Deadly Religious Traditions

Tradition alters and/or replaces truth which is provided to give the believer the strength and comfort of God living within. Tradition changed these truths to make the believer believe Jesus is in some far-away place where he is constructing, what sounds like a physical mansion for believers to enjoy “someday” after they no longer have a physical body with which to enjoy it. Church leaders well deserve the criticism heaped upon them by the critics of the Bible. Careless opinions presented by religious leaders have erupted into sacrilegious claims by people who openly promote and practice ungodliness while claiming to be a believer.  This much is true, if the leader of traditional doctrine has a right to alter the Word of God to conform to his tradition, so does the infidel and libertine. “All are wells without water and clouds that bring no rain.”

God will speak with any person in spirit and transfer that speech to thought. The person only has to be willing to do what he is told, not because it is a command from God but because he believes God knows the best thing to do. What he is told must be verified by the words in the Bible. If the voice is the voice of God, then God will lead him to a place of confirmation in the Bible. Therefore, the first thing to do is to become as familiar with the teachings in the Bible as with any other information used in day-to-day life.

The time and money spent to get an education and prepare for a way to earn a livelihood should not be more important than the time and money spent to learn about and prepare for eternity. Knowing what God says is the most important knowledge a person can obtain. Saying the Bible is too complicated to understand is to say Jesus, the greatest of all teachers, is unable to bring one to an understanding of truth. The contradictions of Bible teachers may produce confusion but anyone willing to do what Jesus tells him to do, will understand the Bible teaching. This is the promise of the Jesus, the author and content of the Bible.

When reading the Old Testament, a Christian will quickly conclude that what Micah and his mother did was idolatry. Yet, millions who profess to be worshipping Jesus do so by using a cross to represent him. The message that was supposed to spread from one believer to another was transferred to a building that identifies itself as a church building by placing a cross in some conspicuous place.  In some church buildings there will be crosses, molten and graven images of Jesus, Mary and saints. The symbolic items in the Jewish temple were designed to explain God, not represent God. A few questions reveal the idols and icons found in church houses represent God to the minds of those who use them.

When the Old Testament Scriptures were made subject to those who told what God “meant” instead of what God “said”, every man began to do that which was right in his own eyes. He exercised his right to his own opinion. Jewish people who lived in the days of the Judges knew the history of God’s dealings with Israel. They could choose to go against the status quo and follow the words of God or they could replace God’s words with religious interpretations.

Expediency caused them to choose their own way of believing and the result was a mixture of what God said, what they determined from mental calculations and what would be compatible with their neighbor. In other words, God would now have to stand in line to be heard. Making God a part of the scene was their way of saying they believed in God. This form of religion is very acceptable to those who are traveling the broad road.

Today, there is a church to fit every brand of religion for the “right-to-my-own-opinion" people. They “choose” the church that agrees with what they "want" to believe. Their opinion becomes the judge of that part of God’s Word they will heed and the part they will explain away. They will not spend much time reading the Bible because it includes statements that disagree with wha