Critique of L Ray Smith

[Craig]

Mr. Smith,

Note: I do not endorse John Hagee in any way whatsoever. - But straight to the point,

(L. Ray Smith) - The purpose of this paper is not to defend my style of writing, (God only knows that I do not profess to be a scholar, (To critique John Hagee in the manner you did renders this statement to be a lie, otherwise, how could you rake him over the coals of the Hebrew and Greek renderings and not expect credulity? "I do not profess to be a scholar," "but by such I shalt slay thee!") nor a polished orator, nor a man of eloquent words), (but in reality you strive to portray these qualities as being self-evident. Pardon me while I suck in the belly-flab of conceit) but to rather see how Jesus really taught in public, to the masses, and particularly to the lying, hypocritical Scribes and Pharisees. We will examine whether Jesus Christ Himself did in deed use sarcasm, exaggeration, caricature, satire, irony, and anger to get across His Gospel Message.

I don't have the attention span to wade through the whole of your vain babblings to where you may attempt to prove the above statements, as you do speak much and long, but I only ask that you show me where in God's word Christ lies.

To lie and to exaggerate are one and the same.

From The Winston Dictionary - College Edition (1945), "exaggerate": "to make statements beyond truth or reason", to "overstate," "to use expressions that are beyond truth or reason."

Maybe you should devote the same amount of time to the English language as you do the Hebrew and Greek.

I'm sure that you know all the scriptures evidencing God's hatred of lies, so I will only bore you with one:

Rev. 22:15, For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie.

On the very last page of the New Testament, and at the end of a list of contemptible sins, the reader is left to contemplate and understand God's complete hatred of lies.

To say that Christ is capable of exaggeration is to call Him a liar. Blasphemous!

I should end here so as not to minimize the above blasphemy, but I will add one more,

(L. Ray Smith) ..."Preach the word; [the WHOLE Word of God]; be instant in season, out of season, reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine [Who? The world? The pagans? The atheist? Why they have never had sound doctrine in the first place] (And you think that today's divided Christianity ever had sound doctrine, or truth - in the first place? What truth did they divide from? To read your writings, you are the sole possessor of the truth.) but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables" (II Tim. 4:2-4).

I could go on and on in the spirit of "Exposing Those Who Would Contradict," but this little snippet will have to suffice, as I have other things to do.

You can write reams of volumes expressing your wealth of views, but unless your words have the ring of truth, only those lacking discernment will consider you credible.

This is not to say that one could not gain some truth from your writings, but it is extremely important for the reader to be able to separate the wheat from the chaff and to read between the carnal lines. Even Satan mixes truth with lies.

William


Dear William:

In anticipation of just such unwarranted and hypocritical criticisms such as yours, God put it in my mind to cover such mean-spirited nonsense IN ADVANCE, and here it is right from my paper, "YOU FOOLS! YOUR HYPOCRITES! YOU SNAKES!"

"

TO WHOM CHRIST WAS COMMISSIONED

Let's realize a few axioms before we examine Christ's actual words. Jesus taught the people of Israel, the Jews, the people around Galilee and Jerusalem, who were all religious people and followed the law of Moses. Jesus' most stinging words were to the religious leaders and rulers of Judaism. On the very few occasions where Jesus even spoke to a non-Jew, He often expressed the greatest admiration for their faith, rather than condemnation for being Gentiles. After all, how much faith did Jesus find among His Own people?

It is essential that we keep in mind to whom Jesus preached. Jesus did NOT berate the atheists or pagan Romans in Judea for their sins, but rather "The lost sheep of the House of Israel." That is, the Jews—the commandment-keeping people of Judea.

If Jesus were to come to America today and preach His Gospel Message, little would have changed except for one prophesied difference. Everything has gotten even worse than it was 2000 years ago.

    "But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived" (II Tim. 3:13).

Notice carefully that one word the Scriptures use to tell us how Jesus preached to the hypocritical people of Judea:

HOW JESUS 'UPBRAIDED' THE CITIES

    "Then began He [Jesus] to UPBRAID [Greek: oneidizo] the cities wherein most of His mighty works were done, because they repented not" (Matt. 11:20).

    "Blessed are ye, when men shall REVILE [Greek: oneidizo] you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you FALSELY, for my sake" (Matt. 5:11).

Notice that Jesus "upbraided" the cities TRUTHFULLY while He said men would "revile" His true followers FALSELY. The same Greek word is used to describe both. No matter how stern or cutting our Lord's words might have been, they always were truthful. As for any sarcasm and anger that Jesus exhibited, your argument must be with Him and not me.

Clearly, oneidizo is not a pleasant word, but what does it mean when it says that Jesus began to "upbraid" the cities where He taught?

I will consult Strong's Dictionary of the New Testament to help us define this word, because if I were to define it myself and tell you what it means, no one would believe me. Oneidizo is a powerful word of rebuke and condemnation.

Here is the definition:

    Strong's Greek Dictionary, "#3679, oneidizo, from #3681 [notoriety, that is a taunt (disgrace):--a reproach] to defame, i.e. rail at, chide, taunt:--upbraid, reproach, revile, cast in (one's) teeth" (page 179)"

And here is what all those words mean:

    Notoriety: notorious, ill fame, infamous.

    Taunt: reproach, mocking, insulting, contemptuous, scornful, tirade.

    Disgrace: loss of honor, shame, disapproval, disfavor, discredit.

    Reproach: disapproval, criticism, disappointment, shame, disgrace, blame, rebuke.

    Defame: to attack or damage the character or reputation of.

    Rail: to express objections or criticism in bitter, harsh, or abusive language.

    Chide: scold, correct, improve, reprimand, disapproval, strife, contention.

Let me be quick to add (I can see the emails flowing in by the hundreds...), that not every word used to define the words that define oneidizo are always 100% applicable when a word such as "upbraid" is used to translate that Greek word. So all of you who were getting ready to write me or inform the chat rooms that "Ray Smith says that Jesus was 'disgraceful,' used 'abusive language,' and went into 'tirades' during His ministry," hold off a little and continue reading."

God be with you,

Ray

PS   And likewise I could have added, "Not every word used to define "exaggeration" and similar words is applicable to the word exaggeration," etc., etc., etc. I understand human nature better than any of my critics will ever know, and therefore in anticipation of such tactics against me, I warn my readers that such attacks will come. They did the same with Jesus. They tried to turn His own words back on Him to insinuate that He was a blasphemer. God knows that I don't blaspheme, even if you don't. I KNOW what is in my heart; are you sure you know what is in YOURS?