Friday, July 29, 2005

# 37: You Must Decide

Many of the principles described in this post are apparently novel and challenging in comparison to what most of us have been taught by Christian religions. Did I just make them up in order to manipulate you? If you think so, for what reason? Do I want your money? An emphatic no! Do I want you as my disciple? A disciple of what, I might ask? I am a nothing. Do I desire to start a church, and have you as a member? Absolutely not. That would be the last thing I would desire. Am I attempting to trick you into leaving your church? I am not attempting to trick you, no, but according to the New Testament, most churches are way off base in their teachings. There must be some reason why I am publishing this post. As I examine my motive(s), this is the only reason I can come up with at this time: I have an innate, uncontrollable loathing for deceivers, especially those who attempt to pass themselves off as men/women of God. I can't explain why or where it came from—don’t most of us have that trait, to one degree or another?

You may ask, “Aren’t we supposed to be tolerant of all people’s beliefs/faith?” Tolerant, yes, but that doesn’t necessarily mean we must acknowledge their beliefs as truth. Therefore, I am compelled to expose deceivers (as I see them) with the truth as I read it in the Bible. The New Testament truth is many times extremely fanatical, to the point where it violates ALL rules of common sense. What do I do with those verses that express themselves that way? Do I attempt to explain them away? No! Ignore them? No. But I do try to explain why they have to be that way, and why we must somehow adhere to them. I’m aware that this doesn’t make for a popular or conducive message.

We (all of us) love to be told that we are loving, great, smart, wonderful and so on. Most of us will not accept being told, by this blog or others, that our lives are in error, going in the wrong direction, or any other negative reviews. I can truly understand that. I hate being told I am wrong except when it is true. I don’t mind being told I am wrong when I am in accordance with the Bible. Now you must decide whether I am a deranged but cleaver manipulator, some sort of religious nut, or a person who is attempting to spread the truth in a manner (which rubs us the wrong way) that has not been used before, to any great degree. If you believe I am in error, too fanatical or whatever other reason, send in your comments. I will respond to all that require a response.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Al,

These verses came to my mind as I read this blog, I think John the Baptist rubbed a few people the wrong way.

Matthew 3:7-10 But when he saw many Pharisees and Sadducees coming to be baptized, he denounced them. "You brood of snakes!" he exclaimed. "Who warned you to flee God's coming judgment? Prove by the way you live that you have really turned from your sins and turned to God. Don't just say, `We're safe--we're the descendants of Abraham.' That proves nothing. God can change these stones here into children of Abraham. Even now the ax of God's judgment is poised, ready to sever your roots. Yes, every tree that does not produce good fruit will be chopped down and thrown into the fire.

Anonymous said...

The same goes for Jesus - His many encounters with the scribes, saduccees and pharisees had the same tone. He called them many times on neglecting the more important matters of the law.

Anonymous said...

ur geeks i wanna find out what a crime against religion is 4 my hometwork but i get this wtf?? its geeky