Religious Nut-cases & Idiots

As they do every Easter, the TV channels once again this year gave news snippets from around the world of people celebrating  this event.  And as always, the news footage was limited to celebrations taking place in the English (Anglican/Episcopalian), Romanist and Orthodox cathedrals, with news readers using such language as, “Christians around the world” and, “The Church.”  We saw the cameras zoom in on clergymen decked out in albs, amices, chasubles, stoles, birettas, mitres, large silver and gold crosses … lots of people bowing, kissing crosses, faces and hands etc, and my only thoughts were, “How idolatrous, blasphemous and pretentious this whole deal is.”

I thought pretty much the same thing times earlier when viewing the religious Greek tradition known as the annual Cross Dive … people diving into water in a race to retrieve a cross that gets tossed in.  Apparently those who participate, “are taking part in Jesus’ baptism; they’re striving for the cross … striving to be Christ-like.”  Then just recently “The Church” was in the news again showing Romanist cardinals and nuns bending to kiss the exhumed coffin of Pope John Paul 2, one of them apparently saying he, “was visibly moved” by such an act. One newspaper headline read, “Pope beatifies John Paul 2 before 1.5 million faithful.”  My question is – faithful to what and to whom?

Why is it that idolatrous, blasphemous, pretentious religious people are thought and spoken of as “faithful” … but committed born again, Holy Spirit-led, Jesus Christ-centered, Bible-based Christians are thought and spoken of as religious nut-cases & idiots?  Without any desire to insult but rather, my only desire to inform, Exodus 20:1-5 clearly shows us that all violations of that First Commandment makes the violator a religious nutcase & idiot, not us.  Someone who makes a practice of kissing human hands and feet, “holy” objects such as books, crosses, statues, relics, bits of wood, tables, altars, coffins, pictures and photographs are seen by God as exactly that, as any proper study of Isaiah 44:9-20 will confirm.

Theologians tell us that people who do these things have distorted concepts of God, because God is a Spirit and therefore He must be worshipped in harmony with His nature.  Anything less is an expression of human pride and  arrogance.  New Testament Romans 1:18-32 shows us that any rejection of the true God has great moral implications as well.  This is why sexual immorality is so rife in those “churches.”  No wonder the English (Episcopalian) Church is gunning for same-sex marriage.  No wonder so many Romanist men can stand in their pulpits and speak out against child-sex and pornography and yet at the same time be the very worst perpetrators of it … truly they are religious nut-cases & idiots!

Over the years I’ve heard people ask why it is that there is so little genuine repentance from among the idolatrous, blasphemous, pretentious religious people.  The answer is God has seen to it that they cannot.  People who will not retain (the true) God in their knowledge get handed over to vile passions and a debased mind to do whatever comes into that mind.  Part of that judgment from the Lord is for such people to be filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality etc, Romans 1:26-32.  Scary stuff – even for a religious nut-case & idiot, but he won’t admit it – he can’t admit it!  Despite all contrary appearances, not only is he a God-rejecter, but he’s a God-hater.  The only God he loves is the god of his imagination which is in reality himself.

Bible-living Christians must not allow themselves to become spiritually duped by the religious words and actions of these people in these last days.  These religious institutions are going to unite … and when they do so they are are going to come in for a more favorable time from the world’s media, just like we saw it with the burial of that Pope a few years ago.  And we who stand for no-One but the biblical Lord Jesus Christ are going to come under intense persecution.  We also need to settle it right here right now that this persecution will not come from the media so much, it will come from, “Christians around the world” who have aligned themselves with “The Church.”

What I’m saying here is, all “Protestant” churches who do/will not stand for the Bible alone (Sola Scriptura), have already aligned themselves to this religious organization.  The fact that there’s no visible joining presently is but a mere formality.  It also needs to be said that many within her ranks are just as filled with all unrighteous and sexual immorality as the others!  It has to be, because it’s part of the judgment of God upon them.  The fact that most of them have not been exposed is yet again but a mere formality.  Of course, it goes without saying that such judgments do not apply solely to church leaders, but to all who love to play religious games giving the impression they’re someone they’re not in reality.

Perhaps most “Protestants” would not be into (at this stage) kissing things tangible such as human hands, feet, books, coffins and crosses … but how about their “kissing” of doctrines, denominations and “doctors” of divinity?  I was discussing the blessing I’ve always received from reading Christian books with a fellow Christian one time, and she said, “All those books, surely they can’t all be from God.”  Her concern was not really “all those books” but the fact that none of them were written by her church leaders.  Like everyone else in that organization she had limited herself to their books only, because she had bought into the lie that her leaders were, “the human face of Jesus Christ to you.”

Although she had never thought of it as such, or ever used the language, “popes” were part of her deal too.  But she’s not the only one, nor her group the only one.  The first church I ever attended as a born again Christian was a Baptist church.  Older members used to talk from time to time of their proud traditions and history … all of which should have been admired and honored by us all.  The only problem was there came a severe clash with the Holy Spirit and the living Scriptures.  A few of us stood for those and were told to leave.  Interestingly, sexual immorality showed up in that place.  I didn’t know why back then, but today I see it clearly … God hands us over to what’s in our hearts – no exceptions!

Hosea 9:10 tells us that we become like that which we love and worship.  If we love and worship God as He is, a Spirit – and we do so in spirit and in truth then the Holy Spirit will make sure we become like Jesus.  On the other hand, if our love and worship is placed upon people, places and things, then we separate ourselves to that shame and become an abomination like the thing we love.  No wonder the religious spirit is so enticing.  See my post: The TRUE One True Church.  No wonder the institutional church is a great curse on societies all around the world.  See my post: A Great Curse of Society.  Idolatrous worship is popular and powerful, but it putrefies and petrifies.

A few years ago two men wrote a book putting the proposal that, “most of what present-day Christians do in church each Sunday is rooted not in the New Testament, but in pagan culture and rituals developed long after the death of the apostles.”  Naturally enough, these men have come under a fair amount of criticism for what they’ve written.  Without having done much study of church history, it nevertheless seems to explain to me why the preference nearly all churches demonstrate for their traditions, history and practices, over and above the Scriptures.  In other words, the Scriptures are always accepted to a point, but only to a point.  When push comes to shove, it has always been my experience to observe the Scriptures get shoved.

When the Scriptures do get the shove (even ever so subtly) then that lines up with pagan behavior, not Christian behavior.  Perhaps it’s no wonder, given the pagan roots these men say the “church” has been founded upon.  Like begets like without fail every time.  So what does this mean?  It means that all people in those places who say they’re hungering and thirsting for righteousness, holiness and truth are being corrupted along the way and they don’t know it.  Not only that, but this corruption from here on in is going to increase at an exponential level not seen before.  It means for you, the reader of this post … if you’re in one of those places, you must now get out.

What’s the alternative?  You can stay, but you’ll become idolatrous, blasphemous, pretentious and religious.  You will have joined the ranks of religious nut-cases & idiots, not the ranks of God’s holy people.  Don’t believe the devil’s lie that it’s better for you to stay so as you can be a guide or help for others less knowledgeable or spiritual than yourself.  That is not the way God works in institutions rooted in idolatry, blasphemy and pretentiousness.  Besides, you will not be fighting the devil, you’ll be fighting God and He’s never been known to lose!  Not only that, but if you willingly stay in that place you will be divinely judged along with the rest of them.

Remember Matthew 7:21, it is “the will of the Father” that’s important, not the will of religious men.  Too many of them are on their way to hell.  Someone asks, “If I get out, where do I go?”  You’ll just have to trust the Lord on that.  Without wishing to make a doctrine out of my experiences, I have found such a question to be unreasonable.  Why?  Because it has trapped me into reasoning things out for myself.  The reality is if we act, or fail to act as a result of our own reasoning, then not only are we ignoring God’s word on the matter, but we are saying we know better.

That makes us not only disobedient, it also makes us idolatrous – our opinion becomes our idol!  And sadly, the “church” is full of self-opinionated people.  That’s why it is what it is and where it is today.  Go ahead, let other voices label you a religious nut-case & idiot.  Just make sure the voice of God is not amongst them. “Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates of the city.  But outside are dogs and sorcerers and sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters and whoever loves and practices a lie.” Revelation 22:14-15.