| Subject: Christendom, God & The Bible. |
Author:
BTL
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Date Posted: 02/23/04 11:39am
In reply to:
BTL
's message, "Christendom" on 02/23/04 11:34am
>Christendom Has Betrayed
>God and the Bible
>
>People in many lands have avoided the Bible and have
>lacked respect for it because of the bad conduct of
>those who claim to follow it. In certain lands it has
>been said that the Bible is a book that leads to war,
>that it is a white man's book, and that it is a book
>that supports colonialism. But those are mistaken
>views.
>
>The Bible, written in the Middle East, does not
>support the colonial wars and greedy exploitation that
>have been carried on in the name of Christianity for
>such a long time. On the contrary, by reading the
>Bible and learning the teachings of true Christianity
>taught by Jesus, you will see that the Bible strongly
>condemns warring, immorality, and the exploiting of
>others. The fault lies with greedy people, not with
>the Bible. (1 Corinthians 13:1-6; James 4:1-3; 5:1-6;
>1 John 4:7, 8) So do not let the misconduct of selfish
>people who live contrary to the Bible's good counsel
>prevent your benefiting from its treasures.
>
>Included among those who do not live by the Bible are
>the peoples and nations of Christendom. "Christendom"
>is defined as that part of the world where
>Christianity prevails. It is largely the Western world
>with its church systems, which from about the fourth
>century C.E. became prominent. Christendom has had the
>Bible for centuries, and its clergy claim to teach it
>and to be God's representatives. But do the clergy and
>missionaries of Christendom teach the truth? Do their
>actions really represent God and the Bible? Does
>Christianity really prevail in Christendom? No. Since
>its religion came to the forefront in the fourth
>century, Christendom has proved to be an enemy of God
>and of the Bible. Yes, the facts of history show that
>Christendom has betrayed God and the Bible.
>
>Unbiblical Doctrines
>
>The fundamental doctrines of Christendom are based not
>on the Bible but on ancient myths—those of Greece,
>Egypt, Babylon, and others. Teachings such as the
>inherent immortality of the human soul, eternal
>torment in hellfire, purgatory, and the Trinity (three
>persons in one Godhead) are not found in the Bible.
>
>
>Dante's "Inferno"
>
>For example, consider the teaching that bad people
>will be tortured forever in a fiery hell. How do you
>feel about this idea? Many find it repugnant. They
>find it unreasonable that God would forever torture
>humans, keeping them in excruciating pain. Such a
>fiendish idea is contrary to the God of the Bible, for
>"God is love." (1 John 4:8) The Bible is clear that
>such a teaching 'had not come into the heart' of
>Almighty God.—Jeremiah 7:31; 19:5; 32:35.
>
>
>Hindu trinity
>
>Today many religions, including the churches of
>Christendom, teach that humans have an immortal soul,
>which at death goes to heaven or hell. This is not a
>Bible teaching. Instead, the Bible clearly states:
>"The living are conscious that they will die; but as
>for the dead, they are conscious of nothing at all, .
>. . for there is no work nor devising nor knowledge
>nor wisdom in Sheol [the grave], the place to which
>you are going." (Ecclesiastes 9:5, 10) And the
>psalmist states that at death man "goes back to his
>ground; in that day his thoughts do perish."—Psalm
>146:4.
>
>Recall, too, that when Adam and Eve broke God's law,
>the punishment was not immortality. That would have
>been a reward, not a punishment! Instead, they were
>told that they would "return to the ground, for out of
>it [they] were taken." God emphasized to Adam: "For
>dust you are and to dust you will return." (Genesis
>3:19) Thus, the teaching of inherent immortality of
>the soul is not in the Bible but was borrowed by
>Christendom from non-Christian peoples who lived
>before them.
>
>
>Christendom's Trinity
>
>Also, Christendom's Trinity doctrine portrays God as
>some mysterious three-in-one God. But that teaching is
>not found in the Bible either. For instance, at Isaiah
>40:25, God clearly states: "To whom can you people
>liken me so that I should be made his equal?" The
>answer is obvious: No one can be his equal. Also,
>Psalm 83:18 simply states: "You, whose name is
>Jehovah, you alone are the Most High over all the
>earth."—See also Isaiah 45:5; 46:9; John 5:19; 6:38;
>7:16.
>
>The teachings of the Bible about God and his purposes
>are clear, easy to understand, and reasonable. But the
>teachings of Christendom's churches are not. Worse,
>they contradict the Bible.
>
>Ungodly Actions
>
>In addition to teaching false doctrines, Christendom
>has betrayed God and the Bible by her actions. What
>the clergy and churches have done in past centuries,
>and have continued to do in our time, is the opposite
>of what the God of the Bible requires and the opposite
>of what the Founder of Christianity, Jesus Christ,
>taught and did.
>
>For instance, Jesus taught his followers not to meddle
>in this world's political affairs nor to get involved
>in its wars. He also taught them to be peace-loving,
>to be law-abiding, to have love for their fellow
>humans free from any prejudice, even being willing to
>sacrifice their own lives rather than take the lives
>of others.—John 15:13; Acts 10:34, 35; 1 John 4:20, 21.
>
>Indeed, Jesus taught that love for other humans would
>be the mark that would identify true Christians from
>false Christians, pretenders. He said to those who
>would follow him: "I am giving you a new commandment,
>that you love one another; just as I have loved you,
>that you also love one another. By this all will know
>that you are my disciples, if you have love among
>yourselves." —John 13:34, 35; 15:12.
>
>Contrary to the teachings of Jesus, the clergy on both
>sides have backed wars
>
>
>Yet, century after century, the clergy of Christendom
>have meddled in politics and have supported the wars
>of their nations. They have even supported the
>opposing sides in wars within Christendom, such as the
>two world wars of this century. In those conflicts the
>clergy on each side prayed for victory, and members of
>one religion from one country were killing members of
>that same religion from another country. But that is
>how the Bible says Satan's children, not God's, act.
>(1 John 3:10-12, 15) Thus, while the clergy and their
>followers have claimed to be Christian, they have
>contradicted the teachings of Jesus Christ, who told
>his followers to 'put away the sword.'—Matthew 26:51,
>52.
>
>For centuries the churches collaborated with the
>political powers of Christendom when those nations
>conquered, enslaved, and humiliated other peoples
>during the age of imperialism. That was the case for
>centuries in Africa. China too experienced this, when
>Western nations carved out spheres of influence by
>force, as during the Opium Wars and the Boxer
>Rebellion.
>
>The religions of Christendom have also been in the
>forefront of the persecuting, torturing, and even
>killing of those who disagreed with them during those
>centuries of history called the Dark Ages. During the
>Inquisition, which lasted for hundreds of years,
>fiendish practices, such as torture and murder, were
>authorized and carried out against decent, innocent
>people. The perpetrators were the clergy and their
>followers, all of whom claimed to be Christian. They
>even tried to stamp out the Bible so that the common
>people could not read it.
>
>Not Christian
>
>No, the nations and churches of Christendom were not,
>and are not, Christian. They are not God's servants.
>His inspired Word says of them: "They publicly declare
>they know God, but they disown him by their works,
>because they are detestable and disobedient and not
>approved for good work of any sort."—Titus 1:16.
>
>Jesus said that false religion could be identified by
>what it produced, its fruitage. He said: "Be on the
>watch for the false prophets that come to you in
>sheep's covering, but inside they are ravenous wolves.
>By their fruits you will recognize them. . . . Every
>good tree produces fine fruit, but every rotten tree
>produces worthless fruit; a good tree cannot bear
>worthless fruit, neither can a rotten tree produce
>fine fruit. Every tree not producing fine fruit gets
>cut down and thrown into the fire. Really, then, by
>their fruits you will recognize those [false
>prophets]."—Matthew 7:15-20.
>
>Thus, by what they have taught and what they have
>done, the religions of Christendom have demonstrated
>that their claim of believing in the Bible and of
>being God-fearing and Christian is a lie. They have
>betrayed God and the Bible. In doing so, they have
>disgusted millions of people and caused them to turn
>away from belief in a Supreme Being.
>
>However, the failure of the clergy and churches of
>Christendom, as well as the failure of other religions
>outside Christendom, does not mean the failure of the
>Bible. Nor does it mean that God has failed. Rather,
>the Bible tells us about a Supreme Being who does
>exist and who does care about us and our future. It
>shows how he will reward honesthearted people who want
>to do what is right, who want to see justice and peace
>prevail throughout the earth. It also shows why God
>has allowed wickedness and suffering to exist and how
>he will rid the earth of those who harm their
>fellowman, as well as those who claim to serve him but
>do not.
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