From: Ronnie Tanner
To: Adam
Sent: Sunday, June 26 1:43 PM
Hi Adam,
Welcome to the forum. We need your last name to activate your account. You can reply here and I’ll update your username then you’ll be all set.
Ronnie
From: Adam
To: Ronnie Tanner
Sent: Sunday, June 26, 2016 3:24 PM
Hello Ronnie,
My surname is XXXX. I am in great fear, because I have sinned against those I love, and as it is written, against God Almighty. I do perceive the utmost necessity to turn away from the shadows, though. I have been living there for far too long, and it is murdering me from the inside.
Thank you for receiving me.
From: Ronnie Tanner
To: Adam
Sent: Tuesday, June 28, 2016 1:49 PM
Hi Adam,
It sounds like you know what you need to do. If you’d like to share more, you can do so here. I’m copying Paul Cohen, a brother and elder in the Lord. If you do reply, include him in your response. Some teachings you may or may not have red:
Confession of Sin
Repentence
Obedience
Diabolical Doctrine: Family Unity – A Hallmark of True Christianity
Also, I’ve updated your username as “Adam ” and activated your account on the forum.
Ronnie
From: Adam
To: Ronnie Tanner and Paul Cohen
Sent: Thursday, June 30, 2016 12:16 PM
Subject: Re: Activate user account
Greetings Ronnie & Paul,
The things that I have stolen are rather petty, but I still feel the need to correct the wrongdoings. One problem, though, is that most of these things are smaller quantities of drugs. I know (or suspect, anyhow) that the people concerned would simply use the money to buy more drugs. What would you do in my shoes? I have the courage to go through with it, and I will soon have the money.
As an update, I must tell you that I have felt very good for a day and a half, approximately. My sins have been clearing up at a steady pace. Just today I quit my snus (a Swedish oral tobacco product) addiction successfully with no withdrawal effects after having asked God to help me see it through last night. I am now reading Paul’s [the apostle] letters and find that I understand what is actually being said much better than before. I really hope that this is true progress in my quest to meet the Lord (I must confess that I am afraid to call Him that, as I don’t know if I am worthy), and not just some diabolical delusion. Safe to say, though, I feel very good, full of purpose, and I delight in my newfound desire to do good and deal justly. Forgiveness now comes naturally to me (I used to be an awfully grievous person). I have been humbled to an extent that I could never have imagined (I used to be insufferably haughty).
Do you think this seems the work of some demon, or the real deal? I definitely don’t have the Spirit in me, but I feel that I am at least making progress.
Thank you so much for being here for me,
Adam
From: Adam
To: Ronnie and Paul
Sent: Saturday, July 02, 2016 2:49 AM
Subject: Re: Activate user account
Hello again,
I would like to ask another question. As I have gathered from reading The Path of Truth with great passion, you argue against “conspiracy theorizing”, and you make a very good case–surely, God doesn’t need us to publically “expose” the most prominent villains of the world; he wants us to repent from our sins, recognizing that we ourselves, being of sinful flesh, are part of the problem, and that we cannot and should not try to “solve” it by looking to the offenses of others. Forgive me if this is idle “mental masturbation”, but I really want to hear what you have to say about it, since I am almost entirely positive that you really are men of God.
In my quest for “the truth” I had a phase when I was consuming the work of Rob Skiba, a man who argues that the end times are upon us. He claims that the “mixture” that “was in the days of Noah and so shall [it] be when the Son of Man returns” refers to transgression of the natural boundaries of creation–genetic modification, most prominently.
He makes a fascinating (or so I thought/think) case that wicked angels “mated” somehow with man and beast (citing the Book of Enoch for evidence), leading to the production of beings that did not have an “ordained nephesh”, hence all their thoughts were “continually evil” (I can’t presume to identify God’s rightful perspective on this, but it seems to me that even the most wretchedly sinful of humans sometimes do right things for the right reason). I freely recognize that I have no idea what truly happened even a few hundred years ago, much less thousands of years ago. Perhaps there was technology (or some analogue thereof) back then that surpassed the current capabilities of human industry. The handiwork of the great pyramids, for example, sure seem to testify of such.
As far as I can tell, you suggest that the “mixture” in question refers to outwardly pious “teachers” who have “a form of godliness”, yet their hearts aren’t with God. What makes this difficult for me to reconcile, though, is that this aspect of the equation seems to have been the predominant norm throughout nominally Christian history. I used to admire “theologians” such as Thomas Aquinas, Duns Scotus, Augustine, Tertullian, Anselm, Albertus Magnus, Boethius, the “Greek fathers”, and so on and so forth. Weren’t these people just as bad as (and probably even more influential than) modern “soul-winning” Evangelicals? The Scholastics surely sought to fit God into their neat little box of Aristotelian logic.
Again, I suppose that this must seem impertinent, idle speculation. Surely, I have not dropped my desire to persist in turning away from my sin and make right that which I made wrong (and I have come a way). At any rate, I can’t censure my curiosity in all this, and I hope that you can understand me. I would rather be honest with this than pretend that I have come so far as to be able to see everything in terms of God and what I choices I can make to make myself more presentable to Him (that is a very important matter, let it be known).
With all due respect,
Adam
From: Adam
To: Ronnie and Paul
Sent: Saturday, July 02, 2016 8:02 AM
Subject: Re: Activate user account
Hello (yet) again guys,
I apologize for flooding you with messages. I really hope I’m not being annoying, but I would rather ask those who know than delude myself. Unfortunately, I fell back into the nicotine trap as I had a spell of depression. I still have the intention to quit, but it seems that it won’t be feasible just now. As for restituting for things that I have stolen, it now is an endearing prospect to me. It is an amazing feeling, really! When before I would have been lethally afraid of so much as admitting it, I now can’t wait until I have the money to repay (fourfold), provided that you (by your godly counsel) sanction giving such money to people who are likely to spend it on drugs.
Recently I have been feeling good overall, very calm and relaxed compared to how I used to be. There are moments when I break down in tears over past transgressions, but this must be a good thing, no? I now feel disgusted with the very prospect of breaking the commandments, when before I would probably (I dislike saying it, but it’s the truth) have been capable of murdering people who bullied me in the past, if I had the opportunity to do so. I still feel utterly forgiving, and I constantly have God on my mind, trying to let him guide me (unfortunately I don’t hear His voice, but perhaps I shouldn’t expect that so soon, having only recently repented and become a changed person).
I have a burning desire to fellowship with likeminded people, and my atheistic/nihilistic friends are (sadly, but perhaps necessarily) becoming more and more distant. Unfortunately, I constantly worry that I somehow deluded myself into believing that I repented and was changed. It really feels like it, but I still don’t dare talk to God, as I wouldn’t want to anger Him by taking His name in vain. If I do fail now, I do understand that I will be more severely punished, and I accept it. I can’t see myself ever returning to my former self regardless of the circumstances, but what if God simply doesn’t want me? What to do if that proves to be the case?
Yours truly,
Adam
From: Paul Cohen
To: Adam
Cc: Ronnie Tanner and Victor Hafichuk
Sent: Monday, July 04, 2016 8:55 AM
Subject: Your Recent Emails (July ’16)
Hi Adam,
We have a lot going on here with many people in line before you, so if you don’t receive immediate replies to your emails or Forum posts, don’t take that to mean we aren’t receiving them or haven’t red them. There is much you’re writing to us about that we won’t take the time to comment on because we’re here to guide people to the Lord and His salvation by faith and not to the kind of knowledge you’re investing so much time and energy in.
Regarding making restitution, that’s a legitimate concern and question you’ve posed. You’ll need to approach it one person or situation at a time. We can’t tell you specifically what to do in every case, but if you stole from people it’s not your business to withhold restitution because of what you suspect they’ll do with the money. As for how much you return, whether it be fourfold, that too is something you’ll have to discover as you do what you know you need to do.
Salvation is the work of God, not yours. You can work only with what He gives you through faith and obedience. That’s why the Scripture says to those who believe, “Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God Who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure” (Philippians 2:12-13 ESV).
When Jesus preached the Good News of God’s Kingdom, He said, “The time is fulfilled, and God’s Kingdom is at hand! Repent, and believe in the Good News” (Mark 1:15 WEB).
You’re trusting in yourself – your thoughts and works. Repentance means to turn away from being your own god and following the Lord Jesus Christ.
“Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make straight your paths” (Proverbs 3:5-6 ESV).
Your view of God is perverse. You write:
“Unfortunately, I constantly worry that I somehow deluded myself into believing that I repented and was changed. It really feels like it, but I still don’t dare talk to God, as I wouldn’t want to anger Him by taking His name in vain. If I do fail now, I do understand that I will be more severely punished, and I accept it. I can’t see myself ever returning to my former self regardless of the circumstances, but what if God simply doesn’t want me? What to do if that proves to be the case?”
Don’t dare talk to God? Who else is going to correct and guide you? If you don’t come to Him you can’t be saved. If you refrain from talking to God because of fear of taking His Name in vain, then you’re walking in the wrong kind of fear, like the man who hid his one talent. You’re not walking by faith, which is why you say:
“Since I am almost entirely positive that you really are men of God.”
Did Peter say to the Lord, “I am almost entirely positive that you are the Christ, the Son of the living God”?
I don’t say this to compel you to declare us men of God, but to illustrate that you’re leaning on your own thoughts.
You ask what we have to say about the “church fathers.” Read the following in The True Marks of a Cult: Reference to the “Church Fathers”
Paul
[Adam made the following posts on the Forum, which Paul referred to:]
My introduction
Paying taxes
Medical cannabis consumption–always contrary to God’s will?
The Star of David