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Weekly Bulletin Message...

Amos was right.....

By Devin

May 16, 2012

"We human beings are spiritual beings. We speak freely of our minds, hearts, or spirits – knowing full well that we aren't talking about physical organs. Maybe you prefer the term personality or character. But you know these terms are more than alternate ways to refer to the brain or to a set of bodily processes.

Religion is not serving our spiritual lives very well these days. Don't believe it? The fastest-growing segment of religious affiliation these days is "none."

You may have seen results of a study done by researchers at Trinity College of Hartford, Conn. Although the total number of Americans identifying themselves as Christians has increased over the past 20 years, the percentage of population doing so has declined to 76% – a drop of fully ten percent in the same period.

Syndicated columnist Leonard Pitts Jr. offers this explanation: "Religion has become an ugly thing. People of faith usually respond to that ugliness – by which I mean a seemingly endless cycle of scandal, controversy, hypocrisy, violence and TV preachers saying idiotic things – in one of two ways. Either they defend it – making them part of the problem – or they regard it as a series of isolated, albeit unfortunate, episodes. But irreligious people do neither."

He's right, you know! If you are a Christian, you would be wiser simply to admit the point. Be embarrassed over it. Apologize for it. Then ask God both to forgive you of any part you have had in scandal, hypocrisy, or offense and to help the people who call themselves his children to act more like their father.

The problem isn't new. The Old Testament prophets lamented the fact that people were putting attendance at religious events in the place of integrity and gifts to good works in the place of compassion to their neighbors. So Amos and Isaiah spoke for the Lord to say, "I cannot bear your evil assemblies. . . . Even if you offer many prayers, I will not listen" (Isaiah 1:13-15).

Jesus made the same point about religion in his day. So why do we still not get it? Why is religion still driving people away from God?

If religion is getting in the way of your quest for God, just remember that God and religion are not the same. Please don't give up on him because of us.

"Stop doing wrong, learn to do right! Seek justice, encourage the oppressed. Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow" (Isaiah 1:17). Now that sounds like a beautiful alternative to religion as too many know it." ~copied

Go the extra mile - Devin

The above text is the article from the bulletin front page dated 5/15/2012


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