Religious Religion-Haters

In many emergent and charismatic churches across the USA, there is a new phrase that has become very popular. It goes like this: "I don't want to be religious. I just want to have a relationship with Jesus."

Doesn't that sound so good?

In case you've never heard that, here's what it means: "I don't want to talk about meaningless junk, act hypocritical, or try to show that I know about God. I just want to have a relationship with Jesus."

It's a wonderful statement, especially considering how much the church has gathered dislike for its generally religious behavior. It's really a wonderful thing to actually desire a relationship with God over looking good in church. But here's the problem...that phrase doesn't mean anything anymore. It's been so overused that now, it is no more than a religious phrase. It's a meaningless statement for most church people.

But there is one difference between the new religion and the old one. The old religion, though it was stale, boring and cold, had something behind it. Whatever you want to say about the old religious people, there's no denying that most of them had solid knowledge of the Bible. The new religion is built 100% on an often nonexistent relationship, because it is impossible to have a relationship with anyone with no knowledge of that person.

Recently, I overheard a very interesting statement:

"I avoid doctrine entirely. I just want Jesus."

Is this really what people think? That there's something wrong with having beliefs?

Many aspects of the new churches are good--like the emphasis on relationships. But there is a major problem with them as well, in that no one knows anything. When an entire church is built around feelings, there's a problem. It is good to know the Bible. It is good to have real knowledge about God.

So seek a relationship with God...but don't stop there. Also learn who He is, and what He has to say.

Thank you for your valuable time,
Mitchell

Aaaaaargh!

Yes, as the (capitalized) title suggests, I am unhappy and frustrated. This is because people are frequently stupid.

Let me tell you about someone I know. We'll call him Timmy, because Timmy is not his name.

Timmy lives in a Christian home. He goes to church and hears about Jesus, Heaven, Hell, etc. frequently. He believes in God and all that goes with this belief. Or at least, that's what he says if you ask him directly.

But look at the evidence. He lives entirely in the pursuit of fulfilling his desires. He's full of rudeness, anger, bitterness and everything that makes him not fun to be around. A good way of summing him up would be this: Timmy lives in the Moment, for the Moment, and is constantly searching for a way to make the Moment more intensely pleasurable.

I don't understand this mindset at all. How can a person believe in God and the eternity that goes with Him, and still live for the Moment--for what's happening here and now.

It's like this:

Imagine Alaska. Alaska is a cold place for most of the year, but for a few months, the weather turns beautiful, and hovers at a constant comfortable. This is how the seasons work: cold, warm, cold.

Now imagine the people of Alaska. Personally, if I lived in a cold place, I would want warm clothes, a warm house, and a really nice guitar (I'd like that last one anywhere I lived). So here you are in your warm clothes and warm house, playing your nice guitar, and you realize that the weather is warm.

"Hallelujah!" you say. "It isn't cold today!"

In excitement and jubilee, you put on shorts and flip-flops, and burn your jackets and fur coats. Then you knock down your warm house, and sit outside in the grass to play your nice guitar. Then the winter comes. The temperature drops well below zero, and then where are you? Frozen solid.

That's what Timmy is--and many others are--doing right now. This life is a season. It's a moment. It's a vapor. Nothing. In God's eyes, your life is shorter than a yard to Usain Bolt. So why, Timmy, do you insist on doing so many dumb things in this life? Don't you get it?

In eternity, there is no measurement of time, because there is no way to measure infinity. I can't even put it into words. Please, stop for a moment and think about it.

And then change.

Mr. Obama

You may have heard about some guy named Barrack Obama recently. In case you haven't, he's running for president right now. I agree with just about nothing that he says. I think he's probably a communist, and he is going to be the worst president that America has ever had.

So this prompts a question. How can I remain loyal to both this country and my God?

In Matthew 22, Jesus is tested by the Pharisees. They ask him basically the same question. They ask "is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not?" He responds that we should give to the government what is theirs, and give to God what is His. Also in other places we are instructed to respect authority and the laws of our country.

So if I disagree with everything said by our country's leader, is it morally right to support him through my loyalty?

Jesus, who was kind of an expert on morality, said yes. But this is no simple yes--it's not exactly "support everything your leader does."

Remember, we as Christians are not of this world. We belong to the Kingdom of God. However, we still live here, and so we still have to function in this place. If I decided to stop paying taxes so that my support doesn't go to a failed government, I'll probably go to jail.

We have to obey the law as a matter of survival, but we still have to place God and His Kingdom first.

I haven't signed out this way in a long time, but,

Goodbye, valiant reader,
Mitchell

forgetfulness

The next problem involves not remembering. This is not, however, the kind of thing that can be fixed easily with some ginkgo. This is a different sort of forgetting.

There are actually two kinds of forgetting. There's simple and complex forgetfulness. Simple is easy enough to figure out. This is when you don't make a list, and end up not buying cheese at the grocery store. The other, complex forgetfulness, is more about when you forget only some of the details.

This is a much more select kind of forgetfulness. It's typically found in conversations between two people about another who is not present. It's when person A says to person B something about the non-present person C, but doesn't mention certain details. This means that person C sounds worse than he really is.

This is called gossip. Most people say gossip is about people exaggerating, but I disagree. I think it's more subtle than that. Exaggeration very quickly becomes unbelievable. It tends to grow faster than dandelions, but most people can figure out that it's been exaggerated. But missing details are worse. It's all about missing the good things about someone in order to stress the bad things.

The solution is hard. Don't say anything negative about other people.

Proverbs 10:18He who conceals his hatred has lying lips, and whoever spreads slander is a fool.

Notice, it says whoever conceals his hatred, not whoever has hatred, is a fool. Get it out. Talk to the person you don't like. That will work a whole lot better than harboring your anger.

being happy

I think happiness is a huge problem. Not, of course, for the people who actually are happy, but for the people who aren't. These people, who may have sad and pathetic lives or may be billionares, see other people who are happy, and realize that they are not. "So what's wrong with me?" they wonder, but there seems to be no reason for their unhappiness.

The problem is widespread, but mostly only in countries such as the United States. Because the source of the problem is not really happy people, because happy people are annoying to non-happy people, but in fake-happy-people. This is very similar to the first problem of false saviors. We see actors on TV who are not really as happy as they appear. So then, from there, it's easy to leap to the conclusion that we are missing something.

We aren't missing something because we're not as plastic as an actor.

Because the problem is so similar to the first, the solution is too. It involves thinking mentally in your mind. Being self aware. If you know what happiness is, you won't be fooled into thinking you don't have happiness. So I have a challenge for you:

Look in your Bible's concordance for the words "happiness" and "joy." You'll find a lot there, and it all involves God. Like most problems, God has the only answer. (I think I just gave away most of my solutions.)

Here's a start:

Ecclesiastes 5:19Moreover, when God gives any man wealth and possessions, and enables him to enjoy them, to accept his lot and be happy in his work—this is a gift of God.

Happiness is the gift of God.

Also, happiness is about enjoying what you have, not having stuff.

Trust me, studying happiness is a lot more interesting and enjoyable that watching fake happiness on TV.

The False Savior

As it turns out, I didn't post yesterday. Internet went temporarily down, and I am currently writing as fast as possible so that I can get this post out. So here it is. . .

One of the biggest problems in America right now is that of false saviors. I'm not, however, referring here to an anti-Christ. I'm talking about what some might call "smart marketing." I'm talking about a method of advertising that involves a rather obviously subtle deception.

Here is what I'm talking about:

Imagine you see an ad on TV. This ad is for the newest Ford truck. On this ad they talk about how much better it is than anything that has ever come before.

Or maybe an ad for a cell phone companies. They talk a lot about how with their newest plan, you'll be able to talk with friends, relatives, etc for much cheaper. This will make you happier.

The list goes on, but the point is just that marketing almost universally involves saying that whatever it is you have is not as good as what they're trying to sell you.

So now, let's imagine that you go out and buy the truck, cell phone plan or potato peeler. You drive in it, call with it or peel with it, and yes, you are happier while it's new. But the problem is, the truck gets dirty and dented. The phone becomes obsolete, and the potato peeler breaks. And you're in the same place you were before. Your smile isn't as big as the smiles on the faces of the people on TV.

These corporations are not saviors. They're salesmen. We may know that intellectually, but we don’t know it. We may not claim that the truck is our salvation, but we feel like it is. Our feelings, so typically, have lied to us.

Although I had claimed yesterday that I was going to hide the answers, I changed my mind. Instead, I’m putting the solution to this problem at the bottom of the page. Here it is:

Because the problem is more personal than not, and we can’t stop the company from changing their ads, instead we have to find our own way out of this one. Basically, we have to somehow realize that we don’t need this new truck, and that even if we do get it, we won’t be made instantly happy.

That’s the best I can offer. Be aware that nothing is going to change just because you have a new thing. If I bought the best guitar in the world, and the best amplifiers and strings and everything else, I still wouldn’t be the best guitarist. I would be a mediocre guitarist with expensive stuff. Similarly, If your life is miserable, it has nothing to do with what you own (there are exceptions, maybe, but I’m willing to guess that if you have access to this blog, you’re not homeless.)

So there you are. This is all I’ve got. You can stop reading now.

My List of Problems

I used to go to a church where the pastor did a lot of series. His series typically lasted for years. I'm going to start my own series now, but I don't think it's going to last for years. I'm not good at stretching a subject out very far.

The subject of this series is problems. Some are vast, worldwide problems and some are small, lonely problems. However, I'm going to do more than give a multi-week list of problems. I'm also going to give the solution, because I think every problem has a solution.

Really, the main reason for reading these (sometimes) depressing posts is the solutions. So I'm going to hide the solution. It will be obvious enough if you read the post, but this way you can't just skip to the bottom of the page.

So get ready, because tomorrow I'm going to talk about false saviors, and the difficult solution to the problem.

Happy Mother's Day

If you are reading this today (Sunday, May 11), and you are a mother, then happy Mother's Day. If you're not a mother, and yet you're reading a blog post with such a mother-directed title--shame on you.

Christians

Now that I have proven Christianity (to my own satisfaction, at least), I will make the following statement: Christians are stupid. They are not universally stupid, but many are foolish nonetheless. This can be summed up in the phenomena of evolution.

I don't personally believe in evolution. I don't think that the evidence supports it. I think that scientists should carefully search through what little evidence there is, and carefully reconsider the theory. However, many Christians have a better idea how to disprove it.

"The Bible says the world was made in six days, so evolution is wrong."

What a brilliant idea. It's sort of like being your own witness in court. If the Bible is the thing in question here, then how can we use it as evidence? Christians are killing themselves with their stupidity. Those of us who think (yes, I am including myself in the thinking group) don't want to be lumped together with the others, but we are anyway. We're technically part of the same religion, and so therefore we must be as stupid as the rest.

So let's start thinking, and stop saying "I want it to be this way and so it is." All we're doing is making ourselves look like two-year-olds.

Happiness

Have you ever wondered how to be happy? Here's the answer:

How happy are those whose way is blameless, who live according to the law of the LORD!
Happy are those who keep His decrees and seek Him with all their heart.
They do nothing wrong; they follow His ways.
You have commanded that Your precepts be diligently kept.
If only my ways were committed to keeping Your statutes!
Then I would not be ashamed when I think about all Your commands.
I will praise You with a sincere heart when I learn Your righteous judgments.
I will keep Your statutes; never abandon me

These are the first eight verses of Psalm 119 (if you don't believe me, look it up. This is from the Holman CSB, in case you were wondering). I've read Psalm 119 several times before, mostly because I wanted to know what the longest chapter in the Bible had to say. However, I've never really read it very closesly.

This first eight verses speak massively beyond what they sound like at first. It tells us everything that everyone has always wanted to know. It gives us the key to happiness. Look at the first verse. "How happy are those whose way is blameless, who live according to the law of the LORD."

How happy. Do you want to be happy? Become blameless. Follow God. Do what He says. That's all there is to it.

When I first read this, I made a realization: life is a thing that matters. The number of people who question this fact is small, I think, compared with those who don't. I've never questioned it, but these verses made me realize how true it is.

If God has given us an entire book--or rather, an anthology of 66 books--on how to be happy, and how to live well, then life matters.

And there's yet another fact to be learned from this: it is vital to study the Bible. It is absolutely vital a relevant life on earth. The more you study God's Word, the better your life will become.

That's all I have to say,
Mitchell

Ten Commandments Minus One

It was my intention to talk some more about faith today. But instead, I'm going to talk about something else. As I mentioned very briefly, faith without works is dead. So what are works? This is important to determine before we can decide anything else.

Works means two things. The first is doing what God wants us to do, such as telling others about Jesus and such. The second is simply not sinning. So here's where ther question comes up: what does it mean to sin?

Sin is determined by the Law. The Law states what is sin, and the most commonly known part of the law is the Ten Commandments. Here's a list of the Ten Commandments (found in Exodus 20)

1 You will have no gods before The God

2 You will not have any idols (i.e. things that you place before God)

3 You will not misuse the name of God

4 Remember the Sabbath and keep it holy

5 Honor your parents

6 Don't murder

7 Don't adulterate

8 Don't steal

9 Don't lie

10 Don't covet

Which one is hardest to keep? I would say number 2. It's hard to focus more on God than on anything else. Which one is kept the least often? This one, interestingly enough, is also the easiest to keep. It's number 4.

What is the Sabbath? The Sabbath is the seventh day of the week (Saturday), which is intended by God to be a holy day. On the Sabbath, we are supposed to do no unnecessary work and spend our time worshipping God. How often do we do this? The not working part is easy--plenty of people manage to just do nothing on Saturday. However, we don't do the keeping-holy part of it.

The Law shows us what sin is and isn't (I'm not even talking about the complexities of sacrifice and the Feasts--just the Ten Commandents). If the Law says to do something, then not doing it is a sin, and vice-versa. The Law says to keep the Sabbath. So why don't we?

Goodbye, valiant reader,
Mitchell

Note: I have a new label for my posts. Important. This is for things that simply need to be said, regardless of their depth.