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by
Charles Slagle
Why has the
world increasingly adopted a secular and even atheistic or
agnostic mindset--especially over the last few centuries since
more and more nations have cast off the iron
grip of medieval Roman Catholicism? Why is
Christianity--in even its most attractive and well-articulated versions,
neatly packaged in modern language and culture--regarded as
"irrelevant nonsense" by billions of people? Why
is the world going secular, despite all earnest and costly efforts
of Christians to evangelize? Have you ever wondered about this?
If so, I hope you may gain more insight from what I'm about to share. I
am persuaded that people are NOT rejecting the REAL Jesus Christ.
What they are rejecting is an irrational
gospel of gobbledygook that imparts no real
hope to their searching and aching hearts. Now. Are you ready to smile?
Or maybe to cry? Or perhaps to get mad--before
you get glad? If so, then get ready for an exciting trip! The message
that follows will take you on a roller coaster ride that
will definitely make your head reel and your guts churn. So if
riding theological roller coasters upsets your digestion, don't say I
didn't
warn you... :-)
Okay, all aboard then! And off we go--
Here is what I was taught to be "the gospel" during my
evangelical upbringing--Bible college
included:
God is Love...but more than that...He is Holy. And holiness is a
quality in Him that, in a way, is opposite to love. This means
(in a very real sense somehow) that He is also
eternally vindictive and unforgiving toward
those who are less than holy. So one day you will be conformed
to His likeness, and you shall be holy just as He is, and not
very loving toward imperfect people. BUT..you must be loving NOW,
even
if that means you are being less than holy, or you won't make it to
heaven. On the other hand, without holiness NO ONE shall see the
Lord! (Yes, it's a...er...paradox, but just
accept it in childlike faith, and stop
intellectualizing so much!)
God passionately and deeply loves everyone, but He plans to burn
almost everyone alive for eternity simply
because they failed to seek Him and find Him
and love Him before it was forever too late. That is because
the way is narrow and only a few "ever will" find it.
As Christians we believe that the Lord is kind, gracious and
merciful, and His love never fails.
Nevertheless, He created human beings because He
is a Great Gambler that delights in chancing the lives of His human
offspring in His grand cosmic game of "Winners and
Losers". Yes, He is also omniscient--but
that is beside the point. Stop asking so many questions!
Just realize that His purpose for calling people into being
was to give them a chance to choose to learn to pronounce His name
("Lord Jesus Christ") correctly--and--to love and trust Him
UNconditionally and wholeheartedly before He burns billions of them for
eternity for having failed to do so by a given deadline.
On the other hand, we Christians believe that God is SOVEREIGN and He
can do whatever He pleases! If He has wanted to create
billions of human beings and elect to love and
save a few of them and trash and burn the rest
forever, that is His business. He is not just "love"--He is
HOLY. You had better worship and love Him anyway, if you know what
is good for you! People who have been TRULY
predestined for heaven and born again don't
question God's sovereignty! On the other hand, we predestined
ones are saved ONLY by grace APART from works. So if some people
who are truly saved question God's sovereignty
they will be forgiven, of course. Yes, this
means that you may be "damned if you do, and damned if you
don't" as the old saying goes. But don't worry about it
much. Only a few will EVER be chosen (Hezekiah
13:13) but after all, this means that
there's a remote possibility that you may be in the elect!
Then again, we Christians are also "Semi-pelagian" in our
understanding of the gospel. And what does
this mean? This simply means that we believe
that we cannot save ourselves, since the original sin of Adam
and Eve renders us utterly depraved and powerless. Yet on the
other hand, God has given us a free will so we
can choose to rise above our
depraved and evil state--and submit to him in obedient faith before it
is forever too late. In other words, we've blended nicely
together the theology of both Augustine and
Pelagius. See how much more balanced our glad
tidings is than than the teaching of those more extreme
theologians? :-)
Worry is a form of fear, and "perfect love casts out fear,"
and "those who fear have not been
perfected in love." Bear in mind also that "he
that loves not knows not God, for God is love." So
watch your step, buddy! JESUS said, "You
shall be perfect even as your Father in Heaven is perfect." And
John's first epistle states that he/she that sins is
of the devil, and Revelation warns us that nothing unclean shall
enter that city. (With streets of gold etc.)
On the other hand, don't be nervous and
worried. But do bear in mind that the fearful and unbelieving
will have their part in the lake of fire for all eternity.
Yes, we realize that this fate suggests that a God of love
inflicts infinite pain on his cherished and finite creatures. But,
it will probably be inflicted with "spiritual" fire, not
literal. Isn't this comforting? :-)
Jesus loves all the children of the world, but after they reach the
age of accountability (which may be
anywhere from 7 to 13), they too will be punished
"forever"--with infinite pain--for not having made wise and
timely choices.
The church has been "called out" by God to go to
heaven, and He has (er...reluctantly) destined
the world for hell.
Justice, like holiness is also the opposite quality to Love, and
we must remember that God is not only love, He
is also just. Therefore when He acts justly, He
behaves unlovingly; and when He behaves lovingly, He behaves
unjustly. That is why he MUST punish people for all eternity.
Nevertheless, God is far better than any earthly father. He is
far more loving and wise and compassionate
than any mortal dad could ever be. And He is
also more JUST than earthly fathers. He punishes HIS offspring for
all eternity whereas earthy fathers do not, because they fall
short of
being as just as God is.
Jesus prayed on the cross for His torturers: "Father
forgive them, for they know not what they
do." But the Father knew His Son was wrong about
that! After all, He remembered that they were "without
excuse" (according to Romans 1).
Therefore He ignored Jesus' prayer since it apparently
was uttered in ignorance and motivated by a false sense of mercy. Ahem!
Er, we won't go so far as to say that Jesus SINNED by
praying contrary to His Father's will... Nevertheless,
only those people who ASK for forgiveness in a
wise and timely fashion (as we have done)
will receive it!
Jesus loves you sooooo much, but you'd better walk softly before the
FATHER!!!
Jesus is the nice and merciful Second Person of the Trinity, and the
Father is First Person of the Trinity and the STERN and HOLY One.
God was sooooo furious with Adam and Eve for sinning that He had to
get blood out of someone! Therefore, in
order to appease His righteous indignation He
sent His Son to earth to be beaten to a pulp and mutilated
instead of getting even with Adam and Eve and all their
hopelessly sin-impaired posterity.
God feels very offended because His delicate dignity has been
insulted by all the human race who fail to
worship Him because they are dead in trespasses
and sins and utterly unable to seek or worship Him or to save
themselves.
At the same time, our Heavenly Father is so grand of heart and spirit
that you can be sure that He UNDERSTANDS even your worst
frailties. And He is the meekest and most
gentle and sensible Person in the universe.
God also has a rollicking good sense of humor! On the other hand, He
disapproves of foolish talk and jokes and is watching you to see
whether or not you will REPENT and start
giving Him thanks! For it is also true that
the Lord loves to be praised, encouraged, extolled, and worshipped, and
He is VERY angry with people who ignore Him or worship Him in the
incorrect manner. So you can forget about Hindus and Buddhists
and Moslems and people outside of OUR correct
"
NONdenomination" going to heaven!!! Well, a few
others might be there, and that is because perhaps
IN THEIR HEARTS they were among the Lord's chosen. But it is
probably best not to preach this publicly, because it weakens
the gospel.
Also the Father's wrath is not really yet appeased by Jesus' death on
the cross. And that is because He is still sooooo MAD because
people who are "dead in trespasses and
sins" have kept on sinning rather than turn to
him because He has CLEARLY revealed Himself in the rocks and trees
and birds and bees and sun, moon and stars!!! So at long last,
2000 years ago, He had to send His Son to die on the cross to save the
world--although it was far too late to REALLY save it because
myriad numbers of its inhabitants had already
gone to hell. And all because they refused to
respond to the rocks and trees etc. when they were fully
capable of doing so, even though original sin had rendered them
totally depraved and unable to seek God
(necessitating that Christ come into the world? Aw, it's just another
paradox that must be accepted in childlike faith.
But that's no problem for us diligent and stouthearted. . . and. .
."humble" ones! Right?)
Salvation is totally a gift; you cannot earn or produce it by good
works. On the other hand, my aunt Suzie died and went home to her
"heavenly reward." And you will never receive your
"heavenly reward" and will spend
eternity in hell--unless you show GENUINE faith, as is
validated by works of obedience. For faith without works is dead.
Therefore, dying in sin is also dying in unbelief. However, God
may be
merciful to some people who die in sin, but DON'T count on
it--especially with YOUR kind of sin!
The Lord loves everyone unconditionally--even those whom He burns in
hell for eternity for not having met certain conditions (as
we did! :-)) before it was too late.
Salvation means gift. Actually it means reward. On the other hand, it
means gift. Yet in a real sense it also means reward. On the
other hand salvation means rescue--not reward.
But then again, YOU must. . . etc. . . etc. . .etc. . .or God is out of
here forever, and your free gift is forfeit!
REAL faith is shown by obedience! (Oh well, ahem! It is a
great mystery. But try not to worry about it much. Just keep
coming to the meetings and paying tithes
faithfully and do as we say, and you'll
probably be all right!)
If we ask anything that is according to God's will, the Bible says
that He hears us and that we have the
petitions we have desired of Him. On the other
hand, although the Bible says it is God's will that all people
be saved and that we are to pray for their salvation, we also
know that THIS prayer will NOT be granted.
Not ever. After all, God is a Great Gambler at
heart (even though He knows the future with absolute certainty)
and He gave people "free will" so that they could seek Him
and find Him before it's forever too late. Just as we ourselves
have so wisely done? Well, no. That would mean
that our wisdom has saved us, and that is
unscriptural. Ahem! Er... well...uh....Actually,
free will is another great mystery. Just
accept this deep paradox in childlike faith and
be glad that YOU are going to heaven. Once you are there, God will pull
the plug on your memories of your dear grandmother who nurtured you
sacrificially. Thus you can freely worship Him as He burns
her alive with "spiritual" fire for
eternity. And all because she failed do as we did--that
is, to properly exercise her free will to choose Christ before
it was too late.
You shouldn't say "Good luck!" to people. That dishonors
God. There's no such thing as chance or luck,
for HE IS SOVEREIGN AND RULES OVER ALL AFFAIRS.
On the other hand, many people will be lost for all eternity
because they failed to recognize their "chance" to
receive Jesus before it was forever too late. Come to Jesus
while there is still a "chance!" Keep
showing faith by your works of obedience, while there is a
"chance"!
People who commit suicide go to hell because they die before they
have a "chance" to repent of their
sin before their spirit leaves their body. So
are you despairing to the point of wanting to take your own life?
Don't risk it, buddy! (or sis!) If you commit suicide YOUR LOVING
HEAVENLY FATHER WILL TEACH YOU WHAT *REAL* DESPAIR IS FOR ALL
ETERNITY.
(But of course, He will always love you. :-))
Because people have a free will, there is the "chance" that
many will fail to choose Christ before it is
too late.
So you think you have been "once saved always saved," do
you? People who have been TRULY saved don't .
. . etc.etc..etc... Also, don't forget
that backsliders are showing good evidence that they have not
been truly saved, and if they DIE in that state, it doesn't look very
hopeful. Don't you remember the Scripture that
says, "They went out from us that it
might be manifest that they were not of us"? (And according to most
church tradition that means "they NEVER WILL be of
us.")
Our church is er...grace-oriented, and NOT legalistic.
Therefore we don't preach publically about
hell, even though billions of eternal destinies
are at stake. LEGALISTS thunder the "hell fire and
brimstone" message. But we
grace-oriented Christians keep it on "back file" and
gently teach and explain it in our new converts classes.
Nowadays these are conducted in a
"nonreligious manner"--even on hikes and fun outings as we
fellowship around a cozy campfire. :-)
Yes, I believe in an endless hell that awaits billions of people, and
if you are committed to sound doctrine YOU will believe it too.
On the other hand, if you come thundering
hell fire and brimstone messages, you will NOT
be welcome in our church. We believe in LOVE!
So there it is, folks. You have just read a brief summary of the gobbledygook
gospel that I was taught over the years--and had the roller
coaster ride of your life. And sad to say, this is the utter
nonsense that much of organized/agonized churchianity is still
proclaiming as "gospel" to a pain-wracked and needy
world. Is it any wonder that people by the
billions are avoiding riding this religious roller
coaster?
After all, gospel means GOOD NEWS. Do the above gross contradictions
sound like heart-ravishing good news to you? Uh oh! Have I left
out any deep and mysterious paradoxes that
would help nurture anyone's faith?
Hmmm... Let's see now... What others might we add for the edification
of those readers who are looking for yet more "chances"
to believe all the right doctrines and do all
the right stuff in order to receive the "free
gift" of their "Heavenly reward" ? :-)
Closing out... Dear reader, the message above is simply a good humored
exposé of the mangled message that I once confused for the
authentic good news of Jesus Christ. It isn't
intended to be a slam against folks that
sincerely proclaim it, for I myself embraced that hope-destroying
ideology for many years. I sincerely believed it too. Or rather,
I earnestly tried to believe it. And I fully
realize that I cannot credit myself for having
seen the errors in that incomplete and contradictory
message and for coming into the wonderful revelation God's UNfailing
love. It was HIS doing, not mine. Jesus Himself tells us that a
person has only that which Heaven has given to
him or her.
However, having been set free by His grace, my prayer is that somehow
the Lord will empower me to expose the satanic lies that alienate
many hurting--and thinking-- people from
hoping in Him. Have you grown weary to the
bone of all the religious double-speak and abuse that masquerades
as "love" and "good news"?
Does it nauseate you to hear God spoken of as though He were a pompous
being of delicate dignity that DEMANDS worship "or
else!"-- and at the same time -- spoken of
as being a gentle and gracious Heavenly Father? If so
-- wonderful!
That is evidence that you're on the brink of a life-changing
breakthrough. I pray that my own testimony will be of encouragement to
you. It is found on this webpage, primarily under the
titles, "Daddy, What If?" and "Heavenly Dog"
and "Absolute Assurance in Jesus
Christ."
God loves you with total and unconditional commitment, and He will NEVER
give up on you. Not ever. Nor will He ever give up on your loved
ones! Once this authentic and Biblical Good
News "comes home" to your weary heart--I
can promise you--that you will never be the same again.
May our Gracious Father God of infinite kindness lead you into
ever-expanding dimensions of the height, depth, width, and length of His
never-failing love... (Eph.3:14-21)
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