The Confusion of Christianity, Part #4 Pulling The Plug on God

Pulling The Plug on God
a rant from
"My Search for the Real God"

There is a spiritual disconnect that is prevailing in the land, and many seem to be unaware and failing to address the issues.  Many members of the pious community at large is in a state of denial, refusing to acknowledge that the Devil’s ministers have transformed themselves into ministers of light, they have opened the gates of the sheepfold  and the sheep of God’s pasture are being scattered.  Promises made in the name of our Father are nothing more than deceitful attempts to persuade the scattered sheep to follow the wolf in sheep's clothes.   The unfulfilled promises made by these leaders and members are the foundation for the lack of believability in Gods word.  The believability in the values of old is declining, and too many preachers just keep on preaching superficial messages with subjects but without content, and because the name of God is invoked, we are supposed to be impressed and enlightened.  Generations have become victim of this disconnect because God is being redefined daily.   I speak of those who grew up in the church and when they became of age walked away.  The question of why should be addressed.  The generations of today have failed to grasp the message of old because the message has changed to make it relevant to our causes and needs thereby rendering the message irrelevant.  What are we doing to a message when we allow it to be changed?  Are we are destroying it, or making it better?

  As more and more people became aware of things happen to them, and around them, they began a search for understanding.  A message from God is supposed to impart understanding, but there is little understanding in many of today’s messages.  The young cancer ridden patient whose body is riddled with cancer is not impressed with a message of, “Don’t give up.”  He is aware of death and disease, he knows he is going to die. There are those who spout the healing virtues of God, the indoctrinated belief is, “God is a healer”.  True, God is a healer and God is a destroyer.  God is a God of love and God is a God of fire.   In the days of the apostle,  healing was almost a daily occurrence, but today hospital’s are doing a brisk business and even church folks are dying.  Why?  Is the answer to that question in the Bible?  Yes. In the Bible whenever God did something he did it in such a manner that only he could get the glory.  Jesus waited days before he raised Lazarus from the dead and when he did it, he did it so that those who were standing there might believe. When the job was done nobody could claim credit.  Asking the God of our  salvation to heal me of a headache or listen to a testimony of how God healed a backache is not definitive enough to create believers.  If it were so people would be flocking to church.  The fear of God is the beginning of knowledge and understanding but they are teaching us not to fear God.  

The polarization of denominations and the failure to prayerful update our Biblical knowledge has created a vacuum and a level of confusion that needs addressing.  Then there is the desire to be a superstar that has left the image of many spiritual leaders tarnished.  It is imperative that we study to show ourselves a worker who is not ashamed to seek to understand God's word.  If it meets the test of the Holy Spirit, who should be our teacher, we should embrace it, if it do not, we should let it go. 

One of the attributes of a good worker is the ability to understand its coworkers.  In the workplace, the understanding of one’s coworkers is important to achieving the objective.  My way is right and your way is wrong concept would create a non-productive work place fill with confusion.   We should be able to expect nothing less in the vineyard of our Lord.

Whooping and hollering an outdated concept of the proper presentation of God word, a brainwashing technique, with a holdover from the days of hardship, it is still effective because it invoked an emotional response.  This emotional respond allowed the listener to escape his or her situation and experience a state of euphoria that sometime mistakenly defined as the spirit of God.  When James Brown, a well-renown singer preformed on stage no one was concerned about the content of his message.  It was the whoop, the holler and the beat.  Once the ‘joint got rocked’ listeners entered a state of ecstasy and left excited, emotional refreshed and entertained.   When the hometown football team scored the winning touchdown, the fans entered a state of euphoria and ‘rocked the stadium’ then they went home entertained and refreshed.  When the minister toned-up and hit the high note the audience responded with cries of acceptance, left entertained, and rejuvenated.  A good speaker will accumulate a  catalogue of sound bites guaranteed to generate an emotional response, this seems to be more important than searching for a deeper understanding of God word. 

Jesus concept of delivering a message seems to have been more content and less flair.  Sacred solicitations in the quietness of the soul, rather than emotional expressions, this was an  effective mode of delivery.  A story told that invoke thought mixed with reflections on life  that made an impression on the inner self.  The difference is comparing rock and roll to country music.  Country music singers always told a story in their song.  When listening to the message of the song it is easy to overlook the music or the beat.   When listening to the whoop and holler it is easy to overlook the message.  

  Church services in many churches are becoming more emotionally.  The ministers or pastors who do not want to become irrelevant messengers have perfected their art of delivering the message.  Thus, the era of the Mega-Churches began to take shape, a man, a message and a profound delivery system.  A great speaker can step outside of the denominational quagmire and appeal to a mass of disenchanted and scattered souls.  A promise of prosperity, longevity, and good health with the expectation of entertainment is enough to fill any auditorium.  If James Brown could pull this off, then so can any good motivational speaker.   Another prevailing aspect of some churches is that of a night club,  once the crowd has established that it is the place to be, the people become like sheep led to slaughter.  What does prosperity, longevity, and good health have to do with salvation?  The answer is nothing. These are shaped truth, using scriptures out of context, mislocating and misapplying the word of God, and within your Heart you know I am right.  If these new styled messages were true, in the arena of common sense, with all of the praying we are doing, sinners would be poor and Christians would be rich.

Having church is about business.  The business about serving God has become big business.  If it is your desire to be in business, the church business is the easiest to get into.  If it is your desire to be a leader, you can be a leader without a vote or waiting for a confirmation report.  In the church, you can be a leader without a message or even special skills.  Pick a message delivery system, work at it, and then announce that God has called you.  You gain the thrill of sitting in high places looking down on a mass of poor struggling souls, at the end of the day you can feel comfortable knowing you are doing God’s work.  Many ministers following this path and some become pawns of big denominations, whose chief function is to collect fees from the congregations and pass it on to those who have positioned themselves higher up the ladder.  Is this the will of our Father?  The resources of the local churches do not allow for works within the community in which they exist.  Churches exist in communities where their older members who have supported the church down through the ages, sit at home, waiting to die with no support from the pastors or church. 

Some churches have done a disservice to many suffering souls by using God as a cop-out.  Pastors who lack the ability to function as a grief counsellor should seek training in that arena.  Being able to counsellor those in need is more than saying, “God is love,” or “prayer is the answer. “  There is truth in these statements, but when used in an improper setting the message becomes an obstacle to those who are suffering.  The reliance upon clichés and sculptured sound bites to address those who are suffering is a cold and callous use of God’s word.  There were two prayers that went out when Jesus was on the cross. Luke 23:39  And one of the malefactors which were hanged railed on him, saying, “If thou be Christ, save thyself and us”,  the other one as he faced death said, Luke 23:42  And he said unto Jesus,”Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom.”   Common sense says Jesus ignored the first request and answered the second.  Luke 23:43  And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, “To day shalt thou be with me in paradise.”

Jesus presented a parable of a man lying by the side of the road in Luke 10:30-35.  And Jesus answering said, “A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead.  Moreover, by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.  Likewise, a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side.  However, a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was and when he saw him, he had compassion on him, and went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him.  And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spends more, when I come again, I will repay thee.”  No doubt, the Levite and priest offered a prayer for the man.  Would our leaders of today be guilty of passing by and praying rather than stopping and rendering aid?  One of the problems of Christianity is thinking the answer to everything is prayer.  Ineffective prayer is being packaged and sold on television, the street corner, and the church pulpit. Professional prayers whose message is, “Give me some money and I will pray for you.”  Watch any Christian broadcast station and you will be amazed at how many 800 numbers God has.  Prayer is a needed element in our lives, but effective prayer should allow us to know when it is time to act and when it is time to pray.  This illustration presented by Jesus tells us that there is a time to pray, and a time to act and pray.  Maybe it is time we reestablish our connection with our Father and we could start by fearing God.