Shopping Cart Christianity – Questions From My Son Part 3, Section A

Shopping cart Christianity is the most recent plague to infect our country, destroy our belief system, dilute the truth of the Gospel and degrade our society’s morality.

Andy with son Luke

Like all great fathers with their son’s teaching them, Andy shows Luke where the water is coming from.

Picking up the final set of questions is this topic that rages through our bones.  The next set of questions posed by my son Andy is equally awesome but painfully present in our religious demise:

  1. Why is it that we are picking out only some of the laws and not all?
  2. Speaking of those laws, why is it that we only follow the laws of the food and Sabbaths from the Old Testament and not all of them like when your brother dies and leaves a spouse you are suppose to marry her?
  3. Why do the laws of the Old Testament still stand?
  4. I am having a discussion on why we shouldn’t eat pork?

 

As you can see from these questions, we will be digging into the heart and soul of the matter, separating the TRUTH from the TRADITION of the religious zealots who have taken us captive.

Why is it that we are picking out only some of the laws and not all?

I love this question because it exposes tradition for what it is, shopping cart Christianity.  The mentality is to pick and choose what you want from a shelf of beliefs and commandments, then place them into your shopping buggy of beliefs.  Simple, fast and effective for those who want a tailor made belief system, but puts you on a direct path to take a splash in the lake of fire.

It is the modus operandi of the religious leaders to take you captive by dangling a “better form” of beliefs in front of your eyes while reaching their slimy hands into your wallet for your tithe.  With over 41,000 different denominations, that is like walking into an ice cream shop with endless counters and cases filled with countless varieties of choices.  Pick what you please and call all others as bad choices.

Creation of denominations

First we must investigate how different views came about when the start of it all was from one set of writings.  The Torah (‘Law’ in Hebrew) was given to Moses directly from the mouth of Yehovah (God/LORD) while the tribes of the Israelites wandered in the wilderness.

Yehovah wanted us to know from the beginning of time how we came into knowledge of our creator.  Genesis builds the story, which would have been handed down from generation to generation starting with Adam.  Yehovah asked Moses to write the scrolls of the story for all future generations to hear it read to them.

Exodus brings us the story behind the powerful hand of god and how he delivered his people from the bondage of Egypt back into the Promised Land.  This is the land promised to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (renamed Israel) and all their offspring.  This promise is still in force today to ALL tribes of the Hebrews, not just the Jews or Judah, AND to those grafted into Israel by belief in the Messiah.  Yes, that means you and me have the same rights to the Promised Land as the Jews and Hebrews/Israelites.

Denominations 101

Denominations came about when more and more of the books of the bible became available as scribes painfully careful to copy each jot and tittle correctly to new scrolls to be read everywhere.

Someone would read the text and others would hear it and form an opinion about what was read.  They would get together and discuss it and have heated arguments about it.  Same words, in the original language, but differing views based upon what they wanted to hear.

Now imagine centuries pass and books are now printed in many languages and words are being translated into each language, losing the effect of the original meaning from the Ancient Hebrew language.  This means more opinions about the meaning and stronger beliefs on interpretation of those translations.

Money to be made from arguing

Enter into this equation that there is ‘gold in dem der hills’ called tithes.  Money, being the root of all evil, enters into the minds of those leaders and opportunity presents itself.  Why not gather a bunch of those who have the same view of the translated scriptures and collect their tithe money all while furthering the shared view.

Poof, a split occurs and a new church springs up across the street and half of the body of old believers leaves and goes to make a new body of believers with a slightly different view.  This is the birth of a new denomination.

Who benefits from the selections available

Marketing their particular beliefs as the ONLY truth and ONLY way to Heaven, this new body goes out and seeks to build it up with new members, thus new tithe donations.

A few groups become very good in developing their method of marketing and thus expansion as seen in the corporate world takes place with branches of the same views springing up all over the country.

With branches growing, the old support system cannot sustain the pattern of expansion too long.  Now we create a management system and pay those managers great salaries and call more and more to donate their tithe funds.

Expansion booms and so does money-making ideas

Several groups grow beyond imagination and the original branches need to be remodeled or move to larger buildings.  A problem presents itself to the well paid management team:  How do we get more than the allowed 10% tithe money out of these suckers?

Brilliant as they are, they create a special fund called the Building Fund which is over and above your tithe.  This seems like a great idea, so they place it into practice.

The Roman Road to Disaster

Another idea to get even more money strikes them too.  How about creating a ‘Holding Place’ for the dead and we can call it Purgatory and then if the deceased’s relatives are told their loved one was not good enough to enter into Heaven, but is in a waiting place.  Then we can create a new income stream for the church and call it Indulgences.

With the Indulgences and prayers, your loved one can change their place of residence and move to Heaven from Purgatory if you pay enough money.  Nice as these leaders are, they even allow you to pay your own Indulgence while still living so that you can ignore the laws and pay your way into heaven.  If you are really naughty, you can pay your way into Purgatory and allow your family to pay you into Heaven.

The bottom falls out and notes nailed to the door

More and more people are getting into the act, but also the scripture is being distributed in higher volumes.  People are getting educated and are seeing these new things called “Church” are controlling their entire lives.  They hear of the freedom in Christ, but experience poverty.  That’s okay because the Church tells them that poverty is good and brings you to heaven.

However, some do-gooder named Martin Luther gets a firm grasp of the situation and realized their wallets are being taken for a ride and their freedoms are stolen into captivity by the church and share his findings.  He nail 95 thesis to the door in Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany.

The results?  A split and more leaders with more tithe money and more divisions.  Now, according to Christianity Today, there are by some accounts over 41,000 divisions all claiming to follow the same original scriptural text.  With 41,000 differing views come 41,000 different sets of “laws” as imposed by those views.

Are the laws meant for everyone?

It is very important to understand one misconception about the law, they are not for everyone!

The laws were written to people based upon who they are, what tribe they were in, and even the job within the tribe.  We will look at a few very basic laws to point out the differences.

The woman also with whom man shall lie with seed of copulation, they shall both bathe themselves in water, and be unclean until the even. (Lev 15:18 KJV)

Here in Leviticus 15:18 we read that when a husband and wife have relations, they are to bathe themselves.  Naturally this will not apply to children and the unmarried.  This is is a specific law written for a specific condition.

And if a woman have an issue, and her issue in her flesh be blood, she shall be put apart seven days: and whosoever toucheth her shall be unclean until the even. 20 And every thing that she lieth upon in her separation shall be unclean: every thing also that she sitteth upon shall be unclean.

(Lev 15:19-20 KJV)

This law from the very same chapter is written for women during their menstrual cycle.  Therefore it is not written for any men and thus men to do obey this law.

Every male among the priests shall eat thereof: it shall be eaten in the holy place: it is most holy. (Lev 7:6 KJV)

In this case the law is written specifically for the priesthood.  Talking about the sacrifices and who can eat them.  Every male from among the priests can eat it.  Some laws state the members of the Priest’s family can partake of the sacrifice.

So as we see the laws are written for everyone, males, females, children, priests and even for animals.  So it is our jobs to read and learn which of the commandments apply to us in our current state.

Adding to and taking away

It is strictly forbidden by scripture to add to or take away from the commandments handed down for Yehovah.  This is plainly spoken of in Deuteronomy 12:32:

32 What thing soever I command you, observe to do it: thou shalt not add thereto, nor diminish from it.

(Deu 12:32 KJV)

Yet we see how Rabbi’s add to scripture constantly.  For example the praying to the East, the Kippur and the Washing of the hands are all traditions made up by the Rabbi’s and placed upon the heads of the people.

We saw this fact spoken about by Yeshua (Jesus) in a previous article.  Yeshua made it perfectly clear that their, the Rabbi’s, traditions were nullifying the commands of Yehovah.

Which are we to follow

In answering the question, we are to follow all of them that are written for us and to use our God given discernment to know which they are.  Studying the scriptures is the only way to learn.  Putting it in your heart to obey them is the starting point.

From starting in your heart, allow the Holy Spirit to guide you into further obedience.  We are at a disadvantage because we did not grow up with these commandments and are even told they are not for us.  Yehovah knows this and will guide you along the path… If you let Him do so.

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