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| Earl Gillespie |
Bible Study verses Indoctrination
Part 3 of 3 (or more)
It has been said that Christianity is its worst enemy. Every since the church was founded the Devil has sought ways to destroy or discredit the Word of God. First it was the persecution under the Roman emperors but the church flourished when it was persecuted. Once the church became accepted by the government rules were put in place to protect the church from the enemies of the church. Constantine, a Roman emperor was somewhat successful in brokering a peace between the Pagans and the Christians.
The Devil had used stoning, burning and imprisonment to deter the church but to no avail. Not long after the first council meeting that is recorded in the book of Acts, the church turned on itself and became it worst enemy. The Council of Jerusalem is a name applied by historians and theologians to a Christian Apostolic Age council that was held in Jerusalem and dated to around the year 50. The council decided that Gentile converts to Christianity were not obligated to keep most of the Law of Moses, including the rules concerning circumcision of males. The Council did, however, retain the prohibitions on eating blood, meat containing blood, and meat of animals not properly slain, and on fornication and idolatry. Descriptions of the council are found in Acts of the Apostles chapter and also in Paul's letter to the Galatians chapter 2. Some scholars dispute that Galatians 2 is about the Council of Jerusalem (notably because Galatians 2 describes a private meeting) while other scholars dispute the historical reliability of the Acts of the Apostles.
After the First Church Council in Jerusalem, the church that Jesus setup, the bride of Christ became embroiled in petty disputes and began to separate itself into groups, sects and denominations. Indoctrination through catechism rather than true bible study was necessary to promulgate the doctrines of these different entities. Deliberate confusion became the tool of choice and the words of Jesus fell on deaf ears. And if a kingdom be divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand (Mark 3:24-25). The earthly expression of the church began to crumble, in the book of Revelation, Jesus plea was no longer given to the church as a group, but to those in the group that was able to overcome.
Deliberate confusion, an oxymoron that speaks to the condition of today’s religious society, it is an effective tool used by that old Satan to destroy the effectiveness of God Word, and turn souls away from God. If Satan used the frontal attack collateral damage would be too high, and souls would run to God for protection, thus strengthen the church’s position.
When the atheist began their concerted attack on the Bible and prayer, what was lacking was a concerted push back from the church. The church was unable to decide what bible or what denomination was acceptable. In 1962 the New York school system, began each day with a nondenominational prayer acknowledging dependence upon God. This action was challenged in Court as an unconstitutional state establishment of religion in violation of the First Amendment. The Supreme Court agreed, stating that the government could not sponsor such religious activities.
Like most people my age, I grew up in a time when the message of the church was, “fear God, and keep his commandants.” This was our duty. Our mental vision of God was a stern face old man looking down from the sky with an upraised flaming sword in his hand, ready to strike down the wicked.
The preachers of old had a way of preaching the gospel that implanted a certain type of fear in you, a fear that made you afraid to commit sin and cringed at the prospect of meeting God. Preparation to meet God was like preparing to meet a grumpy old relative who you wanted to meet but was afraid or somewhat apprehensive. The message was simple and clear, ‘the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life.’ The definition of sin was clear and/or clean-cut. Sin was anything that was contrary to the teaching of the Bible. If you died a sinner, you were going to hell. There was no attempt to define or explain Heaven. If you believed in God and asked God to forgive you of your sins, then you could go to Heaven and live happily ever after. This simple message designed and shaped our belief in God. We feared God because he was the one who would send us to Hell. We were more afraid of going to Hell than we were of meeting God. The believability of God was easy because our parent taught us how to believe. There were tools put in place to teach us how to believe. We believed our parent would whip us if we were bad. We believed in the tooth fairy, not because we saw her but because we got money for losing a tooth, we even believed in Santa Claus and we believed in the spirit world. Believing was simple, there were no gray areas, you believe, or you did not believe. If you did not believe, you were damned and people shunned you.
We went to school to learn how to survive in the natural world, and we went to church to learn how to survive in the spiritual world. We were not concerned about what color God was, nor were our concern about the shape of the world. Even though the supernatural world was a mystery, we believed in God and we believed in ghosts. We were comfortable with the idea that walking down a dark road at night, we might see a ghost, and we were comfortable with the idea that dying was to meet God. We learned to work hard during the week, and on Sunday mornings and Sunday evenings, we went to church.
During the late 50’s and early 60’s the world’s value system changed. With the increase of the knowledge of good and evil, we began to question things that affected us. We even questioned the existence of God. Armed with our superior intellect we crashed the gates of Heaven and demanded that God prove himself. When God refused to respond to our manipulations, many concluded that nobody was home. Then some of the enlighten minds used the national media to emphatically state that God was dead. When the religious pundits were no longer afraid of a lightning bolt striking them, they began the process of reinventing God. Many God-fearing preachers, prophets and religious practitioners objected to these changes, but the voice of the faithful few was overshadowed. The demand was for a god that could be packaged and sold for profit. This is not the first time man has attempted to reinvent God. The children of Israel did the same thing at the base of the Holy Mountain. God’s people just wanted a God they could see and touch. Today, we do not want a God who is concern about judgment and redemption, we want a God to put money in our bank account.
The Devil had played an important part in this reshaping and reinventing process, as a matter of facts he took full charge of the operation. He then proclaimed, “If God is a God of love, the Devil cannot exist.” As strange as it might seems the foundation of the Devil’s argument originated in the church, a God of love would not punish his children so harshly by sending them to a place like Hell. Gone are the days when religious leaders taught, 1st. Peter 5:8, “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walking about, seeking whom he may devour.” He still is, but he is busy convincing people that he does not exist. He is not seeking credit for the works of his hand, he wants us to blame God for everything that happen and leave him alone. The Devil sealed the bargain by asking the church members to refrain from mention his name during church services.
The reinvention process allowed God to evolve from a fire and brimstone God to a kinder and gentler God. A God who is so busy showing love he do not have time to punish us, even if he wanted to punish us for doing wrong. God is now a God that wants us to live a long and prosperous life. He wants us to be rich and happy and not to focus on the return of his son. The Devil’s has a grand plan of ‘deliberate confusion’ and its design is to keep us focused on the trip and not the destination.
In church, God has been given a back seat where he sits with a smile on his face and arms folded as he watches his creation dance and prance in a state of forbidden ecstasy, with their hands uplifted, and begging for a greater portion of the cattle on a thousand hills, but the truth be told, he said he was standing at the door knocking.
The concept of much is being spoken, but very little said is played out in many pulpit arenas. Repetitious (cookie-cutter) phrases that take the place of secular or spiritual knowledge, and spoken of as being an inspiring message is not the answer. I am appalled at what some call a message from God. The reality is many of these messages is nothing more than retelling the story of Moses floating down the river in a boat, or whooping, hollering and jumping to a beat. All of this is fine for inspiration and entertainment. We need inspiration, we need entertainment, and we need edification but there are those who want to hear a simple message of faith and hope. My mother, my father, my brother or sister has passed on. Tell me about the Kingdom of God. Help me understand the dying process. Tell me about my destination. I do not need you to tell me about longevity and prosperity. I know that one day I am going to die.
That old Satan, the Devil stood within the portals of time and viewed thousands of people massing to attend games of sport. He saw the players driving fancy cars, living in big houses and sinning. He reasoned within himself if he could do the same thing for the church what a wonderful world he would have. The Devil arrives at church on Sunday morning with his entourage of disciples. He takes his seat in a hallowed pew, where he sings songs of love and heavenly praise and testifies of God’s amazing grace. When it became his time to speak, he chose his words carefully. He used the words that touch the soul and makes the heart flutter. He speaks of God’s love and walking in God’s favor. He says, “God says, all of this stuff will I give you, all you have to do is fall down and worship him.” The crowd roared with exhilaration the same as the children of Israel did at the base of the mountain when Aaron presented them with the golden calf.
Has anybody realized that the message of prosperity from the pulpit is beginning to sound like the message the Devil presented to Jesus while standing high upon the mountain?
2nd. Corinthians 2:11 says “lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices.” The Devil’s knowledge of the word of God has allowed him to take advantage of some. Tempted by the things the Devil acknowledges that God can do for us we blindly follow his lead. To accommodate the wiles of the Devil required the reshaping of our believability of God. The God can do anything concept has allowed many to follow the wrong path. What God or a person can do is not a definitive or an acceptable definition of character, performance or capability. I can blow up a train; this does not infer that I will or that I should. I can do all things through Christ, does not imply that my will is in perfect harmony nor does it indicate God will perform according to my will. He will not put more on us than we can bear do not imply we will pass every test.
Deliberate confusion, an oxymoron that speaks to the condition of today’s religious societies, it is an effective tool used by that old Satan to turn souls away from God. If Satan used the frontal attack collateral damage would be too high, and souls would run to God for protection, thus strengthen the church’s position.
Will continue...
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