This is in response to Pastor Bob's letter, since he alluded to my comments to TH from the week before:I really wish you would just come and address the topic, instead of skirting the posts and questions I have posed to you. This is an open response to you regarding this. I would hope you would come into the open and answer the questions appropriately.Firstly, You Hide behind a pseudonym. Why? Not only that, but a pseudonym that implies a title; "Pastor". Why? I have my opinions on why, as do some others here, But will not share them as they are just that, Opinions.Regarding the KJV, and the KJV CULTS. You define a cult by man's understanding of a cult. I define it by the Standards that God uses. A cult is anyone who has placed an idol above the Living God. Could this idol possibly be the bible itself, whatever the translation one is using?? I say it can be. I say, we even have an example of this, in the bible of the scribes and Pharisees. THEY knew the scriptures inside and out...every Jot and tittle. Yet God called them whores, and Robbers. That is because the letter of the law was an idol to them.My Argument, and one I share with A.W. Tozier and Leonard Ravenhill is that Word of God has died in the hands of the fundamentalists. The text had become supreme, an idol, open to the interpretation of only a few select self proclaimed "masters". Thus the "charismatic leader" of the CULT of fundamentalism is the intelligentsia of the church. Not so much a monarchy or a papacy, but rather an oligarchy. This is exactly what happened to the Pharisees, scribes, and Saducees. NO, they were not united on doctrine, but they were united on stating that Jesus needed to die. They were united in saying that a "common man" has no business interpreting scripture.They Said to Jesus, "How did this man get such learning without having studied?" (with them in their rabbinic schools) (John 7:15)His response to this was telling, and one that you should heed as well. ""My teaching is not my own. It comes from him who sent me. If ANYONE CHOOSES to do God's will, he will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own." (Verses16-17)Are You as a self proclaimed leader in the church doing God's will in dictating to others how they should interpret scripture? In other words "lording over the flock." You see, I was a product of this sort of fundamentalism in my little Baptist church. It was a dead church...dead as a doornail. When someone would come into it hoping to bring life to it, they were cast out, and or thwarted, and soon became just another pew sitter listening to the brainwashing coming from the pulpit. IT IS FUNDAMENTALISM SUCH AS THIS THAT HAS PUT THE CHURCH TO SLEEP. Many here at Five doves intrinsically know this, when they bring up end times in their own churches. Many of those churches are fundamentalist strongholds, who see the discussion of end time eschatology as a threat to their power structures. In other word, these churches are nothing more than social constructs, built to maintain the power of the elite few scribes. End time eschatology is a threat to them, because they ultimately cannot with certainty declare exactly what is God's plan, as it is concealed, sealed up, and or meant to confound the wise. God purposely did this to the Pharisees, and he is purposely doing this to the blind shepherds in our modern institutional churches. Jesus Even praised God for "revealing the Truth to the little children", The dregs of society, fisherman, carpenters, shepherds, and tax collectors. As a shepherd, you would do well to pray the prayer at the end of psalm 139 to see if you are nothing more than one of these "blind shepherds".SEE this: ultimately, the Idol is not so much the king James version of the text (Which I am in agreement with you on being the strongest interpretation out there), But the idol is the mind of man....The one thing that could "declare himself God" which resides in our "temple", The Body in which the presence of the Lord resides. THINK ABOUT THIS, as I am sure you are familiar with the verses which I allude to in these words. You see, your fundamentalism can never teach you this, because your scribes have taught you, and now you are redictating them to others that there must be a physical temple constructed for the AC to come into. It cannot make logical sense otherwise.And here is the kicker. The very "Liberals" you are fighting against, are nothing more than reactionary bi-products of dead fundamentalists churches. I know, because I became one. Leaving the confines of fundamentalism, and their cultic commune, I dove headfirst into rational relativism, and pluralism and the "enlightenment" it brought. But they in fact were and are no different than the fundamentalists in that they too have as their idol, their own intellect; The mind of man declaring himself God in the temple. Only they have left off the baggage of absolute truth, and wondered into all sorts of quagmires and snares.So this, I am sure, begs the question, where am I now? Is there ultimately a way that avoids the death of the fundamentalists, as well as the snares of relativism of the liberals? I say, yes, and that way is found above in Jesus own words...To choose to do the will of God. That is, to be led by the Holy Spirit. It is ONLY then, that a believers teaching is not his own, but the Words come from the one who sent him. Paul puts it this way:14 The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. 15 The spiritual person judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no one. 16 “For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ. (1 Cor. 2:14-16, ESV)14 But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.15 But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man.16 For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? but we have the mind of Christ. (KJV)You see, the intellect is part of the carnal man, But those who are led by the Spirit are sons of God. That was my point in that letter to TH last week. for those who did not read it then please do so now.Who is the God you worship? Is it the living God who is beyond knowing? Or is it your own mind's "I", and the pearls of knowledge which it produces? (Rev. 18:12-17) To answer the question in the title, the Idol of the KJV cult is the Human mind. The Lord spoke to me about a year ago, and gave me a dream to go along with those words. These were audible words, spoken in my native tongue, in order that I would get the meaning of them. They were spoken twice: They are translated as follows with implied meanings in the words that is unique to the dialect, that may not be so in English."Do not Look upon(with desire/ envy) HIS pearl neckchain." You have come to Fivedoves, posting a chain of letters...Pearls of Wisdom. When I shared this at "Watchman on the Wall Forum" I also shared a short dream with them regarding this, "various dignitaries" of all parties handing these pearl neckchains to one another in celebratory mode. Among them were political and religious leaders, one of them being a lesser known protestant. If I am correct, you are that person.....Fundamentalism is a burdensome chain. Not the doctrines, all of which I agree with BTW, but in the sense of its binding of believers to dictates of the mind instead of the teaching of the Holy Spirit.In all brutal honesty, I have shared what the Holy Spirit has given me to write here. What the reader does with this is up to the Lord.Teach me to do your will,
for you are my God!
Let your good Spirit lead me
on level ground! (Psalm 143:10)God BlessDavid H.