NEW ERA
If we overlook the “project church” through all ages and especially after the fourth century, you will not be really happy as a Christian; then, from a scientific point of view, there is a need to criticize all the different credentials and the from there adopted conclusions that have been considered good for humanity.
From a critical approach to all these religious groups, the legitimacy issue clearly arises.
People have been persecuted and murdered because of “believing in a different way” than prescribed by the regular churches.
Religions other than Christianity have suffered the same fate, even though the former often did the same thing.
The Christian faith in general became interwoven with political power and ideas.
In order to succeed in a Christian-oriented society, one could at least better present himself as a Christian.
The church, the churches, determined the well-being of its followers.
Those who did not obey were excluded, excommunicated as the mildest form of correction.
Only during and after the century of enlightenment did scientists in the Western countries gradually get enough space to practice real science, apart from the mores of the churches.
These abuses within the Christian churches however, have nothing to do with Christ.
Not at all!
Throughout all ages there have been reactions from individuals and groups of Christians who have reacted against many of these practices like Luther, Calvin, Zwingli, Johannes Hus and many others.
All of this resulted in new emphases on certain dogmas, but in general they remained true to many existing doctrines, despite the creation of new movements within the church.
Doing new wine in old bags is the proverbial result.
In this way we see the Lutheran and Dutch-Reformed churches emerge with the necessary separations later on.
For example the Mennonites, the Baptists, the Quakers, the Amish, the Pentecostal communities with all their own separations.
Every time new initiatives emerge to get closer to the Christ whom it all started with.
” The church, the churches, determined the well-being of its followers.Those who did not obey were excluded, excommunicated as the mildest form of correction; these abuses within the Christian churches however, have nothing to do with Christ “
In the twentieth century we see people like Billy Graham rising up, who as it were tried to bring people interdenominationally closer to that Christ.
This way many came in contact with the Christian message.
The problem however, was that all these new believers were eventually inserted as much as possible into the existing churches, where Graham cooperated with.
In the churches where they ended up this way, these new believers experienced that this was the freedom in and love of Christ, to subsequently come under the yoke of that ecclesial community without realizing it and thus also to be deformed into a sort of pseudo-Christian where the rules of the church are and were more important than the message of Christ himself.
Still others, such as Osborn, worked from a recognizable identity, in his case the Pentecostal movement.
He emphasized the physical aspect of man.
Everyone could recover from their diseases or abnormalities.
The lame could walk again, blind people could see again, terminal patients could get better again.
During this kind of large-scale healing campaigns, there was praying with the ill under laying on of hands.
And who does not want to be healed?
However, if one did not heal, the fault was found in the lack of sufficient faith among the sick.
Many, if not all, became disillusioned and returned home even more broken.
It goes without saying that these activities have caused more damage than good in many people who desperately sought improvement in their physical situation.
Within the same Christian groups of Pentecostal and Full Gospel believers, the emphasis was and is being placed on supernatural experiences with the Spirit of Christ, such as glossolalia (speaking in strange tongues), but also exorcisms of the devil, falling into the Spirit and other similar experiences.
Prosperity teaching within these groups is another phenomenon.
Every believer, at least if he really believes, will be blessed by Christ with prosperity and an abundance of wealth.
You already se the point, if you remain as poor as a church mouse, there is something wrong with your faith.
Visualize your need for the eye of Christ and you will receive it, is yet another example within these groups.
Many believers who are engaged in this kind of business, suffer psychological, emotional and spiritual damage and become severely disappointed in Christ Himself.
Those who are critical of all these practices are quickly labeled as apostate.
” However, if one did not heal, the fault was found in the lack of sufficient faith among the sick. Many, if not all, became disillusioned and returned home even more broken “
And then we have not yet talked about the phenomenon of television ministers, especially in the USA, who are back and forth mess with eachother due to the financial success of a lot of their work.
Detectives are hired to catch the other on violations of the standards of the movement, the church to which they belong.
Jimmy Swaggert is a well-known example.
But there are many others in this area.
These TV ministers are also trying to revive Christ with a new approach.
However, they too remain entangled in the ancient dogmas, the doctrines of the church they belong to, including preaching hell and damnation poured out over their listeners.
Many of these TV ministers are also active supporters of dictatorial governments, particularly when they campaign in certain countries of South America, which are then recorded and broadcast worldwide on TV.
Apparently the ideas of such dicators are directly in line with the dogmas – the doctrines – of the churches involved, which have been distilled from the Old and New Testaments.
Others try to make the light of Christ shine differently and brighter with cabaret, theater, dance and music.
Many within the walls of the church to which they belong, others outside those church walls, such as the Jesus movement, to eventually be swallowed and determined by the mores of some church, especially in the more or less free groups of Pentecostal and Full Gospel churches.
What do you mean, why does a Christian in general and the church in particular need change?
Whatever has been attempted throughout the ages up to this day to reinvent Christ, all those often well-meant attempts are stranded, are bogged down in the prevailing dogmas of the churches, any church.
There is no point in inventing new theologies, such as natural and spiritual Israel, the high and the low way, the second coming of Christ and theology about the end of times.
All these shifts of emphasis are and were made within the prevailing views of the Christian faith, the killing letters of the Canon and the resulting dogmas.
” It can also be done by simply leaving your protection giving church, often closed to dissenters, and to go out into the world, the society, walking hand in hand with Christ to shine your light, the light of Christ “
What man, and thus a Christian, needs is experiencing and undergoing the healing power of the love of Christ that makes us free, that enables us to treat man, every human being, with respect and to accept everyone as he or she is.
To be able to do so it is necessary to separate ourselves from the predominant and hostage taking dogmas of any church.
Therefore that there is the need to see the Canon of the scriptures as it is, writings written by people, which were far less inspired than what the dogmas want us to believe.
This also means that we as Christians are not to be determined by the church, by the letter, the words of the Bible which extinguishes the spiritual fire of Christ in us by a supposed authority of a cardinal, a pope, a minister, a preacher or pastor.
Christians are free people who want to experience Christ in their daily lives, who want to give love to all people, who are willing to share their wealth with others, such as in the underground church, when Christianity has an incredible radiance on many people who literally opened their doors to all who needed protection and help.
This healing power of love in the Christian’s inner self is what is needed to actually get the church back on track.
We Christians should think about this and act accordingly by encouraging the church to act lees as the substitute of Christ on earth, breaking down more ecclesiastical structure in order to achieve equality and equivalence and respect for all people inside and outside the walls of that church.
It can also be done by simply leaving your protection giving church, often closed to dissenters, and to go out into the world, the society, walking hand in hand with Christ to shine your light, the light of Christ.
That is all possible if you experience and act from the healing power of Christ in your daily life, inside or outside, with or without the church.
Christ is worthy to be served.
So look for the true Spirit of Christ and not the ecclesiastical caricature.
Whoever prays, will be given. Those who seek will find.
Christ is thé Way and thé Truth and thé Life.
He is a still reality in the year 2018.
He has indeed risen.
He lives and wants to blow with his Spirit!
Time for strong action to put our own responsibility and therefore our answerability into the world in which we live.
Invite the healing power of love of Christ in your life, then something will change inside yourself, in the churches and for all people on earth.
Then a new era really will dawn.
The Spirit of Christ wants to blow in this world and that starts with you and me.
