The Rise of Cognitive Dissonance In The Religious Community

Many who are spiritual considers all suffering, whether, debts, unemployment, or any kind of illness an "attack from the enemy".  They give the credit for all bad choices to the Devil, and then pray for God to bind evil spirits or 'bad circumstances', placing the emphasis on God's doing instead of His person. Since "God's presence is always followed by miracles", the supposition is presented that God 'always wants to heal and bless us'.  

There is another group whose views are just as extreme as the first group.  They believe that everything that happens good or bad is the works of God.  The belief is that God is just sitting back directing the affairs of man. In the time of the storm the consolation is, "God know what he is doing and everything happens for a reason".   Even if a drunk driver kills a child in a horrific manner, "God know what he was doing".  There is a feel-good moment when we go to sleep knowing God is in charge.  

All sorts of claims, many I find unsupported by the Word of God emulating from these proclaimed messengers of God.  Brilliant minds are quick to explain the works of God in such a manner that those who are lacking in understanding or indoctrinated will subscribe to and defend an alien doctrine or ideology. The piecemeal skipping here and there does not present the true message of God, nor does it promote the plan of God.

Our conditioning or indoctrination causes us to response in a particular way when the messenger utters a certain word or phrase.  Jame Brown a Rock and Roll or Soul singer could turn  the concert out with the utterance of the word, "PLEASE."  Ask the question, "ain't God good", and the church will response with a thundering "AMEN" or "YES HE IS."  Meanwhile there are those in attendance wondering and asking God, "Why are you letting this happen to me?"  "God, I am praying and I am praying, but it seems like you are silent." This leads to or set the stage for a condition that I refer to as cognitive dissonance within the household of faith. 

The condition within our homes, communities, and the world is out of control and we are praying for Good to fix it.  Too often this presentation presents the metaphysical God of our salvation as an all-powerful but impotent God, one who is always working to make things right but never seems to accomplish the task.   The world is not evolving into a better place. Jesus said the condition would exist before the end of time, and no amount of praying is going to change the prophecy.   Mark 13:5-37 gives a detailed description of the world today.   Mark 13:12-13  Now the brother shall betray the brother to death, and the father the son; and children shall rise up against their parents, and shall cause them to be put to death. And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake: but he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.

We pray for peace, but peace is forthcoming.  The truth is the scriptures do not condone praying for peace.   Throughout the scripture, there were acts of peace and peace offering, but Isaiah 26:3 say, "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee."  It seems as if the condition for peace is keeping one's mind stayed on God.  Paul stated, 2^nd Corinthians 13:11, "Finally, brethren, farewell. Be perfect, be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace; and the God of love and peace shall be with you."  Jesus said, Matthew 10:34, "Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword."

I struggle in this age of apostasy to extract myself from a self-imposed state of despair brought on by this condition of twisted scriptures and fakeness.  Unaware, sometimes, yet intentionally I limit my exposure to the things that are destructive to my belief in God and peace of mind, in doing so I have become a type of social hermit.  Not only have I limited my exposure to the media and public gatherings the religious community has also emerged as a strong contender in the destruction of the inner peace that once found in the household of faith.  There are just too many earthly promises made in the name of our Father and the simple truth is, these promises are not being fulfilled.  With all of the praying, it seems that sinners should be poor and Christians should be rich.

What is cognitive dissonance?  Let's define it this way.  Cognitive dissonance is the mental stress or discomfort experienced by a person who holds two or more contradictory or conflicting beliefs, ideas, or values at the same time; performs or sees an action that is contradictory to one or more beliefs, ideas, or values.  When confronted by new information or revelations that conflict with existing beliefs, ideas, or values their faith suffers.  In essence, the twisting of the scripture to support a new age idea or doctrine weakens Christian values and is destructive to the building of a true relationship with God. 

There are several questions that I will ask that will expose this malady of what I refer to as cognitive dissonance.  How many have given their last to an unscrupulous preacher and is still waiting for the harvest?  The accomplished speaker can explain the seed and the harvest so beautiful that thousands will rush to swipe their debit card, and then they will patiently wait for God to deliver. The rhetoric that emulates from the rabbit-hole clearly states that God will always keep his promise.  How many have prayed for God to deliver them or their loved-one only to die or see their loved ones die a horrible death?  The question that we can no longer ask is, why do we pray for God's healing virtue to flow as we head to the doctor's office?  The pious are prepared to explain how God works thru the doctors to heal, whereas in time past he only spoke the word.  A true case of cognitive dissonance is at work but we cannot talk about that.

Fake words, fake faith, and fake testimonies cannot resolve the fact that many have prayed for God to move in a particular way and he did not move on their behalf.  Yet when we search for answers, we are told, he answered our prayer but not the way we wanted. Then there are those who will proclaim, "He might not come when we want him, but he is always on time."  Thus began the process of making excuses for God rather than accepting the silence of God or understanding how God works.  It is never about what the creator can do, he could have built a fence around Adam and protected him from the Devil, but he didn't.  Jesus could have saved John the Baptist's life but he didn't.  What we need is more Understanding the Word of God and less selling of the Christ.  

Too many of God children or being led to the banks of the Red Sea, there they are fleeced like Aaron did at the base of the Holy Mountain.  There they are being encouraged to solicit prayers for God to part the waters.  There is a feel good moment sustained through the cute cliché, "If he did it once he will do it again."  To ask why is to question the power of God. The same ideology holds true for those who proclaim to possess the ability to walk on water.  If God were to perform these feats, what would it prove?  Would people rush to God or would they just create another idol?  The gullibility of Christianity often comes into play when men and women seeking to impress they will use the name of God in vain. Few will question the validity of a message when it began with 'God said'.     

What is troubling is the belief structure put in place thousands of years ago is no longer fashionable as we embrace a modern anything goes society. Churches rarely talk about sin or eternal life, the focus is on the everyday fix.  Pastors are becoming involved in politics and performing in high profile arenas. "Fix it now Jesus" or "Jesus, take the wheel" is in vogue now that sin has been justified. Somewhere in the scripture, but I haven't found it, there is a passage that supposedly says, "Jesus will fix all of our problems".   If this is true then why is it taking him more than two thousand years to fix humanities problems? This make the God of our salvation seems like an incompetent God.   Cognitive dissonance, a Devil's trick is in play.

In a world or society such as we live in, it is not rational to acknowledge one's fallacies or faults, but being honest can lead to inner growth.   Whether this is good or bad I have grown to that point where I am suspicious of what I hear and see.  Whether it is the news on television, social media or even in the church, bearing false witness is in vogue.  Messengers who proclaim to operate under the seal of God have become proficient in shaping and twisting the scripture. Regardless of what the truth is, the truth is often shaped, and then it is used to the advantage of the bearer.     

The cavalier approach to God and his works has created a condition among the followers of Christ that is akin to the spread of cancer. Many true believers are feeling trapped, they are indoctrinated into these new beliefs structures that leave them filled with an unspoken doubt and is contradictory to the early teaching of the church. Whereas a message of salvation once was the driving force behind Christianity and It was the belief and preparation for the after-life.  Many church pastors are becoming involved in collecting offering; they have mastered the art of shaming the congregation into giving.  Sowing seeds and reaping a financial harvest has become the message of today. Enterprising and motivational groups are capitalizing on this and they are amassing a fortune in the process and building monuments to them self.  

Contrary to what you hear or have been indoctrinated into believing, health, wealth, and prosperity teachers are the only ones who are getting rich off God's people.  The unanswered questions that resonate within my mind and the mind of the "struggling to believe and not fully indoctrinated Christian is", "What happened to the message of old?" "Why have we killed all of the sacred cows?"  "What do planting and sowing have to do with salvation?" When God did begin giving out miracle money?  If God buys you a car, do you still have a car note? 

Is our prayer effective, or have our prayers been rendered ineffective because we are learning to pray for the wrong thing?  We pray to save our life, we pray for wealth and we even pray for God to fix the problems of the world.  There are many who have emerged as a spokesperson for God and they are prepared to give the answer, but the answers they give are often self-serving and fail to satisfy those who are truly searching for the real God.  

For Bible study, let us consider the words of Jesus in Matthew 16:24-27.

(24) "Then Jesus said to His disciples, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.  

The Messenger of God would do well to consider the words, "deny himself" as they struggle to be impressive.

(25) For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.

Jesus is talking about life in the hereafter, as a matter of fact, Jesus always addressed life in the Kingdom.

(26) For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? 

(27) For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works.

In this presentation, Our Savior is trying to explain the relative values of our physical lives and what we can humanly accomplish compared to what awaits us in what is commonly called the afterlife. In short, there is no comparison!  There is nothing here that stresses the importance of sowing seed and reaping the harvest in the here and now.  That being said, one bible verse does not contradict the other. 

The Bible is consistent on the value of human life apart from God.  Notice the words of Ecclesiastes 1:2-4: "Vanity of vanities, all is vanity. What profit has a man from all his labor in which he toils under the sun? One generation passes away, and another generation comes, but the earth abides forever."  

Is salvation a relevant issue in today's modern churches, or has the focus shifted to entertainment?  The message of salvation has lost its luster as the church adopted the business model of a football game. If men and women will pay thousands of dollars to attend a football game and be entertained, they will do the same for the church. Sadly what was left in the better part of that church is a doctrine different yet equally wrong, 'confessing' the word, building protective walls around Christians, global prayer to ask for healing for someone (as if the fact that if enough people would pray for healing God would be in some way be forced to comply). 

Cognitive dissonance is supported when we are taught to pray for God's deliverance while we prepare for a surgical procedure. We pray for financial blessing while investing forty to fifty hours in our job. Global ministries have become the bread and butter of many rising mega-churches, promoting a get rich scheme and the surrounding neighbor suffers from a cognitive blight.  These fancy churches depicted in Revelation 3 now sit as a monument of the pastor's success while the community withers in darkness.  The commercialization and the selling of the Christ have left many of us standing by the side of the road, waiting for a miracle that is not coming, nor was it promised.

The Tribulation of Revelation 13.

Leading up to the solar eclipse that will be seen across the United States and the world I cannot help but wonder will this be the time Jesus make his appearance. Science has explained this event as a natural occurrence and the populace is at ease.  Hatred is at an all time high and it seems as if the prophecies of Revelation 13 is being fulfilled.  A new and ungodly nation is rising up out of a sea of confusion.  The past president established the path and proclaimed that this nation is no longer a Christian nation. 

Revelation 13:1  And I stood upon the sand of the sea and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy.

Those who understand the Word of God know that a beast is a nation and a sea is representative of a multitude of confused people.  

Men and women seeking to be profound easily misled and misleading embracing a rhetoric filled with hate and designed to divide.  Ministers of God preaching and teaching messages of hate, yet proclaiming to believe in a God of love. Polarizing and confusing debates on what color is a metaphysical God, as if a color is an important entity in the kingdom of God. 

If Christ does not return with the darkening of the sun and we remain the tribulations spoken of in the Holy Scripture is upon us.  The world is groaning, yet like Nero, at the burning of Rome many are dancing and prancing and stoking the flames of hatred.  Christian values are at an all-time low as those who are easily swayed no longer believe in the immortal deity.

Never in my lifetime have I seen such a blatant attack on the Christian values of old. It seems as if for years the cauldron of hate was stoked. Now its foul and infectious contents are overflowing, and in the background, many of "God's ministers" are dancing in the flickering afterglow urging the sheep of God's pasture to keep the fire burning. There is a sad sickness engulfing the countryside, the nation, and the world. 

Revelation 13:6-9  And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven. And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations. And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. If any man have an ear, let him hear.

In this volatile climate, what I find very discombobulating is ministers of God posting photo-shopped pictures that serve no purpose than to incite hatred. Posting fake messages or photo-shopped pictures is contrary to God's Word. This is bearing false witness in a high-tech society. Love is of God, hate is of the Devil and both have existed since the beginning of time. They are opposites and they complement each other, like light and day. Try as he may, man does not possess the ability to eradicate either. Hate is like a seed that lies dormant in the soil, expose it to the light and it will grow. Tend it and it will spread like a weed.

Revelation 13:9  If any man have an ear, let him hear.

Re 13:9

Observe here, 1. That this acclamation, If any man have an ear, let him hear, is added in scripture when something went before, which required a very diligent attention and close application of mind: If any man have an ear, that is, a spiritual understanding to discern the meaning of what has been foretold, let him ponder and consider what is here revealed concerning this beast, and take heed that he be not found amongst the number of the worshippers of it.

Observe, 2. The consolation here given to the saints, from the consideration of God's just retribution to his and their enemies, He that leadeth into captivity, shall go into captivity; that is, the beast, who has brought many of the saints into captivity, shall himself at length be taken captive, and thrown into that lake of fire and brimstone, spoken of Re 19:20. With what measure antichrist metes to others, it shall be measured to him again: God has as many ways to hurt his church's enemies, as they have to hurt his people; if they lead into captivity, so can he; if they kill with the sword, so will he.

Observe, 3. The end and design of God in suffering antichrist's rage to break forth against the church: it is for the trial of his church's faith and patience, Here is the patience and faith of the saints.

Where note, 1. That none can stand under, or bear up under, sufferings like saints.

2. That under great sufferings, saints themselves will have great occasion for the exercise of faith and patience.

3. That the faith and patience of the saints will be made very conspicuous by great and sharp sufferings.

4. That faith and patience must accompany each other in suffering times. Patience is the soul's shoulder, to bear what is afflictive at present; faith is the Christian's eye, to discover a glorious deliverance to come: where no patience is, it is a token of no faith; and where no faith is, there will appear great impatience. Behold then the faith and patience of the saints.

An Immoral System.

2nd  Thessalonians 2:10-12  And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

What is an immoral system?  Those who are familiar with the acts of the Papacy, or modern day Christianity, should have no doubt that the language in 2^nd Thessalonians 2:10-12 accurately describes an immoral system. The plausible reasoning, by which the advocates of that system have palliated and apologized for sins of various kinds, is among its most remarkable features.   Thus, love the sinner, hate the sin emerge as an apology and acceptance of sin.  Sinning is of no consequence for 'we all sin". 

Clichés have a way of sneaking into our sub consciousness and thru a process of self-coding, they emerge as something profound and worthy of reflecting upon.  Call them clichés, truisms, rhymes or even crude remarks they are capable of improving or even perverting our thought process.     Many of the clichés we heard as a child lay dormant waiting for that moment to spring forth and replicate themselves in the mind of those we meet.  Often they are nothing more than cute phrases that tickle the ear and soothe the mind of the discontented.   In the early onset of emerging, nations and communities the use clichés or truisms as learning or indoctrination tools were commonplace.  

Often, speeches that the presenter considers worthy of the populace remembering are filled clichés.  Although bordering on embellishment, John F. Kennedy's famous speech. "Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country", was enshrined in history as one of the greatest presidential speeches made by an American president.

My grandmother used numerous clichés to teach me objectivity lessons.   Among her favorite were, "It is the early bird that gets the worm", and "You can't have your cake and eat it too."  Both of these statements drove her point home, but one afternoon while plowing my mother's garden I began to question the early bird concept, there were variables that created inconsistencies.  Even today, I still find myself wondering; why a cake is not a cake once you eat it or why one monkey doesn't stop the show.

The use of clichés or truisms in a religious setting often promotes a sublime intent to deflect or detract from or even shape the word of God.  When a Bible truth is reduced to a Cliché the values of Christianity suffers.  Clichés maintain the innate ability to cross the line between teaching and indoctrination in a veiled manner.  A cute phrase can create a point of reflection such as, "One monkey doesn't stop the show", or a point of action such as, "Love the sinner, and hate the sin". 

On any given Sunday, thousands of preachers will stand before their congregation and proclaim that Jesus said, "Love the sinner, and hate the sin."  Many of those hearing those words will believe because "my Pastor said it".  If we do not show love they will hate us.   If we do not show love they will not come to our churches, thus our bottom line will suffer.  The organized church has decided that in order to remain relevant in a pessimist society it must dumb down its rhetoric in the face of it an adversary.   Thus, the organized church has chosen to become a part of the immoral system rather than being shamed into an irrelevant existence.  Imagine the howls of the wolves if one would proclaim from the pulpit or on national television, "Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell?" (Matthew 23:33) The political correctness police would descend upon the interloper, with the intent of shaming the pastor and the church into compliance with the immoral system.

Shaming has evolved into an art form.  It has morphed into something sinister from the days when one kid would say to the other, "Your mother wears cowboy boots".  Usually, a fight would erupt and afterward, they would usually leave the playground as friends unless an adult intervened.  The intervention of adults usually results in words used like antisocial and bully to describe a harmless prank. 

In today's society, we create new and potent words, and those that speak from self-elevated positions rush to provide the proper definition and narrative.  The media courts this new age narrative.  The list of the made-up word includes; racist, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic, Islamaphobic, you name it.  Call a person one of these words and the result is similar to saying to the person you have body odor.  These words affect or offend a person whether it is true or not.

I was in a Sunday school when I first heard the words, "love the sinner and hate the sin".  To put things in the proper perspective, it was the Sunday after the Supreme Court of the United States validated the alternate lifestyle agenda. My world, based on the Holy Spirit led common sense and the Bible entered into a state of turmoil.  The Sunday school teacher took an ample amount of time explaining what I considered a new concept of Christian values.   The pastor made a feeble attempt to explain how and why we were supposed to love the sinner and hate the sin.  I am not alone in saying, "I don't get it", but the shame of acknowledgment it silences the voice of many.  The government's re-indoctrination of Christian values with the support of the clergy was in full play.  I left the church that day one very confused soul.  

A possible reason Christians have begun to spout these phrases and cliches as if they were God inspired scripture is they are a part of the process of justifying sin.  Now that sin has been justified by the government, the populace is facing cultural crises, church crises, and family crises.   These crises have torn our communities and cities apart and now they are on the verge of destroying the very nation that spawned them.  As marriage equality gained support, the traditional church and Christianity found itself in a dilemma. How do the churches attract people in a society that have turned its back on God?  Traditional churches are becoming empty and many churchgoers are wonders where it will end.     

Two statements in the above paragraph are not scriptural. The founding of the church was not to attract people to Christ, and Christians who study the Word of God know how this world is going to end.   I must restate to draw people to Christ was not the purpose of the church; it was a place of refuge for those who had found Christ. 

Many learned Bible scholars would have us to believe that Jesus actually said, "Love the sinner, and hate the sin."  Whether he said it or not our indoctrination implies that, he would be on board with this 'simple truth'.  Why would he not be?  The adage supports universal love.  We take the catchphrase from Mahatma Gandhi who morphed it from Augustine's, "With love for mankind and hatred of sins", not because we agree with everything Mahatma Gandhi said, but because he conveniently said, “Hate the sin and not the sinner.”  The problem of dealing with any sin is settled.

The problem with Mahatma Gandhi statement “Hate the sin, not the sinner” is, there is nothing in the Word of God to validate the statement.  The question that it does present is how does humanity separate sin from a sinner?   Will the creation of laws eliminate hate? Can we accent the positive and the negative will disappear? 

The immoral system that has become a part of the organized church teaches that the use of the word sinner is hate speech and it would be judging to make such an assessment of a person's nature.  According to the pious prelates, the bible says, we are not to judge, yet, every day we make judgment calls.  We judge when we refuse to hire a person because of his history or calling a person names because they do not agree with modernist views. 

The use of Matthew 7:1 as the foundation of the dissent against judging is a miss-characterization of the heart of Jesus.   Matthew 7:1 does not say, "Judge not", it says, "Judge not that ye may not be judged", and in the rest of the paragraph Jesus explains his meaning.  If you do not want to be judge, do not judge, because if you judge, you will be judged.  My Grandmother said it this way, "If you can't stand hot grease stay out of the kitchen."   My brother interpreted it as, "grandmother said to stay out of the kitchen when she is cooking."  We err when we surgical remove a segment of a verse or scripture and present it as a complete thought.  To do so is an attempt to turns the Word of God into a polluted mess.

The provincial rabbit hole has re-emerged or recreated itself in the name of political correctness, and now it has become a safe haven for the church.  The leader of this immoral system is promoting, promising and dispensing the blessings of God for a fee.  "This was the problem with the early church that the protestant reformation was supposed to correct."  Salvation and money have become synonymous and sin is not a part of the equation.  The church is no longer a place for the broke and poor because if you are serving God, he will give you money.  The Santa Claus concept of Christianity has placed many in a Lazarus syndrome; we are begging God for the crumbs that fall from the rich man's table.   A careful study of Lazarus offers a clear path of refutation to many of the notions and clichés that have caused Christian values to suffer.   Cliché after cliché emerge, but they are lacking in the constancy and power of God word.     

The Bible makes a clear distinction between the fate of the righteous and the sinner.  "And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?" (1^st Peter 4:18)   "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our LORD." (Romans 6:23)  Paul's message to the Corinthians was as such, "Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the LORD, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you.  (2^nd Corinthians 6:17).   "No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon." (Matthew 6:24) 

The problem with most truisms, clichés, and new age interpretations is that they seek to justify a preconceived ideology.  My perspective is supportive of what I expect to prove.   In essence, if we want to prove that infidelity is acceptable all we need to do is study the life of Abraham and other great bible figures.  Once we have completed our study we can proudly proclaim, David was a man after God's own heart, "BUT" he sinned.

Are We Playing With God?

There is an argument that uses the Word of God as the basis of justifying sin.   This argument implies that sin is of no consequence because it is covered by the Blood of Jesus.  The justification of sin, once the rhetoric of the heretic was necessary because of the testimony of the saints.  When the spotlight once again shifted from believing to receiving the Holy Ghost, the saints began to testify of living a life free and separated from sin.  This was unacceptable and not conducive to the expansion of multi-facet and multi-denominational churches.   does not the Bible teach, we all sin? 

Standing in the grocery check out I was not amused as the young child threaten to "knock out", his mother.  Annoyed by the verbal altercation  a customer's intervention was met by a stinging rebuff by the mother who exclaimed, "You don't stand there looking down your nose at me and talk to my child that way." Shaming, a new age form of one-upmanship was employed placing the concerned customer in a defensive position.   The young mother of two barely sixteen years of age, explained to all within hearing distance, "There is no shame in my game, and what ever I do GOD got my back."

In the olden days when the knowledge of the ancients prevailed, there were certain protocols put in place that governed the interaction of children with their parents.  Parent was to always address by the title of their position in the household, thus "mother or father", was the proper way to address one parent. Certain deviations were allowed such as "ma, momma, dad or daddy", but never by the first name.   This was not to enhance the standing of the parent within the household, but merely a sign of respect.  Respect was the first step on the path to obedience.

It seems as if it was my generation that tore down the walls of that were put in place to govern the process of being a parent.  The child became the controlling factor and the parent became the facilitator.   I still shudder when I think of the first time I heard a child address his parent by their first name.  The easing of the parenting protocol was necessary because we were of a generation that wanted to be a part of our children lives and not controlling their lives.  Respect for the office of parenthood soon became a declining entity in many children lives.   It was only natural that the lack of respect for God followed.

Years ago it was almost unthinkable and a rarity to hear of children attacking or killing their mother or father.  The code of the family was tight under the rule of "Blood was thicker than water."  We can amuse ourselves by asking, "what happen", but the inconvenient truth is, we know what happened.  We are the generation that killed all of the sacred cows.  There is nothing left that is sacred, not even the name of God.

Much of the posting on the social media cause me to shudder as enlighten men and women speak so cavalier about God or his works.  I am not impressed when a pile of money is used to imply that God is going to work to resolve financial situations in a matter of days.  How many people type "amen" and share, then sit back and wait for supernatural money to fill their bank account?  The question that fills my conscious when I see these type of remarks is, "Do we really believe in God or are we just playing?"

At this point of our dissertation, we should ask, what is causing the erosion of Christian values when the field is crowded with worker?  However, to ask or even answer the question we can become guilty of validating the "pretentious nature of Christianity".   It is easy to pretend that we know the answer, invoking deliberate confusion through the twisting of the scripture and the trivialization of the name of God, his works, and his plan.

Deliberation confusion exists when those who proclaim to know the answer, cloud their message with supposition and obscured platitudes, quoting scriptures out of context and saying nothing in the process.   Confusion is a politician's gambit; distraction is a magician's trick, combine together they form the necessary elements of deliberate confusion.     Much is spoken but very little is said while we are distracted, often by the pomp and pageantry.  

 A most grievous display of contempt for the LORD of our Salvation is the flagrant abuse that we bestow upon the use of His name.  God addressed the subject of disrespecting his name, in the first major group of commandants given to the children of Israel.  "Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain." (Exodus 20:7)   There are made-up words or phrases that use "god" as the first part of a compound word or phrase, these words or phrases serve no purpose other than to trivialize the name of God.   Does god-awful-truth make the truth more believable?   What about when we scream "Jesus take the wheel" when things are not going our way?

Trivialization, an innate form of disrespect that traverses generations and with each passing generation, it grows more acceptable.   It is sad to say but even a threat from God did not protect his name or his Word from abuse.  The evolution of man was as such that the name of God, even the Word of God became more and more irrelevant in the affair of man. 

God has become the butt of many comedy-show-off-colored jokes.  Music of all genres seems to have learned the emotional and financial value of invoking the name of God in their lyrics.  The entertainment value of misusing God's name in music has created a profitable crossover that appeals to the churchgoers as well as the nightclub crowd. 

The name of God has become synonymous with disgust or cursing, whereas the use of the name of Jesus often expresses alarm or despair.   Furthermore, the name of Jesus has evolved into just a figure of speech.   This misuse of the name of God or the attributes of the Godhead is not limited to those who are of the world; the misuse and abuse exist in the household of faith. 

Those that are of the world, as a Christian's would say, is not totally the blame for the condition of Christianity, the church and it leaders must accept much of the blame.   Our leaders have abused and misused the metaphysical God of our salvation.   What once was a solid foundation has emerged into a fairy tale ideology, based upon a foundation of entertainment.   The stellar awards go to those who can entertain as they recount the stories of a God rendered impotent by our greed. 

One of the most pathetic abuses occurs in the Church.  This type of abuse emulates from the pulpit, spreading through the congregation and community, it exists in the form of a testimony of what God is doing.  From positions of authority, they indoctrinated the masses into a belief that God is just standing by to fix all of humanities problems.  This is not scripture.  In the midst of pain and suffering, "Fix it Jesus" is the cry of the indoctrinated.  Trained to interpret the scripture from a naturalistic perspective the same as the Devil did in the Garden of Eden, they make unfulfilled demands and promises in God's name.

The sad truth is church members are dying waiting on Jesus to fix it, and many have crashed and burned while waiting on Jesus to take the wheel.  Those that are left behind are having are having a hard time reconciling their shattered faith.