God is only God if I can figure him out and make him make sense to me. I judge God by my standards. Not the other way around... I was still a fairly new believer. I ran across a woman who was a member of a pseudo-Christian cult. As soon as she heard I was Christian, she said, Theres only one God. And Jesus isnt God. I was bewildered. I was still young in the faith, but I had been reading the scriptures and I had read John 1. And I had a pretty good memory for what Id read. I answered, Doesnt it say that the Word was God? And that he dwelt among us? She handed me a Bible and said, Show me! I turned there and it said something different. I didnt know that her version- used exclusively by her group- had changed any reference to Christ being God in the flesh. She looked satisfied. Smug. How can a man be his own son? She said it like a taunt. As if that settled it. It took me months. I read her groups material. Poured through their magazines and pamphlets. And I read orthodox Christian material about her group. I searched the scriptures. I learned about her groups version of the Bible- even got hold of one and started comparing it to other bibles. I was new and didnt want to get this wrong. As she and I spoke regularly, she continued to revert to her question, How can a man be his own son? Even when I asked (not argued, but asked) about things that seemed to discount her contention. That was my first taste of human reasoning as the foundational basis for theology and practice. But not my last. I was reminded of this last night... In the 80s, the Peters Brothers wrote books about the dangers of rock music. Christians went nuts for it...hook, line, sinker. Rules were created. Children were disciplined. Certain bands were verbally tarred and feathered by people carrying the Name, though certainly NOT the message, of Christ. It became a movement. Radio stations received a barrage of letters and calls. Quit playing that satanic music! Concerts were picketed. Sermons were preached. Youth groups did studies. People were marginalized if they didnt agree. All based on this: Satan was a worship leader in heaven. God meant for music to be worship. Anything that isnt worship isnt from God. And Satan is the reverse of God. Rock uses reverse 4 4 time. And theres backmasking in it, so Satan is infiltrated our brains without us even knowing. Anything secular is, therefore, evil. Anything claiming to be Christian, yet using a rock beat, is suspect. Heck, some Christian group went to the Islands and borrowed the sound from a devil-worshiping tribe. And the artwork on the Journey albums are clearly, CLEARLY, based on ancient Egyptian worship practices. And Hotel California is OBVIOUSLY based on a love for the satanism. (Quick aside...Im STILL bummed that I finally gave in and got rid of my collection of incredible bands on 8-track. Robin Trower, Sabbath, Alice Cooper, Eagles and so much more). Yeah, there are bands who embrace the dark side. The enemy. And far more who claim to because it sells records. Pop Quiz. Who sang this? Could it be youre afraid of what your friends might say If they knew you believe in God above? They should realize before they criticize that God is the only way to love The Point...human reasoning outside scripture is the basis for 3 things: Cults, Legalism and Heresy. In the scriptures, Jesus deals with Sadducees who come to him believing there can be no resurrection. They use a story about a woman with 7 husbands...who will she be married to in heaven?...as a basis for their belief. Jesus says, Youre ignorant of the scripture and the power of God. And then he demolishes their argument. Easily. Shuts them down, boy! I read an article recently. It claimed that great numbers of people are turning away from an orthodox, historical and biblical view of hell. And then gave the reasons. Main point: the biblical view of hell would make us more compassionate than God, since we would never allow for conscious eternal torment. Therefore, this view of hell must be rejected. Seriously? So we judge God by our compassion, then reject anything that might contradict this judgment? In that case, lets reject the flood, the inhabitation of the Promised Land, Christs choosing of Judas as a disciple who would later betray and experience judgment, etc. The moment we shift from revealed truth to human wisdom as the basis for our decisions, we lose truth and do damage to The Faith.
Posted on: Thu, 11 Sep 2014 17:33:20 +0000
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