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The reply to the email below is returned with the above message. I have no way of getting to the person concerned. So I decide to post the reply into the News & Talks Section in hope that he may see it if he returns to this site again. At the same time, it will also serve to answer those of similar dispositions.

A QUESTION ON LOYAL AND FAITHFUL MEN

Emailer: Yes, I need to talk to you, your article is great , I am doing research and would like to discuss some ideas with you.
Same Emailer, at another time: I AM DOING EITHER A BOOK OR ARTICLE ON FAITHFUL MEN and want to know if you believe there is a distortion in our society about whether or not there are a lot of guys that are loyal? This would be confidential. However I read information on you in the international section I believe and you sound like a great family man. I believe there are major distortions within our society with very little voice from a man that has morals, values, and makes moral choices all the time. What does being loyal mean to you, and do you find contentment, and freedom in your loyalty?

My Reply:

Date: Thu, 06 May 1999 12:59:09 +0800

Hi,

My apology for taking some time to reply. I had been busy and also unwell lately.

This info need not be confidential. I am open to what I published on the Web. I
am a family man alright. And as you might have gathered, I have a wonderful family
and a fulfilling ministry. I agree with you that loyalty has been very much
distorted. But it must still be somewhere, to God, to others or to the person
himself. In the case of one who has committed himself entirely to God, it is to
Him and to what He says. To another, it may be to his country or community. But
we all know that to most, loyalty is very much a thing of the past. Which
means that most are of the third category, loyalty to self. Thus, a person may
just betray anything and anyone for self benefit.

What does loyalty mean to me? Let me first explain it with some Chinese
characters (even though I am no scholar in the language). The word loyalty is
made of 2 characters, "righteousness" and "spirit", which means "the spirit of
righteousness". This tracks well with the Biblical understanding that loyalty is an
attribute of righteousness. And Biblically, loyalty is never intended for self.
The Biblical culture is a Eastern culture. To me as a Christian who believes
in the Hebraic Roots, to be righteous means one must be loyal to God and to his
brethren. Do I find contentment? Yes a great deal, in my family and ministry as
I practice and impart the patriarchal kind of loyalty to them. They are the fruit
of my belief.

Freedom? How do I liken it? Freedom is found in the rules of the game. Where
there are no rules, there is no game. Thus, there is no such thing as freedom
without rules. It would then be anarchy, lawlessness and devastation. How do you
enjoy a game of football if the players do not obey the rules and start using
their hands like in hand balls. So we may say of life, enjoy the freedom to the
maximum within the rules of God and win the game. But then of course, that which
is very much distorted is also the interpretation of the rules, the rules of God's Law.
And to me, it is many times wrongly interpreted. Wrong rules too spoil the game.
You may like to see an article that I've lately posted that may shed some light
regarding this.

http://www.patriarchywebsite.com/bib-patriarchy/deception-jerome-marriage-sex.htm

To me, freedom is the right to choose what is true and good, not the right to do
anything, as we like, especially to the destruction of others.

Here is a recent reply to someone with a question of a similar vein that you
might be interested in.

He is of the view that today's spiritual leaders are after money and no longer
like the past patriarchs and spiritual fathers who had father-son's love
relationship with their followers. And the US would be in for a rude awakening.
My answers to him is that both parties are responsible - responsibility of
spiritual and righteous leaders corresponded by loyalty and submission of the
followers.

====My reply========
My answer to your questions - the right understanding and the return to true
Christianity that has been adulterated by paganism, which is what the shaking and
awakening would be about. The "father - son" relationship makes no sense
when there is an absence of Biblical patriarchy. In BP, we learn of the ways of
the patriarchal fathers. In my ministry, sonship is vital and enjoyed by our sons
and fathers of the ministry. Yet it not one-sided. In order to have the father-son
relationship, there must be a mutual commitment by both parties to one another,
which would involve responsibilities, care, love and laying down of life by the fathers
with responding loyalty, submission, trust and honor from the sons. These, we can
see in the lives of the patriarchs. Both parties are aware of human weaknesses while
working towards individual perfection, but also knowing that the Truth where we
stand on is perfect. With all these, Christ who receives all glory and honor is in the
center. The guiding philosophy is the Hebraic Roots, which Christ did not come to
destroy but to add on. This basically is also what my website is all about.

But if any of such "father-son" relationship is practiced in certain churches or communities
esp. in the US, it may be looked upon as controlling and exploiting, even cultic. The
fault lies in the theological adulterations and in self. Sad to say, to get many
of today's ministries going, where individualism is the rule, a form of
secularism is needed in order to survive. So you see a vicious cycle created
because of the departure from the truth. Thus, I do agree with you that the rude
awakening and shaking must come.
===============

With the response and queries I am getting, I feel there is a general awakening. I
consider to post this email as an answer to questions of such kind that are arising.

God bless,
Israel