(Eccl 14 KJV) For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.
Having been involved with numerous religious groups over the years in my quest for God and Truth, I have come to the conclusion that most people join groups to validate their own particular version of the truth or to prop up their own belief systems and faith in their imagined God.
Directly opposite where I currently rent a room, there is a college, which every Sunday becomes a place of worship for Korean Christians. I know they are Korean because of the banners they hang on the railings written in Korean symbolics and I assume they are Christians because of the way they assemble and the behaviour they exhibit. Most of them arrive in their Sunday best in modern cars and quietly enter the hall, where after a time I hear them singing, because they deliberately leave the doors open, probably hoping that their tunes will bring the community to Jesus.To a westerner who grew up with the Beatles, their songs sound marginally dischordant and sometimes painful on the ears and I do wonder about God’s judgement on this, if any. Does God sit like a panelist on Australian Idol and put them through to the next round or say, it is time to go home and practice some more?
God is the same, yesterday, today and tomorrow, so nothing people say or do can make any impression on God. So why do we religious people bother with performances?
Seems to me, that all these performances that we perform, are not so much for God as for ourselves. It is we, that we are trying to impact and until we understand this, we may as well be lying in bed, sleeping.
All the problems in the world are in us, sin is in us, sin is what seperates us from God and getting together with a bunch of like minded people and singing songs of love or singing songs of hate, simply brings a unity of ‘spirit’ to the congregation.
The purity of that spirit is what really matters and the whole purpose of these religious performances is to purify our souls of the sin and bring us to a state of Holiness or Heaven, if you will. Attending a church service is like wash day for the human soul, it lasts as long as we keep ourselves clean - which is why people keep coming back again and again. Fact is, attending church is what sinners need to do, just like the sick need to attend hospital for drugs. When I was involved with the Pentecostal movement it may just as well have been... sex, Jesus & rock & roll.
Jesus and his disciples lived in the country most of the time, came into towns to heal the sick and minister to the poor. One has to wonder what happened to this aspect of ‘the way’ - why do modern day ‘followers’ of Jesus - drive around in fancy cars and promote consumerism, when this is clearly not the role model or example Jesus set, to follow.
Why didn’t Jesus roll around in the latest Roman chariot or dress like a Roman Emperor, or rock out musical spectaculars of praise and worship in the coliseum?
I’m not even sure Jesus could play an instrument, unlike King David who could play the Lute, fire a slingshot and killed many. Seems Jesus just submitted to the will of God and made no attempt to promote himself or elevate himself, he waited on God only.
(Mat 5:8 KJV) Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
RELIGIOUS ROCK & ROLL