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[0:00] Well, thank you, Gary. We are discussing the issue of why Christians differ doctrinally. And we posited this query when we began this new year dealing with the issue of why is it that we have so many different denominations and sects and cults and splits and splinters and fragments and why can't Christians get together and why all of these differences.

[0:35] It is confusing. And after all, we have the same Bible. And how is it that so many different conclusions are reached? Some would propose that we just eliminate doctrine and then that would quell all of the dissonance that is out there.

[0:53] People wouldn't have anything to argue about if you just eliminated doctrine. But in our last session, we talked about the importance and the inevitability of doctrine.

[1:04] You can't believe anything about anything without doctrine. All doctrine is, is teaching. There are, of course, controversial doctrines or hot-button issues within Christendom.

[1:20] And people feel strongly about different things, as we will divulge when we move on through the study. So, I suppose there is a sense in which some of the more controversial doctrines could be eliminated.

[1:34] But those who hold those controversial doctrines consider them to be very dear and very necessary to their faith, and they're not about to surrender them.

[1:46] Nor should they. If you really believe something in your heart of hearts, you are convinced in your own conscience and mind that a certain thing is true, you ought to stand for it. Even if it isn't true, but you think it is, then your conscience is involved, and I cannot fault anyone for that, even if I don't agree with their conclusion.

[2:09] They are holding it in what we would call a good faith position. They really believe it. So, we will discover a whole lot of doctrines that people hold that we do not agree with at all, but we have to agree with their right to believe those things.

[2:26] And we would hope that they would accord us the same right. So, in investigating the issue of why Christians differ doctrinally, I would just say this, at the outset, that it is all about information.

[2:43] You've heard me talk about this in the past. You're going to hear a lot more about it in the future because it is critical. Absolutely critical. It is all about information.

[2:54] What is available by way of data and how we process it and the conclusions we reach. They even have courses now in information theory. And people specialize in this whole subject.

[3:09] And it is a fascinating, fascinating subject. When you talk about why Christians differ doctrinally, and you reach back for an origin of where this might all begin, you have to deal with why people differ about anything.

[3:27] Because why we differ doctrinally is inseparably connected to why people hold different points of view about anything.

[3:39] About religion, about politics, about economics. Why and how do people hold the positions that they do? How do they arrive at them?

[3:51] The answer is information. We are constantly gathering and absorbing information. On the basis of what we hear and on the basis of what we see, we are absorbing data.

[4:07] And we are taking it in and processing it. And as a result, we reach a conclusion. We take a position and then we engage a course of action. It is that way in religious matters.

[4:21] It is that way in political matters. It is that way in military. It is the whole spectrum of life. It operates that way. Information is the basis for the formulation and or implementation of the input.

[4:37] You act on the basis of the position you take. The conclusions you reach. That determines your course of action. Or determines your course of inaction so that you don't do anything.

[4:53] That too is on the basis of that. I and ear gates are continually collecting information and the processing begins.

[5:04] Often automatically. Sometimes very intentionally. Have you ever thought yourself, said to yourself after hearing something, Hmm.

[5:15] Hmm. I need to really think about that. What that means is, You want to give this issue that you have just been informed about, More deliberate and concentrated thought.

[5:35] It means you want to focus on this. When you concentrate on something, It means you want to zero in on it.

[5:46] We call it focusing. And it may not have anything to do with your eyes. It's got everything to do with your mind. You mentally focus on something or zero in on it.

[6:01] When we talk about concentration, It means to bring to a direct or common center, Close or fixed attention.

[6:14] Something that is concentrated is increased in strength or in its density. And we talk about something, A chemical that you're going to use to do something.

[6:28] And it may be referred to as industrial strength. It means it is a super concentration or it is more potent or more powerful.

[6:39] And when you concentrate mentally, It means you bring all of your mental powers to bear upon the thing. And you really zero in on it. And you think long and hard about that one particular thing.

[6:53] And very often we do that about big decisions. If you've got a career change, Or you're going to make a major purchase, You want to really give it a lot of thought and deliberation.

[7:07] So you concentrate on that. When you take a whole bunch of people from a general public, And put them all together in an area and confine it, And confine them to a given area, You call that a concentration camp.

[7:25] Where you have people that are no longer free, But they are all solidified in one particular area. And we're all familiar with the concentration camps of World War II.

[7:39] Mental concentration is the processing, Or the focusing of thinking. Focused thinking tends to engage a process that is designed for birthing an idea or concept.

[7:55] Now in case you're wondering, What does this have to do with why Christians differ doctrinally? And the answer is, Everything. Absolutely everything.

[8:07] This is bedrock stuff. We are going to see through a very brief examination of the thinking process, How people absorb things and pull in things and reach conclusions regarding them, And the ingredients involved in that.

[8:24] We do it all the time. But we tend to do it automatically without concentrating on it. We just do it. It's just part of living. It's just part of thinking.

[8:36] You are continually formulating ideas, Taking positions, And determining courses of action, Based upon that mental processing. The development of an idea, And pursuing it, Is called, The promotion, Of an ideology.

[8:57] Ideology. Ideology is related to the idea of an idea. When you're talking about ideas, How they are formed, How they are birthed, It is a process that leads you to an ideological position.

[9:21] You develop an idea about that particular thing. It may be about anything. It may be about work. It may be about something, Religion. It may be about politics. It makes no difference.

[9:32] The process is the same. That's the point I want to make. There is not a special religious way of thinking. It doesn't exist. There is just a way of thinking.

[9:46] A mental process through which we all go. It all depends on what the subject matter is, That makes it, Spiritual, Or political, Or economic, Or whatever.

[9:59] But the process is the same. There is not a special set of rules for spiritual thinking. It all operates on the same basis. It has to do with taking in information.

[10:13] Nothing is so powerful, As an idea, Whose time has come. That is a tremendously important truth.

[10:30] And that very truth, Has shaped and molded all of human history, And brought us where we are today.

[10:41] Both the good, And the bad. Nothing more, Than an idea, That developed in the mind of someone.

[10:54] How did it develop? How did it get its Genesis? I thought you would never ask. So let's go back to the book of Genesis, And we will see. Genesis chapter 3.

[11:08] We will see the origin, And how this works. And it is a fascinating concept. I have been just, Engrossed by this, The last several days.

[11:18] And I am just, Kind of bowled over, By the implications of it, And how far reaching it is. In Genesis chapter 3, The serpent was more crafty, Than any beast of the field, Which the Lord God had made.

[11:45] He said to the woman, Indeed, Has God said, You shall not eat, From any tree of the garden? And the woman said to the serpent, From the fruit of the trees of the garden, We may eat.

[11:56] Now, Do you know what Eve is doing here? She is gathering information. Some information has already been provided by God. And she has processed that, And is processing it.

[12:10] Now she is receiving information, That is being provided by the serpent. And it comes into her mind, Through her ears, And her eyes.

[12:21] And she is processing this information, That the serpent is giving her. She is thinking about it. She is engaged in a mental process, Called thinking.

[12:35] And verse 3, From the fruit of the tree, Which is in the middle of the garden, God has already given us information, Saying, You shall not eat from it, Or touch it, Lest you die.

[12:46] And the serpent said to the woman, You surely shall not die. Now she has received contradictory information. One source of information says, We'll die.

[12:58] Another source of information says, We won't die. Hmm. What am I to think about that? What is my conclusion?

[13:10] So she goes through this process, And she is mulling it over. Verse 5, God knows that in the day you eat from it, Here is more information.

[13:23] You see, What is happening now, Is that, The serpent, Is stacking the deck. He is trying to provide, More information, To offset the information, That has already been given.

[13:41] He is trying to cancel it out, To negate it. He is trying to give her, Another course of action, And make her reach, A different conclusion. She had already reached a conclusion.

[13:52] And the conclusion was, Don't eat of it. End of argument. Oh, But wait, There is more to come. You haven't heard it all.

[14:03] There is another side of the story. You shall not surely die. What? That is contrary. It sets up a conflict, In the thinking process.

[14:14] Now, You have got a problem. Now, You have to sort between this, And this. And where are you going to come out? That is exactly what is taking place. The woman, God knows that in the day you eat from it, Your eyes will be opened, And you will be like God, Knowing good and evil.

[14:31] And when the woman saw, There is the eyes again. That is an information gathering object. When the woman saw, She looked at it, And she said to herself, Boy, That really looks good.

[14:48] Really looks good. Good for food. And that it was a delight. Today, We don't even know what kind of fruit this was.

[15:00] I know that tradition says that it was an apple, And that Eve took a bite from the apple, And humanity discovered the apple had a worm in it, And so on, You know.

[15:10] But we don't know what the fruit was. We're never told. We're just told it was fruit. Some biblical scholars have theorized it was probably a pomegranate, But the jury's still out.

[15:21] We don't know. All we know was, It was forbidden. That's the important thing. She was not to eat of it. But it was a delight to the eyes, And that the tree was desirable, To make one wise.

[15:37] She took from its fruit, And ate, And she gave also to her husband with her, And he ate. Now what we've got here, Is the case of, Fixation, On the part of Eve.

[15:54] Now this fruit is forbidden, And the tendency is to zero in on that, Which is forbidden, And that tends to increase, The desirability of it.

[16:10] You can start this as early, As with a two or three year old, And tell them, Whatever you do, Don't step over this line, Or don't touch that, Or don't go there, Or don't pick up that, And all of a sudden, That's the only thing they want to do.

[16:27] That's just the way we're wired. That's human nature. We're all like that. There is a special, Tantalizing effect, To the forbidden.

[16:37] And that is precisely, And that is precisely, What is taking place here. Now she's got an idea, The idea has been formulated, On the basis of, Information received, And she is fixing on it, And eventually, Mental fixation, Mental concentrating, Looking at something, And the longer you look at it, The better it looks.

[17:05] Have you ever noticed that, Going into a new car dealership showroom? The longer you look at it, The longer they can get you to stay, In that showroom, And even drive that vehicle.

[17:24] Vehicle. The more time you spend, Inside that vehicle, The more likely you are to buy it, Because there is a process, Going on in your mind.

[17:35] And you sit there, Behind that driver's wheel, And you look at that luxurious leather, And that snazzy dashboard, And you say, Man, This is nice. This is one fine automobile.

[17:47] And what you are doing, Is building a case. You are fixating, On that. Focusing on that. And you begin thinking, Hmm, How much would the pavement be?

[17:59] Can I handle this? Hmm, I sure would. Boy, Imagine how cool this would be, To drive this baby home. You know, And that's exactly, What they are counting on. When, This fixation, Reaches a conclusion, Then, We are ready, For action.

[18:19] And the action may be, I've got to stop thinking about it. There's no way in the world, That I can afford this. I just need to get out of this car, Get out of the showroom, Go on to the grocery store, Like I planned. I just can't, Well, You've reached a decision, And that too, Was based on information.

[18:36] What information? Based on information, That you've already got stored, In your mind. You know what your, Weekly and monthly income is. You know what your, You know what your outgo is, And your obligations, And, You begin processing, That information, As you sit there, Behind the wheel, Of that snazzy automobile, And you are reminded of something.

[18:58] This is crazy, I can't afford this. So, You reach a decision, And you get out, And you go on to the grocery store, Like you were planning. But, It's the idea that, The thinking process, Leads to a conclusion, The conclusion, Leads to a decision, Or a course of action.

[19:18] This is why, That famous quote, Is so powerful, There is nothing so powerful, As an idea, Whose time has come. It has moved, Continence, And it still does.

[19:34] And we will see, Shortly, How that is so. Sometimes to the betterment, Sometimes to the detriment. All of this process, Involves, A combination, Of several different things.

[19:48] Now this is important, And I want you to stay with me. This is background material, And what we are talking about, Is the basis, Or the process, Through which people, Formulate positions, Come to conclusions, About anything.

[20:03] We all engage this process. Some do it better than others, Some do it more quickly than others, Some don't do it, Nearly as much as they ought.

[20:15] And these people, We refer to as, Being very, Short sighted, Very impulsive, They make all of their decisions, Based on the feeling of the moment, And they see it, And they want it, And they buy it.

[20:32] These are called, Impulse buyers, In the world of marketing. And when you go, To the grocery store, The, The, The, The, Marketers, And the people, Who put, The items there, They pay, A premium, Amount, Of money, To the store, To put their product, Right there, At eye level.

[21:01] Not so you have to look down, To see it, Or look up, Right at eye level. That's the most expensive, Spot in the grocery store, And on the right hand side, Because most people, Are right handed, And you pick it up, And put it in your cart, And you do that, In a flash of a moment, Without very much thinking, That's an impulse, And marketers, And marketers, Make, Zillions of dollars, From impulse buyers, You see something, You like it, It looks good, You pick it up, And you put it in your cart, Without much thought, Given to it.

[21:40] What do we have to think with? Well, We have an intellect, We have a mind, A brain, And what we couple, With our intellect, By way of information, Gained from all of life's experiences, Plus norms and values, Established in our moral bank, Produces the ideas, That we arrive at.

[22:04] Now this may sound, Involved, And somewhat difficult, But I assure you, It isn't at all, It's very simple, You do it all the time, We just don't think it out, Like this, But this is exactly, What takes place, Each of us, Has, A mental capacity, With which we were born, We didn't have much control, Over that, We do not know, We do not know, On exactly what basis, Some people, Seem to be born, With a great intellect, And some people are not, And it isn't always genetic, Because there are people, Who are not geniuses, Who produce a genius, And there are people, Who are geniuses, From the standpoint of intellect, And IQ, And they produce, A very ordinary,

[23:05] Very average, Offspring, So we don't know, What all of the, Items are, That go into the mix, Of how you got born, With, The mental capacity, That you have, We do know certain things, About how it can be improved, And increased, And what learning, Etc.

[23:24] Will do, And what being deprived, Of learning, The effect that that has, All of these things, All of these things, Come into play, And there's a great deal, Involved here, That we just don't understand, But we take the intellect, That we have, Whatever that is, The IQ, The amount of brain power, Gray matter, Whatever you want to call it, Thinking capacity, Or ability, We couple that, With information, Gained from all of life's, Experiences, Everything to which, You were subjected, From the time, You were in the crib, You are constantly, Receiving information, From mother, And father, And from teachers, And neighbors, And peers, You are constantly, Absorbing, Learning, Without doing it, Intentionally, Or even trying to do it, You're just doing it, Automatically, You're just taking it in, And when you take it in, These are life experiences, Good, Bad, And somewhere in between, But they are all, Going to contribute, To making you, The person you are today,

[24:25] Dr. Clyde Naramore, Used to have a favorite saying, He was on the radio, For psychology for living, Years and years ago, He was a pioneer, In the field of Christian psychology, And one of the statements, That he often made was, We, We, We are, What we have been becoming, It's very simple, Very profound, We are, What we have been becoming, Every one of us, Is in the process, Of becoming, Something, We are absorbing, Information, And data, That is causing us, To think, A certain way, This is a kind of, Programming, Causes us, Causes us to develop, Certain thinking patterns, Certain standards,

[25:27] Certain norms, Certain values, We inculcate them, Most of them, Unintentionally, But we do so, Nonetheless, You can see, Why, This is so, Important, As to the kind, Of information, And circumstance, And environment, That you provide, For your children, It's critical, Because, Whatever it is, That you're giving your children, Is what they have to work with, Plus, Whatever they pick up, From other sources, Some of which, May be very good, Some we know, Can be very bad, This makes, A case for, What you take in, There is more truth, Than any of us know, To the garbage in, Garbage out, That is as valid,

[26:29] As it can possibly be, Because you tend, To become, Whatever you absorb, And take into yourself, And life experiences, And the norms, And values, The moral standards, That you develop, Growing up, That most of us, Receive, In attitude, In action, From our parents, And from teachers, This is why, The school you, The school you attend, May be more important, Than you know, The education, And upbringing, That you get, Is vital, Is critical, And you know, Most parents, Know that, But they don't understand, So much, The mechanics of it, That's what we're, Dealing with right now, The mechanics of it, The nuts and bolts, How this thing works, And this is how it works, This is not anything, Groundbreaking,

[27:29] There's no brilliance, Involved here, That anybody can claim, This is just life, This is living, This is thinking, This is being, This is concluding, This is action, And this is the way it works, This is the way it works, For everybody, And this is the way it works, In every field of endeavor, Doesn't make any difference, What it is, It's a process, And we go through it, We think, And we postulate, Based upon the sum total, Of who and what, We have become, To the present time, Everyone does this, Every day, We are the sum total, Of all we have taken in, Through all of our learning experiences, Formal, And mostly, Informal, This makes the intake, Of information, Critical, Absolutely critical, You know, There are parents, There are parents, Who would fret, And stew,

[28:31] And get all exercised, And bent out of shape, Over, The nutrition, And the food, That they buy, For their family, That their child, Puts in their mouth, For their body, And they buy, Only the finest, And they buy, The organic this, And that, And pay the rest of it, Pay extra money for it, And interestingly enough, Some of these same parents, Don't give the time of day, As to what the child, Puts in their mind, What they watch on TV, Or what they see, On the internet, And that is, Far, Far more important, Than what they put in their body, When Jesus was criticized, When Jesus was criticized, His disciples, Were criticized, For not washing their hands, The prescribed way, And Jesus said, Listen, It isn't what, Goes into the body, It isn't what goes, Into the mouth,

[29:33] That defiles a man, It's what, Comes out, Out of the heart, Of man, Proceed evil thoughts, Adulteries, Fornications, Blasphemies, Murder, And on and on and on, These are moral issues, These are mental things, These are the real, Contaminants of the soul, Not the food, You put in your mouth, So we ought to give, The greater heed, To those things, That we, Take into our mind, Because you are, What you think, That can be, A scary proposition, You are what you, You are not, What you think you are, But what you think, You are, How far back,

[30:34] Does this process go, Goes all the way back, To Genesis 3, As we've just seen, What was in, Eve's moral bank, When she was confronted, With this temptation, She had already, Processed information, That God had given her, About not eating, What was in, Her realm of experience, And she didn't have, Many experiences, She hadn't been here, That long, What had she arrived at, By way of conclusions, Or a game plan, Or standards, Or norms and values, What were her life experiences, That allowed her, To either, Cave into this thing, Or, Confront it, And deny it, What was in, Eve's moral bank, I'll tell you, What was in her moral bank, Naivete, Innocence, That was in her moral bank, She was not an, Immoral person, She was kind of like,

[31:35] An, Amoral person, With, Virtually no history, And no basis, Of comparison, She was just, In a state, Of innocence, Which, Of course, Made her, More susceptible, For additional programming, And that is precisely, What the serpent, In the form of, Satan, In the form of serpent, Provided.

[32:02] Now, As a result, Of processing, The information, That the serpent, Has given her, And reaching, A different conclusion, Than what she had before, She is now, Going to add, A new experience, To her resume, That will contribute, To programming, Her moral bank, Now, After partaking, Of this fruit, She is a different person, She's had something new, Added to her, Life's resume, Now, She has engaged, In, Sinful behavior, This, Corrupts her, Morally, Now, She's got, A new, Moral issue, That is negative, In her moral bank, And Adam, Is going to pick up, The same thing,

[33:03] When he joins her, In rebellion against God, And they are now, Going to, Take to themselves, Through this information, That they have processed, That led to a course of action, And they acted upon it, They ate, Now, Their moral bank, Consists of something, That it didn't have before, And they're going to pass it on, To the next generation, And we know, What Cain turned out to be, We are talking about, The development, Of an ideology, How these things, Develop, Ideology has nothing, Is really nothing, Except it's an idea, That people come up with, We are, We are in the throes, Right now, Of, An international conflict, That, We, We, See as a tremendous threat,

[34:06] From, Islamic, Terrorists, Extremists, What, Motivates, These people, What, In the world, Could possess someone, To be willing, To strap a bomb, Onto himself, Just so, He could walk, Into a crowded place, And blow, Other human beings, To smithereens, Including himself, What, Is he after, Why, Is he doing this, What motivates, These people, Is it money, You can forget about that, Is it money, Is it real estate, No, Got nothing to do with that, What is, It is, Ideology, He has, An idea, He is focused, On this idea, It is, A fixation, That he has,

[35:08] He zeroes, In on it, He has this thing, In the cross, He concentrates on, It becomes, An obsession, Not just for Israeli, Or for, For Muslim extremists, But, For anybody, This is the way, Let me, Let me explain something to you, Radicals, Are the only people, Who get anything done, By way of change, Or significance, Radicals, Mark it down, Only radicals, Challenge, And change, The status quo, Now you may not like that thought, Or that idea, Because we generally tend to associate, Radical, With evil, But it isn't, Radical can go either way,

[36:09] Jesus Christ, Jesus Christ, Was a radical, I'm not playing with words, I'm talking very literally, Jesus Christ, Was a radical, The apostle Paul, Was a radical, Thomas Jefferson, Was a radical, So was George Washington, Tom, Thomas Paine, Was a radical, All of these people, Were radicals, Paul the apostle, Stephen, Was a radical, A radical, Is one, Who departs from the norm, And is not satisfied, With the status quo, Who is committed to change, And it may be, A good radical, May be an evil radical, It all depends, On what the cause is, And it all depends, On how it measures up, With the moral base, That is already in place, As given by, Scripture, It has to be measured, Against that, All through history, There have been, Bad radicals, And good radicals,

[37:10] But if you ever, Want to see, The status quo, Maintained, Where there is, No change, Just eliminate, All the radicals, And all you have, Are the in betweeners, And all they want, Is more, Of the same, Of the same, Of the same, Same old, Same old, But you put, A firebrand radical, In there, Who is dissatisfied, With the status quo, And they start, Making noise, They start, Kicking up things, And you know, Where most of this, Radicalism, Comes from today, Comes from the same place, That it has always come from, You know where that is, It is the youth, It is the youth, And we can be thankful, For them, At least for the good part, The youth, Are the ones, Who stimulate, Radicalism, For good, Or ill,

[38:10] I want to keep, Emphasizing that, Because I don't want you, To think of radical, As always bad, And evil, Because it isn't, It all depends, On the cause, Radicalism, Is that, Which brings about change, Radicals, Are never, Satisfied, Or content, With the status quo, You will find, This to be, Quite the norm, When you look, At the college, And university, Camp high, That's where you see, The hotbed of radicalism, For one thing, Young people, Tend to be, Idealistic, And those of us, Of the older generation, Say, I understand, Where these 20 and 30 somethings, Are coming from, Because I was there, I understand, They have the idealism, They have the desire, To change, And, They're the only ones, Around with any energy, That can do anything,

[39:12] They've got the energy, And, And the idealism, Propels them, And it ought, Not to surprise anyone, That we saw, All of this radicalism, On the campuses, In the 60s, And the counterculture, And the revolution, That took place, And the anti-war, Protesting, And everything, This is, Powerful of course, This, Do you realize, How young the people were, That were involved, In the revolutionary war, And the cause, And the cause, For the revolution, These were not, These were not, A bunch of old people, I mean, Ben Franklin, Was on his last legs, He started out that way, But he was an exception, And even old Ben, Was young at heart, Most of these, Most of these colonists, Were younger, And all they were thinking about, Was the future, And that when I get there, I don't want it, To be like this, I want to be different, So what do you do, You come up with an idea, And you focus on the idea, And the idea,

[40:12] Of our founding fathers, Was one of, Liberty, And freedom, We were a colony, Thirteen of us, Colonies, What is a colony, A colony is an extension, Of the motherland, Which is miles removed, From the motherland, But is still under, The political, Economic, And military, Jurisdiction, Of the motherland, And along came, All of these restrictions, And taxes, And prohibitions, And demands, And there was a bunch, Of hot-headed radicals, The name of Sam Adams, John Adams, And these people, Started staying up, And sitting up, And saying, We are mad as hell, And we're not going, To take it anymore, And an idea, And when Israel was born, A revolution came out, You know why they call it, A revolution?

[41:06] Because it revolves, It turns things, Upside down, That's what a revolution is, It may be a good revolution, It may be a bad revolution, The French revolution, Was nothing like the American revolution, And you know why?

[41:31] Because the moral, Base of the American revolution, Was different, And it was grounded, In scripture, And the freedom, And liberty, That only God, Can give to man, That was the basis, Of the American revolution, The French revolution, The ideology, Was atheism, So who were some, Of the first ones executed?

[42:00] The clergy, The priests, The royalists, And those who were in power, They had a different, Moral base, Than what the American revolution, Had.

[42:14] Ideology, Ideas that people, Come up with, An ideologue, Is one who is convinced, Of the way, Things ought to be, An ideologue, Is someone who stands up, And says, This is not right, This is unfair, This is unjust, Somebody ought to do something, And an ideologue is, That somebody, A lot of people, Are sometimes saying, Somebody ought to do something, But an ideologue, Doesn't, And he's what's considered, A radical, An idealist, A utopian, A creator of paradise, Via the right, And proper, Political reforms, In, 1917, Well, 19, In 1883, One of the most, Brilliant, Economists,

[43:15] And philosophers, Among men, Who've ever lived, But without any moral base, Was Karl Marx, Brilliant philosopher, He was an ideologue, He formulated an idea, And you can boil down, Communism, And Marxism, To their famous slogan, From each, According to his ability, To each, According to his need, Well, Is there anything wrong with that?

[43:54] That has a good sound to it, From each, According to his ability, That is, Each member of society, Is supposed to produce, In accordance, With their creativity, And ability, And energy, And that is their contribution, To society, And some are in a position, To be a much greater contributor, By virtue of their creativity, And ability, Than what others are, So, We are asking that each one, Produce in accordance, With his ability, And we are asking, That each one receive, In accordance with, Their need, That sounds as logical, As anything you can get, But it had no moral base, And when you implement that, It makes you committed, To egalitarianism, That is where everybody, Is equalized,

[44:54] And you've got people, Who are the haves, And people who are the have nots, That's not right, So what do you do? Well you balance the scale, You take from the haves, Half of what they have, And you give it, To the have nots, And then, Everybody has the same, And we are all equal, The Soviet Union, Was often referred to, As the nation, Where everyone is equal, Except, Some are more equal, Than others, And the proletariat, And the elite, And the bureaucrats, They had their DACAs, And all the rest of it, And their limousines, Because, They were able to justify, Them, This egalitarianism, Is, An idea, That is born out of, Everybody, Ought to have the same, In order to be fair,

[45:57] You've got to, Redistribute, The assets, So that everybody, Gets a piece of the pie, That's called, Spreading the wealth around, It was, Karl Marx's, Mantra, And in 1917, A group of 17 men, Sat around the conference table, And they referred to themselves, As the Bolsheviks, The Bolsheviks, And if, You know anything about Russian, And you probably don't know, Any more about Russian, Than I do, And I didn't know either, And I had to look up, Bolshevik, And see what it means, But when I did, It, It made a lot of sense, Bolshevik, Is Russian for, The majority, Or, The most, And do you know, What that translated into,

[46:58] Was called, The people's, Party, That's the Bolsheviks, And when, Karl Marx's philosophy, Was put into practice, It sounded so good, And one of the reasons it did, Was because the people, Were up against a, Horrible, Intolerable, Tsarist regime, That was extremely, Unrighteous, And unfair, And they were backed, By a corrupt clergy, In the Russian, Orthodox church, And it was just, Horrible, And this Bolshevik, Was a reaction to that, It was the people, Rising up against, The status quo, Much like the colonies, Did, Against, George the third, And as a result, They put into practice, The conclusions, Of Karl Marx, And it became,

[47:59] A Marxist, Slash, Communist, Government, And Vladimir Lenin, Whose, Body was, Maintained in a, In an embalmed state, For the public to view by, For, Decades, I don't know, Is it still there, Or did they finally bury the old guy, I don't know, But at any rate, 17 men, 17 men, Got together, Formed the original Bolshevik party, And 17 men, Ultimately, Were responsible, For completely, Overturning, The czarist regime, Bringing a whole new set, Of government, And rules and regulations, To the Russian people, That extended, Throughout the then, Communist world, Engulfing, Half the world's population, Under the hammer and sickle, And do you know,

[49:02] Where it started? One man, One man, One idea, Karl Marx, An ideology, Don't tell me, That, An idea, Whose time has come, Is not the most powerful thing, In the world, That which we embrace, And hold dear, Biblical Christianity, You know where it started?

[49:29] One man, One man, And he gathered to himself, Twelve others, And, The reach went out, Until it extended, Into millions, And even billions, And where did it all begin?

[49:51] One mind, One person, It was a fixation, Paul the apostle, Was, Had a fixation, He had, Paul had, A magnificent obsession, That's why he, That's why he said, I, Determine to know, Nothing among you, Except Jesus Christ, And him crucified, That's it, Over and out, That's the only message, That means anything, That's the only message, That counts, It's the only message, I preach, It's the only message, I will live, And die for, Because nothing else matters, The gospel is the power of God, Through faith unto salvation, To everyone who believes, Am I an ideologue?

[50:36] Yes, Am I obsessed with this? Yes, It's a magnificent obsession, And it's a legitimate obsession, And I have no apologies, It's the only thing, Worth living for, And worth dying for, For to me, To live is Christ, That's what it's all about, And what each of us, Has to decide is, Is that valid?

[50:59] Is that really true? Is that really the issue? Or was it just, Paul's dream?

[51:10] Was it just, His obsession? Or should it be ours, As well? And it boils down to this, Objective truth, Objective truth, Or subjective truth, A lot of Christians, Will get themselves off the hook, By saying, Well yes, That was true, It was true, For Paul, But don't try to say, It's true for me, Because I've got my own truth, No you don't, No you don't, We are all entitled, To our own opinion, None of us, Is entitled to our own facts, And when Paul embraced that, As his modus operandi, As a radical, As an extremist, It was based upon, And predicated upon, Truth, Reality, That's what matters,

[52:11] Nothing, Else, Does, Father, We are grateful, For information, That you've provided, We recognize, That, We have a tendency, To misinterpret it, We all do, We have a tendency, To make the scriptures, Say what we want them to say, Which is an evil, In itself, And we want to be delivered, From that, We pray, That you will enable us, To see as we move on, Through this series, The intent, Of the spirit of God, In providing us, With this information, The information, Of revelation, How we are to receive it, And process it, And act upon it, We are accountable for it, We thank you for providing it, In Christ's name, Amen.