An Unconventional Theology - Chapter 5

Note: This is a very rough draft and is subject to revision.

Chapter 5 – Salvation

The Lord is not slow concerning his promise, as some count slowness; but is patient with us, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. (2 Peter 3:9, WEB)

“Or are you ignorant that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? We were buried together with Him through the baptism into the death so that just like Christ was awakened from among the dead through the splendor of the Father so also would we walk with a freshness of life. Because if we had become grown together in the resemblance of His death, but also will we be of His resurrection, knowing this that our old human being was crucified together with Him so that the body of Hamartia would be left unemployed so as for us to no longer be enslaved to Hamartia. Because the person who died has been set right from Hamartia. Yet if we died together with Christ we believe that we will also be made alive together with Him, knowing that Christ being awakened from among the dead no longer dies, death no longer owns Him. Because what died to Hamartia, died once and for all. Yet what lives, lives to God.” (Romans 6:4-10, my translation)

Yahweh’s goal with the descendants of ‘adam since their malfunction has always been to save as many human beings as possible from it. One could argue that, being who and what He is, He could have simply made it go away in a kind of “reset”. One could also use the same argument and ask why He took any time at all in creating the universe, be it six days (as I have argued against) of billions of years. I cannot give a definitive reason for this, to be honest, but I can speculate based on His behavior as recorded in the Holy Scriptures and my own limited understanding of His Existence and His relationship to creation which I wrote about in the first chapter.

My limited answer to this question is that the course of action He chose was to produce the best possible outcome even if it appears to be the messiest and most painful at times. Imagine a pool of still water. Now, throw a pebble into it. The pebble creates ripples outward from where it entered the pool. Now imagine two or more such pebbles hitting the surface in proximity to one another. The ripples they create interact with and change one another. Now imagine millions of such ripples across the surface, billions, trillions even. Each one affecting the one next to it, which affects another next to that and so on across the surface of the pool in a chain reaction. Every reaction is interconnected with every other reaction. Like those pebbles on the pool, every event, every action, every thought has an effect on everyone and everything around the source. One minor ripple, or a lack of one, changes the whole pattern. Yahweh, being who and what He Is, knows all possible outcomes to every decision, action and interaction and the succeeding consequences of them into infinity.

Allowing the afflicted descendants of ‘adam to continue to exist with the affliction may have been the only path available to Him where anything or anyone survived beyond Himself. That no descendant of ‘adam should survive was unacceptable to Him. He has also demonstrated a refusal to interfere with anyone’s individual volition or free will though He certainly has the ability to do so. He appears to respect a human being’s free will far more than human beings themselves do, and this respect appears to extend to those sentient creatures described in the Holy Scriptures as “messengers” (Greek “angelos”, Hebrew “mal’akh”). It is clear that, even though one or more of these messengers has itself malfunctioned and appears to be psychotic, He has not chosen to “reset” them neither has He chosen to wipe them from existence in time and space, which He is perfectly capable of doing. Yahweh never appears to take the “easy” route or answer to a problem, and Hamartia is no exception.

In any discussion of salvation from Hamartia as I have described it, there are several points to consider. These points come from Holy Scripture, psychobiology, Christian ritual tradition, and quantum mechanics.

Because Hamartia is both biological and hereditary (Romans 5:12; 7:14-18), it is ingrained into the very DNA of the human body which encodes how the human brain and nervous system are to develop. This human psychiatric malfunction brought on by the damage caused by the consumption of a toxic fruit cannot be escaped from by a human being as long as that human being remains alive. While one may be able to be trained to live a life with relatively normal functioning, the only true cure as such for this malfunction is death. The human body, in particular the brain and neural connections within it, has to die.

Functionally, this is no different than any other hereditary or genetic disorder a human being may be born with. A person can learn to live with, say, Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, and even learn to function with relative normalcy, but the disorder or malfunction in the brain doesn’t disappear. The afflicted person has merely grown adept at working around it or in spite of it. The same is true of Autistic Spectrum Disorder, Clinical Sociopathy, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, and other biologically based developmental and psychiatric disorders. With time and training (and at times pharmacological or neurofeedback intervention), depending on the severity of the condition, it is possible for such people to lead a relatively normal life, but the disorder never actually goes away because it is hardwired into the brain and nervous system. They will be at least occasionally reminded of their limitations through social and relational mistakes whether they want to be or not.

How then do you apply the cure while preserving the patient if the only cure is death? Physical death shuts down the central nervous system, stops the electro-chemical impulses which make up thought, memory, emotion, and physical action, and begins to degrade and decompose the neurons of the brain thus destroying the person that once existed. From a purely human standpoint, physical death is irreversible. Furthermore, even if it was reversible by human technologies, the inherent psychiatric problem in the human brain would remain.

As Jesus said, however, what is impossible for a human being is possible for the Being I described in the first chapter.

Within the human brain and nervous system, information is carried through the firing of synapses between neurons (a neuron being the functional, biological equivalent of a transistor in a computer’s logic circuit, albeit far more complex). Synapses fire through a process of electro-chemical impulses. As every neural network is unique to the individual person, these electro-chemical impulses form a pattern within the brain and nervous system which is unique to the individual person. In order to preserve the human person after the physical death of the body, this pattern of the human person’s electro-chemical impulses (their neural energy, so to speak) would have to be preserved and maintained. In order for this to occur outside of the original neural network a virtual neural network would have to be created where those energies could continue to function.

A similar concept exists with different computer operating systems (OS) in what are called “virtual machines”, software meant to replicate the functions of computer hardware in order to run one OS inside of another without interfering with the computer’s base OS. This is often done to run old video games, for example, that were meant to run on consoles with completely different processors from a typical desktop computer’s. Software written for one type of processor will not run on a different type of processor. Virtual machines solve this problem by replicating the different processor. It is also done in order to provide an extra layer of protection against malware and viruses from affecting the base OS of a computer.

But even if the neural energy pattern of a human neural network is preserved virtually, the information that the neural energy carries, the “psyche”, will still be corrupted due to its corrupted or malfunctioning origins. The human psyche is a combination of biology, experiences, and the personal choices based on the two former. All of these things “program” the human psyche informing it of “who” it is supposed to be. If the biological part of the human being is corrupted, the human psyche encoded in that pattern of neural energy will be corrupted.

So, while the psyche of the human being may be preserved virtually, so to speak, that preservation does not repair it from the corruption caused by the flawed biology. How then might it be repaired either before or after the need for “virtualization”?

According to modern physics, all energy is transmitted through particles, this transfer being referred to as radiation (this is a simplistic statement but functionally accurate for this discussion, for further reading see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Particle_physics). According to quantum mechanics, the branch of science which governs subatomic particles, it is possible for two otherwise independent particles to become entangled in such a way that one cannot be observed or measured without a direct correlation or impact on the other even at great distances. It is an effect which Albert Einstein famously described as “spooky action at a distance” and attempted to disprove. This phenomenon however has been replicated under laboratory conditions with various kinds of particles associated with both matter and energy and even tiny diamonds (for further reading see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantum_entanglement). It stands to reason that it is also possible to entangle the particles which transmit human neural energy thus also opening the possibility of changing or “reprogramming” that information set conveyed by that neural energy to conform it to another as well as opening the possibility of external control through manipulation of the exterior entangled particles.

It would stand to reason, in my own opinion, that the ideal pairing for such an entanglement would be the particles from another human being’s own neural energy due to the extreme similarity there would be in neural patterns (as opposed to another species for example). In order to effect the necessary changes, however, it would have to be from an uncorrupted neural pattern. In other words, the “input” side of the entangled pair would have to come from a human being born without the genetic malfunction, Hamartia. As was previously discussed in chapter three, the only known human being born like this (possibly due to His parthenogenesis) is Jesus Christ.

It is the founding belief of the Christian faith that Jesus Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, was buried, and was raised on the third day (1 Corinthians 15:3-4), and that belief in Him and in these truths effects salvation from one’s sin (Hamartia). Different denominations of Christianity hold different interpretations of what exactly is meant or undertaken by “believing”, but in general all hold to this basic understanding.

It is also the general understanding that Christ’s death on the cross was a substitutionary sacrifice similar to those sacrifices prescribed in the Torah, and in particular a kind of recreation of the Passover sacrifice, on which day that year (April 3^rd, 33 C.E.) He was actually executed. In other words, Jesus Christ died instead of those who were supposed to die due to their sin, the demand for one dying because of Hamartia being satisfied.

How then do you entangle the particles of neural energy between two human beings across space and time? One method of quantum entanglement which has been used to study entangled photons involves shooting a laser through a particular crystal, splitting the light and resulting in entangled photons. Obviously, this method cannot be used in this case, but Yahweh, being who and what He is, is not limited to such things. Since the beginning of the Christian faith, there have been rites performed where this appears to be the express intent.

According to traditional Christian belief and the Scripture I began this chapter with, those who are baptized “into Jesus Christ”, immersed into water during a specific ritual involving prayer and invocation of the Holy Trinity and the name of Jesus Christ, are joined or “grown together” with Him in this death as well as in His resurrection. Again, this interpretation varies by denomination, but in general most accept that it is by baptism that one first becomes “entangled” with Jesus Christ.

Notice in particular that in the traditional rite of baptism, the officiant prays over the baptismal water, asking the Holy Spirit to come and change or indwell the water itself. This prayer takes several forms, some longer, and some shorter depending on the denominational liturgy involved, but all include touching the water and praying something along these lines:

Now sanctify this water, we pray you, by the power of your
Holy Spirit, that those who here are cleansed from sin and
born again may continue for ever in the risen life of Jesus
Christ our Savior. (Book of Common Prayer, Episcopal Church)

Entanglement also appears to be the goal with another of the traditional, even foundational Christian rites, that of Holy Communion, also called Holy Eucharist. This is the Christian rite whereby, in the traditional “sacramental” denominations, the officiant or “celebrant” invokes what is commonly referred to as the “Last Supper”, consecrating a loaf or round of bread and (traditionally) a red wine in a chalice or cup. During this rite, in every denomination, the words of St. Paul in 1 Corinthians 11:23-25, known as the anamnesis, are repeated:

that the Lord Jesus on the night in which he was betrayed took bread. When he had given thanks, he broke it, and said,“Take, eat. This is my body, which is broken for you. Do this in memory of me.” In the same way he also took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink, in memory of me.”(WEB)

In the sacramental denominations a further prayer, known as the epiclesis, is often added explicitly invoking the Holy Spirit to change the offered bread and wine into the body and blood of Christ.

From The Divine Liturgy of St. James (Public Domain), the oldest surviving liturgy of Eastern Orthodoxy and dating to at least the 4^th century:

The sovereign and quickening Spirit, that sits upon the throne with Thee, our God and Father, and with Thy only-begotten Son, reigning with Thee; the consubstantial and co-eternal; that spoke in the law and in the prophets, and in Thy New Testament; that descended in the form of a dove on our Lord Jesus Christ at the river Jordan, and abode on Him; that descended on Thy apostles in the form of tongues of fire in the upper room of the holy and glorious Zion on the day of Pentecost: this Thine all-holy Spirit, send down, O Lord, upon us, and upon these offered holy gifts; that coming, by His holy and good and glorious appearing, He may sanctify this bread, and make it the holy body of Thy Christ+++. And this cup the precious blood of Thy Christ+++. That they may be to all that partake of them for remission of sins, and for life everlasting, for the sanctification of souls and of bodies, for bearing the fruit of good works, for the stablishing of Thy Holy Catholic Church, which Thou hast founded on the Rock of Faith, that the gates of hell may not prevail against it; delivering it from all heresy and scandals, and from those who work iniquity, keeping it till the fulness of the time.

A more simplified version that might be used could be:

We ask You Almighty Father that You would send Your Holy Spirit upon this bread+ and upon this cup+ that they might become for us the body and blood of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, the one sacrifice for the whole world.

Both of these aforementioned rituals were first referred to early on in the Eastern Orthodox rites as mysteries (From Greek “mysterion”, “mystery”), because they were connected with the “mystery” of God’s saving work through Jesus Christ and thus associated with salvation. In the western Roman Catholic rites and its descendants they became referred to in the third century by Tertullian as sacraments (from Latin “sacramentum”, “sacred oath”). A sacrament may be traditionally defined as “a visible sign of an invisible grace.” That is, through the participation in the visible actions of a sacrament, an unseen, beneficial action of a “spiritual” nature occurs. According to traditional sacramental theology, belief in the effect of the sacrament is required on the part of the one performing the sacrament as well as on the part of the one receiving the sacrament in order for it to take place.

This necessity of belief in the effect originated with Jesus Christ Himself as applied to the healings and demonstrations of power described in the Gospels, and is explicitly stated by Him as well as the Gospel narrators:

When he had come into the house, the blind men came to him. Jesus said to them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” They told him, “Yes, Lord.” Then he touched their eyes, saying, “According to your faith be it done to you.” (Matthew 9:28-29, WEB)

Jesus said to the centurion, “Go your way. Let it be done for you as you have believed.”His servant was healed in that hour. (Matthew 8:13, WEB)

Often it has cast him both into the fire and into the water, to destroy him. But if you can do anything, have compassion on us, and help us.” Jesus said to him, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.” Immediately the father of the child cried out with tears, “I believe. Help my unbelief!” (Mark 9:22-24, WEB)

Jesus answered them, “Have faith in God. For most certainly I tell you, whoever may tell this mountain, ‘Be taken up and cast into the sea,’ and doesn’t doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says is happening; he shall have whatever he says. Therefore I tell you, all things whatever you pray and ask for, believe that you have received them, and you shall have them. (Mark 11:22-24, WEB)

He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who disbelieves will be condemned. (Mark 16:16, WEB)

While he still spoke, one from the ruler of the synagogue’s house came, saying to him, “Your daughter is dead. Don’t trouble the Teacher.” But Jesus hearing it, answered him, “Don’t be afraid. Only believe, and she will be healed.” (Luke 8:49-50, WEB)

He didn’t do many mighty works there because of their unbelief. (Matthew 13:58, WEB)

He could do no mighty work there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people, and healed them. He marveled because of their unbelief. (Mark 6:5-6, WEB)

He said to them, “Because of your unbelief. For most certainly I tell you, if you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, you will tell this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you. (Matthew 17:20, WEB)

It should be noted while discussing the necessity of belief that there is a controversy within Christian theology concerning whether one is “saved” by belief or faith alone, or whether or not good works are required, both sides citing various passages from Holy Scripture to back up their claim. This controversy misunderstands the nature of belief. If a person believes something they will act as though that belief is true. If one believes a chair will hold their weight, they will have no qualms about sitting in it. If one does not, they will hesitate at the very least if not outright refuse. Actions follow belief or it is not belief. Jesus Himself was clear that it was the person who did what He said and not just the person who heard what He said who would be delivered. The person who did what He said was the person who actually believed what He said. One cannot have “belief alone” or it is not belief.

Returning for a moment to quantum mechanics, there are several principles which have been experimentally verified. The first is a unique phenomenon called the “observer effect”. Essentially the observer effect is where the mere observation of a phenomenon changes that phenomenon. A second is called the “uncertainty principle” which states that one cannot accurately measure both the position and the velocity of a particle at the same time. A third is called “quantum superposition” which states that “a quantum system such as an atom or photon can exist as a combination of multiple states corresponding to different possible outcomes” and “a quantum system remains in superposition until it interacts with, or is observed by the external world” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schr%C3%B6dinger%27s_cat). One of the more well known practical demonstrations of these principles is in experiments designed to determined if light, carried by the photon, is a particle or a wave. The result of the experiment is always determined by the expectation of the outcome. When an observer expects to see a wave, they see a wave. When an observer expects to see a particle, they see a particle. The state of the photon remains indeterminate until the observer decides what it is. In other words, the expectation of, or belief in, an outcome directly impacts the reality of the outcome.

In order for a human being to initiate and maintain the process of being delivered from Hamartia the quantum particles of that person’s neural energy must become entangled with Jesus Christ’s. The process of entanglement begins upon initial belief and baptism and continues with the reception of Holy Eucharist. According to Jesus’ own statements, this entanglement must be maintained through the physical death of the human being:

Remain in me, and I in you. As the branch can’t bear fruit by itself, unless it remains in the vine, so neither can you, unless you remain in me. I am the vine. You are the branches. He who remains in me, and I in him, the same bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. If a man doesn’t remain in me, he is thrown out as a branch, and is withered; and they gather them, throw them into the fire, and they are burned. (John 15:4-6, WEB)

The person eating My flesh and drinking My blood remains in Me and I in him. (John 6:56, my translation)

This understanding of maintaining that entanglement through identification with Jesus Christ persists well into the writings of St. Paul and the other writers of the New Testament:

Thus consider yourselves also to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Therefore don’t let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts. Neither present your members to sin as instruments of unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God, as alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. (Romans 6:11-13, WEB)

Therefore I urge you, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service. Don’t be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what is the good, well-pleasing, and perfect will of God. (Romans 12:1-2, WEB)

I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I that live, but Christ living in me. That life which I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself up for me. (Galatians 2:20, WEB)

However, what things were gain to me, these have I counted loss for Christ. Yes most certainly, and I count all things to be loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus, my Lord, for whom I suffered the loss of all things, and count them nothing but refuse, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own, that which is of the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith; that I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, becoming conformed to his death; if by any means I may attain to the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already obtained, or am already made perfect; but I press on, if it is so that I may take hold of that for which also I was taken hold of by Christ Jesus. Brothers, I don’t regard myself as yet having taken hold, but one thing I do. Forgetting the things which are behind, and stretching forward to the things which are before, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. Let us therefore, as many as are perfect, think this way. If in anything you think otherwise, God will also reveal that to you. Nevertheless, to the extent that we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule. Let us be of the same mind. Brothers, be imitators together of me, and note those who walk this way, even as you have us for an example. For many walk, of whom I told you often, and now tell you even weeping, as the enemies of the cross of Christ, whose end is destruction, whose god is the belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who think about earthly things. For our citizenship is in heaven, from where we also wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ; who will change the body of our humiliation to be conformed to the body of his glory, according to the working by which he is able even to subject all things to himself. (Philippians 3:8-21, WEB)

If then you were raised together with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated on the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things that are above, not on the things that are on the earth. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, our life, is revealed, then you will also be revealed with him in glory. Put to death therefore your members which are on the earth: sexual immorality, uncleanness, depraved passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry; for which things’ sake the wrath of God comes on the children of disobedience. You also once walked in those, when you lived in them; but now you also put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and shameful speaking out of your mouth. Don’t lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old man with his doings, and have put on the new man, who is being renewed in knowledge after the image of his Creator, where there can’t be Greek and Jew, circumcision and uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, bondservant, freeman; but Christ is all, and in all. Put on therefore, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, a heart of compassion, kindness, lowliness, humility, and perseverance; bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, if any man has a complaint against any; even as Christ forgave you, so you also do. Above all these things, walk in love, which is the bond of perfection. And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; in all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your heart to the Lord. Whatever you do, in word or in deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father, through him. (Colossians 3:1-16, WEB)

This is how we know that we know him: if we keep his commandments. One who says, “I know him,” and doesn’t keep his commandments, is a liar, and the truth isn’t in him. But whoever keeps his word, God’s love has most certainly been perfected in him. This is how we know that we are in him: he who says he remains in him ought himself also to walk just like he walked. (1 John 2:3-6, WEB)

I previously discussed the virtualization of the human neural pattern in order that the psyche of the human being encoded in that pattern may be preserved. But preserved for what? It is the express understanding of Holy Scripture that the intention of Yahweh towards the descendants of ‘adam is resurrection into a physical body similar to the one in which the psyche of the individual person originated. Jesus talked about this resurrection frequently, the New Testament authors assumed it, and it is explicitly described in the Book of Revelation:

But those who are considered worthy to attain to that age and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry, nor are given in marriage. For they can’t die any more, for they are like the angels, and are children of God, being children of the resurrection. But that the dead are raised, even Moses showed at the bush, when he called the Lord ‘The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’ Now he is not the God of the dead, but of the living, for all are alive to him.” Luke 20:35-38, WEB)

“Most certainly I tell you, he who hears my word, and believes him who sent me, has eternal life, and doesn’t come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life. Most certainly, I tell you, the hour comes, and now is, when the dead will hear the Son of God’s voice; and those who hear will live. For as the Father has life in himself, even so he gave to the Son also to have life in himself. He also gave him authority to execute judgment, because he is a son of man. Don’t marvel at this, for the hour comes, in which all that are in the tombs will hear his voice, and will come out; those who have done good, to the resurrection of life; and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of judgment. (John 5:24-29, WEB)

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will still live, even if he dies. Whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” (John 11:25-26, WEB)

Because if we have become grown together in the resemblance of His death, but also will we be of His resurrection. (Romans 6:5, my translation)

I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was given to them. I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus, and for the word of God, and such as didn’t worship the beast nor his image, and didn’t receive the mark on their forehead and on their hand. They lived, and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. The rest of the dead didn’t live until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. … I saw a great white throne, and him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. There was found no place for them. I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and they opened books. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged out of the things which were written in the books, according to their works. The sea gave up the dead who were in it. Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them. They were judged, each one according to his works.(Revelation 20:4-6, 11-13, WEB)

The question then might be asked, “why?” Why go to the trouble of creating or restoring a functionally similar yet otherwise immortal body to each individual psyche of every descendant of ‘adam who has ever lived?

To answer this question, we must return to the observation that Yahweh, for His own reasons, had taken a special interest in ‘adam to begin with. His goal after the malfunction was initially preservation and deliverance from it for as many as possible within the scope of what He would and would not do and the impact His actions would have on the final outcome. Virtualization of a human neural pattern, while preserving it in the short term, can never be considered a long term or permanent solution.

Also, as I previously stated when discussing virtualization, software written for one type of processor will not be able to run on another type. A program written for an x86 type processor will not run on a powerpc type processor. The reason for this is the configuration of the transistors which form the logic circuit of the processor. A piece of software is, essentially, a set of instructions to turn transistors either “on” or “off” in a particular sequence and is dependent on how the transistors are arranged and connected to one another within the circuit. Different types of processors arrange and configure them differently.

The neurons in the human brain are also configured in certain ways that are unique to the individual brain. As a result, a neural pattern which originated in one configuration will likely not run within another. This necessitates recreating the original neural configuration in order to restore the human person completely. I should note, that this necessity really would only extend to the brain and central nervous system. The rest of the human body technically only exists to service, maintain, and give functional form to the brain and nervous system wherein the psyche resides. Therefore, such restoration would not preclude the possibility of repair or other potentially beneficial changes to the skeletal, muscular, cardiovascular, or other systems of the body.

As to the immortality of the restored body, I could not intelligently comment on that except to say it is likely that biological structures as we understand them would not be involved. According to Holy Scripture, after Jesus Christ was resurrected, He did consume food and liquids, although whether this was a necessity might be debatable. It is also recorded that the wounds which were inflicted on Him during the crucifixion, including the spear puncture in His side which had penetrated His heart, were clearly visible yet did not impede His function and apparently did not cause Him pain when He showed them to His disciples. It also does not appear that there was any other discernible degradation or decomposition of His body over the period of forty days between the resurrection and the ascension suggesting that such processes had been arrested regardless of the lack of blood flow (His heart had been punctured and so had His wrists and ankles, if the wound was still clearly visible in His side it is a safe assumption that the heart puncture had not been closed either). It might be safe to speculate from this that all regular biological processes within the resurrected body had been arrested in some fashion and that His body was operating due to processes not currently understood.

There is in traditional Christian theology (though rarely touched upon among modern, especially Protestant, theologians) a concept which in the Eastern Orthodox Church is called “theosis” and in the western Church, if it is discussed, is called alternately either “deification” or divinization. Theologically, it is a human being taking on the nature of God, sharing His life fully and completely in everything except His Essence or Substance. The Fathers of the Church wrote about it in explicit terms (citations are taken from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Divinization_(Christian)):

St. Irenaeus of Lyons: “[God] became what we are in order to make us what he is himself.”

St. Clement of Alexandria: “he who obeys the Lord and follows the prophecy given through him … becomes a god while still moving about in the flesh.”

St. Athanasius: “God became man so that men might become gods.”

St. Cyril of Alexandria: “[we] are called 'temples of God' and indeed 'gods,' and so we are.”

St. Gregory of Nazianzus: “become gods for God's sake, since (God) became man for our sake.”

St. Augustine: “God was made man, that man might be made God.” ... “It is clear that he called men gods being deified by his grace and not born of his substance. For he justified, who is just of himself and not from another, and he deifies, who is god of himself and not by participation in another. … If we have been made sons of God, we have been made gods; but this is by grace of adoption and not of the nature of our begetter.” … “Our full adoption as sons will take place in the redemption of our body. We now have the first fruits of the spirit, by which we are indeed made sons of God. In other respects, however, since we are not yet finally saved, we are therefore not yet fully made new, not yet sons of God but children of the world.”

St. John of the Cross: “In thus allowing God to work in it, the soul... is at once illumined and transformed in God, and God communicates to it His supernatural Being, in such wise that it appears to be God Himself, and has all that God Himself has. And this union comes to pass when God grants the soul this supernatural favour, that all the things of God and the soul are one in participant transformation; and the soul seems to be God rather than a soul, and is indeed God by participation; although it is true that its natural being, though thus transformed, is as distinct from the Being of God as it was before.”

Orthodox Bishop Kallistos (Timothy) Ware writes, “By virtue of this distinction between the divine essence and the divine energies, we are able to affirm the possibility of a direct or mystical union between man and God—what the Greek Fathers term the 'theosis' of man, his 'deification'--but at the same time we exclude any pantheistic identification between the two: for man participates in the energies of God, not in the essence. There is union, but not fusion or confusion. Although 'oned' with the divine, man still remains man; he is not swallowed up or annihilated, but between him and God there continues always to exist an 'I—Thou' relationship of person to person.” (Ware, Kallistos. The Orthodox Way, rev. ed. Crestwood, NY: St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 1998)

One ancient writer uses the illustration of a piece of metal and a fire. If you place the piece of metal into the fire, it will eventually take on the properties of the fire’s light and heat. The metal still remains metal and yet it has all the properties of the fire as well. Here I can only speculate that this process believed and taught by the leaders of the Church may have something to do with how a physical body may be reformed and reanimated without the need for biological processes to maintain it.

Finally, as I have noted previously, the preservation of the human neural pattern has nothing to do with the correction of the human neural pattern. Yahweh has made it clear that the decision to be treated for Hamartia is left to the individual human being regardless of His decision to preserve every human being. Thus, restoration of the psyche to a physical body without entanglement with Jesus Christ will result in an immortal human being still afflicted with Hamartia. It stands to reason that such individuals will need to be contained in order to prevent them from causing harm to either themselves, others, or to the rest of creation.

This is not so different from the way human societies tend to operate today. If a person becomes a demonstrable threat to themselves or to others, they are contained. If they are deemed insane or psychotic, they are contained in asylums or treatment centers. Regardless of the level of care in such places, if the person’s mind is imbalanced or corrupted, it will be a hellish experience for them. The same is true of an immortal human being still afflicted with Hamartia and not able to function “normally”. If such a human being’s body is, like Jesus’ resurrected body, arrested in an unchanging state, then there is no possibility of removal from containment as there is no further possibility of treatment which requires the ability of the brain to change states. They will be trapped in immortal yet still flawed physical brains and bodies indefinitely. It should go without saying that there is no such need for containment or confinement of those who have submitted to treatment and have successfully completed it.

An Unconventional Theology - Chapter 4

Chapter 4 – The Teachings of Jesus Christ

Often today we get so caught up in the doctrines surrounding Jesus (such as His Divinity, Humanity, or the Salvation which He brought about), we forget about what He actually said and taught, yet it is what He said and taught which affected those to whom He preached. The demonstrations of power He performed got people’s attention, but it was because of His teachings that people followed Him with sincerity. It was His teachings that revealed what was most important to the heart and mind of God and revealed the Father to mankind through the Son.

It has been my habit in any kind of discipleship teaching that I might undertake to have the person take an empty notebook, a Bible, and a pen and write out everything Jesus says in the Gospels, beginning in the Gospel of St. Matthew. Not the narrative portions, and not anyone else’s dialogue, just what Jesus Himself said. The reasoning behind this is relatively simple. When you are in school, one of the best ways to learn and retain what the teacher or professor is teaching is to take notes, and the more detailed the notes the better. If one professes to be a student or “disciple” of Jesus Christ, one who is learning to practice the discipline which Jesus Christ taught, then it only makes sense to focus on what He Himself said first and foremost. Everything else written in the New Testament, with perhaps the exception of the Acts of the Apostles, is essentially expository and explanatory of Jesus’ own teachings.

It is both disconcerting and troubling, that the teachings of Jesus Christ are frequently ignored or explained away by those who profess to follow Him. Many instead claim to follow the teachings of St. Paul and ignore what Jesus actually said through a kind of “theological gymnastics”. All the time they do not seem to understand that everything St. Paul taught was, as I stated, mere exposition of Jesus’ teachings.

Jesus taught love (agape, the dispassionate choice to care about another person no matter how you feel about them), detachment, voluntary poverty, non-judgment, forgiveness, non-retaliation, defilement comes from within, the realities of salvation, and the necessity of remaining in Him. I would like in this chapter to allow Jesus Christ to speak for Himself as much as possible where what He taught is concerned:

Love

The necessity of loving the other person is probably the bedrock of everything else Jesus taught. In short He taught to love God, love one another, love your neighbor (or the stranger), and to love your enemies. There was no one left to not love by the time He was done teaching.

28One of the scribes came, and heard them questioning together. Knowing that he had answered them well, asked him, “Which commandment is the greatest of all?” 29Jesus answered, “The greatest is, ‘Hear, Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one: 30you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment. 31The second is like this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” 32The scribe said to him, “Truly, teacher, you have said well that he is one, and there is none other but he, 33and to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love his neighbor as himself, is more important than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.” 34When Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the Kingdom of God.” (Mark 12:28-34, WEB)

43“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor, and hate your enemy.’ 44But I tell you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who mistreat you and persecute you, 45that you may be children of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the just and the unjust. 46For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Don’t even the tax collectors do the same? 47If you only greet your friends, what more do you do than others? Don’t even the tax collectors do the same? 48Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect. (Matthew 5:43-48, WEB)

“But I tell you who hear: love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, and pray for those who mistreat you. To him who strikes you on the cheek, offer also the other; and from him who takes away your cloak, don’t withhold your coat also. Give to everyone who asks you, and don’t ask him who takes away your goods to give them back again. As you would like people to do to you, do exactly so to them. If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. If you lend to those from whom you hope to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to receive back as much. But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing back; and your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High; for he is kind toward the unthankful and evil.”

(Luke 6:27-35, WEB)

“In this is my Father glorified, that you bear much fruit; and so you will be my disciples. Even as the Father has loved me, I also have loved you. Remain in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and remain in his love. I have spoken these things to you, that my joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be made full. This is my commandment, that you love one another, even as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends, if you do whatever I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for the servant doesn’t know what his lord does. But I have called you friends, for everything that I heard from my Father, I have made known to you. You didn’t choose me, but I chose you, and appointed you, that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain; that whatever you will ask of the Father in my name, he may give it to you.” (John 15:8-16, WEB)

Detachment

The word “detachment” doesn't appear as such in most English translations of the New Testament, but the concept appears over and over again. It appears most blatantly in the Ten Commandments in the last commandment, “thou shalt not covet anything which belongs to thy neighbor”. Literally, “don't desire or want anything that you don't already have”. It appears in the Greek word “aphiemi” which is used frequently in the New Testament and means something like, “to let go”. This word is also often translated as “forgive”, but also is used of James and John when they left their nets and father Zebedee in the boat and followed the Lord; they let them go.

34He called the multitude to himself with his disciples, and said to them, “Whoever wants to come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. 35For whoever wants to save his life will lose it; and whoever will lose his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it. 36For what does it profit a man, to gain the whole world, and forfeit his life? 37For what will a man give in exchange for his life? 38For whoever will be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man also will be ashamed of him, when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.” (Mark 8:34-38, WEB)

37He who loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and he who loves son or daughter more than me isn’t worthy of me.
38 He who doesn’t take his cross and follow after me, isn’t worthy of me.
39 He who finds his life will lose it; and he who loses his life for my sake will find it. (Matt. 10:37-39, WEB)

17As he was going out into the way, one ran to him, knelt before him, and asked him, “Good Teacher, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?”

18Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except one— God. 19You know the commandments: ‘Do not murder,’ ‘Do not commit adultery,’ ‘Do not steal,’ ‘Do not give false testimony,’ ‘Do not defraud,’ ‘Honor your father and mother.’”

20He said to him, “Teacher, I have observed all these things from my youth.”

21Jesus looking at him loved him, and said to him, “One thing you lack. Go, sell whatever you have, and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me, taking up the cross.”

22But his face fell at that saying, and he went away sorrowful, for he was one who had great possessions. 23Jesus looked around, and said to his disciples, “How difficult it is for those who have riches to enter into the Kingdom of God!” (Mark 10:17-23, WEB)

43If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off. It is better for you to enter into life maimed, rather than having your two hands to go into Gehenna, into the unquenchable fire, 44‘where their worm doesn’t die, and the fire is not quenched.’ 45If your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off. It is better for you to enter into life lame, rather than having your two feet to be cast into Gehenna, into the fire that will never be quenched— 46‘where their worm doesn’t die, and the fire is not quenched.’ 47If your eye causes you to stumble, cast it out. It is better for you to enter into the Kingdom of God with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into the Gehenna of fire, 48‘where their worm doesn’t die, and the fire is not quenched.’ (Mark 9:43-48, WEB)

19“Don’t lay up treasures for yourselves on the earth, where moth and rust consume, and where thieves break through and steal; 20but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consume, and where thieves don’t break through and steal; 21for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. (Matthew 6:19-21, WEB)

Jesus is here saying in no uncertain terms for His students to focus on the permanent and not the transient. The important thing to focus on is the medium, not the wave through which it moves.

Detachment is a concept also not talked about much in Christian practice or theology, but it is a kind of wisdom which should be embraced by those who follow Christ. Detachment is the way of the cross.

“If anyone desires to come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. ²⁴For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever will lose his life for my sake, the same will save it. (Luke 9:23-24, WEB)

²⁶“If anyone comes to me, and doesn’t hate his own father, mother, wife, children, brothers, and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he can’t be my disciple. ²⁷Whoever doesn’t bear his own cross, and come after me, can’t be my disciple.(Luke 14:26-27, WEB)

If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. ²⁵For he that will save his life, shall lose it: and he that shall lose his life for my sake, shall find it. (Matthew 16:24-25, Douay-Rheims)

What is Jesus saying in these passages? First, let me make mention that all three synoptic gospels record these words almost word for word, and one of them records them twice. It can be said then that this is a true condition of discipleship for the one who wants to follow Jesus. That person must deny himself.

Denying oneself is detachment on a number of different levels. It is not a coldness or unfeelingness towards something or someone, rather it is not allowing oneself to cling to anything except Jesus. It is not a matter of convincing yourself to hate anything or anyone, but a matter of coming to the realization that all created things change and pass away, and allowing yourself to let them pass without disturbance to yourself.

Denying your self is also a matter of detachment from one's delusions of oneself as a Self, and fundamentally embracing the truth of human existence discussed in the first part of this treatise, if we walk in the light as He is in the light... In Greek the word translated as “Deny” can also be translated as “abandon” or “disown”. This leads us to a deep truth. In order for us to truly be students of Jesus and of His life and teaching, we must abandon our selves. We must disown our selves. We must detach from our selves and be focused on others.

Detachment and love are not mutually exclusive, rather they are the two wheels which drive the life of a true student of Jesus. One detaches from himself, and loves all others to the exclusion of himself. Or if he must love himself, he does so as though it were another person he is loving. One cannot cling to himself and walk in the Truth. The person who believes he can or is doing so is deluding himself and the truth is not in him.

Voluntary Poverty

Related to detachment is voluntary poverty and it appears to not only have been practiced by Jesus, but also to have been a condition of discipleship. In the spiritual writings of the Eastern Orthodox monastic fathers, they considered voluntary poverty essential to one’s practice in order to attain detachment from material goods.

“You still lack one thing. Sell all that you have, and distribute it to the poor. You will have treasure in heaven. Come, follow me.” … “How hard it is for those who have riches to enter into the Kingdom of God! For it is easier for a camel to enter in through a needle’s eye, than for a rich man to enter into the Kingdom of God.” (Luke 18:22, 24, WEB)

“Take nothing for your journey—neither staffs, nor wallet, nor bread, nor money; neither have two coats apiece. Into whatever house you enter, stay there, and depart from there. As many as don’t receive you, when you depart from that city, shake off even the dust from your feet for a testimony against them.” (Luke 9:3-5, WEB)

“The foxes have holes, and the birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” (Matthew 8:20, WEB)

“Beware! Keep yourselves from covetousness, for a man’s life doesn’t consist of the abundance of the things which he possesses. The ground of a certain rich man produced abundantly. He reasoned within himself, saying, ‘What will I do, because I don’t have room to store my crops?’ He said, ‘This is what I will do. I will pull down my barns, and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. I will tell my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years. Take your ease, eat, drink, be merry.’ But God said to him, ‘You foolish one, tonight your soul is required of you. The things which you have prepared—whose will they be?’ So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God. He said to his disciples, “Therefore I tell you, don’t be anxious for your life, what you will eat, nor yet for your body, what you will wear. Life is more than food, and the body is more than clothing. Consider the ravens: they don’t sow, they don’t reap, they have no warehouse or barn, and God feeds them. How much more valuable are you than birds! Which of you by being anxious can add a cubit to his height? If then you aren’t able to do even the least things, why are you anxious about the rest? Consider the lilies, how they grow. They don’t toil, neither do they spin; yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if this is how God clothes the grass in the field, which today exists, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith? Don’t seek what you will eat or what you will drink; neither be anxious. For the nations of the world seek after all of these things, but your Father knows that you need these things. But seek God’s Kingdom, and all these things will be added to you. Don’t be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the Kingdom. Sell that which you have, and give gifts to the needy. Make for yourselves purses which don’t grow old, a treasure in the heavens that doesn’t fail, where no thief approaches, neither moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. ”(Luke 12:15-34, WEB)

It is also worth noting that many of those recognized as Saints by the sacramental Churches upon deciding to devote themselves to Jesus Christ divested themselves of all their worldly possessions, became functionally homeless, and lived day to day on only what God provided for them that day. St. Ignatius of Loyola and St. Francis of Assisi are two examples that immediately come to mind.

Non-Judgment

1“Don’t judge, so that you won’t be judged. 2For with whatever judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with whatever measure you measure, it will be measured to you. 3Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but don’t consider the beam that is in your own eye? 4Or how will you tell your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye;’ and behold, the beam is in your own eye? 5You hypocrite! First remove the beam out of your own eye, and then you can see clearly to remove the speck out of your brother’s eye. (Matthew 7:1-5, WEB)

4Who are you who judge another’s servant? To his own lord he stands or falls. Yes, he will be made to stand, for God has power to make him stand.
5 One man esteems one day as more important. Another esteems every day alike. Let each man be fully assured in his own mind.
6 He who observes the day, observes it to the Lord; and he who does not observe the day, to the Lord he does not observe it. He who eats, eats to the Lord, for he gives God thanks. He who doesn’t eat, to the Lord he doesn’t eat, and gives God thanks.
7 For none of us lives to himself, and none dies to himself.
8 For if we live, we live to the Lord. Or if we die, we die to the Lord. If therefore we live or die, we are the Lord’s.
9 For to this end Christ died, rose, and lived again, that he might be Lord of both the dead and the living.
10 But you, why do you judge your brother? Or you again, why do you despise your brother? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.
11 For it is written,
“‘As I live,’ says the Lord, ‘to me every knee will bow.
Every tongue will confess to God.’”
12 So then each one of us will give account of himself to God.
13 Therefore let’s not judge one another any more, but judge this rather, that no man put a stumbling block in his brother’s way, or an occasion for falling.

(Romans 14:4-13, WEB)

Forgiveness

Forgiveness is the willingness to discontinue passing judgment, or to refuse to pass judgment, on actions committed by another. What Jesus is saying is that God is unwilling to allow His sacrifice to be applied to those who refuse to relinquish their delusion of moral authority. One must come to the enlightenment of themselves as ripples and not the medium. In this respect, forgiveness and repentance are two different shades of the same concept. Repentance is the change of heart about one's independent authority to commit an action or thought contrary to God's expressed will. Forgiveness is the change of heart about one's independent authority to pass moral judgment on another.

22Jesus answering said to them, “Have faith in God. 23For most assuredly I tell you, whoever may tell this mountain, ‘Be taken up and cast into the sea,’ and doesn’t doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says is happening; he shall have whatever he says. 24Therefore I tell you, all things whatever you pray and ask for, believe that you receive them, and you shall have them. 25Whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone; so that your Father, who is in heaven, may also forgive you your transgressions. 26But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your transgressions.” (Mark 11:22-26, WEB)

14“For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15But if you don’t forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.(Matthew 6:14-15, WEB)

“If your brother sins against you, go, show him his fault between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained back your brother. But if he doesn’t listen, take one or two more with you, that at the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established. If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the assembly. If he refuses to hear the assembly also, let him be to you as a Gentile or a tax collector. Most certainly I tell you, whatever things you bind on earth will have been bound in heaven, and whatever things you release on earth will have been released in heaven. Again, assuredly I tell you, that if two of you will agree on earth concerning anything that they will ask, it will be done for them by my Father who is in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there I am in their midst.” Then Peter came and said to him, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Until seven times?” Jesus said to him, “I don’t tell you until seven times, but, until seventy times seven. Therefore the Kingdom of Heaven is like a certain king, who wanted to reconcile accounts with his servants. When he had begun to reconcile, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. But because he couldn’t pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, with his wife, his children, and all that he had, and payment to be made. The servant therefore fell down and kneeled before him, saying, ‘Lord, have patience with me, and I will repay you all!’ The lord of that servant, being moved with compassion, released him, and forgave him the debt. “But that servant went out, and found one of his fellow servants, who owed him one hundred denarii, and he grabbed him, and took him by the throat, saying, ‘Pay me what you owe!’ So his fellow servant fell down at his feet and begged him, saying, ‘Have patience with me, and I will repay you!’ He would not, but went and cast him into prison, until he should pay back that which was due. So when his fellow servants saw what was done, they were exceedingly sorry, and came and told to their lord all that was done. Then his lord called him in, and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt, because you begged me. Shouldn’t you also have had mercy on your fellow servant, even as I had mercy on you?’ His lord was angry, and delivered him to the tormentors, until he should pay all that was due to him. So my heavenly Father will also do to you, if you don’t each forgive your brother from your hearts for his misdeeds.” (Matthew18:15-35, WEB)

Non-Retaliation

38“You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.’ 39But I tell you, don’t resist him who is evil; but whoever strikes you on your right cheek, turn to him the other also. 40If anyone sues you to take away your coat, let him have your cloak also. 41Whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two. 42Give to him who asks you, and don’t turn away him who desires to borrow from you. (Matt. 5:38-42, WEB)

Non-retaliation or non-action has long been ignored as a core Christian teaching of practice, or shoved aside as an “Eastern” religious teaching. But the truth is that it was part and parcel of the gospel that Jesus preached and taught His students to practice. In every synoptic gospel, and with more detailed explanations and warnings, He said repeatedly to not return evil for evil, not to retaliate for something done to you or against you, but to instead do good to those who would be your enemies. Retaliation is the result of embracing one's delusion of the authority to not only pass judgment on another's actions, but to punish and make them suffer for their actions. Jesus said don't do it. St. Paul reiterated this in Romans 12:

17Repay no one evil for evil. Respect what is honorable in the sight of all men.
18 If it is possible, as much as it is up to you, be at peace with all men.
19Don’t seek revenge yourselves, beloved, but give place to God’s wrath. For it is written, “Vengeance belongs to me; I will repay, says the Lord.”
20Therefore
“If your enemy is hungry, feed him.
If he is thirsty, give him a drink.
For in doing so, you will heap coals of fire on his head.”
21Don’t be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

(WEB)

Defilement comes from within

14He called all the multitude to himself, and said to them, “Hear me, all of you, and understand. 15There is nothing from outside of the man, that going into him can defile him; but the things which proceed out of the man are those that defile the man. 16If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear!”

17When he had entered into a house away from the multitude, his disciples asked him about the parable. 18He said to them, “Are you thus without understanding also? Don’t you perceive that whatever goes into the man from outside can’t defile him, 19because it doesn’t go into his heart, but into his stomach, then into the latrine, thus making all foods clean?” 20He said, “That which proceeds out of the man, that defiles the man. 21For from within, out of the hearts of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, sexual sins, murders, thefts, 22covetings, wickedness, deceit, lustful desires, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, and foolishness. 23All these evil things come from within, and defile the man.” (Mark 7:14-23, WEB)

Realities of Salvation

15“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravening wolves. 16By their fruits you will know them. Do you gather grapes from thorns, or figs from thistles? 17Even so, every good tree produces good fruit; but the corrupt tree produces evil fruit. 18A good tree can’t produce evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree produce good fruit. 19Every tree that doesn’t grow good fruit is cut down, and thrown into the fire. 20Therefore, by their fruits you will know them. 21Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter into the Kingdom of Heaven; but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22Many will tell me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, didn’t we prophesy in your name, in your name cast out demons, and in your name do many mighty works?’ 23Then I will tell them, ‘I never knew you. Depart from me, you who work iniquity.’ (Matthew 7:15-23, WEB)

This is the strongest statement against the popular belief of “once saved always saved”, and should not be so callously ignored. Jesus says very clearly that just acknowledging Him as Lord and/or savior is not sufficient for entrance into the Kingdom of Heaven or inheriting Eternal Life. One must repent. One must love. One must do the will of God the Father.

24“Everyone therefore who hears these words of mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man, who built his house on a rock. 25The rain came down, the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat on that house; and it didn’t fall, for it was founded on the rock. 26Everyone who hears these words of mine, and doesn’t do them will be like a foolish man, who built his house on the sand. 27The rain came down, the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat on that house; and it fell—and great was its fall.” (Matthew 7:24-27, WEB)

What Jesus taught is just as important as Gospel as what He did. If anyone ignores what He taught in favor of teachings about what He is or what He did than they are like that person who built their house on sand. He taught us to turn away from our illusions as moral authority, accepting the unquestioning Authority of God the Father as he did, and to deny ourselves in favor of others. He Himself said:

19Jesus therefore answered them, “Most assuredly, I tell you, the Son can do nothing of himself, but what he sees the Father doing. For whatever things he does, these the Son also does likewise. ... 24“Most assuredly I tell you, he who hears my word, and believes him who sent me, has eternal life, and doesn’t come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life. 24“Most assuredly I tell you, he who hears my word, and believes him who sent me, has eternal life, and doesn’t come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life. (John 5:19, 24, WEB)

The Necessity of Remaining in Him

“Remain in me, and I in you. As the branch can’t bear fruit by itself, unless it remains in the vine, so neither can you, unless you remain in me. I am the vine. You are the branches. He who remains in me, and I in him, the same bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. If a man doesn’t remain in me, he is thrown out as a branch, and is withered; and they gather them, throw them into the fire, and they are burned. If you remain in me, and my words remain in you, you will ask whatever you desire, and it will be done for you.” (John 15:4-7, WEB)