Satan's Greatest Lie - "They are not fully human"

In my Kingdom and Covenants class at DTS, Dr. J. Dwight Pentecost stated in one of his lectures that “Evolution is Satan’s greatest lie”. I disagree with this statement on many levels (the classes have otherwise been phenomenal). I would like to nominate an alternate phrase for this title which there are many contenders -“They are not fully human”. I feel this phase has done more to hurt the cause of Christ than any other.

The Bible clearly teaches that we should not only love our brothers and sisters, but even our enemies. This message is consistent in both the Old and New Testament (Proverbs 25:21, the entire Book of Job, Matt 5:44, Luke 6:27, etc.). The only way individuals could align their Christianity and their behavior is to reduce the humanity of those they are oppressing. My theology professor, Dr. Glenn Kreider asked “How would you present Christ to someone who had listened to his master cite Exodus 21:20 while he was being beaten?” (citing 12 Years a Slave). I am glad we are recognizing now that it is not OK when a black person is shot by the police, but a don’t see much of a reaction when a black person is murdered by other means in our inner cities, definitely not the same reaction as if someone in suburbs is murdered.

During the Irish potato famine (1845-1851) over 1 million Irish died of starvation and exposure, 2.5 million emigrated, while Ireland was exporting food during these years. To get a bowl of soup, you had to renounce your faith and convert from Catholicism to Protestantism, anglicize your name and give up your language. This is not unique to Christians as this exact phrase was used by a Chinese Government official in regard to the potential human rights violations associated with their treatment of the Uighors in the Xinjaing province (see Frontline), “There are no human rights violations as they are not fully human”.

Dr. Swamidass has repeatedly called for caution in the labeling of human vs non-human in anthropology or evolutionary science.

I need to examine myself closely as not to fall into this trap as well. There are those on the margins of today’s society including homeless, drug addicted, seniors with dementia, the severely handicapped, etc. which I could do a much better job loving as a brother or sister. My wife, who is an occupational therapist, says they are still the same person, just their means of interacting with the world are greatly challenged.

If we had a homeless person enter one of our churches, I would hope we would react as David did with Mephibosheth, showing the “kindness of God” (2 Sam 9:3) to him or her. David and Jesus treat the disabled and celebrities the same, with the loving kindness of God. I need to learn from this.

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I agree that ideas along that line are among the most destructive ideas propagated, however I might rephrase it slightly (perhaps “less important than me”, rather than “sub-human”). An all-too-common variation on that is “Anyone who disagrees with me on any petty issue is a brainwashed idiot who embodies evil!”

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I think there is probably some semantics going on here that is leading you to attribute some meanings that were not intended in certain contexts.

When Christians talk about Jesus coming to show the world how to be “fully human” it’s just a way of talking about spiritual wholeness and healing, it’s not meant to imply that non-Christians are sub-human. Maybe some people would say “broken human” is the opposite of the “fully human” they are labeling Christ and people who are made new in Christ.

When anthropologists talk about human ancestors who were not “fully human” they mean something entirely different and are talking about physiology, social organization, and cognitive capacity not a spiritual dimension. I don’t think I’ve ever heard the distinction “not fully human” applied to any population of modern humans (which goes back 100,000 years at least).

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All humans alive today are fully human. All races of humans are all humans just like a black cat is a cat all the same as a white cat. If someone is is suggesting to that a handicapped person, a person of color, or a homeless person is not a person then they are lying and probably also wrong o a lot of other things. There are no half humans walking around.

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So if they were only gorillas, chimpanzees, elephants or dolphins then nothing would be wrong with treating them in such ways, is that the idea?

I am not sure that it is really about “being fully human.”

What would we do if we meet a nonhuman civilization? That is a question often posed by many a science fiction book or film.

“Human rights” are of course a legal artifact. Is that what we are going to babble about to a tiger or a shark while they are eating us? “Hey we have rights because we are human, so we can slaughter you for your skins or teeth but you cannot eat us.” Or do you think this is just relative guide for members of our species only? For humans to give humans precedence? But that was pretty much what people were doing in the past when others in the world didn’t fit their criterion for being human.

Is it really just about species or DNA? I don’t think so. We cut a tumor out of the body and choose the life of the host over the life of those cancer cells. Or we terminate life support for someone under some conditions. How about another science fiction example in the ever popular zombie apocalypse movie, where people turn into mindless monsters. Why do their “human rights” go out the window in these movies? Except there was that one zombie movie, “Girl with all the Gifts,” which turned that idea a bit topsy turvy.

The point is not that there is nothing wrong with killing people, but to suggest that there is more to this than the legal fiction of “human rights.” I think there is a measure of innate value to living beings other than just a species designation. I don’t think this is just a measure to cause outrage when people are killed, but which also ought to give us some pause when it comes to hurting or killing gorillas, chimps, elephants and dolphins too – those which are like us in many ways.

Nor is the point to say all of these are equivalent either. And there have been quite a few science fictions exploring scenarios where we might not think all people are equal either. Don’t even need science fiction for that, because we have faced situations where insist on saving women and children first. These are difficult choices to be sure. But perhaps there is a measure of some kind – something to do with potential maybe.

It’s tragi-comic how Christians almost to a man miss the point. Blaming Satan and evolution for not washing a social inferior’s feet and seeking to make them at least a socio-economic equal.

I take it that the topic here is What is Satan’s Greatest Lie? Certainly Tahy are not fully human is a legitimate nomination.

However, I think that the greatest lie the denial that all people are created equal. That is especially important today when, according to reliable reports, there a new Christian heresy has gained acceptance among many evangelicals.

This is the heresy that says that the Son and the Spirit are subordinate to the Father. According to this doctrine even though the Son and the Spirit are theoretically and metaphysical equal with the Father, while on earth Jesus gave up this status to become subordinate in practice, and this never changed. Thus somehow Jesus is theoretically equal, but functionally subordinate to the the Father.

The reasoning behind that becomes clearer when we see how this thinking is used. Men and women are equal in theory, but in function the wife is subordinate to the husband. This is called “complementarian,” and is a key aspect of the worldview of many evangelicals, like the new president of the SBC.

This heresy is found in the systematic theology of Wayne Grudem. He and his friends have failed to correct it, even though many of his peers have pointed out that it is wrong. Jesus and the Spirit cannot be equal to the Father, and not act equal.

Now there is some room for discussion when we ask what does equal mean? Equal does not mean the same, which is a mistake it seems that some feminists have made. The Father is not the Son and the Son is not the Father. Just as the husband is not the wife, the wife is not the husband, but differences do not indicate superiority or inferiority.

This is the genius of the Trinity and the foundation of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Subordination in the Trinity and marriage , and subordination of one group to another in politics and life is a lie from Satan

A wonderful thing about Christianity is that it is the ultimate equalizer, we are all the same. We all fall short of the Glory of God and we all need to rely on the death and resurrection of Christ and except his gracious gift of salvation. This is true for me, Billy Graham, the Apostle Paul and those on death row. I have no

and I need to treat all people in this manner. As you say, I need to better express my faith in love.

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To me, this is an outrage. How are we all the same?
Inhumane people have no conscience and no empathy. They are spiritually dead.
We, who are humane, have done some wrong doing, and maybe say we fall short of God’s Glory, but we are no way in the same bag as the inhumane. They are the Satan’s people.

Yes, the message is in both the OT and NT, but neither of them are part of the Torah. They were written in Greek and there is a lot wanting.
The Torah definitely does not encourage love of an enemy.

Here is a nice website that shows “Love thy enemy” is not just a Christian teaching, but also a Jewish teaching using verses from the Torah.

The 39 books of the Old Testament were all originally written in Hebrew, with the exception of some parts of Daniel, which were written in Aramaic. Before the time of Christ, the Septuagint translated these books into Greek and included additional books which were not originally written in Hebrew including Enoch, Tobit, Judith, Baruch, Wisdom of Solomon and Maccabees. These additional books originally written in Greek are not considered part of the canon of scripture by most Evangelical Christians.

God bless you my brother.

Of course you are going to help the ass if it has been overburdened, whether it belongs to a friend or an enemy. But how are you going to help the person who has burdened it? They don’t know what they are doing? A person, who has no feelings for others whether human or animal is not going to respond to kindness or reason. You can try, but you will find that you can’t help the inhumane person to become humane. They are spiritually dead.

All are dead in their sins until they accept conviction of their sins, turn, and with full confidence subject themselves to Jesus. At that moment they are actually recreated in Christ. They become a new creation. Born again by the Spirit, by the Father’s will. They are crucified with Christ and are raised up having eternal life within them. The sweet old lady that does not trust, love and obey God is as dead as the psychopath. The person who follows the carnal mind is an enemy of God. The murderer is wicked just like the fornicator, just like those who dishonor their parents. All are slaves of sin if they dont love the Father.

I am sorry but this is nonsense.
My biological mother used to do all manner of hateful acts, as any psychopath would, then she would say “I have sinned” and subject herself to Jesus. And it is all wiped clean? The evidence was stark. There was no recreation in Christ because the very next moment she was back to her hateful ways. And it is all repeated.
To have forgiveness of sin, you have to

    1. admit to the wrongdoing,
    1. have remorse and a change of heart
    1. then ask for forgiveness
    1. AND be willing to make amends without having to be brought kicking and screaming to the negotiation table.
      Otherwise no convictions and subject to Jesus is going to make a scrap of difference.

This is the person who is walking the Path of Righteousness for God’s sake, because they are a lover of God. They don’t do it for any reward.

The carnal mind is one that is chosen and chosen by deadening the conscience and living in hatred of others. And really these people even have hatred for their own self.
This is not a matter of simple sin. It is about gross violations and abuse of others, indeed as a way of life.

Murder is a crime but the ten commandments say “thou shalt not kill”. That is a whole different story.
If someone is attacking you and the only way to save your life is to kill them then you kill them. This is also the case in war. If you are facing an enemy and it is a case of who kills who first, are you going to hesitate?
My biological father as his last evil act attempted to harass and bully me. And he wanted to kill me. The action took place in the Mind. I countered his attack and played out a scene that caused his death. He died as a result though he was more than 2,000 kms south in another city. My action did not incur any sin.

And then there is fornication. You are supposed to not have sex outside of marriage. I don’t see that it is a sin at all unless you are being unfaithful to a spouse or partner. This is more to do with tribal culture and customs and when it comes down to it patriarchal society.

if your parents were bad people, you are doing yourself an injustice to honor them. And I don’t believe that God asks us to honor despicable, inhumane people simply because we gained our embodiment through them. I had to reincarnate through this inhumane family in order to understand what the inhumane were really about. That does not mean I have to honor them. No way.

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To love the Father, i.e., God, does not mean that you don’t falter here and there and make some wrong doing. We are not perfect. And we walk in an unknown. We have to live life to understand it.
We certainly need to acknowledge any wrong doing and go through the process of forgiveness. But the inhumane, no matter that they claim to make conviction of their sin and accept and trust in Jesus, are doomed.

The idea of universal salvation is a myth. It was created by the Romans in order to brainwash the Greeks and the Syrians etc., in order to go to Judea and commit a massacre, almost genocide because if some of the Jews had not fled there would be no Jews left. They wanted to do their crimes and at the same time not risk losing the Eastern Provinces. If you take history into account you find the truth.

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