CHRISTIANITY WITHOUT CHRIST
THE title of this article might appear to be an oxymoron, for obviously Christ and Christianity compliment each other. The idea behind the title is: What is called Christianity in this materialistic world, is in fact or almost Christless. The reality is that this world is very religious. We probably have as many gods as the Greeks had during Paul’s time. As expressed in Acts 17:23 the Greeks even had an inscription to the “UNKNOWN GOD”, in case they missed any. It was this God, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob that Paul was declaring unto them.
With so much Paganism intertwined into what is called Christianity (even in the mainstream churches), one has to ask the question: Will only the remnant be contending for the faith once delivered unto the Saints? (Jude 1:3). Matthew 7:21-23 will be frightening for those to whom Jesus will say:
“I never knew you, depart from me, ye that work iniquity”.
These people by their sayings and actions support the view, of contempt for Divine Law and as a result initiate lawlessness in society. It appears to me that Matthew 7:21 is referring to those who are within the mainstream “Christian Church”. The fact that there is a reference to “in thy name” shows it is Christ they are referring to. It is certainly not referring to the gods of other faiths. A cleansing is to occur, beyond our imagination.
There are many reasons why people say they are a Christian. Some examples are: I am kind to people, I attend Church on important occasions, I believe there is a God, I am a Christian because I am not a believer in Buddhism or some other faith, I believe that Jesus existed in history and spoke of good ideas or even I believe in the teachings that the western nations are mostly made up of ancient Israel. None of the above qualify anyone to say that they are a Christian or more accurately, “a follower of the Way”. It is not the intention in this article to go any further on the subject of ‘What is a Christian?’ but rather to show in a limited way, no matter how good the forged note is, it is not the genuine article.
Some time ago I was looking up some articles on beliefs of prominent people in the western nations. It soon became obvious that a number of these people were not Christian even though they believed there was a God who created the universe. Many of these people were in fact Deists and Unitarians. At least the Deist is not a fool for he believes there is a God (Psalm 14:1)
Intelligent, wise and historically astute as they were or are, these leaders saw no need to believe in the Deity of Christ. Their perception of God was that whilst they see Him as the creator, there was no need to believe in a personal Christ who died for our sins and rose from the grave. Many of them were epicureans, that is their main purpose in life was the pursuit of happiness.
The Jesus Christ of Scripture is the keystone or cornerstone of our faith. If Matthew 7:24,1 Corinthians 3:11 and Ephesians 2:20 are used as our starting point then our foundations will be sure. The search for Truth will be made so much easier for not only will the Holy Spirit lead us into all Truth but the God of our Fathers will have an abundance of peace and Truth (Jeremiah 33:6-9).
It is the Deity aspect of Christ that the Deist is unable to accept. Like the Greeks and the Jews (Judeans) the reason for Him being the stumbling block is the same. They are unable to accept the answer to the question put to Peter in Matthew 16:13-16. In John 6:69 we read a similar theme. It is the Deity of Christ that separates Christ from every other religious figure in history.
In Matthew 24:5 and 24 we have a reference to the false Christs. When you consider that Christ means “anointed” these false Christs are self appointed and anointed individuals. The word deceive means “cause to roam” or as one translation says “cause to err”.
These false Christs are to be found in virtually every belief that does not recognise the Divinity of the true Christ. Christ made it very clear when He said:
“He that is not with me is against me, and he that gathers not with me scatters abroad” (Matthew 5:30).
You can not sit on the fence. Fake Christs have existed down the centuries. It could be said that all the signs of the last days have existed to some degree from the time of Christ when on earth. There is nothing new under the sun (Ecclesiastes 1:9). As we are approaching the time of His Second Coming we are reaching a worldwide climax of all these signs.
The message of these false Christs is expressed in many forms. From the teachings of Helena Blavatsky the founder of the Theosophical Society to the world wide teachings of the Ecumenical Movement and the New Age prophecies, we have not only many Christs but also a pack of wolves in sheep’s clothing (Matthew 7:15).We have been warned that these wolves will raven the sheep (Ezekiel 22:27 and Acts 20:29). This is a story in itself and can be told another day.
These false teachings are very politically correct. Tolerance for all things and beliefs is part of their creed. Very little is black or white. Read Isaiah 5:20 and surrounding verses for further details of the resulting curses and confusion. Human reason is at the core of these teachings. The fulfillment of man becoming a god is in every sphere of these man made world religions (Genesis 3:5). Satan can be transformed as an angel of light (2 Corinthians 11:14). In Romans 16:17-18 we read how their nice talk can deceive the hearts of the simple. The messengers of the illuminated knowledge are present in every unexpected sphere of society. Even what appears to be opposite evil forces have at the core the same message of presenting to the unsuspecting world a process of holistic salvation and a number of saviours to solve all the woes of this world. From the Picasso type designed meditation room of the United Nations to that of worshipping Nature we have a man made but Satanically inspired intent to recreate an Eden on earth.
The following few details are a mere thumb sketch of a world wide movement that is planning to establish such an Eden. This movement is drawing people from all religions of the world. This movement also has its holistic plan to create order out of chaos (planned). 2 Thessalonians 2:9-12 is quite relevant to this movement.
For a moment I will refer to the Gaia philosophy. This teaching has also its false Christ in the form of a female goddess. Gaia and Eve, who is the mother of all living, is closely linked to the New Age teaching. Read Genesis 3:20 and 2 Corinthians 11:3. Because the earth is considered a living organism we arrive at the term Mother Earth or Mother Nature. This mother is Gaia or Ge in Greek. It is no coincidence that the words Geo-graphy and Ge-ology start with Ge.
You probably have heard of the phrase, “Order out of Chaos”. Many writers have connected this phrase to the New World Order and the use of revolutionary change. It is also associated with the Hegel dialectics of history and the “thesis, antithesis, synthesis” solution to the problems of the world. Now in Greek mythology Gaia or order was the daughter of Chaos. Gaia’s son was Ouranus. Now from this relationship between Gaia and Ouaranus, we have the Titans of Greek mythology. Similar relationships also occur in Egyptian mythology in the case of Isis and Osiris. These ancient gods are reappearing in the form of an ecumenical push for a world religion.
The issue that is bringing the major religions together is the concept of a Mother figure, a goddess that speaks gently and is compassionate and tolerant of all beliefs. This is the exoteric message that will fool the people but there is an esoteric and very intolerant undertone. I will leave you to guess what and who will not be tolerated.
In the book, “The Ages of Gaia” by Dr James Lovelock the author provides the connection between Gaia and the Mother Mary of the Roman Catholic church. The general view is that the God of the Old Testament is a “remote master” so in His place we have a goddess who is linked to all major religions. Also Isis the divine mother of ancient Egypt is being resurrected into the New World religion where one finds senior representatives of all faiths, including the deceived of the Christian faith, so called. In short what we are seeing is the fulfillment of esoteric “Christianity” where the masses are without understanding and are being led by the blind (Luke 6:39).
Whilst preparing this article I came across a book entitled, “Christless Christianity” by Michael Horton. It is a valuable source of information, showing how the majority of churches in America (and the west) are using “therapeutic Deism” as a newly dressed up religion. The following sentence is one of many quotes “It (the church) trivializes God, making Him a means to our selfish ends”. The book supplements the title of this article. The author shows the present crisis has its beginnings during the first three centuries A.D. He refers to Pelagius a monk of the 4th century as an example for the ongoing conflict with doctrine. So many of these people fulfill the words of 2 Timothy 3:7.
With so many in the main stream churches denying the Divinity of Christ and the Resurrection and other vital matters is no wonder that we have a “cut and paste” Bible presented to the people. Thomas Jefferson, as wise as he was, wrote his own Bible in a manner that it deleted the above vital aspects of the TRUE Christ. The following quote by Jefferson partly shows his Deist views which are not Christian. He says:
“The authors of the Gospels were unlearned and ignorant men and the teaching of Jesus have come to us mutilated, misstated and unintelligible”.
This quote is from his book entitled “Toward the Mystery”.
The natural man sees mostly the goodness in mankind. For example it is difficult to think of someone as being evil. This characteristic of man has unfortunately not taken into consideration the evil intent of a few who have “crept in unawares” (Jude 1:4). It is true though that the people as a whole have been conditioned to not want to know the Truth and as a result “my people love to have it so” (Jeremiah 5:31). Those who have “crept in unawares” rely on the ignorance of the masses. Their deception goes on unheeded. Most of these people are very intelligent and well educated by the standards of the world. Their cunning can sneak in error that can lie dormant for decades and when the right conditions arrive the false teaching can be hatched from its place of learning. This method of deception can be effectively used to lull the peeple into a state of mind where they will accept tyranny as a way of life.
In conclusion the quote by William Booth the founder of the Salvation Army is worthy of note: He was asked the following question: What in your opinion is the chief danger, social or political that confronts the coming century? His answer was:
“In answer to your enquiry, I consider that the chief dangers which confront the coming century will be religion without the Holy Ghost, Christianity without Christ, forgiveness without repentance, salvation without regeneration, politics without God and Heaven without Hell”.
His concern has come true. Finally some verses from the Scriptures:
“And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying I am Christ and shall deceive many” (Matthew 24:4-5).
John in 1 John 4: 1-4 says:
“BELOVED BELIEVE NOT EVERY SPIRIT, BUT TRY THE SPIRITS WHETHER THEY ARE OF GOD; BECAUSE MANY FALSE PROPHETS ARE GONE OUT INTO THE WORLD. KNOW YE THE SPIRIT OF GOD; EVERY SPIRIT THAT CONFESSETH THAT JESUS CHRIST IS COME IN THE FLESH IS OF GOD; AND EVERY SPIRIT THAT CONFESSETH NOT THAT JESUS CHRIST IS COME IN THE FLESH IS NOT OF GOD; AND THIS IS THAT SPIRIT OF ANTI-CHRIST WHEREOF YE HAVE HEARD THAT IT SHALL COME; AND EVEN NOW ALREADY IT IS IN THE WORLD. YE ARE OF GOD LITTLE CHILDREN AND HAVE OVERCOME THEM: BECAUSE GREATER IS HE THAT IS IN YOU, THAN HE THAT IS IN THE WORLD”.
