Is mainstream Christianity consistent with the message Christ preached 2,000 years ago? If it was then we should be able to find passages in the New Testament where Christ taught the guiding principals that inspired modern Christian Culture.
. Did Christ Teach The Following?
�If you follow me and keep my birthday then a man in a red suit will fly in the sky with magic reindeer and bring you presents for being my disciples. And if you follow me and follow my teachings then a bunny rabbit will bring you colored eggs every spring. And if you stay true to my teachings you will keep a hallow ceremony every autumn and dress as ghosts, witches, and devils and teach the children that extorting candy is right and good.�
Obviously Christ did not teach this yet these events are the highlights of Christian Culture every year. These hallmark ceremonies of mainstream Christianities have their origins in paganism and are not consistent with the teachings of Christ or the practices of the early church. How did Christianity deteriorate to this level of paganism and materialism?
Another hallmark of modern Christianity is the belief that all is required of his disciples today is to believe on him and accept him as their savior and their eternal life is assured. Regardless whether one studies the teaching of the Catholic Church or the Protestant Churches that came out of her, the belief systems of these mainstream organizations can be summarized as follows: �When someone is born, they get a soul that has never existed before, and unless that individual accepts Christ as their savior before they die, their soul goes to Hell.� This means that anybody who belongs to any other religion is doomed to eternal torment. Another interesting dilemma posed by this theology is that anybody who lived and died before the time of Christ is also doomed to Hell. How could they accept Christ if Christ hadn�t lived yet?
Yet when one studies the teachings of Christ, as recorded in the New Testament, he never claimed that he came to die for the sins of mankind or even that he came to save everyone at that time. In actuality, he on purposely cloaked his teaching in parables to prevent the masses from understanding the true meaning of his teachings.
Matthew 13 10 The disciples came to him and asked, �Why do you speak to the people in parables?� 11 He replied, �The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them. 12 Whoever has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him. 13 This is why I speak to them in parables: �Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand. 14 In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah: ��You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving. 15 For this people's heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them.� 16 But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear. 17 For I tell you the truth, many prophets and righteous men longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it. NIV
Good one Beefcake. Satan believes in Jesus too but it hasn't helped him much. I think you hit the nail on the head a few times. There are so many practices in the Church that are not Biblical that it makes it difficult for me to attend services. Especially on Sunday mornings. There's the singing of "Praise and Worship" songs that often have little or no Biblical basis but make us feel good followed by the misunderstanding and misinterpretation of scripture that generally follows the traditions of Christian homiletics that is preached as Truth and misleads the congregation, which is thankfully cut short by the taking up of an offering that has no basisi in the Bible, and eventually after listening to the announcements there is the inevitable, "invitation", aka the alter call, also an unbiblical tradition, and finally we might be blessed with the practice of yet another unbiblical tradition called communion. Somewhere in there there has to be some Truth right? hmmm.
How about this, a group of Christians gather on Sunday afternoon to minister to each other, bond with one another, build relationship with Jesus as a group and allow Holy spirit to minister in the gifts and teach them through the Word of God rather than through a misguided Seminary graduate? That's the church I'm looking for.
beefcake nothing is new under the sun.Paganism has been around since the time Satan deceived Eve.
Some of what you said may be right.But the rest is not.
I can not find a church that celebrates Halloween.The church may use that day to reach out to the unsaved.They will put floats in the local parade to reach the unsaved.
Friends did not Paul in Athens say that the unnamed God was Jesus.it was against the law to invent new Gods in Athens.
As for santa and the easter bunny I do not have kids and do not use them in my life.The churches I have attended have called it resserection sunday.
As for Christmas, it is a dayto celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior. It is what we make it. Your brother in Christ.
Join us crazy christians which proclaim and live Grace,
Biblical Plurality of Elders,the Priesthood of Believers,Worship in spirit and truth (No band or choir ).
We break bread without mon-senior pastor.
We read the word on our own and together.
We believe Yeshua/Jesus is the Pastor/Shepherd of the body of believers.
We believe every believer in Yeshua is a Saint, king and priest unto the Lord.
We meet in a brothers basement,in Piscataway,NJ.
Most of what is called the church, We do not believe is the church,Yeshua is building.
We see more man,then Yesuha building.
PLease people,this is not a judgement unto condemnation,rather an observation of the last 20+ years
of what has been happening within the body of Christ.
Mat 13:24 Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field:
Mat 13:25 But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way.
Mat 13:26 But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also.
Mat 13:27 So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? from whence then hath it tares?
Mat 13:28 He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up?
Mat 13:29 But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them.
Mat 13:30 Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.
It does say something about confessing Jesus. I am deeply troubled by a statement you made beefcake.I was sure that Jesus said he died for our sins. He is the way, the only way.
As to confession: Rom 10:9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
Confess according to Webster. (Not the new Webster, the original guy) " To own, avow or acknowledge; publicly to declare a belief in and adherence to."
This is not singling out Justification but rather it speaks to the entire process of Salvation which is Justification, Sanctification and Glorification. It is a continuing process of confessing Jesus, publicly declaring your faith in Jesus, and believing to the extent that you adhere to Truth in a way that it cannot escape you. This is the True confession. This is not saying that you have to say anything in particular to be saved. Repentance is not about changing what you say but rather changing the direction of you life by adhering to a different set of lifestyle choices.
As for Jesus dying for our sins. I agree that Jesus died for our sins. Literally for the remission of our sins.
Mat 26:28 For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.
Again from Webster "Forgiveness; pardon; that is, the giving up of the punishment due to a crime; as the remission of sins. Mat 26. Heb 9."
Thunder said, "How about this, a group of Christians gather on Sunday afternoon to minister to each other, bond with one another, build relationship with Jesus as a group and allow Holy spirit to minister in the gifts and teach them through the Word of God rather than through a misguided Seminary graduate? That's the church I'm looking for. "
I say, have you ever visited a Messianic congregation on a Saturday afternoon? You might be pleasantly surprised. The ones I have visited are very much as your described. Every week, they sing songs of worship, read the Word, have a message, pray and then share a meal.
Yes Grace I went to a Messianic meeting on Friday nights when I lived in TN. It was most of what I was looking for and I really miss it. I haven't been able to find a group like that here in Colorado.
Have you read the book, "So You Don't Want To Go To Church Anymore" ? It is really a very good book about this concept.
Friends we need a body to belong to.You can not just stop going to church because you feel the church is not in tune.
Paul writes that we are not to forsake the gathering of the brethern.I read some of your post and wonder if you are saying the church is wrong so you are not going to attend.
