Orthodoxy, Heresy and
Jesus
Part I
By James M. West.
Copyright © October 28, 2007. Revised
E-mail:
ogdood@yahoo.com
Orthodox Christians always say that the
rest of us are obligated to accept the biblical Gospel accounts as literal
“flesh and blood” history. And if we refuse, then we are called “heretics” and
we are condemned because of our supposed unbelief and wrong doctrine. According
to the “orthodox” crowd, the rest of us are all going to “Hell” if we don’t read
the Bible and believe in Jesus in just the right way.
In my opinion the “orthodox” Christians
need to spend less time pointing fingers at those of us in the know, and
they need to start thinking about the problems inherent in the radical
positions that they have assumed. The problem is that the “orthodox” tradition
of Jesus quite simply contains the seeds of its own destruction (i.e. its own
refutation).
Orthodox Christians hold up the
Four-fold Gospel tradition of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John as an infallible
record of the Advent of Jesus, his ministry, and his resurrection. If the
rest us do not hold these oracles as infallible evidence of Jesus’ fleshly
incarnation then we are condemned by these very sources, as if they were
witnesses against us. It may be said that orthodox Christians hold up
these Gospels as witnesses either for or against Humanity.
Any reasonable person would be justified
in not accepting the testimony of the Four Gospel Witnesses, because these
witnesses give conflicting testimony on the events in question. Certainly, they
all claim that Jesus is the Christ and Son of God. But the problem is that the
Four Witnesses can’t get their story straight. Below are some examples:
1) Both Matthew and Luke say that Jesus
was born miraculously from a virgin. Both Mark and John omit this incredible
‘fact.’ (Mt. 1:18-20, Lk. 1:34-35, Mk. ?, Jn. ?)
2) Matthew says that Jesus was born in a
house in
3) Matthew says that Jesus’ family were
residents of
Jesus was from
4) Matthew says that certain “wise men”
(“Magi”) came from outside
5) Matthew says that Jesus’ parents took
Him to
It is amazing to me that these
“Apostolic” witnesses do not contain a clear consensus on even the most elementary
events of Jesus’ life. Why don't the earliest Apostolic records tell the same
story?
Similar problems are also found in the
Gospel accounts of the ministry of Jesus. An example is where Matthew, Mark and
Luke say that Jesus’ cleansing of the
The Gospels also diverge on the concepts
of mysteries and parables. Matthew, Mark and Luke claim that Jesus disclosed
the “mysteries of the kingdom of heaven” to his Apostles, and spoke to everyone
else in parables (Mt.
The Gospels also diverge on Jesus’
position toward the Gentiles. Matthew reports Jesus to have said that He has
come only for the “lost sheep of the House of Israel” (Mt. 10:5-6). Luke
reports Jesus as saying that the “Law and the Prophets were until John” but
that the preaching of the “
Some of my readers (being influenced by
‘orthodox’ opinions) may cite the conclusion of Matthew as evidence that the
latter Gospel is consistent with Luke. In Matthew 28:19 Jesus is reported to
have said to his Apostles: “Go ye, therefore, and teach all nations.” Assuming
that these words are from Jesus (and were not added later) we are then faced
with the problem in Acts 10. Here “Peter” confesses that he has no knowledge of
any commandment, or commission, by Jesus to preach to Gentiles: “Ye know how it
is an unlawful thing for a Jew to keep company with one of another nation; but
God has shown me that I should not call any man common or unclean” (Acts
Matthew and Mark report Jesus as warning
about damnation and “Hell-Fire” and obviously these two Gospels report the
one same tradition (e.g. Mt. 18:9, Mk.
(The fact that neither Paul nor John
warned about “Hell” can be easily verified in Strong’s Exhaustive
Concordance.)
There are many other examples of Gospel
doctrine in conflict; but I think the examples above should be sufficient.
Finally, I want to mention the four
Gospel accounts of Jesus’ resurrection (i.e. Mt. 28:1-10, Mk. 16:1-8, Lk.
24:1-11, Jn. 20:1-18). I urge my readers to read these accounts for themselves
and note all of the conflicting details. The four witnesses claim that Jesus
arose from the tomb. BUT THEIR STORIES DON’T MATCH; AND THERE ARE RADICAL
VARIATIONS IN THEIR DETAILS. In my opinion the four resurrection accounts are a
cruel joke.
The four Gospel Witnesses all claim that
Jesus is the Son of God, who walked and taught among men, was crucified, died,
and rose from the dead (all while supposedly in the flesh). On these basic
assertions they agree. But when it comes to details, these witnesses cancel
each other out on numerous key points on what is said to have occurred.
If our courts today were to use the
Gospels as a legal standard, then truly there would be many more innocent
people on Death Row. By a true legal standard the Gospels cannot be fairly used
as a standard by which to judge people who do not accept the “Gospel” as
factual, or as literal truth.
Next I want to address another important
problem that is inherent in the orthodox tradition of Jesus.
To this day millions of Fundy Christians
are awaiting the second Coming of Jesus, which will follow the fulfillment of
lurid end time prophecies as found in Matthew 24 and in the Revelation of John.
Indeed Fundy Christians right now are eagerly watching as their President (and
not mine) prods our bankrupt nation onward toward “World War III” in the
For many Christians, this is where the
future is, and this is how our present problems will be solved. Fundy
Christians need not be concerned about the fact that
But what do the Scriptures really say?
Is it really that simple? Celsus long ago ridiculed the Christians because of
their self refuting-doctrines about Jesus. We are about to take a look at one
of the most important examples.
I’ll begin by quoting the words of Jesus
from some relevant Gospel passages:
Matthew 16:28,
“Truly, I say unto you, There be some standing here, which shall not
taste death, until they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom.” (This was
Jesus’ warning to his followers who failed to remain faithful. Cf. Mt.
16:24-26.)
Matthew 10:23,
The following words are from Jesus’ instructions to his Apostles as to what
they should do when persecuted: “But when they persecute you in this city, flee
ye into another: for truly I say unto you, Ye shall not have gone over all the
cities of
(Note that in Mt. 28:19 Jesus commands
his Apostles to “teach all nations” whereas in Mt. 10:5-6 he commands that they
preach to Israelites only; and in 10:23 Jesus promises that they will not have
gone through all the cities before the end comes!)
Next is the famous conclusion to Jesus’
End Time speech as alleged in Matthew 24:34-35,
“Truly I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all
these things be fulfilled. Heaven and Earth shall pass away, but my words shall
not pass away.” (Emphasis added)
Any sensible person knows that none of
Jesus’ promises or warnings have come to pass. And his words make it painfully
obvious (for some – not me) that his promises and prognostications were
intended for that generation and time to which he referred. The fact is, Jesus’
prophecies never came to pass, and by his own standard he has proven himself to
be a false prophet (Mt. 24:24).
In spite of the clear print Fundy
Christians continue to read these words in the belief that these events are
going to happen in the near future. Are these people not deluded – if not
insane? Even more frightening is that these people think that
A similar disconnect among Fundies
appears with the Revelation of John. Now, out of respect for Christians in
general, I will acknowledge that, historically, many Christians have had the
good sense to doubt and reject the Revelation of John as the trash that it is.
This book is garbage. Eusebius reports the doubts of early Catholic leaders
about the authenticity of the Revelation (Church History, 3.25.5,
3.28.1-5; see also Bruce Metzger, Canon of the New Testament, pg
209ff.). The fatal flaw of the Revelation of John appears in a couple of
relevant passages:
Revelation 1:1-3,
“The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto
his servants the things which must shortly come to pass...for the time
is at hand.” (Emphasis added).
Revelation 2:25,
Here are the words of Jesus to the Church at Thyatira: “But that which
he ye have already, hold fast until I come. And ye that overcometh, and keepeth
my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations: and he shall
rule them with a rod of iron.”
Does the “church in Thyatira” even exist
today?
Here again are the words of the angel to
John, Revelation 22:6,
“These sayings are faithful and true: and the Lord God of the holy
prophets sent his angel to shew unto his servants the things which must shortly
be done.”
Let us note also the words of “Jesus” in
Rev. 22:12 and 20 “Behold, I come quickly” and also “Surely, I come quickly.”
And finally, let us note the concluding
words of “John”: “Even so, come Lord Jesus.”
I actually feel sorry for this guy. But
should I feel sorry for people today who continue to obsess with the mysteries
of the Revelation when the book shows itself to be obviously false?
The enigmatic passages quoted above
reflected the end time expectations among some early Christians. They believed
that the “end” would come and that Jesus would return by the end of their
generation: just as Jesus was reported to have said. Thus Jesus was expected to
return before the Apostles died. But what happened?
The book of 2 Peter is probably the
earliest record of the crisis that the Christian movement experienced; which
was the result of the failures of the end time prophecies as mentioned above.
All the Apostles and fathers died, but Jesus never returned. A state of unrest
began to prevail among Christians. The writer of 2 Peter warned about those who
began to question the prophecies:
“Knowing this first, that scoffers shall come in the last days…saying,
Where is the promise of his coming? For since the fathers fell asleep all
things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.”
The author here betrays the fact that he
is not really Peter. If Peter were still alive then there would be no reason
for doubting: because Jesus promised Peter in Matthew that “this generation
shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.” (Mt. 24:34, cf. vs. 27-31)
But obviously this writer, pretending to be Peter, can no longer quote Jesus as
Holy Writ to solve this problem. Therefore our writer offers a new formula in
Peter’s name:
“But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with
the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not
slack concerning his promise…” (2 Peter 3:8f.)
This isn’t what “Jesus” promised to
Peter in Matthew…
One last point I’d like to mention is
that the Gospel of John contains no endtime doctrine. Instead, Jesus tells his
followers that he will depart, and send the Paraclete (Jn.
When these numerous biblical passages
and issues are taken into account, it becomes obvious that so-called “orthodox”
Fundy Christians really have no business pointing their fingers at anyone. Nor
should they engage in sanctimonious talk about orthodoxy and heresy. Nor should
these Christians dictate to the rest of us what the future will be, or how our
government should interact with the
And finally, in light of the issues I
have discussed, it should be perfectly obvious that the Gnostics are justified
in not believing in Jesus as a literal, physical person. Nor should the Gospels
quoted above be interpreted as literal events. The Gospels contain teachings,
not facts. Even if one chooses to admit that the Gospel Jesus was real, then
you must also face the fact that his prophecies were false. The combined
testimony of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John does not prove anything in terms of
facts. They cancel each other out.
I urge all my readers to look to the
Gospels for insights; but seek the Truth within yourselves. –jw
Readers can e-mail their comments, etc.,
to me at ogdood@yahoo.com