Lies in Exchange for Community
Great lengths man will go to for community. Community is what is most needed. Loneliness affects all aspects of life. Crowds are what draw people. We see a crowd gathering somewhere and it entreats us to see what all the commotion is about. One person looks up to the sky then everyone looks up at the sky. I've done this just for fun, standing in the middle of the sidewalk looking up at nothing on-lookers question "What are you looking at?" then I casually walk away without a word. This herd mentality draws often times people to living lives that are false. A charismatic teacher persuades and leads the flock astray. Damage done is at times difficult to repair, revealing that all lies hurt. Genuine friendship and community have become hard in these times of subconsciously forced isolation. My wife and I have been attempting to combat isolation with a like-minded enjoyment of cupping coffee.
Masha and I have been testing our senses primarily taste and smell. Home roasting has in a way broadened our knowledge of coffee and love for coffee I have found for myself this love goes deeper. That as I cup the roasted coffee the range of complexity emerges amidst the exposed grounds. Gratefully we have fellow coffee lovers who join us and for a short time community is cultivated.
What is cupping? You may ask, “Cupping is a very useful tool for rapidly comparing coffees from different farms, varieties, processing methods, and for comparing different roast profiles on the same coffee, and is an invaluable practice for coffee roasters.” ( Stephenson, Tristan Baristas Guide to Coffee p. 72). Through the means of coffee, community can be built through an afternoon. Diving into the bags of everyone's favorite roasters. Sipping, conversing while enjoying sweets as well. Many people need coffee to go. A source of vibrant life in a way, but not too many really discover the diversity of flavors in a cup of coffee nor understand the brewing method that truly extrapolates the taste buds. Given the effect, coffee gives stimulating wholesome conversation with those with whom you are with.
Americans don’t do community very well. In an article by an NPR journalist, Elen Renken titled “Most Americans are lonely, and our Workplace may not be helping” even with co-workers people we spend half of our lives with are strangers to us. I know this isn't always the case sometimes the only friendships that are made are work-related. When community is never cultivated with those we work next to, it can thus be easy to get sucked into a community built on man-made deceptive philosophies. As in the case of those who wander to the commune in Siberia.
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| (Sergei Torop addressing his followers Photo courtesy Vice News) |
Before Jesus' coming people no longer understood Hebrew so the Old Testament was translated into Aramaic. This translation was known as the Targums. The translators revered the very name of God as too holy and amazing to even say. So they replaced the name of "God" (Hebrew Yahweh), with the "Word". It was this title John relates to the readers the beauty of Jesus "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it." (John 1:1-5 emphasis added). John uses the Greek word "Logos" in replacement of Jesus. This shows the true awe John had for his friend the Blessed Messiah. Words like this he used to draw attention to an Aramaic and Greek audience which Aramaic was the spoken language of the Jews at the time and Greek the common tongue of all in the Roman empire. John also begins his Gospel the same way the Old Testament does “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” (Genesis 1:1 ESV).
I decided to watch a Youtube video titled "A Long Weekend with the Son of God". In the documentary during service with his community, the journalist had to remind Torop of the tragedy that happened with a dam in a nearby town, killing 7 people, reminding him to say a prayer for them so instead of concluding the service he offered up a prayer of some kind. He forgot about this, this says a lot about this supposed messiah. He is self-centered, neglectful, these are not the qualities of someone worth following. Some people also might point to his recent arrest as a sign of his divinity, just like Jesus was arrested, reality is that many religious minorities are being persecuted as Vladimir Putin makes Russian Orthodoxy more or less the state religion. In an article by Halya Coynash on February 4th, 2019 wrote "A Protestant pastor from Sverdlovsk has become the latest religious figure to be arrested in the self-proclaimed and Russian-controlled ‘Luhansk people’s republic’ [LPR]." This crackdown is nothing new. Torop is not special in regards to what has happened to him. For arrests are happening to the faithful ministers of the true Good News found in Jesus. What or whom o reader do you abide in? Abiding in temporary fallen-man who is in bondage to sin? For the thing or person that gives you meaning is sinful. A person is sinful for all are born sinful (see Romans 3), and the thing is sinful for affections are drawn away from Jesus who is without sin, bearing our sin "He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth." (1 Peter 2:22)
"So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:31-32). No longer abide in the word's of mere human men, who create a make-believe god with elaborate stories about them (Muhammad, Joseph Smith, Sergei Torop), those who trust this truth ever abiding in Jesus, His word's, will be freed, truly being a disciple who learns and applies everything that Jesus teaches without compromises.
"As he sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?” And Jesus answered them, “See that no one leads you astray. For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and they will lead many astray." Heed to these words and be on the watch against those people and things which come to steal your affections toward Him. Giving a false sense of worth and delusions of a more righteous community.
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