Renaissance Ministries

Back to the Garden

by | Mar 20, 2025 | Apologetics/Theology/Christianity

A Journey Back to the Garden: Choosing God’s Way in a World of Temptation
by Thomas Lee Abshier, ND
3/20/2025

From the beginning, humanity was designed to walk in fellowship with God, enjoying His presence and living in harmony with His creation. God and man shared an intimate relationship in the Garden of Eden, a reflection of the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth. However, the fateful choice to disobey God and seek the fleeting pleasures of sin set mankind on a path of rebellion, pain, and separation. Yet, even in this fallen world, God offers a way back—a return to the Garden through obedience, faith, and the transformative power of Jesus Christ.

The Fall: A Contract with Death

When Adam and Eve chose to eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, they opened the door to sin and its devastating consequences. Humanity, in its innocence, lacked the wisdom to distinguish between good and evil. In succumbing to the seduction of bodily hunger, mankind unknowingly entered into a contract with the forces of darkness. This contract bound mankind to the dominion of sin, where fleeting moments of pleasure served as the bait for a lifetime of decay, bondage, and eventual death.

The price of sin is not imposed by God in anger or vengeance but is built into the very structure of life. God’s Law is perfect, and its violation inevitably leads to destruction. The demonic realm, created by God as a contrast to His goodness, thrives on this destruction. Demons are empowered by death, pain, and suffering—values that stand in stark opposition to God’s character of love, life, and freedom. In this system, mankind’s choices determine allegiance: to the God of life or to the spirits of death.

The Purpose of Free Will

God’s creation of the demonic realm and the possibility of sin was not an act of cruelty but an act of love and justice. By granting humanity free will, God allowed for a meaningful choice between good and evil, between love for Him and allegiance to the world’s temptations. The universe is, in essence, a training ground for the soul—a place where repeated choices and habits shape a person’s character and eternal destiny.

God’s Law is not arbitrary; rather, it is the path to true fulfillment and joy. Living according to His principles satisfies the deepest longings of the human heart and aligns us with the divine purpose for which we were created. Conversely, feeding the desires of the flesh—unchecked hunger for power, sex, and material gain—leads to emptiness and destruction. The temptations of the demonic realm appeal to humanity’s animal nature, but they can never truly satisfy.

The Redemption: Jesus Christ, the Perfect Sacrifice

The story of humanity’s fall is not the end. God, in His infinite love, provided a way for mankind to be redeemed from the contract with death. This redemption came through Jesus Christ, who lived a perfect, sinless life and offered Himself as the ultimate sacrifice. His unjust crucifixion was the demons’ attempt to destroy the Son of God, but in their act of rebellion, they violated the very Law they sought to enforce. Jesus’ death, therefore, became a credit in the divine economy—a payment for sin that could be applied to all who accept Him as Lord and Savior.

Jesus’ sacrifice broke the power of the demonic contract. By accepting His death as payment for our sins, we are freed from the bondage of sin and death. The gift of freedom is a legal transaction and a reward of a transformation of the heart and soul. When we commit to living a Godly life and aligning ourselves with His Spirit, we are spiritually and morally reborn. The credit of Jesus’ death is available to all, but it requires sincere repentance and a commitment to follow His Way.

Returning to the Garden

Through Christ’s redemptive work, humanity is invited to return to the Garden—not as naïve innocents but as mature souls who have chosen God’s Way over the fleeting pleasures of sin. This return is a process of sanctification, where we grow in Godly character by listening to the Holy Spirit, studying Scripture, and living in obedience to God’s Law.

The Kingdom of Heaven is not just a future hope but a present reality that begins within us. We manifest His Kingdom on earth by aligning our lives with God’s principles. This transformation extends beyond the individual to families, communities, and nations. By resisting the destructive impulses of the demonic and cultivating a culture of obedience to God, we participate in restoring the world to its original purpose.

A Call to a New Renaissance

In this age of confusion and moral relativism, there is a pressing need for a new Renaissance that integrates the wisdom of Scripture with the entirety of human knowledge. Renaissance Ministries explores the intersections of faith, science, philosophy, and culture, uncovering the truths that bring clarity and peace. By examining every question and resolving every paradox, we can build a seamless worldview that honors God and equips humanity to live in accordance with His Way.

The Bible reveals a God of love, justice, and mercy—one who desires obedience, not sacrifice, and longs for humanity to choose life over death. Properly understood science aligns with this revelation, as the laws of nature reflect the character of the Creator. We can cultivate personal peace, community harmony, and a deeper understanding of our place in the universe through reasoned faith and purposeful living.

A Life of Purpose and Peace

Following God’s Way is not just a moral obligation but the path to true peace and fulfillment. When we align our lives with His principles, we find freedom from the bondage of sin and the destructive patterns of the flesh. We experience the joy of living in harmony with God, others, and ourselves.

This journey is not without challenges, but it is one of profound rewards. As we grow in Godly character and live according to His Spirit, we become beacons of light in a dark world. We participate in the ongoing restoration of creation, bringing the Kingdom of Heaven to earth. Through faith, obedience, and the redemptive power of Jesus Christ, we can reclaim the Garden and live as God intended—in fellowship with Him, now and forever.

God and His Separation from the Creation and Evil

by | Jan 15, 2025 | Apologetics/Theology/Christianity

The Necessity of Separation within the Oneness of God
By, Thomas Lee Abshier, ND
1/14/2025

There is an intimate relationship between God’s existence and His creation. Unless God used another source of building material, then He and the universe are connected inherently and eternally. However, the separation between God and the universe is the obvious impression of casual introspection. Deeper examination (what some call the enlightenment experience) reveals the error of the first impression as obviously false.

This issue, whether God is united with the substance of the universe or separate from His creation, is the central paradox of God’s simultaneous oneness and the necessity of His separation from the world for genuine relationship and love to exist. If God is simply an undifferentiated oneness, with no distinction between Himself and all that exists, then genuine connection and communion would be impossible. But God’s creation of “other” – separate beings with free will – allows for meaningful interaction, choice, and the fulfillment of love.

Thus, separation of some type must exist between God and His creation. Still, this separation cannot be absolute/total if the physical universe’s existence originates in His being. In short, if God is the source and sustainer of all that is, there can be no actual/substantive division between the Creator and His creation. Thus, the paradox cannot be resolved by forcing a simplistic either/or paradigm upon the relationship between the creation and God. Instead, resolution comes by recognizing the multifaceted nature of reality where mutually exclusive facts are true, but only when each is viewed from its own perspective, and the whole is seen to encompass both.

The question of God’s and creation’s unity is useful in considering the meaning of life. I postulate that God created the universe to fulfill His sense of loneliness. If He is the only consciousness, then He is, by definition and fact of reality, without other independent consciousness with which to relate. If God’s nature is love, then He cannot satisfy that nature without the existence of other independent consciousness to relate. For this reason, God created man, gave him free will, and gave him the option of pleasing or displeasing Him. Thus, the temptation to displease God was placed in the center of the Garden of Eden. The temptation offered the opportunity for man to choose to separate from Him. Succumbing to the temptation initiated the dance of God and man, the dance of love which allowed man to be in a relationship with Him and satisfy His need for love.

Man acquiring the knowledge of good and evil was the turning point in the evolution of the relationship between God and man. The state and era of the Garden of Eden was the prototypical example of innocence, a place and time where there was unity with the spirit of God, where God and man dwelt together in the Kingdom of God.

With eyes open, available to choose all options of life, both good and evil, we must return to the Garden. Such is the goal of life. But we cannot return to the Garden by excising, rejecting, or denying our knowledge of good and evil. Instead, we must return to that primeval state as fully mature and wise souls. We must embrace Godliness and eschew the animalistic hunger of the flesh. Such a return is a rebirth, a renaissance of the innocence and joy of fellowship with God in the Garden.

Humanity once existed in an innocent and guileless oneness with the divine. There was no separation on the level of hearts in our ignorance of good and evil. While the idyllic/Edenic state is desirable, we cannot return to it by rejecting the knowledge of good and evil. Our eyes have been opened. That awakening may have been by intention, trickery, rebellion, or ignorance. Regardless, we are now in a state of knowledge and must correctly discriminate between good and evil, with our soul’s fate at stake. By studying, immersion in the Word, choosing goodness/righteousness/Godliness in the face of temptation, making mistakes, confessing, repenting, and then trying again, we mature one step at a time. We must return to the Garden, and that return is advanced by choosing the goodness and joys of childlike simplicity from a place of wise/knowing maturity and conscious choice of Godliness.

The transformation from the inherent oneness of the universe with God to the individuated separateness of humanity was the fundamental innovation of God’s creation that allowed the appearance of the experience of fulfilling adult love by both God and man. The fall, the disobedience, and the becoming aware of good and evil were not mistakes of man unanticipated by God. Instead, this yielding to temptation was an unavoidable step in the evolution of a universe that evolved from the simplicity of the oneness of God to the maturity of man from a child to an adult with a character that mirrors God’s perfection of moral judgment. Only through the introduction of the knowledge of duality (good and evil) and the existence of light and darkness of the spiritual forces could the potential for true wisdom mature and thus satisfy God’s desire for freely given love to arise.

This theme of rebirth and returning to the garden-like state of innocence and openness is central to the vision and mission of the “Renaissance Ministries.” The restoration/rebirth is not to the undifferentiated oneness of God in His initial stages of creation but to a mature, conscious union with the moral principles, way of being, and living in a way pleasing to the nature of God. Such wisdom is forged through the crucible of experience, falling prey to temptation, feeding on the Word, and listening to the leading of the Holy Spirit. Character is hard-won. It requires a daily battle against the internal demons of the flesh that pull us away from choosing His way in each moment.

The rebirth of man into the primal state of the Garden requires a deep understanding of God’s way and the practice of holiness, which is the name and state of our separation from evil. Holiness is not merely separation from the profane but a state of consciously and habitually choosing Godliness as a way of being. That consistent practice of rejecting the temptations of the flesh becomes one’s character, which is the treasure we lay in heaven.

God’s purpose in creating life is living in a relationship with man in a way that fulfills His need/desire for love. Love from the heavenly perspective can only be satisfied through a freely chosen relationship with Him and our fellow man. As the one who is all, He experiences the joy of our righteous/Godly relationships and the pain/repulsion in our violation of His way of being. We must have the free will to choose between worshiping other/false gods (following the passions of the flesh and violating His way) or aligning ourselves with and acting out the will and way of our Creator. Giving our will in submission to the Creator is foundational to our choices and actions having significance.

The foundation of creation, perhaps its greatest miracle, was God’s creation of the substantive appearance that the universe is a reality other than the substance of Himself. The appearance of an actual separation between the Oneness of all creation and man’s experience of the creation was necessary to produce free will and meaningful otherness. This context is the foundation for the experience of meaning and purpose. Meaning arises as man struggles to choose oneness with God’s nature/His way as the substance of our relationship with Him. While the fundamental fact of all creation is its unity, the more profound miracle is that God created a universe where He appears separate and that we can sincerely rationalize the worship of other Gods. We can choose to worship other gods (by acting out the desires of the flesh) and follow the voices of other spirits (listen and act on the temptations), but the satisfaction is short-lived, and the long-term pain is great. True joy and fulfillment come as we choose the delayed gratification and long-term pleasure of living in unity with God’s way.