Events are Cascading:
The Middle East is heating up.
The Gospel is all but ignored and/or marginalized in the West.
Christianity is becoming more entertainment than spiritual strength / hope.
Societies are becoming more crude and crass.
Life is becoming less valuable, at every level.
Morality is becoming increasingly more subjective.
Sex is dominating our attention and our lives.
Education is evermore critical and fewer are being educated.
Digital communities [Facebook, etc] are robbing us of real connectedness.
Natural disasters are making us more uneasy.
Everything is revolving around computers and numbers.
The cashless society bankers and law enforcement favor, is becoming a reality.
The bad economy is pushing us into a global society.
Is all this simply the natural evolution of societies? Or is it being orchestrated by intelligent forces?
The cumulative effect is to decentralize the individual, desensitize him in the critical areas of life, deconstruct our traditional support systems and push us toward a global dependency, without national identity.
And it just so happens this is exactly what The Bible predicts will be the situation at the End of the Age!
Showing posts with label Babel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Babel. Show all posts
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Thursday, December 17, 2009
The Religion of Babel
For those who know The Bible, the unmistakable hallmark is Redemption. The cornerstone of Redemption is Grace, while man's religion is all about works.
An argument is made that the Old Testament is also about works: The Mosaic Law, while the New Testament, alone, is about Grace, freely given.
But this is an argument from biblical ignorance! The Mosaic Law covered less than 1200 years of the 4000 years recorded in the Old Testament. And it existed to govern behavior, not redeem anyone. Those redeemed in the Old Testament were saved by grace, through faith, not of works, lest any man should boast. That's the point Paul makes in Galatians 3:6.
When unregenerate men set out to create a religious system, they draw on what they know. And the Bible specifically states that the "natural man" (the unsaved man) does not comprehend the things of the Spirit. In fact, they are foolishness to him (I Cor. 2:14)
Look at all the Christian and non-Christian cults. Every one of them are based on what their members do or don't do. Not one is based on Grace, through faith.
And most of them revolve around our earthly condition, with either annihilation or some sort of reincarnation, while the Christian cults offer a "heaven" of their own imagination.
All this is very human. So, to provide members with a spiritual experience, many have resorted to some form of mysticism. Consider the use of stained glass, for example. Or vaulted ceilings, incense, pipe organs, vestments, candles, statues, altars and, in the case of the Roman Catholic Church, a holy language (Latin).
Then look at the cross-polination. High liturgical groups dipping down into the spiritual vulgarities of the charismatic movement or the contemporary movement. The Emergent Churches reaching out to the sights, sounds and smells of the liturgical tradtions.
For what? To have a more meaningful feeling of worship!
Well, that was Nimrod's purpose, too, at the Tower of Babel. It was artificial then. It's artificial now.
Worship of God is a heart and spirit thing. It isn't found in the trappings, no matter what they are or how they make you feel.
The visible Church has a lot to answer for!!!
An argument is made that the Old Testament is also about works: The Mosaic Law, while the New Testament, alone, is about Grace, freely given.
But this is an argument from biblical ignorance! The Mosaic Law covered less than 1200 years of the 4000 years recorded in the Old Testament. And it existed to govern behavior, not redeem anyone. Those redeemed in the Old Testament were saved by grace, through faith, not of works, lest any man should boast. That's the point Paul makes in Galatians 3:6.
When unregenerate men set out to create a religious system, they draw on what they know. And the Bible specifically states that the "natural man" (the unsaved man) does not comprehend the things of the Spirit. In fact, they are foolishness to him (I Cor. 2:14)
Look at all the Christian and non-Christian cults. Every one of them are based on what their members do or don't do. Not one is based on Grace, through faith.
And most of them revolve around our earthly condition, with either annihilation or some sort of reincarnation, while the Christian cults offer a "heaven" of their own imagination.
All this is very human. So, to provide members with a spiritual experience, many have resorted to some form of mysticism. Consider the use of stained glass, for example. Or vaulted ceilings, incense, pipe organs, vestments, candles, statues, altars and, in the case of the Roman Catholic Church, a holy language (Latin).
Then look at the cross-polination. High liturgical groups dipping down into the spiritual vulgarities of the charismatic movement or the contemporary movement. The Emergent Churches reaching out to the sights, sounds and smells of the liturgical tradtions.
For what? To have a more meaningful feeling of worship!
Well, that was Nimrod's purpose, too, at the Tower of Babel. It was artificial then. It's artificial now.
Worship of God is a heart and spirit thing. It isn't found in the trappings, no matter what they are or how they make you feel.
The visible Church has a lot to answer for!!!
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