I have to say Amen and Amen.
Like Sand thru the Hour glass…
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- Christian University??? Behavorial Indoctrination Center for Cult activities maybe…
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- Are You in the “Center” of God’s Will? and what does that mean? Linking to Blog On The Way
- God’s Cartoonist, Jack Chick
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Religion is a thing of the past and it only ever served one purpose – former control. It was a way of brainwashing people a few thousand years ago and certain religious groups still abide by similar rules today. One thing I find fascinating about so-called Christians is how they take certain parts of the Bible literally but other parts they choose to ignore – hence the fact many of them have torn out pages of their own Bibles.
I do believe in a higher power or entity (whatever you wish to call it) but I think all the religions of the World are wrong about God. The World is full of all these different religions but they all have completely different beliefs. This World would be a much better place if there was no such thing as religion!
Thanks for dropping by Mood,
I totally agree that this world would be a much better place without religions. Religion is just a formal set of rules and behaviours that dictate how people worship. That is a bad thing. I will even agree with you that there is much done in the name of “Christianity” that has precious little or nothing-at-all to do with Christ. It has become a social status thing to call oneself a Christian and then proceed to live in ways that are the very antithesis to the example Christ set before us.
And I agree with you that people cherry-pick what they want and like out of Scripture and chuck the rest. It is how people develop their worldviews and personal philosophies these days: a little bit of Christianity here, a dab of Darwinian evolution there, a slice of secular humanism and a side of Eastern mysticism, then top it off with a gratuitous helping of tolerance. voilà!
Having said all that, I part with you on who God is. God is more than just a higher power, or the man upstairs, or a force. God by His very definition has to be other. He must transcend His creation in everyway. Everything you pointed out, and I have discussed here, only leads to us, humans, creating a god of our imaginations that fits our image of what god should be. That is idolatry and is addressed in the first of the Ten Commandments.
I thought I’d add a comment for Mood… ‘religion’ is technically a family resemblance concept gathering up codified systems of beliefs and practices and ceremonies arising out of a certain set of facts believed to be true about the universe.
The term ‘religion’ is used differently by different people. Driscoll’s use of the term is a common pop-culture use of the term. But the term has actual legitimate meaning when talking about it in the educational sphere. Hence, I have a degree in the ‘philosophy of religion’ and, believe me, it is full of content and even includes your own views of a higher power (and includes views of atheism as well).
No offense intended, but the assumptions you carry in your statement tell me you haven’t actually studied it enough. You just sweep it off the table with. I would encourage a more thoughtful reflection on a topic as important as this one.
Ideas like God’s existence and the resurrection of Jesus were not a religion first but certain facts that have to be reckoned with, validated as true or false. There is enough evidence for these found by university professors and scholars that it cannot be dismissed with misinformed comments like the one you offer. Later, something like the ‘resurrection of Jesus’ was codified into a religion. Where our culture goes wrongheaded is when it thinks all religions are relegated to private life and have no bearing on reality and facts. That’s part of modernities assault on things outside the realm of science. It’s a faulty move and has been dismissed for over 50 years (though it has resurged in recent days for some).
Many Christians tear out pages of their Bibles?! That’s the first I’ve heard of that, unless you’re speaking of Thomas Jefferson, the non-Christian.
I have been telling people this for years. Sitting in cafe’s talking to Athiest on one end to Pastor’s of churches on the other end. I have stopped talking and started believing that God does it all. He decides. I can shout it from the roof top but until he unplugs an ear, they can not hear. Man builds mansions (churches) and Jesus had nowhere to lay his head. I don’t think they get it. That is why he said, they say Jesus, Jesus but they don’t know who I am. I spent 34 years of my life sitting in church until I laid down behind the door in the dark until I heard a still small voice say —– It is finished. Rest. Enjoy. Live like my death was not in vain. Free of sin. Free of guilt. Free of shame. Peace be with you.
Interestingly, I believe religion is a necessary phase of spiritual growth. It is mainly for the immature and new converts. After you mature and are really free but grounded, religion becomes unnecessary.
Religion is like childhood. When you’re a child, you’re parents tell you what to do, how to do it and when. As you get older, a good parent will give more responsibility and freedoms as they see the child is capable.
As a child your parents made you go to bed at a certain time. When you got older you question it and resisted it when you could. When you turn 18, you get excited because you can stay up as late as you want- and you do.
As you mature into adulthood and you get more opportunities and responsibilities, you begin to cherish going to bed. You begin to appreciate why your parents encouraged you to go to bed early.
Now, no one needs to tell you when to go to bed. You understand and appreciate the value of bedtime without someone standing over you to do it.
That’s what religion is like. It’s a place where you learn what you need to be about, how and why. As you mature in your faith (not necessarily your knowledge), you do the right things because you value them, appreciate them and want to do them. You’re not under compulsion. You do it because it’s who you are and not what some preacher tells you to- anymore.
Religion has its place. We shouldn’t throw out the baby with the bathwater. We just need to put religion in its proper context and put away wrong practices.