Conduct Based on Belief

The fact remains, Isaiah’s Prophecy is the basis for the plan of the Christian Church and, in my opinion, is the most honest, albeit Isaiah is not without fanciful expressions in his own right.

Courtesy: livinghopesaginaw.org

(PASO ROBLES, Calif.) - Most of what I was taught about religion in my early years conflicted with what I learned in college..

It was a dilemma I couldn't ignore, so I began with my givens, beliefs passed down from one generation to the next by respected elders, usually to children who accept them as true and pass them along in turn. I chose to believe only what was logical to resolve my confusion about the mysteries of Christ.

Using historical fact, and knowledge born of experience, I turned to the Book of Isaiah, the earliest of the prophets and the most reliable source of Biblical lore regarding the role of Jesus and the rise of Christianity; it changed my life.

Each of us is a product of what we have been taught or learned, be it religion or otherwise, and we act according to how we perceive truth, by whether we accommodate to religious concepts, or others, by choosing to commit to them whole heartedly.

Commitment to religion and/or desire is applicable to all levels of human experience, but accommodation is based on logic not emotion or blind allegiance; both choices determine why we think and act as we do.

The significance of the Book of Isaiah is that it is Part of the Old Testament; it begins on P. 529 of my Bible. The New Testament begins on P. 756; 227 pages after the Book of Isaiah. Yet Isaiah’s Book introduces the coming of Christ and the rise of Christianity in terms which often differ materially from the Gospels of the New Testament written one hundred years after the fact. The Christian leadership took the thread provided by Isaiah and wove it into the so-called Gospels to suit their wildest imaginations....

Though they differ, there is no doubt the New drew upon the Old to tell its version of Christ and the rise of the Catholic Church, the One God of All the People vs. the One God of the Jewish Nation, a difference which the architects of the New Testament - a cult within the Jewish Community - designed to replace the Old with an audacity becoming the best minds of those who managed to bring their plan to fruition.

The fact remains, Isaiah’s Prophecy is the basis for the plan of the Christian Church and, in my opinion, is the most honest, albeit Isaiah is not without fanciful expressions in his own right. He speaks of Jesus without naming him, as the one who will arrive on the scene in about a year, after he has received instruction from the Coterie whose philosophy he is expected to accept and teach; a man who will call on Isaiah’s name, the Prophet whose Prophecy elevated the essential man as the instrument of investiture of the Christian Church while condemning him to die as its namesake.

Jesus was named Christ just days before his crucifixion, and only after he finally committed to his role to die to become the symbol of Christianity. But it is the philosophy of the architects - the Christian Coterie whose plan it was, that Isaiah refers to as Lord or God - the real God of Christianity. Jesus was called Lord and God also, but only because he was the Word supposedly made flesh who emerged for the purpose of spreading the Word; i.e., the philosophy of the Coterie whose instruction taught Jesus what to do and say.

In this sense, Son of God is understood, but in another sense the Son of God could refer to the fact Jesus, a Jew, emerges from Judaism, the first God of the Three Religions of the Book, to become the Christian divinity, the Second God via the New Testament bound in the Bible along with the Old, hence Jesus was the Son of Jehovah. The architects of Christianity might disagree, but who can say for sure? The Third of the Religions of the Book is the Koran of Islam which emerged in the Seventh Century, A.D.

When comparing the Book of Isaiah against the Gospels, Isaiah is notable as much for it does not say as for what it does. Isaiah says nothing about the birth of Christ - a babe lying in a manger, no crib for his bed - or anything associated with the Christian story which is a figment of the imagination of those who wrote the Gospels.

The same is true of the Immaculate Conception; it never happened. But Isaiah was very precise in describing the final days of Jesus leading up to his crucifixion, and prior events leading up to his demise. Recently there was found what is called the Judas Gospel which confirms that Judas was not a traitor to the cause, but an essential player in the scheme leading to the final act, the death of Jesus (Christ).

I recommend strongly that Isaiah be read thoroughly and thoughtfully before committing to the persuasion of Evangelicals who too often make up stories to beguile their audiences. As the first, Isaiah is the most reliable of the stories of the beginning of Christianity; the Gospels are merely hearsay based on obvious flights of imagination not unlike that which says Barack Obama was not born in America and is, therefore, an illegitimate President.

Santa Clause is a fantasy too, but I know of no child who finally learned the Truth who couldn’t handle it logically and accommodating to it comfortably. As adults we it owe to ourselves to accept the truth and deal with it honestly. It is less painful than you might expect and will open your eyes to another world in which honesty eventually will become policy.

It is much too important, especially now, when politicians rely on what they hope will be a Christian base committed to the Republican Party (of God), a fictitious cognomen, a nickname, by which its leadership hopes to regain the Presidency by any and all means at it disposal, and our expense.

Kenneth G. Ramey is a member of Salem-News.com's original team of writers, he generates provocative articles on the subject of religion and world affairs. We are pleased that Ken's "lone wolf" presence as a writer in the world has been replaced by a spot on our team of writers at Salem-News.com. Raised in Minnesota and California during the dark years of the Great American Depression, Ken is well suited to talk about the powerful forces in the world that give all of us hope and tragedy and everything in between. You can write to Ken at: darken1@sbcglobal.net