sarkakaiaima

            Every heresy is built upon (or as it were, around) some true affirmation about God. This is why religious groups claiming the mantle of “true” or “restored” Christian faith can have such an appeal. For they appeal directly to the Bible or some teaching of Jesus Christ but twist or contort the truth to fit into the warped contours of their own theology assumptions. (For example, every one of the heresies which the leadership of the Church dealt with, through Church councils, demonstrates this phenomena. (Indeed, case studies can also easily be done on Mormonism, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Islam, and many other lesser known religious movements/groups.) The apostle Peter was right to warn the Church of all generations about those who “twist” (Greek: Literally “strangle”) the meaning of the Scriptures. (2 Peter 3:16) to make it appear to affirm what they believe.           ...

For every fake there is a real article on which it is based. For every forged signature there is an authentic signature. And for every false and empty imitation there is a prior and original action rooted in true experience. This principle is especially true in matters of religion and spirituality.   The nature of spiritual longing forces one to move either toward authenticity or mask wearing. For every person has a fundamental decision to make: Do I want to deal with God and reality as it is? If the answer is no then one has a further choice to wrestle through: Do I completely give up on religious practices or do I maintain the practice so as to appear that I am a “spiritual person”? Perhaps you think this is odd that someone would consider this choice. Why not simply be authentic and honest about oneself and seek a remedy to one’s moral and/or spiritual challenges? Why not admit that I simply do not know how to relate to God and do not understand about spiritual reality...