Zach Uram's Blog

  • My Theology

    My theological doctrinal beliefs:

    • Scripture is God-breathed, absolutely authoritative, inerrant, sufficient, and infallible.
    • Affirm the 5 Solas
    • Calvinist soteriology
    • Cessationist
    • Premillennial eschatology
    • Pretrib rapture of the Church
    • Credobaptist (1689 LBCF)
    • Reformed
    • Leaky dispensationalism
    • Affirm communion as being spiritual food, not the Real Presence of Christ

  • Real Presence: Real or Not

    The Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches teach that when the priest says the words of consecration, the bread and wine transform into the physical body and blood of Jesus. This is known as the Real Presence of Christ in the communion gifts.

    The Roman Catholic church dogmatizes this process under the rubric of transubstantiation. It is expressed in terms of outdated Aristotelian metaphysics that utilizes the concepts of accidence and substance. We understand biology and physics much better now than in centuries past when the archaic understanding using Aristotelian concepts.

    The Roman Catholic mass and the Orthodox Divine Liturgy are occasions of sin and idolatry. Christ is not present physically in the gifts of communion. When He says He is the Bread of Life, Christ is speaking of a spiritual reality. The bread and wine remain bread and wine. At no point do they become Christ’s flesh and blood.

    As a result of this idolatry, Roman Catholics and Orthodox worship bread and wine. The Roman Catholics even have adoration of the communion wafer. This is utter blasphemy and idolatry.

    Roman Catholics and Orthodox interpret Jesus’ statements in John 6 in a literal sense. It is clear He is speaking metaphorically. They say they are participating in an unbloody manner in Christ’s once and for all sacrifice at Calvary, but none of this is biblical.

    It is the height of hubris to presume man has the power to call Christ down and have Him reside in bread and wine.

    Christ was crucified once for our sins. Scripture in no way says that we can, 2,000 years later, participate in that sacrifice again. Nor does Scripture say we can call Him down and have Him appear under the guise of bread and wine, at the behest of man (the priest) who says an incantation (the consecration).

    Thus we see that the so-called Real Presence of Christ is a major heresy. And the mass or Divine Service is an abomination and an occasion of blasphemy and idolatry.

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  • My Mind

    My mind is advanced
    Beyond belief
    Doubt is a thief

    Phased mind warps
    I travel faster than light
    My consciousness takes flight

    I was anointed
    By Christ Himself in 2001
    Now it’s time for some fun

    The vast universe
    Is my playground
    My thoughts are not bound

    My mind exists
    In higher dimensional spacetime
    Now ends my rhyme

    by Zachary Uram
    (C) 2024

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  • Life With Depression

    I’m totally depleted
    I feel defeated

    I long to run and play
    Instead, I’m full of dismay

    Days turn into years
    I’m left in tears

    When will I be free
    From this mental misery

    I hope Christ will heal me soon
    My mind is like a raging monsoon

    by Zachary Uram
    (C) 2024

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  • Divorce

    The children
    Are in deep pain
    They are slowly
    Going insane

    Their family
    Was destroyed
    No longer
    Is life enjoyed

    We used
    To be so gay
    Now we are
    Full of dismay

    Forced
    To choose sides
    Sadly this situation
    Abides

    We pray every day that God
    Makes our family whole
    In our hearts
    Is a big hole

    by Zachary Uram
    (C) 2024

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  • A Case Study in Idolatry: Eastern Orthodoxy and Roman Catholicism

    In Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy, the clerical and laity worship Jesus’ mother Mary. They also worship certain dead people, whom they designate as “Saints”. We know from Scripture that all believers in Christ are saints.

    Their veneration of the saints and hyper-veneration of Mary constitute a clear case of idolatry.

    Christ alone is the sole mediator between God the Father and mankind.

    Roman Catholics and Eastern Orthodox bow before statues of Mary, weep and kiss icons of her, pray to her (the rosary), and carry dolls of her around in elaborate processions. They also mention Mary in their liturgies.

    The Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox denominations do not follow Sola Scriptura (Scripture Alone). In Reformed churches, Scripture is our highest authority and the only infallible authority. Contrast this with the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches which have tradition on equal footing with Scripture. Further, the Roman Catholic magisterium (teaching authority) is considered to be on the same level as Scripture, and the Roman Catholic church teaches that their magisterium is infallible.

    Some “Saints” in Roman Catholicism, such as Alphonsus Liguori, wrote devotional and worship books about Mary. The authors explicitly assert that salvation is predicated on Mary. They actually say the path to Christ, only comes through Mary. Further, they assert Mary can save sinners from hell. This is Christ’s role, not Mary’s.

    We see that without the principle of Sola Scriptura operating, all types of heresies will gain acceptance.

    Let us pray that the Roman Catholics and Eastern Orthodox will repent and stop their veneration of “Saints” and Mary. They need to accept Reformed theology.

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  • Determining Doctrine

    During the time of the Apostles, when Scripture was being written, the Apostle Paul warned us (the Church) against error creeping in if we weren’t vigilant.

    Sadly even within the New Testament period, heresy was being introduced into the visible Church.

    Many new heresies arose during the 3rd to 5th centuries, particularly false teachings about Jesus’ mother Mary. Some sought to reinvent her as a goddess. They made up the lies, which go against Scripture, that Mary was immaculate (sinless), and was a virgin her whole life. To be clear, Scripture in no way supports these Marian innovations. They are utterly foreign to the witness of Scripture. These Marian teachings amount to sheer idolatry.

    Catholics and Eastern Orthodox claim these Marian teachings were believed by the Church always and are apostolic. The truth is these teachings are novel and are not at all apostolic. Neither Jesus or the Apostles ever taught such things.

    Other novel heresies arose in the Early Church, including the doctrine of transubstantiation and the real physical presence of Christ in the communion gifts.

    The Roman Catholic church rationalizes adding new doctrine under the “development of doctrine” principle, articulated by Cardinal Newman in the 19th century. When Rome added new doctrines, it denied they were new. They assert the doctrine is part of the deposit of the faith and was believed by all Christians going back to the Early Church. This is nice and tidy for Rome, but it is utterly fallacious.

    These heresies highlight the critical importance of Sola Scriptura (Scripture Alone as our highest and only infallible authority). Once Sola Scriptura is abandoned, heresies will soon manifest and work their way into churches.

    Sadly, the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches have accrued many errant doctrines which are not apostolic. They are merely the fallible and fatuous traditions of men.

    Scripture Alone should be our basis for doctrine. The Reformed churches affirm the 5 Solas, and thus have the correct and proper foundation for doctrine.

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  • A Catechetical Meditation

    Holy is the Lord
    He is absolutely sovereign
    He is all knowing
    All powerful
    Present everywhere
    Out of love
    He incarnated as a baby boy
    On a cold winter’s night
    At Bethlehem
    He came into the world
    All God, and all man
    A perfect hypostatic union
    Man had walked
    With God the Father
    In the garden
    Man fell into sin
    Every man
    Has original sin
    The natural man
    Is Satan’s child
    They are totally depraved
    We are spiritually dead
    God predestined an elect few
    For salvation
    He regenerated them
    And made them born again
    They are quickened
    By the Holy Spirit
    And become spiritually alive
    A new creation in Christ
    This is possible
    Because Jesus suffered
    On the cross
    His blood was shed for us
    Christ died for us wicked sinners
    But that was not the end
    On the third day
    He was resurrected
    Oh joy!
    Christ left us with His Word
    The Scriptures
    They are all we need
    To be fully equipped
    His Word is sufficent
    And inerrant
    We know God through His Word

    by Zachary Uram
    (C) 2024

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  • Belly Smacking Forever

    I smack my belly
    It’s huge
    If I fall into the ocean
    It will make a great deluge

    I smack my belly
    Light and heavy
    It broke
    The levy

    I smack my belly
    It’s very plump
    It isn’t
    A chump

    I smack my belly
    It creates a shockwave
    By smacking it vigorously
    It will cause a 100 foot wave

    I smack my belly
    During the day and night
    Smacking it
    Is out of sight

    I smack my belly
    Fast and slow
    Smacking it makes
    My pleasure grow

    I smack my belly
    Every single day
    I smack it
    Without delay

    by Zachary Uram
    (C) 2024

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  • Patriarchy: A Biblical Model of Society

    A biblical society will be a patriarchal society.

    God commands strict gender roles. Male and female each have their own domain of responsibilities and duties. God designed society such that the male is in charge of his home on a local scale, and men are called upon to manage business and legislative and political spheres. The male is in charge of the female in a biblical marriage.

    For thousands of years, societies have been patriarchal. It’s only in the past 50 years or so that this has, sadly, changed.

    Tragically, the vast majority of Christian marriages are not structured according to patriarchal principles. These marriages are rife with influences from feminist thought.

    In most Christian homes, the father does things that pertain to the wife’s domain, and the wife does things that pertain to the father’s domain. This is witchcraft. It is a recipe for disaster.

    God intended for women to be dependent on their husbands.

    Sadly most Christian women pride themselves on being independent. How does this manifest?

    • Women working outside the home. Women should not work outside the home.
    • Women have their own transportation. Women should not be permitted to drive. It facilitates adulterous encounters.
    • Women voting. The data is clear that had voting been restricted to men, the conservative candidate would have won virtually every election.
    • Abortion. Millions of married Christian women have abortions each year – often without their husband’s knowledge. If they were financially dependent on their husbands they wouldn’t have money to pay for abortions.
    • Women have their own bank accounts and credit cards. They should not have these.
    • Women going to university. Women should not be permitted to attend university. They are hotbeds of liberalism, secular humanism, and radical feminist ideology.
    • Married Christian women should not have access to the internet. This includes smartphones. They could develop online relationships with men which often lead to adultery.
    • Women should not be allowed to serve in the military, police, or in fire departments.

    Feminists believe women should have financial independence, the freedom to pursue a career outside the home, and sexual independence where they commit fornication and adultery.

    God designed women to be caretakers of their children, at home, and to be in submission to their husbands. This is the way of patriarchy. A well ordered society, built upon the principles of patriarchy will be much better than a society built on feminist principles.