I received the following scripture verse and commentary today:
"Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they [also] which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen." (Revelation 1:7)
"Soon will be the coming of the Lord from clouds and on high! At long last, all creation will bow before Him in full recognition of His majesty and glory. Praise the Lord all you people! Lift His name on high! Bask in the redemptive power of His blood! Believe on Him and be saved in the final day!"
To which I responded:
"Why do you say the coming of the Lord will be soon? Wags have been sharing that dogma for thousands of years, possibly to scare ignorant people into salvation or to comfort the saints by using false prophecy. It's both misleading and unsupported by Scripture and it sounds like you know something you don't. No man can know such things. If that's your opinion, why not preface your statement by saying " I believe" before making such an unsupportable and misleading claim?
For the record, I believe that more harm is done to the cause of the Kingdom through the spreading of such bad dogma than all the affairs and failures of prominent Christians combined."
Flippant faith dogma, such as the opening line in the commentary above, is deadly because it presents personal suppositions as facts. So, when the facts don't pan out in real life experience, two things take the blame: 1) your faith, because you can't make it work like others say it ought to, and 2) God, because failed dogma makes His promises sound like blarney. Dogma is deadly to the spirit because it kills reason, ignores experience, calls for faith in man-made doctrine, creed or opinions and short-circuits the process by which sincere seekers of truth work out their own salvation.
Dogma is everywhere in the church and it blocks the believer's view of God, faith, prayer, repentance and reconciliation, to name a few.
Where do you see it, smell it or hear it?
I'd be interested in what you have to say.
Jack
What Matters About Me
- Jack C. Getz
- I am who I am, not what I have done. For those who care about pedigree, I have little more than being a former public school teacher and a pastor/denominational adminstrator. The following insights come from a couple of tests I took. They may explain why I am a Contrarian and why I decided to do a blog about it. The first test is a standardized personality profile. The second is something strange called a Brain Type test! 1)“Jack lives outside traditional boundaries and ahead of the curve. When others focus on limitations, Jack creates new possibilities and ideas. He is a doer, not just a dreamer. Well grounded in reality, logic and analytical thinking. He enjoys meeting and working with other creative and ambitious people...a fearless leader. Only 3-5% of U.S. population has these qualities.” 2) Jack's Intellectual Type is Word Warrior. This means he has exceptional verbal skills. He can can easily make sense of complex issues and takes an unusually creative approach to solving problems. His strengths also make him a visionary. Even without trying he's able to come up with lots of new and creative ideas. (Like blogging as Contrarian?)
This challenges common ideas about the purpose of praying. Not a rehash of old dogma.
Click Image to purchase - Search Jack Corbin Getz Or Check major online book sellers.
