The title for this post is bound to strike you very
forcefully – the Christian Church creating atheists! Well, sadly, it is only too true. The one obvious example of this is the
current spiritual state of the good people in Russia who now believe in
atheistic communism. Why and how did
this come about? Well, the answer is
well stated in the history books. These
poor people’s only understanding of Christianity was that given by the Russian
Orthodox Church, and especially in the life of a man like the Siberian Eastern
Orthodox mystic, Rasputin. (1871-1916). He
had acquired such terrible power and influence over the last Czar of Russia, Nicholas
II, and particularly over his wife, Alexandra, that he was able to make
political and ecclesiastical appointments.
His abuse of power and notorious
debauchery led to his murder by a group of nobles who shot him and dumped his
body in the River Neva.
It was this that the poor Russian people saw and thought was
genuine Christianity. And what they saw,
they decided they did not want!
Why? Because it was such a
horrible thing that they felt they would be much better off without it. So they opted instead for atheism, and got rid
of Christianity altogether.
What a tragedy this is for the Russian people over all those
years ????. They were quite correct in
rejecting Rasputin and his horrors, but they reacted him so extremely that they
threw out ‘the baby with the bath water.’
What they did not realise, of course, was that they were not rejecting
true Christianity but a perversion of the true faith, as represented by Rasputin
and his like. In their ignorance of the Scriptures and spiritual
blindness, they rejected authentic Christianity and expelled every belief in
God.
Why have the majority of the people in these British Isles
and much of the western world rejected authentic Christianity? Is it not for precisely the same reason? They have been exposed to a perversion of
true Christianity by the professing churches, so have rejected what was
presented to them, imagining that to
be real Christianity. The population has
heard church dignitaries expostulating on matters that are of no interest to
the Christian church, such as their involvement in politics; they have listened
to them undermining the truth of the Gospel through their highly esteemed
scholars; they have witnessed church leaders being ambivalent about moral
issues, such as, homosexuality, gay marriages, and especially amongst the
clergy – as in one infamous and current Church of Ireland case where a senior
cleric has entered into a same-sex marriage under the term ‘civic partnership’;
people have seen the support they have given to political arrangements in
Northern Ireland in which notorious terrorists are now ruling our Province; and
the list could go on.
So people conclude that if that is Christianity, they want
nothing to do with it! In one sense, one
can sympathise with them and agree with their rejection of that sort of
religion; but on another, they have done exactly what the Russians did all
those years ago, and are well on their way to creating a religious system not
unlike that of the orthodox church of Russia, Greece, the Balkans, Egypt,
etc.
Is this why you have no time for organised religion? You have been given such a bad experience of
church-based religion that you have had enough and to spare that will do you a
life-time. But don’t make the same mistake
as the Russians did, and as many are doing in the western world today. Why not have a fresh look at the real thing,
the true and authentic Christian faith that is presented in the
Scriptures? This Gospel tells you that
you were made in the image of God, and that you owe your life to God. But you have lived a life of rebellion
against him, and would prefer if he were out of your life altogether. You are a sinner, and lost, and heading for
eternal damnation. But that is not the
whole story; for the God against whom you have sinned is not in the business of
condemning people, but of saving them.
And He wants you to take a fresh look at His Son, Jesus Christ, and see
in Him the One who bore your sins in His own body on the cross. He is now offering to forgive you totally on
condition of repentance towards God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. He wants to make you His child, and take you
to be with Him forever in Heaven.
Will you come to Christ NOW?
Will you put your trust in this wonderful Saviour and live your life for
His pleasure? Give the authentic
Christian faith a new look, and embrace God’s Son as your own Saviour, and see
the difference this makes to your life.
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