, please, please stop hurting yourself and your brothers and sisters. Humble yourself. Repent. For now, there is still time.
They can choose whether or not to have an abortion, they can determine how many children to have purely of their own will, they can leave family and home to pursue a self-fulfilling career, and that is right.
ReplyDeleteFor someone who (per our previous discussion on the spirit and letter of the law) believes that there is ultimately only one law--follow the spirit which will lead to immortality and eternal life, and other laws are subject to it, this is pretty quick to judge, no?
Lord, is it I?
ReplyDeleteI'm so sorry to see the pain you are feeling, SilverRain. I hope you are able to find comfort and peace, despite how you feel you've been wronged.
ReplyDeleteThis post is false doctrine! Please stop! You have no idea what you're doing!
ReplyDeleteSmallaxe - No, it's not judging quickly, though it is judging the rightness and wrongness of a thing. Yesterday at this time I was of the opinion that it didn't matter what people preached, because those who were truly trying to live God's will would not be hurt by it. I have learned by my own experience that my previous opinion was naive.
ReplyDeleteMostly, those who preach against the commands of God through His prophets and yet still profess to be faithful and believers preach doctrines that have nothing to do with following the Spirit. Their teachings have everything to do with following the carnal mind, of fulfilling physical and temporal pleasures with no thought for tomorrow. Those who have truly prayed and are sincerely seeking to know God's will for themselves would teach as God's other anointed do: they would teach God's general will and stress the importance of personal revelation in matters. Those in whom the Spirit abides do not teach the exceptions as the mainstream acceptable. Therefore, though I feel an entirely different person from the one who discussed the topic of the Spirit with you, my feelings now are not inconsistent with my thoughts then.
BiV - I'm not sure what you are saying, but if you're asking if you are the specific person I'm talking about, no. There is no specific person I'm talking about. Part of me wishes there were, part of me is glad there is not. From what I know (which is barely more than nothing) you have always earnestly sought answers to your questions and have always sought for a way to resolve your concerns with the will of God. That is one of the things I admire most about you.
Nick - Thank you. That means a lot to me, especially from you, since I don't know you well and you have no personal reason to offer that sympathy. It shows how good of a heart you have.
TT - I hope you enjoyed your stint of pointless sarcasm at my expense. That is not sarcasm. I don't have energy for sarcasm any more. Right now, I truly hope for any joy people can find anywhere. I know I'm treasuring the things I find joy in more than ever before.
I also want to say to anyone who might have been hurt by what I said: I'm not ranting against any political stance. I'm not saying you have to politically support pro-life or anything. There are myriads of reasons why you might not support pro-life that are in keeping with the Spirit. I'm am talking about social, not political teachings. I'm talking about people who push the "do whatever you want, and you'll be happy" mindset. The examples I used - none of them - were in any way specific grievances I was trying to preach against. I kept my specific grievances to myself, they are not relevant to what I'm trying to say. I was using them to illustrate the attitude we have cultured in our society like a particularly virulent strain of e. coli.
ReplyDeleteWhen we teach that "anything goes" is acceptable, we are damaging ourselves and others. Society cannot remain cohesive with moral anarchy. Everyone's choices affect someone else. When a person fights for the freedom of one person, they are often also fighting for the imprisonment of another. All our decisions effect more than we expect. Sometimes the pain that is the fruit of our efforts is not worth the benefits. That is the point of my rant. That attitude is what has crumbled my dreams for what is potentially the rest of my life. That is part of the source of pain I'm feeling more deeply than I ever thought I could.
That is the doctrine of "Eat, drink, and be merry; nevertheless, fear God—he will justify in committing a little sin; yea, lie a little, take the advantage of one because of his words, dig a pit for thy neighbor; [do whatever feels good to you] there is no harm in this; and do all these things, for tomorrow we die; and if it so be that we are guilty, God will beat us with a few stripes, and at last we shall be saved in the kingdom of God."
Those are the teachings of all the so-called intellectuals who have reasoned themselves into spiritual death. That is what I'm pleading with anyone who listens to please stop teaching. Those who teach this are not the only ones who will be hurt, and if they do not repent, the "blood" of my dreams - and the dreams of so many others - will "cry from the ground" against them. That thought brings me no joy, only more sorrow.
That is why I poured out my hurt here, hoping perhaps at least one person would see what harm they are doing and repent.
SilverRain,
ReplyDeleteI am not being sarcastic. I honestly think that you have no idea how many people you might drive away from the church with these self-righteous, inflammatory rants. I appreciate that you say that didn't mean to offend, but you did offend. Honestly, when you compare the idea that when women have careers, it is no better than rape, or call people anti-Christs for suggesting that they have a choice in the number of children they will have, you are literally destroying God's kingdom and you should be ashamed. I beg you to stop. You and your so-called "righteous," congratulatory views are ruining the lives of many faithful members. It is said that "the wicked take the truth to be hard," and I expect you to be no exception. But I still urge you to dial it down, have some love and charity for your fellow members who sacrifice a great deal to help build God's kingdom, and I hope to welcome you as a sibling in the eternal realm.
tt, I don't see SilverRain as lacking "love and charity for [her] fellow members who sacrifice a great deal to help build God's kingdom." I see her as being very concerned about the welfare of all her brothers and sisters, to the point of being willing to say some hard things about those who advocate views that often lead people away from God and membership in the Church. I think she is reaching out to those who may be causing spiritual chaos, as well as speaking up for those who are terribly damaged by that chaos.
ReplyDeleteSilverRain, thank you for being willing to share the thoughts and emotions of your life at this moment, even though you may call down a firestorm of negative comments.
Perhaps most of those who are criticizing your remarks have never been closely affected by some of the devasting consequences you are alluding to.
May God grant you the strength and peace you need to endure this trial.
And may some of those who read your post be prompted to realize that their preaching is not just an intellectual exercise; and perhaps desire to re-examine their motivation and their motives to bring them in greater harmony with light and truth.
Can anybody provide some context for what is going on here? SilverRain claims to have done a 180 in a single day but can't point to specifics?
ReplyDeleteSR:
ReplyDeleteI also do not know specifically what you have experienced, or who, or what you are criticizing. But at some level I think I get what you are saying.
Unfortunately, there are those who seem to go out of their way to misunderstand at things like this.
There is a difficult balance between standing up for what we think is right, and being patient and tolerant for what we see as weaknesses in others. It is particularly difficult in this medium where we don't really know anybody.
I hope you can get some healing peace in all this. I appreciate your desire to try and express what you feel and standing up for what you feel is important.
Best wishes.
The dichotomy of what you say is that we have our agency to choose unrighteousness. God gave that to us and no one can take it away, even if it's wrong.
ReplyDeleteYou made the decision to stick to God's plan or you would not be here. I always say I needed to read the fine print, but seriously, I suppose there's something a bit "Satanic" in those who would force us to righteousness.
If we want agency, we must allow others agency and allow that it is a doctrine of God.
I wonder also what specific commandments you're referring to--because surely you've broken some in your life which has brought pain into the lives of others and surely you will do so again, unless you are translated tomorrow.
Life brings agency brings pain brings healing brings peace brings joy. And so it goes.
Wasn't there a commandment that said, "Judge not?" I don't obey it, but just sayin :). I don't know who you're actually talking to, but you've condemned them and you don't know where their life is going to end up. Perhaps they will repent.
I don't know, this just bothers me on so many levels.
Everyone, I assure you that I'm not trying to be offensive in my comments. I don't know SilverRain and can only assume that the post is somehow related to things that have happened in his/her life.
ReplyDeleteThe question is how we are to understand and interpret a personal refelction. Perhaps sympathy should be a first step, and in all regards it seems like I lacked that, my appologies. At the same time though, this raises the issue of the responsibility we have to make our perspective on the issue clear. Why does silverrain's personal reflection, for instance, have to degrade others without justifying it? Doesn't s/he have the responsibility to more clearly articulate this personal reflection?
TT - I'm sorry, then. I misunderstood the purpose of your comment. Since the things you seem to believe I said were not said, I really can't argue against you. I agree. Were I to have said that women having careers is no better than rape, that would be wrong (and silly, since I am a working mother, myself.) If I were to say people were Anti-Christs for teaching that people have personal responsibility and choice in choosing how many children they have, that would be equally silly since the apostles have made it clear that everyone has responsibility for their choices. I'm glad that I did nothing of the sort. Perhaps if you could point out your specific problems with my words, I could see where I perhaps did not make myself clear enough.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your support, Roann. It is good to see I was not entirely incoherent.
Thank you also, Eric, for your kind words. I really appreciate your support, understanding and compassion.
Annegb - I'm afraid I am having difficulty addressing your comment. I am not judging anyone specifically. I'm speaking to a trend, to a group of people, to society as a whole. Whether or not someone's specific behaviors fall into this is for them to decide. Yes, others should be allowed their agency. This is a warning to those who decide to use that agency to lead others astray and to wallow in a sense of their own self-importance at the expense of others less "intelligent" than they.
aRJ and Smallaxe: I apologize, but sharing the specifics of what prompted my feelings would not be appropriate, especially in a public forum. I don't "owe" anyone an explanation, as my words speak for themselves and apply to far more than the circumstances which prompted this post. Suffice it to say that the catalyst has nothing to do with anyone online.
He who has ears, let him hear. Often truths are difficult to hear not because they are parable, but because they are so plain.
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