BURNING

QUESTION

Why are there so many denominations within the organised Christian church?

My Answer: Because the basis of the Christianity they proclaim, is not founded on the truth…and is therefore not bringing any good news at all.

Reality Back-up: Just as an initial note…in spite of “man” being a term used in the Bible for both genders, I will be using the masculine form around it…for the sake of practicality. The Reformed Christian Church is based upon the doctrine of “free will” and “Freedom of choice”…and therefore fear and insecurity. To have to rely on one’s own will and choices was, is and will be the most active breeding ground for stress there is..the world’s (church members included) #1 illness…stress. In 2017 the commemoration of the 500th Anniversary of the Protestant Reformation will be celebrated worldwide. Celebrating what? The to-date inability to establish the body of Christ in a unity of love? Just another meaningless celebration revolving around man and not [the real] Jesus Christ…the Jesus Christ who died for ALL humanity. This celebration is pointless as all the Christian denominations (2.2 billion members in total in this moment, a third of the world population!) have the same thing in common…despising God’s ultimate Sovereignty and –Love in ALL…thereby still not able to show Christ’s love to each other. A sad state of affairs…experienced worldwide…generations upon generations. Just by adding up all the generational figures…oh my goodness…what a staggering figure it adds up to. Does this sound like “The Narrow Road? No…you have to admit….not really. Food for serious thought I would say! Please see Matthew 7:13-14 . There are three historical reformation documents reflecting these two doctrinal fallacies…all of which still very much the foundation and backbone of the Reformed Christian Church to this day. These documents are… the “Canons of Dort” of 1618-19 the “Belgic Confession of Faith” of 1561 (please see article 37 and notice the elements of “Schadenfreude” and arrogance) the “Heidelberg Catechism” of 1563 (see question 11) They were written as a result of the Roman Catholic inquisition, but instead of having sent Christianity on a road of truth, they only steered it onto another road of destruction, still based upon the same lie of eternal condemnation Catholics also still proclaim themselves. See, both denominations believe in an everlasting hell of condemnation and to this day there has been no peace between the two either. The lie can never bring peace. The reformation has not been able to secure any harmony, peace or love amongst its members …the proof of which is to be seen all around us. The very core belief that keeps God’s blessing of inner peace away from the world, is the one denying God’s ultimate Supremacy in all. His Supremacy rules over our will and choices alike. ‘Free will’ and ‘free choice’ resort fully under rebellion…The Adversary’s ultimate trespass…having paved the way for mankind to follow on. The atrocities of man ‘weigh heavier’ than the Sovereignty of God…these cruelties of the Roman Catholic inquisition being no exception. Fact remains modern day ‘inquisitions’ are still very much alive and kicking, but with different faces. Spiritual- and emotional pain is still the fundamental cause of infirmity in present time…atrocities done by ‘reformed’ Christians, as much as by anybody else for that matter. Nothing has changed. Ecclesiastes 1:9 . Hatred still runs the show on both sides….making them birds of a feather and unfit to be the body of Christ. If one rejects the Sovereignty of the Father, one rejects the Son as well. That is the core religious reason why a third of the world population today (2.2 billion Christians) still hate each other. Are they within the real Jesus Christ? By the looks of it…no. Is the Jesus Christ the church worships the false Jesus Paul talks about in 2 Corinthians 11:4 ? My answer… yes. Let’s face it…there IS no peace in this world whatsoever. And did the Reformed Christian Church make any difference to date…I mean a difference that one can experience on a daily basis around us…in Christians? No…not by a long shot. The very denominational ‘building blocks’ of the church do not even have peace amongst themselves…a blanket statement? Please go ask anybody in the clergy…or coming from it…or any members in different congregations to voice their experiences. And if someone reading this very ouchy statements of mine with offendedness…then a red light of lofty self- righteousness in the fitted slipper is flickering. This is such a serious matter that there is no more time left playing around, soft-soaping. Friend of the world, enemy of God. How many pastors today are on hypertension- or antidepressant medication? As a qualified pharmacist…having worked many years in pharmacies…I can tell you too many are unfortunately. Why is that? There is a simple explanation…the message they bring is not based upon the Truth…but the lie in the first place…and second to that is the fact that they convey virtually all their time to activities around man…around congregation members…least of all to God Himself. Pleasing their following church members is much more a priority than spending time with God. They are Satan’s targets and they do not know it! A lack of love and true joy is behind clergy misery…power, greed and stardom being three most addictive results, with animosity as the replacement for the loving glue that is supposed to hold them in unity together. Animosity that drives pastors and reverends away to erect their own splinter groups (denominations), where they will be the ones calling the shots…where they will hopefully not have to face the stressful strife with competitive peers… But before I go any further, let me get straight to the point of the real ‘Culprit’ behind it all…and please brace yourself…because what I’m going to say now is SO out of sync with the world’s cloned beliefs…that I will not hold it against you if you click on the “exit” button in the top right corner now. Who is the real ‘Culprit’ behind all the misery in the world…especially in the organized church? None other than God, the Lord of Hosts Himself…not Satan at all! This must be a very scary statement to make…but a statement oh so true! Please turn to Isaiah 45:7 . God emphatically says that HE is the One doing everything. Why would we not accept the bad with the good as it is says in Job 2:10 ? Because in Eden man has learned about good and evil first-handedly when they both took the juicy ‘apple’ from the “Tree of Knowledge, of Good and Evil. They had therefore no option but to leave the place of safety and bliss…just to experience knowledge of the world…the mixed knowledge of good and evil alike. From this fateful tree all our problems have their root…to this day...people still biting in the juicy apple pie with its lethal one percent lie. Why did God create anything if it was not for the good (Romans 8:28) . He created evil for man to taste…in ORDER for him to appreciate Him for Who He is…the Almighty God in control of all. And also…why would God create ANYTHING for that matter if He did not have the intention of using it? Besides the Tree of Knowledge, of Good and Evil was long written into His Godly drama before it even came to pass (Jeremiah 1:5) . Did our first earthly parents know their Caretaker for Who He ‘was’? No, they were totally oblivious of the luxury they had in His Presence…they just had field days…one after the other. Isn’t it so human to only appreciate someone when that very someone is not there any more…oblivious of all the good that someone has done in one’s life…only to become aware of those precious little acts of love in his/her absence? The same goes for God. Adam and Eve HAD to be made aware of God’s ‘absence’. And the only way to do that was to have them be made disobedient…through deception…and unfit to be in paradise. But first Lucifer, God’s prize cherub (Ezekiel 28:14) had to be made fit for his utmost evil role in the whole of creation…beginning with Adam and Eve. If this sounds like a made-up story, don’t be fooled…it’s very much relevant to the Scriptures I will highlight as I go along. In Eden, after being disobedient, man became aware of himself…of his shame…and at that very moment his ego kicked in…the barricade keeping him away from God…leading him on a road of destruction. And this is where the new role of Lucifer (now Satan) was written into God’s wonderful Play (Isaiah 14:12-14) . Lucifer himself had to become the role model of evil first, however. After his own disobedience, he was assigned to deceive God’s first two children into disobedience as well. The whole objective of God for him was to sustain this status quo of Adam and Eve with the rest of mankind…keeping God’s children away from Him in the fashion he was to do it…by means of the lie. Just as he did it with the two in Eden. Please see John 8:44 . But…”all’s well that ends well”…a modern day idiom, most relevant to the grand finale of God’s wonderful drama…reflected in Isaiah 25:6-9 . The “Tree of Knowledge, of Good and Evil” had a prominent role to play in God’s holy play…subjecting His children to the knowledge of man…of the world. Does He not say in 1 Corinthians 3:19 that the wisdom of this world is foolishness to God and vice versa? Does He not also say that the ‘foolish things’ will put the ‘wise’ to shame in 1 Corinthians 1:27 ? And…don’t we have to do foolish things first to become aware of their ill effects…in order to do better? And why did God choose the Scribes and Pharisees to be the target of abomination? See Luke 16:15 . To show us the ugliness of pride. There are numerous examples of Jesus reprimanding them, using acidic expressions like in Matthew 23:33 . And what is the message here? That the knowledge of the world puffs up the ego. The lofty haughtiness of the Scribes and Pharisees in those days were explicitly portrayed at multiple occasions in the Bible. Were the Scribes and Pharisees accountable? No, of course not…albeit the target. Somebody had to be the examples of evil pride in a demonstrative manner in Jesus’ time on earth. And who are today’s Scribes? None other than Bible translators and teachers in Tertiary Institutions, e.g. seminaries. They too are still the main targets for deception…with the The Adversary’s biggest success in the camp of ‘eternal- hell-believing’ Scribes. But, and thank God for that…we are not dealing with man here at all…but with the dark forces! Ephesians 6:12 . So much more a reason to refrain from condemning ANYBODY for that matter…”Scribes” included. However, IMHO…Scribes, believing in eternal damnation are not off the hook. The tallest trees in the forest of false Christianity are the most likely to get tried by the strongest wind…coming from the Ultimate ‘Blower’…God Almighty. Please read Luke 12:48 . How many Bible translations are there to date? Too many to mention here. And where do they differ from each other? In the parsing part…the grammatical part where the translator is having the floor to express his/her interpretation…albeit one that is orchestrated by the great deceiver, the father of lies. One small little modal auxiliary, like “might”, can change the message into a totally different message altogether…a modal auxiliary which is one of the most exploited grammatical tools used…to deceive the oblivious eye that scrutinizes original Scripture. And what’s interesting here…this very modal auxiliary “might” …hence subjunctive mood…expressing a condition which is doubtful and non-factual…is virtually always used when it comes to the salvation of man. But does the ignorant notice this? No. The ignorant has most of the time no access to the origin of these added little words. No wonder virtually all Christians hang on their “free wills” and “free choices”…because that is ‘what their Bibles say’. People trust their Bible versions…without questioning anything. That is why it is so important to check the grammar applied. “ might be saved” has a totally different meaning than “to be saved”. Jesus’ gift for all mankind has NO vagueness at all. So…every one must have an interlinear Bible…absolutely necessary! And since we are now on this topic of grammar…just quickly another headache part for Bible translators… …the passive voice ! In the active voice there is room for adding modal auxiliaries, like the ‘mighty’ “might” for instance…turning it into the vague subjunctive mood. But with the passive voice, it is not so easy for translators, hence a sticky situation for them. I see this as grace of God. Please check your grammar and get acquainted with the difference between the active- and passive voices. In the active voice the subject performs the action denoted by the verb. In the passive voice the subject is being “acted upon”. Did the two Emmaus-goers blind their own eyes in Luke 24:16 ? No, God did that. And later…did they open their own eyes again in Luke 24:31 ? No, again God did that. So then…did they have any control over the [spiritual] acuity of their eyes? Of course not. And what about Jesus’ disciples’ lack of understanding due to their hearts being hardened in Mark 6:52 ? Were they accountable for not having understood? No, not at all; God was the One accountable…goes without saying. So then…how on earth can we point fingers to the unbelievers in the world? You get the point I want to make here? I will discuss the grammatical implications of the passive voice and subjunctive mood in more detail later in the “Does the Bible ever contradict itself?” burning question. Just for interest’s sake…none of the older Bibles reflect the common words “hell” , “forever” and “forever and ever”. These terms have been incorporated in the later Bibles…with an immense influence on the Christian belief in this day and age. This just en passant. Why does Jesus use little children to be the archetype able to enter the Kingdom of heaven? Because a little child is still trusting its father to catch it when playfully throwing it up in the air….hopefully never having had its trust being corrupted yet through experiencing malice. The learned is, however, already corrupted by erroneous teachings from the ‘intelligentsia’ in the academy. The academy being a very dangerous place to be, especially for those in the ‘driving seats’. Chances that the ego is getting puffed up there are very good. And…one must have made the experience of such a case (being an outsider, entering their domain, confronting them with sticky questions), to be able to make a statement such as this. Why did Jesus say what He said in Matthew   11:25 , if the Father did not indeed keep the truth away from the learned? Serious food for thought. Paul was a Pharisee, according to Philippians 3:4-5 . A well-learned man. But this knowledge of him was purposely not applied as a blessing to God’s people…so he was thrown to the ground…to be taught by Jesus Christ Himself, as is reflected in Galatians 1:12 . What more significant proof is there of the authenticity and validity of Paul’s teachings? He regarded all that was of his past as being worthless. Please read Philippians 3:8 . Was his academic qualifications advantageous to Paul? No, they were detrimental to his soul. God forced him to become humble. And he found delight in this humility. The Bible means nothing if its teachings do not coincide with the real life behaviour of its readers…and especially its teachers. And if the behaviour of its readers and teachers does not reflect the love of Christ…the one Attribute the whole Bible revolves around…then something is seriously wrong in their interpretation of the great ‘Manual’…the Word of the God of love. Knowing the Truth, Paul desperately wanted to be with the Lord…yearning to die and be with his Master (Philippians1:23) . How many of us today share in this yearning? How many of us REALLY long to die and be with Jesus? How many of us are willing to walk a path alone with God…especially when the odds of ill health are against us? How many of us are willing to die in that state of affairs, rather than taking allopathic medicine that is killing our bodies…God’s temples? How many of us are trusting God’s Divine physiological workmanship….the dumbfounding intelligence He built into us? I’m touching a very serious subject here…too big for the scope of this burning question under scrutiny here. And to add…how many of us are opting for mortal teachers and counsellors, rather than the ONE and only Teacher and Counsellor, Jesus Christ? Can man help us? No, but Jesus can. Did He not say: “come to Me”? By nature man wants to be handled with gloves and only wants things said to him that suits him. Like Paul says in 2 Timothy 4:3 , people will choose pastors who will tell them what they want to hear, rather than painful truths that put them on hot seats. People forever seek confirmations that they are okay…confirmations that lulled them into complacency. Please read Proverbs 1:32 . Complacency in man’s ‘guidance’ is a dangerous place to be. Members of the organized Christian church flock together in their millions on Sundays (or Saturdays)…hanging on the lips of their pastors…feeling ‘safe’ (in their obliviousness) amongst God’s ‘elect’. Involuntarily a picture of the Pied Piper and his mesmerizing flute comes to mind…with its captivating melodic tunes, leading a lulled juvenile audience into a wilderness. Church members firmly believe that they can get to know God within their churches’ concrete walls…forced to listen to the guidance of the one in the pulpit. And this brings me to a very radical conclusion…trampling upon millions of toes… The organized Christian church (’everlasting hell- believing’ home churches included) is nothing else, but a CULT! Ever thought of this? Not likely by the majority IMHO. The Bible explicitly says that God is not to be found in man-made buildings (homes included). Please see Acts 7:48 . God is to be found in our very hearts…up close and personal…our hearts from whence His Presence is supposed to be radiated to others. Hearts talk…buildings don’t…hearts of which their tones being either warm…or cold. Below is something I wrote in 2013. The Sweet Veneer of Deception… The organized Christian church today is cloaked in a veneer of pseudo-piety and pseudo- truth…worshipping a Christ who did not die for all humanity…a Christ whose ‘sacrifice’ on Golgotha was conditional…and not a gift for all (2 Corinthians 5:15) ! An organization where the sovereignty of God Almighty is disregarded and minimised to being subjected to the [so-called] ‘free will’ and ‘freedom of choice’ of man…especially when it comes to Jesus Christ. An organization where an eternal hell of condemnation is proclaimed! Congregation members flock together, with the pastor/reverend/priest in the driving seat…the one calling the shots…the one casting his/her interpretation of the Bible in stone. There are AS many interpretations of the Word as there are readers…albeit from countless translations over generations. Only the Holy Spirit can correctly interpret the Bible…and…only in an intimate and a personal relationship with Him. Matthew 11:25 . To be a member of any organization or group, one has to adhere to its rules and that means to submit to man. This also means manipulation and control in some way or other…and in the case of the organized church…a business to be sustained by the individuals with no goods delivered in terms of true spiritual growth, true joy, and true peace. People do not want or trust God any more, but rather each other. Tangible quick fixes and consolation are called for in the quest for fulfilment of immediate needs…thus man relies upon man. It’s too tall an order to wait upon- and battle with the Lord alone, in the confinement of one’s own four walls. It’s long fallen out of favour to wrestle with a God whom one cannot see, cannot hear, cannot tangibly feel…and a God who doesn’t answer quickly enough in an audible, visible or ‘feeling’ way…the way that man ‘can’. Consolation and guidance are called for in a realm where the blind is leading the blind and false feelings of safety are given…with an attitude of complacency as the outcome…complacency in the ‘having arrived’ illusion. An ongoing quest for ‘safe’ pastors, counsellors is on the order of the day…to avoid discomfort and to pursue good feeling. 2 Timothy 4:3 . The discomfort of total submission to God, not knowing the outcome, is downright too scary. Comfort zones are more appealing, but they come at a price…the price of postponing the inevitable “hell” of sanctification through “fire and brimstone”…in the Presence of the Living God ALONE, devoid of ‘assistance’ of any man. NOT a hell of condemnation…but a ‘hell’ of discipline…the ‘hell’ of rebirth towards holiness…the ‘hell’ to which He will subject all of us…whether in this life or the life hereafter…BECAUSE of His LOVE for ALL of us! This sanctification towards holiness…a holiness as prerequisite to be in the direct Presence of the Living God one day at the consummation of the eons ( Revelation 21:8 and 1 Corinthians 15:28 ). The Bible differentiates itself from any other book on the face of the earth. It is not a text book…it’s the Living Word of God…and its true message (irrespective of mistranslations) is disclosed only by the Author Himself to the reader at the time of His own desire (Matthew 11:25) . Man’s interpretation of the Word is solely dependent upon God’s authority and desire…hence the prohibition to judge or condemn any Bible reader. “Reprimand?” – YES! ..”condemn?” – NEVER! There IS, however, a watertight test we can apply to ourselves in order to ascertain the validity of our Biblical understanding as was revealed to us…our reaction towards any challenges someone else subjects us to in this regard… Is it a reaction of humbleness…of sincere love…of compassion? Is it with an attitude of the Publican…or is it a reaction with an attitude of the Pharisee? Is it one of retaliation…one of attack…such as anger, sarcasm and fear? Please read Jesus’ parable in Luke 18:9-14 . Introspection here is the key. Think about this…and read the Bible ONLY with the Holy Spirit… diligently…in ORDER to find the Absolute Truth… …the GOOD NEWS TRUTH that lies latent within the pages… …yearning to be disclosed by God to the tenacious- and searching heart…when the time is right… Its Light so bright… …inevitably and ultimately for ALL mankind to God, our Father, a delight! May the God of the Bible bless you abundantly… whoever you are…wherever you are.