Notions plaguing the church range from the heretical “prosperity” and “word of faith” gospels; to this made up thing called “the imminent rapture;” to bizarre manifestations like the “slain in the spirit” or “holy laughter” phenomenon; to the view that the Holy Bible clearly indicates UFO activity is a part of the fallacious “end times” scenario (to cite just a few).
All of these have collided in such a manner as to have lulled an alarming number of believers into a zombie-like state.
If the problems were limited to the theistic hokum broadcast on so-called Christian TV things might be different. If they were confined to a few fringe denominations then things might be different as well. Sadly, they are not.
The Christian religion is in a state of crisis and by all appearances things are not likely to change anytime soon. What passes for biblical theology these days the great Protestant reformers would surely have regarded as tripe, if not outright heresy, or perhaps even insanity.
This is not to indict each individual Christian within the institutional church, that is, the laity. No, this malignancy starts from the top down.
Seminaries are turning out pastors who are often a poorly-educated, undiscerning sort. And what “knowledge” these “shepherds” do possess is typically soiled by the nonsense they are spoon-fed like so much infantile pabulum.
While this might seem harsh and un-Christ-like to many, consider the words Jesus used in rebuking the false teachers and prophets during his earthly ministry. At various times he referred to individuals as “pigs” and “dogs” (Matthew 7), “hypocrites” and “snakes” who were “ like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean” (Matthew 23), and even “perverse,” (Luke 9).
Singularly unwilling or unable to benefit from the lessons of the scriptures and/or history, Christian leaders today continue to promulgate a watered-down and often times grotesquely distorted version of theology. The fact that they so brazenly do this accompanied by the invocation “in Jesus name” only exacerbates the issue.
The simple truth is that the truth is simple. God created the heavens and the earth. His plan for the world and mankind was perfect. Mankind however “fell” in disobedience. God being rich in mercy and patience reconciled mankind to himself by his grace as implemented thought the atoning blood of Christ on the cross.
For whatever reason, call it pride, arrogance, avarice, or ignorance, the majority of Christian teachers and preachers today have convoluted the simplicity of the Gospel to the point it is nearly indistinguishable. It is not unlike a pristine crystal mountain spring whose water becomes filled with contaminants the further it gets from the source.
Whatever motivates theological seminaries and the clergy they churn out in this day and age, the end result is that the pulpit is polluted and the faithful have become anesthetized.
Even worse, whenever a person who takes the Bible seriously tries to point out the folly of this felonious prattling one typically finds that the zombies are wont to obstinately defend their zombie-kings and give one a sound zombie-tongue lashing in the process.
