I like various pages on facebook. Some pages I click on once in a while and some I click on daily. I hardly ever comment on any of the pages, I am mainly a lurker and browse what everyone else is saying and commenting on.
One page however has me clicking on it quite a bit cause it is about healthy eating. A couple of days ago on my healthy eating website, a lady innocently asked if anyone on the page was a certain religion, because it was lent and she had a question about eating meat on lent.
wow.
I mean WOW, did that question open up a LOT of pent up anger at religion.
I understand being wounded by religion and rules. Any religion that operates under man made imposed rules will inevitably wound people, I used to be wounded and I used to wound…so I get it. I understand.
But the degree of anger that one person roused is still going around and perpetuating itself like a self feeding giant. It is morphing into a life of its own, feeding the fire of it’s anger with more and more rage inspired posts!
And this is a HEALTHY EATING website……….it has zero to do with religion! (whew)
Well, rousing my curiosity, I visited a website of an extremely popular religion (no naming names) and read up on it’s beliefs.
The whole webpage was completely about earning your way into God’s favor. Here are just a couple of the rules that were on the page.
1. You had to repent within 21 days of committing your sin.
2. You had to ‘devoutly’ read one of their books for at least thirty minutes, in order to be granted grace.
Twenty-nine minutes wouldn’t cut it on God’s stopwatch, and repenting on the 22nd day after you sinned was too late. Grace had reached it’s expiration date and God’s anger at you now would begin.
It all makes me sigh.
Just sigh.
No WONDER there is so much anger at organized religion.
The anger displayed on the healthy eating page, towards organized religion was warranted.
Weary worn souls had been clucked at one too many times, by false teachers who presented them with a long list of rules and regulations that could earn them God’s approval. God’s love. Heavy rules, heavy burdens that were impossible to follow.
The thought that God would somehow be impressed with anything we could ever possibly do or say to grant us His Grace is ludicrous.
Nick, our son, came over the other day and showed me the lyrics from Brian Welch, the guy from Korn, newest song called ‘Die Religion Die’. Part of the song goes like this:
I’m sick of all your rules
They’re so man-made
You treat them all like fools
You put my name to shame
I’m everything you’re not
I give them love
My ways you have forgot
You put yourselves above
I’ll testify!
It’s time to see religion die!
The truth can’t lie!
It’s time to see religion die!
Who cares? Who’s right?
It’s time to see religion die!
I’ll crush the fight!
It’s time to see religion die!
My church is not inside your building walls
On Sundays you all hide, while the world just falls
Now go into the world and destroy Hell
You have authority, use it for the kill
Die Religion Die
Brian Welch
Ezekiel 34 has this to say about false shepherds:
God’s Message came to me: “Son of man, prophesy against the shepherd-leaders of Israel. Yes, prophesy! Tell those shepherds, ‘God, the Master, says: Doom to you shepherds of Israel, feeding your own mouths! Aren’t shepherds supposed to feed sheep? You drink the milk, you make clothes from the wool, you roast the lambs, but you don’t feed the sheep. You don’t build up the weak ones, don’t heal the sick, don’t doctor the injured, don’t go after the strays, don’t look for the lost. You bully and badger them. And now they’re scattered every which way because there was no shepherd—scattered and easy pickings for wolves and coyotes. Scattered—my sheep!—exposed and vulnerable across mountains and hills. My sheep scattered all over the world, and no one out looking for them!
“‘Therefore, shepherds, listen to the Message of God: As sure as I am the living God—Decree of God, the Master—because my sheep have been turned into mere prey, into easy meals for wolves because you shepherds ignored them and only fed yourselves, listen to what God has to say:
“‘Watch out! I’m coming down on the shepherds and taking my sheep back. They’re fired as shepherds of my sheep. No more shepherds who just feed themselves! I’ll rescue my sheep from their greed. They’re not going to feed off my sheep any longer!
“‘God, the Master, says: From now on, I myself am the shepherd. I’m going looking for them. As shepherds go after their flocks when they get scattered, I’m going after my sheep. I’ll rescue them from all the places they’ve been scattered to in the storms.
~There is actually a TRUE church arising out of the heap. This church is the sheep that once upon a time were butted around, but never lost faith despite the false teachers. If you look closely at them, they will have scars from being battered, and bruises from being slapped. These sheep will not look perfect, nor act perfect, for they know that it is not by their own perfection that they can attain Gods Grace.
~These sheep will probably look a lot like Brian Welch, with tattoos covering their body and bloodied knees, from falling down over and over…
These are the ones that the True Shepherd holds onto and dotes upon. ~Not because they recited something perfectly that man had written in a book, but because they trusted in something and Someone beyond their own abilities and actions.
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A Woman's Heart 