Category Archives: Religions
Can Christians call God “Mother Earth”?
Wicca and certain forms of paganism revere the earth as a goddess. Gaia, the Great Goddess and Maya are just a few of the many names given to Mother Earth. The common understanding of the earth goddess is that she is one deity among many. She is revered by some as the creator of all life and by others as the giver or the sustainer of life. This worship of the earth as divine is in direct opposition to the Biblical teaching that God alone is God, Creator and Sustainer. However, can Christians use Mother Earth as another name for God?
A person intending to give all credit to Jehovah, the God of the Bible, for the work of creation and for the work of sustaining creation might desire to call Him Mother Earth. Despite good intentions, the God of the Bible must not be referred to as Mother Earth. In common use “Mother Earth” is understood to be a reference to something other than the God of the Bible. This means identifying God as Mother Earth is confusing and misleading to the hearers.
More importantly, God does not permit His worshipers to innovate in their worship of Him. The book of Leviticus is a rule book for the Israelite’s worship of God. The Old Testament gives repeated examples of the consequences of worshiping God in a way other than the way prescribed by Him. The death and resurrection of Jesus in the New Testament ended temple worship and the Old Testament rituals. Jesus’ death did not alter the character of God or the necessity of worshiping Him as He prescribes. God must still be worshiped “in truth.” (John 4:24)
God has revealed Himself exclusively with masculine names and pronouns. None who desire to worship God rightly can refer to Him by feminine names or pronouns. God is declared in Scripture to be “Our Father,” never “Our Mother.” Those who desire to worship God in accord with His revelation cannot call Him by names or titles not given to Him in the Bible.
A handful of passages in the Old Testament describe God with feminine imagery. In Deuteronomy 32:18 God is said to have given birth to Israel. In Psalm 17:8 and Psalm 91:4 God is described as sheltering His child like a hen shelters her chicks. Do these and similar descriptions of God justify referring to Him as Mother? Every description of God using feminine imagery is a description of the work God does. God is never called by a feminine title. Instead, His care for His children is said to be like that of a mother, a nurse or a hen.
The Old Testament uses an abundance of images to describe God’s interactions with people. He is described as having horns, a mighty arm and an all-seeing eye. He is described as riding on clouds and breathing fire against His enemies. None of these are literally true, but are figures of speech intended to teach something about God’s interactions with mankind. The use of feminine imagery does not justify referring to God as Mother Earth any more than the use of barnyard imagery justifies referring to God as Mother Hen.
God has revealed Himself to humanity. God’s revelation to man defines God and in so doing limits the way humans can speak of God. God truly does care for His people like a mother cares for her children, but the people of God must not refer to God by any name other than those revealed by Him in His Word.
How can I know which religion is true?
How is Christianity Different from Other Religions?
What Makes the Bible Unique?
Does God hate religion?
Alex Himaya wrote a book entitled, “Jesus hates religion.” He said that, “Jesus is about love and relationship, not rules and religion.” A quick search online turns up dozens of reasons why God hates religion. “Religion has started wars.” “Religion builds huge churches but fails to feed the poor.” “Religion sees people as the enemy, but Jesus sees sin as the enemy.” “Religion keeps people from God.” “Religion is a replacement for a relationship with Him.” This popular notion sets up a conflict between religious institutions and Jesus. With the problems in many churches, the failure of organized religion to address injustice and the sheer hypocrisy of many religious adherents it is tempting to believe that God really does hate religion.
God created religion. After man sinned, God began to teach sinful man how he could come to God in worship and fellowship. This way of coming to God is religion. Man immediately began to devise his own way to approach God. Cain’s failure in worship is the earliest example of human religion. Man’s attempt to come to God in his own way is also religion. If “God hates religion” means that God hates man’s own efforts to approach him, then yes, that statement is true. The Old Testament shows time and time again that God rejects all attempts to come to Him except according to the way He prescribed. “All our righteousnesses are as filthy rags.” (Isaiah 64:6) If religion is defined, as one author said, as “a man made path to God”, then God hates religion. But if you mean God hates the religion He gave to humanity, then that’s just nonsense. Not only does God not hate His religion, He requires men to follow it.
The argument cannot be made that God liked religion in the Old Testament but not in the New. Jesus established New Testament religion that includes rules, rituals and doctrine. Jesus established the church (Matthew 16:18), appointed its leaders (Ephesians 4:11-12), defined its practices (Matthew 18:15-17, 28:19-20; Luke 22:19-20; Colossians 3:16; 1 Timothy 4:13) and established its doctrines. (Galatians 1:11-12) No one can argue that Jesus is all about relationship but not rules. He said, “If ye love me, keep my commandments.” (John 14:15) and “Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.” (John 15:14) Jesus does not hate the religion He gave to humanity.
Many religious institutions have abused the teachings of Jesus. Religion has divided people and has been a major factor in a number of wars. Religion has been used to cloak the worst kind of abuse and depravity. God hates man-centered, self-righteous and man-devised religions. God gave religion to man as a good thing enabling the sinner to come to Him. Man has misused and perverted God’s good gift, but God still loves the religion He instituted when it is followed according to His instructions. There is such a thing as pure religion which all who seek to follow Christ must participate in. None can truly say they love Christ but not His religion. “Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.” (James 1:27)
What about Reincarnation?
Many are intrigued by the teachings of the eastern religions, including the idea of reincarnation. Reincarnation is the belief that a departed soul will re-enter fleshly life in a new body. After millions (yes, millions) of cycles of birth and death, the person may be able to reach oneness with the universe and escape the reincarnation cycle.
Reincarnation is not based upon the Bible. Belief in a cycle of birth, death and re-birth is contrary to clear statements of Scripture. Ecclesiastes 12:7 says of death, “Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.” The spirit returns to God, not to the earth to enter another body. Nothing can be more clear and contrary to the teaching of reincarnation than the declaration of Hebrews 9:27, “It is appointed unto man once to die, but after this the judgment.”
Reincarnation is not a random cycling of a spirit through various lives. Reincarnation serves a purpose that is the very opposite of the Biblical teaching of salvation. Through the process of reincarnation the person is given the opportunity to work out bad choices from previous lives. In the cycle of karma the bad done in previous lives affects the present life, and the choices made in this one affect the next. Through reincarnation the person is able to gain good karma until he becomes enlightened enough to break the karmic cycle. The Biblical teaching of sin and salvation is nothing like the hope offered by reincarnation. Salvation is never achieved by works, whether in this life or one to come. Salvation is always the gift of God received only through faith in Jesus. Those who are saved by believing Jesus have no need of a future life to work out their sins. Those who do not trust Jesus for salvation have no chance of ever being good enough for heaven.
Reincarnation is not another way to describe the Biblical teaching of resurrection. Daniel 12:2 says, “And many of them that sleep in the dust shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.” The comfort Jesus gave at the death of Lazarus was, “I am the resurrection and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead yet shall he live.” (John 11:25) Resurrection is the restoration of the deceased body and the reunion of the departed soul with the newly restored body. Except for the few Biblical examples of miraculous resurrection of individuals, the resurrection will be a mass event which will take place at the end of this age. Reincarnation is the re-entrance of an individual’s soul into a new body. The reincarnated person’s new body could be anything from an insect to a holy man depending on his karma. Reincarnation gives no promise of resurrection, but instead offers the hope of eventually escaping the endless cycle of birth and death.
Reincarnation is a belief of many eastern religions that is tied directly to their other religious principles. As a result, reincarnation is not a Biblical concept. It is instead completely contrary to the Bible.
What is mindfulness? Is it Christian?
America is drowning in a flood of intellectual noise. Twitter feeds, Facebook posts, news reports, emails and text messages are just a few of the many popular means of barraging people with an excess of information. Many Americans are recognizing the need to shut down the noise and create moments of quiet in their lives. Mindfulness promises to help quiet the over stimulated minds of stressed out people. What is mindfulness? Is it something that Christians should be involved in?
Mindfulness promotes the focus upon the sensations of the moment to help to center the person in the present. Mindfulness does not teach focus on the task at hand. Mindfulness stops all other activity to become aware of the present. Mindfulness pauses and looks inward to pay complete attention to one’s senses, thoughts and emotions. It is the practice of being aware of the moment without critique, judgment or thought. A recent advertisement for local mindfulness classes said, “”Mindfulness is about paying attention on purpose in the present moment non-judgmentally.”
Mindfulness is taught through the application of principles from classic eastern meditation. By setting aside a specific time of meditation the person learns the ability to fully experience the sensations of the moment. Throughout the day the mindful person stops for a brief time to refresh mind, emotion and energy.
Americans have intentionally divorced mindfulness from its religious connections, but the principles behind this practice are nothing less than pagan. Mindfulness comes out of Buddhism and Hinduism. As a result, it is based upon a a view of the mind and body that is contrary to the Bible. Mindfulness, and all eastern meditation, starts with the premise that every person is a manifestation of the Divine. Mindfulness involves the participant in a technique springing directly from a false salvation that believes the ultimate goal is to be absorbed into the great universal divine.
As with most relaxation techniques mindfulness does bring some physical benefit to the practitioner. It may rest the mind, relax the body and refresh the person, but it carries with it the baggage of the false religions of the far east.
The quieting of the mind and attending to the moment are praiseworthy goals. Certainly a person should pay attention to the task and people at hand. This is not mindfulness. This is diligence and courtesy.
Instead of turning to mystical practices Christians should turn to the Bible for guidance in virtuous behavior. Give your life to the control of the Holy Spirit who will produce in you the fruit of love, joy and peace. Practice Biblical meditation on verses like Ecclesiastes 9:10; Ephesians 5:16-17; Colossians 4:5-6; Colossians 3:23 and 1 Thessalonians 5:17. These verses will help instill Christian virtues in your life. Practice some simple steps like turning off most of the notifications on your phone. Refuse to look at the phone every time it beeps. Turn off the TV. Ignore text messages when you are in a face to face conversation with someone. Pray. Remember that your life is given to you by God for His glory. Use your life intentionally and wisely for His service.
Why are there so many different kinds of religions in the world?
The world is filled with religions. The number of religions existing today has been estimated to be somewhere in the thousands. Man has been developing religions for thousands of years. Every major religion has splintered into a bewildering variety of sects, denomination and spin-offs. Why are there so many different religions?
A common answer to this question is that all the religions have elements of truth. As man has searched after truth he has discovered little portions of the whole truth. Each religion describes one aspect of truth. By combining the truths of many different religions a person can gain a better understanding of spiritual truth. This idea is itself a religious principle, but not one found in the monotheistic religions of Islam, Christianity or Judaism. The belief that all religions contain a portion of truth originates in the Eastern religions but it cannot be true.
Certain religions, particularly Christianity and Islam, claim exclusivity. They claim the truth they uphold is ultimate truth. That which disagrees is in error. Many religions which do not make exclusivistic claims teach things that are incompatible with other religions. Christianity claims God is Trinity. Judaism and Islam claim God is One. Which is it? God cannot be both the Christian Trinity and the Muslim One. Hinduism teaches there are many Gods. Christianity, Islam and Judaism teach there is only one God. Both claims cannot be true. Christianity claims there is only one way to be forgiven of sin and have eternal life. Many other religions claim there are many ways to heaven. All religious claims cannot be true. More significantly, the core elements of religions cannot all be true. The nature of God and the means of salvation are central principles of most religions. From a logical perspective the possibility exists that all religions are wrong. The major tenets of all, or even most, religions cannot all be right.
Religion is not the result of man’s search for truth. The many different religions exist because of man’s rejection of truth. In Genesis 4 there were only four people on the planet and they all knew God was real. At least half the human population had spoken face to face with God. No one denied the existence of God. Everyone agreed on major tenets about God: He is real, He is creator, He is in charge, He is to be worshiped. Yet even with a tiny population and much first hand information there were still religious differences. Cain and Abel came to worship God. Abel brought a prime lamb for sacrifice and Cain brought some vegetables. God rejected Cain’s sacrifice, which led to Cain killing Abel. Cain’s offering was nothing more than a new worship, a new religion, which rejected the truth revealed by God. The first religious division was the result of disobedience to God.
Making this problem worse is the intentional effort of Satan. He is described in the Bible as the god of this world who blinds the eyes of men lest they see the light of the gospel. (2 Corinthians 4:4) Satan and the fallen angels masquerade as messengers of the light. (1 Corinthians 11:13-15) Demonic forces work to confuse and mislead men. (1 Timothy 4:1). Satanic manipulation moves men to devise and proclaim false religions. Satanic and demonic influence have added to the multitude of religions in this world.
The world is confused by an abundance of different, disagreeing religions because men refuse to believe and obey God. Romans 1 says that God’s existence and glory are seen in creation. Men refuse to acknowledge Him or give thanks to Him. They prefer to worship creatures instead of the Creator. Satan hates man and God. The devil actively works to create more confusion and to promote more idolatry. The vast numbers of religions come directly from the huge number of people and societies that have replaced the worship of God with the worship of other things.
What is Gnosticism?
Over the last couple decades the religion of Gnosticism has risen in popularity. Periodic discovery of fragments of gnostic writings help keep Gnosticism on the radar. Despite the renewed interest this belief system is very difficult to define.
Modern day gnosticism is the product of centuries of development since its early days in the first century after Jesus. Unfortunately, the earliest forms of gnosticism have been lost to history. No examples of gnostic teachings exist before the 150’s. Gnostics existed before 50 AD leaving a gap of one hundred years. The earliest hints of gnostic teachings come from the New Testament book of Colossians. In the second century some of the church fathers wrote books against gnosticism which summarize some gnostic teachings. The earliest existing gnostic writings are found in the Gospel of Thomas and the works of Valentinus.
The other challenge to accurately defining the beliefs of the gnostic is the wide variety of beliefs found in gnosticism. Like modern day Christianity gnosticism was not a single set of doctrines in which everyone believed the same things. Though it did not have a uniform set of beliefs, Gnosticism did have some basic tenets held by most gnostics.
The gnostics view the physical things of this world, its material elements, as inherently bad. The physical things are trapped in this lowest plane of existence, unable to reach the highest celestial plane. The spiritual and immaterial elements, such as the soul, are not evil. Through knowledge the soul can transcend the physical to reach the plane of the Highest.
In Gnosticism the God of the Bible is a great, immaterial being responsible for the creation of this world. The Creator is not the only god, nor the highest god. He is the product of the infinite being that existed in the very Highest plane. The Creator shares the celestial planes with other great immaterial beings.
God erred in His creation. In later versions of gnosticism God is seen as the enemy. The earlier expressions seem to describe Him as well-intentioned but mistaken. God’s errors in making the world are the reason the physical is base and cannto ascend to the higher planes.
Jesus is the product of the Creator. He is not the Son of God. He is not the Creator nor is He equal with the Creator. He is a great being, akin to the other great spiritual beings. Jesus existence in the world was not a physical existence. Jesus was a spiritual being that took up residence in the flesh without becoming man. The death of Jesus’ flesh was a tragedy but Jesus did not suffer. His soul escaped the flesh before the cross and ascended up to the Highest.
The goal of man is to escape the material and ascend upwards through a hierarchy of spiritual planes to reach the very highest. Salvation, reaching the Highest, is achieved by enlightenment. Gnostic enlightenment is a mystical event suddenly revealing truth to the intuition of the individual. The increase of understanding through enlightenment lifts the soul of man higher and higher until he is able to reach the Highest.
Gnosticism is a belief system that views the physical as evil. Salvation is achieved by understanding mystical truths about creation, man and destiny. These truths are revealed to the soul of the gnostic and allow the soul to escape the material plane to reach the Highest.
Everlasting Truths 