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Deplorable Christianity? |
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| by Craige McMillan |
| Actually, it's not Christianity that is deplorable. It's what Christians have done to Christianity that is deplorable.
Certain individuals seem drawn to power. Some people want to serve those in power, while others want to wield power over their fellows. Religion has always been an attractive vehicle for these people. The Jews had their pharisees, who were the religious lawyers of their day. These folks tinkered with the God's original Ten Commandments until they grew and became so complex and burdensome in interpretation and administration that the lawyer class was assured of permanent priesthood and power in explaining to others what God really meant. Jesus destroyed the pharisaic establishment's charade. He demonstrated power, grace and authority they did not possess. They in turn destroyed Him—to preserve their power. In so doing they unwittingly accomplished God's purpose in establishing the New Covenant with all of humanity. The early Christian church preached great sermons, which is why in a few centuries this new religion had overrun the rest of the known world. Of course, the sermons were augmented by Jesus' original disciples, who continued in their Master's work: healing the sick, raising the dead, casting out demons and explaining what the resurrection meant: Jesus had paid it all. The Catholic church went on from where the Jews had left off with religious rules, but did them one better. The Catholics established a human figurehead for Jesus, in the pope. That worked well for them until Martin Luther (and fifty years earlier) Gutenberg's printing press came on the scene. Gutenberg fashioned the weapon; Luther threw it into the assembly. The explosion was felt throughout the Western world. The protestant movement begun by Luther has never recovered from so many different denominations. Many of their emphasis and beliefs were harmless preferences for worship, but the farther along the road from Luther, the further out many of them moved. The Catholics, meanwhile, toned down the sale of indulgences and kept chugging along. Christian scholars arose to defend both sides of the arguments and sometimes add their own. The persons of Jesus, the Holy Spirit and God the Father found themselves abandoned in favor of new rules established and finally enforced by each denomination. Many churches became embroiled in arguments against the practices of other churches, who took issue with those arguments. The supernatural power of the early Church became a rarity, disputed and argued about by theologians at Christian colleges. Religion run by man always fails. Before manmade religion fails, however, it becomes ugly. Lawyers have existed from the beginning of time. They are no less burdensome when they wear clerical garb and pretend to wield the power of God. God, however, has proven very adept at getting out of the various boxes we have packaged Him into across the ages. Humanity often finds His escape chaotic. Once again, it seems that God has engineered His escape. This time the secular world has joined with the contentious religious denominations and their squabbles in an effort to get God back in the box. With secularism's help, evolution has replaced creation as the accepted explanation for our existence. Modern medicine has replaced supernatural healing. The universe has been kneaded and punched into the shape, like a roll of dough being readied for the oven. Eternity has been reduced to the length of time that modern medicine can keep us alive without bankrupting the all powerful welfare state. At the present moment, God out of the box may be more than most of us can handle. The world is in crisis. People are at one another's throats over an election and new leadership. There are scientific wars about most everything. And the Christian church is dying of asphyxiation from its collective good works and lack of spiritual power. It's just the kind of environment that piques God's interest. You can come along with Him and find out what he's up to. The Armageddon Story: Judgement, Interrupted series has been picked up by a publisher and is being reissued. Existing books one and two have gone on deep discount through the end of this year, before the newly redesigned ones are released. Reconnaissance: The Creator Returns (Vol. 1) and Behind Enemy Lines: Supernatural Meddling (Vol. 2) are available at Amazon, Kobo, and Nook. When you finish books one and two, you will be ready for the new release of Absolution: The Singularity (Vol. 3, Jan. 15, 2017). Photo Credit: Wikimedia |
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