JEFFREY MURRELL :
John Nelson Darby, Jim Jones, Jim and Tammy Bakker, Jimmy Swaggart, Pat Robertson, Oral Roberts, Jerry Falwell, Joel Olsteen, Kenneth Copeland and even Billy Graham have all been wolves in sheep's clothing to this country's Christian community, manipulating the Scriptures to control people and, thereby, preserve their own financial interests. Paul's letters are a favorite source of their evangelical eisegesis. Now we have the "deconstructing Christianity" trend, thanks to them (it's a backlash to what they have made a lot of people think is "Christianity"). I got fed up with evangelical eisegesis a long time ago! Me: Atheist --> Lutheran (Missouri Synod) --> Roman Catholic ✝️. I didn't leave Christ, I left the people who are dragging His name through dirty, false teachings.
And, instead of being arrogant thinking I can figure it all out by taking a microscope to every inconsistency there is in the Bible and telling people that God could and should have done it so much better than He did, I can see the forest for the trees and have been reflecting heavily on what Jesus said about organized religion in the "Woes against the Pharisees." That's a series of denunciations delivered by Jesus to the scribes and Pharisees, recorded in Matthew 23 and Luke 11, criticizing them for their hypocrisy, legalism, and corrupt practices. Key accusations include shutting the kingdom of heaven from others, making long prayers while neglecting inner corruption and justice, overemphasizing minor religious rules like tithing ridiculously while ignoring mercy and faithfulness, and even persecuting the prophets and Jesus' followers. In Acts 5, the apostles say they must follow the Word of God and not the words of men. Needless to say, I haven't been to church for a very long time now.
Napoleon Bonaparte once taunted a Catholic cardinal by threatening: “Your Eminence, are you not aware that I have the power to destroy the Catholic Church?” To which the cardinal replied: “Your Majesty, we Catholic clergy have done our best to destroy the Church for the last eighteen hundred years. We have not succeeded, and neither will you."
Leave your church, but don't leave Christ ...
2026-06-10 14:21:00