COMMON QUESTIONS
I am an independent thinker. Independent of all 'groups' of people on this earth, but, not independent of Yahweh, the God of Israel and His Word, the Holy Scriptures (66 books known as the Holy Bible). I am not affiliated with any group, cult (good, bad or indifferent), nor religion. That doesn't mean that I never go to Bible studies with like-minded folks who are affiliated with some 'group' or another. I just mean that I owe no allegiance to any one 'group;' as I have done my homework enough to know that all 'groups' are off on at least one major point.
I encourage others to likewise be the same way: to not swallow everything a particular 'group' teaches without doing the mandatory research (based on sound reasoning and the Hebrew & Greek concordance), just because you like the people and you want to fit in.
That is a deceptive question. It seems to imply (by omission) that I go out of my way to find some poor unsuspecting person: perhaps he or she is reclining in the privacy of their own home, and suddenly, the phone rings or there's a rap upon their door, and it's me asking them what religion are they; and if they answer, "Roman Catholic" or "Jehovah's Witnesses" or "Born Again Baptist, Evangelical, or Pentecostal (or whatever)," they think I shout out them, "You are wrong, wrong, WRONG!!!"
That is simply untrue. If I am asked a question via e-mail sent from this site, or from a person in any situation, I will answer to the best of my knowledge and research ability. If they respond to my answer with a counter that may or may not hold water, I respond again and so forth.On the other hand: I might ask a question of someone who I may or may not agree with provided only if they made there assertions to the general public, on a web site, in an open chat room, at a party or gathering of people with myself included, or on TV or radio, or in any other open public forum like that. I keep my mouth shut if I'm in some office or place and two or more people are talking about religion, philosophy, politics or whatever, if they don't seem to be including me in the conversation. But, the minute it becomes aimed at or includes me in any way, where my comments are at all welcomed, then I consider any persons making assertions in that situation to be fair game for a challenge.
If a person makes a claim or an assertion to me personally, or to the public in general, they should be prepared to be able to back up what they say with a little more substantiating facts or sound reasoning to support their views. In a situation like that, if they feel violated by the question, or label me an "arguer," or think that "debate" means "argue" and is equal to profanity or even murder, then they should not have opened their mouth in the first place. Because, if they're allowed to speak their opinions publicly but try to silence me by labeling me ugly words and names, then they are hypocrites; believing in free speech as long as it is them doing the speaking and not someone who has reason to disagree! Most people want to talk but hate being questioned. Think about that.
All that being said, I do believe that politeness is the rule to any debate. Sarcasm, and the infamous: "LOL," and the name calling, and the belittling is immature and done by people who feel threatened by an intelligent, knowledgeable person because they do not feel equipped to answer convincingly, honestly and knowledgeably on the same level as the person asking the question.
So, I do not question people who are not shooting off their mouth to the public. I do not even hang out with people who are at complete variance to my understanding of Scripture or my way of thought.
Seeing that I am affiliated with no group, church nor organization, I cannot recommend any that I can endorse 100%. I find that every religion and group is off by at least one point, and most are off by many points. However, there is but one group that is closest with me on most points and that is Christian Educational Services (CES). My only disclaimer on this group (and they'll hate me for saying this) is that they teach tithing as a law for the New Covenant Church, that they along with 99% of all Bible groups and churches can acquire at least 10% of your income! This I do not endorse based on many Scriptural and historical facts, but the # 1 reason is the Apostle Paul's own words: "Do not give as of necessity... (2 Cor 9:7)." They are not a "Holy Name" group in that they say "the LORD" instead of Yahweh, and Jesus Christ instead of Yeshua Messiah, but that doesn't make them bad people. On the contrary, they are very decent people! Sure they sell tapes and books, but that is their prerogative, and the prerogative of the buyer. Click on Affiliated Fellowships on their site and you will be able to locate a fellowship nearest you. If you don't want to give them tithes, that's OK, you can still attend their excellent Bible studies.
This is an excellent question. This is totally my own educated opinion, but the order to start reading the Bible for the first time should be as follows: Luke, Acts, James, 1 John, 2 John, 3 John, 1 Peter, 2 Peter, Proverbs, and Revelation. Then start at Genesis and read straight through to the end of Revelation. Read on, and I'll explain why.
Mainstream Christianity always answers this question by recommending that people read the Gospel of John first. I disagree. The Gospel of John is the least straight forward Gospel of the four. It is not a chronological account of events. John's Gospel is not for novice Christians any more than the book of Revelation is, which he also wrote. A Christian must eventually read those books, at least within a year of the time the commitment was made to learn God's Word. However, one must work their way up to those books, or they won't understand them at all. The Gospel of John is an esoteric version of Messiah's life and ministry on earth which began around 3 B.C. and concludes around 27 to 30 A.D. The other three Gospels are strictly historical and chronological accounts of the life of Yeshua Messiah. Not just to be different, but for good reason, I recommend that the first book that a new Messian (Christian) reads is the Gospel of Luke.
Luke was a Physician, a doctor. Dr. Luke. He was a tight friend with the Apostle Paul, and he also wrote the Acts of the Apostles. He was a logical and thorough writer and historian. He researched and got the facts straight by interviewing other eye witnesses and writing down his own eyewitness accounts, and studying the "Old Testament." In this way, he wrote out and compiled his accounts. He did have the holy spirit gift, for he was a believer, but he wrote accurate accounts and did not assume that he was supposed to write strictly by letting the "spirit guide his hand." The results are two great books that are an integral part of the Word of God, which Yahweh Himself put in his heart to write. This is for the new Messian that wants to hear the beginning of the true Messianic story, in order and in completion. Luke provides that. He also wrote an account of the start of the Messianic movement: the Acts of the Apostles. Acts is the second book a new Messian should read.
Luke and Acts are the first two books for a new Messian AND for an old Messian who needs to renew his zeal for Messiah and Yahweh our Father. What should be next? The epistles. The mainstream churches say that Romans should be next. Again, I disagree. Romans was written by the Apostle Paul, and even Peter said that the unlearned wrestle with Paul's letters. Therefore, the letters of the Apostles that were of the original twelve should be next. James, John and Peter. So, James should be the third book to read. The three letters of John should be next, than the two letters of Peter.
The order that I recommend so far, in my humble opinion are as follows: Luke, Acts, James, 1 John, 2 John, 3 John, 1 Peter, 2 Peter. What next? The next leg of your studies should start with Proverbs, because wisdom is extremely important for people of ALL ages. Proverbs in NOT just for kids! Unlike mainstream Christianity teaches you, Proverbs is just as important for adults to read as it is for youngsters. I know very few adults who have mastered the wisdom of Proverbs, therefore Proverbs is for EVERYBODY.
Finally, read Revelation. If you are new, you will not understand Revelation, but you should read it anyway. It's hard to understand because there are some INSETS that break up the sequence of events. These insets are NOT chronological, but are often "flashbacks." If you need help understanding the actual sequence of the events described in Revelation, see my page called: End of Time-Line. The book of Revelation should be read over and over again; and if you can get it on tape or CD, keep listening to it. Repetition is the only way to begin to understand it. That book is easier to understand than it first appears. I believe it was designed that way to weed out those who don't have a heart for the truth, and who are too lazy and foolish to stick with it long enough to begin to understand.
Once the order that I recommended is read, start with Genesis and read straight through to the end of Revelation. It should take you no longer that a year to read it all if you are serious about it. It should only take a few months if you listen to it on tape or CD (which I highly recommend). What version? Stick with the King James for starters. It's flawed in some spots, but they all are. At least with the King James you can check more closely each word in the Strong's Concordance for accuracy. You can't do that with any other translation.
To recap: Luke, Acts, James, 1 John, 2 John, 3 John, 1 Peter, 2 Peter, Proverbs, and Revelation. Then start at Genesis and read straight through to the end of Revelation. This is good for beginners AND for those who want to jump start their spiritual zeal again.