The 7 very reasonable laws the Hebrew God requests of the gentiles..

a reply to: Akragon

"Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.' They also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?' He will reply, 'Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.' Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life."

-Matthew 25:41-46

That does certainly seem to suggest to me that you have to actually act. It appears that those that don't actually go out and help others are going to be turned away.

Like you wrote though, the thief didn't have much of a chance to go and do anything else so... it's an opportunity of asking directly and also not having any other opportunities to act on his new faith.

a reply to: rshackleford

Of course... but again, we don't know anything about this person...

he was a thief that was to be executed, thats all we know... we don't know how he lived his life

For all we know he could have been wrongly convicted of his crime

In the passage you posted, do you think said persons or people did not have faith? Of course they did!!

So why would "the king" turn from them?

it certainly wasn't because they lacked faith... and it wasn't because works were not necessary

the answer is simple actually... said people were selective as to who deserved their works

"For what you did to the least them, You did also to me"

originally posted by: JoshuaCox
The seven Noahide laws as traditionally enumerated are the following:[7]

Not to worship idols.
Not to curse God.
To establish courts of justice.
Not to commit murder.
Not to commit adultery or sexual immorality.
Not to steal.
Not to eat flesh torn from a living animal.


According to Judaism.. these are all that gentiles are required to do to go to heaven..

Far more logical and kinda the exact opposite from Christianities “you just have to believe in jesus..”

That is just so dumb
Anyway, the Jews blew it and are now fighting for their existence

The laws were not given to make them acceptable to God, they were given so they could get along with each other

God told them he just wanted repentance and a humble attitude, but whatever floats your boat

originally posted by: JoshuaCox
a reply to: NthOther




Um..



You can be a child molester and repent and believe I jesus, and your good


Christianity specifically says your works (actions don’t matter) it is only your faith that counts..

Except Christians are known by their fruit, fruit of the Holy Spirit, it's called context
Taking pieces from the text and alienating them for prose is so invalid it's words of a drunk man
Actions are not done because of consequences, they are done as a response

a reply to: Akragon

I totally agree that the people he is talking to certainly had faith in him, to me it just appears that he is telling them that they also need to DO things because it would be doing to him. That if they don't actually care for others then he would turn from them, because they would be... not doing for him. I'd think in the faith versus works things that maybe neither is enough on its own. Faith without deeds may just be seen as empty.

originally posted by: JoshuaCox
a reply to: projectvxn

It is a hotly debated topic amongst Christian scholars..with countless people falling on both sides..

...

Christianity = faith > works.

Then perhaps you shouldn't try to lump them all together under the label "Christianity" when they don't all agree. A better terminology would be: "Some denominations within Christendom". With the understanding that the word "Christendom" refers to those religions collectively that profess to be Christian.

Sola fide - Wikipedia (between brackets is mine)

Sola fide (Latin: by faith alone), also known as justification by faith alone, is a Christian theological doctrine* that distinguishes the Lutheran and Reformed branches of Protestant Christianity*, as well as some other denominations, from the Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, and some parts of the Restoration Movement, as well as the Methodist Churches.
[well, not only them of course]
In the General Council of Trent the Catholic Church stated in canon XIV on justification that "If any one saith, that man is truly absolved from his sins and justified, because that he assuredly believed himself absolved and justified; or, that no one is truly justified but he who believes himself justified; and that, by this faith alone, absolution and justification are effected; let him be anathema (excommunicated)." Thus, "faith alone" is foundational to Lutheranism and Reformed Christianity*, and distinguishes it from other Christian denominations*. According to Martin Luther, justification by faith alone is the article on which the Church stands or falls.
[*: "denominations within Christendom" rather than "Christian denominations"; "theological doctrine" rather than "Christian theological doctrine"; "Protestantism" rather than "Protestant Chirstianity"; "Reformed Protestantism a.k.a. Calvinism" rather than "Reformed Christianity"]

The bible quotations given in this thread from the book of James sufficiently refute the doctrine of "sola fide" that Martin Luther, John Calvin and others championed. The bible also gives the following clear warning...

2 Corinthians 11:13-15

For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. 14 And no wonder, for Satan himself keeps disguising himself as an angel of light. 15 It is therefore nothing extraordinary if his ministers also keep disguising themselves as ministers of righteousness. But their end will be according to their works.

Which is nicely consistent with the rest of the bible such as Eccl.12:13,14 (ending of the book):

13 The conclusion of the matter, everything having been heard, is: Fear the true God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole obligation of man. 14 For the true God will judge every deed, including every hidden thing, as to whether it is good or bad.

Psalm 62:12

12 Also loyal love is yours, O Jehovah,

For you repay each one according to his deeds.

Ecclesiastes 11:9

9 Rejoice, young man, while you are young, and let your heart be glad in the days of your youth. Follow the ways of your heart and go where your eyes lead you; but know that the true God will bring you into judgment* [Or “call you to account.”] for all these things.

Matthew 12:36, 37

36 I tell you that men will render an account on Judgment Day for every unprofitable* [Or “worthless.”] saying that they speak; 37 for by your words you will be declared righteous, and by your words you will be condemned.”

Like these words (as long as we're talking about Martin Luther's favorite words and teachings anyway):

Certainly, the handiest trick of the propagandist is the use of outright lies. Consider, for example, the lies that Martin Luther wrote in 1543 about the Jews in Europe: “They have poisoned wells, made assassinations, kidnaped children . . . They are venomous, bitter, vindictive, tricky serpents, assassins, and children of the devil who sting and work harm.” His exhortation to so-called Christians? “Set fire to their synagogues or schools . . . Their houses [should] also be razed and destroyed.”
...
Another very successful tactic of propaganda is generalization. Generalizations tend to obscure important facts about the real issues in question, and they are frequently used to demean entire groups of people. ...

Source: The Manipulation of Information: Awake!—2000

Psalms 96

Sing to Jehovah a new song.

Sing to Jehovah, all the earth!

2 Sing to Jehovah; praise his name.

Proclaim the good news of his salvation day after day.

3 Declare his glory among the nations,

His wonderful works among all the peoples.

4 Jehovah is great and most worthy of praise.

He is more awe-inspiring than all other gods.

5 All the gods of the peoples are worthless gods,

But Jehovah is the one who made the heavens.

6 In his presence are majesty and splendor;

Strength and beauty are in his sanctuary.

7 Give Jehovah his due, you families of the peoples,

Give Jehovah his due for his glory and strength.

8 Give Jehovah the glory due his name;

Bring a gift and come into his courtyards.

9 Bow down to* [Or “Worship.”] Jehovah in holy adornment;* [Or possibly, “because of the splendor of his holiness.”]

Tremble before him, all the earth!

10 Declare among the nations: “Jehovah has become King!

The earth* [Or “productive land.”] is firmly established, it cannot be moved.* [Or “cannot totter.”]

He will judge* [Or “plead the cause of.”] the peoples fairly.”

11 Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be joyful;

Let the sea thunder and all that fills it;

12 Let the fields and everything in them rejoice.

At the same time let all the trees of the forest shout joyfully

13 Before Jehovah, for he is coming,

He is coming to judge the earth.

He will judge the inhabited earth with righteousness

And the peoples with his faithfulness.

Acts 17:31

31 Because he has set a day on which he purposes to judge the inhabited earth in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed, and he has provided a guarantee to all men by resurrecting him from the dead.”

2 Corinthians 5:10

10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of the Christ, so that each one may be repaid according to the things he has practiced while in the body, whether good or bad.* [Or “vile.”]

1 Timothy 5:24

24 The sins of some men are publicly known, leading directly to judgment, but those of other men become evident later.

a reply to: JoshuaCox

This thread seems to be on the topic of Talmudic Noahide teaching vs. Christianity.
Here is a quote from a webpage from wikinoah.org as of July 27, 2016, which has since been disappeared:

Christianity and Noahide Law
Within Judaism it is a matter of debate whether all Christians should be considered Noahides.

While Christianity appears to conform to six of the seven Noahide laws, an informal comparison of the Nicene Creed and Noahide Law reveals that three major theological teachings may involve a violation of the Noahide prohibition against idolatry.
##Equating Jesus with G-d
##Equating the Holy Spirit with G-d
##Jesus as Savior (in his proposed capacity as G-d)

However, these theological issues do not fit the classical Jewish definition of idolatry. This has caused disagreement among rabbinic authorities on the question of the permissibility of Christianity for non-Jews. (All authorities forbid Christianity for Jews).

Another consideration would be that even if Christians are considered at least partially observant Noahides, are they Chasidei Umos HaOlam or Chochmei Umos HaOlam? The former are considered to have a share in the world to come because they recognize Noahide Law as being revealed through mosaic (rabbinic) tradition, the latter are not considered to have a share in the world to come because they follow Noahide Law based on intellectual expediency.[1]

In summary, classical idolatry has been clearly defined by Jewish Law. Christianity, however, has been defined as something less. The problem is defining how much less, and for what purposes.

Notice also that the future hope within Talmudic teaching is for a Messianic World/Age to come, not some undefined "trip to heaven".

What you have listed as Not to curse God. is stated as Do not blaspheme against g.d in other lists.

To understand the ease with which blasphemy may occur, here is a comparison with Islam.

Islam: "There is no God but Allah, and Mohamed is His prophet. You are to submit to Allah."

Noahide: "There is no God but g.d. Jewish rabbis are qualified to explain g.d to non-Jews in a way which does not violate the prohibition against teaching Torah to Gentiles. Gentiles are to submit to the teaching of the Rabbi as far as understanding g.d is concerned."

Blasphemy is the act of insulting or showing contempt or lack of reverence to a deity, to religious or holy persons or sacred things, or toward something considered sacred or inviolable.
- Wikipedia -

Lack of reverence for the Noahide deity is blasphemy. It is so easy to blaspheme!

originally posted by: JoshuaCox
a reply to: projectvxn

It is a hotly debated topic amongst Christian scholars..with countless people falling on both sides..

Just remember regarding these 'scholars' and teachers and in relation to my earlier quotation of Matthew 12:36, 37 ("I tell you that men will render an account on Judgment Day for every unprofitable* [Or “worthless.”] saying that they speak; for by your words you will be declared righteous, and by your words you will be condemned.”):

Matthew 15:

3 In reply he said to them: “Why do you overstep the commandment of God because of your tradition?
...
So you have made the word of God invalid because of your tradition. 7 You hypocrites, Isaiah aptly prophesied about you when he said: 8 ‘This people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far removed from me. 9 It is in vain that they keep worshipping me, for they teach commands of men as doctrines.’” 10 With that he called the crowd near and said to them: “Listen and get the sense of it: 11 It is not what enters into a man’s mouth that defiles him, but it is what comes out of his mouth that defiles him.”

Isaiah 29:13

13 Jehovah says: “This people approaches me with their mouth

And they honor me with their lips,

But their heart is far removed from me;

And their fear of me is based on commands of men that they have been taught.

1 Timothy 4:1,2

However, the inspired word* [Lit., “the spirit.”] clearly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to misleading inspired statements* [Lit., “misleading spirits.”] and teachings of demons, 2 by means of the hypocrisy of men who speak lies, whose conscience is seared as with a branding iron.

"Teachings of demons" such as "sola fide" and the doctrine of the Trinity. "Traditions" such as replacing God's name in the bible with "The LORD", "The Lord" or "God" approx. 7000 times following the Jewish superstituous tradition regarding the treatment and removal of God's name from his own book* which helps with obscuring his identity, conflation attempts with other gods and lords including Jesus, and generally working against all the commandments and teachings in the bible related to God's name (praising his name, calling upon his name, making his name known to everyone and what it stands for, etc., see for example the commandments from Psalm 96 that I quoted earlier which are nicely obscured if you replace "Jehovah" with "the LORD"). *: or taking that one step further into foolishness and a false sense of self-righteousness by using "G-d"; can't even say "God" anymore, how far gone do you have to be when the behaviour described at Jeremiah 23:27,28 as "They intend to make my people forget my name...declares Jehovah", has gotten to that point of excessive self-righteousness (see Luke 16:15)? Is anything worthy of your attention coming from a source that behaves in that manner? 1 Timothy 6:4 in the CEV translation uses the phrase "Their minds are sick".

Proverbs 30:12

12 There is a generation that is pure in its own eyes

But has not been cleansed from its filth.* [Lit., “excrement.”; urban english: "crap"]

Matthew 23:27

27 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because you resemble whitewashed graves, which outwardly indeed appear beautiful but inside are full of dead men’s bones and of every sort of uncleanness. 28 In the same way, on the outside you appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.

2 Peter 2:2,3 (after talking about "false prophets" and "false teachers")

Furthermore, many will follow their brazen conduct,* [Or “their acts of shameless conduct.”] and because of them the way of the truth will be spoken of abusively. 3 Also, they will greedily exploit you with counterfeit words. But their judgment, decided long ago, is not moving slowly, and their destruction is not sleeping.

Thirty Identifying Marks of False Christian Religions (more than 30 bible quotations)
Religion is a Snare and a Racket

a reply to: projectvxn

So your saying that it is impossible for a cho mo to honestly regret his actions???

Even after decades , maybe in prison???

And like I said, that is not an abstract concept.. I promise there are OOODLES if examples of exactly that..

I have seen pedos ask to be voluntary castrated.. it doesn’t get much more repentant than that..


See, it is super convenient for anyone who wants to commit atrocities and still feel righteous.

How one “feels” internally is subjective and constantly changing.. so it is not even remotely far fetched that serial killers and rapists might honestly repent later.. with a cherry on top called Jesus to seal the deal.


What does YOUR preacher do if some rapist comes to him seeking jesus??

a reply to: JoshuaCox

The term "gentile" is an insult. It is a derogatory term that ONLY Jews used traditionally (most modern Westernized Jews do not even use the term any longer) as a means to describe the whole world except for them. "Goy" or "goyim" is another such term.

Christ made it possible for everyone to be "chosen", grafted on to the Olive Tree of God's People. He and His Father make NO distinction.

"Gentile" is a barbaric word, belonging to a barbaric age. It is a term I do not accept being applied to me or anybody. It stinks basically.

Why do you use such a term? Is it so you can again have your notion of two tier people, chosen and not chosen? That little clique no longer stands.

You and I both know how complicated modern law is. Christ told us what the two greatest Laws are to which the Pharisees and Sadducees who were questioning him agreed;

34 Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. 35 One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: 36 “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” 37 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’[c] 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’[d] 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

He also said pay your taxes and lots of other stuff. He gave many instructions. Love is the law though with Christ as this quote from Him clearly demonstrates. It's hardly wehat you said is it, OP. Easy to see how you can't accept Christ the Jew and feel you have to insult Him and His people continually.

Christ's Teaching is not based on law. It is based on willing love. It does not require robotic obeyance and getting individual justice at any cost. It requires true forgiveness and turning the other cheek.

Is Judaism really still not able to cope with modern civilization? Can it not rid itself of all the barbarianism of its very dark past? Apparently not because they even disown Jews who had family die in the death camps if they dare to believe Christ. They do not allow Christians to make Aliyah, but they do allow Russian and Eastern Block gangsters, who may only be Jews of one generation, so they can escape barbaric Russia and have a life in the Meditterranean Sun.

It's over! It was over 2,000 years ago.

There is no longer any such thing as "gentile", only for hateful souls who want to perpetuate notions of segregated race and racial hierarchy. No! It is a vile atavism that modern civilization can do without, thank you very much.

Lol, fill Israel up with "those" kind of people then. It will make for an "interesting" society. I give you my other cheek to slap, Egypt.

a reply to: whereislogic

The belief system of christianity has constantly been in flux.

The belief system of Judaism has remained almost totally the same..

The Christian OT and the Torah are not totally the same....


The Jewish religion doesn’t even include WHOLE CONCEPTS such as hell, salvation, divive brings, god in a human form, exc, exc, exc..

Christianity barely even resembles the religio it claims to be based on..

a reply to: Revolution9

Do you go to church?!?

My preacher constantly referred to Christians as gentiles...

So I have no idea where your comming from..

I don’t doubt it started as an insult, however it was embraced LONG ago by Christianity..

a reply to: projectvxn

For all of you saying action is required and not just faith, you can do whatever you feel like and then go to confession. You can even get forgiven for your sins on your death bed during last rights.

The last rites are meant to prepare the dying person's soul for death, by providing absolution for sins by penance, sacramental grace and prayers for the relief of suffering through anointing, and the final administration of the Eucharist, known as "Viaticum".

Wikipedia: Last Rights

It is interesting that God forgives us for our sins, as it means that he realizes we can make mistakes, and as long we repent.

As far as the Jewish seven rules for gentiles go, you have not cursing God, not worshiping false idols, and not being sexually deviant among them.

So this means that gays would go to hell, as well as most Americans if we consider idol worship to include things like Trump, Obama, celebrities, money, cars, big houses, televisions, video games, the internet, etc.

We now are in a position to offer a better definition of idolatry—one theologically richer than simply saying something about bowing down and sacrificing to statues. An idol is anything that becomes the ultimate object of desire and source of security in our lives. In other words, an idol is anything that we substitute for God in our lives.

Catholic Exchange

That seems pretty easy for a gentile to do, even if they are Christian, and especially if they are Atheists or members of another religion.

However, the most damning thing about the seven rules is that Christians technically violate them by worshipping Jesus, since a gentile is a non-Jew and Jews don't believe Jesus to be the son of God. Christians even put statues or depictions of him on a cross all over the place, to the point where I can't even guess how many there are worldwide. According to the seven rules, all Christians are going to hell.

Finally, what is cursing God? It looks like it would be something like this:

Some turn their back on God because they feel like they have failed Him while others feel like God has failed them. I’ve had people tell me how in a fit of rage, or in numerous fits of rage they cursed God, or they cursed Jesus, or they cursed the Holy Spirit, or they cursed all three.

That's not something that people do every day, but it could feasibly happen during a lifetime rather easily.

BibleAnswerStand.org

Anyway, these three rules might not be as reasonable as the O.P. thinks in today's society.

I can't help but wonder...

Do people think God is Christian?

Or Jewish...

All these rules that God made according to man...

No wonder HE gave up

a reply to: Akragon

He didn't, He sent Jesus

originally posted by: JoshuaCox
The seven Noahide laws as traditionally enumerated are the following:[7]

Not to worship idols.
Not to curse God.
To establish courts of justice.
Not to commit murder.
Not to commit adultery or sexual immorality.
Not to steal.
Not to eat flesh torn from a living animal.


According to Judaism.. these are all that gentiles are required to do to go to heaven..

Far more logical and kinda the exact opposite from Christianities “you just have to believe in jesus..”

The most important rule as i recall is that that religion calls their people "The Chosen Ones," superior to all else, and we are to be submissive to their will in all regards as we are to them similarly as the laws of Muslins also would have of us.

So let's scrap all religions, Okay?

It would be surprising how much peace would break out without that bugaboo being constantly brought into the equation at every turn.

originally posted by: Aliensun

originally posted by: JoshuaCox
The seven Noahide laws as traditionally enumerated are the following:[7]

Not to worship idols.
Not to curse God.
To establish courts of justice.
Not to commit murder.
Not to commit adultery or sexual immorality.
Not to steal.
Not to eat flesh torn from a living animal.


According to Judaism.. these are all that gentiles are required to do to go to heaven..

Far more logical and kinda the exact opposite from Christianities “you just have to believe in jesus..”

The most important rule as i recall is that that religion calls their people "The Chosen Ones," superior to all else, and we are to be submissive to their will in all regards as we are to them similarly as the laws of Muslins also would have of us.

So let's scrap all religions, Okay?

It would be surprising how much peace would break out without that bugaboo being constantly brought into the equation at every turn.

Stalin Mao, pol Pot, just the three who come to mind who hated religion
Hoo Ray

originally posted by: Raggedyman
a reply to: Akragon

He didn't, He sent Jesus

And things got better...

because... everyone listened to him

originally posted by: Akragon

originally posted by: Raggedyman
a reply to: Akragon

He didn't, He sent Jesus

And things got better...

because... everyone listened to him

Some did

originally posted by: Raggedyman

originally posted by: Aliensun

originally posted by: JoshuaCox
The seven Noahide laws as traditionally enumerated are the following:[7]

Not to worship idols.
Not to curse God.
To establish courts of justice.
Not to commit murder.
Not to commit adultery or sexual immorality.
Not to steal.
Not to eat flesh torn from a living animal.


According to Judaism.. these are all that gentiles are required to do to go to heaven..

Far more logical and kinda the exact opposite from Christianities “you just have to believe in jesus..”

The most important rule as i recall is that that religion calls their people "The Chosen Ones," superior to all else, and we are to be submissive to their will in all regards as we are to them similarly as the laws of Muslins also would have of us.

So let's scrap all religions, Okay?

It would be surprising how much peace would break out without that bugaboo being constantly brought into the equation at every turn.

Stalin Mao, pol Pot, just the three who come to mind who hated religion
Hoo Ray

How Religion Survived: Awake!—2001

BY THE time Nazi Germany invaded Russia in June 1941, the Soviets had practically annihilated the Russian Orthodox Church. But after the Nazi invasion, the Soviets began to change their attitude toward religion. What prompted this?

Richard Overy, professor of modern history at King’s College, London, explained in his book Russia’s War—Blood Upon the Snow: “Metropolitan Sergei [Sergius], head of the Church, appealed to the faithful on the very day of the German invasion to do everything to bring about victory. He published no fewer than twenty-three epistles in the next two years, calling on his flock to fight for the godless state they lived in.” So, as Overy continued, ‘Stalin allowed religion to flourish again.’

In 1943, Stalin finally agreed to recognize the Orthodox Church by appointing Sergius as its new patriarch. “The Church authorities responded by raising money from the faithful to fund a Soviet armored column,” Overy noted. “Priests and bishops exhorted their congregations to observe the faith, God’s and Stalin’s.”

Describing this period of Russian history, the Russian religious scholar Sergei Ivanenko wrote: ‘The official publication of the Russian Orthodox Church, The Journal of the Moscow Patriarchate, praised Stalin as the greatest leader and teacher of all times and nations, sent by God to save the nation from oppression, landowners, and capitalists. It called upon believers to give their last drop of blood in defending the USSR from its enemies and to give their all to build Communism.’

“Highly Valued by the KGB”

Even after World War II ended in 1945, the Orthodox Church remained useful to the Communists. The Soviet Union: The Fifty Years, edited by Harrison Salisbury, revealed how this was so: “With the war’s end, church leaders fell in with the Cold War demands of Stalin’s foreign policy.”

The recent book The Sword and the Shield describes how church leaders served Soviet interests. It explains that Patriarch Alexis I, who had succeeded Sergius as patriarch in 1945, “joined the World Peace Council, the Soviet front organization founded in 1949.” The book also notes that he and Metropolitan Nikolai “were highly valued by the KGB [the Soviet State Security Committee] as agents of influence.”

Remarkably, in 1955, Patriarch Alexis I declared: “The Russian Orthodox Church supports the totally peaceful foreign policy of our government, not because the Church allegedly lacks freedom, but because Soviet policy is just and corresponds to the Christian ideals which the Church preaches.”

In the January 22, 2000, issue of The Guardian of London, England, dissident Orthodox priest Georgi Edelshtein is quoted as saying: “All the bishops were carefully picked so that they would work with the soviet government. All were KGB agents. It is well known that Patriarch Alexy was recruited by the KGB, under the code-name of Drozdov. Today, they are preserving the same politics that they had 20 or 30 years ago.”

A Handmaiden of the Soviet State

Regarding the relationship between the Orthodox Church and the Soviets, Life magazine of September 14, 1959, observed: “Stalin gave some concessions to religion, and the church treated him like a czar. Orthodoxy’s collaboration is ensured by a special government ministry and the Communists have utilized the church ever since as an arm of the Soviet state.”

Matthew Spinka, an authority on Russian church affairs, confirmed the existence of a close Church-State relationship in his 1956 book, The Church in Soviet Russia. “The present Patriarch Alexei,” he wrote, “has deliberately made his Church a tool of the government.” Indeed, the Orthodox Church, in effect, survived by becoming a handmaiden of the State. ‘But is that so reprehensible?’ you may ask. Well, consider how God and Christ view the matter.

Jesus Christ said of his true disciples: “You are no part of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world.” And God’s Word pointedly asks: “Adulteresses, do you not know that the friendship with the world is enmity with God?” (John 15:19; James 4:4) Thus, as the Bible presents it, the church made itself a religious harlot with whom “the kings of the earth committed fornication.” It has shown itself to be part of what the Bible calls “Babylon the Great, the mother of the harlots and of the disgusting things of the earth.”—Revelation 17:1-6.

So much for Stalin's or the Soviet's hatred for (or war on) religion. History tells a different story that sounds remarkably similar to the way Trump is praised and endorsed by so-called 'Christian' leaders (or voted for by the flock as a result).