Why Fundamentalist Churches (and other "Born-Again" religions)
are Really the Devil's Teaching
No, my purpose is not to condemn. Jesus spoke plainly enough in
saying: "Judge not, lest by same measure thou be judged.", but he also
said: "Be wise as serpents." We need to understand and we need to use
discernment. I do not advocate a return to the time when Christian murdered
Christian over whose interpretation was correct, but we have become too
complacent in tolerating, without argument or dissent, any notion presented
as "Christian". We must face the fact that the mentality behind earlier
"Christian" atrocities is still with us.
I hereby charge all "Born-Agains", who hold any outside authority
above the light of God within, to be duped by the devil into accepting a
dangerous and unhealth religion, based solely on a few words from Paul (who
meet Jesus only once), and the manipulations of a few church elders from
Irenaeus to Emperor Justinian. This religion exists in total disregard for
the teachings of Christ, Jesus himself, or that of any of his disciples.
"Believe and be Saved" is their cry. You must accept the personal
sacrifice of Jesus as the price for the forgiveness of your sins and your
salvation unto eternal life. The "Sacrifice" of which they speak, is his
death. Did Jesus willingly turn himself over to the authorities and offer
his life? Did he calmly walk up to an alter and lay himself down? Was he
lawfully executed? No, he was murdered. The fact that he knew his execution
could not be avoided did not change the nature of his death. So, as the
price of your immortality, they teach that you have to praise and give
thanks for the murder of Christ, thereby lowering yourself to the level of
an accomplice to murder!
Is this really what Jesus wanted? Jesus said: "I want mercy and
not sacrifice" - Matt 9:13. He NEVER said that we should give thanks for
his murder, or that he was to be sacrificed in payment for our sins.
Consequences:
First, since all you have to do to be saved is to BELIEVE, you
can commit any crimes or offenses you want to (providing you can get away
with them) since all your sins are already forgiven. Not all people who
believe this way take such liberties, but tales of the crimes of Born-Again
Christians are widespread. Many have claimed themselves to be "Christian"
to lower the defenses of the niave in order to take advantage of them.
Second, by accepting Christ's murder, they have established that
is is right for the individual to be sacrificed for the benefit of the
many. It thereby becomes alright for them to sacrifice your life and
interests to serve their wants and needs. This can only contribute to the
first problem, since it becomes okay to victimize another individual (or
group) in order to benefit yourself. It also tells people in government
that it is alright to let a few innocent people go to prison or die in the
electric chair in the effort to get rid of the criminals. It deludes
officials and lay people alike into ignoring the causes of crime, because
the immediate problem is alieviated by sacrificing real (or imagined)
criminals. Or it becomes okay to raise taxes or take bribes to increase
their own salaries. The only lives that don't cease to have value are their
own.
One of the fallacies with this view, is the short-sighted notion
that "Ends justify means". They CANNOT, for the simple reason that Ends
REFLECT their means. Dogma however, has the effect of locking people into
not looking past expectations and superficialities.
Third, many, even among the most virtuous of Born-Agains, reject
the importance of works, since works, by their teachings, are unnecessary.
In so doing, they make themselves no better than the priests and Levites
who passed the man on the road who had robbed and beaten. the man who Jesus
praised was the "unclean" Samaritan who stopped out of compassion and
helped. More so, good service in their business dealings is fast becoming a
thing of the past. In a country where Service Industries are experiencing
phenomenal growth, the customer no longer comes first; only his money does.
Once they have the customer's money, they do as little for him as they can
get away with. According a survey at least a decade old, over 60% of the
children in this country no longer even know what the Golden Rule is.
"Inasmuch as you have done it to one of the
least of these my brethern, you did it unto me." Matt.25:40
Fourth, it creates a false idea of immortality, that we only get
one chance at life, and then either get thrown into a lake of fire or sent
to heaven. (This notion did not come from Christianity, but from
Zoroastrianism) References are made several places in the gospels to a
different version of immortality. Matt. 4:5, 11:13-14, 16:13-14, 17:12-13,
Mark 6:15, 9:13, Luke 7:27, John 8:56, and 9:1-2 all indicate that the
disciples accepted reincanation as fact. Jesus stated quite clearly: "You
are gods" John 10:34 (quoting Ps.82:6). The body dies; the child of God
within CANNOT. If a belief in reincarnation was not a part of early
Christian teaching, then the Fifth Ecumenical Council, in 553 AD, would
have been spinning delusions by making that teaching a heresy.
If this view is correct, then immortality is already ours; we
need only learn to see with the soul's eyes to realize it and remember
where we have been. (An enormous amount of scientific evidence has already
been compiled from hypnosis, from "living incarnates", and from the
corroboration of the information therefrom, to attest to this possibility.)
This view demands responsibility. Whatever we put into this world, we have
to live with, not just for this lifetime, but for as long as it lasts. If
it is wrong, we can either fix it, or suffer the consequences, over and
over again, until we do fix it. Since the Kingdom of Heaven is within us,
we also have the power, as children of God, to materialize that Kingdom on
Earth.
The Born-Again view, however, imposes no responsibility, neither
to the earth, nor to our fellow man. Neither does it offer much hope for a
better world, as even if we improve it, our enjoyment of it is short-lived.
Fifth, all of the teachings of Jesus recorded in the Bible become
as naught, because if all you have to do to be saved is to BELIEVE, then
nothing that Jesus had to say has any further relevance and can be
disregarded. Isn't this what the Devil wants us to do? That we should
ignore all of the good things Jesus had to teach us about love, compassion,
faith, understanding, the powers of the spirit, and the promise of a better
world? That we should remember, but vaguely, only the commandments of Moses
and forget the commandments of Jesus? Or does it really matter what harm we
commit?
The Born-Agains demand that we believe on the basis of authority,
presumably the Bible's, but practically speaking, on this or that
preacher's interpretation. Jesus tells up to: "Ask, and it shall be given
to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it shall be opened for you." -
Matt.7:7 & Luke 11:10. However, the man who has found the authority of
Christ within is no longer subject to the authority of preacher, or church,
or state. He is no longer vulnerable to be used as pawn for whatever evil
that others may wish him to commit. Isn't THAT exactly what the Devil does
NOT want?
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