For those of you who read this blog and are not afraid of exploring points of view that give a different slant on life in God, I absolutely must recommend my husband's blog redemption4all.
It's been encouraging for me to see him take this plunge into the blogosphere. He has a lot to say and does not hold back. His perspective makes for interesting reading.
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Saturday, September 13, 2008
Eternal Life
Modern day Christianity teaches that in order to receive eternal life we need to ask Jesus into our heart and ask Him to forgive our sins. If we don't we are lost and will spend eternity separated from God.
This idea that eternal life can be attained by simply saying a few words is challenged in Mark 10:17-27. A man asks Jesus “what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?” Jesus gave him a shortened version of the Ten Commandments. The man said that he had kept them all from his youth. He evidently was a moral man. Jesus then told him to sell everything that he has and give the money to the poor. Also He tells the man to take up his cross and follow Him. The man realizing he couldn‘t (or wouldn’t) do these things went away sad.
Jesus asked the man to give up something that was very important to him. How many people today sell everything they have in order to be saved? Probably next to none. If any one of us was asked to give up the most valuable thing in our lives, we would all struggle to do it. Where our treasure is that is were our heart is. Jesus was asking the man to give up his heart. This is impossible for any of us to do. If you give up your heart you give up your life.
He also asked the man to take up his cross and follow Him. Where was Jesus going? He was headed to the cross to die. Was He asking this man to die also on a cross next to him in order to attain eternal life? Possibly.
The disciples were astonished at Jesus’ words to the man and posed a question to Him. “Who then can be saved?” Perhaps they were thinking that Jesus’ requirements were too difficult for anyone to qualify. Jesus answered them by saying, “With men it is impossible, but not with God, with God all things are possible.”
In other words, redemption (eternal life) is only possible through God. Men cannot attain eternal life by what they do. If our works were what qualified us, what and how much would we have to do in order for it to be enough? The very thought that our feeble human abilities can earn the gift of eternal life from God is an insult to Jesus and the price that He paid.
I believe that God saved mankind without any of us having a part in it. Ephesians 2:5 says “even when we were dead in trespasses, (God) made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved)”. We were redeemed while yet in our sins. It was not our believing in Jesus that redeemed us. It was not our asking for forgiveness for our sins which redeemed us. It was Jesus’ work on the Cross that brought redemption to the whole world. I Timothy 4:10 says “…we trust in the living God, who is the Savior of all men, especially of those that believe.” Jesus’ death, burial, resurrection, and ascension back to his father brought redemption and made it possible for each human to become a believer.
This idea that eternal life can be attained by simply saying a few words is challenged in Mark 10:17-27. A man asks Jesus “what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?” Jesus gave him a shortened version of the Ten Commandments. The man said that he had kept them all from his youth. He evidently was a moral man. Jesus then told him to sell everything that he has and give the money to the poor. Also He tells the man to take up his cross and follow Him. The man realizing he couldn‘t (or wouldn’t) do these things went away sad.
Jesus asked the man to give up something that was very important to him. How many people today sell everything they have in order to be saved? Probably next to none. If any one of us was asked to give up the most valuable thing in our lives, we would all struggle to do it. Where our treasure is that is were our heart is. Jesus was asking the man to give up his heart. This is impossible for any of us to do. If you give up your heart you give up your life.
He also asked the man to take up his cross and follow Him. Where was Jesus going? He was headed to the cross to die. Was He asking this man to die also on a cross next to him in order to attain eternal life? Possibly.
The disciples were astonished at Jesus’ words to the man and posed a question to Him. “Who then can be saved?” Perhaps they were thinking that Jesus’ requirements were too difficult for anyone to qualify. Jesus answered them by saying, “With men it is impossible, but not with God, with God all things are possible.”
In other words, redemption (eternal life) is only possible through God. Men cannot attain eternal life by what they do. If our works were what qualified us, what and how much would we have to do in order for it to be enough? The very thought that our feeble human abilities can earn the gift of eternal life from God is an insult to Jesus and the price that He paid.
I believe that God saved mankind without any of us having a part in it. Ephesians 2:5 says “even when we were dead in trespasses, (God) made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved)”. We were redeemed while yet in our sins. It was not our believing in Jesus that redeemed us. It was not our asking for forgiveness for our sins which redeemed us. It was Jesus’ work on the Cross that brought redemption to the whole world. I Timothy 4:10 says “…we trust in the living God, who is the Savior of all men, especially of those that believe.” Jesus’ death, burial, resurrection, and ascension back to his father brought redemption and made it possible for each human to become a believer.
Thursday, September 11, 2008
How many cults have you belonged to?
A couple of days ago I wrote about cults. If you read it, you might surmise that some of these events were mine. That would be correct.
If you look up the definition of “cult” in a dictionary, you would find mostly positive definitions. Random House Unabridged defines it as “a particular system of religious worship, esp. with reference to its rites and ceremonies”.
I’ve been thinking about all the churches that I have attended throughout my lifetime. They all had definite rites and ceremonies. A “rite” is “the prescribed or customary form for conducting a religious or other solemn ceremony”. (American Heritage). Therefore, it could be said that any religious group that holds to a customary form in the conducting of a ceremony is a cult.
Wait a minute. These weren’t outrageous cultic groups. The churches I’ve attended since birth are of a wide variety and persuasion and most would be considered to be within the mainstream church realm.
I was born into an evangelical denomination in the Midwest. It was a small rural church and they taught that I needed to be born again in order to get to heaven. Nothing radical there, right? I resisted this teaching until I was 17 years old when I made a public profession of faith at an evangelical crusade in a neighboring town. I know that I definitely had a salvation experience. I felt like I was a new person. Certain aspects of my behavior changed overnight and I knew that I had nothing to do with it. I knew God accepted me because my sins were forgiven. My sins weren’t hanging over my head with impending judgment coming. I was happy and free. I wasn’t so sure about future sins. The “lay me down to sleep” prayer, which I learned as a child, seemed to take care of those. At least for a while.
The next church I attended after leaving home for college was a Baptist church near the college. I attended Sunday morning service for most of my freshman year. It was easy to come and go because we were college students and we had commitments elsewhere. I was a part of the Campus Crusade for Christ group at school so didn’t feel any need to participate at the church.
Several friends of mine from college had exposed me to the charismatic movement during this first year. The whole charismatic/pentecostal experience was totally foreign to me until I read a book they gave me. This started me thinking that if this experience was real it might explain why I felt empty so much of the time. I didn’t get along well with my roommate (a strong Catholic) and this bothered me.
In the spring, a singing group from a nearby Christian Bible college gave a concert on our campus. After the concert the choir members came into the audience and “ministered” the baptism of the spirit to those who wanted to be prayed for. Of course I was sitting with the friends who gave me the book and I thought what could it hurt to be prayed for. After that experience (tongues and all) I felt a depth of love inside me that I didn’t have before. I attributed it to the “baptism” experience. Something definitely happened… but what? Another salvation experience?
No longer could I attend the Baptist church. I had to go to a church that accepted my new experience. My choices were between a spirit-filled Lutheran group and a Pentecostal church on the other side of town. Someone from the Campus Crusade group convinced me to go to the other side of town. I experienced culture shock… to say the least. These people seemed on fire and in tune with God. I thought “this is much better than the previous church. It’s alive. These people know how to get in touch with God.” Much to my dismay over the next two years while attending several churches of this denomination in several cities, my life didn’t become more sanctified but just the opposite. Looking good in church and being someone else behind closed doors became a large part of my life. It wasn’t difficult to do. On the contrary it was quite easy to play the game.
Next, I found myself going west where I became involved in a startup Pentecostal church (different denomination) in southern California. The church didn’t last long. I never gave it much thought why. Personally I was relieved when it was closed because I could never put my heart into visiting people in their homes asking them to come to our church. I figured there must be something wrong with me. I never felt good about doing all the things we were supposed to be enthused about doing to fulfill our pastor’s vision.
My roommate, who was part of this church, found a para-church group in town that piqued her interest. After I attended a few meetings, I was hooked. The people were very friendly and took a personal interest in me. This was overwhelming. Being part of this organization over the next 14 years proved to be the best of all my experiences in organized Christianity. Not only did I meet and marry the man of my life, three of our children were born during this time. There was group Bible study every day. We lived on the same property with other believers and shared our lives with each other.
It was great at first. My heart was to be part of a group that was “really doing something for God“. I felt that this ministry’s heart matched God‘s heart. After a number of years however, the group thing wore thin on me. One example of this would be having to answer for our whereabouts. As a family we felt controlled and manipulated. This ended when the pastor died in his sleep one night. From that point the group dissipated.
Less than two years later we moved to my husband’s hometown in northern California. We had three children under the age of eight and no worldly possessions to speak of. My husband’s parents helped us get settled. Our way of dealing with the past was to simply start doing something for God. We joined a local church. Not just any church but a church that was antithetic to the one we just left. This new one had Baptist church affiliation that leaned toward the Willow Creek seeker-friendly approach. Part of our decision to attend this church was because we believed Christians were supposed to be united despite doctrinal issues. We found ourselves amongst friendly people. Friendliness, however, proved to not be enough. After a couple of years, doctrinal issues surfaced. My husband had begun to minister the baptism of the spirit to some of the members and they started speaking in tongues. Oh, oh. We found ourselves gently escorted out the door. This experience was quite difficult for me. I struggled for a number of months with the question... Where was the unity and love in all that?
Then I realized, through the turmoil of this experience, that we were going to start a church. Evidently my husband and the previous pastor had talked about it as a next step for us. My memories of these decisions are very dull. It is hard to believe that I was alive during this time. I had absolutely no heart to be a pastor’s wife. It terrified me. I was raising three boys. How could I find a heart to raise other people and their kids too? It didn’t seem fair. After a few months of trying, we dropped the idea and we found another church to attend.
We’ve always endeavored to find a place of service to God wherever we‘ve gone. A place where we could “serve God’s people“. This was our heart.
The next 12 years at this next church proved to be the culmination of all our efforts to please God. This is where we played out cataclysmic experiences which served to catapult us out of traditional church.
We raised our boys and a late edition daughter at this church. We gave our time and energies to this church, and so did our children. Practically every time the doors opened some representative of our family was there. We wore ourselves out in the name of God, over and over and over again.
Personally, I got tired. I felt alone. I hid this from those around me. I became a non-person, disconnected from life itself. I lost heart and gave up hopes of having abundance again. The basic message from the pulpit was one of reaching the lost. Being a full-time mom and teacher to my children left me little time or energy to go out and get people into the church building so the pastor could preach his messages to them. The Gospel of peace and grace was not taught. There had to be a way to live the Christian life abundantly. This dissatisfaction went on for years. We thought the church experience was good for our children. Eventually all hell broke loose. Our personal lives fell apart. I’ve written about this in earlier posts. Expectations which I had for the church to be able to help us fell short. We left quietly.
In almost two years since that time my life has returned to me. The grace and peace of the Gospel is restoring life to me. The obligation and expectation that I functioned in for so long finally caught up with me. I now choose freedom. That doesn’t mean there aren’t days that I struggle. There are plenty. But the good days far outweigh the bad.
If you look up the definition of “cult” in a dictionary, you would find mostly positive definitions. Random House Unabridged defines it as “a particular system of religious worship, esp. with reference to its rites and ceremonies”.
I’ve been thinking about all the churches that I have attended throughout my lifetime. They all had definite rites and ceremonies. A “rite” is “the prescribed or customary form for conducting a religious or other solemn ceremony”. (American Heritage). Therefore, it could be said that any religious group that holds to a customary form in the conducting of a ceremony is a cult.
Wait a minute. These weren’t outrageous cultic groups. The churches I’ve attended since birth are of a wide variety and persuasion and most would be considered to be within the mainstream church realm.
I was born into an evangelical denomination in the Midwest. It was a small rural church and they taught that I needed to be born again in order to get to heaven. Nothing radical there, right? I resisted this teaching until I was 17 years old when I made a public profession of faith at an evangelical crusade in a neighboring town. I know that I definitely had a salvation experience. I felt like I was a new person. Certain aspects of my behavior changed overnight and I knew that I had nothing to do with it. I knew God accepted me because my sins were forgiven. My sins weren’t hanging over my head with impending judgment coming. I was happy and free. I wasn’t so sure about future sins. The “lay me down to sleep” prayer, which I learned as a child, seemed to take care of those. At least for a while.
The next church I attended after leaving home for college was a Baptist church near the college. I attended Sunday morning service for most of my freshman year. It was easy to come and go because we were college students and we had commitments elsewhere. I was a part of the Campus Crusade for Christ group at school so didn’t feel any need to participate at the church.
Several friends of mine from college had exposed me to the charismatic movement during this first year. The whole charismatic/pentecostal experience was totally foreign to me until I read a book they gave me. This started me thinking that if this experience was real it might explain why I felt empty so much of the time. I didn’t get along well with my roommate (a strong Catholic) and this bothered me.
In the spring, a singing group from a nearby Christian Bible college gave a concert on our campus. After the concert the choir members came into the audience and “ministered” the baptism of the spirit to those who wanted to be prayed for. Of course I was sitting with the friends who gave me the book and I thought what could it hurt to be prayed for. After that experience (tongues and all) I felt a depth of love inside me that I didn’t have before. I attributed it to the “baptism” experience. Something definitely happened… but what? Another salvation experience?
No longer could I attend the Baptist church. I had to go to a church that accepted my new experience. My choices were between a spirit-filled Lutheran group and a Pentecostal church on the other side of town. Someone from the Campus Crusade group convinced me to go to the other side of town. I experienced culture shock… to say the least. These people seemed on fire and in tune with God. I thought “this is much better than the previous church. It’s alive. These people know how to get in touch with God.” Much to my dismay over the next two years while attending several churches of this denomination in several cities, my life didn’t become more sanctified but just the opposite. Looking good in church and being someone else behind closed doors became a large part of my life. It wasn’t difficult to do. On the contrary it was quite easy to play the game.
Next, I found myself going west where I became involved in a startup Pentecostal church (different denomination) in southern California. The church didn’t last long. I never gave it much thought why. Personally I was relieved when it was closed because I could never put my heart into visiting people in their homes asking them to come to our church. I figured there must be something wrong with me. I never felt good about doing all the things we were supposed to be enthused about doing to fulfill our pastor’s vision.
My roommate, who was part of this church, found a para-church group in town that piqued her interest. After I attended a few meetings, I was hooked. The people were very friendly and took a personal interest in me. This was overwhelming. Being part of this organization over the next 14 years proved to be the best of all my experiences in organized Christianity. Not only did I meet and marry the man of my life, three of our children were born during this time. There was group Bible study every day. We lived on the same property with other believers and shared our lives with each other.
It was great at first. My heart was to be part of a group that was “really doing something for God“. I felt that this ministry’s heart matched God‘s heart. After a number of years however, the group thing wore thin on me. One example of this would be having to answer for our whereabouts. As a family we felt controlled and manipulated. This ended when the pastor died in his sleep one night. From that point the group dissipated.
Less than two years later we moved to my husband’s hometown in northern California. We had three children under the age of eight and no worldly possessions to speak of. My husband’s parents helped us get settled. Our way of dealing with the past was to simply start doing something for God. We joined a local church. Not just any church but a church that was antithetic to the one we just left. This new one had Baptist church affiliation that leaned toward the Willow Creek seeker-friendly approach. Part of our decision to attend this church was because we believed Christians were supposed to be united despite doctrinal issues. We found ourselves amongst friendly people. Friendliness, however, proved to not be enough. After a couple of years, doctrinal issues surfaced. My husband had begun to minister the baptism of the spirit to some of the members and they started speaking in tongues. Oh, oh. We found ourselves gently escorted out the door. This experience was quite difficult for me. I struggled for a number of months with the question... Where was the unity and love in all that?
Then I realized, through the turmoil of this experience, that we were going to start a church. Evidently my husband and the previous pastor had talked about it as a next step for us. My memories of these decisions are very dull. It is hard to believe that I was alive during this time. I had absolutely no heart to be a pastor’s wife. It terrified me. I was raising three boys. How could I find a heart to raise other people and their kids too? It didn’t seem fair. After a few months of trying, we dropped the idea and we found another church to attend.
We’ve always endeavored to find a place of service to God wherever we‘ve gone. A place where we could “serve God’s people“. This was our heart.
The next 12 years at this next church proved to be the culmination of all our efforts to please God. This is where we played out cataclysmic experiences which served to catapult us out of traditional church.
We raised our boys and a late edition daughter at this church. We gave our time and energies to this church, and so did our children. Practically every time the doors opened some representative of our family was there. We wore ourselves out in the name of God, over and over and over again.
Personally, I got tired. I felt alone. I hid this from those around me. I became a non-person, disconnected from life itself. I lost heart and gave up hopes of having abundance again. The basic message from the pulpit was one of reaching the lost. Being a full-time mom and teacher to my children left me little time or energy to go out and get people into the church building so the pastor could preach his messages to them. The Gospel of peace and grace was not taught. There had to be a way to live the Christian life abundantly. This dissatisfaction went on for years. We thought the church experience was good for our children. Eventually all hell broke loose. Our personal lives fell apart. I’ve written about this in earlier posts. Expectations which I had for the church to be able to help us fell short. We left quietly.
In almost two years since that time my life has returned to me. The grace and peace of the Gospel is restoring life to me. The obligation and expectation that I functioned in for so long finally caught up with me. I now choose freedom. That doesn’t mean there aren’t days that I struggle. There are plenty. But the good days far outweigh the bad.
Monday, September 8, 2008
What is a cult?
The word “cult” has a negative connotation in the church world. If anyone is involved in a cult they are believed to be out of the normal flow of Christianity. Dictionary.com’s definition #6 states a cult as “a religion or sect considered to be false, unorthodox, or extremist, with members often living outside of conventional society under the direction of a charismatic leader.” These leaders have a special “calling” from God. They are idealized by their followers who feel special to be a part of the group. Acceptance and love are an important part of the experience. Belonging makes a person feel good about themselves. Validation (approval) is earned from the group by following the parameters laid down by those in charge.
What kind of people get involved in these groups? All kinds. People want truth. We’re built to go after it. Our mind and soul desires truth. There is usually some element of truth espoused by these groups. The meeting of basic human needs (love and acceptance) draws people. We want to belong. Our chances of becoming involved in one of these groups increase simply because we are human beings.
Inside the group, definite parameters of conduct are spelled out by those in charge. It is understood what is acceptable and what is not. These parameters are not to be crossed. If you fail in any rule of conduct, either intentionally or unintentionally, you will experience guilt and shame. You don’t want anyone in the group to know about your faults. You want to protect your safe world. If your inconsistencies are exposed you might lose the fruit of being a part of the group… validation, acceptance, and love. You must hide. Others must not know your faults. Hiding becomes part of your nature. You become a liar and a fake. Ironically, this runs opposite of what drew you to the group in the first place… TRUTH.
You may end up confessing your faults to someone in “authority” with the intent to alleviate the overwhelming guilt and shame and to possibly fix your problem. If this happens, watch out! Known rule breakers must be dealt with. If rules are not enforced, the structure of the group is in jeopardy. It is the structure that holds the group together. Its creeds and laws help the leaders maintain control of the group.
The leaders will discipline you. This can follow any number of directions. You could be hauled up in front of the whole group and corrected. Your shame and guilt have now been multiplied several times over even though the purpose of your confession was to alleviate these very feelings. The most strict of cults use these methods. Talk about behavior modification’s effectiveness!
Another method of discipline might put you in a place where you need to answer to certain people about your behavior. This keeps you on a leash. You are watched. You are monitored. This is meant to keep you in line so future failure does not occur. This discipline may work for a while but usually does not have the lasting effect it is meant to engender. You will end up feeling like a failure. This method is called “accountability” in real churches.
A third disciplinary action that may be employed is shunning. The American Heritage Dictionary defines the word shun as this: “To avoid deliberately; keep away from”. This disciplinary response can create paranoia in the shunned person. Paranoia is “a mental disorder characterized by systematized delusions and the projection of personal conflicts, which are ascribed to the supposed hostility of others, sometimes progressing to disturbances of consciousness and aggressive acts believed to be performed in self-defense or as a mission.” If paranoia results from shunning, a terrible cruelty has been inflicted upon this person. To alter the mind of person is callous at best. I don’t doubt that people who shun other people in this way don’t necessarily intend this damage. Those in charge may deny it as “discipline” altogether. Shunning will drive a person to “mental disorder” if allowed to continue. Another element that may be employed indirectly is gossip. The well meaning leader may tell someone of your fault and this person turns out to be a gossip. Before you know it, all sorts of people in the group know of your failure. This also tends to paranoia. Who knows and who doesn’t? You end up living in a surreal world when you are around these people. You know gossip is occurring, yet no one talks to you. They just smile. The “all-knowing” smile. Or the “you really blew it” smile. Or the “you poor thing” smile. Or the best of all “I don’t want to catch what you have” smile.
By the way, if the leader is telling someone about your situation and that person is in no way involved, does that make the leader a gossip too? Oh, no, they're probably just asking prayer for you. This is the road to insanity! GET OUT!
What kind of people get involved in these groups? All kinds. People want truth. We’re built to go after it. Our mind and soul desires truth. There is usually some element of truth espoused by these groups. The meeting of basic human needs (love and acceptance) draws people. We want to belong. Our chances of becoming involved in one of these groups increase simply because we are human beings.
Inside the group, definite parameters of conduct are spelled out by those in charge. It is understood what is acceptable and what is not. These parameters are not to be crossed. If you fail in any rule of conduct, either intentionally or unintentionally, you will experience guilt and shame. You don’t want anyone in the group to know about your faults. You want to protect your safe world. If your inconsistencies are exposed you might lose the fruit of being a part of the group… validation, acceptance, and love. You must hide. Others must not know your faults. Hiding becomes part of your nature. You become a liar and a fake. Ironically, this runs opposite of what drew you to the group in the first place… TRUTH.
You may end up confessing your faults to someone in “authority” with the intent to alleviate the overwhelming guilt and shame and to possibly fix your problem. If this happens, watch out! Known rule breakers must be dealt with. If rules are not enforced, the structure of the group is in jeopardy. It is the structure that holds the group together. Its creeds and laws help the leaders maintain control of the group.
The leaders will discipline you. This can follow any number of directions. You could be hauled up in front of the whole group and corrected. Your shame and guilt have now been multiplied several times over even though the purpose of your confession was to alleviate these very feelings. The most strict of cults use these methods. Talk about behavior modification’s effectiveness!
Another method of discipline might put you in a place where you need to answer to certain people about your behavior. This keeps you on a leash. You are watched. You are monitored. This is meant to keep you in line so future failure does not occur. This discipline may work for a while but usually does not have the lasting effect it is meant to engender. You will end up feeling like a failure. This method is called “accountability” in real churches.
A third disciplinary action that may be employed is shunning. The American Heritage Dictionary defines the word shun as this: “To avoid deliberately; keep away from”. This disciplinary response can create paranoia in the shunned person. Paranoia is “a mental disorder characterized by systematized delusions and the projection of personal conflicts, which are ascribed to the supposed hostility of others, sometimes progressing to disturbances of consciousness and aggressive acts believed to be performed in self-defense or as a mission.” If paranoia results from shunning, a terrible cruelty has been inflicted upon this person. To alter the mind of person is callous at best. I don’t doubt that people who shun other people in this way don’t necessarily intend this damage. Those in charge may deny it as “discipline” altogether. Shunning will drive a person to “mental disorder” if allowed to continue. Another element that may be employed indirectly is gossip. The well meaning leader may tell someone of your fault and this person turns out to be a gossip. Before you know it, all sorts of people in the group know of your failure. This also tends to paranoia. Who knows and who doesn’t? You end up living in a surreal world when you are around these people. You know gossip is occurring, yet no one talks to you. They just smile. The “all-knowing” smile. Or the “you really blew it” smile. Or the “you poor thing” smile. Or the best of all “I don’t want to catch what you have” smile.
By the way, if the leader is telling someone about your situation and that person is in no way involved, does that make the leader a gossip too? Oh, no, they're probably just asking prayer for you. This is the road to insanity! GET OUT!
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