Saturday October 1, 2005 2:04 PM Bring the Muslim into contact with the Mormon and let them argue their tales. Then bring the Muslim into contact with the Christian to argue tales.

The certification (morally, and thus universally speaking) of the Christian religion is provided by the right reasoning of each man, before he is subjected to foreign suggestions. It is that the command of God is that each man first comply with his moral duty, and only afterwards seek his personal gain. It is further granted in the recognition of the disposition, and not the act (which merely ensues from it according to perceived occasions), and that this disposition alone is pleasing to God, and all else only to the extent that it promotes this as a means to it. It is the disposition of allegiance to the moral law first that divides people from each other. Some commit to the moral law first, others to the moral law second. That’s the only difference. The realm of light and the realm of darkness.

Hearken! Those of the light will live in the light, and those in darkness will dwell forever in darkness. Awaken now, all who are in the dark, and come out while there is still time. Join with me and other kindred spirits in the Kingdom of God and separate yourselves from the prince of this world, which is self above all else.

And to this end Jesus established his church which call for the union of all people who understand in this wise and who are dedicated to the Kingdom of God (as the realm might aptly be named) and want to cooperate with others for mutual and reciprocal perfection.

This invisible church was founded by Jesus and encompasses all with in it who believe that God is only pleased with the life of right conduct, and that the disposition is the crux between the Kingdom of God and the realm of the prince of this world. This church has the assurance of the founder that though they will suffer in this world, nevertheless they should be joyful for great is their happiness in the next,, the happiness belonging morally to the good disposition. in this church they are to cooperate, and need never fear any separation from his own spirit, which lives in their hearts as the good disposition.

Now for the sake of those who could doubt their own stability in their dedication to the good principle (for the disposition is not subject to any view, not even one’s own), the various faiths of the Christian religion, based on a sacred history stemming after the recorded death of the founder, consort to provide an assurance of one’s disposition by insisting that upon the death and resurrection it became possible for the Holy Spirit to enter in upon sinful flesh and make it clean, and that this has indeed happened as is certified through experience.


Let’s see. The faiths say this. Jesus was resurrected and ascended into heaven. He thus died for the salvation of those who are uncertain of their own disposition and lives to assure them that they are accepted through their active faith in him, and in doing all they can to make themselves worthy of him and this his sacrifice through their own dedication to the Kingdom of God (forgiving others as a matter of course of all who are of the Kingdom of God).

Therefore if a person can believe this story, that Jesus was resurrected from the death, he can believe that he is acceptable as he is, with the active striving of his disposition, without a need of paying for these sins.


And so while with the non-faith Christian there is no certitude or assurance of a right disposition, but only the hints of a limited experience, with the faith Christian there is such a certitude or assurance, as it is coupled with the activity of a sincere heart. I.e., the sincerely intended activity is taken then as evidence of a fact, i.e., that the disposition is indeed good and thus acceptable in the sight of God.


Now all Christians (religiously speaking, in one’s heart) are welcomed in the faith churches as members even though they do not accept the sacred histories. but since it is not the belief in the sacred histories but rather the conduct of one’s life that endears one to God (and to each other), they should get along quite well,, and recite the traditional creeds in solidarity, and not from conscience. “We are marching to Pretoria.” “Would you march with us?”

What pleases God about the non-faith Christian and the faith Christian is one and the same, namely a conduct of life equal to that of Jesus. He is not pleased with the recitation of a creed per se, but only as a means to that conduct of life.

The faith Christians then please God to the extent that their faith encourages them to live the right conduct.








2:56 PM There is now a sense to forgiveness, such that it not be inane, namely Jesus dying for the sins of the world opens the door for the Holy Spirit (the good disposition) to enter into hearts and so where forgiveness makes sense. It doesn’t make sense to forgive the person who remains in sin. Only if by means of it people are encouraged to leave sin and to seek the righteousness (Holy Spirit) the forgiveness is designed to implement.


6:59 PM Dear Mr. B.

I think it is imperative that we understand clearly the role and function of Jesus. I appeal merely to his earthly life as record and up until his death.

Yes, he did die, and this is made clear in the understanding that will be developed.

Jesus proclaim a revolutionary new religion, the first of its kind in all of history, and it is called the Christian religion in honor of its founder, Jesus called the Christ.

In this religion all alleged commands of God are subjected to a test by the moral law, namely God is only to be understood as commanding what is moral. Furthermore the only thing which can be pleasing to God is a disposition which is attuned to the moral law first (and self only second).[ The actions are relatively unimportant, for they flow merely from this disposition as a matter of course, upon perceived opportunities for implementation.] And finally all those who sincerely represented this good disposition were friends of his and indeed of all of a kindred spirit, including therefore also God. In this religion he binds all kindred spirits of the good disposition in a union of hearts for a common attack on the forces of evil which naturally enslave the human mind under the banner of: self above all. Those who would rather serve their master, the prince of this world (self above all), are then left to fend for themselves.

That’s it.

Jesus assumed that people would simply naturally go bad, but that the God-given germ of decency was not extinguished and people could hear and heed his call for repentance and redemption.

All who possessed the good disposition may therefore count on a forgiveness of their sins, and this state of grace is evidenced by consciousness of moral striving in order to be worthy of this forgiveness, i.e., by living a life of right conduct (obedience to the moral law first).

This is the religion of Jesus Christ, the Christian religion, and all good disposed persons are members of this religion, also by their own natural disposition, like the naturally good gentiles of Romans 2 or Jesus' own Zachaeeus.

It is not necessary, in order to be in the Christian religion, to believe in the resurrection, but it is necessary to believe in the death of Jesus. It is necessary for this reason: it is only in truth that this man lived and in order to demonstrate to sinful men the fact in experience of a perfectly righteous man (as their own moral thinking requires them to think of themselves), for the disposition is not subject to human inspection and can only be suggested by the most extreme deprivations for the sake of the good disposition, hence death.

Jesus called Christ by many died in order to demonstrate in its purity the soul of a righteous man. A substitution reduces the example to such as the probabilities of the example of Abraham (would he really have done it? did he have that much faith to actually do it? faith in this voice).

It is necessary only in the sense of expressing what every man knows should not be a miracle, namely a perfectly righteous life, for that is within the power of every man. I.e., there is no reason to doubt the death as proof par excellence of the righteous capacity of the human species.


Now all such inclined people are invited into the Christian church to strive together for the good of all the world and the utter destruction of the prince of this world. Indeed, they have a duty, for even as good people, just in their own interactions with each other in the market world, they prompt mutual suspicion, they naturally descend into selfish evil and thus are defeated. they have a duty to band together for that purpose, and the church (the invisible, spiritual) church is for that purpose.

And so all well intended persons are invited into the Christian church without respect to dogma and affirmation of sacred histories. All will feel at home and in the company of kindred spirits in pursuit of moral perfection as a common goal.

That is the unorganized church. the organized church will likely have a dogma and a sacred history. But to the extent that an organized church wishes to represent itself as the Church Universal it will have to have the means of subduing all else to a pursuit of a love of the moral law. This means the elimination of sacred histories and dogmas. this does not mean their actual elimination, for they can be sources of common inspiration forever, but only that no belief in them is required for membership and for participation at the common table.

Now what do the sacred histories tells us and what do they provide over and above what is contained in the moral, purely religious church as such?

They tell us that Jesus rose from the dead and discoursed with his disciples and then ascended into heaven. They tell us that this was necessary in order for God to be able to forgive people, namely that it meant a change in life of the person forgiven. By virtue of Jesus’ death and resurrection the disciples were first able to put aside self and subscribe utterly to the moral law of common worth and receive the Holy Spirit as a guarantee of the acceptance of God.

Now if a person can believe this story then he is able to know, through his faith, that he now has a good disposition, i.e., a certain certitude, in faith, of one’s entrance into eternal life with the friends of Jesus.

Someone of the Christian religion who does not have the ability to believe this story will never be able to totally believe that he does in fact possess the good disposition (a requisite for the Kingdom of God; not the beliving but the possessing), for this is no more accessible to even his own introspection than is the recognition of an infinitely long line by merely looking at it. He may hope that he is of that disposition, but he cannot know it.

The persons who are able, blessed many Christians would say, who is able to believe the story of Jesus are not sanctified by their belief, the demons believe the story also, but only by his own striving to be worthy of such forgiveness by living a life of right conduct. Then this belief gives him peace of mind and joy in the midst of the tribulations in the conflict with the prince of this world. Thus through their faith they have a certitude of their entrance into eternal life, made possible by the death and resurrection of Jesus.

And so the difference comes in this wise: all the goodly disposed are friends of Jesus and are welcome at his table, whether they realize it or not. (Romans 2, the gentiles). but it is only those who trust in Christ who can have the peace and joy that comes from the knowledge of that good disposition within them, for it is guaranteed by the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ and lives on good striving. It also works to encourage the Christian who sins, not to sin again but rather to set off anew in the quest for the perfection ascribed to Jesus Christ. It engenders good hope, for Jesus is said to have died to give people, like Barabbas, a second chance with full exception of the successful outcome.

the hope of the Christian of the faiths is this; while we are inadequate to the task at hand (making ourselves moral), nevertheless if we will only do our very best then whatever is lacking will be made up for, even if we cannot imagine how. This hope belongs to the Christian of the faiths, and not to the religion. This hope is a fact of faith.

The person in the Christian religion may hope for salvation, but the Christian of the faiths simply assumes his salvation and works with complete peace of mind and with joy. The former may be uncertain, but the latter is quite certain and his peace of joy, the Abba Father peace and joy, are expressed within him as facts of experience.

Concerning now the destiny of those who do not act to enter into the Christian religion. Or rather, those who refuse to enter. They will be left to fend for themselves. Those who do not refuse to enter (perhaps without choice due to ignorance) will be permitted to enjoy God in accordance with their capacity. A dog, to use an extreme example, will be happy in the presence of Jesus, but his happiness his incomparable with the happiness of a friend of his. Capacity will vary depending on people’s make up and experience. All babies who do not reject the Christian religion (and how can they?) will enjoy God to the extent of their capacity (almost like varying paradises) and all of reason who accept it (the invisible religion and the invisible church) will enjoy God to their extent of their capacity, and this will be different, although both will be happy, happy in different qualities. [again, the faiths here provide the “knowledge” which is based on the sacred histories and so where there is an immediate peace and joy based on one’s active faith. For those of the faith will have the greatest capacity for enjoying God for they will have known of what God did for the world through Jesus, again: according to the sacred histories which they believe.]

And so the only difference between the Christian religion and the Christian faith is that while both are going to end up in heaven, only the latter knows it (in faith), the former being left to hope that his disposition is truly acceptable to God.


7:48 PM Kant will have us think that religion arises naturally from the conception of morality.

A morally inclined man considers how he would create a world if it were in his power and he would live in it.

Now even though he would choose the highest good as a matter of course for its makeup, he would not refuse to create such a world. No, he would choose to create such a world, knowing that he would live in it, and knowing that as a result he might not live up to the highest ideal and thus be lacking in happiness. He does this because he knows there must be a purpose which all of his duties are aimed at.

He creates a world to live in in which he could achieve great happiness by right conduct, or where he might come up very short, depending on his choices. He could just not create a world. But that would mean that he would not exist, so he will create the world and it will be the moral world because he knows that is the aim and purpose of all moral duties, namely that they are to have an effect and achieve a purpose. This purpose is called the highest good.

And so it is clear that this man would want to create such a (highest good) world because he is commanded by the moral law do to as much good as possible, and that would be the highest good that he could do, the highest possible good for practical purposes. And he would want to do this even though he might come up short himself. And he would want to do this because it provides a purpose to the duties and gives them an effect, a result.

And so every thinking man who is so morally inclined will be duty driven to create the highest good world, and will want that in order that there be a meaning to this duty, even if it is costly to him. Even in that case he wants a meaning to be moral law and this is given in the highest good, moral perfection and commensurate happiness in a world whole of individuals in a society together.

And so then we sort of make a jump and imagine God creating this world, considered in his moral appellation, and what this would mean with regard to his worship and service. What is it that God would want from such as the humans?

God wants moral perfection in freedom, i.e., in striving over obstacles, and creates the human race to express that.

Now the world is naturally evil, i.e., every individual is conscious of having already made a choice of an occasional violation of the moral law (and following rules which can not be made universal). Goodness raises the Son of God to awaken us and to shame us and to inspire us to become such ourselves. We recognize our evil and seek refuge together in a church (under God) where we are commanded to do good and where we serve God by our mutual and reciprocal striving together. And then it comes about that we make the distinction above between the Christian religion and the christian church (both established by Jesus) and the Christian faiths, established by his followers.

Regarding the Trinity it is neither necessary for salvation nor absurd. At least it is no more absurd that the notion of the two hands.

By the way the icon for the supremacy of the moral law is given exquisite statement in John 5 in breaking the law in order to heal.


8:14 PM What then shall be the appeal to the Muslim? We shall awaken him by pitting him against the Mormon. Then we will compare the experience of Paul and Mohammed, and then their revelations in light of the moral religion established by Jesus (as understood above). It will be clear that Paul’s ties in perfectly (Romans 13:8-10) with Jesus’ moral religion, while Mohammed goes straightway into fetish religion, where it inane acts are considered as pleasing God quite independent of anything else, any change in moral disposition, and which an evil person can do as well as a good person.

A lot of the Christian faiths are equally fetish. It’s a belief in sorcery, that a morally unchanged person can please God and manipulate him in some way by doing inane acts for him, e.g., reciting a creed or attending mass a certain number of times.

It’s like the old Jewish stuff of making deals with God.

The Council of Jerusalem frees the Christian (gentile) of all encumbrances. They are set free to follow Jesus as they wish, e.g., as a righteous man who died and vanished, and also then as a righteous man who was resurrected from the dead. They are all one in the spirit of wanting to be as righteous as the Son of God.

The church is slowly returning to this liberty starting with the Reformation. It continues now in the churches where Christian homosexuals are celebrated like anyone else.

The faiths proclaim that it shall be victorious and that one day the entire human race will be morally perfect and happy. Perhaps then that will have made it all worthwhile.


I don’t see the moral supremacy in Islam at all, no evidence of any moral character. Mohammed has us thinking that bowing down and given to the poor are indifferently obeyed as commanded and without the least consideration that the latter is a moral duty. Both are equally pleasing or displeasing to God, as the case may be, and are equally undertaken for the sake of reward, and most usually with reluctance. The goal in both cases is merely gain without regard to the moral law in the least. This obedience gives the biggest payoff in the judgment of God, the being who controls happiness.

And so now we are faced with the possibility that iIlam is a demonically inspired religion,, presented through an “angel of light” and where morality is stripped away entirely and we are left with a fetish religion under the dominion the continuing prince of this world, i.e., self interest above all.

It’s conceivable that the prince of this world could use Islam to drive moral and rational religion out of existence and thus produce a self perpetuating self tutelage where thought is controlled by the conception of reward, e.g., where it is dangerous to think new thoughts. then the prince of the world will have won, and all the world, the entire human species, would be caught in his evil web, and would not even know it, and so therefore could never be rescued. Those who do not know that they are blind will not accept a guide.

Many of the evil people Jesus dealt with did not know that they were evil, but rather thought themselves as marvelous proper people.