A fundamental Shift In Christianity Has Changed The Promise Of God From Eternal Life To Earthly Guarantee.
When I was a kid, my minister was a young man who was thought of as a radical. He warned us young ones to resist those who would change the doctrines of God and he slammed all other religious men and women who asked for money first then thought of saving souls.
Souls.
Remember when Christianity was about your immortal soul? Now Christianity has taken a radical shift from heavenly reward to earthly blessing. This is supported by passages in the Bible but we know the Bible supports many things, some good others not so good.
As Americans have become more self-centered, selfish and materialistic, so has our perception of God. The war that is going on now in society, culture and politics reflects this. Suddenly, we have the two camps of extremes. One that sees no limits on man's behavior and the other that sees only limitation. Most of us are right in the middle, just trying to be good and make it to Heaven.
Heaven.
Remember when that was our goal? Now, it's something for old people. Young Christians talk about "blessings and prosperity"-- right now.
The New Jesus, wants you to have stuff more than he wants you to go to Heaven. He wants you to join the religious social order, march along, then claim your Bentley, hot spouse and vacation home. Jesus 2.0 wants your heaven to be here on earth.
And the corruption, the greed, avarice and boy rape doesn't mean there's a problem in the church. Life is complicated and the flesh is weak. So if you're waving a Bible but have your other hand up some boy's ass, I will not judge you. I'll pray for you while I'm asking for stuff. And if you sin but have money, well then it's a wash.
I could be wrong, but I don't think Jesus died so that I could have man's earthly inventions. I thought His sacrifice was a pact, a passage for us to enter the Kingdom of Heaven and life was the test of your faith.
Christianity is the safeguard, the firewall that is supposed to prevent us from forgetting this. Jesus 1.0 taught us that God is not convenient and you don't get to just change Him when it gets hard. You conform to Him or go to Hell.
Jesus 2.0, the convenient Savior, teaches a gospel made by weak people for weaker minds. It is a religious iPad with hundreds of apps that bring easy living and guiltless indulgence. These are Jesus 2.0's Ten Commandments:
1. Honor God and he will give you earthly prosperity.2. People who have money are blessed.3. Money erases sin and abates criticism of its possessor.4. Thou shalt not covet when you can pray for what you want.5. Thou shalt not commit adultery but you can fornicate your ass off.6. Thou shalt not kill-- or snitch on a killer.7. Thou shalt not lie unless it leads to a blessing.8. Thou shalt not hate on another person for being blessed.9. Remember the Sabbath, that's all, just remember it.10. Honor thy mother and thy father. Thy children?-- not so much.
As we fall from grace, we do not grab God as a lifeline, we use Him to cushion ourselves against the hard ground of faithlessness. See, if we reinterpret The Word as we change, then it is always what we want it to be. After all, no one really knows the mind of God, right? So then maybe He wants us to change doctrine every few hundred years to suit our changes.
The question is, are you willing to bet your soul on it?
Copyright 2012
