And yet, throughout my life, there have been times when “religion” has tried to creep into my mind and heart to make me somehow think I needed something else. And there were times when I bought the lie and, without knowing it, headed away from the Lord down a path that was fun, on the surface, laden with “good” things, such as church activities, programs, events, etc. Then, in addition to all that, I read all the right books, attended all the cutting-edge, deeper-life conventions and conferences, listened to all the teaching tapes I could get my hands on, and went to church faithfully, every time the doors were open, like a good Christian. But still, something was wrong. Something was missing…

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“We cannot know history without understanding some of the extensive, underlying threads that weave in and out of its broad tapestry. One thread that has been a constant throughout history is Progressivism, which has manifested in various forms such as conservation, the redistribution of wealth (a.k.a. “Social Justice” or collective salvation), equality (a.k.a. fairness) liberalism, Statism, organized labor, economic interventionism, etc. What is more, the Progressive paradigm has influenced practically every facet of society, including literature, religion, architecture, history, and education. However, the purpose of this essay is to show how Progressivism has transformed American politics…”

To read on, CLICK HERE.

Rick Warren

“In the interview by Paul Bradshaw with Rick Warren, Rick said:  People ask me, What is the purpose of life? And I respond: In a nutshell, life is preparation for eternity. We were not made to last forever, and God wants us to be with Him in Heaven.”

First, of all, Rick isn’t wrong…his beliefs are simply incomplete…seriously incomplete. Let me explain…

1. Eternity has no beginning and no end; it’s always been and always will be; therefore, it cannot be prepared for because it already exists and is where we already are. Besides, as Solomon said, God has placed eternity in the hearts of men. So, how can we prepare for what is already in us?
2. The purpose of life is to live out of the overflow of our intimacy with the Lord Who lives IN US NOW. And not only does He live IN US, NOW, but in Colossians Paul said that the fullness of the Godhead dwells in us; not just Jesus or the Spirit BUT God the Father, God the Son, AND God the Holy Ghost. Then, also, let us not forget that Jesus said the Kingdom of Heaven is IN US as well. So, with that said, why would God want us to be with Him in Heaven when He is ALREADY with us AND in us NOW?
3. There is nothing in the Scripture that says “God wants us to be with Him in Heaven.” Adam and Eve walked with God in the cool (lit. the spirit) of the evening where they lived and interacted “with Him” as dear, intimate FRIENDS. And when they sinned, they were cut off from that relationship. However, Jesus reversed the curse. As one theologian has said, “Adam turn the Garden into a graveyard but Jesus turned the graveyard back into a Garden.” And NOW we can “be with Him”, walking in the cool of the day, in the Garden He has put us in within the context of our daily lives, intimately united to Him in every way; and we know this is true because, as the Scriptures say, our relationship to Him is like that shared by a child and their parent, by a wife and her husband, by a servant and their master, by a person and their best friend, by a plant and its caretaker, etc. And according to Hebrews, we can experience a level of union and communion with the Lord in this New Covenant day that FAR surpasses anything Adam and Eve ever could have experienced; in fact, Paul said that the reality of the New Testament, purchased by the shedding of Jesus’ blood, is far more glorious than anything mentioned in the Old Testament.

I am truly saddened by what people like Rick Warren have turned the Gospel into. They have reformed it into “pabulum” that tastes good – to the spiritually inept – but has no substance. Sure, what they are saying has a lot of Truth in it, but it is so incomplete that it has neutered the miracle of the New Covenant till it has become a mere sentimental ornament in our American devotionals rather than the source of unspeakable, resurrection power that transforms us, through and through, in our spirit, soul, and body. The American Gospel is easier to sell, easier to market, than what Jesus lived, died and was resurrected for, and now there are millions of Christians whose spiritual taste-buds and bellies have been so conditioned by this pseudo Gospel that they have developed an aversion, unknowingly, for the real the thing. And, unfortunately, people like Rick Warren have far more influence on the “christian” masses than the Word of God which is absorbed FAR less than Warren’s nuggets of incredible, untouchable, unquestionable insights.

It just reminds me that while the MAJORITY of “christians” are like this, there is a remnant that has been ruined for anything less than “the real thing”, as modeled by Jesus Himself, and they will not settle for less than all that He purchased on our behalf.

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Anyway, I’ve come across an interesting section in chapter three called “Religion in the Colony” and has to do with establishing religious freedom and the installation of the tax-supported Church of England in early North Carolina, along with all kinds of convoluted politics. As I read through, I came across this…

“An Anglican missionary in Albermarle in 1701 found that the colonists fell into four distinct categories with regard to their religious leanings. First and most numerous were the Quakers whom he regarded as enemies of ‘the Church.’ (Church, spelled with a capital letter, meant the established church.)…The next largest group, he observed, were those who seemed to have no religion but who would have been Quakers if they had been willing to behave themselves. The third category consisted of people ‘somewhat like Presbyterians, which sort is upheld by some idle fellows who have left their lawful employment, and preach and baptize through the country, without any manner of order from any sect or pretended Church.’ These people, it has been suggested, may have been Baptists. Finally, the fourth and smallest group was composed of ‘the better sort of people, and would do very much for the settlement of the Church government there. The hopes of these Anglicans were stymied, however, by the three other groups…”

It goes on to say later…

“Another Anglican missionary, surely not the most unbiased of observers, referred to the Quakers in Perquimans Precinct as ‘very numerous, extremely ignorant, insufferably proud, and consequently ungovernable.’ Those in Pasquotank he found to be ‘factious, mutinous, and domineering.’“

Earlier in this section of the book, it was stated that anyone who was not a part of the Church of England, but was a Protestant who could worship as they pleased, were called “Dissenters” because they dissented from the creed, beliefs, and rituals of the Anglican church.

When I read all this information, I thought about what it all meant in a contemporary sense. I thought about the growing movement in America, which is already strong throughout the rest of the world, where people are being drawn out of “the established church,” with all its traditions and liturgy, and how they are considered by many to be “dissenters” who have “dissented from “the creed, beliefs, and rituals” of the American/Western Church.

Anyone who has studied the Quakers, along with the Moravians and the rest of those who were considered Puritans, knows that they had the real thing for the most part and yet they were considered “enemies of ‘the Church’,” who were considered by “the better sort of people” as ignorant, arrogant, factious, mutinous and domineering. Incredible!

Near the end of the “Religion in the Colony” section, it says that there was a man by the name of “Henderson Walker, an able and zealous Anglican churchman,” who became governor in 1699. “He expressed concern that the colony had gone forty years ‘without priest or alter.’” In 1701, this man secured the passage of the FIRST church law in Carolina, called the Vestry Act which basically provided for a massive building up of the Anglican church, on the government dole. He also got another bill through in 1703; it demanded that all members of the government Assembly had to devote themselves to the Church of England and also had to take an oath of allegiance to Queen Anne, who was Queen of Britain at that time.

All of this smacks of the same political and religious control which runs so rampant in the overall church system today. It’s all the same spirit which has energized this kind of stuff throughout the ages on so many stages, in so many ways, with so many varying church sects.

Personally, I consider myself to be a modern Puritan of sorts – a Moravian specifically.

How about you?

[Note: While I'm on the subject, you may want to reference chapter five of my book Jesus, Unleashed, entitled "Jesus Goes to Church," where I dissect the life and ministry of Jesus as he related to the religious system of His day and how it relates to us. To purchase a copy of Jesus, Unleashed, go to www.lulu.com/spotlight/JoelKillion. Thank you.]

…“I’m a reality person, and I’m finding a little too much established religion here to be honest,” Shank said. “I believe, I pray — but I don’t like structured religion.”…

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What do you think?

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