Phos to alethinon, Truth and religious beliefs

This text is thankfully written as Phos to alethinon blog has passsed 200.000 page views border in October 2015. The blog was started April 21, 2009 so some time has passed before reaching this number. However, the interest is significant considering the very varied contents of the contributions and the rather obscure name that goes against all good marketing rules. The expression is from the New Testament

῏Ην τὸ φῶς τὸ ἀληθινόν, ὃ φωτίζει πάντα ἄνθρωπον, ἐρχόμενον εἰς τὸν κόσμον.
ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ ἦν, καὶ ὁ κόσμος δι᾿ αὐτοῦ ἐγένετο, καὶ ὁ κόσμος αὐτὸν οὐκ ἔγνω.

That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.
He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not.
John 1:9-10 KJVA

Phos to alethinon, true light, who gives light to everyone, was coming into the world (kosmos).

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Truth and religious beliefs
If I am not mistaken, the light of Truth in Christ is taken by many people as a purely religious illumination of matters of life. The truth is out there to be searched for and some people are satisfied with the little circles of religions and issues of interest to believers. It is not so. The truth of Christ illuminates everything in human life and leaves nothing hidden. Nothing that belongs to human life is outside this penetrating bright and wonderful light.

If I am not mistaken, great number of Christians disregard truth in favor of their personal faith based information about the world.

Jehova's Witnesses movement began towards the end of 19th century from the background of Seventh Day Adventists who are so interested in calculating the return of Jesus and the end of the world. Ellen Gould White (née Harmon; November 26, 1827 – July 16, 1915) has had a strong impact on the Adventists around the world. Truth has not been in the forefront of Adventist revival as Jesus Himself forbids such calculations.

Today, Jehova's Witnesses movement is not anymore considered a Christian sect. It is its own religion with an extensive belief system that conforms to the very specific world view and concepts acceptable to Charles Taze Russell (February 16, 1852 – October 31, 1916).

The most prominent Australian and US creationist organisations today have imitated Jehova's Wittnesses by creating their own "scientific" literature, references, theories and world view based on an unerring Bible. Since old Jewish genealogies indicate that Adam lived about 4000 BC the world must have been created around that including the entire Cosmos. This Bed of Procrustes has created a monstrous pile of lies adopted by many Christians world over as the ultimate truth of revelation. For them this is the truth in Christ, unerring sacred scriptures inspired by the Spirit of God and true regardless of whatever humans have and will observe about God's Creation.

Well, the largest Christian denomination in the world, Roman Catholic church with over a billion members has had its truth police, inquires and truth committees, printing permissions and burning fires against those who are heretics and do not follow the truth in Christ, the Great Tyrant demanding that everyone obeys the Vicar of Christ in Rome. Fortunately, after Vatican II this church has changed and wonder of wonders, Pope himself has apologized to Galileo Galilee. But these are quite recent developments after thousand year of secular and spiritual rule in the world.

The list is long and concerns all Christian denominations and eventually every human whom the Light of Truth of Christ illuminates.

So what can a person do when there are distortions and lies and misunderstandings everywhere, not least among scientific materialists and atheists, who foolishly deny the very existence of God?

Love of truth
Those words look simple but refer to an extraordinarily difficult personal matter to simple school child as well as highly learned professor - me mistaken? Moi... méprenez? erroné? faux? No way, Jose!

Second Thessalonians has very disturbing words about this matter as Apostle Paul implies that God purposely lets His creatures, humans, to err and to be destroyed at the end.

And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:
That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
2 Thessalonians 2:11-12

These words are powerful and scary but they do make one thing clear:

love of truth is a personal gift from God and He expects us to accept that gift and to put it in good use.

If as Christians we notice that we are holding into something that is not true, let us repent ASAP!