No Holy Men Here

Today we hear of Catholic clergy with histories of homosexuality, pedophilia, molestation and are shocked that such things could happen. Worse yet, administrators of the local parishes and perhaps higher have worked to ignore or even cover up the states of some of these priests. People are apalled, outraged, and their faith shaken. People outside of the Catholic Church, people with a negative estimation of that church to begin with, see the reports as just further proof of the corruption of Catholicism.

And in truth sexual improprieties are nothing new to the Catholic Church. Homosexuality, pedophilia, perversion, the fathering of illegimitate children by supposedly celibate priests, and even what could be described as same sex unions are a part of the Catholic clergy's history.

What's wrong with these people? Before you condemn look at your own church or the people around you. Look at yourself.

You can find all of the above "sex crimes" in your own churches and communities, with your own clergies and leaders. Every Sunday one can drive through town and watch the freshly washed, groomed and primped, suited and high-heeled people better-than-you walk into their "houses of God." And they have been covering up their sins just as long as any pedophile parish priest.

This is part of the Christian religion on the people level. It is the new covenant. And this covenant runs like this: We will help hide your sins if you help hide ours. This is the joy of Christian fellowship, the knowing smiles, hugs and handshakes. No matter what you do "Jesus forgives you." But there is no Jesus around, but only people who "forgive" by pretending that what they did and their Christian brother or sister did will be suppressed, unspoken in the presence of "unbelievers," and that such activities will be covered up, and "good reputations" won't be ruined. And the Sunday parade, or, perhaps better, charade into the churches replay again and again.

And the sins continue and replay again and again, covered over again and again, and the only attempt to correct the situation is a stupid bumpersticker that reads: "Christians Aren't Perfect, Just Forgiven." Forgiven by whom?

There are two indisputable facts born out here for people who would do something positive with their lives and stop the charade. People are not perfect. And people seek desparately to hide their sins.

 

The Torah tells us to be holy, but it describes a whole list of restrictions because it knows that we will not be. The real punishment of mankind for Adam and Eve's disobedience in Gan Eden wasn't a perpetual state of sin to be fixed by a mythological remedy. The real burden placed upon them was the one they earned.

They had intellect that allowed them to choose. This was no mistake. Yahweh 'Elohim purposely created them with this intellect and free will. And whether you believe in "creation" or not, this cannot be argued. Intellect and choice, deliberation, premeditation is one of the things that makes man man.

What they did wrong was to choose in spite of God's instruction within what He intended for them. And the first thing they did was to hide. They could not bear being exposed to God. There was nothing wrong with their nakedness, there was nothing wrong with their ability to choose. But choosing against God, seeing that power momentarily only to cringe before God's gaze was too much to face and they hid seeking to separate themselves from Him. It was not fear, but shame.

When it came time to "fess up" they did not.  Instead they looked for someone else to blame---the serpent--each other. They thought they would be as wise and perfect as Yahweh by eating the forbidden fruit. And they still were not.

 

 

Today we have people who believe that they are to be perfect like God. They worship that perfection so much that they have mythologized it, and bestowed it upon a person. And it is still unattainable for them even after bringing the image of perfection to an earthly icon. They say that everyone sins---but at the same time they will do anything not to face their sins. Oh, yes, they will go to "God" with their sins, but they cannot face their sins.

According to legend, Yahshua who they claim to worship and follow taught, Confess your sins to one another; If you have offended your brother, first go to him . . . . He told people to repent, that is to turn from their sin.

 

 

I began by speaking of wayard priests and pastors. But their congregations are more guilty than they are.

People cannot be perfect, and seemingly they realize it. They want to shift their responsibility and their quest for perfection to someone else. They still can't face God, and settle for men whom they have required godlike perfection. So who is at fault?

Your religious leader is not perfect. He is not the face of God. They have no right to that position and no one should assign it to them. We have looked for perfection where it cannot exist, and so we are fools to be shocked when humans act like humans.

 

Some of us look at them as examples. They should do the right thing. But how can they? How can you? We have to fight the human tendency to hide sins. We have to face them, and we have to accept them as our own instead of someone else's. When you sin, go to the person you sin against---not God. He already knows, and it is a cop out to face Someone you can't even see! But as Yahshua ben Yosef suggested---go to the person first, and then go to God.

 

 

I have shocked Ebionites who have come from a Christian background. A few come looking for some holy man when they have found their own Christian leaders to have been less than perfect. The fault is theirs. I am not holy, and never have claimed to be. I do not represent God, and never claimed to be his special representative of "truth." I am nothing but a scholar and teacher and probably lacking in both. I am an organizer, a referee, a secretary. But I am not holy.

I try to observe the Torah because that is the parameters I understand to be best for life and to restore order over chaos. I believe that there is order and purpose to the universe due to Yahweh, and His Torah helps direct us to be part of that order. But the emphasis is on try and believe.

Most Ebionites know that I entered into a relationship with another man's wife once. It caused havoc, and nearly ruined my life and others'. It serves as an example not to follow but that anyone can fall into these situations. I hid it at first, and was afraid. Finally, I had to grow up, end it, and admit it to those I hurt by it. I even apologized to the girl's husband. I still do not deny what I did when confronted about it. This is the example I set for repentence.

This was seen as insanity. The young lady has never admitted the affair, made up damaging lies, went to church more, and used influence to silence me. And so like Adam and Eve she will be hiding behind the skins until she faces her problems. But she is in good company back there hiding among the trees. As a member of the pact knows, such sins are to remain secret in a community of dirty little secrets. Ebionites cannot belong to such a community.

There is no pretense necessary that such exposures "help" the community or that anyone wants to know. That is not the rationale. The rationale is to knock down barriers between you and God, to quit believing that you are able to hide from anyone. Instead of pretending perfection, we admit imperfection and the need to help correct the world by starting with ourselves. This is usually inconceivable in the dirty secrets community. Yahshua is reported to have said, "What men tell you in secret, shout from the housetops." The more people's secret sins become known the less they will occur---perhaps.

 

Ebionites are not perfect. And they aren't automatically forgiven, but will face the truth and God and the "victims" their sins have made, and ask for forgiveness, then will take their offering to God. If they sin against you, they won't go to God---they'll come to you in efforts to right the wrong and accept blame. They will not hide by putting lies, "skins," or other people in front of them to block the gaze of Yahweh. Then the sin will be neutralized and forgiven.

Don't come to the Ebionites looking for imitations of God. We aren't perfect--just repentent.