Bless the Churches
A wonderful blessing is that churchmen kept Christianity alive since churches were formalised in Rome 1700 tears ago.
Churches provide for the centres of worship and faith for millions of Christians today.
Active Christians worship God in the many different churches. Their love for others and widespread contributions to charity for missions of faith, education and medicine, are great blessings to society.
It is vital to emphasise that their beliefs and worship are basic to faith and must be respected.
Declining Support
The problem is that their numbers and therefore the influence of Christianity is declining.
In UK and USA church support is decreasing in terms of church closures. Consequently moral standards ay all levels are also declining, from political and business to family life. The latter is particularly important to children who need a stable home life as they grow up. Yet in USA half of marriages are expected to end in divorce. Single parents are common. There is also a soaring dependence on drugs.
People are turning already to human doctrines of increased state control of private lives.
Western people are also under threat from ruthless religious zealots who believe in spiritual rewards for killing their enemies.
It is no exaggeration to warn that our future depends on restoring Christianity on which our civilization was built. No effort should be spared to solve this problem.
Populations Have Changed
Western middle and working class people are now more educated, sophisticated and independent. Their incomes have
improved and they gained confidence.
They also increased their scientific and analytical competence. They might aptly be described as objective, scientific pragmatists who are now on the other side of the pulpit.
They no longer simply do what they are told, as their forbears had done. They now make up their own minds about what they see as right and wrong.
The majority do not accept the traditional, and slowly changing worship in churches.
The routine rituals of many church services are irrelevant to the issues of their everyday living. They might have been appropriate in past authoritative times when the lower ranks in society did, as they were told, but that is no longer the case.
Their working lives are tough and competitive. To survive each must be competent in their own increasingly specialised and narrow fields of work.
Specialisation They depend on reliable specialists who provide the essential information on all the other issues which affect their efficiency.
Although they depend ob the advice of many specialists, whose fields they do not fully understand, they must have have credibility. Sadly much of church ministry is not credible to their critical scrutiny. What they need is advice on everyday Christian Living and not the complicated church doctrines and ministries evolved by men over nearly 2000 years.
Work Most Christian lives are preoccupied with their work, just like the farmers, fishermen and publicans to whom Jesus preached 2000 years ago.Their work is now more complex and they deal with many more people, yet this us where the would serve God.
What they need are simple teaching of God’s Truth from the Gospels which founded the churches. The Christian duties of loving their neighbours are the same now as they were then. What they need now is simple Teaching of the same issues, updated for their complex lives.
Loving neighbours now includes choices of family, colleges and customers at work and social affairs. It is here that God is served and not in church. Church ministries have not kept up with their new needs.
Potential Christians
A survey in UK showed that they are three who believe in God, as those who worship. In USA an atheist leader estimated that 80%of the population believe in God.
They could be defined as Potential Christians who might be concerted if churches presented it in an acceptable form.
This problem is urgent. Without
belief in Christ’s Message, they miss the potential for their lives with faith in God. Instead many pursue selfish pleasures, indifferent to the needs of others. This turns out to be fruitless in the end.
The society is also missing their potential contributions to their community and hence the decline in Christian values.
Conclusion No effort should be spared to solve this threat to our future. Individuals are missing the blessings of living according to God’s Purpose which Jesus gave His life to bring to us.
Nationally Christian morality is being replaced by what is popular from the promises of politicians.
CHURCH TEACHING
Restoring Christianity to the emergent and critical population is our most challenging task today.
It is necessary to examine the evolution of church worship over nearly 2000 years. There are two different parts in it.
GOD’S TRUTH
Apostles founded Christianity 2000 years ago based on God’s Truth, brought by Christ. They founded it when they converted most of the known nations at that time. They started numerous and far flung informal churches.
The efforts and courage of all these unsung heroes are the greatest human contributions to Christianity. It is also evidence of the enormous power of the Holy Spirit to sustain the faithful.
They depended on God for food, clothing and shelter in all the hundreds of miles traveled to spread the Gospels. The early Christians survived in spite of persecution and even public sacrifice of their lives. This is a dramatic example of their faith and the sustained Power of the Holy Spirit.
The significant achievements of the new Christians are often overlooked. Christians owe them everything.
Their greatest achievement in recording God’s Truth is in the Gospels. This was a laborious task when every copy gad to be written by hand.
Their messages were only God’s Truth brought by Jesus.
Christ’s ministry was welcomed because it showed God as a loving Father who cared for every individual, no natter how humble.Christianity was therefore individual service directly to God.
The Message was that they should not be purely selfish in their living , but love and care for others as one cared for themselves.
Jesus recognized that everyone failed sometimes. He came to the world to save sinners.
Forgiveness was promised to those who repented and forgave others who had sinned against them.
He promised care after death to the faithful and not punishment for their sins if they repented.
He did not promise protection from hardships but help for sufferers when they happened.
The beliefs and faith of this original Christianity were based solely on God’s Truth in Christ’s simple Teaching. There were no additions .
The Christian communities cooperated as local informal Christian churches. They apparently acquired their faith from the comparatively brief teaching of the Apostles who brought them God’s Truth from Jesus’ Teaching.
That gave them faith in God’s love and His care for them. Their teachers then moved on to take God’s Message to the next community.
Remarkably these new churches had sufficient faith to sustain and continue to worship at the grassroots level.
There were no formal church authorities to rule them. Certainly the leading Apostles kept in touch with the new churches. They guided them and helped them to solve their problems with their new faith.
The survival and growth of the new churches in their hostile environment, can only be explained by their faith and the help from the Holy Spirit.
Conclusion All Christians should be grateful to the Apostles and early Christians for their faith, dedication and courage in founding the original churches. They spread and recorded God’s simple Truth of how we should all serve Him individually in our lives. God was the only authority and there were no human intermediaries.
They also showed the power of the Holt Spirit available to those with faith.
This was what Christ gave His life to bring to us as God’s Truth.
MANMADE ADDITIONS
Since then many human additions to God’s Truth, brought by Jesus, which are now accepted by churches as God’s word.
The Ronan Takeover
Nearly 300 years later Emperor Constantine converted to Christianity and called all the Christian groups to formalize them in to one church. This amounted to the Roman nationalization of Christianity.
The new Roman Catholic church was a major departure from the simple original Christianity spread by the Apostles. Manmade changes were added to fit the new church in to the powerful Roman religious and political systems.
They worshipped God as an almighty and powerful judge who would punish sinners. This suited the authoritarian Roman state.
The Old Testament was included in the Bible and worshipped as God’s Word. The military was eminence of the prophets in Judaism fitted in with the authoritarian system of Roman rule by emperors and senators.
This is now Judao Christianity. It includes many changes which conflict with the Teaching brought by Jesus. For instance, for centuries they actively put unbelievers to death.
A major addition was that officials were ordained with holy rank. They became intermediaries between God and worshippers, even with power to forgive sins. Yet, even Jesus had no rank, but was merely the Teacher of God’s Truth.
Charismatic preachers also appealed to the emotions of listeners wit promises of protection and salvation to the faithful.
Conclusion The worship in church of Jidao Christianity now includes many additions since Christ’s Teaching . These are now accepted as God’s Word in many churches on the same level as God’s Truth brought by Christ.
A Saving Grace
Ironically these deceptive additions to church ministry may have been necessary for churches to co-exist with the intolerant rulers for many centuries. For instance, an independent alpine community was discovered many years later, living simply by Jesus’ Teaching. The community was regarded as heretics because they ignored the requirements of worship in the new church. It was therefore destroyed by Roman soldiers.
Conclusion Christian beliefs and worship have clearly been added to considerably since the original churches were founded by the Apostles 2000 years ago.
However these diversions may have been necessary for churches to survve under intolerant rulers since then. That is no longer the case.
Nevertheless these additions are vital to the beliefs of the millions of churchgoers today. They should be accepted and welcomed as the basis of their faith. However the same additions may not be acceptable to some critical Prospective Christians.
Manmade Deceptions
The believers in church teaching accept God’s Truth brought by Jesus, bur also in the manmade additions which now constitute the major part of church worship.
Jesus warned that many who preached in His Name would deceive many. These deceptions aptly describe the many manmade additions to Christ’s simple Teaching. They are now accepted by churchgoers as His Word. They must be accepted as their faith.
They include:
Church worship is now complex. Formal routines, rituals and recitations are believed to be the way to worship in many churches. Such repetitive recitations parrot fashion are not credible to many modern pragmatists. There was no formal rituals or holy priests as intermediaries in Christ’s Teaching.
Christ’s worship included only The Lord’s Prayer, communion if bread and wine to remember his Teaching and His Crucifiction The Old Testament is central to worship in many churches.
However it adds nothing to the teachings of God’s Truth on which our churches were founded.
Knowledge of God’s Purpose is available to every Christian through is the simple reading of the Gospels. Worship was informal and merely required that two or three gathered to pray for forgiveness and help.
Most churches and their officials are regarded as God’s holy intermediaries. The validity of church rules and dogma are often justified by clergy.
In contrast Jesus was merely an informal teacher. Worship merely required gathering to pray with direct access to God.
Many preachers now call on God to solve national problems like hardships due to the current recession.
Their conversion may be due to their own emotional fears may not be followed by real faith in Christian Living.
Jesus, in contrast, taught only of God’s help to faithful individuals. He ignored national problems such as the widespread hated of Ronan rule.
Conclusion These are some of the manmade deceptions which distract from the Teaching brought by Jesus. They are not credible to the critical section of Potential Christians, who need Christ’s simple Teaching to offer acceptable faith.
Manmade deceptions would NOT be allowed to obscure God’s Truth recorded in the Gospels.
RETURNING TO CHRISTIAN LIVIG
What Potential Christians need is practical advice on the issues in their daily choices.
The answer is that God’s simple Truth should be presented as it was to found the churches by the Apostles.
Our Creator
They would must appreciate the enormity of God’s power. Many scientists claim that the evolution of our wonderful world would be statistically impossible by chance without the direction an Intelligent Design. This is consistent with the belief that God has power over everything on earth.
His purpose was revealed when He sent Jesus to tell mankind to love each other. This is God’s Truth on which Christianity was founded.
Christian Living depends on maintaining contact with God. This was promised when only two or three gathered to pray. Each would help the others to see the Truth in their own situation and would help and reinforce each other’s faith and understanding.
Faith depends on knowledge of the Gospels which were simple and taught to simple people long ago.
Jesus taught that God’s purpose was that we should live with love for each other. It is the recipe for God’s purpose of how we should live. This is the faith we mist restore to fulfill our Creator’s purpose.
Christian Living
Christian reformation needs dedicated leaders to teach God’s Truth from the Gospels as the Apostles did. This is a simple and beautiful Message and should still be acceptable now. It is our Creator’s purpose of how we should fulfil and enjoy Christian Living.
The principles outlined in the parables are the same, but our society is now far more complex than when Jesus preached.
Teachers now need real life examples from our complex lives.
We all work and earn income to enjoy the wonderful pleasures available, however loving others means spending also on those who are less fortunate. Our time and compassion can also bless those who suffer. These are of unselfish giving as love for others.
Teachers should warn of the ultimate fruitlessness of apparent success of the exclusive selfish pursuit of pleasures, possessions or power. This can obscure concern for the needs of others and will be fruitless in the end.
It is also necessary to control emotions. For instance, anger is a common response to unacceptable actions of others. It should be controlled by Christians who should turn the other cheek.
They should try to do what is right regardless of the opinions of their peers.
National Teachers
We should thank God for the national teachers on TV who bring clear updates from the Gospels of Christian Living in our complex lives today.
There are many examples of that the help from the Holy Spirit available to the faithful. In particular to those whose lines are in a mess from the selfish pursuit of excesses such as wine , women or drugs.( examples on TV in 700 Club)
Real Christian worship must be to focus on the issues of everyday Christian Living . The principles are available from some excellent TV ministries. ( Joyce Myer in Joyful Everyday Living and Robert Sculler in The Hour of Power from The Crystal Cathedral are examples).
Conclusion These teachings provide vital examples of Christian Living today.
AT Grassroots
The original churches survived on their own faith in God as their Father and guide. Those who turn to Christian Living would be individuals who depend on their own faith. They would reinforce it by worship wit others in their own groups.
They would retain their busy working lives like those who Jesus preached to originally. They would serve God as they love all who they deal with.
Followers of simple Christian Living would be unique because they would not be controlled by a human authority. Instead they would depend, as the original Christians did, on guidance from God. They would need to meet to pray with others regularly to reinforce their faith at the personal level.
Conclusion This new worship would recognise that God is available to all, even at this level. He is the loving Father there to guide the faithful and forgive their sins.
THE PRAYER GROUPSs
They would depend on each other in prayer groups or churches like those founded by the Apostles. Like the original churches, their common purpose was to serve God.
As with all groups, natural leaders could be expected to emerge. Other prayer groups would be available to help each other..
Such an unadulterated presentation of the Truth of God’s love for us and our need to love each other should be acceptable to even the most critical Potential Christian.
AGENDA
A suggested agenda for such prayer meetings might include;
Thanks for current and past blessings, collective or individual.
Prayers for help in any current problems, personal or general.
Prayers for strength to give to those in need, either as individuals or as a sustained programme by the group.
The Lords Prayer to emphasise that forgiveness is promised to those who forgive others.
The main need is to love our neighbours so that we should recall and repent for shortcomings since the last prayers. These include choices based on selfish preference, emotional aggression or indifference to the problems of others. We would need to pray for strength to do what is right next time.
Then a knowledgeable prayer leader could chose one of the parables and enlarge on its significance in our complex lives today. To be meaningful examples should quoted from experiences and testimonies of ordinary contemporary Christians.
Examples also of the real help available from the Holy Spirit to other faithful Christians.
These payers should be presented in such a way that all issues raised are relevant to those in their own lives. They should be down to earth not remote intellectual teaching of the general principles at a higher level. After all that is how Jesus taught.
An unknown issue is the degree of participation in discussions of those present. It would probably vary with the size and tastes of the worshippers.
Perhaps an advantage of informal prayer worship is a tendency to honest humility.
A vital addition to living faith is regular reading of God’s Truth in the Gospels.
A choice Gospel reading for the next prayers might be useful.
The aim of such worship would be to help Christians to live and love in their everyday lies as Christ taught.
This simple doctrine is exactly how the Apostles started and originally sustained Christianity. The objective would be to equip Christians to decide what is right and wrong in all their choices
CONCLUuSION
A return to Christian Living based on Christ’s Teaching is essential to the urgent Reformation for Potential Christians.
Anyone with faith who comes forward to lead this crusade will get the help needed from God as the Apostles did.
Please cone forward a new St, Paul. Following the Apostles back to Christ should be the same way to Christianity to those who became Christians 2000 years ago. Amen
John Danckwerts phone Harare 575545
PO BOX AP 27, HARARE AIRPORT, ZIMBABWE.
stjude@zol.co.zw
Appendix
OUR CREATOR
Anyone who has grown up in Christian society will have acquired concepts of God’s nature, which may vary. However it mat be useful to consider of what we can see.
First the earth itself is a unique in its ability to support the wide variety of life, including our own. The moon, revolving around the earth, allows it to rotate on its axis which gives moderate temperatures of day and night. Planets which do not rotate roast on the side facing the sun and freeze on the other. Out atmosphere apparently protects us from harmful rays such as microwaves. It also allows water in liquid form which is essential for life. There is no other planet observed so far by astronomers which has these conditions favourable to life.
The evolution of all the plants and creatures surely also indicates an intelligent design by a Creator.
His purpose for mankind was clear when He sent Jesus to tell is to care for each other.
His power to intervene in any life is clear from the intervention of the Holy Spirit.
There is no evidence of an active devil outside. Jesus stated that evil comes not from outside but from within. We all have our own wants lusts and emotions and the extent to which we control them results in how evil we are.
Jesus promised forgiveness when we repent and help in resisting temptation in the future.
Finally God is unlike humans because He is not controlled by time or space. He is more like gravity which we know affects everything though we cannot see it.
Finally we should be grateful for our wonderful world and His help in living a life of love for others.
Friday, 2 July 2010
Monday, 21 April 2008
THE NEED FOR REFORM
Essay 6
Most western societies are based on Christianity. The support OF their churches is declining, this undermines their moral foundations.
My disappointments of worship were in an established church for many years (Essay 3). They are individual experiences and may appear to be trivial. Sadly they are part of a much wider malaise. There is a clear trend of decline in the support for established churches.
In UK about 400 churches are reported to close annually! Most of these were built long ago when the population was probably half what it is now.
I cannot vouch for a claim on TV that more Muslims in Britain attend daily prayers than Anglicans.
A 2006 survey of only 1000 people by the BBC indicated that 66% believed in Christianity, but only 17% practised it, and that percentage is falling steadily. A sample of only 1000 is not statistically significant but the findings are consistent with what we can see.
The underlying beliefs are there. For instance, a recent service in a cathedral, led by a bishop, was held to commemorate the victims of the London bombing. It was attended by senior politicians and other dignitaries.
Locally there are many examples of well attended services to support the bereaved after a tragedy.
The problem is why they do not worship the rest of the time because their churches do not meet their needs. For instance, a large increase in church attendance in USA after the attack on the Twin Towers did not last. Churches blamed lack of faith, but perhaps it was their own manmade worship which did not meet the needs of modern discerning peoples.
The USA was founded by Christians whose faith was universally accepted. A preacher on TV alleged that about four churches close every day in USA. Now an anti-Christian lobby is increasingly vocal. They challenge the display of the 10 Commandments in public buildings, prayers in school and even the celebration of Christmas. The now urge to wish each other “Happy Holiday” instead.
It has gone so far that the president, who is a professed Christian, ended a speech in December 2005 wishing his listeners “Happy Holidays”. Politics are taking priority over professed faith.
A WAKE UP CALL
We must revive the Christian foundations as the basic morality of our societies.
A PROPHECY. If our civilisations lose their Christian foundations, people will turn instead to the spurious morality of some human doctrine and our nations will pay the awful price.
Extreme examples of the evil of blind faith in human leaders elsewhere, were how people enthusiastically applauded and worshiped Hitler and Stalin. That could be the eventual alternative.
Meanwhile Islam increases its power and so do believers in Jihad.
ESTABLISHED CHURCHES
The traditional churches with many members in most western societies have a central role.
Membership has been generally passed down from parents to children. This goes back for generations, even to the time of Henry VIII. These are churches of habit, whose membership can be taken for granted. In contrast many new sects only get support from the conscious choices of new members. They must be flexible and credible to keep their support.
Churches have political and social roles in society.
In UK the Church of England is recognised as the official church, with the Monarch as its head. Bishops had political power with seats in the House of Lords. The armed forces include chaplains to serve their members.
Churches are also part of the social structure. They provide the ceremonies to celebrate such social milestones as birth, marriage and death.
However only a small proportion of professed Christians worship regularly and their support and their influence is declining.
Conclusion Many believe in God but only turn to churches as a refuge in times of crisis. The major churches are recognised as a part of many activities of society. However active support of individuals is declining. Church ministries must ask why they are losing the support of so many nominal Christians.
DECEPTIONS
Sadly Jesus did prophesy this problem. He said “many will come in my name and will deceive many”. Note He did not say those who preach His word but those who come in His name. This is exactly the problem, the established churches do preach in His name. However too many deceptions have been added over the centuries, they detract from the emphasis of, or even obscure His Messages. The central distinction is between the word of God, brought by Jesus, and the additions to worship by men, in His name, since then.
The structure of church institutions is the first problem . Many are inflexible because they have their own authority which they claim in the name of God.
The problems start at the top. The ruling councils of many churches are self perpetuating. They themselves select their own replacements.
They are not answerable for their performance in losing the support of their members. They defer instead to their revered and almost sacred traditions. These include a host of values, practices and beliefs, evolved by their predecessors over centuries. They are confident that this is how God should be worshipped.
This authority may have suited previous feudal societies when simple people did as they were told. The present remote and detached authority is not acceptable to many potential Christians today.
Anyone serving this population must respond to changing needs.
Failure to respond to these changes is why too many potential believers are staying away.
These churches should return to Christ, His Teaching was that God is the only authority. Church claims of authority, in the name of God, are deceptions which detract from their Christian ministries.
The Second problems of churches are that Christ’s Divine Messages are overshadowed by a whole façade of manmade deceptions of dogma and ceremony.
The situation is complex at all levels of the churches’ structures and activities.
CHURCH EMPIRES
I was enthralled, with millions of others, at the drama and grandeur of the selection and installation of the new Pope. The splendour of their ceremonies and robes is unequalled.
The Pope has enormous power over his followers in the world’s largest church. They clearly have great faith in him and his office.
However the manmade doctrines and rules of this empire has now added considerably to the Holy and simple Ministries, carried by St. Peter and St. Paul, who are praised as the founders of this church.
These additions are now deceptions which distract attention from Christ’s original Teaching
Sadly, I am also uncomfortable with this magnificent Christian empire with its pomp, ceremony and strict manmade rules. Is it really consistent with Jesus’ simple messages of how we should live?
Jesus was critical of the worship and the officials of the synagogues. He said “beware of the scribes who walk in long robes and love the highest seats in feasts. They make long prayers for show”. He contrasted this with a humble sinner who prayed quietly for forgiveness. (Luke 20)
He might have made similar comments if He had been there. Surely this empire has too many manmade additions to Christ’s Ministry, for which He gave His life.
THE HOLINESS OF CHURCHES
Churches now have beautiful buildings and great music for their worship.
Some churches now claim to have divine power and a holiness of their own. This is explicit in the Creed recited regularly at least in Anglican services. “I believe in one holy catholic and apostolic church”.
A priest explained that catholic, in this context, means all the wide variety of Christian churches.
It is difficult to see why these are regarded as one church or why they are holy. The fallacy of this recitation
is illustrated in Northern Ireland. There is hostility between members of two old established denominations. For example, Catholic children were prevented from walking to their school through a protestant area. Surely ANY real protestant Christians should have prevented this non-Christian bigotry. “By their fruits ye shall know them“. Their holiness is only the claim of churchmen
They should serve God by providing the venues, organisations and leadership for Christians to worship Christ. They should not themselves be the object of worship or revered as being holy.
Churches.
INFALLIBILITY
As an extreme example of a major aberration in the distant past, was the self righteous belief that non-believers and members of other churches were evil and deserved punishment or even death.
Worst were persecutions like the inquisition. Also the conquistadors who, in the name of God, slaughtered the supposedly evil heathens in Central America.
An extreme contemporary example of fallibility, is a bishop in Africa who stated that the national President is greater than Christ! He also seized a farm that had been owned and developed by one family for generations.
Five years later he may be tried by an ecclesiastical court on 38 charges, including incitement to murder. Opinion is that the bishops who make up this court will not proceed.
He is still in holy office!
This example illustrates why claims of infallibility ring hollow.
HOLY JUDGEMENTS
Sometimes church convocations make judgements on the actions of their member churches. For instance there was condemnation of a diocese in USA which wanted to appoint a bishop who lived with another man. His church members had decided (after much soul searching) that he was the one they wanted to lead them. Both he and the congregations should be answerable to God and not men for their decision.
Again we should invoke the command “judge not that you be not judged”.
This type of arbitrary judgement contrasts with the lack of action against the bishop noted above. It is not acceptable to many potential Christians.
HOLY DOCTRINES
The established churches have pronounced doctrines governing their beliefs over centuries. These are now revered and even regarded as sacred Truth.
Between 1964 and 1968 the Catholic church made several unequivocal statements of its doctrines. They declared that:
They alone proclaim the infallible truth.
They are necessary for salvation.
They alone are in possession of the Spirit of Christ.
All parts of the Bible were inspired by the Holy Ghost and are therefore sacred and without error.
These unambiguous manmade statements of their faith depart a long way from Jesus’ simple messages, recorded in the Gospels.
The book of Common Prayer is central
to the Anglican church worship.
They are all misleading manmade deceptions.
HOLY MEN
Many of the older established churches and their officers are still regarded as holy. Some are supposed to be able to forgive the sins of those who confess.
Only God can forgive sins. Jesus said “put not your trust in princes neither in the sons of men”.
Clergy should serve and not rule their congregations. Remember how Jesus insisted on washing the feet of his disciples?
WORSHIP
Many churches worship by reciting rituals, routine prayers parrot fashion. Such recitations are not meaningful in modern enlightened society. Apart from the sermon, most prayers and incantations were the same every week in the Anglican worship, which I used to attend. The value of such routines is surely questionable as a guide to living for contemporary congregations.
They only obscure Christ’s Messages of how we should live.
ADULATION A common theme is that worshippers are rewarded for glorifying God. We used to recite at evensong “Lord let thy servant depart in peace according to thy word, for mine eyes have seen the Glory of the Lord”. This sort of incantation has no relevance to our behaviour on Monday.
The aims and content of this worship differ fundamentally from Christ’s teaching. He taught simply that we worship when we come together to pray for help from the Holy Spirit.
We serve God, not by worship and adulation, but by loving those we deal with.
SALVATION
Some Church services aim at earning a place in Heaven. There is adulation and praise for the glory of God. Supplication and mortification such as “we are not worthy to gather the crumbs under thy table.” It is questionable how much this worship inspires worshippers to serve God. Jesus has already promised care after death to those who have faith in Him.
CHURCH RULES
Over the years rules, devised by men, have been imposed.
Anglicans have only recently allowed women to be ordained to the priesthood. This was years after Margaret Thatcher became prime minister.
They now debate whether they may be allowed to become bishops in 2010! Please, they should get with the real world where their members live.
A tragic travesty early on the last century was when Mahatma Ghandi tried to attend a “Christian” church in search of Truth. He was denied entry because he was not white! He was undoubtedly one of the great religious leaders of the century but was denied access to Christianity by a church.
CONCLUSIONS
Churches have made many additions Christ’s Teaching. These have become the deceptions which Christ prophesied.
People are now discerning and critical so that many of these deceptions are unacceptable and support is declining. It is not the wickedness of men that rejected His Messages. Rather it is because they have obscured manmade deceptions.
These churches owe it to God and to mankind to abandon their distractions and return to lead Christians in Christ’s Teaching.
Their present road is now downhill, though it is paved with good intentions.
Most western societies are based on Christianity. The support OF their churches is declining, this undermines their moral foundations.
My disappointments of worship were in an established church for many years (Essay 3). They are individual experiences and may appear to be trivial. Sadly they are part of a much wider malaise. There is a clear trend of decline in the support for established churches.
In UK about 400 churches are reported to close annually! Most of these were built long ago when the population was probably half what it is now.
I cannot vouch for a claim on TV that more Muslims in Britain attend daily prayers than Anglicans.
A 2006 survey of only 1000 people by the BBC indicated that 66% believed in Christianity, but only 17% practised it, and that percentage is falling steadily. A sample of only 1000 is not statistically significant but the findings are consistent with what we can see.
The underlying beliefs are there. For instance, a recent service in a cathedral, led by a bishop, was held to commemorate the victims of the London bombing. It was attended by senior politicians and other dignitaries.
Locally there are many examples of well attended services to support the bereaved after a tragedy.
The problem is why they do not worship the rest of the time because their churches do not meet their needs. For instance, a large increase in church attendance in USA after the attack on the Twin Towers did not last. Churches blamed lack of faith, but perhaps it was their own manmade worship which did not meet the needs of modern discerning peoples.
The USA was founded by Christians whose faith was universally accepted. A preacher on TV alleged that about four churches close every day in USA. Now an anti-Christian lobby is increasingly vocal. They challenge the display of the 10 Commandments in public buildings, prayers in school and even the celebration of Christmas. The now urge to wish each other “Happy Holiday” instead.
It has gone so far that the president, who is a professed Christian, ended a speech in December 2005 wishing his listeners “Happy Holidays”. Politics are taking priority over professed faith.
A WAKE UP CALL
We must revive the Christian foundations as the basic morality of our societies.
A PROPHECY. If our civilisations lose their Christian foundations, people will turn instead to the spurious morality of some human doctrine and our nations will pay the awful price.
Extreme examples of the evil of blind faith in human leaders elsewhere, were how people enthusiastically applauded and worshiped Hitler and Stalin. That could be the eventual alternative.
Meanwhile Islam increases its power and so do believers in Jihad.
ESTABLISHED CHURCHES
The traditional churches with many members in most western societies have a central role.
Membership has been generally passed down from parents to children. This goes back for generations, even to the time of Henry VIII. These are churches of habit, whose membership can be taken for granted. In contrast many new sects only get support from the conscious choices of new members. They must be flexible and credible to keep their support.
Churches have political and social roles in society.
In UK the Church of England is recognised as the official church, with the Monarch as its head. Bishops had political power with seats in the House of Lords. The armed forces include chaplains to serve their members.
Churches are also part of the social structure. They provide the ceremonies to celebrate such social milestones as birth, marriage and death.
However only a small proportion of professed Christians worship regularly and their support and their influence is declining.
Conclusion Many believe in God but only turn to churches as a refuge in times of crisis. The major churches are recognised as a part of many activities of society. However active support of individuals is declining. Church ministries must ask why they are losing the support of so many nominal Christians.
DECEPTIONS
Sadly Jesus did prophesy this problem. He said “many will come in my name and will deceive many”. Note He did not say those who preach His word but those who come in His name. This is exactly the problem, the established churches do preach in His name. However too many deceptions have been added over the centuries, they detract from the emphasis of, or even obscure His Messages. The central distinction is between the word of God, brought by Jesus, and the additions to worship by men, in His name, since then.
The structure of church institutions is the first problem . Many are inflexible because they have their own authority which they claim in the name of God.
The problems start at the top. The ruling councils of many churches are self perpetuating. They themselves select their own replacements.
They are not answerable for their performance in losing the support of their members. They defer instead to their revered and almost sacred traditions. These include a host of values, practices and beliefs, evolved by their predecessors over centuries. They are confident that this is how God should be worshipped.
This authority may have suited previous feudal societies when simple people did as they were told. The present remote and detached authority is not acceptable to many potential Christians today.
Anyone serving this population must respond to changing needs.
Failure to respond to these changes is why too many potential believers are staying away.
These churches should return to Christ, His Teaching was that God is the only authority. Church claims of authority, in the name of God, are deceptions which detract from their Christian ministries.
The Second problems of churches are that Christ’s Divine Messages are overshadowed by a whole façade of manmade deceptions of dogma and ceremony.
The situation is complex at all levels of the churches’ structures and activities.
CHURCH EMPIRES
I was enthralled, with millions of others, at the drama and grandeur of the selection and installation of the new Pope. The splendour of their ceremonies and robes is unequalled.
The Pope has enormous power over his followers in the world’s largest church. They clearly have great faith in him and his office.
However the manmade doctrines and rules of this empire has now added considerably to the Holy and simple Ministries, carried by St. Peter and St. Paul, who are praised as the founders of this church.
These additions are now deceptions which distract attention from Christ’s original Teaching
Sadly, I am also uncomfortable with this magnificent Christian empire with its pomp, ceremony and strict manmade rules. Is it really consistent with Jesus’ simple messages of how we should live?
Jesus was critical of the worship and the officials of the synagogues. He said “beware of the scribes who walk in long robes and love the highest seats in feasts. They make long prayers for show”. He contrasted this with a humble sinner who prayed quietly for forgiveness. (Luke 20)
He might have made similar comments if He had been there. Surely this empire has too many manmade additions to Christ’s Ministry, for which He gave His life.
THE HOLINESS OF CHURCHES
Churches now have beautiful buildings and great music for their worship.
Some churches now claim to have divine power and a holiness of their own. This is explicit in the Creed recited regularly at least in Anglican services. “I believe in one holy catholic and apostolic church”.
A priest explained that catholic, in this context, means all the wide variety of Christian churches.
It is difficult to see why these are regarded as one church or why they are holy. The fallacy of this recitation
is illustrated in Northern Ireland. There is hostility between members of two old established denominations. For example, Catholic children were prevented from walking to their school through a protestant area. Surely ANY real protestant Christians should have prevented this non-Christian bigotry. “By their fruits ye shall know them“. Their holiness is only the claim of churchmen
They should serve God by providing the venues, organisations and leadership for Christians to worship Christ. They should not themselves be the object of worship or revered as being holy.
Churches.
INFALLIBILITY
As an extreme example of a major aberration in the distant past, was the self righteous belief that non-believers and members of other churches were evil and deserved punishment or even death.
Worst were persecutions like the inquisition. Also the conquistadors who, in the name of God, slaughtered the supposedly evil heathens in Central America.
An extreme contemporary example of fallibility, is a bishop in Africa who stated that the national President is greater than Christ! He also seized a farm that had been owned and developed by one family for generations.
Five years later he may be tried by an ecclesiastical court on 38 charges, including incitement to murder. Opinion is that the bishops who make up this court will not proceed.
He is still in holy office!
This example illustrates why claims of infallibility ring hollow.
HOLY JUDGEMENTS
Sometimes church convocations make judgements on the actions of their member churches. For instance there was condemnation of a diocese in USA which wanted to appoint a bishop who lived with another man. His church members had decided (after much soul searching) that he was the one they wanted to lead them. Both he and the congregations should be answerable to God and not men for their decision.
Again we should invoke the command “judge not that you be not judged”.
This type of arbitrary judgement contrasts with the lack of action against the bishop noted above. It is not acceptable to many potential Christians.
HOLY DOCTRINES
The established churches have pronounced doctrines governing their beliefs over centuries. These are now revered and even regarded as sacred Truth.
Between 1964 and 1968 the Catholic church made several unequivocal statements of its doctrines. They declared that:
They alone proclaim the infallible truth.
They are necessary for salvation.
They alone are in possession of the Spirit of Christ.
All parts of the Bible were inspired by the Holy Ghost and are therefore sacred and without error.
These unambiguous manmade statements of their faith depart a long way from Jesus’ simple messages, recorded in the Gospels.
The book of Common Prayer is central
to the Anglican church worship.
They are all misleading manmade deceptions.
HOLY MEN
Many of the older established churches and their officers are still regarded as holy. Some are supposed to be able to forgive the sins of those who confess.
Only God can forgive sins. Jesus said “put not your trust in princes neither in the sons of men”.
Clergy should serve and not rule their congregations. Remember how Jesus insisted on washing the feet of his disciples?
WORSHIP
Many churches worship by reciting rituals, routine prayers parrot fashion. Such recitations are not meaningful in modern enlightened society. Apart from the sermon, most prayers and incantations were the same every week in the Anglican worship, which I used to attend. The value of such routines is surely questionable as a guide to living for contemporary congregations.
They only obscure Christ’s Messages of how we should live.
ADULATION A common theme is that worshippers are rewarded for glorifying God. We used to recite at evensong “Lord let thy servant depart in peace according to thy word, for mine eyes have seen the Glory of the Lord”. This sort of incantation has no relevance to our behaviour on Monday.
The aims and content of this worship differ fundamentally from Christ’s teaching. He taught simply that we worship when we come together to pray for help from the Holy Spirit.
We serve God, not by worship and adulation, but by loving those we deal with.
SALVATION
Some Church services aim at earning a place in Heaven. There is adulation and praise for the glory of God. Supplication and mortification such as “we are not worthy to gather the crumbs under thy table.” It is questionable how much this worship inspires worshippers to serve God. Jesus has already promised care after death to those who have faith in Him.
CHURCH RULES
Over the years rules, devised by men, have been imposed.
Anglicans have only recently allowed women to be ordained to the priesthood. This was years after Margaret Thatcher became prime minister.
They now debate whether they may be allowed to become bishops in 2010! Please, they should get with the real world where their members live.
A tragic travesty early on the last century was when Mahatma Ghandi tried to attend a “Christian” church in search of Truth. He was denied entry because he was not white! He was undoubtedly one of the great religious leaders of the century but was denied access to Christianity by a church.
CONCLUSIONS
Churches have made many additions Christ’s Teaching. These have become the deceptions which Christ prophesied.
People are now discerning and critical so that many of these deceptions are unacceptable and support is declining. It is not the wickedness of men that rejected His Messages. Rather it is because they have obscured manmade deceptions.
These churches owe it to God and to mankind to abandon their distractions and return to lead Christians in Christ’s Teaching.
Their present road is now downhill, though it is paved with good intentions.
Friday, 28 March 2008
THE NEED FOR REFORM
PART THREE REFORMATION NEEDED
Out Creator of our wonderful world sent Jesus to tell us how to live together. (Essay 1) This teaching has been the moral foundation of the development of our society for centuries. (Essay 2)
My faith survived about 50 years of regular worship in the Anglican Church in which I was brought up. (Essay 3) I then eventually found simple ministries concerned only with Christian living in daily life. They merely apply Christ’s Teaching and recognise the availability of help from the Holy Spirit to help those who pray. This has been a real and ultimate fulfilment of my faith. (Essay 4)
Since our Christian worship should be our primary aim in life, I am concerned that so many years of traditional church worship yielded so little. Formal church worship contains too many additions that distract attention from Christ’s Teaching. Consequently the majority in most western nations believe in God but the numbers who attend church worship are declining steadily. (Essay 6) The manmade distractions are now accepted in many aspects of church worship. (Essays 5,6, 7,9 and 10).
Our greatest tragedy and challenge is that this undermines the foundations of society at all levels, from personal to national.
What is needed is a return to Christ’s simple messages to individuals on how to live as taught in the Gospels. This is where we serve God and it is where preachers should concentrate their teaching.
Essay 11 OUR PRESENT ENVIRONMENT
The explosive advances in technology offer exciting advances in many fields for a brighter material future.
In contrast, the declining support for Christianity is tragic and ominous. It threatens our individual and national adherence to, and fulfilment of, our Creator’s purpose for us.
Modern populations. The increasing wealth of western society gives people independence and confidence. The explosion of telecommunications allows access to unlimited information worldwide.
Anyone who serves the public must now take account of how rapidly their needs and expectations are changing.
The businessmen who lead technology are independent, competitive entrepreneurs. Their motivation is to meet the changing needs of their customers. Their rewards are from beating their competitors in responding to change. They are flexible and dynamic.
The churches are dominated by large established organisations. Their power is held at the top. Their leaders choose replacements so they are self perpetuating and answerable only to themselves. They are conservative and are governed by their traditions, which evolved over centuries. Their reward is that they believe that theirs is the way to serve God.
Their dedication is unquestionable. However they are set apart from other organisations which change in response to the changing needs of society. This accounts for their falling support.
The major churches are central to the problem. A large majority of Christians profess membership of these churches. Increasingly many are merely nominal Christians. The support of even the active members of these churches is declining.
Christians should spare no effort to identify the causes and reverse this decline.
THE PROBLEM
These deceptions, which more and more potential Christians cannot accept, are the cause of the decline. They are the manmade additions to teaching and worship which have been added to Christ’s Messages. (PART 2) He came to teach us how to live. He did not come to found religious denominations. These have been created by men since Christ and they are deceptions from His mission.
Exceptions are those who believe these deceptions, as I did for too many years, that this is how God should be worshipped. Many are Sunday Christians whose weekly worship is expected to secure forgiveness and salvation. They miss the fulfilment of Christ’s loving Messages for daily living.
The Old Testament is a major distraction which should not continue to be revered by Christian churches (Essay 9). Because it is included in the Bible it is revered as Holy Truth.
Revering the Old Testament is a major deception and a misleading distraction from the worship of Christ.
Conclusion The churches are losing support. This is tragic because it is not Christ’s Teaching that is rejected, but that it is obscured by the manmade deceptions which now predominate in church ministries. They must come down from their mountain to where the people are, and leave their baggage behind. They must discard the belief in their own holy power and in the sanctity of the traditions which govern church affairs.
The changes required, are to return to teaching how Christ’s Holy Messages are the guide to every individual every day. The Holy Spirit is available to help them achieve this.
UPDATING CHRISTIANITY
Teaching Discarding the deceptions would allow churches to concentrate on their real task of teaching how Christ’s Messages are the foundation of Christian living.
Unlike technology, which is constantly changing, the underlying principles of Christ’s messages are timeless. However our lifestyles are now far more complex than those of His audiences 2000 years ago. His Messages need to be adapted to apply to all the wide variety of issues in our present lives.
In all situations Christians should be guided by the commandment to love their neighbours. This should be the basis of deciding what is right and wrong in all our many decisions.
We deal with people all the time, with family at home, with colleagues at work, with friends in our social life and with strangers when we drive or go shopping. This is where we serve God. Christians should be caring, tolerant and control their emotions. An appropriate guidance is to ”do unto others as you would have them do to you.”
Earning and spending is another major part of our lives. At work we can do the minimum necessary to keep out of trouble. Alternatively we can give our best to serve others, according to our talents.
We must then divide our incomes between spending on ourselves, saving for the future and giving to others in need. Everybody’s priorities are different, but we each have choices about what we believe would be God’s will on how we spend.
We also have civic choices, whether it is only in voting, or in decisions in public office. Christians should be guided by what is right for the community, and not what is popular or may bring personal rewards.
Recent examples of the faith and ultimate successes of other Christians are powerful examples to strengthen faith.
For example, Martin Luther King was an outstanding Christian. He had enormous successes over the years in a tense campaign opposing discrimination against blacks in USA. These included the right to ride in the same buses as whites, to full voting rights foe blacks.
As a committed Christian he insisted on non-violence. He even instructed his followers to follow Christ’s injunction to love their enemies, in this case their white opponents. They included brutal ruthless racists who tried to terrorise blacks through beatings and even murder. God helped this faithful Christian to succeed in doing what was right.
This example is laboured because this was a reality of Christian living today.
Even the lowliest Christian needs the faith and strength to choose what is right and uncomfortable. This is what churches should be teaching to help in life today and tomorrow.
These are examples of areas where Christians must make choices every day which are guided by Jesus. This is what churches should teach. The relevance and credibility of this teaching should satisfy the critical and discerning people of today.
Preaching. Customary sermons include the triumphs of prophets 3000 years ago, in a different society. They sound good but they are irrelevant to Christian living today. Instead there are innumerable examples of, triumphs through faith, of those who did what was right, regardless of the difficulty or dangers to themselves.
We all have to make choices between right and wrong, no matter how humble our own situations.
The Parables are vital which concern issues of daily living and should be applied to Christian choices today.
Our own faith can be strengthened by the innumerable examples of the faith and strength of other contemporary Christians.
Worship Christians gather to give thanks, to repent and to pray for help and strength to renew their faith. Worship and prayer should cover all the aspects of our complex Christian living where faith is needed.
The real help from the Holy Spirit, which is available to all the faithful, should be emphasised more often. Testimonies of successes or triumphs through faith of other contemporary Christians can also strengthen our own faith.
Preachers should report examples of God’s real help to faithful Christians who pray for it. He is here to help the faithful all the time.
Specialisation (Essay 7) working life is increasingly demanding, narrow and specialised. Workers depend more and more on sound reliable advice from others. As a farmer I depend heavily on a variety o f competent specialists, such as agronomists, entomologists and pathologists.
Churches should be the specialists in Christianity to provide reliable relevant teaching to their flocks.
This is not about esoteric issues of theology, but about issues of faith in every day contemporary Christian living. Teaching on these real issues of life will be a more demanding task for churchmen if they abandon their current irrelevant routines. They are the specialists that busy congregations depend on to equip them for their daily Christian living.
Church teaching at this level has therefore a real new responsibility to teach and sustain the faith of worshippers in their every day living.
Conclusion The challenge for Churches is to present Christ’s Teaching in forms which are meaningful to the changing lives of their members. Teaching should be comprehensive and credible if it is to meet all the needs of the Christians of today.
The faith of worshippers can be strengthened by examples of how contemporary Christians receive help from the Holy Spirit.
TEACHING THE YOUNG
Churches have a vital responsibility to teach young children how Christ’s messages should be the guide to their lives. (Essay 8)
Later they become independent in a new exciting life. Our Creator gave a wonderful range of pleasures, but Christians should enjoy them with self-control. They need to be warned against self-indulgent excesses of drink, sex or drugs. These may appear to be exciting but they lead only to emptiness and even dependence.
Churches owe it to these newcomers to present these messages in credible teaching. I am unaware of the effectiveness of current efforts. I can only recall my own sterile introductions 60 years ago. (Essay 3)
RETURNUNG TO CHRIST
Our Creator’s most momentous gift to mankind was sending Jesus to tell us His purpose for living in His wonderful world. This is the only time God lived with mankind and revealed His loving and forgiving nature. His power to heal and the help available from the Holy Spirit were also without precedent.
Declining support to fulfil our Creator’s purpose is tragic and threatens mankind at all levels. Individually those who fail to live according to Christ’s teaching will miss fulfilment. No matter how hard they pursue selfish pleasures, they will find that they are empty in the end.
Family life and social stability are already breaking down. It has been alleged that as many as half of marriages in USA will end in divorce. Single parent families are increasing. In one inner city community in USA, seven out of ten children are born out of wedlock.
The decline in the stable family upbringing already results in problems in UK, such as binge drinking, drug dependence and crime to pay for drugs. These problems are all the result of lack of Christian values and self discipline which should be acquired at home.
Our civilisation was built on Christian values and morality. As these decline so will society as other manmade doctrines replace them.
The tragedy is that people have not rejected Christ’s teaching, but that too many churches have allowed it to be obscured by their own manmade deceptions.
The challenge for the future is for all Christians and their churches in particular, to return to Christ’s Teaching of God’s simple purpose.
It is the recipe for every individual of how to live with and love the rest of humanity. This is the fulfilment of His purpose for us.
Churches owe this to mankind and to God.
CRUSADERS WANTED
Change will not come from committees of clerics. A second Reformation, led by articulate tough-minded Christians is needed. Martin Luther, John Knox and John Wesley, did just that. They were condemned by the churches but Luther rebutted the accusations because he only preached Christ’s messages and opposed the manmade additions to worship by the churches.
These men of God identified the misleading deceptions of the churches and offered more real alternatives. This saved millions of Christians. They were all tough committed Christian heroes prepared to stand for what they believed was right.
Please come forward new Christian reformers for the twenty first century, mankind needs you.
The emperors need to be told that they have no clothes!
Amen.
John Danckwerts
Phone Harare +263 4 575545
PO BOX AP 27, HARARE AIRPORT, ZIMBABWE.
stjude@zol.co.zw
PS I have put a lot of effort in to these thoughts. Brickbats, criticism or comments by e-mail would be welcome.
Sadly only four out of about a dozen ministers to whom an earlier draft was sent have commented. One word “rubbish” would have done. JPD
Out Creator of our wonderful world sent Jesus to tell us how to live together. (Essay 1) This teaching has been the moral foundation of the development of our society for centuries. (Essay 2)
My faith survived about 50 years of regular worship in the Anglican Church in which I was brought up. (Essay 3) I then eventually found simple ministries concerned only with Christian living in daily life. They merely apply Christ’s Teaching and recognise the availability of help from the Holy Spirit to help those who pray. This has been a real and ultimate fulfilment of my faith. (Essay 4)
Since our Christian worship should be our primary aim in life, I am concerned that so many years of traditional church worship yielded so little. Formal church worship contains too many additions that distract attention from Christ’s Teaching. Consequently the majority in most western nations believe in God but the numbers who attend church worship are declining steadily. (Essay 6) The manmade distractions are now accepted in many aspects of church worship. (Essays 5,6, 7,9 and 10).
Our greatest tragedy and challenge is that this undermines the foundations of society at all levels, from personal to national.
What is needed is a return to Christ’s simple messages to individuals on how to live as taught in the Gospels. This is where we serve God and it is where preachers should concentrate their teaching.
Essay 11 OUR PRESENT ENVIRONMENT
The explosive advances in technology offer exciting advances in many fields for a brighter material future.
In contrast, the declining support for Christianity is tragic and ominous. It threatens our individual and national adherence to, and fulfilment of, our Creator’s purpose for us.
Modern populations. The increasing wealth of western society gives people independence and confidence. The explosion of telecommunications allows access to unlimited information worldwide.
Anyone who serves the public must now take account of how rapidly their needs and expectations are changing.
The businessmen who lead technology are independent, competitive entrepreneurs. Their motivation is to meet the changing needs of their customers. Their rewards are from beating their competitors in responding to change. They are flexible and dynamic.
The churches are dominated by large established organisations. Their power is held at the top. Their leaders choose replacements so they are self perpetuating and answerable only to themselves. They are conservative and are governed by their traditions, which evolved over centuries. Their reward is that they believe that theirs is the way to serve God.
Their dedication is unquestionable. However they are set apart from other organisations which change in response to the changing needs of society. This accounts for their falling support.
The major churches are central to the problem. A large majority of Christians profess membership of these churches. Increasingly many are merely nominal Christians. The support of even the active members of these churches is declining.
Christians should spare no effort to identify the causes and reverse this decline.
THE PROBLEM
These deceptions, which more and more potential Christians cannot accept, are the cause of the decline. They are the manmade additions to teaching and worship which have been added to Christ’s Messages. (PART 2) He came to teach us how to live. He did not come to found religious denominations. These have been created by men since Christ and they are deceptions from His mission.
Exceptions are those who believe these deceptions, as I did for too many years, that this is how God should be worshipped. Many are Sunday Christians whose weekly worship is expected to secure forgiveness and salvation. They miss the fulfilment of Christ’s loving Messages for daily living.
The Old Testament is a major distraction which should not continue to be revered by Christian churches (Essay 9). Because it is included in the Bible it is revered as Holy Truth.
Revering the Old Testament is a major deception and a misleading distraction from the worship of Christ.
Conclusion The churches are losing support. This is tragic because it is not Christ’s Teaching that is rejected, but that it is obscured by the manmade deceptions which now predominate in church ministries. They must come down from their mountain to where the people are, and leave their baggage behind. They must discard the belief in their own holy power and in the sanctity of the traditions which govern church affairs.
The changes required, are to return to teaching how Christ’s Holy Messages are the guide to every individual every day. The Holy Spirit is available to help them achieve this.
UPDATING CHRISTIANITY
Teaching Discarding the deceptions would allow churches to concentrate on their real task of teaching how Christ’s Messages are the foundation of Christian living.
Unlike technology, which is constantly changing, the underlying principles of Christ’s messages are timeless. However our lifestyles are now far more complex than those of His audiences 2000 years ago. His Messages need to be adapted to apply to all the wide variety of issues in our present lives.
In all situations Christians should be guided by the commandment to love their neighbours. This should be the basis of deciding what is right and wrong in all our many decisions.
We deal with people all the time, with family at home, with colleagues at work, with friends in our social life and with strangers when we drive or go shopping. This is where we serve God. Christians should be caring, tolerant and control their emotions. An appropriate guidance is to ”do unto others as you would have them do to you.”
Earning and spending is another major part of our lives. At work we can do the minimum necessary to keep out of trouble. Alternatively we can give our best to serve others, according to our talents.
We must then divide our incomes between spending on ourselves, saving for the future and giving to others in need. Everybody’s priorities are different, but we each have choices about what we believe would be God’s will on how we spend.
We also have civic choices, whether it is only in voting, or in decisions in public office. Christians should be guided by what is right for the community, and not what is popular or may bring personal rewards.
Recent examples of the faith and ultimate successes of other Christians are powerful examples to strengthen faith.
For example, Martin Luther King was an outstanding Christian. He had enormous successes over the years in a tense campaign opposing discrimination against blacks in USA. These included the right to ride in the same buses as whites, to full voting rights foe blacks.
As a committed Christian he insisted on non-violence. He even instructed his followers to follow Christ’s injunction to love their enemies, in this case their white opponents. They included brutal ruthless racists who tried to terrorise blacks through beatings and even murder. God helped this faithful Christian to succeed in doing what was right.
This example is laboured because this was a reality of Christian living today.
Even the lowliest Christian needs the faith and strength to choose what is right and uncomfortable. This is what churches should be teaching to help in life today and tomorrow.
These are examples of areas where Christians must make choices every day which are guided by Jesus. This is what churches should teach. The relevance and credibility of this teaching should satisfy the critical and discerning people of today.
Preaching. Customary sermons include the triumphs of prophets 3000 years ago, in a different society. They sound good but they are irrelevant to Christian living today. Instead there are innumerable examples of, triumphs through faith, of those who did what was right, regardless of the difficulty or dangers to themselves.
We all have to make choices between right and wrong, no matter how humble our own situations.
The Parables are vital which concern issues of daily living and should be applied to Christian choices today.
Our own faith can be strengthened by the innumerable examples of the faith and strength of other contemporary Christians.
Worship Christians gather to give thanks, to repent and to pray for help and strength to renew their faith. Worship and prayer should cover all the aspects of our complex Christian living where faith is needed.
The real help from the Holy Spirit, which is available to all the faithful, should be emphasised more often. Testimonies of successes or triumphs through faith of other contemporary Christians can also strengthen our own faith.
Preachers should report examples of God’s real help to faithful Christians who pray for it. He is here to help the faithful all the time.
Specialisation (Essay 7) working life is increasingly demanding, narrow and specialised. Workers depend more and more on sound reliable advice from others. As a farmer I depend heavily on a variety o f competent specialists, such as agronomists, entomologists and pathologists.
Churches should be the specialists in Christianity to provide reliable relevant teaching to their flocks.
This is not about esoteric issues of theology, but about issues of faith in every day contemporary Christian living. Teaching on these real issues of life will be a more demanding task for churchmen if they abandon their current irrelevant routines. They are the specialists that busy congregations depend on to equip them for their daily Christian living.
Church teaching at this level has therefore a real new responsibility to teach and sustain the faith of worshippers in their every day living.
Conclusion The challenge for Churches is to present Christ’s Teaching in forms which are meaningful to the changing lives of their members. Teaching should be comprehensive and credible if it is to meet all the needs of the Christians of today.
The faith of worshippers can be strengthened by examples of how contemporary Christians receive help from the Holy Spirit.
TEACHING THE YOUNG
Churches have a vital responsibility to teach young children how Christ’s messages should be the guide to their lives. (Essay 8)
Later they become independent in a new exciting life. Our Creator gave a wonderful range of pleasures, but Christians should enjoy them with self-control. They need to be warned against self-indulgent excesses of drink, sex or drugs. These may appear to be exciting but they lead only to emptiness and even dependence.
Churches owe it to these newcomers to present these messages in credible teaching. I am unaware of the effectiveness of current efforts. I can only recall my own sterile introductions 60 years ago. (Essay 3)
RETURNUNG TO CHRIST
Our Creator’s most momentous gift to mankind was sending Jesus to tell us His purpose for living in His wonderful world. This is the only time God lived with mankind and revealed His loving and forgiving nature. His power to heal and the help available from the Holy Spirit were also without precedent.
Declining support to fulfil our Creator’s purpose is tragic and threatens mankind at all levels. Individually those who fail to live according to Christ’s teaching will miss fulfilment. No matter how hard they pursue selfish pleasures, they will find that they are empty in the end.
Family life and social stability are already breaking down. It has been alleged that as many as half of marriages in USA will end in divorce. Single parent families are increasing. In one inner city community in USA, seven out of ten children are born out of wedlock.
The decline in the stable family upbringing already results in problems in UK, such as binge drinking, drug dependence and crime to pay for drugs. These problems are all the result of lack of Christian values and self discipline which should be acquired at home.
Our civilisation was built on Christian values and morality. As these decline so will society as other manmade doctrines replace them.
The tragedy is that people have not rejected Christ’s teaching, but that too many churches have allowed it to be obscured by their own manmade deceptions.
The challenge for the future is for all Christians and their churches in particular, to return to Christ’s Teaching of God’s simple purpose.
It is the recipe for every individual of how to live with and love the rest of humanity. This is the fulfilment of His purpose for us.
Churches owe this to mankind and to God.
CRUSADERS WANTED
Change will not come from committees of clerics. A second Reformation, led by articulate tough-minded Christians is needed. Martin Luther, John Knox and John Wesley, did just that. They were condemned by the churches but Luther rebutted the accusations because he only preached Christ’s messages and opposed the manmade additions to worship by the churches.
These men of God identified the misleading deceptions of the churches and offered more real alternatives. This saved millions of Christians. They were all tough committed Christian heroes prepared to stand for what they believed was right.
Please come forward new Christian reformers for the twenty first century, mankind needs you.
The emperors need to be told that they have no clothes!
Amen.
John Danckwerts
Phone Harare +263 4 575545
PO BOX AP 27, HARARE AIRPORT, ZIMBABWE.
stjude@zol.co.zw
PS I have put a lot of effort in to these thoughts. Brickbats, criticism or comments by e-mail would be welcome.
Sadly only four out of about a dozen ministers to whom an earlier draft was sent have commented. One word “rubbish” would have done. JPD
THE TRIUMPHS OF THE PHARISEES
Essay 10 FEBRUARY 2008
THE TRIUMPH OF THE PHARISEES
Judaism was founded by Prophets who were undoubtedly great spiritual leaders. They also made over 40 prophesies of His coming from God as the Messiah to lead the Jewish people. These included His descent from David and His birth in Bethlehem.
There had not been a recognised Prophet of Judaism for 300 years. In Jesus’ time the scribes and Pharisees, had become a secular authority, which ruled the Jews in the name of God. They exerted their power over social behaviour through traditional law, in the names of Moses and other prophets.
When John the Baptist told of the coming of Jesus he was rejected and reviled.
They ignored Jesus Teaching because they were not looking for a spiritual leader from God. They wanted a powerful secular leader to free Israel from Rome and confirm their own temporal authority. They condemned Jesus for infringing their rules by healing on the Sabbath and mixing with sinners. They accused him of blasphemy, and eventually demanded His crucifixion.
He vehemently condemned them as hypocrites and their temples as white sepulchres. He accused them in several parables of serving themselves and not God.
Later they then threatened to expel any Jews from the synagogues who believed in Jesus’ Teaching. This was a serious threat in Jewish s0ciety.
Most Jews subsequently resisted conversion to Christianity. This notwithstanding that they had followed Jesus in great multitudes when He preached and did miracles.
Later, the teachings of the Apostles were vigorously opposed. They were strongly condemned for converting Gentiles who were not circumcised! The majority of converts of the Apostles, who founded Christianity, were ultimately Gentiles.
The Pharisees condemned his followers and stoned Apostle Stephen to death. They also plotted unsuccessfully to kill St. Paul.
The indoctrination of young Jews was so strong that it was retained by the Apostles who later included the Old Testament in the Bible. It is now revered in the same way as Christ’s teaching in the Gospels.
Conclusion The prophesies of the coming of the Messiah, were ignored by the leaders of the synagogues. They opposed Jesus but they did not challenge His spiritual messages. They sought only to invoke their law to protect their own secular authority.
The irony is that the Pharisees succeeded dramatically.
Most of the Jews were prevented from accepting the revelations of God brought by Jesus. More significantly, The Old Testament mow occupies seven times as much space as the Gospels in the Christian Bible. It is now revered by Christians, on the same terms as Jesus’ Teaching.
They had the last laugh.
THE TRIUMPH OF THE PHARISEES
Judaism was founded by Prophets who were undoubtedly great spiritual leaders. They also made over 40 prophesies of His coming from God as the Messiah to lead the Jewish people. These included His descent from David and His birth in Bethlehem.
There had not been a recognised Prophet of Judaism for 300 years. In Jesus’ time the scribes and Pharisees, had become a secular authority, which ruled the Jews in the name of God. They exerted their power over social behaviour through traditional law, in the names of Moses and other prophets.
When John the Baptist told of the coming of Jesus he was rejected and reviled.
They ignored Jesus Teaching because they were not looking for a spiritual leader from God. They wanted a powerful secular leader to free Israel from Rome and confirm their own temporal authority. They condemned Jesus for infringing their rules by healing on the Sabbath and mixing with sinners. They accused him of blasphemy, and eventually demanded His crucifixion.
He vehemently condemned them as hypocrites and their temples as white sepulchres. He accused them in several parables of serving themselves and not God.
Later they then threatened to expel any Jews from the synagogues who believed in Jesus’ Teaching. This was a serious threat in Jewish s0ciety.
Most Jews subsequently resisted conversion to Christianity. This notwithstanding that they had followed Jesus in great multitudes when He preached and did miracles.
Later, the teachings of the Apostles were vigorously opposed. They were strongly condemned for converting Gentiles who were not circumcised! The majority of converts of the Apostles, who founded Christianity, were ultimately Gentiles.
The Pharisees condemned his followers and stoned Apostle Stephen to death. They also plotted unsuccessfully to kill St. Paul.
The indoctrination of young Jews was so strong that it was retained by the Apostles who later included the Old Testament in the Bible. It is now revered in the same way as Christ’s teaching in the Gospels.
Conclusion The prophesies of the coming of the Messiah, were ignored by the leaders of the synagogues. They opposed Jesus but they did not challenge His spiritual messages. They sought only to invoke their law to protect their own secular authority.
The irony is that the Pharisees succeeded dramatically.
Most of the Jews were prevented from accepting the revelations of God brought by Jesus. More significantly, The Old Testament mow occupies seven times as much space as the Gospels in the Christian Bible. It is now revered by Christians, on the same terms as Jesus’ Teaching.
They had the last laugh.
THE BIBlE
Essay 9 FEBRUARY 2008
THE BIBLE
The Bible has been the foundation of Christianity for two millennia. However it has three parts, each with different messages.
THE GOSPELS are a little over 10% of the text. They report God’s purpose and teaching through Christ.
These are His sacred Messages to mankind and the foundation of Christianity.
THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES are about 15% of the text, they recount the awesome power of the Holy Spirit in the lives of the Apostles. They received the gifts of foreign languages to enable them to teach far and wide. They had enormous strength and power to teach, convert and support the faith of the original Christians.
They, and their subsequent converts, had the courage to keep their faith to face persecution torture and even death. Churches spread under persecution for 300 years until Christianity was recognised by Rome.
This is the greatest ever intervention by God in human affairs.
The Holy Spirit is still available to any individual with faith, who asks for it.
The Acts also include letters from some of the Apostles to their new Christian communities, whose earlier beliefs were quite different from the revelations of God brought by Jesus. This teaching was a vital foundation of Christianity.
However most western societies have evolved as Christian for centuries since then. They have also changed considerably since the times of the Apostles. Individuals now are independent and well informed members of the Global Village. They deal with large numbers of others, including strangers. The Christian Teaching which they need should help then to live by Christ’s Teaching in their daily lives, (Essay 11). Quoting the teaching of the heroic Apostles distracts attention from the issues facing Christians today.
Finally the book of Revelations was reportedly written about 50 years after Christ. It contains prophecies about the end of the world, preceded by great disasters and the emergence from the sea of a seven headed monster. These prophecies are from the imagination of John of Patmos. Surely Christians should not revere this just because it was included in the Bible.
IN CONCLUSION the Acts of the Apostles report the awesome power of the Holy Spirit in guiding and strengthening faithful Christians. This should still be emphasised today. Their teaching however concerns issues that were long ago and faraway and may be less relevant to Christian living now.
THE OLD TESTAMENT amounts to over 70% of the Bible. It reports the very real and remarkable intervention of their God Jehovah in leading and protecting the Jewish nation in a hostile world over centuries.
It records the beliefs and scriptures of pre-Christian worshippers of God.
The Prophets certainly had God’s help and inspiration for their leadership and prophecy.
God had not yet revealed Himself through Jesus. Their religion therefore originated from their own human beliefs and imaginations.
These pre-Christian scriptures of Judaism were included in the Bible by the Apostles who wrote the Gospels. Although they spread Jesus Teaching and founded Christianity, they still retained the beliefs from their strict upbringing of Judaism. The problem is that the faith and values of Judaism were the earlier beliefs in God, which He sent Jesus to replace. Yet their scriptures are now included in the Bible and regarded as equal to Jesus’ Teaching.
TWO DOCTRINES
The doctrines and beliefs of Judaism differ fundamentally in many ways from the divine Messages brought by Jesus.
God was revealed as a loving and forgiving Father who cared for every individual. He is served, not by praise and glorification but by loving service to our fellow man. (The parable of the sheep and the goats is a critical statement that makes this clear.)
His love and forgiveness was so great that He rejoiced when sinners repented and turned to Him in repentance. (The Prodigal Son) This brought a new dimension of God’s love for man.
Jesus came to save sinners.
The 10 commandments were a negative declaration of what was not acceptable to God. He was portrayed as a harsh judge, on a throne, who would condemn sinners to hell.
The Pharisees even believed they themselves were justified to kill Jews who preached other beliefs than Judaism. After crucifying Jesus, they stoned the apostle Stephen to death, and plotted, unsuccessfully to kill Paul. The Pharisees claimed the power to stone sinners, such as adulteresses, to death, in the name of God.
This is a quite different concept of an authoritarian God who conferred the power to punish sinners on his priests.
SPIRITUAL BELIRFS Jesus revealed God’s purpose that men should love each other and that He cared for every individual.
He showed God’s power with many miracles of healing and even raising the dead. The Resurrection of Jesus was the ultimate miracle.
This is Divine and simple.
His power was also shown by His inspiration of the Apostles to found Christianity.
All this is clear evidence of God’s purpose and power.
Jehovah was seen, in human terms, as their powerful Lord. He was an omnipotent protector who spoke to the whole nation through prophets. Judaism was exclusive to Jews and there was no call to spread their teaching to the Gentiles who were regarded as outside Jehovah’s concern.
Protection on earth was not promised by Jesus. He even warned the Apostles that they would be persecuted, tortured and even put to death for preaching in His name.
He did not promise protection from setbacks or disasters, but rather help when they occurred. He said instead “come unto me all those who travail and are heavy laden and I will refresh you”.
In contrast, the psalms, which are certainly beautiful literature, promise protection and prosperity to the faithful.
Jehovah was also supposed to be propitiated by sacrifices. Abraham was even prepared to sacrifice his own son when he believed that was what God wanted.
Jesus angrily rebuked those who sold animals for sacrifice in the Temple.
Judaism included a variety of spiritual beliefs of the worshippers pf Jehovah.
The spirits of the Prophets were worshipped and believed to still have power over worshippers.
Their descriptions of the spiritual world originated mainly through men’s imagination. For instance, both Isaiah and Ezekiel told how God’s favourite angel, Lucifer, revolted and descended from heaven to become Satan in hell.
These beliefs in spiritual forces, conceived by men were accepted as holy truth.
Preaching by Jesus was informal teaching without rituals and ceremony. He did teach sometimes in the synagogues where people naturally came to worship. Other times out in the country when large crowds gathered to hear him. He did not follow any rituals in his preaching but merely taught how to live to fulfil God’s will.
He promised that when even two or three gathered in His name God would hear them and give help through The Holy Spirit. They did not need to pray through senior religious leaders, but direct to God.
Judaism revered the Prophets as the Holy men of God. Their beliefs and deeds were recorded as scriptures.
Worship centred in The Temple supported by local synagogues.
Great crowds were gathered to celebrate feasts, such as the Passover. Scribes and Pharisees had authority, as representatives of Jehovah, and led the worship. They were confident in their own righteousness and they condemned those they regarded as sinners e.g. publicans and tax collectors.
The differences between the two doctrines are fundamental, particularly as to God’s purpose for mankind and how He should be served and worshipped.
Examples of how Church worship is distracted by carrying forward this outdated doctrine are considered below.
TRUTH
Many many preachers exhort their listeners to study the Holy Bible as the word of Truth. Any quotation from the Old Testament can therefore be justified as Holy Truth “because it is in the Bible”. This can result in misleading sermons and conclusions.
For instance, the discrimination against Blacks in the apartheid era was justified by a quote that they should be hewers of wood and drawers of water. This may be justified in terms of an Old Testament text but it is contrary to Christianity. Yet it was used, as a quote from the Holy Bible, to justify a heinous policy.
This is one of many examples from the Old Testament that mislead people about Christian Truth.
OUR ORIGINS
Jesus preached how we should live and not where we came from.
The Old Testament describes creation in seven days starting with Adam and Eve. The fall to temptation, as the Original Sin of man, is described. Man was created in the image of God.
This account of our origins is now considered to be a vital cornerstone for many Christians.
Some, including an elder of a church, vehemently condemn the explanations of archaeologists, geologists and Darwinian natural selection. They are alleged to be part of a conspiracy of scientists to deny the existence of God! This is preposterous, they do no such thing. They only suggest that our Creator may have directed the process of evolution.
A friend queried this biblical account of creation by an invited speaker in church. He was berated by the priest and told that if he did not believe this he was not a Christian! This illustrates how reverence for the Old Testament has perverted some preachers.
It was particularly sad because my friend only recently acquired faith and was seeking a church to help him to fulfil it.
The issue has also led to many bitter and irrelevant disputes in USA.
Our origins are not relevant. Christians should be concerned with Christ’s Message for living today and tomorrow and God’s power here and now.
WORSHIP
Praise, in the form of glorification and adulation, is often seen as the route to salvation. Even the alter, in established churches, is a legacy from the Jewish temple
These formalised services contrast to Christ’s simple preaching of how we should live and worship. God promised to be anywhere even where only two or three gathered in His name.
SERMONS
The Old Testament includes many stories, from Adam and Eve through all the triumphs of the prophets. These all provide a wealth of subjects for sermons, which are considered to be holy. As an example, a preacher on TV proudly announced that her sermon was based on the numerous references to trumpets in the Bible. Surely this contributes nothing at all to Christ’s Teaching of how we should live. Yet such deceptions are accepted, because they are drawn from the Bible.
Another topic is the negative morality of Judaism, explicit in the 10 commandments. Damnation was promised to those who were judged to be sinful. They are obvious and popular subjects for sermons.
It sounds good, but God sent Jesus to replace them with only two positive commandments. The second commandment is positive and goes much further than the last nine. Anybody who obeys it will not infringe those nine but will do much more. Furthermore a positive dimension of God loving and forgiving all mankind was added. This new Message should replace the old beliefs of Judaism.
The Psalms, as already noted, are beautiful literature. They sound great as the subject for sermons. But their message is how Jehovah would protect the faithful and reward them with prosperity, is part of old beliefs. It is not what Jesus taught.
I question whether these examples of those in quite different societies, with a different religion, over 2000 years ago have much to teach to modern Christian congregations. Their faith needs to guide them in all their daily dealings with people at work, in their communities and at home. That is where they live their Christian lives.
THE PROPHETS
The heroism of the Prophets is frequently cited in sermons. There are numerous examples of their faith and courage. They receive attention of preachers because their exploits are in the Bible. However they lived in quite a different society thousands of years ago.
Surely, more real today, are the many contemporary Christian heroes who triumph through faith in Christ. For instance, a deeply religious American medic in the Pacific war. He refused to carry arms but always carried his Bible. He was oblivious to danger when he rescued the wounded under fire.
He was eventually awarded a high military honour by the US President. His valour and success was due to his strong Christian faith.
Many examples of contemporary faith and courage are equally inspiring. Their faith and courage in every day life is more real and should be recognised more frequently, even though they are not in the Bible.
JUDGEMENT
Christ promised a loving and forgiving attitude to our sins.
Judaism proclaims harsh condemnation to hell for sinners, and an authoritarian God who was served out of fear. This is quite a different morality. These threats of damnation and hell survive among too many preachers of the Fire and Brimstone Brigade today. They are merely misleading relics of pre-Christian Judaism.
I have close knowledge of a person, brought up as a Christian, and still attending church regularly. Her beliefs are mainly of good and evil. Her acquaintances who are judged to be evil are condemned. They are considered to be beyond the pale and treated accordingly.
The importance of forgiveness, tolerance and loving your enemy seems to have been missed in her early religious instruction.
It is not farfetched to assert that her life is less than it should have been as a result of instruction based on the values of intolerant Judaism early in her Christian upbringing.
CONCLUSION Jesus warned of those who would come in His name and deceive many. Surely there can be no greater or more destructive deceptions than including the pre-Christian teachings of Judaism with God’s Messages through Christ. This is not Christianity, but is a destructive deception, which Jesus warned against. Including it with His teaching by the churches, betrays the purpose for which Hw gave His life. Christians still suffer from these pre Christian distractions as a result.
SACRILEGE
The sanctity of the Old Testament has been accepted for many centuries. To dispute its sanctity in Christianity will appear to be shocking. Yet no matter how long it has been revered, it can be disputed that it contributes to Christ’s purpose. This is what He came to replace.
GALILIO had a similar problem. He declared the unthinkable, that the earth was not flat but round. He was ridiculed, threatened and even persecuted by the church. Everyone, from the Pope down, could see that it was flat. Mankind had ”known” this for all time.
The Old Testament is equally uncritically accepted as Holy Truth, after all it is in the Bible.
Instead remember Nicodemus, he was a scholar of Judaism, a senior Pharisee and a member of the Sanhedrin, their ruling council. When he wanted to follow Jesus, he came at night, to avoid condemnation. He was told that he would have to be born again. This meant he had to replace his old beliefs of Judaism with the completely new revelations of God brought by Jesus. Christians should do the same.
The survival of these roots in many churches aptly accounts for their description as Judao-Christianity.
As a Christian, my faith does not include these distractions of pre-Christian Judaism. Why should it? I believe only in Christ’s Messages and God’s power through the Holy Spirit.
CONCLUSION The inclusion of the Old Testament in the Bible has sanctified many pre-Christian teachings of Judaism. These can obscure the real simple Messages, which Jesus gave his life to bring to us. Anyone who believes only in Christ is still a Christian. Perhaps he can even see the Truth more clearly?
CONCLUSION
Many many preachers and ministries urge Christians to read their Bibles. Certainly a thorough knowledge of the Gospels is vital to understand Christ’s Messages of how Christians should live. However the Gospels only account for about 10% of the text.
The Acts are evidence of God’s vital power to help the faithful through the Holy Spirit.
The remainder is not essential to the daily choices of Christian living.
Reading the large proportion of information in the rest of the Bible may confuse Christians on the many issues they face in their everyday lives. It will introduce other issues and distract their focus from Christ’s Teaching on how to live according to God’s purpose, which He brought for us. If Christians are to live by that purpose they should worship His Teaching in the Gospels, and not the Whole Bible.
THE BIBLE
The Bible has been the foundation of Christianity for two millennia. However it has three parts, each with different messages.
THE GOSPELS are a little over 10% of the text. They report God’s purpose and teaching through Christ.
These are His sacred Messages to mankind and the foundation of Christianity.
THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES are about 15% of the text, they recount the awesome power of the Holy Spirit in the lives of the Apostles. They received the gifts of foreign languages to enable them to teach far and wide. They had enormous strength and power to teach, convert and support the faith of the original Christians.
They, and their subsequent converts, had the courage to keep their faith to face persecution torture and even death. Churches spread under persecution for 300 years until Christianity was recognised by Rome.
This is the greatest ever intervention by God in human affairs.
The Holy Spirit is still available to any individual with faith, who asks for it.
The Acts also include letters from some of the Apostles to their new Christian communities, whose earlier beliefs were quite different from the revelations of God brought by Jesus. This teaching was a vital foundation of Christianity.
However most western societies have evolved as Christian for centuries since then. They have also changed considerably since the times of the Apostles. Individuals now are independent and well informed members of the Global Village. They deal with large numbers of others, including strangers. The Christian Teaching which they need should help then to live by Christ’s Teaching in their daily lives, (Essay 11). Quoting the teaching of the heroic Apostles distracts attention from the issues facing Christians today.
Finally the book of Revelations was reportedly written about 50 years after Christ. It contains prophecies about the end of the world, preceded by great disasters and the emergence from the sea of a seven headed monster. These prophecies are from the imagination of John of Patmos. Surely Christians should not revere this just because it was included in the Bible.
IN CONCLUSION the Acts of the Apostles report the awesome power of the Holy Spirit in guiding and strengthening faithful Christians. This should still be emphasised today. Their teaching however concerns issues that were long ago and faraway and may be less relevant to Christian living now.
THE OLD TESTAMENT amounts to over 70% of the Bible. It reports the very real and remarkable intervention of their God Jehovah in leading and protecting the Jewish nation in a hostile world over centuries.
It records the beliefs and scriptures of pre-Christian worshippers of God.
The Prophets certainly had God’s help and inspiration for their leadership and prophecy.
God had not yet revealed Himself through Jesus. Their religion therefore originated from their own human beliefs and imaginations.
These pre-Christian scriptures of Judaism were included in the Bible by the Apostles who wrote the Gospels. Although they spread Jesus Teaching and founded Christianity, they still retained the beliefs from their strict upbringing of Judaism. The problem is that the faith and values of Judaism were the earlier beliefs in God, which He sent Jesus to replace. Yet their scriptures are now included in the Bible and regarded as equal to Jesus’ Teaching.
TWO DOCTRINES
The doctrines and beliefs of Judaism differ fundamentally in many ways from the divine Messages brought by Jesus.
God was revealed as a loving and forgiving Father who cared for every individual. He is served, not by praise and glorification but by loving service to our fellow man. (The parable of the sheep and the goats is a critical statement that makes this clear.)
His love and forgiveness was so great that He rejoiced when sinners repented and turned to Him in repentance. (The Prodigal Son) This brought a new dimension of God’s love for man.
Jesus came to save sinners.
The 10 commandments were a negative declaration of what was not acceptable to God. He was portrayed as a harsh judge, on a throne, who would condemn sinners to hell.
The Pharisees even believed they themselves were justified to kill Jews who preached other beliefs than Judaism. After crucifying Jesus, they stoned the apostle Stephen to death, and plotted, unsuccessfully to kill Paul. The Pharisees claimed the power to stone sinners, such as adulteresses, to death, in the name of God.
This is a quite different concept of an authoritarian God who conferred the power to punish sinners on his priests.
SPIRITUAL BELIRFS Jesus revealed God’s purpose that men should love each other and that He cared for every individual.
He showed God’s power with many miracles of healing and even raising the dead. The Resurrection of Jesus was the ultimate miracle.
This is Divine and simple.
His power was also shown by His inspiration of the Apostles to found Christianity.
All this is clear evidence of God’s purpose and power.
Jehovah was seen, in human terms, as their powerful Lord. He was an omnipotent protector who spoke to the whole nation through prophets. Judaism was exclusive to Jews and there was no call to spread their teaching to the Gentiles who were regarded as outside Jehovah’s concern.
Protection on earth was not promised by Jesus. He even warned the Apostles that they would be persecuted, tortured and even put to death for preaching in His name.
He did not promise protection from setbacks or disasters, but rather help when they occurred. He said instead “come unto me all those who travail and are heavy laden and I will refresh you”.
In contrast, the psalms, which are certainly beautiful literature, promise protection and prosperity to the faithful.
Jehovah was also supposed to be propitiated by sacrifices. Abraham was even prepared to sacrifice his own son when he believed that was what God wanted.
Jesus angrily rebuked those who sold animals for sacrifice in the Temple.
Judaism included a variety of spiritual beliefs of the worshippers pf Jehovah.
The spirits of the Prophets were worshipped and believed to still have power over worshippers.
Their descriptions of the spiritual world originated mainly through men’s imagination. For instance, both Isaiah and Ezekiel told how God’s favourite angel, Lucifer, revolted and descended from heaven to become Satan in hell.
These beliefs in spiritual forces, conceived by men were accepted as holy truth.
Preaching by Jesus was informal teaching without rituals and ceremony. He did teach sometimes in the synagogues where people naturally came to worship. Other times out in the country when large crowds gathered to hear him. He did not follow any rituals in his preaching but merely taught how to live to fulfil God’s will.
He promised that when even two or three gathered in His name God would hear them and give help through The Holy Spirit. They did not need to pray through senior religious leaders, but direct to God.
Judaism revered the Prophets as the Holy men of God. Their beliefs and deeds were recorded as scriptures.
Worship centred in The Temple supported by local synagogues.
Great crowds were gathered to celebrate feasts, such as the Passover. Scribes and Pharisees had authority, as representatives of Jehovah, and led the worship. They were confident in their own righteousness and they condemned those they regarded as sinners e.g. publicans and tax collectors.
The differences between the two doctrines are fundamental, particularly as to God’s purpose for mankind and how He should be served and worshipped.
Examples of how Church worship is distracted by carrying forward this outdated doctrine are considered below.
TRUTH
Many many preachers exhort their listeners to study the Holy Bible as the word of Truth. Any quotation from the Old Testament can therefore be justified as Holy Truth “because it is in the Bible”. This can result in misleading sermons and conclusions.
For instance, the discrimination against Blacks in the apartheid era was justified by a quote that they should be hewers of wood and drawers of water. This may be justified in terms of an Old Testament text but it is contrary to Christianity. Yet it was used, as a quote from the Holy Bible, to justify a heinous policy.
This is one of many examples from the Old Testament that mislead people about Christian Truth.
OUR ORIGINS
Jesus preached how we should live and not where we came from.
The Old Testament describes creation in seven days starting with Adam and Eve. The fall to temptation, as the Original Sin of man, is described. Man was created in the image of God.
This account of our origins is now considered to be a vital cornerstone for many Christians.
Some, including an elder of a church, vehemently condemn the explanations of archaeologists, geologists and Darwinian natural selection. They are alleged to be part of a conspiracy of scientists to deny the existence of God! This is preposterous, they do no such thing. They only suggest that our Creator may have directed the process of evolution.
A friend queried this biblical account of creation by an invited speaker in church. He was berated by the priest and told that if he did not believe this he was not a Christian! This illustrates how reverence for the Old Testament has perverted some preachers.
It was particularly sad because my friend only recently acquired faith and was seeking a church to help him to fulfil it.
The issue has also led to many bitter and irrelevant disputes in USA.
Our origins are not relevant. Christians should be concerned with Christ’s Message for living today and tomorrow and God’s power here and now.
WORSHIP
Praise, in the form of glorification and adulation, is often seen as the route to salvation. Even the alter, in established churches, is a legacy from the Jewish temple
These formalised services contrast to Christ’s simple preaching of how we should live and worship. God promised to be anywhere even where only two or three gathered in His name.
SERMONS
The Old Testament includes many stories, from Adam and Eve through all the triumphs of the prophets. These all provide a wealth of subjects for sermons, which are considered to be holy. As an example, a preacher on TV proudly announced that her sermon was based on the numerous references to trumpets in the Bible. Surely this contributes nothing at all to Christ’s Teaching of how we should live. Yet such deceptions are accepted, because they are drawn from the Bible.
Another topic is the negative morality of Judaism, explicit in the 10 commandments. Damnation was promised to those who were judged to be sinful. They are obvious and popular subjects for sermons.
It sounds good, but God sent Jesus to replace them with only two positive commandments. The second commandment is positive and goes much further than the last nine. Anybody who obeys it will not infringe those nine but will do much more. Furthermore a positive dimension of God loving and forgiving all mankind was added. This new Message should replace the old beliefs of Judaism.
The Psalms, as already noted, are beautiful literature. They sound great as the subject for sermons. But their message is how Jehovah would protect the faithful and reward them with prosperity, is part of old beliefs. It is not what Jesus taught.
I question whether these examples of those in quite different societies, with a different religion, over 2000 years ago have much to teach to modern Christian congregations. Their faith needs to guide them in all their daily dealings with people at work, in their communities and at home. That is where they live their Christian lives.
THE PROPHETS
The heroism of the Prophets is frequently cited in sermons. There are numerous examples of their faith and courage. They receive attention of preachers because their exploits are in the Bible. However they lived in quite a different society thousands of years ago.
Surely, more real today, are the many contemporary Christian heroes who triumph through faith in Christ. For instance, a deeply religious American medic in the Pacific war. He refused to carry arms but always carried his Bible. He was oblivious to danger when he rescued the wounded under fire.
He was eventually awarded a high military honour by the US President. His valour and success was due to his strong Christian faith.
Many examples of contemporary faith and courage are equally inspiring. Their faith and courage in every day life is more real and should be recognised more frequently, even though they are not in the Bible.
JUDGEMENT
Christ promised a loving and forgiving attitude to our sins.
Judaism proclaims harsh condemnation to hell for sinners, and an authoritarian God who was served out of fear. This is quite a different morality. These threats of damnation and hell survive among too many preachers of the Fire and Brimstone Brigade today. They are merely misleading relics of pre-Christian Judaism.
I have close knowledge of a person, brought up as a Christian, and still attending church regularly. Her beliefs are mainly of good and evil. Her acquaintances who are judged to be evil are condemned. They are considered to be beyond the pale and treated accordingly.
The importance of forgiveness, tolerance and loving your enemy seems to have been missed in her early religious instruction.
It is not farfetched to assert that her life is less than it should have been as a result of instruction based on the values of intolerant Judaism early in her Christian upbringing.
CONCLUSION Jesus warned of those who would come in His name and deceive many. Surely there can be no greater or more destructive deceptions than including the pre-Christian teachings of Judaism with God’s Messages through Christ. This is not Christianity, but is a destructive deception, which Jesus warned against. Including it with His teaching by the churches, betrays the purpose for which Hw gave His life. Christians still suffer from these pre Christian distractions as a result.
SACRILEGE
The sanctity of the Old Testament has been accepted for many centuries. To dispute its sanctity in Christianity will appear to be shocking. Yet no matter how long it has been revered, it can be disputed that it contributes to Christ’s purpose. This is what He came to replace.
GALILIO had a similar problem. He declared the unthinkable, that the earth was not flat but round. He was ridiculed, threatened and even persecuted by the church. Everyone, from the Pope down, could see that it was flat. Mankind had ”known” this for all time.
The Old Testament is equally uncritically accepted as Holy Truth, after all it is in the Bible.
Instead remember Nicodemus, he was a scholar of Judaism, a senior Pharisee and a member of the Sanhedrin, their ruling council. When he wanted to follow Jesus, he came at night, to avoid condemnation. He was told that he would have to be born again. This meant he had to replace his old beliefs of Judaism with the completely new revelations of God brought by Jesus. Christians should do the same.
The survival of these roots in many churches aptly accounts for their description as Judao-Christianity.
As a Christian, my faith does not include these distractions of pre-Christian Judaism. Why should it? I believe only in Christ’s Messages and God’s power through the Holy Spirit.
CONCLUSION The inclusion of the Old Testament in the Bible has sanctified many pre-Christian teachings of Judaism. These can obscure the real simple Messages, which Jesus gave his life to bring to us. Anyone who believes only in Christ is still a Christian. Perhaps he can even see the Truth more clearly?
CONCLUSION
Many many preachers and ministries urge Christians to read their Bibles. Certainly a thorough knowledge of the Gospels is vital to understand Christ’s Messages of how Christians should live. However the Gospels only account for about 10% of the text.
The Acts are evidence of God’s vital power to help the faithful through the Holy Spirit.
The remainder is not essential to the daily choices of Christian living.
Reading the large proportion of information in the rest of the Bible may confuse Christians on the many issues they face in their everyday lives. It will introduce other issues and distract their focus from Christ’s Teaching on how to live according to God’s purpose, which He brought for us. If Christians are to live by that purpose they should worship His Teaching in the Gospels, and not the Whole Bible.
CHURCH RESPONSIBILITIES
ESSAY 7 March 2008
CHURCH TEACHING
Church teaching is vital to existing congregations and to those who find faith and seek a place to worship. It should equip Christians to enjoy the wonderful pleasures that life offers.
Many forms of our pleasures demand effort and dedication, but this should not exclude the Christian duties of concern for others. They should not become exclusive ends in themselves.
There have many testimonies from people who had achieved great worldly success, which they ultimately found to be empty. They only found fulfilment when they turned to God.
Many have found emptiness from excesses in pursuit of worldly pleasures. Some were in a mess from excesses of sex, drink or drugs. Fulfilment and redemption only came whether they found Faith.
The vital lesson is that God forgives past sins, no matter how wicked. His help is available to all who repent and pray for it.
Non-Believers who lack the restraints of faith are controlled only by the norms of their society. Some are constrained only by the eleventh commandment “thou shalt not be found out”.
They aim is for to self-gratification, such as, materialism, excessive alcohol, sex or dependence on hard drugs. They will not be satisfied but always want more. Fun to start with, but ultimately empty.
They will tend be self-centred, indifferent to their neighbours and hostile to their perceived enemies. They will find that their lives are eventually unfulfilled and alone. They can’t take their pleasures with them. Christians should be warned of these dangers.
TEACHING THE YOUNG
The established churches have a vital responsibility of teaching Christianity to the young who customarily seek membership. It is vital that this teaching is effective in providing the foundation of lasting faith in these young recruits. Churches only instruct some children. (My father-in-law never went to church but sent the children to Sunday school every week.)
Later many attend classes for confirmation these are opportunities with captive audiences. It is vital that their message is well presented. Teaching must be simple and relevant if they are to provide lasting faith. The young need the faith to guide the rest of their lives. Above all they must know that their loving God cares for each of them no matter how humble their position. His help is available to all those who pray.
The future support if churches depends on teaching them Christ’s Messages and giving faith to the young.
The established churches have a unique responsibility. They have large numbers of nominal members most of their children go to churches for confirmation.
CHRISTIAN ADULTHOOD
When they leave the confines of school and home, young people have a new freedom and are their own masters. They become part of their age group. Some rebel against social norms to assert their new independence.
Like most societies, their groups tend to be hierarchical, with individuals rated according the criteria of these societies.
The most important lesson for young Christians is that God created everybody with different talents and abilities. Regardless of how they are rated by their peers, what is vital is that they live according to God’s Teaching of what is right and wrong. This is a vital lesson to avoid pressure to behaving according to the values of the others in their group to gain their approval.
They have a wide variety of choices of how they live. The Internet opens the door to the rest of the world. They need strength through Christian faith and a clear knowledge of right and wrong.
If they can achieve this, they can have an exciting and joyful life. Christianity is not a killjoy message. This should be a fun time. Faith must be real and become a basis of their exciting lives. They should be warned of the real dangers of lack of restraint and self-indulgence. There is a slippery road to hell on earth. Tragedies occur from dependence on self-gratification starting with alcohol and sinking through soft to hard drugs. Addiction to the latter can lead to utter dependence on regular doses. This in turn leads to crime to pay for them, regardless of the pain caused to others. This is contrary to Jesus’ teaching but it also leads to destruction and misery in their own lives.
Young Christians should be clearly warned of these real dangers.
As already noted, there is a gap between clergy and laymen. The generation gap is even wider. Churches need to learn to tailor their teaching to bridge this gap.
CONCLUSION Perhaps falling support for churches now is partly due to inadequate teaching years ago. This must not continue, they have a vital responsibility to give young Christians the faith they need as the anchor of their lives.
SEX
Everyone was born as a result of lovemaking. Yet sex is almost unmentionable, though it is very real. There is another world out there after dark.
Illicit sex, outside marriage, is too common and can be one of the great temptations. Prostitution has been widespread since time immemorial and still is. Brothels in Germany geared up for the influx of the recent World Cup soccer fans!
Sex ought to be a sacred and a private giving part of our lives. The ecstasy of making love, though transient, has been the greatest physical pleasure in my life and the greatest temptation.
Surely it is among God’s greatest gifts, when shared by couples dedicated to caring for each other for life.
That should be taught to young Christians. Otherwise they are likely to get a very different message from their peers at a time when they are most vulnerable.
A major church, with celibate clergy, forbids birth control. Yet in a world of low child mortality and population pressures, many couples sensibly decide to limit their children. They should not be denied this precious gift of their shared lives.
This doctrine has led to excessive population growth and poverty in some societies where powerful churches can enforce it. This has led to deprivation and hardship. I cannot believe this serves our Creator’s purpose. Birth control no longer means that the result of the ecstasies of care between two loving mates should be children.
CELIBACY is prescribed for priests in the Catholic Church. However they are human, some ministers are not so strong. There have been sad accounts of major failures in their behaviour in South Africa, Ireland and USA, where $2billion have been paid to victims since 1950
Is this imposed celibacy really necessary for those who serve Jesus?
Homosexuality is a deviation from the norm. Happily I do not understand it and have not had to cope with it in my life.
It is puzzling because, if the causes were genetic, it would have died out. However it is a real part of society.
Members of the same sex are emotionally attracted to each other and prepared to share their lives together. This seems to be how they were created, can it be their fault?
It is widely condemned, but, if that is the way the Creator made them, they must answer to Him. It is not for us to judge.
They can only be answerable to God for this. The physical aspects of these relationships are between them and God. Thankfully I understand them not.
I believe this, however, if I had felt the same powerful love and attraction for another man that I felt for my wife when we fell in love I too would now be pariah.
CONCLUSION Sex is a very real part of life. But everyone is different. It should be sacred and beautiful but can be evil and selfish. Christians should be taught these realities.
CONCLUSION
A vital role of churches is teaching of Christian messages updated to everyday life.
They should ensure that their teaching of new Christians will equip them with the faith they will need in the rest of their lives. On all issues they must be realistic and credible if they are to be accepted. The effectiveness of these teachings will affect support for churches in the future.
SUMMARY – Essays 5,6,7 & 8
Most Christians are not evangelists or theologians, they are specialists in an increasingly competitive and demanding world. This is where Christians serve God in all their varied dealings with other people. The churches should be leading them to this Christian living.
The simple Truth of Jesus’ Messages does not change. Church ministries should update all the lessons from the Gospels to help Christians live in their more complicated world today.
They should also provide contemporary examples of the availability of the Holy Spirit to help anyone with the faith to pray for it. There are also many verifiable reports of healing through faith in God.
Worship should merely be gathering for clergy to lead and reinforce the faith Christians as Jesus promised.
The deceptions, which Christ warned against, are the manmade additions to church worship identified at length in the essays above. Sadly many Christians revere the churches and their deceptions and believe that this is how God should be worshipped. However their numbers are declining.
Churches should return to their vital role of leading their flocks to live according to Christ’s Teaching.
CHURCH TEACHING
Church teaching is vital to existing congregations and to those who find faith and seek a place to worship. It should equip Christians to enjoy the wonderful pleasures that life offers.
Many forms of our pleasures demand effort and dedication, but this should not exclude the Christian duties of concern for others. They should not become exclusive ends in themselves.
There have many testimonies from people who had achieved great worldly success, which they ultimately found to be empty. They only found fulfilment when they turned to God.
Many have found emptiness from excesses in pursuit of worldly pleasures. Some were in a mess from excesses of sex, drink or drugs. Fulfilment and redemption only came whether they found Faith.
The vital lesson is that God forgives past sins, no matter how wicked. His help is available to all who repent and pray for it.
Non-Believers who lack the restraints of faith are controlled only by the norms of their society. Some are constrained only by the eleventh commandment “thou shalt not be found out”.
They aim is for to self-gratification, such as, materialism, excessive alcohol, sex or dependence on hard drugs. They will not be satisfied but always want more. Fun to start with, but ultimately empty.
They will tend be self-centred, indifferent to their neighbours and hostile to their perceived enemies. They will find that their lives are eventually unfulfilled and alone. They can’t take their pleasures with them. Christians should be warned of these dangers.
TEACHING THE YOUNG
The established churches have a vital responsibility of teaching Christianity to the young who customarily seek membership. It is vital that this teaching is effective in providing the foundation of lasting faith in these young recruits. Churches only instruct some children. (My father-in-law never went to church but sent the children to Sunday school every week.)
Later many attend classes for confirmation these are opportunities with captive audiences. It is vital that their message is well presented. Teaching must be simple and relevant if they are to provide lasting faith. The young need the faith to guide the rest of their lives. Above all they must know that their loving God cares for each of them no matter how humble their position. His help is available to all those who pray.
The future support if churches depends on teaching them Christ’s Messages and giving faith to the young.
The established churches have a unique responsibility. They have large numbers of nominal members most of their children go to churches for confirmation.
CHRISTIAN ADULTHOOD
When they leave the confines of school and home, young people have a new freedom and are their own masters. They become part of their age group. Some rebel against social norms to assert their new independence.
Like most societies, their groups tend to be hierarchical, with individuals rated according the criteria of these societies.
The most important lesson for young Christians is that God created everybody with different talents and abilities. Regardless of how they are rated by their peers, what is vital is that they live according to God’s Teaching of what is right and wrong. This is a vital lesson to avoid pressure to behaving according to the values of the others in their group to gain their approval.
They have a wide variety of choices of how they live. The Internet opens the door to the rest of the world. They need strength through Christian faith and a clear knowledge of right and wrong.
If they can achieve this, they can have an exciting and joyful life. Christianity is not a killjoy message. This should be a fun time. Faith must be real and become a basis of their exciting lives. They should be warned of the real dangers of lack of restraint and self-indulgence. There is a slippery road to hell on earth. Tragedies occur from dependence on self-gratification starting with alcohol and sinking through soft to hard drugs. Addiction to the latter can lead to utter dependence on regular doses. This in turn leads to crime to pay for them, regardless of the pain caused to others. This is contrary to Jesus’ teaching but it also leads to destruction and misery in their own lives.
Young Christians should be clearly warned of these real dangers.
As already noted, there is a gap between clergy and laymen. The generation gap is even wider. Churches need to learn to tailor their teaching to bridge this gap.
CONCLUSION Perhaps falling support for churches now is partly due to inadequate teaching years ago. This must not continue, they have a vital responsibility to give young Christians the faith they need as the anchor of their lives.
SEX
Everyone was born as a result of lovemaking. Yet sex is almost unmentionable, though it is very real. There is another world out there after dark.
Illicit sex, outside marriage, is too common and can be one of the great temptations. Prostitution has been widespread since time immemorial and still is. Brothels in Germany geared up for the influx of the recent World Cup soccer fans!
Sex ought to be a sacred and a private giving part of our lives. The ecstasy of making love, though transient, has been the greatest physical pleasure in my life and the greatest temptation.
Surely it is among God’s greatest gifts, when shared by couples dedicated to caring for each other for life.
That should be taught to young Christians. Otherwise they are likely to get a very different message from their peers at a time when they are most vulnerable.
A major church, with celibate clergy, forbids birth control. Yet in a world of low child mortality and population pressures, many couples sensibly decide to limit their children. They should not be denied this precious gift of their shared lives.
This doctrine has led to excessive population growth and poverty in some societies where powerful churches can enforce it. This has led to deprivation and hardship. I cannot believe this serves our Creator’s purpose. Birth control no longer means that the result of the ecstasies of care between two loving mates should be children.
CELIBACY is prescribed for priests in the Catholic Church. However they are human, some ministers are not so strong. There have been sad accounts of major failures in their behaviour in South Africa, Ireland and USA, where $2billion have been paid to victims since 1950
Is this imposed celibacy really necessary for those who serve Jesus?
Homosexuality is a deviation from the norm. Happily I do not understand it and have not had to cope with it in my life.
It is puzzling because, if the causes were genetic, it would have died out. However it is a real part of society.
Members of the same sex are emotionally attracted to each other and prepared to share their lives together. This seems to be how they were created, can it be their fault?
It is widely condemned, but, if that is the way the Creator made them, they must answer to Him. It is not for us to judge.
They can only be answerable to God for this. The physical aspects of these relationships are between them and God. Thankfully I understand them not.
I believe this, however, if I had felt the same powerful love and attraction for another man that I felt for my wife when we fell in love I too would now be pariah.
CONCLUSION Sex is a very real part of life. But everyone is different. It should be sacred and beautiful but can be evil and selfish. Christians should be taught these realities.
CONCLUSION
A vital role of churches is teaching of Christian messages updated to everyday life.
They should ensure that their teaching of new Christians will equip them with the faith they will need in the rest of their lives. On all issues they must be realistic and credible if they are to be accepted. The effectiveness of these teachings will affect support for churches in the future.
SUMMARY – Essays 5,6,7 & 8
Most Christians are not evangelists or theologians, they are specialists in an increasingly competitive and demanding world. This is where Christians serve God in all their varied dealings with other people. The churches should be leading them to this Christian living.
The simple Truth of Jesus’ Messages does not change. Church ministries should update all the lessons from the Gospels to help Christians live in their more complicated world today.
They should also provide contemporary examples of the availability of the Holy Spirit to help anyone with the faith to pray for it. There are also many verifiable reports of healing through faith in God.
Worship should merely be gathering for clergy to lead and reinforce the faith Christians as Jesus promised.
The deceptions, which Christ warned against, are the manmade additions to church worship identified at length in the essays above. Sadly many Christians revere the churches and their deceptions and believe that this is how God should be worshipped. However their numbers are declining.
Churches should return to their vital role of leading their flocks to live according to Christ’s Teaching.
CHURCHES IN DECLINE
PART TWO
DECEPTIONS IN WORSHIP
Jesus prophesied that many would come in His name and would deceive many. This has happened in many churches with manmade additions to Christ’s Teaching.
Many worshippers in traditional churches accept these deceptions and believe that this is how God should be worshipped.
The next six essays consider some of these deceptions.
Essay 5 March 2008
DECEPTIVE TEACHING
During some 60 years of regular church worship I heard many misleading messages from preachers
Some of these are noted below.
Salvationism. Some preachers promise salvation to those who join them in declaring their faith and praising God. These negative self serving beliefs are expected to secure their place in Heaven.
God is not served by adulation and formal ceremonies, but by the actions of forgiving and loving our neighbours. Jesus has already promised care after death to those who live by faith in Him.
The Second Coming of Jesus was foretold, mainly in Revelations, written nearly 60 years after Jesus. It is now the cornerstone of some sects. They believe that His return is imminent. Their worship aims to secure their place in Heaven when it happens.
This pursues personal salvation, rather than selfless service to our fellow man, as urged by Jesus.
The destruction of the world sometime is certainly possible, given man’s power over the atom.
It has not happened yet after two thousand years. There is no reason to assume that this is certain or imminent.
What is certain is that we will all die, and we know not when. That is a reason to live each day as if it were our last
It is how we live now that is important to us and to God.
Exclusivity in some sects allege that theirs is the only way to worship and that others are misguided and excluded.
It is inconceivable that a loving Creator, having sent his Son to die for us, would then allow subsequent manmade rules and practices to exclude those who did not accept them.
One such sect claims we must be born again. The only time Jesus called for this was to Nicodemus
Who as a senior priest of Judaism worshipped the pre-Christian God Jehovah. To be a Christian he needed to discard these beliefs and accept Christ’s Teaching exclusively.
Emotionalism is a feature of some services led by eloquent and emotional preachers. They condemn Satan and praise God. They also get excited, shout and sing loud gospel music. This obviously makes these congregations feel good. The only question is whether it helps them to live in Christian love for the rest of the week.
Speaking and preaching are two different ways of conveying a message. Jesus spoke in normal tones and language in His Teachings.
I feel uncomfortable when addresses are preached down to me in emotional stentorian tones. They assume their own righteous authority and talk down to their sinful listeners. Nobody else conveys their message like that. Some audiences clearly accept it, but Jesus merely taught simply that we are all sinners who should commit our lives to our forgiving God.
Supplication is implied in many recitations such as “we are not worthy to gather up the crumbs under thy table”. Surely this serves no useful purpose. Our Creator knows that we are weak fallible sinners. He sent his Son with the message of repentance and forgiveness for our failings.
Personalising worship is natural for humans. It may make us feel good. Surely emotional proclamations of praise and glorification serve little purpose? Our Creator is concerned with deeds not words.
Declarations of Faith in God are often called for. Surely anyone who gets up on a Sunday morning and goes to worship a God he has never seen, already has faith. There is no need to proclaim it. What they need is help to sustain their faith and teaching to help them to serve God.
Theology. Most preachers have a detailed knowledge of the whole Bible. This includes a wide variety of pre-Christian examples of the conflicts and heroic triumphs of the prophets, who were God-fearing warlords. Their challenges were upholding the faith of their people and defending them from hostile enemies.
Their faith and courage as leaders are often the subject of sermons. This sounds noble and inspiring. It is of little value in meeting the challenges of Christian living in our peaceful and very different society today.
It contrasts with Christ’s teaching in simple terms to his followers who were simple farmers, fishermen and tradesmen. What worshippers need are lessons from the gospels updated to help their Christian living in their more complicated lives today.
Conclusion
Listeners to evangelist preaching may respond emotionally, expecting safety and security by regular formal worship God. The second commandment, to love the rest of mankind is central. It necessitates a change in their whole way of life by serving God in al their dealings with people.
DECEPTIONS IN WORSHIP
Jesus prophesied that many would come in His name and would deceive many. This has happened in many churches with manmade additions to Christ’s Teaching.
Many worshippers in traditional churches accept these deceptions and believe that this is how God should be worshipped.
The next six essays consider some of these deceptions.
Essay 5 March 2008
DECEPTIVE TEACHING
During some 60 years of regular church worship I heard many misleading messages from preachers
Some of these are noted below.
Salvationism. Some preachers promise salvation to those who join them in declaring their faith and praising God. These negative self serving beliefs are expected to secure their place in Heaven.
God is not served by adulation and formal ceremonies, but by the actions of forgiving and loving our neighbours. Jesus has already promised care after death to those who live by faith in Him.
The Second Coming of Jesus was foretold, mainly in Revelations, written nearly 60 years after Jesus. It is now the cornerstone of some sects. They believe that His return is imminent. Their worship aims to secure their place in Heaven when it happens.
This pursues personal salvation, rather than selfless service to our fellow man, as urged by Jesus.
The destruction of the world sometime is certainly possible, given man’s power over the atom.
It has not happened yet after two thousand years. There is no reason to assume that this is certain or imminent.
What is certain is that we will all die, and we know not when. That is a reason to live each day as if it were our last
It is how we live now that is important to us and to God.
Exclusivity in some sects allege that theirs is the only way to worship and that others are misguided and excluded.
It is inconceivable that a loving Creator, having sent his Son to die for us, would then allow subsequent manmade rules and practices to exclude those who did not accept them.
One such sect claims we must be born again. The only time Jesus called for this was to Nicodemus
Who as a senior priest of Judaism worshipped the pre-Christian God Jehovah. To be a Christian he needed to discard these beliefs and accept Christ’s Teaching exclusively.
Emotionalism is a feature of some services led by eloquent and emotional preachers. They condemn Satan and praise God. They also get excited, shout and sing loud gospel music. This obviously makes these congregations feel good. The only question is whether it helps them to live in Christian love for the rest of the week.
Speaking and preaching are two different ways of conveying a message. Jesus spoke in normal tones and language in His Teachings.
I feel uncomfortable when addresses are preached down to me in emotional stentorian tones. They assume their own righteous authority and talk down to their sinful listeners. Nobody else conveys their message like that. Some audiences clearly accept it, but Jesus merely taught simply that we are all sinners who should commit our lives to our forgiving God.
Supplication is implied in many recitations such as “we are not worthy to gather up the crumbs under thy table”. Surely this serves no useful purpose. Our Creator knows that we are weak fallible sinners. He sent his Son with the message of repentance and forgiveness for our failings.
Personalising worship is natural for humans. It may make us feel good. Surely emotional proclamations of praise and glorification serve little purpose? Our Creator is concerned with deeds not words.
Declarations of Faith in God are often called for. Surely anyone who gets up on a Sunday morning and goes to worship a God he has never seen, already has faith. There is no need to proclaim it. What they need is help to sustain their faith and teaching to help them to serve God.
Theology. Most preachers have a detailed knowledge of the whole Bible. This includes a wide variety of pre-Christian examples of the conflicts and heroic triumphs of the prophets, who were God-fearing warlords. Their challenges were upholding the faith of their people and defending them from hostile enemies.
Their faith and courage as leaders are often the subject of sermons. This sounds noble and inspiring. It is of little value in meeting the challenges of Christian living in our peaceful and very different society today.
It contrasts with Christ’s teaching in simple terms to his followers who were simple farmers, fishermen and tradesmen. What worshippers need are lessons from the gospels updated to help their Christian living in their more complicated lives today.
Conclusion
Listeners to evangelist preaching may respond emotionally, expecting safety and security by regular formal worship God. The second commandment, to love the rest of mankind is central. It necessitates a change in their whole way of life by serving God in al their dealings with people.
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