The Life-not-Death Requirement to Agree To and Comply With
The Credibility and The Authority of Truth

As a frank and open-minded scientist searching whenever and wherever with a non-biased inquiring mind (come what may), I remember reading in this book I found this rather strange phrase: ". . . the obedience of faith . . ."

Before I get into analyzing that expression, you the reader might (or might not) be interested to be informed that that literary source mentioned looked "like" and felt "like" a "book" (as Webster's English-Language Dictionary defines: "book)." Other people have also concurred that, to them, the item I found looks like and feels like a "book."

I then came upon some "verses" (if you will pardon the term) within that book describing the aforementioned phenomenon of encountering the alluded-to literary masterpiece:

1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon and touched with our hands, regarding the word of life . . .
2 the life was made manifest, and we saw it, and testify to it, and proclaim to you the eternal life which was with the Father and was made manifest to us . . .
3 that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you may have fellowship with us; and our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ.

Whoa . . . whoa . . . WHOA!

Sorry -- I got carried away quoting more than I wanted or needed (at this point).

My apologies.

But, now that we are on the subject of universally-acknowledged proofs of reality, consider these other [ logical and sensible ] verses from that book:

Lamentations 2:14 Your prophets have seen for you false and deceptive visions; they have not exposed your iniquity to restore your fortunes, but have seen for you oracles false and misleading.

Ezekiel 13:3 Thus says the Lord GOD, "Woe to the foolish prophets who follow their own spirit, and have seen nothing!"

Luke 5:26 And amazement seized them all, and they glorified God and were filled with awe, saying, "We have seen strange things today."
Luke 7:22 And He answered them, "Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, the poor have good news preached to them."

John 1:34 And I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of God."
John 3:11 Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know, and bear witness to what we have seen; but you do not receive our testimony.
John 6:36 But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe.
John 8:38 I speak of what I have seen with my Father, and you do what you have heard from your father."
John 9:37 Jesus said to him, "You have seen Him, and it is He who speaks to you."
John 14:7 If you had known me, you would have known my Father also; from now on you know Him and have seen Him."
John 15:24 If I had not done among them the works which no one else did, they would not have sin; but now they have seen and hated both me and my Father.
John 20:18 Mary Magdalene went and said to the disciples, "I have seen the Lord"; and she told them that He had said these things to her.
John 20:25 So the other disciples told him, "We have seen the Lord." But he said to them, "Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and place my finger in the mark of the nails, and place my hand in His side, I will not believe."
John 20:29 Jesus said to him, "Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe."

Blessed are those who believe that invisible gravity exists on Pluto. Blessed are those who believe that invisible carbon dioxide gas exists. Blessed are those who believe that invisible radioactive gamma radiation is emanating from the isotope Cesium 137. Blessed are those who believe in invisible radio and television waves without any radios or televisions or whatever around to detect such waves. Blessed are those who believe The Great Pink Spot exists on Jupiter without ever having seen it in a telescope or viewed pictures of it.

See and hear. See and hear:

Acts 4:20 for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard." [ Do you really have to tell people about it ???]
Acts 22:15 for you will [ a prophetic: will - or instead a more demanding: must? ] be a witness for Him to all humans of what you have seen and heard.
Acts 2:33 Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this which you see and hear.
Acts 19:26 And you see and hear that not only at Ephesus but almost throughout all Asia this Paul has persuaded and turned away a considerable company of people, saying that gods made with hands are not gods.

Whoops! There I went again . . . quoting perhaps more than I wanted or needed (at this point).

My apologies . . . again!

At least there is a silver lining in such extended over-quoting:

The reader can readily perceive the hand-in-hand association with what is claimed to have been seen and/or heard . . . and then consequentially testifying or telling others what was purportedly seen and/or heard.

Let me go on. Why cut me off now, even if the verses above have become fodder for questions arisen as to various meanings of certain words contained within the passages as to possible lies or exaggerations or misrepresentations?

Maybe NO translation of "The Holy Bible" has the words correct? Who knows? But why presumptuously now give up on the whole thing with baseless-and-groundless egocentric Pseudo-Omnicient arrogance?

We both might learn something (vital!) as I ramble on, and as you cooperatively and curiously follow along.

So, the book I discovered (and which others besides and including myself have discovered) obviously exists - and none of us (including yours truly) will (in all good conscience) deny its existence . . . any more than we deny the existence of some kind of a birth-certificate image observable at http://breakingnews.topcities.com and/or http://bareflash.tripod.com (whether or not the apparently-scanned-image-from-some-source-document has been deceptively photo-shopped or not).

Thus, the expression: ". . . the obedience of faith could (among other things) infer that people must (rather than merely: should and certainly more than: can) believe and trust what needs to be believed and trusted (by themselves and not simply others, of course) for implied capacity to continue to not simply live on, but (even more), enjoy it while they live on.

Check your dictionary with mine, and we will both likely find that the English word "obedience" is more or less synonymous with the word and associated idea of compliance, and that that religious book I previously mentioned (stay with me now, and don't prejudicially depart off into despicable close-minded rebelliously-arrogant bigotry against Christianity) defines the other word (faith) in the previous phrase of interest to me:

Hebrews 11:1 (RSV) Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.

Hebrews 11:1 (KJV) Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

Just for gits and shiggles (excuse me?), let's go with the latter translation. It aligns closer to previous verses already quoted.

After all, no one should believe, trust, have faith, nor have confidence "in confidence alone." (Sorry Julie Andrews, and the lyrics you sang within the movie The Sound of Music).

Substance. Evidence. Believe and trust such . . . or die -- maybe miserably . . . pathetically . . . and with potentially excruciating pain and anguish.

So it does matter whether or not one believes, accepts, accommodates to, and complies with whatever is real and which definitely both can and will affect them physically (and if disregarded - in some situations and circumstances - fatally).

Believing or assuming or trusting that a Kenyan birth-certificate image on a computer screen exactly (for all intents and purposes) is a scanned copy of some source document (without being - in any reasonable and substantial way - deceitfully or accidently altered) IS important (because of FAR-reaching consequences, temporally and spiritually) . . . and believing or assuming or trusting that the source document which was scanned ACTUALLY DID come from a hospital-related official in Coast Province General Hospital in Mombasa Kenya directly pertaining to Barack Hussein Obama (who become Barry Soetoro in Indonesia for a while and then reverted back to Barack Hussein Obama) IS ALSO important (because of FAR-reaching consequences, temporally and spiritually).

Political-expediency lying is generally not punishable by death nowadays. Losing elections? Maybe. Getting impeached? In our dreams. (?)

Lying, however, does have certain law-enforcement-application consequences, along with financial, occupational, and other ones. When lying is committed during a civil court hearing, it is considered perjury and punishable by whatever fines or imprisonment is called for.

It would therefore behoove Barack to stay out of court concerning the rather-obviously . . . extensively . . . conclusively-proven falsity of his alleged "Hawaiian" birth certificates (BOTH the short green one and the longer later-on-imposed green ones).

We can, but should we, believe "everything" posted on the internet?
Should we instead believe nothing we see posted on the internet?
How do we distinguish what should and what should not be believed, what is true and false, what is valid and invalid?
Should anyone want to so distinguish and then discriminate?

Job 11:12 But a stupid man will get understanding, when a wild donkey's colt is born a man.

Does belligerent, nefarious, fraudulent, so-called "official" denial against non-pleasant or inconvenient truth negate truth?

Job 24:25 If it is not so, who will prove me a liar, and show that there is nothing in what I say?"

Job 34:33 Will He then make requital to suit you, because you reject it? For you must choose, and not I; therefore declare what you know.

Proverbs 17:4 An evildoer listens to wicked lips; and a liar gives heed to a mischievous tongue.
Proverbs 19:22 What is desired in a man is loyalty, and a poor man is better than a liar.
Proverbs 30:6 Do not add to his words, lest he rebuke you, and you be found a liar.

Revelation 22:18 I warn every one who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if any one adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book,
Revelation 22:19 and if any one takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book.
Revelation 22:20 He who testifies to these things says, "Surely I am coming soon." Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!

John 8:44 You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and has nothing to do with the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks according to his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies.
John 8:55 But you have not known Him; I know Him. If I said, I do not know Him, I would be a liar like you; but I do know Him and I keep His word.

First John 1:10 If we say we have not sinned, we make Him out to be a liar, and His word is not in us.
First John 2:4 He who says "I know Him" but disobeys His commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him;
First John 5:10 He who believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself. He who does not believe God has made Him out to be a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God has borne to His Son.

Acts 4:15 But when they had commanded them to go aside out of the council, they conferred with one another,
Acts 4:16 saying, "What shall we do with these men? For that a notable sign has been performed through them is manifest to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and we cannot [ or will not? ] deny it.
Acts 4:17 But in order that it may spread no further among the people, let us warn them to speak no more to any one in this name."
Acts 4:18 So they called them and charged them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus.
Acts 4:19 But Peter and John answered them, "Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge [ with force applied concerning how their judgment turns out? ];
Acts 4:20 for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard."

[ NOTE: Can not, or better yet: Will not? ]

Second Timothy 2:12 if we endure, we shall also reign with Him; if we deny Him, He also will deny us;
Second Timothy 2:13 if we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself.

[ NOTE: Can not, or better yet: Will not? ]

Titus 1:16 They profess to know God, but they deny Him by their deeds; they are detestable, disobedient, non-fit for any good deed.

Jude 1:4 For admission has been secretly gained by some who long ago were designated for this condemnation, non-godly persons who pervert the grace of our God into licentiousness and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.

Revelation 2:13 "I know where you reside, where Satan's throne is; you hold fast my name and you did not deny my faith even in the days of Antipas my witness, my faithful one, who was killed among you, where Satan resides."

It is true that:

Ecclesiastes 7:20 Surely there is not a righteous man on earth who does good and never sins.

So if no one is perfect, should we smugly assert that the God of so-called "unconditional love" is going to tolerantly and generously save everyone equally, to keep Heaven from being eternally non-occupied?

Not so.

Some people are not only better than others, but they are considered good (in stark contrast to those who are considered evil).

What differentiates them?

Those who repent (i.e. turn away from evil and turn to God) are the ones acceptable to the Lord, and only their good works will actually count for something:

Revelation 20:12 And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Also another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, by what they had done.
Revelation 20:13 And the sea gave up the dead in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead in them, and all were judged by what they had done.

. . . determined on Judgment Day, the Great Day of Divine NOT-Everyone-Is-Equal Discrimination:

Matthew 3:12 His winnowing fork is in His hand, and He will clear His threshing floor and gather His wheat into the granary, but the chaff He will burn with unquenchable fire.
Luke 3:17 His winnowing fork is in His hand, to clear His threshing floor, and to gather the wheat into His granary, but the chaff He will burn with unquenchable fire.
Second Thessalonians 1:9 They shall suffer the punishment of eternal destruction and exclusion from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His might
Revelation 19:20 And the Beast was captured, and with him the False Prophet who in his presence had worked the signs by which he deceived those who had received the Mark of the Beast and those who worshiped his Image. These two were thrown alive into The Lake of Fire that burns with sulphur.
Revelation 20:10 and the devil who had deceived them was thrown into The Lake of Fire and sulphur where the Beast and the False Prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever.
Revelation 20:14 Then Death and Hades were thrown into The Lake of Fire. This is the Second Death, The Lake of Fire;
Revelation 20:15 and if any one's name was not found written in The Book of Life, they were thrown into The Lake of Fire.

in accord with:

Romans 2:1 Therefore you have no excuse, Oh human, whoever you are, when you judge another [ as I myself am now judging you ]; for in passing judgment upon him you condemn yourself [ as I myself am now condemning me ] , because you, the judge, are doing the very same things. [ as I myself am also doing ]

First Corinthians 5:12 For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Is it not those inside the church whom you are to judge?
First Corinthians 6:3 Do you not know that we are to judge angels? How much more, matters pertaining to this life!

First Corinthians 5:3 For though absent in body I am present in spirit, and as if present, I have already pronounced judgment
First Corinthians 5:4 in the name of the Lord Jesus on the man who has done such a thing. When you are assembled, and my spirit is present, with the power of our Lord Jesus,
First Corinthians 5:5 you are to deliver this man to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that his spirit might [ though not necessarily absolutely will ] be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.

Romans 2:2 We know that the judgment of God rightly falls upon those who do such things.
3 Do you suppose, Oh human, that when you judge those who do such things and yet do them yourself, you will escape the judgment of God [ and this applies to myself also ]?
4 Or do you presume upon the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience? Do you not know that God's kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?
5 But by your hard and impenitent "heart" you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God's righteous judgment will be revealed.
6 For he will give to every human according to their works:
7 to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life;
8 but for those who are factious and do not obey the truth, but obey wickedness, there will be wrath and fury.

[ "Holy Discrimination!" - as Batman's Robin might exclaim. ]

9 There will be tribulation and distress for every human being who does evil, the Jew first and also the Greek,
10 but glory and honor and peace for every one who does good, the Jew first and also the Greek.
11 For God shows no partiality.
12 All who have sinned without the law will also perish without the law, and all who have sinned under the law will be judged by the law.
13 For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified.
14 When nations who have not the law do by nature what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law.
15 They show that what the law requires is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness and their conflicting thoughts accuse or perhaps excuse them
16 on that day when, according to my gospel, God judges the secrets of men by Christ Jesus.

Psalm 28:3 Take me not off with the wicked, with those who are workers of evil, who speak peace with their neighbors, while mischief is in their hearts.
35:20 For they do not speak peace, but against those who are quiet in the land they conceive words of deceit.
38:19 Those who are my foes without cause are mighty, and many are those who hate me wrongfully.
49:13 This is the fate of those who have foolish confidence, the end of those who are pleased with their portion.
73:1 A Psalm of Asaph. Truly God is good to the upright, to those who are pure in heart.
73:27 For wow, those who are far from you shall perish; you do put an end to those who are false to you.
123:4 Too long our soul has been sated with the scorn of those who are at ease, the contempt of the proud.
125:4 Do good, Oh LORD, to those who are good, and to those who are upright in their hearts!

NOT everyone?

[ "Holy Discrimination!" - as Batman's Robin might exclaim. ]

Psalm 146:8 the LORD opens the eyes of the blind. The LORD lifts up those who are bowed down; the LORD loves the righteous. [ NOT everyone? ]

Proverbs 11:21 Be assured, an evil man will not go unpunished, but those who are righteous will be delivered. [only the "righteous" are delivered - and NOT everyone? ]

Malachi 3:18 Then once more you shall distinguish between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve Him. [ HOLY Discrimination! ]

Proverbs 30:12 There are those who are pure in their own eyes but are not cleansed of their filth.

Ecclesiastes 8:8 No man has power to retain the spirit, or authority over the day of death; there is no discharge from war, nor will wickedness deliver those who are given to it. [ and some presume that they can "get away with it" ]

Isaiah 5:21 Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes, and shrewd in their own sight!
Isaiah 50:4 The Lord GOD has given me the tongue of those who are taught, that I may know how to sustain with a word him that is weary. Morning by morning he wakens, he wakens my ear to hear as those who are taught.
Isaiah 61:1 The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me to bring good news to the afflicted; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound;
Matthew 22:13 Then the king said to the attendants, 'Bind [him] hand and foot, and throw [him] into the outer darkness; there [men] (i.e. humans) will weep and gnash their teeth.'
Jude 1:6 And the angels that did not keep their own position but left their proper residence have been kept by Him in eternal chains in the nether gloom until the judgment of The Great Day;
Revelation 20:2 And he seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years . . .

God is indeed an Equal Opportunity Destroyer against those who do not repent and believe His sacred gospel of bloody redemptive atonement:

Jeremiah 15:2 And when they ask you, 'Where shall we go?' you shall say to them, 'Thus says the LORD: "Those who are for pestilence, to pestilence, and those who are for the sword, to the sword; those who are for famine, to famine, and those who are for captivity, to captivity."'

Romans 3:19 Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God.

First Corinthians 1:18 For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing [ because of their proud disbelief and accompanying wicked works ], but to us who are being saved [ which obviously does NOT include everyone indiscriminately !] it is the power of God.

First Corinthians 11:19 . . . for there must be factions among you in order that those who are genuine among you may be recognized. [ another re-affirmation of NON-"equal" discrimination! ]

Second Timothy 2:19 But God's firm foundation stands, bearing this seal: "The Lord knows those who are his," [ not everyone ! ] and, "Let every one who names the name of the Lord depart from iniquity."

Hebrews 10:14 For by a single offering He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified [ NOT everyone indiscriminately is sanctified !]

Revelation 21:27 But nothing unclean shall enter it [ i.e the Completely Holy New-Jerusalem City of Eternal Purity ], nor any one who practices abomination or falsehood, but only those who are written in the Lamb's book of life [ impeccable Not-Everyone-Is-To-Be-Saved-and-Is-Thus-Equal Discrimination ].

So, there are "special" ones in sharp contrast to those who are NOT "special:"

Ezekiel 44:5 And the LORD said to me, "Son of man, mark well, see with your eyes, and hear with your ears all that I shall tell you concerning all the ordinances of the temple of the LORD and all its laws; and mark well those who may be admitted to the temple and all those who are to be excluded from the sanctuary.

Daniel 12:10 Many shall purify themselves, and make themselves white, and be refined; but the wicked shall do wickedly; and none of the wicked shall understand; but those who are wise shall understand.

"Truth?" Pontius Pilate asked what "truth" was.

IS there bonafide absolute "truth?" Or is everything "relative" - without any reliably-factual and perfectly-consistent "truth?"

WHAT are you, the reader, now reading? Illusionary letters on an illusionary monitor screen? Breathing illusionary air and remaining seated because of illusionary gravity within a comfortable illusionarily-warm-enough building on an illusionary planet?

If so, are you not some kind of laughably-pitiful fool? Should I then trust anything you say and anything you seem to do?

Let's get into your car. You drive. Let's approach a red stoplight at an intersection. There it is. Is that red stoplight an "illusion - or instead real? You believe that the sight of it is fake? That it per se is a hallucination? A lie? If you say so, let me step out of your car - now! - and you go through it since you presume (not assume) that that red stoplight does not really exist. What's that squad car waiting for over there?

Oh, do NOT be a hypocrite and claim that that red stoplight might be an illusion - without you actually going through it while the police are watching us. Do NOT make statements that you cannot back up, and do NOT be a dishonest coward by not moving forward if you purport that the red stoplight is not actually on right now.

Keep in mind that I intolerantly hate lying hypocrites! And so does that zebra-colored interceptor over there with the rack of red-and-blue strobe lights ready to flash on.