“I do not believe today everything I believed yesterday; I wonder will I believe tomorrow everything I believe today?”     -Matthew Arnold

A person is not “evil” or “of the devil” simply because his religious view (opinion) differs from your opinion or mine.  “But he believes a false doctrine!” Gimme a break; give yourself a break; give us all a break!

If I can de-personalize these semi-objective comments, I wish to do so.  Dealing with minds isn’t easy.  After many years of meeting and dealing with hundreds and thousands of minds, I have concluded that the problem with minds is “mind sets.”  Perhaps so many human beings are “hardheaded” and “set in the mind” because they are “blind in the mind.”  As Jesus expressed it:  ”They have eyes but don’t see and ears but they don’t hear.”

Of course we can learn from other minds, but life-experience should teach us to “filter” what we receive from “other minds.”  I am suspicious of “mind set” comments.  You and I recognize “mind set” comments because they do not come our way as questions of wonderment or inquiry.  Instead they arrive as opinions stated as absolute fact! While there is nothing wrong with someone holding and expressing personal opinions, opinions become problematic when the person offering them does not recognize them as “his or her opinion” and adamantly insists that his opinion or view or interpretation is absolute truth.

Nowhere do “mind set” issues become so pernicious and hurtful as when they are attached to religion.  “Religious” Jews killed Jesus!  “Religious” Christians and Pagans have tortured and murdered their countless millions.  Today, “Religious” Muslims are murdering “infidels” and one another, around the planet!  And of course anyone condemning them or striking back at them “is of Satan,” for they are “doing God’s work!”  Gimme a break!

For too many years, religious zealots have played these “mind set” games — I’ve played a few as well — It’s time for a break. It is profoundly troubling to watch and listen as relatively intelligent human beings state unequivocally, “they possess the truth — end of the matter.”

When I am presenting a Prophecy Seminar, what can I offer but my opinion?  But the oft retort comes:  “Not so Charles Wheeling, you can offer the Bible!”  Yes, but what I offer is my opinion of what the Bible says! There is nothing wrong with my opinion unless I forget, or others forget, that it is “my opinion.”

Hopefully someone out there is getting my drift.  This is not to be understood as an appeal for “ecumenism,” but scores of divided and divisive Christian denominations exist today, because too many people haven’t caught the drift!  I have concluded that Christ-like unity and peaceable tolerance of others holding different views can never come through an Organization. Why? Because Organizations are inherently self-seeking and propagate “mind set-ness.”  The genuine peace of Christ is the result of a deeply personal, SPIRITual experience. I’m sure you understand but too many “religious” people do not.

There are “mind sets” everywhere.  Every day millions of Christians assert and insist “their doctrine (teaching / opinion / interpretation) is absolutely true and they can prove it in the Bible.”  It matters not to them that a thousand, thousand other of God’s children read the same verses of Scripture but draw a very different conclusion (opinion). There are studied, reasonable psychological reasons for this “me-centered” behavior, but I am not so much interested in the psychology of hardheadedness as I am concerned about the spirituality of this behavior. I believe such behavior is “spirit-led,” but not the Spirit of Christ!

Gimme a break! People are not saved because they believe “true doctrine” or lost because they have been taught and accepted as truth, something you or I believe to be “false doctrine.”  It took super-Pharisee Paul too long to discover the great spiritual gulf between “the letter of the Law and the spirit of the Law” — One is death while the other is life.  Possessing “true doctrine” does not equate with salvation. Belonging to the “Right Church” does not guarantee salvation.  This was precisely the “mind set” of “Church Members” in Jesus’ day!

“Our father Abraham.”  “We be Abraham’s seed.”  “And all they in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath, and rose up and thrust him out. . .”

Jesus “blew the minds” of His Jewish disciples by opposing such “mind set-ness.”

“Master, we saw one casting out devils in thy name, and he followeth not us: andwe forbad him, because he followeth not us. But Jesus said, Forbid him not.“  And again Jesus admonished:  “Other sheep have I which are not of this fold.”

How many of these “Jesus” examples do we need to give us all a break!?

“And upon this came his disciples, and marveled that he talked with the (Samaritan dog; unclean Gentile) woman: yet no man said, What seekest thou?  Or, Why talkest thou with her?”

My opinion or version of Scripture may or may not be correct.  Well then one might ask, how can a person ever “be sure of anything?”  How is a person ever to know the truth?  This is my opinion; for what it’s worth, here it is…

Start with genuine HUMILITY.  Decide right away that you are correct only 99% of the time and give the rest of us “30% of the timers” a break! Choose an ULTIMATE STANDARD. Whether I have chosen correctly or not, I have chosen the PROTESTANT CHRISTIAN BIBLE as my ultimate standard. I do not accept the Koran, Church Tradition or any other prophet, ancient or modern, true or false, AS EQUAL IN AUTHORITY! And please, my decision to accept the Protestant Christian Bible as my Ultimate Authority, IS NOT TO BE CONSTRUED AS USING THE KING JAMES BIBLE ONLY!  I accept any “Authorized Version” translated from original texts, excluding Apocryphal writings.

When I am sharing my opinion of MY ULTIMATE STANDARD and you disagree, demanding that I accept YOUR DIFFERENT ULTIMATE STANDARD, perhaps we need to discuss the merits of our chosen “Ultimate Standards” first.  Then, if after open, reasonably humble discussion we are not agreed on the same ULTIMATE STANDARD, we should agree to disagree and go our separate ways.  Prayerfully, I won’t “think evil of you.”

Offer your opinion in PLAIN ENGLSH. Or Spanish or German or French or whatever, but read and present the words of your Ultimate Standard as they read. FIRST AND FOREMOST, READ THE SCRIPTURES AT FACE VALUE. Please don’t insult the intelligence of others, for example, by quoting Daniel the prophet, who in turn is quoting the Angel Gabriel:

“He (Gabriel) said unto me, Understand, O son of man: for at the time of the  end shall be the vision.” Daniel 8:17.

How is it then, in light of such plain language, that I am constantly upbraided by “mind sets” insisting that I am “privately interpreting Scripture,” when I urge others to apply Daniel’s “end of time” visions to the “time of the end?”  “Charles Wheeling, you know full well (for all informed persons know full well) that the Ram being warred upon by the He-goat was fulfilled in the time of Alexander the Great, c. 330 B.C.”  (See Daniel’s vision and Gabriel’s interpretation; Daniel 8:1-7; 17).

Perhaps I have missed something here.  Do “set minds” truly believe and expect me, and others to believe, that 330 B.C. has something, actually anything at all, to do with “the time of the end?”

I can read plain English — what could be the problem here? Could the problem be the ULTIMATE STANDARD some have chosen?  Here are familiar refrains: “But MY CHURCH says,” or “most Christians believe,” or “Doctor D.D., Rabbi O.K., or Pope XYZ” says this — Perhaps WE ARE APPEALING TO DIFFERENT, ULTIMATE STANDARDS.

If there is “truth” to be discovered in God’s Word, and I believe there is, it should not be impossible to discover.  If truth in Scripture were impossible to discover, why did Jesus repeatedly urge his followers to “search the Scriptures?”  Why did He continually ask, “What saith the Scriptures?”  Why did he upbraid His listeners, saying, “Ye do err, not knowing the Scriptures.”

Why do human beings find it so difficult to change their opinions or admit failure?  Could it be a “mind set” problem?  Could it be a “pride” problem?  Could it be a “sin” problem?  Why is it so embarrassing to say simply, “I have changed my mind.  I have discovered something about God or God’s Word that I have never seen before.” Through the years I have changed my opinions and interpretations of Scripture more than a few times, and WOW, POW, am I ever after taken to task by those “who know the ‘true’ truth!”  Gimme a break!  Give us all a break!

Concerning the psychology of hardheaded / hardhearted-ness, I wonder:  Could it be that “life” as we experience it on this sinful planet is so uncertain and insecure that we spend our entire lives, physically, emotionally and spiritually “compensating?”  So desperately uncertain and fearful are we humans that we seek “insurance” for our physical lives and “assurance” for our spiritual lives?  Could it be that sinful, guilt-ridden human beings feel so insecure in this life that they must have soul certainty?  Is this why people are so gullible in religious matters, following the voices that promise the most security?  Is this why anyone or anything that shakes their “soul certainty” must be of the Devil?

Perhaps life here is so uncertain that fearful, insecure human beings everywhere on the planet invent “convenient, soul-secure doctrines” — doctrines they say are proven in Scripture or by other authorities they accept.  Doctrines such as: “I belong to the True Church or true Religion” or “I am predestined to be saved” or “I will be raptured before the Tribulation” or “I’m sure that the dead are not really dead; they cannot die, I know they are still alive!”

Is it possible that in spite of intolerance, ignorance, fearfulness, meanness, stubbornness, laziness, blindness and sinfulness, Jesus is going to save at least two people down here –YOU and me too, please?

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Charles Wheeling is author of this faith statement.  Others may freely copy or quote this statement, but in its entirety, please. Questions or comments may be directed to: Charles Wheeling, P.O. Box 352, Jemison, AL  35085; PH (205) 646-2941 or e-mail: seminars||@||hiwaay.net.