The Pacification of Christian Values

Prologue

Never in my lifetime has the attack on Christian values been so intense.  Many failed to see the shift in the battle and direction as a man of color took the helm of a nation that proclaimed to be a Christian nation.  A change was what he proposed and he soon issued a proclamation that America was not a Christian nation.  The empowerment of dredge elements was used solidified a campaign of shaming and hatred that was directed at anyone who did not agree with the emerging agenda.  The enactment of laws to curb hate speech even caused Christian church sermons to be dissected and certain phrases were label as hate speech.  In order to protect itself, the church scrambled to change the ancient focus and direction of Christianity.  Two impossible non-biblical shaped scenarios evolved, hate the sin, love the person, and do not judge.  It is akin to saying, "I love Ice Cream but I hate milk."  These two affirmations rendered the application of Christian values impotent. 

There are numerous forums on the internet and in our churches where   Christian members assembly and discuss the Word of God.  From these discussions there usually, emerge new ideas and/or interpretations that are game changers when it comes to Understanding the Word of God.  What is most disturbing to many is that during many of these sessions the question of sin is entertained, redefined and justified.  What often emerges is a watered down versions of what once were fire and brimstone messages.  The new message only depicts a God of love.  We are more comfortable with a God who loves his creation and sits high and are working things out day by day for his children.  Acceptance of a particular ideology becomes a matter of interpretation.  The ability to justify sin through the misapplying or misquoting the scripture is a strong selling point when looking to attract followers. 

In Isaiah 9:8-16 the Lord sent a word unto Jacob and Israel; the prophet speaks on the subject of the punishment that would befall them.  This God of love that we speak so highly off, joined together Israel enemies and used them to punish her.  The blame was placed at the door of the leaders and the so-called leaders who had failed to lead the people accordance to the ordinance of God.  They cast aside the religious values set forth by God in favor of a more accommodating lifestyle.  

A God who punishes is no longer an acceptable God in our modernistic society, thus we are free to become like spoiled and begging brats.   In the dispensation of Grace, God's wrath is withheld until an appointed time.  Therefore, it becomes easy to overlook all of the threat and acts of violence of the Old Testament and find that one verse that says, "God is love".  There are leaders who perpetrate a false sense of godliness, a false sense of contentment by focusing on just the loving aspects of God.  It is impossible to separate love and hate in a natural world, they are opposites and opposites support each other like day and night.  For God to love, he must be able to express his hate.   (Romans 9:13)  Christian values have suffered within the emerging generation because there is no fear of God before their eyes. (Romans 3:18)  

Often it is the lack of the knowledge of God that has permeated down through the ages that cause the Christian values to deteriorate and the believability of God to suffer. Neither of these adjectives is deniable because validation is achieved through the opening of our eyes and viewing the landscape. Preachers are preaching, prophets are prophesying and churches are being built but the conditions of the world and its people are not improving.  It began in the home, then the school, which spilled over into the community.  Once our communities began to suffer our cities, states, and nation followed.   Many of our youth no longer respect the values of old, yet they do not have anything to offer in their place.   History teaches us that when a system or idea is destroyed it must be replaced with something of equal or greater value, if not a vacuum is created, and chaos follows.

The government has created a system of values that is being sanctioned by the masses, and the church is reinterpreting itself in order to remain inclusive. Too many church leaders have stepped away from the confrontational nature of the gospel and embraced a motivational and prosperity message that massages the sinful nature of man. 

In the early days of Christianity, a different lifestyle was a part of being a Christian.  Christians were a name given to those who were said to be followers Christ and those that adopted this lifestyle were previously warned by Jesus that they would be  persecuted because of their lifestyle.  Blending was not a trait that Christians embraced and they were encouraged by their teachers to separate themselves and rejoice in tribulation.   

After the killing of Jesus Christ by crucifixion, persecution of the Christians intensified under the rule of the Roman Empire.   There was a concerted effort by the Jewish elite and the Romans to stamp out this new religion called Christianity.  Upholding the values of this new religion was instrumental in the early death of all of the Apostles and many of the newly converted followers of the Gospel.  Paul was one of the chief instigators of church persecution, yet when he was converted, he endured the same hardship like a good soldier.

The church was formed in the midst of persecution, as a place of refuge, a place where members assembled to support to each other.  In the midst of persecution the church flourished.  This was not the intent of the Devil.  The Christians were expected to compromise their values in exchange for a life filled with worldly pleasure.  The Devil drunk with a false sense of success in his campaign to destroy the Jews and after the crucifixion of Christ turned his full attention to  the destruction of the Church.  

Realizing that torture did not work against the early church, the Devil devise a scheme to infiltrate the church and destroy it from within.  The Roman Emperor Constantine became the instrument used by the Devil.  In 312 AD, the great persecution was still going on in the Eastern part of the Roman Empire. Constantine became a Roman Emperor and he is said to have had a vision, which made him convert from Paganism to Christianity.  Christianity replaced Paganism as the religion of the Empire.  The Christians were given high-level positions within the government and the church moved into richly endowed buildings.   The pagan influence began to infiltrate the church; the values of Christianity began to change as the church walked hand in hand with the government.  The result of this marriage caused Jesus to issue a stinging indictment against his church in Revelation 2: and 3: 

Christianity was no longer a persecuted religion within the ruling empire and the emerging church begun to look upon Constantine as the great deliverer.  Deliverance from persecution was something the Emperor not Jesus had not done, thus Emperor Worship and the worship of men found it place in the church.  Jesus expressed his disdain for those who came into the church for the purpose of ruling the church.  "But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate."   "So hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate." (Revelation 2:15) 

Whether it was or was not Constantine's intent to pollute the Christianity is arguably, yet the Devil used these concessions to merge Christian and pagan values.  Pagan worshippers not wanting to left on the outside of this newly emerging power base came into the church without the benefit of conversion. They profess a belief in Christianity, yet they clung to the traditions and values of paganism.  In many instances, they continued to worship their same gods and celebrated their pagan Holidays.

The organized church became a polluted church, steeped in pagan tradition, with men installing themselves as the head of Christ church.  Thus began a journey of false teaching and reinterpreting the scripture to fit a particle narrative.   The weapon of choice was scriptures out of context.  The Devil, now confident that he had achieved a victory, accepted his position within the organize church and guided it towards it first major split.