The Pharisees were so busy trying to "do" God's law that they missed the most important part: People. They were so caught up in in themselves that pride became the alter at which they worshipped. Jesus stated that these people honor God with their lips but their hearts are far from Him. They were legalistic and considered anyone not of their class to be beneath them. There is no room for love in their puffed up hearts. The pride they felt as they "served" God was all-consuming. This is the story of some modern day Pharisees. It is a tale of sorrow and woe.
In modern times it seems there has been a rebirth of the "Pharisees". Their only purpose on this earth is to dig under every rock so as to discover anything that might resemble sin. One misspoken word, one foot out of step and they are there to set you straight, to warn you against that teacher or organization. How does the saying go..."Brushing aside the dollars to find the dimes". Perfection is theirs!
One thing that gives me great comfort is the fact that the authors of this web site have removed the log from their eye so as to be able to get the speck out everyone else's eye; you know, so we can see clearly. "God, I thank Thee that I am not like other men...like that tax collector over there..."
You will see, if you are bold enough to venture to this web site, that there are few ministries that have not felt the wrath of these modern day Pharisees.
To be fair, they do have a lot of known cults and misguided people on their lists, and we do need to be aware of them, but the pride they have in their "ministry" is blinding them to the fact that God's word has a second side to it: love. God is love, He is just, to be sure but He is also love. They highlight "justice" and conveniently leave out love.
Probably the most disturbing part of the web site is their stance on salvation: You must believe and repent. Jesus is not good enough, what He did on the cross is not sufficient, you must act as well. This is a lie and fits in perfectly with the rest of their "work". The sour, scowling faces I see in my mind (oops! I said, "mind", that is complete whacked out heresy in their...minds???) epitomize what so many think about Christianity that it is no wonder people don't want to listen to us! Their message is only a heavy, legalistic yoke to burden the masses, the very ones Jesus came to free. The very sin of the Pharisees. The truth belongs to them.
My heart does not feel much better but I wanted to get this out on "paper". By the way, in their estimation (notice I did not use the word "minds" here..OOPS! I said it again!), journaling, writing in a journal, is a sin too. Don't ask, I have no clue! I am really freaked out about this web site!
I try not to rant too often but this web site has my hackles up.
I don't know why I'm posting this here but check it out if you want to:
http://www.rapidnet.com/~jbeard/bdm/
We are created in God's image, we are fearfully and wonderfully made. We have been given...m-i-n-d-s...to...t-h-i-n-k...with. To learn, to study, to grow. It is not a sin to learn. Man has taken learning and twisted it to try and squeeze God out of it but learning in and of itself is not wrong, even if we are trying to learn about the mind. We are not robots. We, like God, have the capacity to think, to learn, to love, to choose, to imagine (another wicked sin, apparently) but I think we honor God when we use these things. He certainly was imaginative when He created this wonderful world! Can we go too far? Yes! But to exercise our minds and imaginations is not wrong. What I can't imagine is the world in which these authors must live. A one room shack with a non-scented candle as the only source of light, digging in God's word for one more way to condemn another ministry! Do I sound angry? I am angry! This causes more damage to the cause of Christ than any act of sin ever could! What would happen if these men channeled their energy to reaching out in love to the lost and let God deal with the rest?
Jesus was angry with the Pharisees because of their hardness of hearts. they clung to their traditions and their perceived righteousness more than they did to God's truth. They rejected Jesus and they put Jesus to death. What I see is that the "religious zealots" caused more grief to God and did more to hinder what God was trying to accomplish than all the sinners and tax collectors combined! Jesus was hard on those who did not love but tender with the lowly. Did He condone sin? Absolutely not, but it was not with the sinners that He contended, but it was their so called teachers.
If you go to this web site you will not find love, for there is none there, it is not welcome. What you will find is a dry and barren wasteland, you will find the heart of the Pharisees.
I am far from perfect, Any of you who know me know this for a fact, but my heart burned within as I read the garbage found on this web site!
As always, I welcome your comments, questions and feed back.
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