Joyless, Powerless, Watered-down Church

8/3/2019 Joyless, Powerless, Watered-down Church

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Joyless, Powerless, Loveless Watered-Down Church?

Vote with your feet and:

By Patricia Backora

Ever wonder why so many who genuinely love Jesus are fed up withthe typical church experience?

Because church ain’t what God intended it to be !onsider thispassage:

"cts #:$ %hen &hilip went down to the city of 'amaria( and preached!hrist unto them) "nd the people with one accord gave heed unto those things which&hilip spa*e( hearing and seeing the miracles which he did+ ,or unclean spirits( crying with loud voice( came out of many thatwere possessed with them: and many ta*en with palsies( and thatwere lame( were healed



# "nd there was great JOY in that city -emphasis mine.

&hilip preached !hrist to the people %he people heeded his preaching/ot 0ust the one or two souls modern preachers are luc*y to convert(but the whole city listened1 %hey got healed and delivered from evil

spirits 2ou still have preachers preaching about Jesus today( butwhat’s missing? %he miracles of healing and deliverance1 %he J32which results when people are set free from the power of dar*ness12ou repeatedly read of the BEG4//4/G of the early church being a

experience( although they weren’t perfect either -see "cts5:6)7 "cts 89:$57 8$:97 om86:8+. %he city of 'amaria was filledwith J32 because its people were being healed of disease and set freefrom demonic oppression %he ;ingdom of God was in &3<E( not inword -4 !or6:5=. %oday’s typical service is cold( dead words 3r an

endless whipping from the pulpit by control frea* >spiritual dads whoprofit from the insecurities and fears of unenlightened sheeple theycon into feeling unworthy to receive !hrist’s free Gift of 'alvation

%oday when people in the street spot gangs of church peoplestampeding toward them with church brochures and tracts they say( >3h( no1 @a*e a run for it1



4nstead of bringing the power of God to the people( !hristians who’vebeen taught that miracles have been >done away bring only windy(wateredAdown words which don’t offend anybody( but are powerless toconvict of sin -4sa5):8#. 'ome >radical fringe groups try to '!"Epeople into loving Jesus( but on the other end of the spectrum you’vegot showmanship preachers who preach pretty words that don’t offendanybody so they won’t >scare the fish away But no deliverance isbrought to people bound by the devil %he %E gospel of !hristC3E' bring offense -Gal$:88. to the devil’s crowd who are proud of their sin and want to hang onto it at any cost( even at the cost of theeternal damnation of their own souls %he Gree* word used here for >offense is skandalon, which means a type of trap 'ounds a lot li*ethe English word >scandal( doesn’t it?

'inners who don’t want to listen to God’s message will be tripped up-offended. by the message of the cross because !hrist shedding Dis

blood on the !ross for them clashes with their own idea of how Godought to forgive people %hey can be offended even by the suggestionthat they are sinners in need of God’s grace <hile some believers goto one extreme and wal* on eggs to ma*e their message as >nice aspossible( other !hristians misunderstand that word >offense to meanthey can aggressively confront some total stranger on the street andscream at them for being rotten sinners 'ometimes words in the ;ing



James version carry a different connotation from the meaning we givethem today >3ffense in that context means a >stumbling bloc* whichbloc*s someone from understanding spiritual truths

4 %hes8:$: ,or our gospel came not unto you in word only( but also in

power( and in the Doly Ghost( and in much assurance7 as ye *nowwhat manner of men we were among you for your sa*e

@ost evangelical churches claim to be preaching &aul’s gospel <hilemany deny the power of God is for today( they strongly imply that the3/2 miracle God still does is to save souls from hell after they die<hy do they thin* this way? Because of a farAfetched distortion of 4!or89:8=( which teaches that when that which is perfect -complete.has come( then incomplete divine revelation through the gifts willcease -no longer be needed. i*e a cloudy camera lens( spiritual giftsconvey a partial picture of the wor*ings of God through imperfecthuman vessels But that verse does /3% say that spiritual gifts willcease once Bible translators have compiled the )) boo*s of the Biblein one volume and pronounced it complete( which( B%<( was done by!atholic theologians in 95$ "C( long after the death of the apostles

@odern churches are pac*ed with printed Bibles( but the <ord withoutthe power of God is li*e matches without a spar* Cespite millions of windy preachers and billions of Bibles( the earth is filled with dar*ness(and the church copies the ways of the world to fill the void left by theabsence of God’s power 'atan twists scripture to inundate the church

with ridiculous( dangerous doctrines and secular humanism !hristianscan’t get themselves healed of deadly diseases( not even simple sinusproblems 'ome !hristians are on medication for their nerves becausethe devil is ma*ing mincemeat out of them and they can’t cope'atan’s deadly arsenal of fiery missiles *eeps the !hristian gnawing hisnails wondering where his next attac* is coming from 3nly a foolwould thin* we don’t need all the spiritual weapons we can get tocounteract satan’s sophisticated nu*es %he latest trend these days isto teach that we don’t need to fight the devil anymore %ry telling thatto someone who is deathly sic*( or is experiencing one run of >bad

luc* after another

%he word >perfect can mean >fully grown as well as complete!ol5:8= says the saints are "E"C2 complete in !hrist( and yet thespiritual gifts were in full operation 5=== years ago when this waswritten %he eternal God( who can see further down the railroad trac*than we can( views !hristians as being "E"C2 complete in !hrist(though there were many problems and rifts among certain !hristian



congregations( even when this scripture was penned in &aul’s day 4believe this passage spea*s of God’s wor* in the church to bring it tomaturity and perfection 4s the church already experientially matureenough( and perfect enough to no longer need miraculousmanifestations of God’s power? %hin* about it <ith all the loony

doctrines and outright swindling going on in modern churches( 4’d saythe church is a 3/G way from perfect1

4t’s erroneous to thin* God doesn’t need to do miracles today becausethe canon of scripture has been completed Goody1 <e get to readabout Bible characters getting healed while we have to die of somedread disease because miracles are >done away %o be blunt( theBible is irrelevant for today if we can’t experience the samedeliverance Bible characters did Dow on earth can you get a sic* drugaddict enthusiastic about a >onceAuponAaAtime healing power that’snot for today? <hat if the guy can’t even read? Because we have acomplete Bible on our shelf we allegedly don’t need God’s poweranymore( except to save us from having to roast in hell1 But &aul

himself says that his gospel is in &3<E( not in words only <hat gooddoes it do to tell a dying cancer patient( >!heer up( brother( you don’tneed deliverance ,3@ the sic*ness "ll you need is the Bible( andGod will miraculously change your attitude 4/ the sic*ness

,unny( but 4 don’t read of Jesus smiling piously and patting some leperon the head( telling the poor chap that God will preserve him 4/ thesic*ness even if he doesn’t get delivered ,3@ 4% in this life Daving



to adapt to satan’s attac*s instead of Fapping them( that’s not part of the Good /ews Jesus came to preach 4f miracles are missing today(something else must fill the vacuum( or the fish won’t bite and cometo church @ost people who file into church aren’t in a very 0oyfulmood after fighting the traffic( worrying about the bills( suabbling

with each other on the way( wor*ing two 0obs( etc %hey’ve come outof a sense of D"V4/G to go to church %hey hope God isn’t mad atthem for fa*ing enthusiasm while wishing they were still in bed

'o what fills the vacuum? <ords( words( words %he preacherpromises a better life in the Great Beyond as compensation for all thehell satan puts them through in this life De doesn’t seriously believeyou can win the victory over the devil in the here and now( though hepays lip service to >Jesus is ord %he preacher spices up hispowerless message with tall tales( hoping to *eep his parishionersfrom ta*ing a nap But they nod off anyway because his tired old 0o*esaren’t even funny1 Because of the absence of 0oy on those deadpanfaces out in the pews( professional musicians play with all their mightto try to drum some up

,irst you have the >praise service( dubbed the 3uter !ourt ministry(where you >enter into God’s gates with praise %his usually consists of bouncy( repetitive choruses a tiny toddler could compose blindfolded%hey ma*e you sound li*e a crow if the *ey’s too low for you( andma*e your voice crac* if you’re a bass singing a soprano *ey 4’veheard some songs which consist of four or five dis0ointed words

repeated over and over again nless they’re supposed to be anemotive lament out of the frontal lobe they 0ust don’t compute 4honestly didn’t *now what message the composer of such a piece istrying to get across %he aim of such mindAbending caterwauling is toset you to 0umping li*e a 0ac*rabbit as you wildly wave your arms atthe bright lights above -remember your deodorant1. "fter swivelingand swaying twenty minutes or so and singing the same four ooeyAgooey sounds over and over again( you’ve whipped yourself up into asemiAhypnotic frenFy( and you can say the ord’s finally been praised



/ow you’re all psyched up to get serious with God by singing himsome >worship %he tunes change from a sunny ma0or *ey to aweepy minor *ey %he mood changes from celebration to lamentation/o happyAclapping( pianoApumping( footAstomping fun fest now /owit gets very introspective 'omething li*e: >'weet heart of love( melt

me( brea* me( ad nauseam 'uch a long( drawnAout guilt trip overyesterday’s spilt mil* which has nothing to do with our 0ustification in!hrist 2ou can beat yourself to death with a sil* nec*tie if you do itlong enough( it doesn’t have to sound rough "nd how many !hristianshave( in those weepy worship moments( vowed to go overseas as amissionary to some pestilential 0ungle( even if it *illed them( whilerefusing to reach out to some stranger sitting all alone in their pew?

Even if it ;4EC them 'ome !hristians ta*e 5 %im9:8) and runaway with it " scripture is profitable for doctrine 'o they’ll put twoand two together and get nine Based on 5 !hron 8):85( some thin*it’s a sin to go to a doctor 4n this context DeFe*iah didn’t see* God’shelp for a foot problem( 0ust consulted his personal physicians But!hristians interpret that to mean God hates the medical profession %ofurther complicate matters( Biblical scholars are increasingly convincedthat @ar* 8):86A5= is a much later addition to the original text of @ar*( to give it a more satisfying ending 'o many !hristians havedied denying the existence of deadly symptoms as they confessed to



healing that >hadn’t yet manifested " few have died handling sna*eson the basis of @ar* 8): 8# %here have been sad newspaper storiesabout children dying from treatable illnesses because their parentsrelied exclusively on the >power of prayer " wise missionary will boilhis water( not test God with @ar* 8):8# ,ar from disapproving of

doctors( God saw to it that the very rare specialist %om needed to savehis leg happened to be in !alifornia 0ust in time

"fter a lifetime of reading and hearing all sorts of excuses for whypeople profess healing but *eep their >symptoms after being prayedfor( and having never seen greater wor*s than what Jesus performedwhile on earth -see John 86:85.( 4 must conclude that somethingdoesn’t add up !ould it be that God’s power is missing from thechurch because of a few nefarious practices it clings to -ie tithing(refusing to confront sin in the church in the name of >love(dependence on fasting or other >sacrifice to butter God up( etc.? 4nthe final analysis( God is sovereign /o amount of positive confession(fasting( Bible uoting( singing( or dancing will ma*e him put on apublic display of spectacular miracles ather( God usually performsH4E% miracles in the lives of Dis people( such as: saving them fromsome disaster in the nic* of time( warning them of danger( putting foodon the table( providing practical solutions to problems

"s a young girl 4 went to some good conferences 4t was the mostwonderful vacation 4 could thin* of( traveling with church friends to thischurch camp ground to spend time with saints from far and wide( and

>soa* up some good teaching for three meetings a day "dmittedly( 4was a little more patient in some areas bac* then than 4 am today 4was a real trooper with strong sitting bones %hose meetings couldlast 5A9 hours each and it was a relief to get up and hop around whilethe music played Everywhere was heard the whirring of cassetterecorders in those rows of pews <hen you’re freshly filled with the'pirit and still relatively unfamiliar with the Bible( everything’s brandnew and you thin* every word that proceeds from the pulpit is aprecious pearl from heaven 4’ve still got a bunch of old cassettetapes from those meetings( and one evening 4 replayed one 0ust for old

times’ sa*e

%his particular preacher was highly esteemed as an edifier of the Bodyof !hrist But as 4 listened to the old tape he rambled on and on andon for ages in his laidAbac* hypnotic drawl( until 4 turned him off so 4could stay awa*e De spo*e thousands upon thousands of words butsaid very little of substance( 0ust chuc*led and made lots of pointlessanecdotes De could have made his point -if he had one at all. in only



five minutes 4 thin* special spea*ers are allotted so much time atsuch meetings( and they thin* this is their moment to shine 'o theybetter stretch it out as long as possible so their immortal wisdom canbe recorded for posterity

4 don’t believe in being a slave to prepared texts and notes( but for&ete’s sa*e( have some sort of a coherent message in mind before youstep up to the pulpit1 'ome preachers probably confuse >letting theord lead with sloppy preparation -&rov56:5+. 4f there’s nothingmuch to say of any substance( far better to spend that time lettingpeople testify( or waiting on God to move through the spiritual gifts( orpraying for people’s needs %hat way the time is profitably used forthe ;ingdom of God But oh( well( when you’re young( you’ve got allthe time in the world to wait for the preacher to ma*e his pointI

3ne night those people in the pews saw something real exciting 4honestly don’t *now how our levelAheaded apostle ever gave this onepreacher permission to minister at a campground wellA*nown for sane(sound doctrine and serene services But this particular guest spea*erwas deep into demonology "ccording to him( demons causedeverything under the sun 2ou could have a demon of toeAtwitching(hairApulling( or nail chewing De held out his own nails and said( >'eehow nice my nails loo*?

<here demonology is concerned( he may have done his homewor*(but not much housewor* 2ou don’t need satan to nu*e your nails if a

can of "0ax will do the 0ob Everybody can have pretty nails if all theydo is preach %hat man( who loo*ed li*e @andra*e the @agician( sawdemons behind every bush( in every corner of every room De grinnedli*e Bela ugosi as he warned of the unrelenting( everApresent dangerof forces of evil lur*ing in every coffee cup 4 wasn’t so worried aboutdemons as the weird vibes that preacher was giving off De was onespoo*y dude1 /o wonder every devil in the county was too scared tomess with him1 But my( he had one hellacious night 2oung peoplehad the devil cast out of them left and right 'everal hollered andscreamed and 0umped around 3thers were barfing up their supper by

the time he got done with them %o thin* we’d driven )== miles to seethat1 %hat was the most unforgettable service of the whole convention(for the wrong reasons of course

3ne day 4 passed our local supermar*et %here were tables set upoutside with free cups of coffee and Dershey Bars to tempt passersAbyDershey’s is my favorite >sin and it’s hard to get them here so 4stopped to tal* to the !hristian young people who were inviting



people to their church 4 didn’t want to nibble and run so 4 chatted withthem and smiled sweetly 4 *new uite a bit about their church oud(repetitive music( lots of prosperity preaching( no body ministry tospea* of( 0ust the pastor controlling everything so the program runssmoothly i*e many churches( it’s nominally !harismatic( but stri*es

me as your typical canned religious routine( without much mention of the 'piritual Gifts( sort of watered down so as not to scare visitorsaway( ho hum 'omeone had flown those Dershey Bars over from the'tates %hey wrapped the bars in white paper printed with red hearts4 thin* it was around Valentine’s Cay %hey were holding a specialwee*long pageant at their church to show our city how much theyloved it 4 en0oyed the chat but *ept some of my thoughts to myself!an you imagine &eter( !hrist’s ,isher of @en( using Dershey’s!hocolate as bait to catch souls and spread the Gospel of !hrist? /ow4’ve seen everything1

3ne very old denominational church posts clever clichs on itssignboard out in front <hen 4 wal* by 4 sha*e my head to thin* it’ssad that this is what the !hurch of Jesus !hrist has been reduced to

%he bestA*nown >!harismatic church in town has a pastor who loo*sli*e he swallowed petrified vinegar( he loo*s so glum %he onlycontribution most of the people ma*e to the service is at offering timeor when they sing the sleepy song service %he preacher 0ust rambleson and on at a lot of comatose faces 2ou don’t feel spiritually fedwhen you leave

<hen those fol*s have their midwee* prayer meeting( they moan andgroan to God about how sinful they are( how they long for Dis powerto come down @aybe they wouldn’t *now what to do with it if theyhad it 3ne poor fellow tearfully begged God to brea* him to pieces toma*e him more spiritual -whatever that meant. 4 got no positiveimpression of that place( except the free coffee

'omeone told me these people once held a 58Aday fast 2ou’d thin*God would rather see them spreading Dis J32 throughout the

community than drumming up fa*e sorrow through a long fast <here4 live( there’s sort of a cultural taboo against loo*ing 0oyful 4t’s notvery macho to show such feelings Even the traditional music of thisnation sounds li*e a lament 4 %hes !hapter $ contains a list of thingsbelievers are reuired to do and fasting is missing from it Believersare exhorted to re0oice evermore -verse 8). 'ome saints misread thatand re0oice /EVE@3E1



4f you’re a visitor at that church( don’t count on being spo*en to beforeor after the service( even if you’re neat( presentable( odorAfree andfriendly nbelievers are far friendlier /o wonder Jesus gave up onreligious fol* and hung out with sinners &eople 0ust gather in theirtight little cliues and chitchat about nothing in particular <hen you

have a whole pew to yourself and you have to initiate everyconversation at fellowship time it ma*es you wonder if you wanderedinto an exclusive monastery where visitors aren’t welcome @aybethey thin* you’re on something if you actually smile instead of moanBut seriously( in recent years 4’ve /EVE seen any of them out in thestreets inviting people to church or doing much of anything to get theword out about Jesus and Dis love 4t’s 0ust >church as usual andsuch !hristians wonder if the next Big !hurch ,ast will finally rechargetheir dead spiritual batteries @aybe( if they don’t fantasiFe aboutDershey Bars( huh?

<hy do so many churches stage a 58Aday fast anyway? "pparentlyCaniel did this so !hristians have to as well 4t doesn’t matter that theapostles never taught fasting or even recommended it as a sureAfireway to whip old satan Caniel lived under the aw and was observingJewish customs( including facing Jerusalem whenever he prayed -Can):8=. Besides fasting( Caniel threw ashes on himself and wore sac*cloth to torment his body -K:9. !an you imagine some guy showingup at the Big !hurch ,ast wearing a burlap bag( with cigarette ashesall over his head?

'ay there’s this preacher standing by the door and he ta*es one loo*at the guy and says( >"re you nuts? <hat’re you doin’( comin’ tochurch loo*in’ that way?

><ell( &reacher( you did say this was a Caniel ,ast( didn’t you? Canielthrew ashes on his head and wore burlap as part of his religion

>2eah( but we do things different here <e’ve come a long way( baby"ll a modern Caniel fast means is you starve yourself 58 days

><here does it say Caniel starved himself( &astor? 4t only says he ateno goodAtasting food during that period( and he did without meat andwine <e don’t drin* anything here but coffee anyway( and so far( that 0ust eliminates hot dogs from our diet <e’ll be on this Caniel ,ast forthree whole wee*s and we’ll need some sort of protein( so can we havebeans?

>/o toots( 0ust 0uice 'ome of our people stic* strictly to liuids



>'eriously( &astor( can 4 have tofu( granola or what?

>4 dunno %he pastor grits his clean teeth( wondering what to say

>@aybe this scripture will give us a clue( &astor Dere( in !olossians

5:5=A58( &aul writes an admonition against coming bac* under oldrules <hen you say Ltouch not( taste not( handle not’( that’s not /ew!ovenant liberty( that’s 3ld %estament legalism

%he pastor smiles through his stomach pain >3h( but 4 didn’t say youcouldn’t touch a %ABone( 0ust eat one

>&astor( you’ve 0ust put the whole congregation( including expectantmothers and hard wor*ers( under spiritual pressure to abstain fromfood for three whole wee*s Get a load of 8 %im6:8A9

>'ee? !ommanding !hristians to abstain from food is a doctrine of devils 4t doesn’t say( Lexcept for when you stage a church fast’

%he preacher pulls the ace out of his sleeve ><ell( 4 !or+:$commands married people to abstain from I ah I intimacy, so theycan concentrate on fasting Gotcha there( buddy



>&aul doesn’t !3@@"/C them to do either( &astor( he 0ust says that if the couple themselves decide to temporarily give that up and 0ust pray(they ought to get bac* together if they feel li*e they can’t control theirhormones anymore "nd that’s the 3/2 mention of religious fasting inall the epistles "ll other times Lfasting’ is mentioned in &aul’s letters(

he’s suffering persecution or 0ust lac*s the cash to buy food with&aul was on a forced fast( not a religious fast %o put it bluntly( &aulwas starving1 Besides( the most reliable Gree* manuscripts don’t eveninclude the word Lfasting’ in 4 !or+:$

>%hat’s a baldAfaced lie1 the preacher shouted >2ou’re pushing otherBible versions and that’s a sin1 Everybody *nows the apostles spo*e;ing James English <hy else would they have wrote the Bible in it?Dey wait( why should you loo* more spiritual than we do? <e ain’t gotno burlap bags here but 4 can scare up a few drop cloths out of that'unday 'chool room they’re paintin’ 4’ll throw open all the eastAfacingwindows in the 'anctuary so we can stic* our heads out and faceJerusalem while we sprin*le baby powder on our heads 4f you don’twant to do your bit to ma*e God happy you can ta*e your carnalcarcass over to @cConald’s1

M M M M M M 4n the absence of real miracles to draw sinners to !hrist( churches puton free concerts and plays @any years ago 4 watched this one churchpuppet show( >@r &enny &incher’s !hristmas( which a fiveAyearAold

would have loved " mean 'crooge puppet >@r &enny &incher threatens to throw this poor widow woman puppet out of her home forbeing too poor to pay the rent 'he’s a believing puppet who says sheisn’t worried because the ord will ta*e good care of her %hatcantan*erous old puppet finally sees the light and gets saved andthere’s a happy ending <e were all smiling when we went home

%he preacher who ran this church loved happy choruses 4t made himdo a little 0ig when the piano pumped out the bouncy music But hewasn’t always a happy camper De must not have learned much from

watching @r &enny &incher De claimed that God used some womanevangelist to heal his crippled leg( so that’s how he got inspired tostart his ministry Before that he’d been bedridden De was gloriouslyhealed and started preaching for the ord

3ne night 4 wised up about him @ost of the fol*s there werestruggling to put food on the table %hey could barely afford the gasto get to church to watch any puppet shows %hey were luc*y to be



able to put a uarter in the offering plate 4f anything( they shouldhave received something from somewhere to help %DE@ out1 %hatpreacher didn’t show much !hristmas spirit when he pulled this littlestunt at the start of one service: De too* a tenAdollar bill out of hiswallet -a small fortune to the rest of us. and said( >/ow 4’ll be the first

to start the offering 4f you’re slipping a nic*el in the offering plate(don’t snea* it in the plate so no one notices &ut your offering in li*ethis so everybody can see and hear it1 De put the tenAspot in theoffering plate( which was on the pulpit %hen he pulled a fistful of nic*els out of his pants poc*et and flung them in front of the pulpit(where they clattered( flying all over the place >4f you’re gonna give anic*el offering( don’t act li*e you’re ashamed of it1

%hose poor souls should have gotten up and left 4 thin* the preacherwas 0ust tic*ed off because he li*ed to go traveling with his family andthe meager offerings were cramping his lifestyle efusing to showgrace toward financially strapped saints wasn’t a good way to showGod gratitude for Dis healing

!ontrast the greedy( grabby materialism of many modern churchleaders with the attitude of the early church where the welfare of "the members was tenderly cared for( so that none of them lac*ed thenecessities of life -"cts 6:96A9$. %he opposite’s happening today%he poor are depriving themselves of bare necessities so the rich inthe church can live high on the hog



Con’t prosperity preachers realiFe there’s only one pie in this world(and for the one per cent to hog the lion’s share of the wealth( the KKper cent have to survive on the few crumbs that are left?

&rosperity &reachers never preach on the main theme of 'olomon’sboo* Ecclesiastes( that the pursuit of worldly wealth and pleasure isvain /or do they mention the unfair distribution of wealth in 'ong of 'olomon #:85( where 'olomon got five times as much for the fruit of the vineyard as the peons who sweated under the hot sun to cultivatethat fruit %hat’s how the rich get richer 4 don’t *now many who gotfilthy rich by wor*ing with their hands -Ever notice how smooth a richman’s hands loo*?. &reachers give 'ong of 'olomon a lofty spiritualinterpretation But 4 can’t help but marvel about how 'olomonen0oyed endless hours of flowerAscented romance while his sweatingslaves toiled away on his building pro0ects



;now what the main problem with the typical church scene is? Davingto create >it and give >it some name to identify >it as a recogniFablechurch( as >it is understood to be today %hat particular >it could startoff very small but end up being a big white elephant demanding land(a building( a staff( etc 4n order to worship together( !hristiansinstinctively build an organiFation people G3 %3( while !hrist createdan organism -a 4V4/G thing.( Dis Body the !hurch on earth <ouldn’tit be great( if instead of G34/G %3 some building as a religiousroutine( !hristians <EE the church and 0ust wanted to BE togetherfor unstructured fellowship "n informal coffee house atmospheremight be ideal for those who shy away from rich churches andsuccessAseminar flashy formality <hy can’t two or three meet inJesus’ /ame at somebody’s house 0ust to share a cup of coffee andchat( and see what God will end up doing? /ot so women can passcatty comments about each other’s clothes( hairdo and weight( etc(but to 0ust the let the life of !hrist flow through them 2ou don’t see

men pic*ing at each other about their body shape( their hair( or whatthey’re wearing @en are allowed to have coherent( rational brainsand a real personality( not 0ust a body @en have intelligent

conversations about important issues which matter <hy aren’t womenallowed( li*e men( to thin* of themselves ,4'% as fullAfledged humansmade in God’s image( and women second? <omen have always beenpressured by society to sell themselves short <hile men get to do allthe important stuff in movies and %V( women are depicted as sexA



craFed boy toys with puppy fat for brains <hy can’t !hristianwomen( in particular( ta*e satisfaction in being an eternal soul withreal talents and capabilities the ord can use( instead of merely beingornamental nonentities?

4 went through some difficult days struggling to hang onto my faithwhile re0ecting the phoniness of rich Bless @e !lubs Especially duringthose dar* years when my husband was struggling to overcomecomplications from a serious wor* accident 4 struggled to 0uggle toomany balls and overcome my fears 4 felt li*e 4 was on the e0ect Deapof usedAup !hristian soldiers "fter years of >4 confess 4’m blessed andwhat 4 confess 4 possess( and >4 believe 4 receive when 4 sow a seedto meet my need garbage( and years of >sowing my best seed togreedy preachers( what a fine reward 4 got( in the form of misunderstanding from !hristians who didn’t have a care in the world@aybe &rov55:8)( a verse prosperity preachers /EVE dare mention(was *ic*ing in( and *ic*ing me 4 had given to the rich and reaped thewhirlwind for it Con’t EVE give money to rich preachers or you 0ustmay end up scrounging for empty soda cans in the par* 0ust so youcan put food on the table

%he &rosperity Gospel and the way it failed me shipwrec*ed my faith4t was almost gone( and what little was left was on life support'urely( 4 reasoned( if my prayers weren’t good enough to get God’sattention( someone else’s might be Because 4 couldn’t relate to thosecarefree !hristians( 4 felt li*e nobody on earth understood how 4 felt

@y despair drove me into false doctrine 4 found myself an angel guruin some tabloid newspaper( who sent me newsletters for 0ust N$== amonth 4’m no !atholic( but 4 began to pray to various saints in heavento intercede for me so angels would fight for me " drowning man willgrab at any straw Before 4 left a certain highAclass social club churchwhere 4 got absolutely sic* of prosperity preaching( the pastor( out of the blue( said that if any of us were praying to saints they couldn’thear us -true. and we’d better uit it or we’d go to hell for it

&reachers are a mixed bag( especially when they’re cocooned from real

life and can’t understand why it’s hard to lean on your own shoulder2ou can have the gift of supernatural *nowledge operating in your life(and be doctrinally correct in some areas But you can lac* the love of Jesus 4 !or89:5 says you can *now everything but if you don’t havelove in your life it’s all pointless 4nstead of stopping with the going tohell comment( the pastor should have as*ed <D2 anyone would feeldriven to pray to dead saints( and what could be done to help them sothey wouldn’t be tempted to see that as their only option Brother B(



a country preacher 4 once *new( wisely said that hogs don’t wander off and eat out of somebody else’s trough if they’re bein’ fed what theyneed %o this day 4 wonder whether any other people in that roomwere tempted in this area( and for the same reasons 4 was

%oday’s churchianity is nothing but staged production( a sanctificationof filthy lucre and greed so the leadership can 0ustify the way they mil*their cash cows( then bleed them when the mil* is gone

4t’s 'in* or 'wim in today’s &rosperity %heology( and if you can’tprevent expensive tragedies from wiping you out and ma*e all thenumbers add up on an unbro*en basis( you’re a dropout in God’s'chool of ,aith( and you can 0ust fall by the wayside Even bands of traveling hippies and members of Eastern cults show more care andconcern for others %hey share their food and encourage one anotherwhen times get rough 4f there were no Jesus in !hristianity( 4’d

honestly say >to hell with it 3nly De gives me reason to believe thatGod is real( not those religious phonies who love money and scorn lowApaid peons who must struggle to survive -James 5:8A89.

4 was a fool to stand up and testify how God gave me the strength towor* hard "/C loo* after my home and ailing husband %hat ultraAright wing rich conservative preacher who warned against praying to



departed saints made a pointed dig at the fact 4 wor*ed a humble fastAfood 0ob instead of being a corporate !E3 who was the head and notthe tail "t least 4 was wor*ing %hat stuffed shirt couldn’t accuse meof not trying( even when 4 barely had the will to get up and faceanother dreary day of hoping %om wouldn’t lose his leg to infection

while trying to stay focused at wor* 4 wasn’t cut out to be a big wheelin the business world( and after years of being >0ust a housewife 4 wasonly ma*ing a few buc*s part time to help put food on the table %herest of the time 4 was home nursing my poor husband and doing amountain of chores <e too* in boarders to help ma*e ends meet "couple of them were real characters 4 relied on my sense of humor tolighten my mood @y daughter( always a treasure( saw fun and humorin everyday life( and the laughter we shared help *eep us going

3ne of our boarders was a !hristian but a very selfArighteous one Deplayed trumpet at a local megaAchurch -for free( of course. 4f youplayed any nonAreligious music on the radio he’d be sure to pass acomment and uestion your salvation De believed in tithing to his richchurch while he rode a bi*e to wor* and subsisted on dry soup mix<e invited him to have a good meal with us but he got that churchygrin on his face and said( >/o than*s( all 4 need is simple sustenance 'o why is it such a big sin for a hard wor*er to eat a decent mealthey’ve earned the money to buy( for &ete’s sa*e1 Cid he expect me tofuel my tired body on animal feed? Cidn’t poor sic* %om and mydaughter need a hearty meal? !ouldn’t we have a little en0oyment toboost our morale during this tough time in our family’s life -Eccl$:#7 4

tim$:8#.? Jesus was no hair shirt ascetic De came eating anddrin*ing wine -u*e +:96. <hen my husband tried to tell thatreligious guy how well his rich pastor was eating( and how he drove afancy car to wor* instead of a bi*e( the !hristian said God would 0udge him for spea*ing >wic*edness /o concern from this fellowabout the suffering %om was already doing

%his selfArighteous guy didn’t get much comfort from his religion(though De was going through a messy divorce and was so down inthe dumps he said he’d be happy if God gave him cancer so he’d 0ust

die <here was the personal ministry at his fancy megachurch whenhe needed it? De was 0ust another free musician and contributor toBig eligion( 0ust another forgotten casualty in the war with satan

%he physical demands of wor*ing( plus the inner turmoil of watchingmy husband suffer( handling needles dangling from 4V poles( worryingabout spreading infection if 4 didn’t *eep my hands sterile enoughwhen 4 changed his dressing( etc( all these pressures 0ust may have



made me less eager to hang around a rich church full of spoiled rich;ing’s ;ids who danced and sang Debrew !hristian choruses tocelebrate God’s goodness "nother myth to shatter Give your sameAold( sameAold meat O potatoes church a facelift with a dash of Judaism( and God will be thrilled to pieces( even if your religion does

no earthly good -James chapter 5. %hose people were free as an eagleso they sang li*e songbirds Ever see a heavyAladen don*ey dance?%he heaviest burden 4 bore was disillusionment with how the churchhad evolved into a circus show no longer relevant to my everyday life<hy did 4 expect to see the E" life of !hrist in /ameAit and !laimAit!lubs? 4t was li*e trying to get a %V picture on a radio1

4f that preacher was gonna go on bragging about his nice life( hewould do it without having me around to get 0ealous of him !hristianssay trials are a blessing( but that’s a croc*1 Ceut 5#:8$A)# spells outwhat constitutes blessings and curses Verse )9 ma*es it plain thatthese evil things are for your destruction( not your edification as a!hristian1 'ic*ness( anxiety( humiliation and protracted poverty are/3% blessings1 God doesn’t change Dis mind about what’s bad andgood !ontrary to popular religious belief( God gives Dis children G33Cgifts( not stones and serpents 4f that thing in your life bites you li*e asna*e( destroys all your dreams( ma*es you ill and depressed( it’sprobably a present from the devil because it’s got the signature of satan all over it( which is 'teal( ;ill and Cestroy -John 8=:8=. 4f hideous suffering is a blessing( why don’t !hristians pray they’ll en0oymore of it in heaven? Jesus came to destroy the wor*s of the devil( not

find a sanctified use for them -4 John 9:#. 'ome !hristians havemade friends with their mountains instead of ordering them to be castinto the sea <hen satan sends you a lifeAshattering trial( he isn’ttrying to help you grow De’s trying to ;4 ya1

Even if you do manage to get out of a really bad trial it ta*es a long(long time to recover from going through it( 0ust li*e it ta*es forever torebuild a bombedAout city to what it was before 2ou feel weepy( wearyand wea*( afraid other !hristians will rebu*e you for being humanenough to wonder if it will all be worth it in the end 4 stayed home

from those rich churches 0ust to try to save what was left of my faith,3@ !hristians1 4 couldn’t put on a phony happyAclappy act duringthe >praise service without feeling phony

%hen there was this legalistic church 4 attended where the guestspea*er offered to pray for people 4 had 0ust returned from a longbus trip( and my luggage had been lost 'o >Bro !rumb says to me: >"re you a !hristian and do you serve the ord? 'ister( 4 /EVE lose



@2 luggage because I serve Jesus 4t made me sic*( and 4 shouldhave told him off and stomped out of the service @aybe 4 was afraidhe’d put a curse on me and my missing duds if 4 crossed him( so 4 *eptmy mouth shut and let him say his little prayer over me -%om latertrac*ed down the wayward luggage in a depot in ". <hat really

tic*ed me off was Bro !rumb’s treatment of a huge man who as*edprayer for his bad leg %hat spiritual sadist carved him up in tinypieces Bro !rumb forced this poor man to publicly pray for God’sforgiveness for being a glutton( without *nowing anything for sureabout the man’s medical history or his eating habits 4t would serveBrother !rumb right if he got some medical condition others mis0udgedD4@ for1 4 wish someone had had the guts to stand up for that fat manand tell that preacher that God cares more about whether someone’s >sinny than whether they’re s*inny Brother !rumb was a nasty(beadyAeyed bully who lorded it over a worldwide *ingdom of >radicalchurches( and it made him feel bigger to cut that unfashionably fatguy down to siFe 'uch >spiritual authorities don’t need to do mightymiracles from God %hey thrill the crowds with their @inistry of ebu*e %hat *eeps them powerful and in charge( and the poorpeasants in their place( suc*ing up to them for their approval

'lavish cults and country club churches aren’t my cup of tea 2earslater a troubled woman at wor*( who *new 4 was a !hristian( as*ed meto help her find a church to visit( but said she did not want to go toany rich church 4 couldn’t thin* of a single place where we could findthe real &resence of God( 0ust a few lu*ewarm institutional churches

4’d passed by on the bus going home from wor* <e loo*ed in the2ellow &ages <e stopped at one or two places but didn’t feel anywarmth or life there so we left and 0ust visited with each other

%he only E" spiritual support 4 got was by calling >Brother B thispreacher in "labama who held informal prayer meetings in his homeand ministered to people over the phone Brother B prayed for my coAwor*er( whose boyfriend was threatening to ta*e her child away @anya time he’d pray with me and 4’d see results and feel the burden lifted"fter he died( 4 sure didn’t meet many li*e him Brother B never went

further than the ord directed( and didn’t have ambitions to >launchout into the deep -build a bigger( fancier ministry. De told me thatonce he tried to hold services in a barn( but sensed that the anointingwas suffering by him trying to organiFe -stage manage?. the gift Godhad given him 4nstead of ma*ing a big( slic* production out of hisministry( Brother B 0ust preached whenever and wherever and towhoever the ord told him to



@y brother first met him in the coffee aisle of a supermar*et( where alarge crowd was listening to him %hat’s how 4 found out about him 3nshort notice( Brother B would set up informal( impromptu meetingswhere a few fol*s who’d called him on the phone would gather in hisliving room %hen he’d briefly share the <ord and pray for their

needs "fter that he’d spea* a blessing over our 0ourney home 'impleministry from the heart( without any phony baloney >sow a seed tomeet your need voodoo

&rosperity preaching( with its inherent selfAsufficiency and pride( hasBE<4%!DEC -Gal9:8. !hristians and robbed them of sound 0udgmentfor far too long But many churches C3 ma*e a heroic effort to getsouls saved( even in the absence of signs and wonders which wouldprove God’s power and reality to the lost 3ne main problem is thatmodern soul winners don’t want to say anything that would ma*esinners feel li*e sinners God allegedly accepts each and every one of them 0ust the way they are( even if they intend to go on abusingothers EvangeliFing !hristians tend to fudge over the basic sinfulnature of man and the need for repentance %hey’re too embarrassedto call sin sin %his generation needs a more >positive gospel so!hristians tell the lost person: God has a wonderful plan for your lifeand it can be yours if only you’ll pray to receive Jesus into your heart

4’m not too sure( though( that God approves much of bypassing thestic*y part about that sinner needing to be brought to godly sorrow forhis sin( and his need to humbly see* God’s forgiveness and the

cleansing of the blood shed by !hrist on the !ross 'piritual abusersli*e Brother !rumb have no business hanging guilt trips on people( butmany are in the dar* about the fact God expects them to repent %hesinner might ta*e offense if you imply he isn’t perfect enough tomeasure up to God’s high standards But how can !hrist becomeyour 'avior unless you’re aware there’s something you need to besaved ,3@ and E&E/% 3,? "nd this ambiguous idiom: >Dave apersonal relationship with the ord would ma*e sinners who watchchic* flic* films raise their eyebrows <here does >personalrelationship appear in 'cripture? %hat vague term doesn’t convey the

need to repent of sin and be reconciled to an offended God &eopleneed to *now <ho they’re dealing with: not some warm( cuddly teddybear( but the "lmighty( @ost Doly God( <ho created and runs thiswhole universe( the 3ne <ho sent Dis onlyAbegotten 'on to give Dislife as the 3/2 acceptable payment for their sins nless they repentof their sins and receive !hrist as 'avior( the 3/2 >relationship Godwill end up having with lost sinners will be as their angry Judge <hosends them to hell



4t’s hard to find a church which isn’t dominated by &rosperity %heology'ome churches draw heavily from the 3ld %estament for their doctrinein order to 0ustify their /ew !ovenant -/ew "ge. success seminarrhetoric 'inging about the !ross is neglected while cheesy choruses

and upbeat psalms are sung -sprin*led with a lot of Debrew idioms andexotic melodies. about !hristians running over walls( conuering theearth in the here and now -Cominionist %heology.( and gobbling up thegoodies of the wic*ed "s !hristians >go deeper by immersingthemselves in the trappings of reconstituted Judaism( sinners don’tget the true Gospel message: Believe in the ord Jesus !hrist that Dedied for your sins and that De rose from the dead for your 0ustification(and you’ll receive the Gift of the Doly Ghost

,ree entertainment won’t offset the negativity factor where tithing istaught and rigidly enforced 4n other boo*s( videos and articles 4 gointo deep detail as to why monetary tithing was /EVE a Biblicaldoctrine( and no tithing at all was taught to the !hurch after the !rossof !hrist nullified the 3ld !ovenant and ushered in the /ew %hosesame preachers who get their people to sing about their liberty in!hrist will crac* the whip when it comes to having to give ten per centof your G3'' income "nd in God’s sight( pushing a false doctrinefor gain 4' gross1

'ome preachers( including one 4 *new as a young person( don’tactively push the tithing doctrine7 0ust %3E"%E tithing and D"B3

it so they’ll still reap the benefits of it while escaping responsibility forthe bad repercussions of tithing in the lives of the congregation Evenif the pastor -who went to cemetI4 mean( seminary. did *now thattithing on wages was never taught in 'cripture( those who tithed werenever discouraged from doing so( even if Gal9:8= warns you not tocome bac* under the aw and its curse for failure to *eep it perfectlyin God’s way %he pastor never did attac* this sacred cow "fter all(tithing was taught by other churches of our *ind %he >motherchurch’s policy was this: %ithing may not exactly be a "< for the!hristian( but it’s still one of God’s &4/!4&E' -where does 'criptureteach that popular assumption?. 4 loo*ed that word up in the

dictionary " principle 4' a "< /3<DEE does God ma*e it a law topay ten per cent of your wages to some *ingpin called a pastor %heword >pastor is used only once in the /ew %estament -Eph6:88.



%here’s only one problem with passively endorsing false doctrine inyour church( even if you don’t actively promote it 'cripture warnsbelievers to give no place to the devil -Eph6:5+. 3nly satan benefitswhen false doctrine goes unchallenged " good shepherd will chasesna*es out of his pasture( not try to profiteer off those pests De will<"/ the sheep against coming under the aw or any part of it%ithing was a @"%%E 3, %DE "< -@att59:59. 4n this passage Jesuswas addressing a &harisee who lived under the aw of @oses because!hrist had not yet gone to the !ross to abolish it -5 !or9:897!ol5:867 Eph5:8$.

<hen 4 was young in the ord( 4 was warned not to get caught up inlegalistic customs li*e wearing head coverings in church( as manycharismatic churches did at the time 'o why weren’t we warned aboutthe tithing error? <ellIthe church building fund might have suffered<herever tithing becomes a burden on hardwor*ing families barelyscraping by( and their pastor yells at them for not doing it( their 0oy inthe ord can tarnish li*e a rusty penny 4 tend to suspect thatCE4BE"%E2 tolerating destructive church doctrines 0ust becausethey *eep pastures green 0ust might be one reason why God’s powerdoesn’t come down more often to deliver people from satan

4f you’re a hippie lost in a time warp or a rugged individualist insteadof a loo*ali*e clone( by all means avoid the prosperity megaAchurchscene where wannabe business execs hang out %hey confess thatthey’re budding billionaires( so they dress and act the part %he richhave usurped the mee* and lowly Jesus for themselves( and given Dima ma*eover @ale prosperity buffs loo* li*e they’ve had their hair



mowed with a hedge trimmer( and the sides of their head are shaved(contrary to ev8K:5+ 4nstead of the 3ld aw( there’s new laws( suchas: %hy men shall wear a military crewcut and blue suit( crisp whiteshirt and tie before they appear in the presence of the lord of thepulpit <ithout fail( thou shalt present ten percent of thy G3'' salary

to the Big !heese up front 4f thou hast nothing to pay( go find acheaper church or worship in the par*1

Glum( 0oyless souls dig deep when the ushers come around with theirvelvet bandit bags and wonder what worshipping God has to do withfilthy lucre 'ome thin* that if you don’t dress li*e a <all 'treetban*er you’ll end up in hell <hat would they have made of Jesus’ beard and sandals?

%he theory is: dress li*e a candidate on %he "pprentice and you’llattract money li*e a magnet >!onfess canned prosperity clichs fiftytimes while you dump all your dough in the offering plate( and by nextwee* your "unt 'ue will die and leave you a billion buc*s %his >confession obsession is trying to attain something by manipulatingsome vague faith force without wor*ing for it( or respecting the

sovereignty of God @aybe they’re too bashful to as* God for this'aturday’s winning otto numbers( so they 0ust confess to the @an inthe moon instead of praying %his &ositive !onfession ritual is nodifferent from a !atholic saying a hundred Dail @ary’s 'ort of li*eCorothy in the <iFard of 3F tapping her ruby slippers together andsaying over and over >%here’s no place li*e home &ositive confessionis a /ew "ge metaphysical practice which was never taught by !hrist



or any of the apostles Jesus promised you’d get no results from vainrepetitions -@att):+. 'ome !hristians act li*e God needs a hearingaid as they 0abber the same 0un* over and over and over again1 <hywould you repeatedly order some angelic waiter to fetch you a brandnew @ercedes( unless you *eep changing the ma*e and model?

4f you’re frustrated with going to a big church where you’re lost in ahuge crowd and you’re barely noticed( believe me( tiny groups alsohave their problems %he biggest disadvantage of a very small group isthat >the leadership will dissect your soul li*e a lab specimen to findout if there’s any human foibles they can pic* at and criticiFe you forIwith a smile on their face( of course1 eminds me of a grinning dentistsnea*ing up on you with a street drill behind his bac*1

%his one street preacher 4 *new was a nice man( but 4 got the feelinghe was proud of his perfect life( and pleased about all he’d sacrificed toobey the ord De claims he uit a great white collar 0ob to go into thestreet ministry But his poor wife was all worn out from ta*ing up theslac*

4f you’re a retired person or unemployed homema*er( watch out%hey’ll ma*e you feel guilty for en0oying this wellAdeserved part of yourlife where you have time to live( not 0ust exist to ma*e the rich richer



4f you go to a storefront church where they’re luc*y to get four or fiveregulars( you feel mighty crummy if you don’t have any money to helpdefray expenses 4t got interesting after 4 attended this tiny group fora few months @ost of this preacher’s regulars hadn’t shown up thatnight and 4 guess he was bored and needed to pic* at somebody for

something

%he best way to feel slimmer is to stand next to somebody ten siFeslarger Being around imperfect people ma*es that particular preacherfeel much holier De really gets a buFF out of warning drun*s they’dbetter get right with God or they’d fry in hell 4t was poor pic*ings forvisitors that night( and my imperfections weren’t so sensational asthose of the burntAout bums who’d come to the meeting to get freecoffee and stale graham crac*ers %hey’d 0ust uit coming when theygot tired of being given graphic previews of the horrors of hell %hisman was teaching an empty room( and he hadn’t dished out his usual

Big ebu*e of the /ight 'o he had to pic* and pry to find some sort of shoc*ing sin in my life De said 4 had an oddAsounding voice andought to get an operation to remove tissue from the bac* of my throatso the sound would come out clearer

4 told him 4 was from the 'outh and a lot of fol*s tal* with an accentdown there ater that same evening he made a pointed dig about how



it’s a sin to sleep late and you really ought to drag your dead carcassout of bed to get dressed and go to wor*

"ll 4 thought was( >2ou can’t have much to do if you can get to bedearly every night and get up with the chic*ens 4 sit up late writing ordrawing illustrations( and 4 tac*le a mountain of dishes in the *itchen(etc 4’ve already put in enough years of waiting on cran*y customersand running my legs off 2ears ago when 4 was coo*ing( washing andrunning around night and day for our restaurant( some spiritual giant(who had no 0ob outside the home( criticiFed me for >not doinganything for God( so how could 4 claim to love Jesus? /obody everwal*s a mile in someone else’s shoes before they open their big fatmouth and pass a comment <ell( @r &reacher( 4 figure 4’ve E"/EC

my retirement from the daily grind( so 4 can finally do the !E"%4VEpart of my life before the ball game’s all over and 4 start pushin’ uptulips "nd as for being an early bird( personally 4 believe God is 0ustas li*ely to hear your prayer at ) pm as ) am

4 really hated it when the group leader would go on and on aboutsomething unpleasant or difficult we had to do to please God( and he’dsay( >4sn’t that right( &at? 4 0ust gave him a cheesy grin and nodded



my head 4 hated being put on the spot li*e that <e have the rightto share our viewpoints with others( even to discuss some >ouchy Bible topic But we don’t have the right to invade each other’s innerspace( or usurp God’s bailiwic* as ord of our conscience Beware of preachers who put you on the spot so as to do your thin*ing for you(

and do it with a disarming smile %al* about Groupthin*1

Dis wife usually loo*ed depressed and halfAsic* -whenever she showedup.( as if her religion wasn’t ma*ing her very 0oyful %he poor womanhad no vitality about her( and her favorite topic of conversation wasdying and going to heaven so she would finally be free of her problemsand en0oy decent health for a change Cying and going to heaven wasabout the 3/2 good news that preacher had for the believer

4 tend to suspect the E" reason this preacher tal*ed about going towor* was he wasn’t wor*ing for cash anymore himself and someoneelse had to finance his ministry "fter uitting his own profession-allegedly at the ord’s command. he claimed God told him to rent twodifferent locations to hold meetings in 3bviously he needed help topay rents on them De had lots of coFy tables and chairs all set out incase people wanted to come But he never had more than ten ortwelve at his meetings( and even that dwindled down to nothing'eems li*e if the ord really had commanded him to rent all that spaceout( God would have either filled the place up with enough contributorsor brought in some stray millionaire to shoulder the burden %hatwould be a miracle in itself <hy( at least oneAthird of this town is on

government welfare( and if there’s any rich !hristians here( they’regraFing in greener pastures

<ithout realiFing it( this preacher assumed the role of the Voice of people’s consciences "s 4 got ready to go home( he’d tell me he wasglad 4 could come( and smiling( he’d whisper li*e a ,ather !onfessor( >Co you study the Bible a lot?( or >"re you wal*ing closely with God? <henever he’d spea* to somebody li*e that( his voice was so velvetyand gentle( li*e an angel’s

4 rec*on fol*s 0ust got tired of ta*in’ the whipping and left 'oftly andtenderly he wor*ed one staggering drun* over with warnings that hislife was bound to come to a crashing end and what if he died tonightand went to hell? %he preacher’s wife told me of two people who’d diedrecently of frea* accidents 3ne drun* stumbled down some stairs anddied and the other got *illed while someone was driving him to church%hat alone ought to have been enough to get those stubborn old sotsto sober up and see the light( but 4 didn’t see any results when he



pestered these visitors 4 got the impression that for the most partthey weren’t all there( and they were incapable of rational thought

%here’s a fine line between holy boldness and scaring the fish away!an you imagine 'imon &eter lowering his net into the la*e and then

beating the water with an oar while yelling at those stin*in’ fish tostraighten up and fly right or they’d fry in hell? 'inners C3 need to*now there’s a nasty( stin*y( fiery Gitmo torture chamber called hell(created for the devil and his angels But they also need to seeGE/4/E peace and 0oy on !hristians’ faces( not that telltale churchy 4G3%!D"1 religious grin spiritual giants put on when they’re in church

" lot of s*y pilots are so out of touch with the E" human conditionthat they remind me of hippies who tuned in and dropped out 2ouloo* in their eyes and try to tal* to them but nobody’s home

%woAfaced believers might bar* at their *ids at home but when they’rein church they’re sweeter than /ed ,landers in a honey pot( afraid toever loo* sad or mad !an you imagine Jesus smiling sweetly as Dedrove the moneychangers out of the %emple with a whip? 4t’s li*ethese disconnected religious fol*s are way off on some other planet

%his sad preacher’s sadAfaced wife was nice enough( but she neverli*ed to tal* about common everyday activities li*e coo*ing( gardening(hobbies( etc 'he 0ust complained about being tired from wor* andlamented about different people she *new being sic*( or unexpectedlydying from frea* accidents and wasn’t it a good thing they prayed thesinner’s prayer before they died and went to an even worse hell thanthis world was Even prayer time was full of laments and sighs( as if



their !hristian life was a miserable affliction 4t made you want to tellthat preacher for pity’s sa*e( get your blessed assurance bac* to wor*so your poor sic* wife can stay home and recuperate1

3ne guest spea*er who’d come to these little meetings ran a !hristianboo*store( and he’d stare at you li*e an owl siFing up a moth

3ne night we discussed the teaching of /!3/C4%43/" forgiveness" sacred cow doctrine But scripture ta*en "' " <D3E( not one ortwo isolated verses( must be the final authority for determining validchurch doctrine 2ou’ll never see the word >unconditional anywhere in



'cripture and throughout the Bible God Dimself never once forgaveanyone unconditionally without repentance( so how can we be betterthan De is? /aturally( the preacher pointedly as*ed each of the fewpersons present whether they agreed with this teaching -at least youcan hide behind a pew in a megaAchurch. 'ilence is golden Lcause

you ma*e no waves But he *ept on pressuring me to say somethingtill 4 finally spat it out: 4 don’t believe in dispensing cheap forgivenessli*e candy to people who aren’t sorry and would do it again <hat was4 supposed to do( lie about my true convictions about something 0ustto toe the party line and ma*e him feel better?

i*e all people who cling to unscriptural religious traditions( hestonewalled my valid scriptural arguments away De said if 4 don’t >forgive unrepentant people( even for deliberate( prolonged cruelty(God won’t forgive me <ell( 4 hate to disappoint the fellow( God’s"E"C2 forgiven " my sins -!ol5:89.( and that guy will 0ust haveto get used to seeing my smiling face up there in heaven 4’m certain

God wouldn’t have forgiven me if 4 hadn’t repented first <hat aboutthe woman ta*en in adultery? <hat if she’d told Jesus >%han*s forsaving my life( bud( but 4 gotta go( 4’ve got another date after De toldher to go and sin no more? Co you thin* Jesus could have or wouldhave forgiven such an unrepentant soul? 4n another place De said%<4!E( in the same context( >4f you don’t repent you’ll perish -u*e89:9($. nconditional forgiveness eliminates the need for repentance



and ensures that every scary ax murderer who ever existed goes toheaven( even if they never feel remorse for their sins

4 believe ,3G4VE/E'' 4' " G4,% which cannot be forced out of seriously wronged people whose abusers remain stubbornly

unrepentant 2ou can no more force forgiveness with threats of hellfire than a rapist can win tender affection from a woman bythreatening a beating 4f you do or give anything out of D"V4/G to doit( it’s not done out of love and it’s worthless -4 !or89:9.,3G4VE/E'' 4' " <3; 4f you earn your salvation by forgivingsomeone else( your salvation ceases to be a free gift of grace-om88:). Jesus taught people to love and forgive "' G3C,3G4VE' '( and 4 had to repent first before De forgave me 4believe forgiveness from God is a ,4/4'DEC <3; for believers( basedon !olossians 5:89: "nd you( being dead in your sins and theuncircumcision of your flesh( hath he uic*ened together with him(D"V4/G ,3G4VE/ -past tense. 23 " %E'&"''E' 3urforgiveness has "E"C2 been accomplished1 'in has been dealt withonce and for all <hen we stumble( we can go bac* to God andconfess to Dim( with the reassurance that De restores our bro*enfellowship with Dim and cleanses our soul from whatever has tarnishedit But if we don’t confess and we stubbornly cling onto sin andrebellion( the fellowship between us and God remains bro*en

4n @att$:59 Jesus says that before you offer your gift to God -De’sspea*ing to Jews offering animal sacrifices in the %emple( but the sameprinciple applies.( go ma*e up with your B3%DE if he’s gotsomething against you Dere Jesus is tal*ing about a brother( or afellow believer( not an unbeliever %he person offering the sacrifice -sin



offering?. has done the offending and needs to apologiFe( or hissacrifice will be unacceptable to God Jesus doesn’t put the burden of as*ing forgiveness on the victim( li*e many !hristians do %oday’sconfessionAfree forgiveness heresy absolves the unrepentant offenderof all blame and responsibility and reuires the victim to as* the

offender’s forgiveness for ma*ing him want to hurt him in the firstplace But no matter how you bend over bac*wards to *eep a peacethat isn’t really there( unless the !hristian brother who did you thewrong ac*nowledges his offense and repents( that thing will always bebetween you 4t’s li*e trying to hide a dead rat under the rug 4t’llalways stin* and ma*e its presence *nown 2ou have to B4/G 4% 3%,3@ /CE %DE G before you can carry it out to the garbage can

>@ary( an old friend( told me a shoc*ing story 4 never forgot 4t wasabout some man at their church who swindled several of his brethrenout of wages he owed them for helping him paint houses 4t was coldoutside "ll of them were hungry and one of them( a church elder( hada wife expecting a baby >@elvin ate lunch li*e a *ing watching hiscrew go without %hey sat watching him gobble down thic*sandwiches and special treats @elvin( who often boasted about hisBible school education( refused to share even one of his coo*ies withthe hungry men De refused to lend the man with the pregnant wife auarter so he could chec* to see if she was all right %he poor menwere 0ust expected to forgive and forget( though their boss defraudedthem of their fair share of the profits 4t happened to be a hard winter(

with empty fridges and high fuel bills @elvin *new all the Biblelanguages( and could analyFe Gree* verbs But @elvin didn’t put hisreligion into practice De never did confess his offense De thought itbeneath his dignity to apologiFe for his dirty dealings /ot once did hechec* to see if his men and their families were doing o*ay

"s for the church( the leadership was way too nice to do what Jesussaid in @att8#:8$A8+ %hat man was never confronted with his sin bythe church 4nstead( church members were admonished by the pastorto act li*e the three mon*eys whose names were: >Dear no Evil( 'ee

no evil( 'pea* no evil and 0ust close their eyes to sin in the church%hose who dared to criticiFe the unrepentant brother were condemnedby wealthier church members for being >unloving or >bitter 4nsteadof rebu*ing the victim( these selfArighteous meddlers could have ta*ena sac* of scraps over to the homes of the guilty victims who made thatman want to cheat them 2eah( that’s !hristian living for you1



@y friend said that her husband( a man recently converted( got sodisgusted he threw down his paint brush( told @elvin off( and wenthome %otally disillusioned about !hristians in general( he eventuallylost all interest in church 'ome people don’t see any point in >goingto church with greedy swindlers who claim to be experts on Jesus

%he standard response to those who uit church because they get hurtby hypocrites is: Every religion( whether they’re Dindus( @oonies( orBuddhists( has hypocrites( so that’s no excuse %hey’re only human@aybe in some small way you’re one too( so who are you to 0udge?!hristians are sinners saved by grace( nothing more Besides( if youuit church( are you going to be a church unto yourself?

But the real truth is: wherever the love of Jesus is absent( there 4' nochurch in any meaningful sense %here’s a vast difference between a >hypocrite who preaches >holiness and wears shorts and a realhypocrite who steals another man’s wages( because far more peopleget hurt by that By attending a loveless gathering you’re onlypropping up a lie 4f people come and get repeatedly hurt( lied to( andre0ected( why stay in the frying pan to get burnt even more? Dow canyou be healed unless you distance yourself from the source of thehurt?

'ome people feel froFen out and marginaliFed( especially solitaryadults who don’t fit in with the church’s >family theme %hey don’t fitin with married couples or the young people( so they’re the odd one

out( and usually sit alone service after service 'ubconsciously( other!hristians thin* there’s something wrong with a woman who can’t dragher husband along to church( or they thin* a single man must be >gay or selfish if he doesn’t >settle down and start a family Especially if hedoesn’t seem to be coming to church to shop for a !hristian wife'ome &rotestants thin* !atholic priests sin by not getting marriedBut Jesus wasn’t against single fol*s De said some are given the giftof celibacy so they can focus on Dis ;ingdom -@att8K:85.

" bullied child who is insulted and forced to sit alone in the lunchroom

everyday is forced by law to *eep going bac* to school for more of thesame crap treatment from cruel peers and >authority figures Butbeing free to vote with your feet is a priceless treasure "nd as forthat abusive church being your >family you should never( ever give upon( most people who had the power to do so would pac* up and leaveif they were never spo*en to or treated civilly by their *infol* over aprotracted period of time



!hristians dismiss hypocrisy as a normal condition and no big deal(since to some extent >everybody’s a hypocrite But a churchcontrolled by spiritual abusers is a sin*ing ship( and it’s best not to letthem drag you down with it ,ar from being a minor irritation and nobig deal( hypocrites were the 3/2 category of sinners Jesus ever got

mad at in the /% 4n @atthew 59 De softly and tenderly admonishesthem to better behavior "nd no( Jesus wasn’t yelling at good( lovingpeople who forget their manners and spea* ,rench when they hit theirthumb with a hammer De was excoriating ma0or league hypocriteswho turned converts into >twice the son of hell as themselves

/ot all unrepentedAof sins can be brushed off as insignificant @elvindidn’t offend his brethren by forgetting to wear his deodorant Derobbed them of money they badly needed to buy food for theirfamilies But he made darn sure D4' fridge was wellAstoc*ed( and allhis own bills paid ,4'%( before tossing peanuts to his men %hat’s%DE,% " new convert got swindled by a >more mature !hristian whoclaimed to be closer to God because of his great learning %here wasno rebu*e from the pulpit for the Bible expert( but there <"' a strongadmonition to those who were too irresponsible to wor* and had to as*for help from other !hristians "n emotionally handicapped man witha hormonal deficiency was reduced to tears because he *new thatrebu*e was aimed at him %he new convert who had been robbed alsowal*ed out @ary emphasiFed how the church 0ust ignored @elvin’smistreatment of his brethren instead of confronting him with his sin;idAglove treatment is for respectable rascals who have more to give

eproof is reserved for the poor who can’t put much in the plate

4f anything( >more mature !hristians should be held accountablewhen their abusive behavior drives new converts away from the faith(which adversely affects the course of their lives !hristians who defend!hristian abusers say that God expects the victim to be a strong treewhich withstands storms( shuts up and toughs it out But a newconvert is a tender twig "s the twig is bent( so grows the tree Evenif the victim does manage to swallow his hurt and pretend everything’speachy( deep down he will always associate the offender with the

!hrist that scoundrel claims to have in his heart %hat’s unfair( but inthe case of unrepentedAof outrages committed against a baby believer(the damage is done and his faith in !hrist is crippled 4n view of thefact that a >more mature believer who sins grievously against abrother could destroy the victim’s faith( why do !hristians sympathiFewith the offender while condemning the victim for his >lac* of love?



,rom what Jesus said about reconciling with your brother beforeoffering up your sacrifice to God( you might speculate that when theoffender doesn’t repent( there 0ust might be a bloc*age between himand God 4 &et9:+ says that your prayers can be hindered if you don’ttreat your wife right 'o this could apply to other !hristian

relationships as well 4t ta*es two to reconcile( not 0ust one 2ou can’tbe reconciled with an offender until they do their part and repent first%o reconcile means to restore two parties to their former fellowshipwith one another 4f fellowship between two !hristians can’t berestored until the offender repents( how much less could you >reconcile with a wic*ed criminal you never even met before he hurtyou or your loved ones?

Cespite the fact the in0ured party must live with the fallout fromsomeone else’s sins( !hristians expect the victim to 0ust forgive andforget( or God won’t forgive them -nconditional forgiveness is aflawed doctrine 4 explore more fully in another paper. But not only didJesus command Dis listeners to love their enemies( and forgive inorder to be forgiven( De reuired believers to be &E,E!% -@att$:6#.%hat means they couldn’t do any good wor* with less than a perfectattitude %heir very salvation hung on it But how perfect was the manwho defrauded his crew of their wages?

/o !hristian( especially a >more mature believer who brags about*nowing more about the Bible than anybody else( has the right totrigger >trials of faith in the lives of his fellow believers through

hisPher own irresponsible or dishonest conduct @ary told me some sadstories about the mess @elvin made by feathering his own nest:

8 @elvin forced his men to >live by faith that the ord wouldsomehow provide even if they had no money @elvin did /3%have to live by faith because he swindled to get his needs met

5 @elvin’s men had to loo* for other 0obs 'ome had to hunt forpop bottles on the road to cash in so they could buy food

9 @elvin didn’t give a damn about his customers De sprayedcheap( wateredAdown paint on unprepared surfaces( to enable

him to cut costs( outbid other painters( and still live high on thehog after shortAchanging his men6 <hile @elvin had everything he wanted( the elder’s wife

sometimes s*ipped meals so her *ids could eat$ @elvin gave satan an open door to create resentment and strife

in @ary’s church because his sin was swept under the rug(contrary to -@att8#:8$A8+.



) Even if people tried not to tal* about it( to *eep the atmospheresweet( the Doly 'pirit was still grieved

+ @elvin’s dishonesty disillusioned at least one baby believer( whoeventually lost all interest in church

4 %hes6:): %hat no man go beyond and defraud his brother in anymatter: because that the ord is the avenger of all such( as we alsohave forewarned you and testified

!hristian abusers maintain their power position by playing the >unconditional forgiveness card %hey put their victims on thedefensive by saying they aren’t perfect either( so it’s a sin to criticiFetheir abuser But when !hrist issued Dis ultimatums about beingperfect( and forgiving in order to get God to forgive you( De wasspea*ing to JE<' /CE %DE "< "/C BE,3E %DE !3''( beforesalvation through grace by faith in !hrist alone was revealed to &aulDere’s one commandment that croo*ed !hristian couldn’t have *ept:Jesus told certain ones( li*e the ich 2oung uler( that they had to*eep " the commandments and sell " their possessions( and givethe money to the poor( in order to obtain eternal life -@att8K:8+7 u*e8#:8#A55. 'o it follows their salvation would not have been free( butwages for wor*s 3nly ",%E Qacchaeus promised Jesus he’d ma*erestitution to poor people he’d swindled( did Jesus tell him thatsalvation had come to his house because he was a son of "braham-u*e 8K:#AK. 3f course( no one got saved because of natural descentfrom "braham But Jesus called Qacchaeus a son of "braham mainly

because he did the wor*s of "braham after he repented -John #:9K.

@any claim Jesus didn’t really mean what De said when he told Jewsliving before the !ross that they had to perform the wor*s of the awto obtain eternal life But while !hrist commanded the ich 2ounguler to sell all his possessions and give the proceeds to the poor( hedid not tell certain others( such as /icodemus or @ary and @artha( toalso divest themselves of all their earthly goods <hen &hilip preachedto the Ethiopian eunuch he didn’t tell him he had to sell his beautifulchariot and ta*e a vow of poverty in order to be a !hristian i*ewise(

while "braham was 0ustified B2 <3;' through offering up his son4saac -James 5:58.( God did not order Jacob to sacrifice one of his ownsons to merit salvation " test to prove personal faith could vary fromone believer to another -see Debchap88.

&aul taught nothing about earning God’s forgiveness through any sortof test of faith or wor*s( including forgiving others But he did teach!hristians to be patient toward all men and merciful toward one



another 4f you wal* in the 'pirit the good wor*s and fruits of the 'piritwill follow &atience( or longsuffering( is one of the fruits of the 'pirit-Gal$:55. 2et even patience has limits 2ou wouldn’t be patient forvery long with a burglar who was creeping up the stairs to harm yourfamily 2ou wouldn’t shout your /!3/C4%43/" ,3G4VE/E'' at the

thug for what he was about to do 2ou’d probably yell at him to getout and throw a pillow at him even if it hurt his feelings and ruffled hishair

@uch of Jesus’ teaching on human interaction had to do with ourrelationship with our own brethren( who might say or do hurtful things(and 4, %DE2 E&E/% we forgive them -u*e 8+:9. %hat’s 0ust andright Jesus taught the brethren to love one another as De loved them4t’s a glaring( serious sin to be harsh toward a repentant brother andwithhold forgiveness from that one But hardened unrepentant sinnersare O! the spiritual brethren of the !hristian

4 shuddered when this guest spea*er prayed( >"nd ord( help us toforgive everyone /3 @"%%E <D"% %DE2 C3 %3 ' 4 thought( >&lease( ord( I didn’t pray that( so don’t let something bad happen tome. Dave mercy on this brother or he could be severely tried in thisarea to find out how sincere his prayer is

<henever 4’d loo* at this man 4 discerned a religious spirit about him4’ve seen that expression many times before " smug smir* whichsays( >4’ve got you siFed up( buster 4 *now you’ve got hidden sin in

your life and 4’m way more spiritual than you are( and 4’m gonna dig itout so you’ll feel smaller and 4’ll feel bigger %he leader of this littlegroup always spea*s in a wellAmodulated( churchy tone of voice andtries never to tal* about everyday things( 0ust religious stuff But tillJesus comes bac* to get us we’re still made of flesh and blood 2oudon’t have to spea* in a spoo*y voice or build a shrine over your toiletto be a spiritual giant( if there 4' such a thing1

<hen we studied &aul’s epistles( he fudged over those passages whichtaught the spiritual gifts De preferred to focus on those parts which

deal with how we relate to other people De sidestepped the miracleissue by s*ipping over passages about spiritual gifts because hedoesn’t believe they’re for today But he does believe in miserabledoctrines li*e fasting and other forms of whipping your soul for sin

<henever !hristians deny the need for miracles( something else has tofill the vacuum 'ome man and his own agenda ta*e center stage'elfAintrospection deepens and people chec* each other for >hidden



sin li*e a vet chec*s a dog for fleas %he poor man( he has twofacilities rented that nobody can pay for( the ord allegedly led him touit a good 0ob so he could save brainAdead sots with threats of hell(his wife is half dead from being the sole breadwinner( and he’s besidehimself wondering how to get the glory of the ord to come down( so

long as God doesn’t overdo it and wor* literal miracles 2ou don’tneed a big megaAchurch to have a 9Aring circus1

,ar better to worship the ord beside the still waters

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Joyless, Powerless, Watered-down Church