Don’t call everything a conspiracy, like they do...

[allthisstuff]

Hey Christian Chat! The title of this post comes from Isaiah 8:12

Isaiah 8:11-17

New Living Translation (NLT)

A Call to Trust the Lord

11 The Lord has given me a strong warning not to think like everyone else does. He said,
12 “Don’t call everything a conspiracy, like they do,
and don’t live in dread of what frightens them.
13 Make the Lord of Heaven’s Armies holy in your life.
He is the one you should fear.
He is the one who should make you tremble.
14 He will keep you safe.
But to Israel and Judah
he will be a stone that makes people stumble,
a rock that makes them fall.
And for the people of Jerusalem
he will be a trap and a snare.
15 Many will stumble and fall,
never to rise again.
They will be snared and captured.”

16 Preserve the teaching of God;
entrust his instructions to those who follow me.
17 I will wait for the Lord,
who has turned away from the descendants of Jacob.
I will put my hope in him.

I was sort of surprised, and a little excited, to see a conspiracy thread open on Christian Chat. But I just wanted to share these passages to you guys, especially those who are gripped with fear and doubt. The Bible tells us not to concern ourselves so much with the conspiracies of the world. After all, all things are either approved or disapproved by the Lord, so, in a sense, everything is the Lord's doing.

Let rumors and conspiracies inspire you to trust in God knowing that only He knows what the future holds. Don't dwell on them and let fear grip your life. Even if God were to send a tornado down your neighborhood, He knows how to preserve those who are called for His purpose. All things work together for good to those who love God and are called according to His purpose! Romans 8:28

Peace out Christian Chat!

 

[blue_ladybug]

Excellently said and presented, allthisstuff!! I totally agree!

 

[GodIsSalvation]

Hey Christian Chat! The title of this post comes from Isaiah 8:12




I was sort of surprised, and a little excited, to see a conspiracy thread open on Christian Chat. But I just wanted to share these passages to you guys, especially those who are gripped with fear and doubt. The Bible tells us not to concern ourselves so much with the conspiracies of the world. After all, all things are either approved or disapproved by the Lord, so, in a sense, everything is the Lord's doing.

Let rumors and conspiracies inspire you to trust in God knowing that only He knows what the future holds. Don't dwell on them and let fear grip your life. Even if God were to send a tornado down your neighborhood, He knows how to preserve those who are called for His purpose. All things work together for good to those who love God and are called according to His purpose! Romans 8:28

Peace out Christian Chat!

Awesome Bible quote and your own personal input on it indeed. I like this because this is how I view most conspiracy theories.

To use an example; the New World Order is not a conspiracy theory since many prominent people speak of it all the time and funny enough many different people have many different goals for a New World Order. So to a certain point conspiracy theorists are partly correct about the NWO, insofar as people openly discuss a NWO and would like to make it happen. The ultra-skeptics are in fault because they will intentionally disregard stuff that is right up in their face. Likewise I think where the theorists go wrong though is they end up letting fear of the New World Order rule over them, because of this fear then people get irrational.

So for our example of the NWO (though any "conspiracy theory" can also apply to this standard) one should not be ultra-skeptical and dismis all evidence but also should not be so fearful that they delude themselves into thinking something unreal is real. For the NWO Theory in particular its quite funny because if you study the people whom say with their own mouth that they wish to make a New World Order a reality you have nothing to fear as you can clearly see how they fail in a facepalm fashion to accomplish their goal every single time.

 

[danalee]

Hey Christian Chat! The title of this post comes from Isaiah 8:12




I was sort of surprised, and a little excited, to see a conspiracy thread open on Christian Chat. But I just wanted to share these passages to you guys, especially those who are gripped with fear and doubt. The Bible tells us not to concern ourselves so much with the conspiracies of the world. After all, all things are either approved or disapproved by the Lord, so, in a sense, everything is the Lord's doing.

Let rumors and conspiracies inspire you to trust in God knowing that only He knows what the future holds. Don't dwell on them and let fear grip your life. Even if God were to send a tornado down your neighborhood, He knows how to preserve those who are called for His purpose. All things work together for good to those who love God and are called according to His purpose! Romans 8:28

Peace out Christian Chat!

You're right...all of the crazy stuff out there is such a distraction. However it's also important to know enough to avoid the traps being set out there. I always try and raise some awareness to the evil nature of certain organizations because putting your trust in them is dangerous dogma.

 

[PoxEclipse]

Confederacy?

With respect to the OP...

I try not to attack other people's beliefs or understandings, but I felt this needed to be said. Please forgive any offense I cause as it's not an attack, it's more of a parallel thought along similar lines.

Also, this is not directed solely at you, but as a generalized philosophy that anyone reading this post may benefit from.

One of my pet peeves is people taking scriptures out of context, or assigning meanings where there are none.

An example being, "God said women can't teach in church!", well actually Paul said it not God, yet the masses never bother to do their homework, and blindly accept everything they're told as long as it comes from a person who has a certificate of holiness hanging on their wall, or it's shouted with passion and zeal between 10am-12pm on Sunday.

The mindless herd mentality is NOT a good thing.

Another example, "The Bible says it's okay to kill!", because it's written that God commanded some Hebrews to go to war 3,000 years ago.

There are many other commonly themed claims if you look for them.

As it happens, the verses you posted have been a curiosity of mine that I have pondered over for a few years now...

http://www.scripture4all.org/OnlineInterlinear/OTpdf/isa8.pdf

If you examine the Interlinear, the original words list as conspiracy, but a translation lists it as confederacy.


A few questions I've had...


1. What is the context of Isaiah 8?

2. What is the time frame?

3. Who is God speaking to?

4. What is the political climate?

5. What do the chapters preceding and following offer in relation?


Also, something to remember, just because God said something to one person in scripture, and they recorded it as a historical event, that does not mean that he is issuing that same statement as a commandment to everyone for all time.

I must admit that I am unresolved on the true meaning of this passage. I don't believe it to be prophetic, but rather historical. I wasn't there as it was being written however so my guess is as good as anyone's.

One thing that did strike me a year or so ago as a "thought out of the blue" is the word alliance or alliances. Try substituting that word for conspiracy in the full chapter and see if national or ethnic alliances mean anything to you.

Each person is gifted in different ways, perhaps my feelings on the matter are unfairly biased, perhaps I have a little more, or a little less clarity on the topic due to the nature of my studies?

A final word, don't be so quick to say "God says...", or "God commands..."

Believe me, I've done it far too often in my walk, and the eating of the crow...or humble pie if you prefer, is not a tasty dish.

Perhaps an comprehensive scripture study on Isaiah would be in order?


Peace and love to you all,

P.

 

[biscuit]

Re: Confederacy?

With respect to the OP...

I try not to attack other people's beliefs or understandings, but I felt this needed to be said. Please forgive any offense I cause as it's not an attack, it's more of a parallel thought along similar lines.

Also, this is not directed solely at you, but as a generalized philosophy that anyone reading this post may benefit from.

One of my pet peeves is people taking scriptures out of context, or assigning meanings where there are none.

An example being, "God said women can't teach in church!", well actually Paul said it not God, yet the masses never bother to do their homework, and blindly accept everything they're told as long as it comes from a person who has a certificate of holiness hanging on their wall, or it's shouted with passion and zeal between 10am-12pm on Sunday.

The mindless herd mentality is NOT a good thing.

Another example, "The Bible says it's okay to kill!", because it's written that God commanded some Hebrews to go to war 3,000 years ago.

There are many other commonly themed claims if you look for them.

As it happens, the verses you posted have been a curiosity of mine that I have pondered over for a few years now...

http://www.scripture4all.org/OnlineInterlinear/OTpdf/isa8.pdf

If you examine the Interlinear, the original words list as conspiracy, but a translation lists it as confederacy.


A few questions I've had...


1. What is the context of Isaiah 8?

2. What is the time frame?

3. Who is God speaking to?

4. What is the political climate?

5. What do the chapters preceding and following offer in relation?


Also, something to remember, just because God said something to one person in scripture, and they recorded it as a historical event, that does not mean that he is issuing that same statement as a commandment to everyone for all time.

I must admit that I am unresolved on the true meaning of this passage. I don't believe it to be prophetic, but rather historical. I wasn't there as it was being written however so my guess is as good as anyone's.

One thing that did strike me a year or so ago as a "thought out of the blue" is the word alliance or alliances. Try substituting that word for conspiracy in the full chapter and see if national or ethnic alliances mean anything to you.

Each person is gifted in different ways, perhaps my feelings on the matter are unfairly biased, perhaps I have a little more, or a little less clarity on the topic due to the nature of my studies?

A final word, don't be so quick to say "God says...", or "God commands..."

Believe me, I've done it far too often in my walk, and the eating of the crow...or humble pie if you prefer, is not a tasty dish.

Perhaps an comprehensive scripture study on Isaiah would be in order?


Peace and love to you all,

P.

Either you believe in the Scriptures or you don't.


"All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness." (2 Timothy 3:16)

 

[PoxEclipse]

Clarity?

Here is another curiosity I've encountered in my travels...

Isaiah 2:4
He will judge between the nations and will settle disputes for many peoples. They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore.

Joel 3:10
Beat your plowshares into swords and your pruning hooks into spears. Let the weakling say, "I am strong!"

An interesting contrast. If one were to take just one verse instead of an entire context, one might misread or misunderstand what the author was trying to relay.

Peace.

 

[Ugly]

Re: Confederacy?

Either you believe in the Scriptures or you don't.


"All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness." (2 Timothy 3:16)

You still need context. Isolating scripture leads to wrong belief.

 

[RachelBibleStudent]

To use an example; the New World Order is not a conspiracy theory since many prominent people speak of it all the time and funny enough many different people have many different goals for a New World Order. So to a certain point conspiracy theorists are partly correct about the NWO, insofar as people openly discuss a NWO and would like to make it happen. The ultra-skeptics are in fault because they will intentionally disregard stuff that is right up in their face. Likewise I think where the theorists go wrong though is they end up letting fear of the New World Order rule over them, because of this fear then people get irrational.

So for our example of the NWO (though any "conspiracy theory" can also apply to this standard) one should not be ultra-skeptical and dismis all evidence but also should not be so fearful that they delude themselves into thinking something unreal is real. For the NWO Theory in particular its quite funny because if you study the people whom say with their own mouth that they wish to make a New World Order a reality you have nothing to fear as you can clearly see how they fail in a facepalm fashion to accomplish their goal every single time.

conspiracy theorists often point out examples of politicians referring to a 'new world order' as if that proves anything...

first of all there is nothing in the bible about a 'new world order'...for some strange reason 'christian conspiracy theorists' have seized on this -unbiblical- term as a means of identifying players in biblical end time prophecy...

secondly as you even mentioned yourself...those politicians who use the term 'new world order' all mean -different things- by it...in order to be an actual conspiracy the conspirators have to be on the same page...

 

[jimmydiggs]

This thread is a conspiracy!

 

[JimJimmers]

This thread is a conspiracy!

YOU are a conspiracy!

 

[Drett]

YOU are a conspiracy!

It's the duelling Jims.

 

[jimmydiggs]

YOU are a conspiracy!

I do not truly exist, for I am the persona of another actor.


All the world's a stage,
And all the men and women merely players;
They have their exits and their entrances,
And one man in his time plays many parts,

- Shakespeare