“NO LONGER A CHRISTIAN” - Is the only meaning to life to be found in the political?

“So I am no longer a christian but just a person who continues trying to follow the example of Christ.”  So wrote Karen Cobb.  In detailing her fall from Christianity, she wrote, “Some of us have come to our beliefs as a result of careful and prayerful study of the scriptures.”  It is quite evident that her knowledge of the Bible is sorely lacking. (Of course that is to be expected from those who seek to justify their beliefs from the Bible as opposed to those who seek to judge their beliefs by the Bible.)

Her totally tawdry tripe is an attempt at self-justification of her personal political beliefs. She seeks to use the Bible as justification for her personal political beliefs while at the same time condemns others who do exactly the same thing. If there is no standard by which Christianity can be judged, then there will be people exactly like Cobb and those she attacks.




Let me list a few positive things about her rather rancorous rant.

1) I agree with her statement that she is no longer a Christian, but I would go father and state that she was never a Christian in the historical sense of the word and, more importantly, in the Biblical sense of the word.

2) I agree with her basic premise that so-called Christians have entered the political realm for the wrong reasons. Many so-called Christians have decided, just like Cobb that the political is all there is, and have invested their time, talents and treasures in the political realm to the detriment of the spiritual realm.

Of course, for her to enter into the political realm, seeking her self-justifications from the Bible, while at the same time excoriating others for following her example is truly the height of hypocrisy. If she deems it her right to use the Bible for her political positions, then it is also the right of all others. If she decides it is her responsibility to simply pick and choose which parts of the Bible to believe, then it is also the right of all others. If she demands respect for her spiritual beliefs that are based upon her limited understanding, then it is also the right of all others to demand that same respect she desires.

3) I agree with her unstated assertion that those so-called Christians who have elevated the political above the spiritual may not actually be true Christians. Unfortunately, for Cobb, she fails into the same position of those she attacks.

Here are a few things, Biblically speaking, that Cobb has mis-stated the Bible.

1) She used II Timothy 3.13 to state: even God’s elect will be deceived. I have looked at several translations and none of them even suggest that God’s elect will be deceived.

 
The KJV states: ”But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.” There is a world of difference between evil men and God’s elect. God’s Word translation states: ” But evil people and phony preachers will go from bad to worse as they mislead people and are themselves misled.” So, it is apparent that those being deceived and deceiving are evil men and phony preachers. She definitely needs to come to some type of reality that there really are phony preachers out there deceiving and being deceived.

 
(I wonder what is her criteria is for determining what constitutes a phony preacher. If she is simply relying on their political positions then, unfortunately, she is the one being deceived. If it is based upon the Bible, then we both could come to some type of agreement as to what actually constitutes a phony preacher and together, we can agree on who is actually doing the deceiving and being deceived.)

2) She used Matthew 22 to state: Some who believe they are fighting evil will cry to the Lord, and he will say “I never knew you.“ This is not found in Matthew 22, but in Matthew 7:21-23 which states: ” Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.”

Nowhere in this context can one find some people who think they are fighting evil. It is just the opposite. When Christ states that He never knew these people they were doing three basic things; (1) they were prophesying in His name, (2) they were casting out devils, and (3) they were doing many wonderful works.

 
(It could be that she is taking casting out devils as fighting evil, but she ignores the other two, preaching and doing good. There are many good people doing many wonderful works, such as fighting social injustice, working at shelters, ministering to the poor, etc. etc., that Christ will say in that day, ”Depart from me, ye that work iniquity.”)

3) There are others, implied and stated, but if her thesis is based upon faulty facts, then her house of faith is truly built upon the sand; Matthew 7:24-27.

Let me state again, before I finish, she has the right to believe anything she wants. She does not have the right to state that her beliefs are the only Biblical beliefs available to so-called Christianity. If she wants to have the right to mix and match various beliefs into her personal beliefs so do all others; hence her ardent argument to elevate the political to preeminence.

Unfortunately, there is a greater divide among Christianity which is for its heart and soul. As I have repeatedly stated, if everyone is free to define Christianity in a way that conforms to his/her personal preferences, then Christianity has lost its meaning, its message, its miracle.

We have had almost two thousand years of Christianity to determine its historical significance; both in terms of doctrine and deeds. It should be easy to determine the doctrine of historical, Biblical Christianity by the conflicts of the past with respect to doctrinal confusion. After all, these attempts at redefining Christianity have been happening since its inception.

More importantly, we have the blueprint of Christianity in the Bible. It has been around since the formation of Christianity. One only has to look to the Source of Christianity to determine whether a doctrine, or even a deed, has been promoted by its Source.

The confusion, the conflicts, the crimes committed in the name of Christianity is further expanded when there is no basis for determining exactly what Christianity is. If we are all free to determine the doctrines of Christianity based solely upon our own personal beliefs then we will get exactly what we see; confusion, conflicts, crimes.

 

We cannot argue in an absence of a standard. This vacuum produces the open hostility to Christianity. In this brave new world, Christianity has syncretized itself into hundreds of personal belief structures without any hope of reconciliation between them. Therefore we are left with the only true meaning to life; the political.

No Longer A Christian