3.14.2005
A Tale of Two Gospels
I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel– which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned! As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let him be eternally condemned!
Galatians 1:6-9
When I came into work this morning, I was transfixed by a couple of other events that took place this morning. Praise God for Ashley Smith's faith and heart to bring Brian Nichols back from the edge before anyone else died. I love the fact that this woman's testimony is being broadcast worldwide today. Makes my little speech look trivial in comparison. This woman, from all accounts, lived the character of Jesus and loved this desparate man as her Lord would have. It's hard to say how things really went down, but after shooting five people and killing four, it's nothing short of a miracle that either of them came out of that apartment alive. A co-worker of mine didn't want to hear any of my opinion that God really showed Himself in this situation, choosing instead to state that if God was going to intervene, He should have done it in the courtroom. I don't care what anybody says, I believe that God acted in a powerful way. It's a definite tragedy that four people had to die, and Brian Nichols will have to face those consequences. But I can't help but rejoice in the prospect that, because of this one woman's faith, he might not lose his soul when he loses his life.
In contrast, there's the sorry spectre of evil in the midst of the Church, as it played itself out in Wisconsin this weekend when Terry Ratzmann killed seven members of his church before turning his 9mm on himself. Unfortunately, Mr. Ratzmann and all of his victims were members of one of the all-too-numerous Bible-based cults, The Living Church of God. Yet this tragic event is going to be played out in the media as the inevitable unhinging of violence on our society by the intolerance and mind control practiced in Christianity. Undoubtedly, there was mind control going on in suburban Milwaukee, but no Christianity. As I have been getting re-acquainted with God's Word and the fellowship of other believers over the past year, it has struck on more than one occasion how easy it is to be deceived when you are hurting and alone in this world. The tactics used by these groups are truly diabolical. They target the immature or weak-minded individuals who don't quite feel like they belong and make them feel special. They model the kind of love and acceptance we all want but so few have found in this me-first culture, while spoon-feeding them distortions of the Bible's teachings. Before long, they are so dependent on these groups' for affirmation and direction, they are completely under their control and are usually giving them inordinately large percentages of their disposable income in exchange.
What I take from these two incidents, conveniently being tied together by the media as incidents of 'gun violence', is really the story of two different Gospels. Ashley Smith dealt with the unspeakable sorrow of losing her husband to violence six years ago by turning to the Jesus revealed in the Bible and finding a spirit that would allow her to feel compassion for a man who had murdered others. Terry Ratzmann, on the other hand, surrendered his ego to an abusive group whose only use for Jesus is as a manipulative tool to extract money from vulnerable prey. Whatever it was that Ratzmann heard in a service a couple weeks back, it triggered something savage in him. The sweet, loving character of Jesus Christ was not evident in his actions because it had never been modeled for him. Jesus Christ doesn't inhabit lies or greed or manipulation. Jesus tends the broken-hearted. He doesn't drive them over the edge.
One of the victim's brothers asked a reporter where God was in all of this. An odd question, considering how far God had been removed from the teachings and practice of this false church. No, this weekend God was in Atlanta, giving comfort and courage to a young widow who wasn't sure if she was ever going to see her little girl again.
- posted by The Drake @ 1:20 PM
Comments:
<< Home
AMEN!!! Brian Nichols could have easily walked into any other person's apartment and have been met with a completely different situation, that could have ended in additional bloodshed. But the Lord allowed him to find Ashley!! Therefore his work was done.
Post a Comment
# posted by 
: 3/16/2005 09:07:00 AM
: 3/16/2005 09:07:00 AM<< Home
