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Seeking That Which Cannot Be
-- A Young Man's Search By Pastor Lonnie Honeycutt -- Deeper Life Fellowship Just today I spoke with a young man who claimed that the reason he hadn't been in church for years was because he couldn't find one that 'fit his criteria.' When asked what he was looking for he told me that he was 'non-denominational.' Being that Deeper Life Fellowship is a non-denominational church of Christians I knew that he was either using the term 'non-denominational' as a tool of deflection or that he wasn't using the term as it is normally understood. When I further questioned him as to what he meant by non-denominational I was told... "I'm looking for a church that adheres to the basic tenets of Christianity, Wicca, and Discordianism." Wow! Talk about wishful thinking. Unless this young man decides to create his own brand of religion and church he'll never find what he wants. Heck, even if he does decide to embark on such a creative endeavor he'll find it self-defeating. If you want to know why, keep reading. Total Confusion Lest anyone think that I'm trying to create a strawman that I can beat to dust, I'm only going to deal with the implications of this man's assessment of the two systems of belief. I don't for an instant believe that all Wiccans hold this view. With that being said, I'll continue. In talking with this young man (I'll call him Mike -- which isn't even close to his real name), I found out that he honestly didn't understand the vast differences between Christianity and the Wiccan belief systems. When I noted that he would never find an orthodox, conservative (those kind of go hand-in-hand don't they) Christian church that held to the beliefs of Wicca he said (paraphrased), "Yeah, but I don't know why... they both emphasize the same point -- that we should treat others with love and respect." Obviously he could have been 'pulling my leg' but he seemed completely honest in his assessment that both religions had as their major tenet some form of the Golden Rule (Treat others like you would want to be treated). If this was the case, he was in total confusion about the comparison of Christianity and Wicca. After admitting that the Golden Rule was indeed an intricate, intimate part of the Christian belief system I also noted that Jesus (the originator of Christianity) had clarified the issue when He was asked, by a Pharisee (law-keeper), what, for the greatest commandment (emphasis) was. Jesus' answer was simple and succinct in Luke 10:27: "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself." Jesus then explained that these two commandments, equal with one another for reasons that should be obvious, fulfill all the law and the Prophets. Those are pretty strong words. While the tenets of Wicca certainly agrees with the second commandment (the one we commonly call the Golden Rule), the same cannot be said for the first commandment. The reason is simple: Wicca accepts polytheism (the belief in many 'gods') as a rule and holds to monotheism (the belief in only 1 god) only in certain instances (i.e., some witches belief that there is an ultimate god who is above all other gods but this is closer to a Mormon or American Indian (to mention only two) understanding of deity rather than orthodox Christianity. In short, if one were to try and blend the understanding of gods found in the Bible and in the Wiccan belief system you would find yourself at a logical and practical impasse because you'd be forced to concede that there is ONLY 1 true God and, at the same time, MANY true gods. We see the same confusion generated by the belief system of the Jehovah's Witnesses who claim to be monotheistic but are, in practice, polytheists. The Watchtower Bible and Tract Society insists that there is only 1 TRUE God (the Father) while at the same time insisting that Jesus is 'a god' but not THE god. Even in war of semantics this argument goes nowhere fast if logic is to preside at all. The belief and insistence that there is only 1 TRUE God automatically sets up a limiting definition in which all other gods must not be gods at all but only 'supposed gods' that are false gods. This is exactly what we find in the text of the Bible but the exact opposite of what Wicca proposes. So, Mike's hope that he will one day find a composite of the two belief systems is a wish that cannot be -- not if he is searching for an orthodox blend of both faiths. Even those who profess an adherence to the oxymoronic 'Christian Wicca' have found it impossible to integrate both belief systems -- and they've tried to for years. Making his search even more impossible is that Mike wants the aspects of Discordianism to be somehow integrated into the mix. Honestly, Disconcordianism could possibly be fit into the Wiccan set of beliefs (even though it would take some wrangling) but it could never be integrated into orthodox Christianity. The reason is simple: Disconcordianism recognizes chaos (unpredictability), dissent (anarchy), and discord (strife) as being an integral part of ultimate reality. While several aspects of Wicca seem to actually embrace a rudimentary form of disconcordianism (although Wicca can be traced back thousands of years before the advent of disconcordianism -- circa 1958 or so), Biblical Christianity can have no part in it. Ultimate reality, as revealed in the Bible, is God Himself. The description of the Biblical God (Jehovah) shows us a being of pure holiness -- a deity that transcends temporal reality who has no fault whatsoever. This certainly doesn't jive with any type of chaos theory. Of course, to be fair, I have a feeling Mike was probably joking about disconcordianism. The religion certainly seems 'fun' enough to bring up at parties and there's no doubt many, many comical comments and reflections could be made about the world at large if one were to filter experiences through such a whimsical 'religion.' To find out more about Disconcordianism visit this link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Discordianism OK -- What Is My Point? My point is rather simple: As a Christian you always need to be ready to give an answer for the faith that you have but with gentleness and respect for the other person (1 Peter 3:15-16). We never know what type of belief we're going to encounter so we need to be prepared and know what God's Word (His Bible) says. I've never found myself unable to spot a faulty belief system once I've compared it to the Bible. This doesn't mean that I've always been able to give a great answer to objections I've had come my way -- at least not at first. But, once you know what is correct, when you run up against that which is incorrect, you know where to turn to for correction. Knowing the Bible will give you the confidence to share your own personal testimony of what Jesus Christ (Jehovah God) has done for you in your own life. Even if the person you encounter argues with your personal beliefs, they can't argue with your personal testimony. It is my most sincere prayer that when the Lord sees fit to place someone in our path to whom we can minister that we'll take full advantage of the opportunity to do just that. If you are a Christian then you are called to be a Priest -- it isn't just your pastor that's to minister to people, it's YOU (and me). As a priest your #1 job is to bring people closer to God. In order to do this, always keep in mind the greatest command: Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind' (this will keep you from putting the feelings of the person your talking to above the will of God -- they may not want to hear about God but HE wants them to hear about Him); and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself (this will help keep you gentle and respectful -- even though we know that their hearing about God is in their best interest they won't often see it that way -- it's kind of like telling a child 'no' when he/she wants to go play in the street; it ruins their 'fun' but it also keeps them alive). Pastor: |
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