|
Titus 1:16 (Go to this verse :: Verse pop-up)
Most Americans believe the Founding Fathers of this republic were Christian men. They, for the most part, were men of considerable education, ample wealth, and high moral character, who had a wonderful but carnal vision of a nation. Their morality was indeed largely in agreement with biblical morality, but true Christians they were not, even though they and others would identify themselves as Christians. On the other hand, they were not secularists, who believe in no God or that He has no influence on their lives. Some of them were Deists, who believe God exists and created all things but do not truly believe God as a true Christian does. Deists do not believe God is actively involved, participating in, and governing His creation. They do not believe the great God is moving history and time toward a predetermined end. They essentially believe God created, stepped aside, and now merely "watches" what is going on. To them, the Creator is not actively working out any real purpose other than that He is "saving" men. Thus, they did not believe themselves subject to Him in understanding and loving cooperation. As good as it is—and it is better than any other nation that has ever existed with the exception of ancient Israel at Mount Sinai—America's constitutional foundation, which places the greatest burden of governance on individual responsibility, is still nonetheless flawed by the Protestant Reformation. The Protestant Reformation burst from Catholicism. All the reformers thought of the Catholic Church as the true church gone corrupt, but the truth is that the Catholic Church was never the true church, and the Protestant Reformation did not reestablish the true religion. The Catholic Church is exactly what it has always publicly called itself: It is the Roman Universal Church. It is a syncretic religion, that is, it possesses some biblical truths but its roots are in pagan Babylon. Despite the fact that it calls itself the church of God, it is not the church of God. The Protestant Reformation simply splintered away from that syncretic religion, altering some onerous doctrines and practices but rejecting many clear biblical teachings. It established denominations of false religions masquerading as the true religion. It simply reformed the Roman Universal Church into many varieties without a pope, altered ceremonial requirements, and greatly reduced many of the more obvious corruptions. The Israelitish people then proceeded to spread these hybrid religions all over the world by colonizing other areas. These new faiths were better than the Roman Universal variety but still not the truth. Was God involved in it? Absolutely! He governs His entire creation, and something of this magnitude could not have happened without His oversight. It did produce the release of many people from a great deal of religious and political slavery. It provided some of the impetus for colonization of other areas of the earth that God set aside for Israelitish people. However, modern Protestantism has lost the cutting edge it once had, resulting in the loss of a great deal of influence. A number of years ago, a Protestant pastor commented that the church has become good at turning wine into water. In many cases, its services and teachings are nothing more than entertaining paganism and in other cases, a Sunday morning fraternal organization. Morality has fallen in the streets. As one recent writer proclaimed, America, largely a Protestant nation, is being swept away in a homosexual and pornographic tsunami. Satan's deception has created a problem for the true church because its members gradually tend to accept as true Satan's lie that Israel is "Christian," thus feeling a spiritual affinity with their countrymen that has no basis in fact. Israel's modern "Christianity" makes doctrine of little or no importance, leaving everyone free to do what is right in his own eyes (Judges 21:25). If gradually accepted, it will produce the same tolerant, nonjudgmental, just-do-your-own-thing, politically correct, multicultural Laodiceanism we see so commonly in Israelitish countries. When this happens, faith in the sovereign God to govern His creation vanishes, and people generally find justifications for idolatry, for Sabbath breaking, for murder, for lying, and for adultery. The so-called "Christian" nation finds justification for murder on a massive scale by calling its young men and women to fight its "just" wars. Did Jesus ever use any of these methods to solve His problems? Modern Israel's religious beliefs and practices are reminiscent of Paul's comment in Titus 1:16 about some people of his day: "They profess to know God, but in works they deny Him, being abominable, disobedient, and disqualified for every good work." Jeremiah 17:9 says, "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked." Thus, widespread spiritual adultery is committed by a nation that symbolically entered into a marriage covenant with God but whose works of faithlessness have become a way of life. Idolatry on an unrecognized but huge scale, Sabbath breaking, dishonoring parents, murder in a wide variety of ways, breaking of marriage vows through adultery and multiple marriages, lying, and coveting have become a lifestyle, committed and justified for moments of self-absorbed gratification and ease. Today, it is packaged for export two ways: on the movie screen as "entertainment" for the masses, and through the combination of advertising and business practices. By these, we have drugged others with our wine into a way of life to be imitated if one desires to have personal fulfillment, wealth, and national political and military power.
John W. Ritenbaugh
The Beast and Babylon (Part Six): The Woman's Character
|
Printer-Friendly
E-mail this page
