Seems like an obvious choice. But people who otherwise would never think of "religion" opt for church theology every Sunday. You can see how tempting this is. Tempting, because the theology of the corporate church has been designed to please. "But we follow the Bible" is the plea of every division of our religion.
So, why so many churches, and why such deep divergences? If you invent (or someone invents for you) a theology of your own, you may expect variations as different as the private lusts and fears of humanity. That is pretty varied.
Let me suggest a simple way to escape this confusion. It is a way to escape from the domination of ideas found nowhere in the Word of God. A simple, and uniform solution is to base your religion on a study of the Bible instead of one where you interpret the Bible according to your preconceived ideas garnered from our fallen natures.
But this would involve new seminaries, ones free from man and devil-made concepts. Yes, and this is just what I would love to see. You know my formula--a study Bible and a concordance.
Seems awfully sparse, but what a start. It could mean two new books in your living room book shelf. Then--and this may seem contradictory--Bible books of all kinds, from Augustine to modern writers. Check each one using your study Bible.
A pattern will develop--a pattern of truth. This pattern will guide you to understanding the Bible as no corporate preacher can.
It will also (guaranteed) brand you as a heretic. You will be in the best of company though, with Jesus and Paul, for example. You will not find peace with your family, friends, or church members. Only chaos and enmity will result as you contradict fallen human nature, even Satan himself.
But as one who has lived this path for many years, I offer another guarantee. You will have peace with God.
No comments:
Post a Comment