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Religious fanaticism. Remember these are only notes. So Don't expect good spelling or grammar. Remember too, that British spelling is not the same as American spelling! Text against missionaries? No, I was a missionary in Africa. But a certain kind of enthusiasm for spreading religion can get in the way between ordinary people and God. Matt 23:15 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel across sea and land to make a single proselyte, and when he becomes a proselyte, you make him twice as much a child of hell as yourselves.
Added to the Commandments given by God. Mark 7. 9 And he said to them, “You have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God in order to establish your tradition! 10 For Moses said, ‘Honour your father and your mother’; and, ‘Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.’ 11 But you say, ‘If a man tells his father or his mother, “Whatever you would have gained from me is Corban”’ (that is, given to God) [4]— 12 then you no longer permit him to do anything for his father or mother, 13 thus making void the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And many such things you do.”
Note they were rejecting common sense about right and wrong for supposed religious purposes. ======================================================
My general theme is that when faith degenerates into legalism - an attempt to appease an unknown god - then the door is wide open to fanaticism, as the adherent tries to justify himself by obeying many commandments. A few headings. Meaning of words
Over time there has been a change in meaning of words.
· Fundamentalist come to mean a fanatic. Not the original meaning! According to the original meaning it was someone who held that the traditional doctrines of Christianity should be adhered to.
· Enthusiast today means someone who is keen on a certain cause.
o In John Wesley’s day it meant what we normally mean by fanatic.
o John Wesley was charged with being an enthusiast.
o One of his set sermons in his famous volume 44 Sermons is The Nature of Enthusiasm.
o ====================
The opposite of Fanaticism. Tolerance, Relativism, Freedom of speech – cannot work.
Today fanatic usually means someone who lacks tolerance. Question: Should we tolerate intolerance?
Should we insist on Freedom of Speech? What if the Radio is calling for the killing of a minority group? Like the Hutu Radio did in Rwanda? Is stopping that Radio interfering with Freedom of Speech?
I was teaching Science and Christian Theology in Edinburgh University and I gave the 8 students who were all adults two statements and asked for their comments:
· Water boils at 100 degrees C at sea level whatever the local culture says. o One disagreed. Local culture decides truth. · It is morally wrong to kill twins solely on the ground that they are twins whatever the local culture says. That is what the local culture did in Nigeria about 110 years ago. o 3 disagreed. Local culture decides morality. There are no absolutes.
Supposing someone - in the name of tolerance - says All Is Relative. Live and let live, there are no absolutes. Is the statement ‘All is Relative’ an absolute statement or a relative statement?
Science. Lets do away with this silly Postmodernism and turn back to science. All knowledge comes through measuring and testing. Is that how you knew your mother? By measuring her and testing her? Test a personal friendship you will destroy that friendship, Therefore Thou shalt not test the Lord Thy God.
============================== Knowing the commandments of God or knowing God?
Islam – know God’s supposed commands but not know Him because He is unknowable. He is missing in Paradise.
Glimpse only.
Revelation – He is there in the New Jerusalem. Eternal Life means being with Him.
Jesus: Day of Judgement: I never knew you. You did not open your soul to me.
How do we know any person? By trusting what they say. Believing their Word.
Faith not law.
Supposing you are my friend and I say your duties to me are such and such and my response will be such and such. Write it down in a legal document. Spoil that friendship. Lapse into legalism.
Faith or Law When looking back on your wedding, is it the signing of the register that is what you think of or the marriage service? Law is needed – register is important – but that is not what it is all about.
PParents and children. Table manners. Follow all the Table Manners but don’t speak to you.
Children do not earn Parents’ love by keeping Table Manners. They obey table manners because they trust their parents.
Why did you come to Church today? To earn God’s favour or because you knew that God already loves you and He wants to meet with you here.
Tendency in All Religion Religion always tends towards legalism. Needs to be rescued. Jesus did not say the Pharisees were following the wrong religion. Matt 23:1 Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples, 2 “The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses' seat, 3 so practice and observe whatever they tell you—but not what they do. For they preach, but do not practice.
Tendency is found in RC Church and every branch of Protestantism. History of Christianity. Legalism takes different forms in different denominations but we must pray that we are not legalistic. ========================== Discipleship Course. Depressed. Throw themselves back on themselves.
Luther: How can I find a gracious God?
I If you think religious duty is earning God’s favour like a person earns wages -2 problems: 1. Desperate attempt to please God. 2. Add human made commandments – multiply religious obligations. Result Fanaticism.
Desperate attempt to please distant god. Therefore more and more commandments. You will always be able to justify each one.
Eternity and this world – Islam. If this life is 70 or 80 years and Eternity in paradise or hell is forever, then this life loses any value. In Christianity eternity has intersected with time in Creation and Jesus coming into this world, therefore this life is eternally valuable. This is not the case in Islam. Therefore killing and being killed is easier to justify in Islam.
God commands jihad in Islam, but be careful in mentioning that, because there is violence in the Bible. What is significantly different in Islam is that the kingdom of God on earth is expressed in military and political power structures that themselves are controlled by Islam. ===================================== It is not obvious in Islam that God wants to save you. God may want you to go to hell.
Billy Graham preached hell, but he said God does not want you to go there. If you go there it is your own choice.
Suicide bombing. The Muller’s teach us that God hates us.
In Islam only one way to be sure of escaping hell and that is to die in the Jihad. ===================================
Psalm 85:10 Steadfast love and faithfulness meet, righteousness and peace kiss each other.11 Faithfulness springs up from the ground, and righteousness looks down from the sky.
Not that we are to make ourselves righteous so that God will love us. Rather righteousness has already come down to earth from heaven – we, in Christ respond to that righteousness by faithfulness. We cannot make ourselves righteous. But Christ has come to us and He embraces us so that His faith, as a human, in His Father embraces our feeble faith.
The just will live by faith.
Summary. Be careful when discussing this subject because there has been a change in the meaning of words.
The opposite of Fanaticism – relativism and tolerance of everything – cannot work.
The Christian Faith is about knowing God personally and only secondarily knowing His commandments.
Tendency in all religion to turn to law rather than personal grace and try to earn a distant god’s favour.
The situation is worse in Islam because the kingdom of Allah is to be spread by political and military power. The Christian way is to respond in faith and trust to that love and righteousness that has already come down from heaven. If any of the above has assisted you in your thinking,
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