Thursday, May 17, 2012

Human error vs. confusion

Truth will sooner come out of error than from confusion. ~ Francis Bacon

Lord, when we are wrong, make us willing to change; and when we are right, make us easy to live with. ~ Peter Marshall

I hope you don’t mind me telling you all this. One can learn only by seeing one’s mistakes. ~ C. S. Lewis

Selah.

There is no shame on being wrong about a point of truth or spiritual life. In the context of spiritual abuse, there is definitely no shame in being wrong -- especially for second generation persons involved, or new Christians caught up, etc. Every single one of us can be led away from the central path... all it takes to be led astray is to be one click off at the starting point; then, down the path, it will eventually be many clicks off.

To use the jargon of military marksmen: One click off at rifle is way off, downrange. And in spiritual terms, this is so true! One click off from Christ as center -- Christ and His Gospel alone -- will eventually mire the followers in toxic faith.

There is no shame in this.

The only shame involved is when someone uses confusion to maintain the error. Bringing the error to full light of day is to correct it. Bringing the error before Scripture, in soul-searching prayer, is the beginning of freedom. Every one of us, at some point, has been in error... thankfully, it is often the starting point of great favor and blessing.

The Apostle Paul began his evangelistic path first in error -- and in the corrective of revelation of Truth, knocked off his high horse, and then days in the Desert. In fact, all the early followers did the same, to one degree or another. Fear not the error then, friends. Rather flee from the confusion which allows the error to remain!

Selah.

Monday, May 14, 2012

Thoughts on toxic faith

What is toxic faith? 

 It is a subject for a book. But here's an eye-opening quote, and some brief thoughts:

Oswald Chambers:

As long as our eyes are focused on our own personal holiness, we will never even get close to the full reality of redemption. Christian workers fail because they place their desire for their own holiness above their desire to know God. “Don’t ask me to be confronted with the strong reality of redemption on behalf of the filth of human life surrounding me today; what I want is anything God can do for me to make me more desirable in my own eyes.” To talk that way is a sign that the reality of the gospel of God has not begun to touch me. There is no reckless abandon to God in that. God cannot deliver me while my interest is merely in my own character. Paul was not conscious of himself. He was recklessly abandoned, totally surrendered, and separated by God for one purpose— to proclaim the gospel of God (see Romans 9:3). 

Selah.

Toxic Faith: The blending of elements of the Gospel with human tradition and focus on self-holiness. Toxic faith blends the work of Christ with traditions or sub-cultures of human making, controlling and manipulating disciples using the language of faith. Toxic faith traps the psyche and life of the follower in bondage, even as it claims to believe in the freedom of Christ. Toxic faith often works in pseudo-cult fashion, using the threat [spoken or implied] of dis-fellowshiping, disfavor, silence, and outright rejection to keep the follower "in line." It uses the language of truth but it does not allow full appeal to the Truth; nor does it allow accountability to Truth outside its narrow definition -- not even appeal to Scripture. Toxic faith makes holiness and group life the focus, to the exclusion of the Gospel, and outright rejection of its freedom: to exercise freedom is to be excised from the group and rejected from conversation and communion. Toxic faith binds the persons that Christ came to free, crippling them spiritually and emotionally.

Selah.