According to Sumerian records, Nergal was the administrator of the underground mines in Southern Africa from which the concept of Hell in Christianity derives. He was known as Hades In Greek Mythology, the god of the underworld and the god of the dead. Most of the gods of the ‘House of Enlil’, who grounded the Brotherhood of the Gold, were living in Sumer, also known as ‘Ki-Engi’, probably meaning ‘the lands of the Lords on Earth’.

Nergal was the only one of the ‘House of Enki’ (son of Enki) who became member of the brotherhood after marrying Enlil’s granddaughter Ereskigal. Their abode in Southern Africa was surrounded by seven walls, witnessing of the great importance of the place. Enki was called ‘Ptah’, the developer, in Egypt after the confusion of the tongues by Enlil. The ‘House of Ptah’, ‘Ha-ka-Ptah’ gave name to the Greek ‘Egyptos’ from which ‘Egypt’ derives. ‘Sumer’ is, by the way, not ‘Sumerian’ but Akkadian, referring to the lands of the Enlilites (‘Ki-Engi’).

While all the gods used human slaves as servants, the Brotherhood of the Gold used them as gold miners too. They used to select young men and women and deliver them to Nergal, the great ‘consumer’ of slaves. One of them was Nannar, the governor of Ki-Engi (Sumer). Nannar is also known as Sin, the moon god. His symbol was the crescent moon later adopted as the symbol of Islam. His reputation as ‘slave supplier’ managed to survive and find its way into Christianity. He is supposed to be the archangel Michael who collects the souls of the dead and delivers them to other administrators for ‘judgment’.

Although it is a well-known fact that Christianity involves many mythological and pagan traditions, the duties of Michael in the Christian culture originate from real events. The deliverer of mine workers (by boat as Charon or not) became the deliverer of souls. Expressions like ‘we have to go when the archangel Michael calls’, or ‘when St Michael comes for the soul’ are not unusual among Christians. The selected humans were taken to work in the mines for the rest of their lives and considered as dead. Thousands of years after Nannar sent the first slaves to dig gold in the underworld, the Christians still believe that he is the one (under his new identity as Michael, meaning ‘he who is like god’) who will come and rescue their souls from the enemy! It is believed that only the dead can see Michael’s face and thus he is often depicted without face in many Christian churches!

The ‘Saint’ without face selected uncounted young men and women and delivered them to a place of no return. Other archangels killed people and destroyed cities, created plagues that destroyed every living thing, or fired their missiles at innocent people. We find no significant difference between the evil Hades and the ‘good’ angels! The great supplier of slaves, Sin, has been declared as ‘Saint’ by the Church fathers, something we believe is, at least, most unintelligent. His new epithet and his new name cannot ease the burden of his evil actions against humans. St Michael and other angels are closely connected with the Gold Mission of Yahweh!So far, the results of the Gold Mission have been tremendous profitable for the gods but totally disastrous for humanity!

According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, St Michael is supposed to ‘fight against Satan’. If we consider that the word ‘Satan’ is a corruption of the Arabic word ‘Shejtan’ meaning ‘adversary’, ‘antagonist’, then St Michael is fighting against his and Enlil/Yahweh’s adversary, i.e. another god. He is also considered as the patron of the church and, during the middle Ages, the patron of the orders of knights! In Greek Liturgy he is considered as ‘Archistrategos’, meaning ‘Chief of the Army’. The Catholic Encyclopedia says:

‘It would have been natural to St Michael, the champion of the Jewish people, to be the champion also of Christians, giving victory in war [emphasis added] to his clients’. Also from the Catholic Encyclopedia we read that Nannar/Michael also influenced the Emperor Constantine. In another article we claim that Yahweh and his angels appointed Constantine as their agent to secure the future of the new religion. From the Catholic Encyclopedia: ‘At Constantinople likewise, St. Michael was the great heavenly physician. His principal sanctuary, the Michaelion, was at Sosthenion, some fifty miles south of Constantinople; there the archangel is said to have appeared to the Emperor Constantine’. Constantine, as well as every other of the early Church fathers, claimed that he acted according to God’s will. It would have been more appropriate if he had said that he acted according to the will of the gods!

Joshua 5:13-15: ‘And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and, behold, there stood a man over against him with his sword drawn in his hand: and Joshua went unto him, and said unto him, Art thou for us, or for our adversaries? And he said, Nay; but as captain of the host of the LORD [emphasis added] am I now come. And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and did worship, and said unto him, What saith my Lord unto his servant? And the captain of the LORD’s host said unto Joshua, Loose thy shoe from off thy foot; for the place whereon thou standest is holy. And Joshua did so.’ Note that Joshua assumes that the man was one of his own or perhaps one of his enemies. But nay, he was the commander of the army immediately accepted by Joshua! The fact that Joshua assumed that the angel could be one of the enemies, Anakim was one of the enemies, witness that the Anakim were not giants as the Bible claims but perfectly ordinary looking people. Although he informs Joshua that the place is now ‘holy’, he does not explain why, and Joshua takes off his shoes! The captain of the army of God (Israel means ‘Soldiers of God) is probably the archangel Michael, the architect behind the Christian religion. St Michael is something of a unicum in Christianity. He is the only alien (all the angels were aliens, members of the Gold Mission of Enlil/Yahweh/God) who has been declared as saint by the Christian Church. His representation by icons in the Christian Church (with or without face) is a contradiction to the doctrine ‘do not make any images’.

No other god or human has been honored with so many epithets. The otherwise mythological moon god was suddenly appeared to be the patron of the Church and knights, the rescuer of souls, the Chief of the army of both Jews and Christians. While all the known saints have either died a natural dead or been killed, there is no record about St Michaels’s death and this is well in accordance with the absence of such information about Nannar, the father of Inanna/Aphrodite, the goddess of war. In the same manner the Enlilites drove the Gold Mission as a family company; the establishment of Christianity was a family project for the sake of the Gold Mission.

References

Mindspring.com/~mysticgryphon/descent.htmEn.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_(archangel)

The Gold Mission, So Far No Good, by Andreas A. Paris Outskirts Press Inc., 2007

The Old Testament and Islamic religions are based on the written scriptures from their respective prophets. Because their prophets were only humans they were instructed to write the revealed messages by them or by those who heard them teach. This way when an error grips into those writings it throws the believers into falsehood because the revealed truth would have been distorted. With original Christianity this is not the case. Christianity is not based on scripture but on the PRESENCE of God the Father, The Lord Jesus Christ and His Representative, the Holy Spirit. That is why no one can enter into their Kingdom without first being baptized in water in the Name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. The three of them bear one testimony to Christ's work of salvation and rule called Christ's kingdom or Christianity. This way there is no chance of error, misreport, and interpolation because there are no Christian scriptures left by Christ. In original Christianity when one becomes a Christian he begins to hear the soundless voice of the Lord Jesus for himself, which is not the case with most church Christians. And this is followed by a believer becoming Scriptures themselves; this means his life is transformed into what scriptures teach without any human effort or grit apart from letting Christ do it in. That is HOW POWERFUL CHRIST'S SALVATION IS. It leaves all forms of salvation of ALL religions in the world countless miles behind. None of them come close.

This means a believer is transformed into what scriptures teach without learning any scriptures. To put it another way: Hearing God's voice is followed by transformation of believer's life into what Christian scripture or Gospels and Letters of apostles to early Christians teach. And this happens without reading any Gospels and letters to Christians from the Bible. Early Christians did not have any Bibles or scriptures of their own at all. They relied on, "Go into the whole world and make me disciples … behold I AM with you always to the ends of the earth" (on I AM with you, not by concept but by His unmistakable PRESENCE) … " Wherever, two or more meet in my Name, there AM I with them ". They relied on hearing God speak and being transformed into people of new nature which is aligned to Gospel and Epistles (letters of Apostles). Just as Moses was transformed by the PRESENCE of God on the mountain; we Christians are transformed in the same manner by the PRESENCE of Christ. In Islam, Jewish religion and denominational Christianity one learns the scriptures and then the second stage is to try his best to obey them. In original Christianity you do not need to read any scripture so that you obey it. Instead, a Christian is spontaneously transformed into a heavenly character required by the scriptures without his personal efforts and struggles to obey.

Let me clarify it further: When Moses went up the mountain and remained there for forty days and nights he went into the PRESENCE of God or to be with God. While he was with God or in His PRESENCE he became saturated with the nature of God with included God's Character of genuine hatred for sin and holiness. While Moses was with God his spirit was being drenched by the Spirit of God. His physical body absorbed the nature of God or heaven. That is why when he came down his countenance was shiny and glorious. So much that people realized it and asked him to put a covering over himself so that they could look at him without being hit by what he became in the PRESENCE of God. What was happening here is precisely what happens in original Christianity. We Christians absorb the godly life, heavenly life or the life of Christ called Christianity from Him directly. Just as He said: I AM the Vine you are the branches. Just as branches draw life sap from the vine or tree; we, too, draw the life of holiness and purity from Him. It is not just a good sounding concept but a literal happening one can feel or experience in an unmistakable manner. Unfortunately, with church Christians it is more of a concept than unmistakable experience. Christ rebuked the Jews for ignoring Him and seeking spiritual nourishment from the knowledge of scriptures because it was just the brain food. Holiness and purity in original Christianity is not learned but begotten. It is sucked from God not learned.

When Moses became saturated with what he absorbed from God's PRESENCE, it was not because he was reading scriptures or learning anything written. He absorbed godliness from God's PRESENCE AND NOT FROM KNOWLEDGE. In the same way, those who are practicing original Christianity rely on drawing holy life or absorbing holy life from Christ just as Moses did. Pursuing holiness from scripture leaves us no choice but to strife to be obedient. But absorbing godly life from God leaves us with effortless gain of holiness as a gift. That is what was meant by Apostle Paul when he wrote to Christians: "for by grace are you saved through faith. It is not the result of your own effort, lest anyone boast, but it is the gift of God" This way Christian scripture called Gospels and Epistles become our mirror to see if our transformation into a new man is wrought by the same Spirit that was working in the lives of the writers of the gospels. They become a proof that we have believed in the same Christ as them and in the same way. They become our testimonial that the source of life for apostles and early Christians is the same source we, today's Christians, are drinking from. Apostle John said our Christian life's source was the Lord Jesus. "The testimony is this: God has given us eternal life, and this life has its source in the Son" 1 John 5: 11.

In our Bible language we say Moses was eating God because his soul was absorbing its spiritual nutrition directly from Him. It is the same language Christ used when He said to His followers: If you do not drink My Blood and eat My Flesh you will not have life in you; but the wrath of God remains on you. Which one is better? To know the scripture and then to strife to become what they say I should become or to draw all godliness directly from God as his gift to me and have the righteous demands of scripture or God's laws spontaneously fulfilled in me? To be surprised at my new found holiness from God or to struggle to be as the scripture commands me; the way religious people do? To remain in a religion in which I see to it that I become holy or to settle for a religion in which God is the One who sees to it that I become holy and pure without my conscious effort at holiness? I cannot leave the gift of experiential holiness and purity for striving at holiness we see in Islam and Christ's denominational Churches. All religious people I encountered mistake their belief in scriptures as having reached God; when in fact, scriptures are pointers to true God. This is also caused by their belief that truth is knowledge of the facts when in eternal reality truth is not facts but a Person whose essence and makeup and energy is the real and ultimate truth. And that Person is the Lord Jesus Christ. When a Christian draws life from the Lord Jesus he also draws truth from Him. That is why a Christian who is saturated by Christ cannot be lied to or scammed. He cannot marry a person who will later kill him or her because he is controlled by truth sucked from Christ.

Islamic and denominational churches' believers spiritually eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. That is, they rely on the knowledge of scriptures and other writings to know what things in life are good and should be encouraged and what things are evil and should be avoided. But in original Christianity we eat from the tree of life. Instead of ever seeking knowledge from scriptures we rely on the life of God we draw from Christ Jesus as its source. For instance, at one time I was preaching Christ to passersby in our town. There were three of us. While I was preaching a guy came and pulled the cable connected to our loud speaker set and it crashed down. In no time, my two companions were over him with fists and kicks. I, too, went for him in anger. As I was about to kick him while he was on the floor, I remembered that I was a Christian and that I should not fight any one no matter what. Then immediately, I stopped my two companions from beating him any further. Needless to say, I was very ashamed at our action of revenge which we all knew was not allowed for true Christians. Now, this is a perfect example of people who eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Because of my knowledge of what Christ expected from Christians I stopped myself after I had decided to kick the guy. Here, I was being ruled by my knowledge instead of transformation by Christ.

If I was eating from the tree of life, which I never knew at that time, I would not have thought of attacking the guy at all, because to eat from the tree of life means to have no other life apart from Christ's. And Christ's life does not retaliate at any abuse or injury of any kind by anybody. In original Christianity we walk before God and in His PRESENCE IN UTTER HELPLESSNESS like a child. Such life is foreign and impossible to people of the world. Incidentally, it was in that attack when I stopped short of kicking the guy that made me wonder if there was no better Christianity somewhere. I realized that Stephen in the Bible asked for the forgiveness of his killers who were stoning him. But, there I was attacking a guy for throwing down our loud speaking system equipment. I clearly realized that Stephen had what I did not get from my Christianity. That is when my tormenting search for holiness and purity started. I felt I had to have what he had. I went from one religion to another and from one church to another and came up empty handed. Muslims that I met during my search told me that the solution was to strike hard anyone who provoked me so that he would be forced to think twice in future before provoking me again.

The story of Maasaw (Masau’u) is a beautiful Hopi legend. He has been described as a man, or being (kachina), that looked like a skeleton. This is similar to the description of the “stick person” (alien), who Cherokee elder John Red Hat said came to visit him. According to Elder Red Hat, the “stick person” claimed to be his father.

Maasaw gave the Hopi instructions and warnings about a way of life he wanted them to follow. He said if they followed his way, they would live long and fruitful lives. He wanted them to be humble and live like he did with only a planting stick and seeds. He wanted them to take care of, and respect the land–live in harmony with it.

The Hopi lived this way for centuries, and they thrived. They lived in community and cared for each other. They planted their crops and sustained themselves. Sacred rituals were performed daily, and they never lost sight of Great Spirit. He was the embodiment of their daily lives.

Then came the white man with Christianity. They trampled on the Hopi sacred way of life, and forced them to follow the Christian way–a counterfeit way implemented by the Great Seducer, Satan. Now many Hopi have lost their wonderful, sacred culture, and walk the material way of illusion with Christians who claim to follow Jesus, but don’t. See Luke 10:25-28, and other teachings of Jesus in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, on how Jesus wanted us to live, very similar to the instructions of Maasaw. Jesus said something like it would be better to put a millstone around your neck and drown yourself than to hurt one of the little children. (Luke 17:2) And again in Matt 23:15, Jesus mentioned hypocrites, who compass sea and land and proselytize, and make the convert more of a child of hell than they themselves! What have we done to Creator’s beautiful children in this land of religious freedom?

Maasaw told the Hopi that he was the first and last, similar to the scripture in Revelation where the Lord said He was Alpha and Omega, the first and last, the beginning and the end. See Rev. 21:6.

It may well be that Maasaw was the spirit of Jesus. When we reach a oneness with our heavenly Father, it appears we are part of the Alpha and Omega–we have a true Muslim heart. We will be with Him for all eternity, part of the beginning and the end. What a wonderful, glorious thought!

“History repeats itself because, as human beings, we discard the truths of others and accept only our own, often at the expense of others.” Prologue

As I watched the DaVinci Code on television recently, I was once again reminded of how novels, especially historical or alternative history fiction can highlight bits of history. For instance, I was able to see through this movie, the period during which Constantinople had proclaimed Christianity as the national religion in Italy. Actually, it merely graphically presented what I had already studied in Jews in Italy: A Perspective of Jewish Communities in Italy by Adolph Caso.

Have you ever taken an online course? Interested? I thoroughly enjoyed it-text, great historical and appropriate pictures and online discussion by the Dante University presenters!

I’ve chosen items of most interest to me personally to highlight in this review since Caso’s text, while brief, is such an intensive history of the lives that Jews have made in Italy, that it is impossible to adequately cover the material! Contributions of the Jews to the world are, quite obviously, immense, in every field of endeavor.

From about 161 BC, Rome extended hospitality and religious tolerance to the Jewish people, quite unique, for in other places they were enslaved! Rome has been hosting a Jewish community, while also being the center of Christianity. Indeed, in the absence of a state of Israel-from 70 to 1947 AD, the Jewish communities of Rome became the State of Israel.

Caso’s research provides the perspective of Rome’s situation as they tried to control their captured lands, especially with the emergence of Jesus, with his claim as the Messiah, which brought about acts of rebellion. Later, Peter, Christ’s follower, gave physical structure to the Catholic Church. But, bound by the tenets of their Jewish religion, which were neither forgot nor denied, Judaism being the basis of Christianity has survived as a religion alongside Christianity itself.

While the Romans had destroyed Jerusalem and its temple around 70 AD, the Jews were able to build a synagogue around 100 AD, the first built outside of Israel. It became the new center of the Jewish world in Rome. Such prominence meant that the Romans were more than willing to have the visible and active lifestyle of the Jews…as free citizens

Then, civil strife began to rear its ugly head over political and religious issues. While persecutions of the Christians remained rampant, the political scene culminated in Constantine becoming Emperor and Christianity becoming the state religion

While all of these things were happening to them-wherever they were, the emerging Christians continued to be inspired by certain Jews and boldly draw from Judaism–its literature, its liturgy, its customs, and its regulations. “At a time when all seemed so hopeless, with abuses cast on them wherever they were, ironically, they must have also witnessed the re-working of Judaism into Christianity.”

Even as further wars and battles were fought, the end result was that Jews have been able to stay in Italy. Indeed, it was to Italy that Jews fled while seeking asylum from Germany’s Hitler so many years later…and it was the Pope himself who became personally involved in working to provide safety to them. Despite the Fascist nation, the Catholic Church ran something like an underground railroad. Pope Pius Xi shared:

“Mark well that in the Catholic Mass, Abraham is our Patriarch and forefather. Anti-Semitism is incompatible with the lofty thought which that fact expresses. It is a movement with which we Christians can have nothing to do.”

In Italy, and in the other parts of Europe where Italians were stationed, more than seventy-five percent of local Jews got saved; the reverse was true elsewhere. This result spoke volumes on behalf of the hearts of most Italians. Few countries have achieved such nobility.

When words of another can reach deep into our minds and force us to face the atrocities that has occurred when one people arbitrarily chooses to hate and abuse another, we must all realize that it takes each of us, working together, to forge ways by which we can improve. Adolfo Caso’s Perspective has shown that one nation has done it. May we all review this text and use it for the future!

*Online Internet Course Available at Dante University presented by Adolph Caso, Author, Publisher and President, Dante University Foundation

Jews in Italy:

A Perspective of Jewish

Communities in Italy

By Adolfo Caso

Dante University

116 page Text/Video*

Reverend Doctor Sathiyanathan Clarke is a renowned professor of Theology at the Wesley Theological Seminary. In his epoch making work 'Competing Fundamentalisms', he analyzes fundamentalism in Christianity, Islam and Hinduism.

'Religious fundamentalism in the 21st century is a beast with many heads'. Clarke seeks a dialogical interpretation of fundamentalism. The aim of religious fundamentalism is to generate violence and breed terror. There is a strong link between religious fundamentalism and terrorism.

Four Theories that underestimate the Role of Religion

Clash of Civilizations
In the Clash of Civilizations theory the author draws patterns of conflicting cultures. There is an interpretative analysis on how religions clash with culture on the one hand and there is a growth of multiculturalism and hybridity on the other.

Resistance to Empire
Resistance to Empire thesis proposes that religious fundamentalism arose as a resistance to the big powers imperialistic designs. There is a clash of interests between the commercial and the religious world. Religious fanaticism can be seen as a protest to challenge neo-colonial interests.

It's the Economy Stupid
Here the author looks at the economic interpretation of history. From the Marxian point of view, religion and culture belong to the super-structure of the society. There is a paradox here, of poor economies and its people being driven to religious zealotry and at the same time the big rich like Osmana Bin Laden being driven to Islamic extremism.

Psychological Theories
The writer makes crucial point in formulating psychological theories to analyze religious bigotry. Lack of self esteem, hatred towards the other, belief in reward of heaven all are contributing factors in driving people towards radicalism.

Christian Fundamentalism
Christian Fundamentalism was a reaction against secular world view. Under the New Christian Right NCR, evangelists used digital and social media. After September 11, Christian fundamentalism grew its claws to claim American Society.

Throughout centuries American missionaries have worked globally to proselytize people to Christianity. Absolutism in Christianity can be traced to the Scripture-the Bible being the infallible world of God. A charismatic pastor in America burned the Quran. The absoluteness of Christ God being a redemptive savior and being an agent that will surpass evil with good forms an important ingredient in theo-politics. Christian fundamentalism started as a thorough rejection of enlightenment.

I would like to disagree with the author whether Christianity is a fundamentalism. Christian evangelists spread peace and love and work independently without being contextual in the geo-political scenario.

It is not an irony but a celebration to point out that in the 21st century there has not been a single instance of Christian terrorism. Conversion is a protestant culture and aims at winning souls rather than winning battles.

Islamic Fundamentalism
The author begins to explain that Western societies are suffering from Islamic-phobia. Amongst the various strands of Islam, there are the Sunnis who cover predominant parts of the world and have a deep rooted fundamentalism in their character. The Shya Muslims on the other hand possess a liberal theology.

Islamic militancy has two fold objectives: one, using Islamic laws as a solution to social, cultural and economic problems and two, creating a community of Islamic believers.

The attack of USA's Twin Towers by Sunni Muslims and the retaliation made by America's invasion of Iraq increased the storm and rage the Jihadists. The concept of an all global Islamic State remarks one scholar is psycho-pathological.

Islamic fundamentalists adhere submission to the one and all powering God Allah and obedience to the Sharia. They carry a bitter hatred for the otherness of people. The diehards also embellish the view that Quran is the voice of God conveyed by the angel Gabriel and recited by memory (Muhammad did not know to read and write) and written down by its faithful adherents.

Modernity and Globalization have transformed fanatic devotees of Islam into a worldwide movement.

There are two forms of Jihad-the lesser Jihad and the greater Jihad. Greater Jihad is waged against people who are un-Islamic and who threaten the religious order of Islam.

It's a moot question to ask which of these fundamentalisms Christianity, Islam or Hinduism is the worst. The answer is left to the discretion of the reader.

Hindu Fundamentalism
Hindu Fundamentalism is oxymoronic. Hinduism is a paradox-on the one hand it is diverse, tolerant and permissive and on other hand it is veering towards violent extremism.

The beginnings of Hindu fanaticism can be traced back to the Mughal invasions in India and systematic destruction of temples. Mughals also had the aim of conversion of infidels to Islam.

Hinduism in the 21st century involved the resurgence of what is popularly known as the Hindutva or violent, terrorizing Hinduism.

Savarkar a Hindu extremist said: 'I want all Hindus to get themselves reanimated and reborn into a martial race'.

Savarkar defined India as being Hindutva's sacred space. Savarkar's ideas were greatly admired by the RSS (a militant wing of the Hindus) chief and founder Hegdewar. Hindu militancy acquired fire during the 80's

The RSS and the VHP both being militant outfits conjoined with the BJP, the political party of India which came to power in 2014. Its chief driven purpose was to create a Hindu state for India.

The Hindu zealots want to change Nehruvian Indian secularism to a hard faceted Hindutva ideology.

The mosque that was built by Babar at Ayodhya which is considered to be the birth place of Lord Rama (Holy for the Hindus) was desecrated and demolished by Bajranglal (militant Hindus) activists and it created animosity between the Hindus and the Muslims.

The BJP government also plays a sinister role of infusing Hindu ideology into the curriculum of schools.

It is because of the prevalent caste system in Hinduism, that the subaltern, pariahs like the Dalits and the Adivasis get converted to Islam and Christianity.
There was violent attack on a railway carriage leading to the killing of scores of Muslims that too women and Children during the Modi (now Prime Minister of India) regime in Gujarat.

Bible burning, rape, murder and humiliation of Christians (a Christian missionary and his wife were paraded naked) became the disharmony of the day.
The VHP Vishwa Hindu Parishad of America (a fanatic Hindu organization / Trump are you listening) allocated 55 Million dollars for promoting Hindutva.

To conclude I would like to say that we need dialogic theologies of all religions that would harness peaceful coexistence and sustainable democracies for the future of hope and peace in the world.

Writing a personal statement of Christian faith is a great exercise that can help you to better understand your beliefs and convictions. This can help you to gain a better appreciation for why you believe what you do. It can also help you to share your faith with others when the opportunity comes.

A personal statement of faith can be in the form of a testimony, such as how you got saved and what has changed since. It can also be a story that relates a pivotal moment in your Christian walk. Or it can be a list of important things you believe, bullet list style. For instance, you can do something like this:

• The Person of Christ: I believe that Jesus Christ is God, and is the Son of God. I believe that he lived, died, was buried, and then rose again on the third day…etc.
• The Trinity: I believe in one God in three Persons…etc.

And so forth.

A statement of faith does not have to be dramatic to be effective. This is a big stumbling block for people who were raised in the church and got saved at an early age. In this case, you may be able to think of another event to use as your testimony. For instance, are there any periods in your life when you fell away from Christ? How did you come back to the faith, and what changed as a result?

Or perhaps you had an important moment Christianity ceased being merely your parents religion, and became your religion. Was there an important moment that defined your role as a Christian? Or perhaps you have a story of the first person you led to Christ, or something you did for someone else as a result of your faith.

The major premise of Christian counseling is that truth makes people free when they believe it and obey it. A certificate in this type of counseling is a step that will help a professional counselor who desires to work faith and prayer into patient care. The ultimate goal of counseling is to help others move to personal wholeness, interpersonal competence, mental stability and spiritual maturity. This counseling philosophy is that the Bible provides strength, direction and healing using the wisdom and guidance that cannot be found in any man made technique or intervention.

The Bible teaches that Biblical Christian counseling is so important. The emphasis in Christian Counseling is not on doctrinal methods or content but on Jesus Christ’s teachings and life. The foundation for this counseling is the application of God’s truth to the heart. God is the ultimate healer and professional counseling is one avenue God can work through in the process of healing and change. Godly Counseling is for those who want to abide by the teachings and traditions of Christianity, who desire to gain full reliance on God, but at the same time,are struggling to understand the deeply complicated workings of the human psyche.

Whether you or a loved one is struggling with depression or anxiety, experiencing on-going marital problems, or have concerns over your children, Biblical Counseling will be able to help. The Bible teaching about why counseling is needed is plain.

The goal, then, of Biblical counseling is not overcoming pain as is true of most secular counseling. Counseling is the process in which a professional counselor uses the tools of the mental health profession, the truths of the Bible, and the wisdom of life experience to help those in need. Biblical counseling is founded on the belief in a relationship with God and with each other and can help you find godly answers in a fast-paced, ungodly world.

Biblical Counseling is dedicated to providing professional counseling services that integrate mind, body, and spirit, and bring people to relational wholeness with God, self, and others.

A degree in Christian Counseling is a way for someone interested in combining their faith with their interest in counseling. Godly counseling is Christ-centered and based on scriptures. A certificate in Christian Counseling is a way for counselors interested in combining their faith with their counseling practice to become specialized.

God is the ultimate healer and professional Biblical counseling is one avenue God can work through in the process of healing and change.

Saul was a Jew!

While, we want to learn from the source, particularly as Christians exploring the origins of their religion, the Jews appear determined to obliterate Paul and therefore, Jesus from Jewish lexicon. In the 21st century, it is clear that such a strategy, if true, has failed. Clearly, the rabbis recognize Saul as a rabbi. This confirms his claim to Jewish ancestry in the epistles.

Similar discussions have painted him as the founder of anti-Semitism. Some have attributed the Christianity to his brainwork as he organized his gentile Christians to hate Jews, and to treat Jews with brutality. It is believed that this thesis is difficult to appreciate, and is one of the symptoms of Jewish self-hatred. The question being a need to explain how a rabbi could so aggrieved as to instigate non-Jews to hate Jews. The originators of such theses remain accused of over-protecting the sanctity of the Jewish culture from gentile incursion, and / or pollution. Maybe realizing that nearly one-third of the world population in 2015 claim to be Christians comprised essentially of gentiles is a source of pride that should sweeten the tongues of rabbis.

Saul of Tarsus also became an Apostle

Interestingly, the discussion also confirms that challenging transformation of Saul due to his conversion is historically correct and not a fable. In other words, his conversion marked the turning point for the small Jewish following left by Jesus to transform into a world shaping religion. It is true that angler turned Apostle Peter remained in Jerusalem and interpreted Christianity through the lenses of the Torah, the traits of a learned man in Saul of Tarsus changed the tempo and dimensions of Christianity.

Hence, it appears that there is no rabbi Saul versus Rabbi Joshua contest for the founder of Christianity, but a rabbi Saul, servant to Rabbi Joshua as defined in the Acts of the Apostles. Joshua (as Jesus the Christ) in fact, employs the skills, organization and knowledge of Saul of Tarsus (christened Paul) to market and expand the grace of salvation to the world beyond its isolation and nucleation in Israel.

An Agenda to Suppress

The insularity of Jewish people is astounding. Unusually, it is not ethnocentric in any way; it is just a determination to maintain cultural purity that repels outsiders from learning and knowledge through emblems of distrust. Christian Jews and new coverts to Christianity as easily mocked with labels suggestive of turncoats and traitors reminiscent of Saul of Tarsus. Coming out of such an insular culture apparently sensitizes even messianic Jews from trusting anyone. Somme suggestion is that insecurity makes them suspect a spying ghost in every breadth. Others have accused them of arrogance, simply because the attitude is worrying and defies non-Jewish imagination.

Since, Rabbi Joshua did include non-Jews among His scare-faced followers; Jesus Christ is more acceptable to Jewish thinking because he left Judaism intact. They willingly forgive his criticisms of the various groups and classes. They denigrate the Pope and his Christian church calling a product of Saul's imagination, rather than an intent of Jesus Christ. Further, they claim that many New Testament teachings including the supernatural pre-existent Jesus, Trinity, The Incarnation, resurrection for atonement of sins of the very elect are poignant examples of Paul's creative genocidal mind for the mentally incompetent.

Psychodrama began in 1921 with J.L. Moreno, a medical doctor who immigrated to the United States from Austria in 1925. Blatner defines psychodrama a method of psychotherapy in which patients enacts the relevant events in their lives instead of simply talking about them. This involves exploring in action not only historical events but, more Importantly, dimensions of psychological events not ordinarily addressed in conventional dramatic process: unspoken thoughts, encounters with those not present, portrayals of fantasies of what others might be feeling and thinking, envisioning future possibilities, and many other aspects of the phenomenology of human experience.

Even before leaving Vienna, Moreno was actively pioneering many of the concepts that most counselors today take for granted: terms such as group psychotherapy, action methods, and warm-up. Psychodrama, in its most inclusive definition, has developed a variety of applications: group psychotherapy, clinical role-playing, supervision, marriage and family therapy2, drama games, play, socio drama, and therapeutic community; and off-shoots, such as Playback Theater, developed by Jonathan Fox. It has influenced many schools of therapy: Fritz Perls (gestalt and the empty chair technique); Virginia Satir (family therapy and family sculpture which Moreno called action socio grams); Eric Berne transactional analysis). Perhaps one of the most brilliant recent developments for Christians is Peter Pitzeles bibliodrama3, rendered as a form of midrash, an experiential form of Jewish/biblical storytelling.4 Why Psychodrama Is Wonderfully Suited for Christian Counseling One of psychodramas biggest draws for Christians is the fact that it can be so Christian user-friendly. 5 Moreno, although born into a Sephardic Jewish family, was sympathetic to Christianity. He once said that Christianity could be considered the most ingenious and powerful psychotherapeutic operation ever invented.6 Morenos appreciation for the healing qualities of religion, a concept that went against the current of most psychological thought in this century, is a thread that runs through all of his works.

Moreno envisaged a religion based upon acknowledging God-likeness in each person and the capacity to bring out the creator in every person. The expression of these religious beliefs would be in action, interaction with others according to principles based on the sacredness of spontaneity and creativity in every individual. He postulated that if we get sick in relationships, we should get well in relationships, a therapeutic service that the body of Christ should offer to all who become members. While most talk therapies emphasize the verbal mode of healing, psychodrama brings the actions of body language, role-play, and behavioral rehearsal into psychotherapy. Since most of what happens to us is a whole experience, much more than just verbal, the techniques of psychodrama allow for the reproduction of life in such way that it can be relived, understood, reaffirmed, reframed, dealt with, and new behaviors rehearsed in a safe and protected atmosphere. Relationships among group members reproduce society as well as their own personal forms of relating in a micro-format within the group, giving us an opportunity to see in loco how members interact, give them feedback, and even work through conflictive relationships in order to acquire new modes of interaction.

The Basic Framework of Psychodrama: The basic framework of psychodrama requires a director (the therapist), auxiliary (co-therapist or group members), a stage (where the action is), the audience (other group members), and the protagonist (group member chosen to work on his or her issue). The beauty of this structure is that it allows the protagonist to project onto the stage whatever she or he wants to work on. The story belongs to the patient and not to the therapist. Anything within a person’s Imagination can be worked on, including metaphorical and religious themes, such as ones relationship with God.9 Once the different objects/persons have been put on stage, the protagonist has a chance to explore at a concrete level their significance and what he or she wants to do with these things. He or she can even try out different ways of doing things with the assurance that if they do not work on-stage, the client can erase them, try again, or go back to the way things were.

There is the added benefit in psychodrama of providing a safe environment where specific conversations can take place. Many patients are encouraged by their therapists to go home and talk to the significant person they feel has wronged them. Sometimes, that person is not available, due to death or distance, or sometimes it is just inadvisable. In contrast, the psychodrama stage offers the unique opportunity to bring those conversations into existence. The healing that is usually accomplished in such situations is permanent and irreversible. Find a therapist to get solution of your problems.

Even if it did not take place with the real person, there was a real conversation and real resolution. Perhaps the gem in Morenos crown of psychodrama techniques is role-reversal. Putting one’s self into someone else’s role results in feeling that persons feelings, peering out from that persons soul, gaining a new insight into what makes the person tick, and possibly discovering what makes the person do what he or she does. It often means dying to opinions previously held about that person and his or her motivation. It is Impossible to return to one’s own role after a reversal and be the same. One knows something one did not know before.10 Perhaps the most superb example of role-reversal is that of God himself when he takes on humanity in the person of Jesus Christ. It is interesting to note (as a psycho dramatist, not a theologian) that the redeeming work of salvation culminates in the cross, where God in the person of Jesus Christ reverses roles with humanity, feels our pain, sin, and lustiness, and then dies in our place. Resurrection is the final seal that establishes our access to the Lord. From thence, nothing can separate us from the love of God.

The history of cross necklaces used to display Christian devotion can be traced back at least to the 2nd century. Tertullian, a great Church Father, described the faithful Christian followers as cross devotees. And, it was noted that it was the center of the Christian’s life.

In the 3rd century St. Clement of Alexandria again describes the great devotion of Christians to the cross of Christ and defines it as the symbol of the Lord. St. Paulinus of Nola, at the end of the 4th century noted that it was recognized as both a sacred symbol of the passion of Christ and also a sign for protection and defense.

Archaeologists have found numerous items marked with a cross from many civilizations dating to the 5th and 6th centuries. These articles included: drawings and etchings on walls of burial chambers and catacombs in Rome, paintings in Egypt, coins, earthenware vessels, mosaics, devotional medals and saint medals, necklaces, rings, and liturgical vestments. They were even placed on documents from the 10th century believed to be used as signatures. They have been depicted on Christian Churches and monuments from the 4th century, and of course beautifully decorate our Catholic and Christian churches and Basilicas today.

Crosses were not only seen in artwork. As early as the 6th century beautiful necklaces were shown to be worn by Christians to demonstrate their devotion to Christ. Large pectoral crosses were worn by Catholic, Anglican, and Protestant clergy as a sign of reverence, devotion, and often to designate the level of the clergy in the church hierarchy. They were made of gold, silver, platinum, and often contained beautiful gemstones.

The use of a cross necklaces to display relics was identified as early as the 6th century. These reliquaries contained relics of the True Cross of Christ or relics of the saints. They were worn by clergy, royalty, and lay persons. One very interesting discovery demonstrates this use among Christians as a demonstration of their faith and devotion. St. Cuthbert was a monk and later a bishop of Lindisfurne, England. He was responsible for many miracles even prior to his death in 687. In 698 when they exhumed his body they found it uncorrupt. During the Danish invasion monks fled in fear of their safety and carried the body of the saint with them, wandering for years to Cumberland and other cities before it was finally taken to Durham, England. Another miracle occurred here. According to tradition it was believed that this miracle was St. Cuthbert indicating his desire to have his burial spot there. The incorrupt body of the saint has his final resting place in a cathedral in Durham. Interestingly, they also found in his tomb a very beautiful jeweled cross necklace.

Tombs of queens and kings were also discovered with fine religious jewelry of gold, silver, and gemstones. Another famous historical account identified both a reliquary and gemstone cross necklace in a tomb of a queen in the middle of the 6th century. Queen Theodelinda of Lombards received a very precious gift of a reliquary containing a relic of the True Cross of Christ from Pope St. Gregory the Great, an early Church Father and Doctor of the Church. Both of these wonderful expressions of Christian faith in jewelry are still preserved today in the treasury of Monza.

What a marvelous tradition we have as Christians in demonstrating our faith and devotion to Christ by proudly wearing cross necklaces whether it is a simple design of silver or gold or elaborate gemstone. We can follow in the footsteps of our early Christian brothers and sisters who were unafraid to display their Christianity daily by wearing this beautiful religious jewelry.