Fake ‘christian’ Ideologies: A Reality Check
A USA voter has sent me a link to a mass movement that claims to be the incoming 'Christian' ideology: https://www.bing.com/search?q=POLITICS+The+Army+of+God+Comes+Out+of+the+Shadows+Tens+of+millions+of+American+Christians+are+embracing+a+charismatic+movement+known+as+the+New+Apostolic+Reformation%2C+which+seeks+to+destroy+the+secular+state.+By+Stephanie+McCrummen&cvid=9dc952c4b10940148421dc72da553d8e&gs_lcrp=EgRlZGdlKgYIABBFGDkyBggAEEUYOdIBCDM2NzZqMGo0qAIIsAIB&FORM=ANAB01&PC=SCO
He asks what he can do about it. I have sent him the following Reality Check:
- Jesus’ Parable of Lazarus and the Rich Person Test, Luke 16:19-31. The rich man who closed his heart to the poor man suffered in the next life.
- Jesus’ Greatest Commandments Test: First love God, second love your neighbour yourself, Mark 12: 30,31.
- The Good Samaritan Test (loving someone of a different race, religion or culture) Luke 5: 25-27.
- Care of creation test: Genesis 2:15. The early bishops Basil and Chrysostom taught that when Christ was baptised in the river Jordan he began to restore the severed relationship between God and humans (Adam) and between God and creation (Eden). Creation care is fundamental to our baptism.
- Sabbath Laws of Moses Test: The Jubilee Laws (Leviticus 25: 8-13:) Restore homes to the homeless; provide interest-free loans to the poor.
- The Last Judgement Test, Matthew 25: 27-end. ‘Whenever you refused to help one of these least important ones you refused to help me’.
- The Ten Commandments Test, Exodus 20:1-17. Respect persons, property, relationships.
- The Justice Test. Look up the word justice in a Bible concordance. Too much capitalism has been based on the lie that to be successful you always have to get bigger. In fact you may be successful by burrowing deeper, or more roundly or more intelligently. In God’s economy profit is measured not merely by cash but by what profits creation, poorer peoples and nations, and honest dealings. A Christian is called to work for a greed-free, fear-free, prejudice-free society. Enough is enough.
- The Honesty and Simplicity Test, Matthew chapters 5-7. What defines whether a movement is Christian are the ‘Beautiful Attitudes’ (Beatitudes) outlined by Jesus as a prescription for all people. These include honesty, purity, unselfishness and love.
- The Listening Test, Mark 4:9-20. Christian movements that are full of noise, judgements and propaganda, fail the Listening Test. Only movements committed to restore the lost art of listening, to people and to God, as did Samuel (1 Samuel 3) have credibility.
P.S. Buy, read and send A Way of Life for the Third Millennium (Austin Macauley) – this is the way ahead.
Posted at 09:31am on 14th January 2025
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