Religion has actually convinced people that there is a invisible man living in the sky watching everything you do, every minute of every day. And the invisible man has a special list of ten things he does not want you to do. And if you do any of these ten things, he has a special place, full of fire and smoke and burning and torture and anguish, where he will send you to live and suffer and burn and choke and scream and cry forever and ever until the end of time! But he loves you. He loves you, and he needs money. He always needs money. He's all-powerful, all-perfect, all-knowing and all-wise, somehow he just can't handle money
~George Carlin~
I remember being in those group discussions. We were usually brought together to discuss one church teaching or another. However, eventually someone would bring up a question which in some way challenged the theology of what the pastor was speaking to. When this happened, the discussion leader would immediately shut down the question and tell us to stay on the topic at hand. It seemed that any discussion concerning "Other" aspects of scripture or Christianity were not to be discussed at all. I have often wondered how I would have been treated by these "Defenders of the truth" were I to speak of the truth of Jesus in me. Of course, back then Jesus had yet to be revealed in me. Still, I knew of more than a few church brethren who were labeled as "Dissenters" by the defenders of the truth within the church. I didn't find out until after I left the mainstream church that one of the duties of any institutional church pastor is to readily shoot down any opinions which could interfere with the narrative of the church. That narrative being the theology which is taught to this day in the traditional church. One of my Gym Rat partners has even been asked to leave a church congregation simply because he questioned the teachings of the senior pastor. This simply was not tolerated. It seems that the church system relishes church goers who arrive on Sunday and dutifully sit through the sermon and absorb all which is being taught. I used to be among that crowd. But then "It" happened. Whether it was from the revelation of the Father or simply hearing the questions of other dissenters within the church, I began to have questions of my own. Why was I still concerned over sin if Jesus gave Himself that I would be free from it {Paul to the Romans 6:11}? I asked one of the defenders of the truth this very question one Sunday, but I was quickly brushed aside. Instead of taking this literally, I began to question the teachings of the church more and more. The final straw came one Easter Sunday morning. As the pastor finished his traditional Easter message of how Jesus died on that cross for the forgiveness of sin and rose three days later, he then asked the congregation to come forward and confess any sins they might be led to confess at the altar at the front of the sanctuary. The double speak was pretty obvious to me in that moment. Pastor or no pastor, I was GONE!
Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see if they are of God, for many false prophets have come out into the world
First Epistle of John 4: 1, Concordant New Testament
Many believers might not understand, but walking away from the mainstream church was one of the best decisions I could have made. For I did not learn of the truth of Christ Jesus in me through some Sunday defender of the truth sermon, but from the revelation of the Father. It would seem that He waited until I was no longer under the influence of man-made religion before He began His process of revealing His truth in me. For that I am grateful. I could not have understood my union life in the Father if I had continued to follow the doctrine of the church which proclaims that God is separated from me {Johns Account 14:20}. I could not have digested the words of the apostle Paul while still being taught that sin was a road block in my life {Paul to the Romans 6:6-11}. I now realize that in order for me to understand that revelation which the Father was unfolding in me, that I had to be outside of the confines of organized religion. So it was for the man Saul, steeped deeply in the Jewish faith and actively persecuting the followers of Jesus. For once Christ was revealed unto him, he forsook that religion which he had been raised up in {Paul to the Galatians 1:15-16}. As it was for Paul, my own revelation came once it pleased the Father {Paul to the Galatians 1:15}. Of course, it was also His purpose that I endure my time in the mainstream church as well. For in that time I not only developed the friendships which I still enjoy today, but I developed a understanding for the scriptures as well. I do not regret my time spent in the church, because I know that this was the Fathers time to grow in me an understanding of who He is. I often tell those people I talk with not to take my words as gospel, but to read the scriptures and wait for the Fathers leading. I'm guessing that I wouldn't have made a very good defender of the truth.
~Scott~
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