Hope of Israel Ministries (Ecclesia of YEHOVAH):

Racial Behavior: Freud Out -- Genetics In ?

by Arnold Kennedy

Since last century, people like Sigmund Freud have led us to believe that behavior patterns in people were almost entirely the product of external circumstances and environmental surroundings. Today we are being told something different in that genetic causes are now said to play a large part in determining behavior. It is said that at least one half of human behavior can be accounted for by DNA. The talk now is about humans being “hard-wired” and of people being “at the mercy of their chromosomes”. There is now an obvious clash between environment and biology on this issue of behavior.

2. Genetic (“It’s in their genes”).

Some people claim that some of these can drive them uncontrollably, so much so that they have no control over their choices as to how they behave. Certainly they all can apply pressure in choice making, but they can only affect our choices if we allow them to. If our hearts are not steadfast as Joseph’s was with Potiphar’s wife, we will make bad choices about how we behave.

What we intake into our bodies removes our ability to choose! But hunger, thirst and fear can influence rational thought, and alcohol and drugs can wreck choice making altogether. Where we read in Proverbs, 20:1, “Strong drink is raging” the word “raging” in Hebrew carries the meaning “confusion” and “being out of control”. That is the mental ability to choose is taken away. When we read in 2 Timothy 1:7, “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind” we can see why alcohol and drugs can be seen as working against that “sound mind” and thus against YEHOVAH God. Anyone who allows his mind to be controlled by alcohol, drugs, wrong thoughts and desires, wrong doctrines, bad environments, fantasies and such, will behave badly, and is actively working against YEHOVAH God as an adversary (a satan).

Imagination can also influence rational thought, and thus drive people to bad behavior. Some of our false teachers teach that people should visualize things, have positive thoughts, and then supposedly what they have visualized will come to pass. The word “imagination” comes from having an image of something, something that is not a present reality. “Imagination” is used as a symbol of having evil thoughts. In Hebrew, the word yester that is translated as “imagination”, is about graven images, something we are commanded to avoid bowing down to. Another Hebrew word so translated is machashabah which is about thoughts, or the mind. In the Greek we have dialogismos which Thayer’s Lexicon gives as, “The thinking of a man deliberating with himself”, and also “a deliberate questioning”.

Another word translated as “imagination” is logismos which is about having reasoning thoughts which are contrary or hostile to the Word of YEHOVAH God. This evil mind capability is something that is part of our free will, and the evidence of the fall of man is apparent today as it was in the time of Genesis 8:21 where we read, “….the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth”. Through the Bible we find Israel acting in the manner of Jeremiah 16:12, “And ye have done worse than your fathers; for, behold, ye walk every one after the imagination of his evil heart, that they may not hearken unto me”. Thus, without a “new heart” (new mind) we cannot overcome what has been bred into us from the beginning. Any Bible teacher who will not admit to this is one of those Peter refers to in 2 Peter 2:1, “But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies”. A heresy is a false doctrine that captures the mind. Please note this matter of “the mind”, because it comes to the fore over and over again as we consider human behavior.

So, unless regenerated by YEHOVAH God, underneath remains what we are as people, that is, what has been bred into us. Every other religion and culture therefore is contrary to Word of the God of Israel. Of necessity this then applies to much of so-called Christianity. Where we read above, “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind” this concerns “us”, that is the “us” of the one race being addressed. The modern humanistic mind wants to deny any suggestion of racial behavioral patterns and mental processes, but the matter remains a fact. In a given society, it is apparent that the more the racial mixture, the more the confused patterns of behavior, and the more the cultural problems. Modern geneticists have opposed the humanistic view saying that any idea of racial equality, or uniformity, is a complete myth, so in this they are approaching the Biblical view. Now we will consider briefly some of the viewpoints people have on various factors affecting behavior.

People argue on an emotional basis that there is no biological basis for race and racial behavioral differences. They claim that the physical characteristics of people are the consequence of geographic locations and that these have developed from a group having a small gene pool in their isolation; this is said to have allowed dominant genes to become concentrated. Such concentrations are supposed to produce physical characteristics and with that, genetic dispositions in what are within their definitions of “race”.

The February 23 issue of Science magazine reported that 2.8 million single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were already being sold by Celera Genomics to scientists trying to crack the code of human behavior. Note carefully that this includes behavioral genes and not just physical attributes. Base-pair differences are important and single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) clump together in races. Just one change in the base pair for hemoglobin, for example, causes sickle-cell anemia, from which many blacks suffer. Other base-pair differences affect IQ, aggression and mental illness. Again note this separates behavior from physical effects, although here is a behind-the-scene connection. The 3.1 billion base pairs provide plenty of room for large racial differences. If races did not exist, we would not find the same racial patterns all around the world and over time. The scientific evidence shows that the politically correct mantra that claims "race is just skin-deep", is a case of deep denial.

What we are witnessing today is an intrusion into Freudian thought, this time from science. Geneticists are telling us that, just as people have inbuilt medical pre-conditions, there are also inbuilt behavioral pre-conditions. For instance, homosexuals are said to be that way because their genes preset their behavior patterns. It is again claimed that bad behavior is not anyone’s personal fault because they have no choice. So it is becoming popular to accept genetic, biological and organic excuses for behavior. As homosexuals do not conceive children, if their homosexuality was inherited and totally genetic they would have all died out by now.

Other things such as the behavior of others, social acceptance, lust and pride can act as triggers. But it must be asked whether, as a result of biology, men are compelled to carry out crimes such as aggression, violence, murder, robbery or rape. When people do these things, as well as other things, what it shows is that they are not under the authority of the Law of YEHOVAH God. Few in Christian denominations or groups will place themselves under the authority of YEHOVAH God; in fact most teach it is not required where this authority has any reference to the everlasting and unchanging Law of YEHOVAH God. The Bible teaches that when we do wrong we are “without excuse” (Romans 1:20). Choice remains!

Here we find that the Freudian lie is nothing new. Temptation does not force us to misbehave. Eve was tempted, so she said, “It was not my fault”. Freud upheld the daisy-chain idea of fault where Adam blamed Eve, and Eve blamed the serpent. Neither accepted that the fault lay solely in their wrong choice. So popular psychology today is based upon a wrong premise, and this is the language used in education and society today. But how was the mind corrupted (passive voice)? This passage says it is by wrong teaching. In this passage “minds” = noema which Thayer's Lexicon gives as “mental perceptions”. Mental perceptions are created by what we are taught. They are not the effect of external “demons”. The word “mental” brings us back to the “mind” again. Choices are what we make with the “mind”. The word translated as “simplicity” in the verse above is haplotes, which Thayer's Lexicon gives as, “singleness, sincerity, and mental honesty," and “one who is free from pretence and dissimulation”. Wrong doctrine corrupts our minds! Perhaps it is even more serious than this since the word “corrupts” = phtheiro carries the meaning of destruction.

This is different to the popular view or definitions. In the Bible, each race is described as stemming from its own “father”, e.g.,

In the history of Biblical races, there are differing characteristics that come from each “father” that carry on in their descendants. The Bible does not tell us specifically how one father’s offspring came to have particular behavioral traits, but there are indications that it is a matter of “spirit”. Where we read, “visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation” (Numbers 14:18) the word “visiting” = paqad seems to indicate that in some way the children are affected by what that ”father” did. We will see how the matter of “spirit” may well be located within the genes. This then would confirm the matter of behavioral genes.

When it comes to Biblical Israel (nothing to do with the State of Israel or "The Jews"), we find that YEHOVAH God is described in the Bible as being, “The Father of Israel”, so there are characteristics of YEHOVAH God inbuilt in this race from conception. They alone, as YEHOVAH’s children, have the inbuilt ability of spirit to “hear” what YEHOVAH God has to say or demand of them. The Messiah confirmed that there were those non-Israelite leaders in the Judean nation who could not “hear” his words (See John 8). According to the humanistic outlook, true Israel (certain of the white races) are the only people against whom charges of being racist are being leveled today. In this, all the other races are ultimately against this one people which suggests that all other races are of a different “spirit”.

There are a small group of Biblical verses that seem to many to contradict this, so a quick look at these will clarify the matter. Where we read about YEHOVAH God being the God of all men, the “all men” means “all men” of the context; so “all men” in this case means “all men of Israel”. This is a simple matter of correct word usage. For the few who do stop to think about the Bible, they come to see that it is about the one “chosen” people of Israel, as lineal descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob/Israel, and that other peoples are mentioned only as they have a connection with Israel.

Thinkers will quickly see that the promises and covenants made by YEHOVAH God to Israel could not possibly be fulfilled in any different peoples. Paul does confirm in whom these promises are fulfilled in Acts 13:32-33, “And we declare unto you glad tidings, how that the promise which was made unto the fathers, God hath fulfilled the same unto us their children”. There is absolutely no valid proof of any later change from “their children” (genetically) in what is commonly called the New Testament Age. It can be demonstrated that “The Church” is "called out" of Israelites who believe. Paul called the people he addressed, “men of Israel”, right into this post-Pentecost age.

It is politically incorrect today to even hint that one race is different from another, but it is politically correct at the same time to treat “The Jews” as being a special race. The Bible does give the reason for this exception; a reason which is about the descendents of Esau seeking to regain what their progenitor sold, by falsely presenting themselves as Israel.

When the Bible speaks about a “Chosen race”, it follows that every other race must be correspondingly be “unchosen”. This is not confusion on YEHOVAH’s part. Is it not the failure to agree with YEHOVAH God that makes man (and churches) so confused? A major cause of confusion is the wrong concept that “The Jews” are the “Israel” of the Bible, in this case.

When the Bible talks about Israel (not “The Jews” most of whom have Esau as their “father” according to Encyclopaedia Judaica) as the chosen race, this race was commanded not to wed any other race. This was in order that the characteristics of their “Father” would remain in them undiluted. There is a genetic factor here. This can be seen in why Noah was saved: he was “pure in his generations (genes)”. Where there had been racial intermarriage, the divorce of foreign wives (and children) was (and is) Biblically mandatory, (Please see Ezra chapter 9, Nehemiah 13:23-30 and 2 Corinthians 6:16 where the Greek word translated as “touch” has to do with physical/sexual contact with certain people). The reason was because Israel was genetically different from other races and was required to stay that way (“without spot”, or foreign genes).

The Hebrew word for “people” here carries the meaning of one family group, from one “father”. If this one race is a “holy” = separate race, then they must be different from all other races. We must keep in mind that this matter of racial choice is something YEHOVAH God did -- a matter that mixed-race denominations disagree with. Of course they do! Their pastors would not have employment otherwise!

Genetic “profiling” and genetic “fingerprinting” are accepted today as being reliable and accurate. Racial genes are identifiable. The Bible supports modern genetic discoveries in that races have important genetic differences, and that these differences affect behavior. In fact, when we consider the matter of Adamites and Pre-Adamites, the Bible tells of how YEHOVAH God continually sought to keep the Adamic line genetically pure, by removing or destroying mixed-race offspring. In the end, YEHOVAH’s purpose for Israel as a separated people will be climaxed in the City of YEHOVAH God, with all the other races being, “outside of the city”. This is a full genetic separation, but not on genetics alone. Believing YEHOVAH God is the other factor in those “chosen” (eklektos) from amongst the “called” (kletos) to become the Church.

Although all races have much in common in the human genome, there are differences that matter. Everything, even life itself, is regulated from a biological viewpoint by the information contained in the genetic code. YEHOVAH God chose to “put a difference” between Israel and other races (Exodus 11;12), and the word translated as “difference” means, “to be distinct, marked out, be separated, be distinguished”. It is interesting that the phrase “marked out” is used because this is so descriptive of what are called “genetic markers” which are used to distinguish one person/one race from another, in many different ways. Genetic markers are found within the genome, and they are used to give information about genetic relatedness of individuals within populations. When we start to recognize this, we can begin to understand verses such as:

This sin has to do with “seed”, and refers to YEHOVAH’s children as “seed” that are “born of God” as their “Father”. (This is in the perfect tense, that is, it is an action completed in the past. It is in the passive voice, that is, it is something done by YEHOVAH God, not man. This is not about sinning in the active voice which is a different matter).

The writer recently saw an interesting program on Sky Discovery entitled, "Sin and Science" which was about "sinful" behavior patterns (“the seven deadly sins”) that can be passed on from previous generations within the DNA of a family or a race. The claim was made that behavior genes could be identified. It was "sins of the fathers" material from a scientific point of view, but it was demonstrated how valid this is, and how succeeding generations within a family group can have the same behavioral problems. Regardless of other possible causes, triggers and behavioral influences, there are then hereditary dispositions that are purely genetic and racial. Christians and atheists alike have been conditioned to believe that races do not have genetic dispositions that condition different racial behaviors. In fact, a study of Judeo-“Christian” web sites on the Internet show an inordinate attempt is made to insist that all men came from one Adam, and that all are exactly the same in the sense of all being of one race. Because of traditional beliefs, Church people just refuse to accept modern genetics discoveries of things that have been in place since YEHOVAH God ordained it so, after the man of Genesis Two “fell” in the Garden of Eden. Popular key church nonsense arguments are suppositions, such as:

“Adam must have been mid-brown in order to have had both white and brown people as descendants”.

This does not relate to the original creation of Genesis chapter one. See our article, The TWO Creation Accounts of Genesis!

“Eve was the mother of all living” (Genesis 3:20).

This does not mean what they think. These are those of Genesis Two who are living in the sense of having had breathed into them “the breath of lives” (is plural). Those created in Genesis One did not have “the breath of Lives”, and thus were not “living” with this “breath”. Please see Appendix A.

“All people are made of one blood”.

“All people are the same and what applies to one applies to every race”.

But “all” “everyone”, ”whosoever” and such words are confined to the context people only, in the manner as found in both Hebrew and Greek usage and grammar. Please see Appendix C.

So what we have to think through is whether or not differing races have different genetic markers that affect behavior. When one race says of another, “They are different to us”, this is about behavior, but the humanist will insist that this is a matter of conditioning and environment. So why do different races within one environment tend to live in ghettos? Is it conditioning (culture) only, or do genetics and corresponding group behavior come into it? There is an observable fact that, regardless of continent, the darker races tend towards “the bottom of the heap” economically. We see governments giving extravagant financial help to try to change this; we have to admit that this suggests that these races are in some way inferior in the economic area. In terms of prison population, the darker races tend towards “the top of the heap”. The darker races are superior in sporting activities (and crime). In speaking like this about racial differences, there is no suggestion of racial hatred. But it is a simple and obvious truth that we cannot change genes with money. Tolstoy once said;

“Shallow ideas can be assimilated. Ideas that require people to reorganize their picture of the world provoke hostility. I know that most men, including those at ease with problems of the greatest complexity, can seldom accept even the simplest and most obvious truth if it be such as would oblige them to admit the falsity of conclusion which they have delighted in explaining to colleagues, which they proudly taught to others, and which they have woven, thread by thread, into the fabric of their lives."

Today, to the humanist mind, racism seems to be one of the worst sins. But is not giving financial help to one race above others itself racist? When we start talking like this we are nearing the two opposing views that color almost everyone’s views of things like education, politics, philosophy, law, racism and religion. These two views are essentially Nationalism and Internationalism. The latter view includes the “Brotherhood of Man” idea that pre-supposes all people are brothers who are the same in YEHOVAH’s (or man’s) sight, in all ways. This idea is taught to children at Sunday school in the words, “Red and Yellow, Black and White, all are precious in His sight, Jesus loves the little children of the world”. The Bible does not teach this in the way it is presented!

Because the “brotherhood of man” idea is the standard teaching of churches, it is almost universally accepted. Not only is this the teaching of the churches, it is the dogma of World Government, Socialism, the Roman Catholic Church and the New Age. (This would include the media that is controlled by one or another of them). Thus people are being preconditioned to think one thing from at least six major ideologies, each of which oppose the Law of God. It is very hard for a pre-conditioned person to come to think differently from their long-held beliefs, especially when they are hammered with it from every side. As Tolstoy said, it is “woven, thread by thread, into the fabric of their lives". Note again that this is in the “mind”, because we will continually have to return to this matter of the mind.

Addressing his Bilderberg colleagues, Colin Powell is recorded as saying that he would strive for racial harmony. What does "racial harmony" really mean to the Bilderbergers? It is, “To help promote the goals of racial mongrelization”. The expression, “New World Order” has become “The New World (Racial) Order”. At a Bilderberger conference it was said, “In the years ahead, as whites, African-Americans and Asian-Americans marry and bear children, racial distinctions will blissfully blur. As the biological process proceeds, the public will come more and more to accept a world without borders where the nation state will become a relic of history”.

But in view of the 3.1 billion “base pairs” mentioned earlier this would take a very long time, and the biological process will not proceed apace because like groups tend towards some sort of ghetto living. There are conspiracy-theory ideas that it will become illegal for whites to marry whites under full world government, and we must ask why Powell went on to speak about "right wing extremists", and that, “These pockets of resistance to social justice are a problem and must be dealt with seriously”. It is a reasonable conclusion that an attempt is being made to utterly water down the racial characteristics of YEHOVAH’s children. The very use of the word “mongrel” is admitting racial “breeds” exist in the New World Order’s mind, (when it suits them). Popular ideas of “social justice” are not YEHOVAH God’s ideas.

Since that time, there have been new discoveries about the human genome. There have been discoveries about genetic behavioral traits between races. On one hand it is politically correct to insist that “race” is something that cannot be defined, and yet they can talk about racial distinctions such as genetic fingerprinting for race, at the same time. Knowing that the politically correct outlook is against the Bible’s view of “race”, we can expect to see a lot more of confused and contradictory statements coming from information sources. This is confusion, but we read, “God is not the author of confusion”. YEHOVAH God chose one race to be His children. It is from these children (teknon) those of them believing become sons (huios) of YEHOVAH God.

The point is, both the blessings and punishments that happened to “the fathers” are passed on to their children. The mechanism whereby this happens is not outlined. They are things determined by YEHOVAH God that we just cannot change. One thing for sure about this is that “the human condition” does not arise from Freudian concepts. The Bible teaches that YEHOVAH's people have the sin problem right from conception --

The word “shapen” in Hebrew is chuwl, a word that carries the meaning of “to twist, to whirl” -- which is something that is seen in the DNA helix.

So in no way is what is inborn genetically learned behavior on its own -- as Freud taught. This does not mean that we have no choice to follow, or not to follow, the innate tendencies. Right from the beginning of the Bible we find this one great issue pointed out to us, and that is that every one of us has to bear the outcome of wrong choices. Always obedience (believing YEHOVAH God) brings blessings and disobedience (unbelief in what YEHOVAH God commands) brings curses. Where Freud may have been partly right is that outside circumstances and environment may influence our choices, that is, they act upon what is already there, but they are not the prime causes. This is where Bible teachings tell us to choose our associations well. Israel was told to keep separate from other races because of the bad influence the other races (and their gods) would have on them in their minds, their children and Israel’s relationship with their God. Israel would come to defile their separation racially because of what started in their minds.

Pneuma occurs 385 times in the received text and is translated and used in many different ways. Pneuma is a dual symbol that is dependant upon context and it is neuter (neither male nor female) in gender. Because it is neuter in gender, it cannot refer to a personality as a “he”.

Pneuma corresponds to the Hebrew ruach, and this word in the originals has no connotation of a life apart from the body. When Paul said, “For God is my witness whom I serve in my spirit”, he was talking about his life functions. In symbolic form, “spirit” is about doctrines, good or bad. For instance in the first sentence of the verse below, “spirit” is what false prophets teach:

What are people taught with? It is with words. What do words affect? They affect the mind. Matthew 8 goes on to align “spirits” with sicknesses or weakness -- “That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses”. In the Greek of this passage, “infirmities” = astheneia. The meaning of the noun asthenema, referred to in Romans 15:1 (“We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves”) concerns “error arising from weakness of mind” (Thayer's Lexicon). We should ask how the “mind” comes into this and if choice is involved. When we go back to the Isaiah passage this is quoted from, we find that in the Hebrew it is quoted from, we have choliy translated as “sickness” and mak’ob that is mental pain. Here we have the mind again. In Hebrews 4:15 we read about the Messiah being, “touched with the feeling of our infirmities”.

We can see the power of lying (counterfeit) words to bring us into submission to the words of men, rather than to the words of YEHOVAH God. When the Messiah healed with his words, he was correcting wrong beliefs that occupied the mind. Only by hearing and understanding his word can we be made free from the effect wrong words (beliefs and doctrines). We see that false doctrines debate with YEHOVAH God Himself as to the truth of His Word, just as today, those who are in error resist YEHOVAH’s truth.

We have seen so far that the mind, and what affects it, plays a large part in how a person behaves. In what part of the human does pueuma dwell? Could it reside within the chromosomes? When we have talked about “mind” we have not talked about the mind as nous, we have talked about the mind as sophronismos. This is something mental.

In the verse above, “retain” carries the meaning of “wearing like clothing”. Not keeping in mind (like always wearing clothes) the ethical things (epignosis) of YEHOVAH God produces aberrant and deviant behavior of many kinds. People become “filled” with it, even if they know that they will be judged by YEHOVAH God for it (See Romans 1:32). In the next three verses, the word for “mind" is nous, that is they lose the faculty of perceiving divine things, of recognizing goodness and of hating evil. YEHOVAH GOD HAS TAKEN IT AWAY -- BEWARE!

Titus 1:15: "….unto them that are defiled and unbelieving is nothing pure; but even their mind and conscience is defiled. They profess that they know God; but in works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate."

“Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man” (Ecclesiastes 12:13). This is the only safe pathway for YEHOVAH’s children. To walk on that path is a choice YEHOVAH’s people have to make.

Proverbs 4:20: “My son, attend to my words; incline thine ear unto my sayings. Let them not depart from thine eyes; keep them in the midst of thine heart. For they are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh. Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life. Put away from thee a froward mouth, and perverse lips put far from thee. Let thine eyes look right on, and let thine eyelids look straight before thee. Ponder the path of thy feet, and let all thy ways be established. Turn not to the right hand nor to the left: remove thy foot from evil."

“Attending”, “keeping” and “pondering” are things we do with our minds. In the end, doing this gives the right to the Tree of Life:

Joshua 30:19: “I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live”.

Being put back on the path never means we can “continue in sin that grace may abound”, even if churches may want to claim this in their false doctrine.

Matthew 5:3-8: “Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled. Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers”.

What gets into our minds and “shakes” us?

“Shaken” = saleuo which is about tottering from one position to another.

“Mind” here = nous which is about the faculties of perceiving and understanding and those of feeling, judging, determining. It involves the power of considering and judging soberly, calmly and impartially.

“Spirit” = pneuma, as touched upon above.

“Word” = logos, as that which is spoken.

“Letter” = epistole, as that which is written.

So we have these four things to consider. Being “shaken” is in the passive voice, that is, the consequences of not being mindful to watch, are inevitable. Our choice remains.

Now we come to another word for “mind” = phroneo that means “to have understanding; be wise; think about it”. The “mind” that was in Yeshua the Messiah is the attitude and action required of all of YEHOVAH’s people:

Philippians 2:5: “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

"Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.

"Do all things without murmurings and disputings: That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world; Holding forth the word of life…..”.

“Let”, as in “let this mind be in you”, means “to have understanding, to be wise, and to think about it”. This is of the mind, and of our free choice.  Other supposed causes of bad behavior do not come into it, such as the sub-conscious, the “id” or the “ego”, or anything else with a fancy name. These are not the prime movers. Yes, we have schizophrenia, people born blind and the medical conditions, at birth or later. We have, “The iniquities of the fathers are visited upon the children”, but who visits the parents’ iniquities on the children?” YEHOVAH God does.

Some foods are supposed to cause hyperactivity, or such as schizophrenic behavior, but does anyone ask whether or not such people are preconditioned by eating unclean food, or by excess or unwise diet, or by straight disobedience to YEHOVAH’s commandments? For those with a “sound mind”, the Messiah said, “They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them”. There is much more to what we think of as physical causes of behavior.

Matthew 12:38: "That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned”.

Psalm 37: "The mouth of the righteous speaketh wisdom, and his tongue talketh of judgment. The law of his God is in his heart; none of his steps shall slide”.

Does the average churchgoer have “the Law of God in his heart”. No, because they are told “it is done away with”. Does he really care about doctrine? No, because he is taught it is not important! People are demonized by lying lips, where being “demonized” is the effect of wrong doctrine. They behave accordingly. But then, they are not all YEHOVAH’s children, are they?

The verses quoted in this article are addressed to YEHOVAH’s chosen race who are those begotten at conception “from above”, that is, from an origin in the past as the seed of Abraham. Not even severe provocation should affect the behavior of those of YEHOVAH’s children who have become “sons of God”. These know YEHOVAH God as “The Almighty”, and that vengeance belongs to Him. Of these the following applies:

Nothing? Yes nothing! These are they who can say, “LORD, I have hoped for thy salvation, and done thy commandments”. What do these do every day about their minds? They renew their minds. Here we have the “mind” once again:

And, why do YEHOVAH’s people want to obey Him when they are redeemed? It is because they love Him because of His kindness and grace to them.

Of course, YEHOVAH God is able by His Word to heal any part of anyone of His children, for any behavioral problem, any “sins of the fathers”, etc., when He says to His children, “And a new spirit will I put within you”. The condition is repentance and faith in the Messiah’s sacrifice. Repentance is in regard to YEHOVAH’s Law; this is demonstrated by the Messiah's statement, “Go and sin no more”; that is, transgress the Law no more. Healing is by believing what YEHOVAH God says and not by any “faith” religious magic -- no Benny Hinn or Kenneth Copeland casting out demons. If someone gets excited by a false rumor, would that be a demon thrilling him? Or would it be just the words and the effect of those words on the mind?

In his presidential address to the British Association for the Advancement of Science, William Bateson, the English biologist who first coined the term “genetics,” made this startling admission: “Descent used to be described in terms of blood. Truer notions of genetic physiology are given by the Hebrew expression ‘seed.’ If we say he is ‘of the seed of Abraham,’ we feel something of the permanence and indestructibility of that germ which can be divided and scattered among nations, but remains recognizable in type and characteristic after 4,000 years” From the same source we read, “That there might be a link between genetics and faith in Jesus Christ is something that has yet to be fully explored”.

No doubt the genetic connection will be explored. But then, if the connection between genetics and faith is found to be fully valid, is this really a new thought? The Messiah said, “Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain” (John 15:16). YEHOVAH God wants the Israel seed to remain. On what basis is this choosing made? It is on the basis of “fruit” (karpos), that is what comes from “seed” (sperma). This of course takes us back to the “seed of Abraham” and a factor that is genetic! There is just one particular people on earth who have a unique belief in the sanctity of life and the sanctity of property. In these things we find a connection between genetics and behavior. These are realities that have traditionally been ignored by both the religious and the secular world. The secular world is now starting to acknowledge the connection through genetic research, and this may be a step towards fulfilling Hosea’s prophecy, “Afterward shall the children of Israel return, and seek the LORD their God, and David their king; and shall fear the LORD and His goodness in the latter days”.

Are we then nothing but spiritual machines? Are we to think of humans just in terms of neurological systems and computational devices, that is, are we "hard wired"? There is talk today that we shall be able to scan our brains, upload them onto a computer, and thereafter continue our lives as virtual persons running as programs on machines. What’s more, these computer intelligences will be conditionally immortal, depending for their continued existence only on the ability of hardware to run the relevant software. This Bible does not present us with any idea of ever having such a zombie type of existence. There is no suggestion of a technological fix for furnishing our brains with the proper mental state so that we behave properly. What the Bible presents is change based upon mercy and grace, where our longing for freedom and immortality comes from the Presence of YEHOVAH God, something a machine can never know. Regardless of genetic pre-dispositions, knowledge of the Truth as is in the Messiah provides motivation for change in behavior. This is a matter of free will and choice whereby those who are born as “children” (teknon) of Israel can become “sons” (huios) of the resurrection. The greatest motivation for behavioral change is appreciation for forgiveness. It is a change brought about by LOVE for the One Who called us and the one who took the punishment in the transgressor’s place.

Many point to Genesis 3:20, which states: "And Adam called his wife’s name Eve; because she was the mother of all living” as the primary evidence that Adam and Eve were the parents of "everybody". But let us examine this statement and its positioning in Genesis a little more closely. The name "Eve" means "life". This is the first place in the books of Genesis that we hear that "the woman" has now been named "Eve”; a name not given by YEHOVAH God but by Adam himself. But look at the positioning of this verse in the narrative! Are we seriously to believe that in between the LORD God’s statement of the punishments Adam and the woman were to receive (verses 17, 18 and 19) and their being "clothed" and expelled from Eden (verses 21, 22, 23 and 24), that Adam turned to his wife and said (verse 20), "Oh by the way, I am naming you Eve because you are the mother of all living."

From the sequences there is no way Genesis 2 could be a re-run of Genesis 1. On a weight of evidence basis, there is more to say that Adam (as we use the word) was the first man with the spirit of YEHOVAH God, but not the first biological man. In other words, YEHOVAH God took one man from Genesis 1, (some think from “space”!!), and breathed into him the breath of life. "And man became a living soul" (Genesis 2:7). The word "became" is consistently used in a manner showing the subject became something that it had not been before. Eve was the "mother” of all living with YEHOVAH’s breath -- not of the others. This indicates that there are those with the Spirit, and those "having not the Spirit" (Jude v. 19). The latter is the "natural man" who "cannot receive the things of God" (1 Corinthians 2:14), but he may become very "religious." What we believe about these issues in Genesis conditions what we believe right through the Bible.

Appendix B. “Of One Blood

Appendix C. Are “All”, “Every”, Etc. Limited Expressions?

In other words, does “all” usually mean “all of everything” or “all of that part being spoken about”? Does “all the world” mean all the planet, or just all of that part of the planet being spoken about? A look through Young’s Analytical Concordance will show how these words are used. This will give an indication without having to go into the Greek. Being certain on this topic is well worth the time involved researching lexicons to specify the meanings of the words used. The words for “all”, “every” etc. are often singular, NOT plural. Thus they refer to :

“all” the one (group),

or “the whole” of the class,

or “the entire” of the class.

To grasp the use of “all” in Greek and Hebrew, consider Deuteronomy 28:10: “And all the peoples of the earth shall see that thou art called by the name of Jehovah, and they shall be afraid of you”. Here, “all the peoples of the earth” does NOT include Israel. In the same way, “go ye into all the world” is NOT inclusive of every race. Failure to understand this is the source of error in the modern popular teaching.

The Messiah says that it is not given for everyone to hear or to understand. Speaking to his disciples about the Edomite leadership of the Judean nation he said, “Because it is given unto you to understand the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given” (Matthew 13:11). Immediately we have just one exception like this then “every” and “all” cannot include that exception, or the other exceptions. If an exception is made about the Edomites who cannot find repentance, or of those tares about which the Messiah said, “Leave them alone”, then these cannot be part of the “all” being addressed. The Messiah did not preach to certain peoples, as we have seen. The Messiah said he was sent to Israel and to save his Father's people from their sins. Are we to be wiser than the Messiah?

-- Edited by John D. Keyser.

Hope of Israel Ministries -- Proclaiming the Good News of the Soon-Coming Kingdom of YEHOVAH God to This Earth!

Hope of Israel Ministries P.O. Box 853 Azusa, CA 91702, U.S.A. www.hope-of-israel.org

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