Faith_vs_Religion

These will only be my opinion as not one of us alive were there to know the truth. I will however draw on logic and common sense, which by the way is not common at all. Oh, and I hope it pisses some of you off, wakes some of you up, and really makes a lot of you think more about God everyday. Yes, there are some of you whom I've already offended but here's my answer to that. People aren't perfect remember, we are ALL sinners. That's why to me this is so important that some of you get it.

Okay, let's start with what seems to be the most common one for most people.

RELIGION (Catholicism)

First of all, what is religion?

Religion is nothing more than Biblical ideas being shared by different and varied leaders of any named religious organization. Simple isn't it. BUT... most faiths pick and choose what parts of the Bible they stand for. That's absolutely correct. Remember in the Bible, Matthew, chapter 19:24 With absolution and certainty Jesus stated, "And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God." So you can see that some churches (the wealthiest ones) pick and choose only parts of the Bible. On that note, the Catholic church has in excess of $3 trillion dollars.

All these various religions can't be right of course. But they are similar for the most part. However many religious wars have raged over the differences and yet the Bible tells us to love one another so why the fighting? In many developed nations it appears to be collection plate money while in poorer nations it appears to be differences of religious beliefs.

Religious leaders are simply people who make their livelihood working for a religion. I've written every religious organization to try to get a few simple questions answered and not one took on the challenge.

Some of these leaders as you know have been less than perfect but those aren't the ones that I wonder about.

Let's go back to the time when Christ walked. Picture what He may have looked like. (for those of you needing your memory jogged, go here and read it then use your back button)

Okay; now picture this...

Here we all are... it's a couple thousand years ago and during the actual time that Jesus is amongst us.

First of all... would you or myself have recognized Him? I really don't think there are too many that would even if it were the Pope himself.

Secondly... if a stranger came up to you and told you to stop doing something you were enjoying, would you have stop? Would we have given up our lives for him? Again I don't know of many who would have.

But those couple of points are just for you and I. The point I hope that some got was this.

If the Pope was there would he recognize Jesus?

Remember back then there were a lot of High Priest that were pissed off because Jesus was stating fact. Church leaders didn't really care for it and were behind the arrest and crucifixion of Christ. Most people if you recall were in favour of crucifying Him also.

Here's a question that I've often wondered about and even asked many religious leaders.

When Jesus was alive, which religions were around that had High Priest? And relative to all this is the answer today. Today as back then, most people including religious leaders only admitted wrong doing when they were caught. That's why it's years later that we hear about sexual misconduct by our leaders. Well ONLY the ones that were caught.

Now from my business experience, I've seen that the first one to do anything usually can make the most money, become the most popular, and enjoy the most worldly recognition. Let's face it, everyone has heard of ??? oh let's throw out a name: how about "Ski-Doo"? This is just one example of how the first one became so well recognized that many people to this day call any snow machine a Ski-Doo. Simply put; whoever gets a early head start with a good lead will be the biggest and most known.

Now using that example and working backwards from today back to when Christ walked. We can surmise that the predecessor equivalent to the current Pope was around and had already made his Ski-Doo name for himself. The title given to him back then may have been changed to protect the Catholic church. In fact, the very name Catholic may have been changed for that reason also.

Has anyone ever read or heard tell that it's okay to worship anyone other than God?

The word of God had been modified or changed over the years especially with new versions but that one simply truth in it has gone unchanged.

God said, "Thow shalt have no other God's before me," and it goes on to explain none in His image, be it from clay or gold. I think some of you are starting to get the idea. Gold crosses, some supposed holy beads, etc. etc.

Here's how it works for me.

When I have a problem, I like going straight to the top. You know things always get misconstrued when others try to communicate for us. They just don't have the same sensitivity to our personal problems. So it's best to go to the top. Like God. He is the top and the only top.

Catholicism

Now I've never been a good Catholic. I am not even Catholic. I'm just a believer in God.

So I wonder why they have rosary beads? And I wonder why they hail, Mother Mary? And why when they have done something wrong that they are encouraged by the church leaders to say, Hail Marys?

And I guess since I'm wondering about it and discussing it, I wonder this also. Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, It is easier to put a camel through the eye of a needle than it is for a man of wealth to enter heaven", so why is the catholic church the wealthiest corporation in the entire world?

So I guess now you know why I am not Catholic. And I guess that you can see by my discussion why many church or religious leaders chose to ignore giving me answers.

On that note, I will tell you this... I believe with my heart and sole in God.

I should rephrase that... I know God exist!

Baptism? Adult baptism is so important that even Jesus Himself asked that He be baptized. So why are there so many so called Christian churches, schools, organizations and businesses that have come up with being or becoming a Christian in some other way? They do it for the love of money; not the love of God. Shepherd's guide says this: The goal of The Shepherd's Guide is to help bring the Christian community closer together while providing Christians in business a unique way to communicate their faith in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. A unique way? What the heck is that supposed to mean? Christians everywhere know the only way to the Father is through the Son. So there isn't any prayer or pledge you can make to be a Christian other than the way of CHRIST. As an adult, Christ showed us getting baptized was essential to faith and salvation. Promoting businesses that knowingly do not "Keep the Sabbath Holy" is not promoting anything about Christianity. Reference: Deuteronomy 5:14

But the seventh day [is] the sabbath of the LORD thy God: [in it] thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, nor thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thine ox, NOR THINE ASS, nor any of thy cattle, nor thy stranger that [is] within thy gates; that thy manservant and thy maidservant may rest as well as thou.

It does not mean it's okay to open your business on the Sabbath if the government says you can.

I hope you enjoyed reading and thinking about faith versus religion. I will continue these topics as time permits. This is exciting and I can't wait to write on Jesus and the Devil sharing the same workspace. I think of it this way... there is Jesus on one side and the Devil on the other but only one door or gate. Depending on the purity of our heart while we were alive depends on who greats us. We step thought the door or gate and find the choices we made in live had already put into motion where we are going. That another thing I wonder about... Why in God's name do religious leaders pray for someone who is dead? They can't change where the dead are going so these leaders should have tried harder to change that when the person was alive. I guess saying a prayer over a grave maybe helps to justify the burial cost of over $10,000.00.

Try to keep up to date and discuss current world issues and our government sellout. It is my belief that our government will ultimately begin restricting various services. Withholding driver licenses, legislating retailers to adopt this technology which will prevent the buying of groceries and even preventing banking as we know it today. Here is a thought provoking current and real topic on "The Mark of the Beast".

http://www.ridingthebeast.com/articles/verichip-implant/

I have been to many churches over the past few years. I've even asked these church leaders why I have not heard a sermon on God's Laws or what is known as The Ten Commandments. Surprisingly; I was told by a church leader this. "Jesus died for us so that we may all have salvation". This just blew me away. The magnitude of that statement was shocking. That explanation could only be translated as the "Okay" by Jesus and God alike to sin as we would all get into heaven. But!... Jesus in the New Testament refers in a popular bible verse, "Now go and sin no more!" And since sin is not outlined in the New Testament, it is obvious that Jesus' reference to sin were the sins outlined by God in the Old Testament.

Can we all enter heaven because Jesus died for us?

I personally challenge any religious leader including the Pope to show me where in any Bible it states or implies that either God or Jesus even vaguely suggest we can ignore any single Commandment from God or statement on how to live by Jesus and yet enter into the Kingdom of Heaven simply because Jesus died for us all. That misleading religious type of thinking is why the world is so full of deceit and turmoil today. I state myself as a man of Faith in God, not as a Catholic or a Protestant or a Jew. There are conditions as set by God and told to us all by Jesus as to how to get into heaven and there aren't any exceptions. It takes Faith in God, the Love of Christ, and our daily believe and effort in the word of the Lord to enter. Hebrews Chapter 5 Verse 9: And being made perfect, He became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that OBEY Him. Even our best efforts may fall short without acting accordingly. I anxiously await any response from any religious leader who has faith.

Another time while I sat enjoying a sermon in a different church there were guest doing much of the sermon. They were saved Christians who were singing praises to God. Throughout the sermon reference was made more than once to the newest CD these guests had recorded. During the sermon, the congregation was informed the CD's were available to buy in the entrance of the church after the sermon. Now I'm not the most learned man when it comes to knowing and reading the Bible, but I do know there is a passage in it where Jesus enters into a tabernacle and overturns the tables of the vendors. Is it just me, or do you see a parallel to that same Bible passage.

The leaders of the churches at yet another church gave a sermon from the book of Mark. There were 4 church leaders giving the sermon that day. The two regulars from that church and two visitors from another far away church. At the end of the service, I waited until all 4 were together. I then asked them why they had stopped short of giving the complete message as not one had continued the versus to include when Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, it is easier to put a camel through the eye of a needle than for a man of wealth to enter the Kingdom of Heaven."

No satisfactory answer was given and it was dismissed as a time constraint. So once again I was left wondering about that also. In conclusion I believe that churches don't say what needs to be said as many churches fear they may offend some of the congregation who may not return and thereby the church may lose some of the collection plate money. I on the other hand felt that by offending those who may be offended by the word of God and/or Jesus, that some of these same members might actually want and value salvation enough that they may give more than any other before them.

Are you reading a Bible or a book?

I mentioned I wrote to every church head office in Canada addressing my concerns and no religious leaders responded. Well a couple of weeks ago I went to hear a sermon in a Baptist Church. (I'm am not a Baptist). I heard the soon retiring minister tell the congregation, "The administration tells us we are not supposed bring this up in a sermon...". He was talking about the word of God from the Bible. It was a passage that tells people something they might not want to hear but actually need to know if they are ever hoping to have eternal salvation. And when I think about it, some of the new bibles on the market have eliminated versus that exclude some of the words of Christ. So if you want to know if you are reading just a book or are actually reading a relatively good translation of the Bible then look at your Bible or book for this omitted verse example. ACTS Chapter 8, Verse 37. That particular verse tells us that you can only be baptized if you Believe in Jesus Christ. That's the only way. Any baptism done without this believe was merely a crappy wash job and I hope you didn't pay for it.

I hope I have provoked some of you and caused some thought and perhaps even changed a few hearts. I will continue this ongoing sermon or whatever you may call it when time permits.

I know we all lead busy lives but if this caused you to think about your faith and what I've said then please read this short page. For God so Loved the World

If you would care to have your opinions expressed on any of these topics please email, woodsmansdb@hotmail.com

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Send mail to woodsmansdb@hotmail.com with questions or comments about this web site. Copyright 1993 - 11 Apr 2010 Woodsmans International All rights reserved. Last modified: 03/08/10

Send mail to woodsmansdb@hotmail.com with questions or comments about this web site.
Copyright 1993 - 11 Apr 2010 Woodsmans International All rights reserved.
Last modified: 03/08/10