Religious Confusion -- Part 2

Very few of those who profess to be followers of Christ properly understand man’s relationship with God the Father. Last week I tried to address a portion of this issue but the format of a blogsite does not allow for such a lengthy and important discussion; I shall therefore bend one of my own rules and suggest that those who are truly interested should contact one of the more prominent Churches of God and request some of their literature. Be warned that I do not find everything they teach to be accurate and true; however, they are by far much closer to the truths of God than are others of the mainstream Christian Churches.

Some Church of God websites offer an excellent variety of very helpful literature free-of-charge; they may limit the number of booklets you may request at any one time, but they will eventually send everything you request and will not in any way try to force their beliefs, themselves, or their Church upon you.

Having gone this far, I feel obligated to better define my recommendation. If you desire a more comprehensive understanding of the many truths and mysteries of God you would do well to search the websites of the United Church of God and the Living Church of God. I would especially recommend the sermons of Garner Ted Armstrong as offered by the website of the Intercontinental Church of God. These are only three of the more than 300 groups which separated from the Worldwide Church following the death of Herbert W. Armstrong. Truly the words are found in Scripture: “I shall strike the shepherd and scatter the sheep.”

The Worship of Idols

Exodus 20:4-5 “You shall not make for yourself a carved image -- any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them nor serve them.”

Islam teaches that Mohammed was forty years of age when he received the first of many revelations from God/Allah; the angel Gabriel is said to have been the messenger of those revelations. I have come to believe that however the knowledge came to Mohammad, he saw the creation of graven images as a sin against God; and that the veneration of these images was an abomination.

The Koran relates many stories of the Patriarch Moses as he led the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt and into the Promised Land. There is a certain fascination awaiting those who take time to study the parallel accounts of Moses from both the Koran and the Bible. Many discrepancies exist between the two; and yet these discrepancies can actually add to the fascination as you search for truth as the Spirit of God may lead you. Moses was only one of the many Patriarchs who spoke out against idolatry.

Sura 7.138 “And We made the children of Israel to pass the sea; then they came upon a people who kept to the worship of their idols. They [the children of Israel] said: ‘O Musa [Moses]! make for us a god as they have (their) gods.’ He said: ‘Surely you are a people acting ignorantly...’”

Islam reveres the Patriarch Abraham as the Father of the Faithful -- as do followers of Judaism and followers of Christianity. There are many references in the Koran to the time when Abraham was still living in the land of his father; and according to most of these accounts Abraham’s father and his people were idol worshippers. In these stories Abraham took it upon himself to preach against the practice of idolatry; he even went so far as to destroy many of the images they had created.

Sura 21.51 to 54 “And certainly We gave to Ibrahim [Abraham] his rectitude before, and We knew him fully well. When he said to his father and his people: ‘What are these images to whose worship you cleave?’ They said: ‘We found our fathers worshiping them.’ He said: ‘Certainly you have been, (both) you and your fathers, in manifest error.’”

I find it interesting that the Koran’s account of Abraham’s destruction of the idols more closely resembles the biblical story of Gideon (a.k.a. Jerubbaal) than it does the story of Abram before his departure from the land of his fathers. In fact, anyone who tries to parallel many of the stories from the Koran with their biblical counterparts will almost certainly find similarities; but these similarities will often be identified with different times and/or different individuals than those referred to in the Bible. This is something I hope to address in a future blog; many of these parallel accounts can be truly fascinating.

When considering the revelations Mohammad received (whether through the Archangel Gabriel or otherwise), you need to determine for yourself what really happened and what Mohammad really began to understand. If you carefully study the words of the Koran you will see his continual reference to a “Book.” As I suggested in “Part 1” it is my firm belief that this “Book” is nothing less than the Holy Scriptures; the same Scriptures which have been handed down to us as the book of the Bible. The Taurat (the Torah) is a portion of that book; and the Injeel (the New Testament) is another portion of that book.

Sura 4.51: “Have you not seen those to whom a portion of the Book has been given? They believe in idols and false deities and say of those who disbelieve: ‘These are better guided in the path than those who believe.’”

During the early years in the life of Mohammed, the religion of the people in Mecca included idol worship. Mohammed himself was born into the tribe of the Koriesh who were keepers of the Kaaba, the temple of idols at Mecca. But who were the people he refers to in Sura 4.51? Were they his own people; or were they followers of Christianity as it was being practiced by the Roman Catholic Church in the days of Mohammad? Notice that whoever they were, Mohammad describes them as “those to whom a portion of the book has been given.”

From historical antiquity the proliferation of idols and icons created and venerated by the Church of Rome is well known. In fact, during the 8th and 9th Centuries a disputation over the veneration of idols tore the Church of Rome apart. This disputation, referred to as the Iconoclastic Controversy, brought about the separation of the Roman Church from that which is now recognized as the Eastern Orthodox Church.

You may find it interesting that this Eastern Church was located within the Byzantine Empire (i.e. the Eastern Roman Empire), headquartered in the city of Constantinople. Constantinople is now known as Istanbul and is one of the major cities of modern-day Turkey; today, the population of Turkey is recognized as being almost 100% Muslim. Notice the following synopsis of historical information taken from the “Microsoft® Encarta® Encyclopedia 2002. © 1993-2001 Microsoft Corporation.” And remember that the Prophet Mohammad was born in the year 570 and died in the year 632:

“Prior to the year 628, the armies of Persia had occupied the nations of Syria, Palestine, and Egypt. Up to that time the Byzantine Empire had to endure a long series of wars with the Persians. The Byzantine Emperor Heraclius finally terminated these wars with the Persians by a decisive victory in 628 and recovered Persian-occupied Syria, Palestine, and Egypt; however, exhaustion from this struggle and bitter religious disputes between rival Christian sects weakened Byzantine defenses and morale, leaving the empire unprepared to face another danger in the decade that followed.

“Between 634 and 642, Arabs, inspired by the new religion of Islam conquered Palestine, Syria, Mesopotamia, and Egypt. Constantinople weathered major Arab sieges in the 670’s and in 717-18; and Byzantine Asia Minor survived almost annual Arab raids. These major Muslim offensives halted at the beginning in the 9th century and it was during the 8th and 9th centuries that the Iconoclastic Controversy took place.”

I wonder how much (if any) the preaching of Mohammad concerning the practice of idolatry had to do with the controversy which separated the Eastern Orthodox Church from the Church of Rome. There is certainly no doubt in my mind that the blatant idolatry practiced by the Roman Catholic Church is anathema to the teachings of God and the Bible. The worship and/or veneration of idols is offensive to not only the followers of Islam but to those who follow the true teachings of Christianity.

Sura 39.17 to 18 “And (as for) those who keep off from the worship of the idols and turn to Allah, they shall have good news, therefore give good news to My servants, those who listen to the word, then follow the best of it; those are they whom Allah has guided, and those it is who are the men of understanding.”

God’s Government

The following two paragraphs were used in a previous message but they have relevance to this present discussion so I hope you’ll forgive me for using them again:

Regardless of the many good intentions being put forward by our national leaders, this may be as good a time as any for those of the “church” and the Churches of God to remember that the government of God is not, was not, and never will be a democracy! We need to realize that when America attempts to spread its concept of democratic thoughts and freedoms to the peoples of the Muslim nations, many of them see it as nothing less than the spreading of Western immorality and licentiousness -- and who amongst us can say they are wrong?

As a nation, it may be argued that America has lost all moral justification to lead the world: greed, violence, illegal drugs, sexual immorality, and an almost unbridled selfishness run rampant throughout the land. Governmental arrogance, deceit, and corruption has reached levels which are almost beyond belief in the land many of us recognize as the fulfillment of the promise of national greatness God gave to Abraham.

Isaiah 1:4-6 “Alas, sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a brood of evildoers, children who are corrupters! They have forsaken the LORD, they have provoked to anger the Holy One of Israel, they have turned away backward. Why should you be stricken again? You will revolt more and more. The whole head is sick, and the whole heart faints. From the sole of the foot even to the head, there is no soundness in it, but wounds and bruises and putrefying sores...”

The proliferation of competing ministries within nominal Christianity has attached so many contradictory and confusing doctrines to the teachings of Jesus that it is sometimes difficult to accept the simplicity of the message he brought to mankind. Jesus came to proclaim the good news (the gospel) of the soon-coming Kingdom of God! The message of the Bible from Genesis to Revelation is that Jesus will one day reign as King of kings and Lord of lords over His Father’s Kingdom, here upon the Earth.

The inception of the Kingdom of God will presage the eradication forever of political influence and governmental corruption. No longer will mankind have to suffer the farcical political process with its resulting circus of lies, deception, and corruption. Those whom God has chosen will be placed in positions of authority and responsibility after having been thoroughly tried, tested, and trained for that position.

The government of God can be described as a benevolent dictatorship. Throughout man’s history, various societies have tried to set up such a government and have failed. In portions of the world today the leaders of modern Islam have set up their concept of an Islamic State; in their minds and their teaching this is nothing less than the government of God ruling over mankind from the top down. To this point in time all such attempts have failed; they have failed for the simple reason that mankind is incapable of true justice and righteous governance in the absence of the will and the actual leadership of our Creator.

1st Samuel 8:4-7 “Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah, and said to him, ‘Look, you are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now make us a king to judge us like all the nations.’ But the thing displeased Samuel when they said, ‘Give us a king to judge us.’ So Samuel prayed to the LORD. And the LORD said to Samuel, ‘Heed the voice of the people in all that they say to you; for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them.’”

The Almighty Creator God ruled over the descendants of Jacob/Israel until the people decided they would rather have a human king to rule over them. You should read 1st Samuel 8:10-17 directly from your own Bible where you will learn that through Samuel, God gave Israel fair warning what would happen if they went ahead with their desire to replace the rule of God with that of a man. He told them how they would be made to serve their king (or their government) with their children, their possessions, even their very lives; and when they eventually realize how much better off they had been with God as their King it would be too late for He would refuse to listen.

1st Samuel 8:18 “And you will cry out in that day because of your king whom you have chosen for yourselves, and the LORD will not hear you in that day.”

1st Samuel 8:19 “Nevertheless the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel; and they said, ‘No, but we will have a king over us, that we also may be like all the nations, and that our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles.”

This is where we find ourselves today; carping and complaining no matter which form of governing party happens to be in power -- and we only have ourselves to blame. It could be argued that the fault lies with those of our fore-fathers who rebelled in the days of Samuel; but even today, each of us has the opportunity to choose whether we want a man to rule over us or the governance of Almighty God -- very few of us ever choose wisely.

Sura 1.1 to 1.4 “All praise is due to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds; the Beneficent, the Merciful, the Master of the Day of Judgment. Thee do we serve and Thee do we beseech for help.

The leaders of Islam profess their acceptance to the rule and the governance of God; they openly reject the rule and the governance of mankind and abhor what they see as the excess and licentiousness of Western democracy. In the Arabic language, the very word “Islam” means the surrender or submission to God. Likewise, the word “Muslim” refers to a follower of Islam -or- one who surrenders to God. To accept what they perceive as the immoral and corrupt Western concept of democracy, over the rule and governance of God, would be abhorrent to the majority of Islam. It is my considered and constant belief that they will continue to rebel against any form of democracy being imposed upon them.

Church of God Government

The “church” and the Churches of God give allegiance to their Heavenly Father and to His Son; but in doing so they readily admit to the blessing of living in a land governed by a democracy rather than a dictatorship -- benevolent or otherwise! The reason is quite simple; until we are governed by the righteous laws of God, and the wisdom and power of God’s leadership, any other form of governance will be imperfect.

In the lands of Western democracy we are free to keep the seventh-day Sabbath of God. We are free to reject the pagan celebrations of nominal Christianity so revered by our peoples and accepted and approved by our national leaders. We may worship and live our lives according to that which we have been given to understand; always mindful that we give offence to no man, government, or God.

1st Corinthians 10:32-33 “Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. Give no offense, either to the Jews or to the Greeks or to the church of God...”

As part of the development of the begotten child of God, he or she must strive to never offend those with whom they must interact. It is a further part of their development that they show respectful obedience not only to the laws of God and His governance, but also to the laws and governance of the lands in which they now live, whenever those laws are not at variance with the will of God.

Finally: Many followers of Islam will be offended by those they consider nothing less than infidels; no matter what those infidels may do. Likewise, those Christians who are offended by Islam, or by any other of the many conflicting religions, will be offended no matter what those others may do. To those who are thus offended I shall quote the words of the Prophet of Islam: “And whoever disbelieves; let not his disbelief grieve you...”

Note: There is so much more which could be said, but I can see no merit in further striving with the long and somewhat shameful list of that by which we of the Western world offend both Islam and God; so I shall end it here. And as much as I have enjoyed sharing my thoughts through these weekly messages (even if they end up lost forever in the limitless void of cyber-space) it is time for me to return to my own personal studies.

This week’s posting is the fortieth since the inception of the blogsite; perhaps in the fall or early winter (God willing) I’ll be ready to begin again with a new set of thoughts and ideas which someone out there may find helpful. An important part of my studies will be to return to the first message of the forty; to study it again very carefully, searching the Scriptures whether these things are so, editing and improving wherever possible.

Whatever my present beliefs, I am forever striving to improve that which I have come to accept as truth. I freely admit that at this time, in this life, I am far from perfect. That which I have come to believe may therefore also be far from perfect. Nothing would please me more than to have one or more of you return to the first of these forty messages in your own search for a more perfect understanding and a more perfect truth; if you should find anything I may have overlooked, or have mistaken, or have misunderstood, then by all means share what you find with me and with others of our brethren.

Note: Nest week I shall endeavor to post a complete list of each of the forty weekly messages with the date each message was posted making it easier to find in the Archives. To those who have taken an interest in that which I have tried to say and do I thank you; and may God Our Heavenly Father bless you in every way!