I was recently taking free study in yet another Bible course, run by something calling itself World Bible School ( http://www.wbschool.org/aboutus/home.html ) and which represented inter alia that it provides training even to USA armed forces members and that it is non-denominational.

 

I have resigned from its study course, because about halfway through lessons, it began to pound that without a water baptism and further one (or many more!) as its affiliated clerics set forth, absolutely no one on earth can be receiving the Holy Spirit from God no matter who they are, how THEIR faith baptized them, and this means even most Christians as well as Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, down to atheists are just praying uselessly and will face eternal perdition no matter how good they thought they were doing; for a non-denominational entity, that sure seems to be a specific gravamen and thus a religion in support of faith.

 

Now, do I say "away with ye, evildoer!" or yell "regulate them as psychology! They base it on Apostles anyway, not Christ, ya know!", or some other venting of spleen? No, not all! I simply resigned, wished them well in all their endeavors, thanked for their interest up to current, and otherwise switched their channel so to speak. They too have a right to practice a PEACEFUL religion.

 

But in there is a kernel that sounds in the rhetoric of those who say Christianity on the main is pure psychology and should be abolished, regulated, or re-written with government definitely funding all religion to ensure consistency of application.

 

The tinniness of government-approved and/or licensure aside as Constitutional issues, let's look at how successful thumping on Christ's apostles as pure authority...rather than say words of Jesus...has been in building Church attendance. Ever since the heyday of Fulton Sheen back in the 1950's, Church attendance has been regularly declining even though they say 80% or so of people claim at least basic Christian faith; yes, some Churches do get eminent domained, but also over the past 30 years many Churches themselves voluntarily closed increasing numbers of their houses of worship, even before the "Bush economy" or bin Laden or what have you. Most usually, those who claim faith but not attendance say it's all the rules and Apostolic contradictions in tension with Christ's words which keep them out of Churches...indeed, many Churches in the USA today seem to operate on theory Christianity is only for self-saving those content to be loners yet themselves still comfortably to well-off, saving alcohol or other addicts, or both...period.

 

So let's say one day this or that media or official claims anyone not following a government-backed faith (especially where such faith adjusts itself to have the official's policies overwrite traditional Scripture) is say-so detainable based on some evidence of not being in Church due to "Laden-like hard feelings about apostasy" or not being there "as someone suspiciously hypocritical of avoiding what their faith commands them"...anything of that nature.

 

Well, again, most folks have somehow peaceably stayed away due to what they've always thought was some kind of political posturing purely to please Church leaders, officials, whatever, and that never USED to be de facto need to override the Constitution and confess a political/religious axiom by practice "or else". And all along, many people on earth have rightly questioned not so much Christ's recorded words (which as in Gospels to date were even written down during His living time and by even non-Apostles) as the blarney of Apostles afterward ( pseudonymous parties first describing their actions decades after Christ left, and who themselves acknowledge even Apostles right there with Christ 11 out of 12 times couldn't identify Him as the Son of Man...for Christians, and day ones at that, the Apostles must not have been the sharpest knives in any drawer, ipse dixit).

 

In sum, the post-Christ's Gospels Apostolic Acts and Letters rely heavily upon Christ reappearing to them in ways even He didn't previously put for record, and somehow intends the Holy Spirit to not suddenly be available to all people but just those Apostles deem worthy, "bind and loose" somehow no longer means "what you do not peacefully yet with faith in God resolutely resist on earth will not be resisted for you by Heaven" and turns into "if you decide someone is sinning only if by your human leave will Heaven forgive it, you now to supersede the saving of all mankind forever through Christ's Resurrection"...in other words, it reasonably sounds like a lot of fudging to make men not as enthusiastic as Christ trying to insert themselves into their own otherwise secular control of salvation at whatever tune is pleasing to them and theirs...sound familiar nowadays? Indeed, until Emperor Constantine came along circa the eighth century, the Christians who believed that had as worldwide support enough cash to live in a swamp outside Rome; Constantine somehow heard something he liked, built them a Vatican, and gave them military protection, and the rest was history...built upon clerical interpretations sounding more like it was Apostles and the Old Testament, with Christ mentioned in passing only as the Divine reason for obeying men. And, from Martin Luther to date scads of Christians sects have popped up to say even the Vatican is off-kilter; nothing new under the sun, or in being unsatisfied not with Christ but His later mouthpieces. 

 

I myself believe Jesus Christ who simply said He has as brothers and sisters ALL who do God's will of respectful and civil living, who show mercy, who focus on such omni-societal, omni-racial, omni-national principles; He has saved us for all our sins, exactly to prevent "scorecards" from being plied against us, but God one day will judge our hearts against the basics common to all religions or stoic ways and as reiterated by Christ, so "the devil made me do it, be a sport Big Daddy!" won't cut it; He sent the Paraclete (Holy Spirit) into the whole world with hopes ministers of true faith will guide all those called by God to do such right things (even John the Baptist said Christ is greater than him, as Christ baptizes us ALL with the Holy Spirit); and that's enough for me, always has been, and is the core of my own Universal Life Church involvement...if you want to be an atheist, or want to have any peaceful faith of any kind which does not diminish anyone, I like Jesus respect your right to not seek God or to seek God and go where He leads you in faith...like Jesus, I would not ask anyone not listening to me to be taken out of this world but like everyone else I'm concerned for (ALL humans, even celebrities, officials, gays, ad infinitum) I would ask God to keep them all safe from the influences of the evil one.

 

For those seeking perhaps to vitiate atheists or non-Church attendees re government-funded/licensed Christian Churches based upon non-attendance, or calling any Christian who doesn't so attend apostate/anti-apostasy Ladenist/hypocrite/threat to other cultures or faiths, it would seem government then sets up one or more approved religions, and further speciously flails at those who simply live as Christ Himself opined instead of living the way mere post-Christ human males easily might have thought up or embellished at a time not much separated then from stoicism and then-other faiths...and money, something Christ said to not over wean upon, was "too tight for them". That is, Christ provokes no one, His Apostles need a grain or two of salt, and being wary of post-Christ words simple need not be "of interest"...might be why Christ Himself said of believers that often the last or least will be the first in Heaven, and the first least or last, with some who did what they'll say are great works in His name finding Him saying he knew them not.